Verbolten

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Manufacturer
ZIERER

Model
Elevated Seating Coaster w/ Vertical Drop Element

Hamlet
Oktoberfest (Germany)

Official Opening
May 18, 2012

Soft Opening
May 11, 2012

Tallest Drop
88ft


Top Speed
53mph

Inversion Count
0

Launch Segments
2

Riders Per Train
16

Number of Trains
5

Height Requirement
48in



Verbolten is an indoor/outdoor ZIERER Elevated Seating Coaster that features a Vertical Drop Element. It officially opened in mid-May 2012 on the site formally occupied by the Arrow Suspended Coaster, Big Bad Wolf.


Videos​

Development Documentary​

Ride Recordings​

On-Ride Videos​

Backstage Footage​

 
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I hope so. With lots of changes to indoor attractions this year, I hope this one is for the better -- like Eire.
 
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I still say that if it comes down to this or DarKastle, that I would rather see DarKastle get the investment it needs. Probably my second favorite dark ride behind Calico Mine Ride.

Any money spent trying to spruce up this show building is good money after bad, in my opinion. But if they do bring it back to its former glory, I will give it one last chance. I will say, The Dark Knight at Six Flags Great Adventure, and Black Diamond at Knoebels (hey, RCDB counts it), set a pretty high standard for show buildings on roller coasters, and I'm still not sure a restored Verbolten will measure up to those.
 
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SLC Headache said:
I still say that if it comes down to this or DarKastle, that I would rather see DarKastle get the investment it needs. Probably my second favorite dark ride behind Calico Mine Ride.

Any money spent trying to spruce up this show building is good money after bad, in my opinion. But if they do bring it back to its former glory, I will give it one last chance. I will say, The Dark Knight at Six Flags Great Adventure, and Black Diamond at Knoebels (hey, RCDB counts it), set a pretty high standard for show buildings on roller coasters, and I'm still not sure a restored Verbolten will measure up to those.
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And DarKastle is closed. BGW is feeling the aftershocks of the hit on the budget years later.

I just watched a POV of Polar X-Plorer, Zierer's other drop track coaster, and Polar X-Plorer sets it up right. After the drop track, it's a quiet return to the station. I have changed my tune. Verbolten is not an unsalvageable mess, but the ending still sucks and ruins what could be a very good ride. I'm putting the blame on BGW for asking for a straight cover of the Big Bad Wolf ending instead of reimagining it.

Between restoring the show building and toning down the ending to not overpower the drop track, I would easily put this version of Verbolten in my top 40, in the company of Nessie and Grizzly, as opposed to how it is now, barely better than Pony Express and Nighthawk and just behind Tempesto.
 
If the ride skipped to the station after exiting the show building, I would like Verbolten too. Everything between exiting the show building and the airtime hill before the last turn drags it down. All forces, no excitement, and a bitter reminder of what was there before.
 
SLC Headache said:
If the ride skipped to the station after exiting the show building, I would like Verbolten too. Everything between exiting the show building and the airtime hill before the last turn drags it down. All forces, no excitement, and a bitter reminder of what was there before.
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I disagree.

I get why there's the breaks are on the bridge (for blocking) but I wish they weren't there, or didn't slow it so much, or maybe even slammed the breaks a little. And I don't think it is a buzzkill of an ending.

The two options IMO would have been to do the block break on the bridge differently, or enclose/theme/plant more trees up to the bridge.

I'm honestly failing to understand why people hate Bolt so much. I really really enjoy it, and compared to small lauched coasters like it, I put it way above backlot stunt coaster, a hair under Revenge of the Mummy at USO. I've road quite a few like it and it's still one of the better ones.
 
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warfelg said:
SLC Headache said:
If the ride skipped to the station after exiting the show building, I would like Verbolten too. Everything between exiting the show building and the airtime hill before the last turn drags it down. All forces, no excitement, and a bitter reminder of what was there before.
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I disagree.

I get why there's the breaks are on the bridge (for blocking) but I wish they weren't there, or didn't slow it so much, or maybe even slammed the breaks a little.  And I don't think it is a buzzkill of an ending.  

The two options IMO would have been to do the block break on the bridge differently, or enclose/theme/plant more trees up to the bridge.

I'm honestly failing to understand why people hate Bolt so much.  I really really enjoy it, and compared to small lauched coasters like it, I put it way above backlot stunt coaster, a hair under Revenge of the Mummy at USO.  I've road quite a few like it and it's still one of the better ones.
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Buzzkill, that's the word, and yes, I find it a buzzkill.

The main drop is just an uncomfortable yank of a pull-out. Forget blocking for one more train running, lowering that hill so it can zoom over it for a proper airtime hill would greatly improve the ride.

The turns just feel like a grind without the train being able to swing. They vaguely remind me of the main helix on Superman: Ride of Steel - a long slog of constant laterals, made worse by a rattly train. And at least Superman is going fast enough to provide a satisfying sense of speed. Verbolten hits the sour spot through those turns - fast enough to be overly forceful, not fast enough to be exciting.

The first turn over the water could do with harder banking, and the second turn should be a high bank / overbank thing. The bunny hop and dip into the rising turn do help differentiate it from a straight cover of the Big Bad Wolf ending.
 
I will say I am unsure if the current bridge could handle the train not slowing down for a block brake. I feel like that entire piece of track and possibly some other sections of the end may need to be re-profiled as the train still has quite the bit of speed going into the final section from the launch that is lost from the block brake. This enhanced speed would definitely lead to more stress on the footers.

Also, considering the park is now being forced to close rides due to corporate budget I imagine this isn't something on the current agenda. I personally don't understand the hate for Verbolten. Obviously it's not my favorite ride at the park that would go to Apollo, I still try to take a ride into the Black Forest every visit.
 
