Verbolten

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​

• From Dreams to Screams: Verbolten by Devin Olson

Ride Recordings​

On-Ride Videos​

• Opening Year POV (Storm Sequence)
• Opening Year POV (Spirit Sequence)
• Opening Year POV (Wolves Sequence)
• Spring 2019 Lights-On POV
• 2012/2019 Side-by-Side POV

Backstage Footage​

• Verbolten Control Booth Screens

 

[Eric]

I also saw a 2011 polar pathway video show up today, yet none of these two videos are showing up on their uploads, at least for me.

 

[jornor]

I also saw a 2011 polar pathway video show up today, yet none of these two videos are showing up on their uploads, at least for me.

Love that they are being active with their YouTube account!!

Would love to see some nostalgic Big Bad Wolf or Drachen Fire stuff pop up

 

[Zachary]

Sooooo Applesauce reminded me that the awful Verbolten onride video still existed when we were talking about how terrible Europe in the Air's animations are. Well, we were watching it and noticed something...

Gerta and Gunter, according to all the promotional material for the ride, are brother and sister, right? (Spoiler: Yes.) Well, the onride video would suggest otherwise...

Link to pictures

Gerta and Gunter's incestuous love is now canon! Conspiracy confirmed!

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[Thomas]

They have to keep the Aryan race pure!

By any means...

 

[Merboy]

 

[Zimmy]

ummmmm

 

[The Hessian]

 

[bkroz]

Changing the subject... haha!

I'm wondering if this is new, or if I'd just never seen it before... Watching some POV videos from this season, it looks like there are four very large "rectangular" lights added just as you twist out of the initial launch (before you slalom through the "branches"). It looks like they strobe as the train enters the showbuilding, then default to a "blacklight" style purple hue as the train actually nears...

Seen from 1:20 (strobing) to 1:21 (passing by) in this video:

...And :36 in this one:

Am I making that up? Older POV videos don't seem to show them, but maybe just because they're hard to capture? What would be their purpose, I wonder?

 

[BGW Family]

They were added last year to help alleviate the nausea some people feel from the ride. It did not help that I can tell. It is even worse for some people now.

 

[ElsaManta]

Verbolten can feel very...weird sometimes. It actually makes my dad sick. As someone who has never gotten motion sick except for in a hot car stuck in stop-and-start traffic, and standing facing sideways for the whole route on the Tide in Norfolk back when it first opened, don't ask...rides never make me sick; I would never marathon Verbolten. It's not because it's 'rough' or anything, either....not sure what it is

 

[BGW Family]

^ This. Not sick, but feeling off afterwards. My son is one of those for which the black lights makes it worse. We try it once per year and then don't bother the rest of the season. Not much thrill + long waits + potentially ill + glorified kiddie ride = yard ornament. Now BBW? Never missed riding several times each day, unless it was down. Our whole bunch, totally not a fan. Come to think of it, we didn't even bother this year with only one side loading.

 

[ElsaManta]

Yeah. I LIKE Verbolten (specifically that drop track bit), but I've decided it's one of the rides I won't wait forever for. I think I liked it better when I first rode it (all I'd ridden otherwise was Nessie and Griffon then) and hadn't been on as many coasters. And I really haven't been on very many, either. I never got to ride BBW, sadly.

Verbolten's line seems to take FOREVER when they're only using half the station...

 

[CastleOSullivan]

When I rode this on 6/3/17, I noticed that the left side of the show building when entering was very bright. In fact, it looked like maybe some scenery was missing. It looked very weird, but I didn't get to ride it again for a closer look since I had to make my way to the Black Forest picnic area.

Has anyone else seen this?

 

[Shane]

Well, black-lights are Ultraviolet and UV-Rays are known to fade paint. You can look at anything that sits out in the sun all day everyday as evidence of that (Apollo?) so I think it is completely possible.

 

[lightninlady]

I've noticed a lot of the things RollyCoaster mentioned, but for me the most "jarring" thing imo is at the MCRB. I remember the big wall there being beautiful with all the black lights on and stuff, but now it's pretty much pitch black. And it's already been mentioned but yea, you can see a lot of the track and a lot of the effects aren't as strong as they used to be.

 

[Celticdog]

I agree. It's not aging well. It's gotten rough inside the building. The ride itself seems more jerky, which it should not be for an inside coaster. I won't wait in the line, unless it's an easy walk-on.

 

[MAZ]

I skip over Bolt constantly. Line or no line. But, I would never miss an opportunity to ride BBW. I still can't believe how much money they spent on building this 'replacement' coaster. I will also agree that the ride experience seems to be getting worse as the coaster ages.

 

[Mushroom]

Verbolten used to be can't-miss for me. Now the increasing roughness makes me reluctant to ride; Unlike other rough rides, Verbolten's roughness comes from its rattle, which gives me a headache; it's not a "fun" rough like on wooden coasters. And the broken effects don't help.

 

[CastleOSullivan]

I must say, I am surprised at all these reactions. Then again, they may explain why I have skipped over Verbolten so many times this season. I don't usually come off the ride thinking it was rough unless someone told me that they thought so. Even so, I don't think much about the inside of the building as being rough, but when I think of it, it feels a lot now like Flight of Fear. Both are greats rides, but in desperate need of repair. Then again, I think all of this pales in comparison to my beloved Alpengeist, which is for another thread.

For what it's worth, my girlfriend hasn't mentioned this ride lately as part of her top three list. I think Alpengeist moved up and Loch Ness Monster replaced Verbolten. That is exactly how I have felt for years. Loch Ness Monster is no longer that much more rough than all the others, which is sad considering its age compared to the others. LNM has been frozen in time for years, not getting much better, but certainly not worse like Verbolten.

 

[jornor]

I do agree like in the case of DarKastle, the effects need tuning and some enhancements. I do not agree however about the rides roughness. The only reason we have to skip it so many times is because of the long lines. At Christmas Town a few winters ago we rode this thing non-stop