Verbolten

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The first entry in this thread is a WikiPost. As such, it can be edited by anyone with the appropriate permissions.

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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Last year my sister and brother-in-law came down from PA along with another couple that are friends of theirs.  This other couple are thrill seekers.  This was their first time at the park in years.  They rode all of the coasters except for Tempesto and Invadr.  At the end of the day they actually liked VB the best with Griffon second and AC third.
 
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You know what? I don't think I can argue more more against this ride. You all have convinced me that it's not the Drachen Fire or London Rocks kind of failure I made it out to be. At the very least, Zierer did better knocking off Intamin than Arrow did knocking off B&M.

I still think it's the park's weakest major coaster (just behind Tempesto), and that ramming through those turns is the worst part. If nothing else, getting a rattle through the first turn in only five years is a sign that they are taking those turns too fast.
 
SLC Headache, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your opinion. Many people here disagree with it, but you have every right to have it. You've supported your position logically and in voicing my disagreement, I hope you didn't feel I was arguing against your own belief - and I hope you haven't changed your opinion just because you're outnumbered.

I'm glad you shared your feelings about Verbolten.
 
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I think my problem with Verbolten at this point (other than the name, which I still think is stupid) is the thought of the lost opportunity. Without the theming, it's just a launch coaster. I'd say marginally better than Backlot without it's theming, but still, just a decent launch coaster. That they spent 54 friggin' million dollars on!!!! Imagine what could have been done with that money instead of wasting it on theming that's all getting pulled out.
 
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mtpelepele said:
I think my problem with Verbolten at this point (other than the name, which I still think is stupid) is the thought of the lost opportunity.  Without the theming, it's just a launch coaster.  I'd say marginally better than Backlot without it's theming, but still, just a decent launch coaster.  That they spent 54 friggin' million dollars on!!!!  Imagine what could have been done with that money instead of wasting it on theming that's all getting pulled out.
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Just out of curiosity, what other launch coasters have you rode?
 
Honestly, Verbolten has always had some square-wheel vibration going on through those turns, even when it was brand new.  Nothing painful, but prominent.  It surprised me during my first ride back then.

I think an attraction like VB that does a bit of everything will also do not-enough of any one thing.  But I really enjoy it nonetheless (just not after a couple of Festhaus backroom brews -- the dark helix kills me).  While it's not a must-re-ride for me like most of the other BG coasters, it is a must-ride with each visit.

As long as we're kvetching, my list of semi-realistic changes would be:
  1. Bring the indoor section back up to par.  It's the soul of the ride.
  2. Love the idea of "bridge out" signs between launch 2 and the big drop.  Seems easy and supports the story.
  3. Landscape the damned area, aka "The Black Meadow."  Plant trees in front of the big green show building and around the hovering bridge.

One can dream...
 
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Joe said:
SLC Headache, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your opinion. Many people here disagree with it, but you have every right to have it. You've supported your position logically and in voicing my disagreement, I hope you didn't feel I was arguing against your own belief - and I hope you haven't changed your opinion just because you're outnumbered.

I'm glad you shared your feelings about Verbolten.
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I really haven't changed my views, so much as refined them. Before this discussion, I would have been happy to see Verbolten fall like DarKastle some time next decade. But now, watching it fall would be bittersweet at best. The sparse show building and the signs of wear on the fast turns, on a ride turning only six years old, are worrisome, and if it further deteriorates, it will go down as a ride that bit off more than it could chew, leaving the park with a black eye in the process.

I placed it last in the TPR Poll, made the foolish decision of sharing that opinion (with little context), and none other than Robb Alvey himself chewed me out. I immediately moved it up just enough to avoid further scrutiny (From "Green Lantern SFMM atrocious" to "Green Lantern Gadv flawed"). That got me feeling very defensive, and the news of DarKastle's closing was the perfect time for me to slip in here, using the price tag of this ride as a scapegoat for the loss of another ride.
 