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I can't disagree more, the finale of Verbolten is one of my favorite parts of the ride. The drop is fantastic and gives you that "belly in your throat" feeling before the train rips through some fantastic turns at high speed which are intense but not so intense that you black out.

As far as stopping on the bridge is concerned, yes it's a block section, but I feel like it was totally intentional to stop at the top like that. And we can't forget that as much as Verbolten is it's own unique and innovative ride, it was always meant to pay tribute to what came before it. If you really think about it, Verbolten is paced similarly and almost the same as The Big Bad Wolf.

The train meanders out of the station, then gets launched or lifted up a hill before taking riders through a wild and crazy layout of fast paced turns around scenery and set pieces before coming to a complete stop at a block. In Verbolten's case a surprise has been peppered in with the drop track but then just like The Wolf the train is launched/lifted to the top of the hill overlooking the Rhine River. Verbolten then slows down to almost a stop, but not quite so that the block brake can give the rider a moment to take in their surroundings; get a good look at the track --the bottom of the river and really emulate the pacing and feeling riders would have gotten when The Wolf reached the top and slowly crest over the peak of the second lift hill. It's a brief moment and a chance to look around and take a breath before gravity rips the train from the top of the lift/block and that it's dive down to the river below.

The finale, as the train careens over the river's banks and whips through the curves into the final brakes is satisfying on both Verbolten and The Big Bad Wolf and makes for an unforgettable ride experience in both the past and present.

I wouldn't change a thing about Verbolten's finale, I think it was designed and meant to be the way that it was. The Big Bad Wolf was a loved and revered ride and Verbolten's pacing mirrors it's predecessor; I think that was completely intentional.
 
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My thing that I really wish is the portion of track from the drop to the bridge had some more to it. Not in terms of the actual track. But getting more trees or enclosing it so you feel like you are in the woods all the way up to the bridge. I get BBW had time to let that all grow in, but I hope Bolt get's it in there and we really get more of the through the woods feeling.
 
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I'm a bit confused. I really don't understand the objections to the last part of the ride.

In addition to everything Shane said, I have always found the bridge section to be fairly clever. My impression was that the brake on the bridge was meant to feel as if you had reached a second place where your path could give way. In other words, it has always struck me as playing off of the drop track in the event building.

Maybe I am completely wrong, but regardless, I enjoy Bolt for all of the reasons Shane mentioned, excluding the nostalgia.
 
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Nicole said:
I'm a bit confused.  I really don't understand the objections to the last part of the ride.

In addition to everything Shane said, I have always found the bridge section to be fairly clever.  My impression was that the brake on the bridge was meant to feel as if you had reached a second place where your path could give way.  In other words, it has always struck me as playing off of the drop track in the event building.  

Maybe I am completely wrong, but regardless, I enjoy Bolt for all of the reasons Shane mentioned, excluding the nostalgia.
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I enjoy it too, my "wish" would be not having the slow roll in and slow roll out. I would find it a little more entertaining if it was a 'quicker' stop with tire screeching noise, the creaking, then the roll out. I guess in my head I'm picturing a car slamming on it's brakes realizing the bridge is out.

But I love the ending. I've never had problems with it. I only rode BBW twice, but Bolt feels like a great spiritual successor to it. I've never thought of it in the way Shane put it, but it makes me love Bolt even more.
 
Ever since 2012 I thought it would be a neat nod to the promotional videos released if they had a few "Warning Bridge Out" signs scattered about the hill after the second launch. Maybe a few could be tangled in vines to show that the forest follows the train until the bridge. I've always just felt that is the most barren part of the attraction during the day and disrupts the immersion.

On a side note, I'm not sure if I was the only one was shocked when the gnomes weren't in the attraction being seen in many promotional pieces by the park leading up to 2012. It would be a cool Easter egg if a few were hidden around the ride. Maybe a few in the queue, a couple hidden in the show building, or even on the bridge would be awesome.
 
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The final portion of the ride is my favorite as well. I love the view of the Rhine from the slowdown on the bridge and on the drop - keep in mind this view was largely obscured by Big Bad Wolf's overhead track. The sense of speed as the train zips over the water and back into the woods is also exhilarating. My biggest disappointment about Verbolten is its limited interaction with the terrain, but the finale does it well.

By contrast, I think the indoor section is the weakest part of the ride. Don't get me wrong, the drop track still catches me by surprise and the helices are the most intense coaster element in the park. But the neon-colored, cartoon styling of the "forest" completely takes me out of the story, to the point I have to remind myself "this is supposed to be a forest." I have always wished the park took a more realistic approach to the Black Forest.

But of course, Verbolten is still a fantastic ride. Its theming, albeit modern, is some of the best outside of Florida, its story creative and mysterious, and its ride experience (in my opinion) the most intense at Busch Gardens.
 
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Shane said:
I can't disagree more, the finale of Verbolten is one of my favorite parts of the ride. The drop is fantastic and gives you that "belly in your throat" feeling before the train rips through some fantastic turns at high speed which are intense but not so intense that you black out.
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I will give that drop props for intensity. Somehow, they managed to create a drop that puts most Intamin and RMC ejector airtime to shame. Why I'm finding that a defect, I'm not sure at this point.

Maybe it's not the turns themselves that I should fault. Wild One's ending helix has even more aggressive laterals and that is one of the strongest endings I've ridden. The difference is that Verbolten's seating is very open as opposed to a boxy PTC train complete with seat dividers, making those laterals just that much less comfortable.

Joe said:
The final portion of the ride is my favorite as well. I love the view of the Rhine from the slowdown on the bridge and on the drop - keep in mind this view was largely obscured by Big Bad Wolf's overhead track.
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Huh, I never thought of it that way. The bridge motif does frame the view nicely.
 
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