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

 

[halfabee]

BGW was the king of the pre-lift back in the day.  LNM meandering through that stand of trees before they were largely removed for Griffon; BBW slowly rolling away from civilization through those trees and around the corner with a little swing to set the scene for an immersive ride... even Drachen Fire had that tight downward swoop-180 out of the station before hitting the lift.  I remember watching DF and wondering if the trains were capable of making turns much tighter than that one.  I suppose they were... though their ability to do so comfortably is a question that was never answered!

 

[SLC Headache]

Yeh I'm a huge sucker for pre lift/launch elements in a ride. I guess Verbolten's event building is rather disappointing for me and can even be a bit nauseating. I agree that it would be better if it crested the big drop with more speed but I imagine they run it at a speed that the track was designed for.

I can say Verbolten is the only roller coaster I have vomited after riding. Okay, the beer and the hot day, and the back-to-back rides on Apollo’s back seat may have contributed.

As for the speed through those final turns, I actually think those turns are taken too fast. The Big Bad Wolf was trimmed into those turns and it still was swinging wildly. With an untrimmed drop and minimal banking, the laterals are brutal for a so-called family coaster. Toning down the launch and lowering the hill to allow it to deliver a little floater airtime would have balanced the intensity.

 

[Zachary]

I couldn't disagree more. I'm going to sound like an old man bitching about kids on my lawn, but here it goes:

Back in my day kids rode real coasters—none of this Grover's Alpine Express bullshit. My first coaster was Loch Ness and it has tons of laterals, drops larger than Verbolten, and two inversions. I hate this nonsense about how kids need to have $25 million+ coasters built just for them. Verbolten's strong suit is that it pushes the limits of a family coaster just like The Wolf before it. That is InvadR's strength too. People can go anywhere to find a worthless kiddy coaster themed to SpongeBob or whatever. Those coasters don't become icons. Those coasters don't last in the minds of anyone.

Busch Gardens builds family coasters that mean something. They build family coasters that are an accomplishment. No one brags about having ridden The Great Pumpkin Coaster when they go to school the next day. Loch Ness, The Wolf, Vbolt, and InvadR are all family coasters worthy of bragging about. They are all coasters that kids won't grow out of. That is their strength.

People often think that a family coaster is a coaster a whole family can ride together. I think that is valid. That said, I think there is another piece of it too—I think a good family coaster is a coaster that anyone in the family can ride, whether together or alone, and have a great time.

Verbolten is a challenging coaster. It has bursts of intensity. It will surprise you. In my opinion, that is what makes it not only a great family coaster, but a great ride in general.

 

[greengiant]

And don't forget Little Nessie back in the day.....

 

[SLC Headache]

Much as I disagree with any evaluation of Verbolten as a family coaster, I agree with Zachary's comment on great family coasters pushing the limit. The Big Bad Wolf's wild swinging and Backlot's tunnel both pushed the limits just enough. Alternatively, one extreme element on an otherwise mild coaster - InvadR's ejector first drop and sooperdooperLooper's loop among them - are great examples of making an otherwise okay coaster great.

Verbolten overdid it for a family coaster. At that point, they should have committed to a higher intensity like its Tampa counterpart Cheetah Hunt. Mach Tower was already inferior to its Tampa counterpart Falcon's Fury. They should have worked an inversion of some sort in the show building, or better yet, done a clockwise barrel roll drop to pay tribute to Drachen Fire at the same time they were reusing the turns from the Big Bad Wolf.

 

[warfelg]

Verbolten is easily a family coaster. My mom, who hates getting on rollercoasters (massive fear of heights), loved Bolten. Bolt, Mummy's Revens USO, and Boulder Dash are her 3 favorite coasters, and they are all quite intense family coasters.

 

[PrincessArlenasDad]

Verbolten should be a family coaster. It replaced one of the greatest family coasters I've ever been on. It's theme and overall design are that of a family coaster.

But the design resulted in a 48" height requirement, which, I feel, is too tall for a family coaster.

For the money they paid for V-bolt, they should have (and could have) gotten an awesome family coaster (as described by Zachary just above) with a 44" height requirement (at most).

Allowing so many more families to ride would have made it that much more of a success.

For comparison:
BBW: 42"
Seven Dwarfs: 38"
Thunder Mountain RR: 40"
Space Mountain: 44"
Mount Everest: 44"

 

[warfelg]

Ehhhhh.....I'm not sure that you can use height as a family coaster measuring stick. Backlot Stunt Coaster is a 48" height requirement and that's a family coaster. SooperDooperLooper is considered an 'aggressive thrill ride' with a 42" height requirement.

And actually looking at average age/height charts, the average 8 year old boy is 50" and the average 8 year old girl is 50" too. Average 6 year old boy and girl is 45". So basically looking at age, being between 7-9 and able to ride something like Verbolten seems fine to me.

