Project Drachen Spire: Multi-Launch Shuttle Giga (Cancelled?)

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General Information:​

"Project Drachen Spire," is a community-generated identifier for the Intamin-made, multi-launch, shuttle giga coaster that was originally slated to open at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2021. The attraction is planned to utilize the currently-vacant land behind Verbolten, Festhaus Park—the former home of Drachen Fire.

The coaster's main layout—as leaked before the addition was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic—featured two launches, two spikes (one spiral, one vertical-ish), and a couple of banked turns. Drachen Spire was designed to run two trains by means of a pair of switch tracks connecting the primary, shuttle portion of the layout to the station platform.

Important Articles:​

  • Most Up-To-Date Understanding of the Layout:
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    If there’s a god, he’s up there laughing this afternoon. Why? Because BGWFans just had one of those classic sitcom moments. Yesterday, we published our painstakingly detailed analysis of the footer plan for what we believe is Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s 2021 roller coaster—seemingly a huge...
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  • Most Recent Status Update:
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    Drachen Spire Height Waiver Extension Details – BGWFans

    Just over a week ago, we reported on the renewal of the notorious 355 foot Festhaus Park height waiver that was originally requested for the controversial, Intamin-made, multi-launch, giga, shuttle coaster we’ve dubbed Drachen Spire. In last week’s article, we were very careful to leave the door...
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Previous Thread:​

 
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Pantheon doesn't count in this calculation since the 315 ft waiver was for a different attraction; and Pantheon is just reusing the waiver for that.

So we don't know what they would have requested if the predecessor to Pantheon hadn't existed.
 
Jahrules said:
Pantheon doesn't count in this calculation since the 315 ft waiver was for a different attraction; and Pantheon is just reusing the waiver for that.

So we don't know what they would have requested if the predecessor to Pantheon hadn't existed.
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While true, my question is more about the ability to adjust the height waivers after approval and how common is it for BGW to do that.
 
ControlsEE said:
While true, my question is more about the ability to adjust the height waivers after approval and how common is it for BGW to do that.
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I think the FAA filing also being at 355 indicates it'll be pretty darn close to 355.
 
ControlsEE said:
While true, my question is more about the ability to adjust the height waivers after approval and how common is it for BGW to do that.
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Pantheon doesn't need an FAA waiver as it not above 200 feet above grade. Pantheon reused the height waiver that was filed with JCC. They would have done nothing with the FAA waiver.

As I understand it, eventually it'll go away because they have to resubmit once the attraction is complete. They obviously won't so they will simply have the FCC remove the authorization.

Also to my knowledge the height waiver will be updated to reflect the official height once it's constructed. That doesn't mean it'll change a lot. I have no idea what the FAA waiver was for MT when they first applied but it might have been a little higher than 239' just to account for any potential changes they would make on the top.
 
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I know everyone is excited about that height, but has anyone taken note of the horizontal location? Its less than 50' from the Verbolten track. That is awfully close . It would make for some very tight construction. I know that Tempesto and Apollo are even closer, but do we really want another set of attractions encroaching on each other?
 
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So it does like it is possible, but BGW wouldn't file for a height waiver from the FAA much taller than they will need. So using history as an indicator, unless something weird happens (aka Pantheon), we should expect a 340'-355' ride for 2021

Celticdog said:
I know everyone is excited about that height, but has anyone taken note of the horizontal location? Its less than 50' from the Verbolten track. That is awfully close . It would make for some very tight construction. I know that Tempesto and Apollo are even closer, but do we really want another set of attractions encroaching on each other?
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Last page it was noted, but not discussed in detail.
 
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Celticdog said:
I know everyone is excited about that height, but has anyone taken note of the horizontal location? Its less than 50' from the Verbolten track. That is awfully close . It would make for some very tight construction. I know that Tempesto and Apollo are even closer, but do we really want another set of attractions encroaching on each other?
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Personally the idea doesn't bother me. What bothers me with Tempesto is that it's theme doesn't really mesh with the rest of Festa.

Beyond that I'd have no issues with the lift hill being close to another ride. Griffon, Loch Ness and Alpen are only relatively close together in the valley. Honestly Coasters interacting with paths and other rides is something that I think that BGW could do better. It's one of the things I love about the coasters at BGT and SWO. They have lots of spots where they interact with pathways and/or other rides and attractions.
 
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Not to mention that Verbolten and 2021 could start dualing. It's an easy way to add intrigue to an existing ride.
 
Celticdog said:
I know everyone is excited about that height, but has anyone taken note of the horizontal location? Its less than 50' from the Verbolten track. That is awfully close . It would make for some very tight construction. I know that Tempesto and Apollo are even closer, but do we really want another set of attractions encroaching on each other?
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Yeah but unlike Apollo's and Tempesto, the two rides' tracks wouldn't come to close together. Verbolten is comparatively very low to the ground and whatever this ride becomes would likely be extremely high off the ground there. Aside from some supports being close I don't think that Verbolten will be impacted all that much.
 
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Yikes, well that adds a heap of info for my perspective. This post will be a bit longer because I want to clarify my sources and qualify some things. At no point in this post will I say make any of my knowledge seem more or less verified than it is. If I have doubts about something I will clearly state that. Otherwise, I will state when I am confident about things based on sources. Some of this information is straight from the horse’s mouth, other information is filled in from contextual conversations.

About my sources: to protect my sources I can’t publically claim exactly what they do or where they work, but I can say that my sources include a collection of friends and colleagues in a slightly different engineering discipline than mine. These individuals work in areas from manufacturing to research and development and a couple might even have a hand in the layout of a few coasters you’ve ridden.

The industry is generally very tight lipped and that is what leads to a bunch of folks taunting info without revealing much. If too much info gets out not only would it risk my ability to learn more as well as possibly risk people’s jobs, but these sources are also people I don’t want to betray, so there has to be a limit to what I say.

Anyways, on with the info:

Obviously with Madrid getting canceled and pantheon proceding there have been changes of plans along the way. My understanding however is that the park, specifically the park, has been in a state where they have requested several different final products. Until this height waiver was put out, it was unclear to me if they had again changed the plans.

At this point I am confident in the following and willing to divulge. I am holding back a bit but I’ll honestly try to get as much out as I can responsibly over the next several months. FP is obviously a coaster, that will be an Intamin launch coaster. As of now it will break some world records when built, but they will all be what I describe as “tier two records” from what I know(ie. World’s fastest inverting floorless launch coaster). I can’t say for sure the nature of the elements of this ride but I will tell you that based off what I know, the nature of the project itself should be described as “moderate to reserved”.

I’m gonna think for a bit and let y’all know if I can share anymore, but I wanna be sure that’s what I wanna do beforehand. Feel free to ask questions, about the ride or my sources, but understand that I might not feel comfortable answering clearly and directly.
 
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