I agree it’s got its flaws.

I think where you lose a lot of people is the “happy to see it go” sentiment. Lots of people like Bolt. I feel, as BGW/BBW fans there’s some comparing it to what came before.

I feel a big difference for the park, isn’t just the cost of it going in (btw I see a lot of that $54 mil for the ride, is that literally just the ride or removal of BBW, prepping the land, building Bolt, all the station work, and the event building. Because if it’s everything that actually isn’t a terrible price); it’s the ongoing operations cost. Yes it could use the theme-ing in the event building updated; but unlike keeping DK effects going, Bolts theme update is a one time expense. As for the rattle, I’m no engineer (even though I started college for it), but maybe a different compound of wheels would do wonders for that.

The reason I asked someone else about launches coasters:
Skyrocket at Kennywood is a little worse then Bolt with the rattle. Maverick had a really bad rattle when I rode it. Stormrunner had a really bad rattle.

Personally the cornering forces and rattles on a launched coaster are different than the traditional lift hill.
 
warfelg said:
I agree it’s got its flaws.

I think where you lose a lot of people is the “happy to see it go” sentiment. Lots of people like Bolt. I feel, as BGW/BBW fans there’s some comparing it to what came before.

I feel a big difference for the park, isn’t just the cost of it going in (btw I see a lot of that $54 mil for the ride, is that literally just the ride or removal of BBW, prepping the land, building Bolt, all the station work, and the event building. Because if it’s everything that actually isn’t a terrible price); it’s the ongoing operations cost. Yes it could use the theme-ing in the event building updated; but unlike keeping DK effects going, Bolts theme update is a one time expense. As for the rattle, I’m no engineer (even though I started college for it), but maybe a different compound of wheels would do wonders for that.

The reason I asked someone else about launches coasters:
Skyrocket at Kennywood is a little worse then Bolt with the rattle. Maverick had a really bad rattle when I rode it. Stormrunner had a really bad rattle.

Personally the cornering forces and rattles on a launched coaster are different than the traditional lift hill.
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I guess I went from "wishing it never existed" to "wanting to see it scrapped" in the hopes of returning to an idealized past. That Ninja wowed me only made me want a ride like that without having to go to LA.

I still think an alternate history where BGW got a big GCI for this spot and then something like Cobra's Curse where InvadR went (and Tempesto not existing) would have been better for the park. Tempesto is not up to BGW standards at all, while this can be greatly improved with a few tweaks. I might expand on my alternate universe park histories in another thread.

Re: rattle, Kingda Ka has the most violent rattle I have experienced on any steel coaster. But that's probably the only black mark on Gadv's current ride maintenance, everything else is in excellent shape.
 
Nicole said:
For what it is worth, I much prefer InvadR to Cobras Curse, which I found gimmicky and relatively boring.
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I got a chance to get down to BGT right after New Years (this is probably better suited for elsewhere) but CC was a disappointment. I'm very happy we ended up with Invadr.

But as this pertains to Bolt, I'm also very happy with it. I think there's little things you could 'pick' at with every coaster.

I'm happy with what we got in the order we got. In terms of the BGW collection Bolt (IMO) is a great part of that lineup. Again, it has gremlins, but so does every ride IMO.
 
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warfelg said:
Just out of curiosity, what other launch coasters have you rode?
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Off the top of my head: King Kobra, Italian Job (KD, CW and KI), Flight of Fear (KD and KI), Volcano, Verbolten, Tempesto, Viper (SFoG), Hulk, Rock'n'roller coaster, Mummy, Cobra's Curse, Jokers Jinx (SFA),Python (SFA), Chiller (Both sides), Kingda Ka, Greezed Lightnin (SFAW and KK), Mr. Freeze (SFoT), Thunderbird, Superman (SFO), Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, Wicked Twister, Possessed, Speed. I'm pretty sure I'm missing a couple. Why?
 