 

[halfabee]

Bear in mind, those are median heights.  Roughly 50% of kids at the noted ages will NOT have reached those heights yet. So FWIW I feel you're absolutely right to frame it as ages 7-9, as you have.  

IMO that still leaves a crucial gap between the height limits of Grover and Vbolt.  "Family" coasters can be whatever we define them to be, but IMO part of that definition at BGW is accessibility to the post-Grover kid who doesn't want to be barred from all cool coasters until s/he hits maybe 3rd grade.  Super lame.  I wouldn't disqualify VB as a family ride as a result, but perhaps the post-BBW park could have done a better job of accommodating the targeted family demographic.  I lived this era with two young kids, and it was total bummer for us when there was nothing truly "big" for two enthusiastic post-toddler kids to ride.  (InvadR at least narrowed this gap by a year, for visitors this year and beyond. Great family ride.)

Anyway, that's beating a horse that is long dead AND also long departed from the barn.  Zombie horse?

 

[Zimmy]

... Mach Tower was already inferior to its Tampa counterpart Falcon's Fury...

Just for clarity, Mach Tower was built several years before Falcon's Fury. Given the issues they had with Mach Tower, particularly its build quality, it is no surprise that Falcon's Fury is a superior ride. They had a great deal of, "what not to do," and "who not to buy from," experience.

 

[warfelg]

Bear in mind, those are median heights.  Roughly 50% of kids at the noted ages will NOT have reached those heights yet. So FWIW I feel you're absolutely right to frame it as ages 7-9, as you have.  

IMO that still leaves a crucial gap between the height limits of Grover and Vbolt.  "Family" coasters can be whatever we define them to be, but IMO part of that definition at BGW is accessibility to the post-Grover kid who doesn't want to be barred from all cool coasters until s/he hits maybe 3rd grade.  Super lame.  I wouldn't disqualify VB as a family ride as a result, but perhaps the post-BBW park could have done a better job of accommodating the targeted family demographic.  I lived this era with two young kids, and it was total bummer for us when there was nothing truly "big" for two enthusiastic post-toddler kids to ride.  (InvadR at least narrowed this gap by a year, for visitors this year and beyond.  Great family ride.)

Anyway, that's beating a horse that is long dead AND also long departed from the barn.  Zombie horse?

Good point on all of this. I get the fact that those numbers I quoted is an estimation, and it does leave out some, which is why I added my own bit on guessing the age range.

Invadr did an ok job of closing the gap some with a 46" height. 6" up from Grover, 2" down from Bolt.

But here's where I kinda inject my own thing. You can't continually add in more and more to appease every group. Because now that Invadr closes that gap some do we need a 42" height coaster to close that gap? It just becomes a slippery slope.

I think Bolt is a good family coaster. When I think family coaster I don't always think the low end, I think up too. It's why I said what I did about my mom. She's 60. Invited my friend and her 10 YO. The 10 YO loved Bolt. You got 50 year difference there and both loved it. To me that's what a family coaster is. Something that can span generations.

Sorry....I just get a little frustrated with this "height for riders decides what it is" discussions. It's why I added the bit about Backlot. I saw someone say it's a bit more of a family coaster, but has a similar height requirement. Like I consider Blue Streak and Gemini at CP two good family coasters, and they are both 48" min height.

 

[halfabee]

I pretty much agree with that.    Family coasters are less about rigid height-limit expectations than about the ride experience itself.

I'll contribute one thought below, pretty much just for the sake of continuing to talk about a topic I enjoy discussing.

But here's where I kinda inject my own thing.  You can't continually add in more and more to appease every group.  Because now that Invadr closes that gap some do we need a 42" height coaster to close that gap?  It just becomes a slippery slope.

Maybe sometimes it's a never-ending slide... to your point, it's reminiscent of the evolution denier who takes every discovery of an intermediate form B between species A and C as a new opportunity to launch TWO new arguments, because now someone has to find the intermediate forms between both A and B and B and C, or else evolution somehow "isn't correct."  Where does it end?  By design it doesn't.  To a suitably obstinate person, every turn of progress's propeller is an excuse to toss yet another anchor over the side.

But in this case I think there's enough granularity in height limits to have dropped in just one 42-44" height-limit ride that was notably more thrilling than Grover, and then called everything good to go.  The gap would have been adequately filled even if InvadR never happened.  No need for another new ride to respectively cover every incremental 2" of height... just give the sub-third-graders something that's actually thrilling and brag-worthy, and all is well.

I harp on it because satisfying those small-kid-having families is BGW's prime rib -- forget about mere bread and butter.  When those kids are constantly denied rides on nearly everything "big" at a theme park, they understandably feel let down, and it doesn't take long for the disappointment to spread.  To my mind the 42-44" thing is at heart a matter of serving the park's most lucrative-per-capita major demographic, so ye olde medieval party can continue rollicking in reasonably solid fiscal health for decades to come.  At this point I think the park is good with a 46" and two 48"s, but one 42-44" would have filled the same gap more inclusively.  

Anyway... there's that zombie horse again.  Should I keep beating it?  Neighhhhhhhh...

 

[warfelg]

Wouldn't disagree much, but I think you know as well as me a few things on that:
1 - If they did put in a 42-44" ride that filled that gap most enthusiasts would talk about how lame it is, BGW isn't pushing limits, blah blah blah.
2 - Parks struggling financially tend not to put in something like that.

Something I could see happening, is at some point if the rumor of a new hamlet is true, something being moved near one of the bigger coasters and having a little version of it put there as a bridge coaster.

Pulling this all the way around to the topic, the reason I thing Verbolten is a good family coaster is the fact that it is a bridge, even at it's 48" height limit. If you aren't ready for Alpie, the height of Griffon, the height of Apollo; Verbolten, Invadr, LNM are a great trio for you to get to ride.

And to be honest, I looked around at other launched coasters, and I'm not sure what you can do to lower that height limit. At least in the US, there aren't many lower height launched non-inverting coasters. So part of me just wonders is the height thing because of the launch, or because of the elements.

If it's because of the elements, seeing a "mini bolt" pop up near there some time in the future would be good for all sides.

 

[SLC Headache]

Wouldn't disagree much, but I think you know as well as me a few things on that:
1 - If they did put in a 42-44" ride that filled that gap most enthusiasts would talk about how lame it is, BGW isn't pushing limits, blah blah blah.
2 - Parks struggling financially tend not to put in something like that.

Something I could see happening, is at some point if the rumor of a new hamlet is true, something being moved near one of the bigger coasters and having a little version of it put there as a bridge coaster.

Pulling this all the way around to the topic, the reason I thing Verbolten is a good family coaster is the fact that it is a bridge, even at it's 48" height limit.  If you aren't ready for Alpie, the height of Griffon, the height of Apollo; Verbolten, Invadr, LNM are a great trio for you to get to ride.

And to be honest, I looked around at other launched coasters, and I'm not sure what you can do to lower that height limit.  At least in the US, there aren't many lower height launched non-inverting coasters.  So part of me just wonders is the height thing because of the launch, or because of the elements.

If it's because of the elements, seeing a "mini bolt" pop up near there some time in the future would be good for all sides.

It's not the launch jacking the minimum height up. Firechaser Express is a launch coaster with a 39" minimum (I assume with a chaperone), that I would consider a great milder family coaster. Something like that would then have left a gap between it and Nessie that InvadR then fills well - but would probably have been criticized for not being as intense as the Big Bad Wolf, on top of comparing very unfavorably to Cheetah Hunt and to KD's launch lineup.

Looked at other coasters with a drop track:
Th13teen: 120cm (~47")
Wonder Mountain's Guardian: 42" to ride, 48" to ride alone
Polar X-Plorer: 120cm (~47") to ride, 130cm (~52") to ride alone.
Inferno: 110cm (~44") to ride, 140cm (~55") to ride alone.



Putting my finger on it again, I have found another reason Verbolten misses the mark with me. Much as Drachen Fire was Arrow's attempt at building a B&M style coaster, Verbolten feels much more like an Intamin than anything else Zierer has built, with its whipping transitions and slamming forces. It's certainly more Intamin than a real Intamin, Cheetah Hunt, which I've heard panned as being forceless.

 

[phareous]

I've read reports that many of the show effects no longer work. Does anyone have a list of what's broken now?

 

[John]

I've read reports that many of the show effects no longer work. Does anyone have a list of what's broken now?

A lot.

 

[CastleOSullivan]

As of now, the event building is completely empty aside from smaller, standalone set pieces and whatever lighting was left behind. All of the larger backdrops and blackout curtains (they are interconnected) that the set mainly consisted of have been removed. The remaining set only consists of the arches after the launch, the moon box, and the arches around the drop track section. It really looks a lot like Flight of Fear now- in that it’s a mostly-empty warehouse building.

 

[The Hessian]

That is a damn shame.

 

[SLC Headache]

As of now, the event building is completely empty aside from smaller, standalone set pieces and whatever lighting was left behind. All of the larger backdrops and blackout curtains (they are interconnected) that the set mainly consisted of have been removed. The remaining set only consists of the arches after the launch, the moon box, and the arches around the drop track section. It really looks a lot like Flight of Fear now- in that it’s a mostly-empty warehouse building.

Flight of Fear at least has an excuse for its unthemed main show building, it's just packed with track and supports.

I would have said VR would be a step up for theming while allowing them to gut the show building further, but they are already getting a dedicated VR attraction (Battle for Eire), and VR stuffs up capacity and limits the ride to older kids and up, both of which go against the high capacity and ostensible family-friendliness Verbolten was designed for.

 

[Shane]

Perhaps they are reworking the set for next season.