Nicole said:
For what it is worth, I much prefer InvadR to Cobras Curse, which I found gimmicky and relatively boring.
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Keep in mind that in my alternate universe, we would have had a Gold Striker / Renegade kind of GCI where Verbolten was. And even though InvadR brings all of GCI's signature feel on a smaller scale, it's behind most of the big GCIs (save for Hershey's Wildcat and Apocalypse SFMM, those aren't in the best shape).
 
mtpelepele said:
warfelg said:
Just out of curiosity, what other launch coasters have you rode?
Click to expand...

Off the top of my head: King Kobra, Italian Job (KD, CW and KI), Flight of Fear (KD and KI), Volcano, Verbolten, Tempesto, Viper (SFoG), Hulk, Rock'n'roller coaster, Mummy, Cobra's Curse, Jokers Jinx (SFA),Python (SFA), Chiller (Both sides), Kingda Ka, Greezed Lightnin (SFAW and KK), Mr. Freeze (SFoT), Thunderbird, Superman (SFO), Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, Wicked Twister, Possessed, Speed. I'm pretty sure I'm missing a couple. Why?
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I was just curious as to what you’ve been on and are comparing it to. There’s a few of your credits I don’t have, and there’s a few you don’t have that I do, so it was interested as to why you have it as a decent launch coaster, and I have it further up in mine.
 
warfelg said:
I was just curious as to what you’ve been on and are comparing it to. There’s a few of your credits I don’t have, and there’s a few you don’t have that I do, so it was interested as to why you have it as a decent launch coaster, and I have it further up in mine.
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I compared it to Backlot because it's a nearby launch coaster that has also had most of it's theming stripped. I've never been a huge fan of Verbolten. It's a greatly oversized family coaster, and feels like it. I think they bit off more than they could chew, honestly. It has it's good points, but if the engineering and manufacturing was done by someone with more experience at that speed and size, I feel it would be a much better ride.
 
Got my list out, all of my launch coasters, rankings are out of 110. BGW's other coasters are included for reference.

90. Pony Express
85. Possessed
84. Avatar Airbender
83. Verbolten
82. Tempesto
72. Backlot
67. Montezooma's Revenge
65. Joker's Jinx
61. Steel Venom
56. Superman: Escape from Krypton
(52. InvadR)
50. Flight of Fear
42. Full Throttle
(33. Loch Ness Monster)
27. Kingda Ka
26. Xcelerator
(24. Griffon)
23. Volcano
(18. Alpengeist)
(10. Apollo's Chariot)
7. Storm Runner

Verbolten could rise above that very easily, ending somewhere between Full Throttle and Nessie, by slightly taming the ending and restoring the show building.
 
I may be biased because I was on opening crew for the ride and operated it for another year after, but I love Verbolten. It fills its purpose well as a family coaster accessible to everyone, yet its thrilling and intense enough that it satisfies thrillseekers as well.

The theming is fantastic. Probably one of the best queue lines out there. Its on par with a lot of the queues in Orlando. There's plenty of nods to BBW all over the ride. The station looks amazing as well. Last time I rode, I was disappointed to see some of the suitcases falling apart and the posters scratched and taken down but that doesn't affect the ride as much.

I love the theming in the event building as well. Sure its cartoony and cheesy but so is Rock n' Roller Coaster's theming. Plus if it was more detailed, you wouldn't really be able to appreciate it traveling so fast.

I liked the bridge more when you'd roll right through the brake run. I wish they'd keep that instead of coming to a full stop up there. It fits with the theming since you're not gonna be driving off the end of a bridge full speed in real life.

Yeah the ride does have a rattle, but its only really bad in the last couple turns and the first couple turns. Doesn't really detract much from it.

Its a ride that fits the demographic of a family coaster that's not only accessible to everyone, but also thrilling and intense enough that it satisfies thrillseekers. I'd still rank it with some of the better launch coasters like Cheetah Hunt and Storm Runner.

- For the record I like Stunt Coaster too. That ride is really underrated.
 
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