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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Of the headlights on in the building? because if that was it I definitely didn't get any thing of that.
 
I was at the part on Friday and Sunday.
Friday they had the headlights on the cars on, which really is pretty bad on the immersion inside the building.
On Sunday all the headlights were off.
 
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I haven't been to HOS since 2015, but checked it out last night, is it new this season to not have the blue light along with fog at the drop by the Rhine River? Usually I try and give Verbolten a ride during HOS due to the differentiation, but it seems the ride is now dark. I'm not sure if the park hasn't added this or it's a not a thing anymore, but I always love how it enhanced the ominous aura of Verbolten snaking down to the river.
 
I played guest yesterday with my son & grandson. And, admittedly, this was my first ride on this coaster. Frankly, I forgot the "stories" that alternate so I was pretty much riding "blind". And I can honestly say I just didn't get it.

The boost into the building was known but a little more forceful than I expected. Inside I was clueless. I saw some flashing red lights and heard some howls (I guess the "tribute" to BBW?)... that's it. It was more of a "huh"? The drop was a bit of a surprise but it was more of a "why" did it happen? Since I really wasn't aware of any story I assume they were trying to tell, I had no idea why I "fell". Maybe had I been able to hear any of the preshow in the queue I might have an idea but I doubt it.

The last launch was fun and the rest of the ride brought back faint memories of BBW.

I doubt I'll ever ride it again. The coaster parts were fun, but the whole middle "stop" was confusing.
 
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Realizing how many people like this coaster (and how much flak I got for calling for its removal in the 2021 discussions), I'm changing my stance.

Pantheon will most likely be surpassing this ride-wise, so improving the show building is the one way they can set the ride apart. More props, less cheap cutouts. 2021 will be bringing a lot of people to the Drachen plot regularly for the new coaster, so they'll need to conceal or decorate the show building. Filling the 42" minimum coaster gap the Wolf left behind is a topic for another thread.

Much as it would have satisfied my grudge to see the ride get DarKastle'd, it would mean another costly replacement.

My grudge against this ride for replacing the Big Bad Wolf will now be transferred to the entire coaster industry for abandoning the suspended coaster concept.
 
SLC Headache said:
My grudge against this ride for replacing the Big Bad Wolf will now be transferred to the entire coaster industry for abandoning the suspended coaster concept.
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Hold up. Your grudge against Verbolten was that it replaced Big Bad Wolf? You know they built Verbolten because Big Bad Wolf had to close, right? Not the other way around...

And @GrandpaD I agree. There was a time when Verbolten adequately told its story and the building did a passable job of making you feel like you were traveling through a forbidden (albeit cartoonish) forest. Now that so many of the set pieces and effects have been removed, all of that context is gone. The warehouse feels like... well, a warehouse. The freefall drop used to be a climax to a sort of mini show scene, employed by lighting and sound effects; wolves would snarl as their eyes surrounded the train, a lightning storm would grow closer and more aggressive, or a mysterious “spirit” would materialize in front of the train. Nowadays, the lights and sounds are broken and out of sync so the scene doesn’t play out appropriately.

My favorite effect was a tire screeching sound that played during the second launch, making it seem like the train was narrowly escaping the forest. Sadly, that’s inexplicably gone too, so the indoor portion has lost all the effects that made it effective and enticing from start to finish. :(
 
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Joe said:
There was a time when Verbolten adequately told its story and the building did a passable job of making you feel like you were traveling through a forbidden (albeit cartoonish) forest. Now that so many of the set pieces and effects have been removed, all of that context is gone. The warehouse feels like... well, a warehouse. The freefall drop used to be a climax to a sort of mini show scene, employed by lighting and sound effects; wolves would snarl as their eyes surrounded the train, a lightning storm would grow closer and more aggressive, or a mysterious “spirit” would materialize in front of the train. Nowadays, the lights and sounds are broken and out of sync so the scene doesn’t play out appropriately.
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Does anyone know why the park allows this to happen with their rides, rather than consistently maintaining the original quality of theming? Is it a money issue, bad management, or something else?
 
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Lolers said:
Does anyone know why the park allows this to happen with their rides, rather than consistently maintaining the original quality of theming? Is it a money issue, bad management, or something else?
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I'm honestly not sure what Joe is referring to there.

I was riding Verbolten at least 10 times over the past 2 weeks and the scenes played out fine.

A few weeks ago when they were running the trains with the head lights on inside the building the lighting was wrong, but that has been fixed since.
 
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Despite misinformation being shared elsewhere on the internet, a fair but of the event building theming has been removed over the years—from small lighting and sound effects to huge, floor-to-ceiling scrims. There is probably enough left for people to comprehend that they're in a forest, but it's a far cry from the dense wooded environment created by the event building in its original form.

As for the three shows, they have become muddled over the years as individual effects from each have been ignored and/or removed and bits and pieces of the other sequences have been used to limit empty areas.

Ultimately, I can overlook things like one eyed-wolves or a few leaves not being lit as well as they once were. Without all of the original floor-to-ceiling scrims in place, however, the event building will never near the quality its creators intended.
 
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Zachary said:
Despite misinformation being shared elsewhere on the internet, a fair but of the event building theming has been removed over the years—from small lighting and sound effects to huge, floor-to-ceiling scrims. There is probably enough left for people to comprehend that they're in a forest, but it's a far cry from the dense wooded environment created by the event building in its original form.

As for the three shows, they have become muddled over the years as individual effects from each have been ignored and/or removed and bits and pieces of the other sequences have been used to limit empty areas.

Ultimately, I can overlook things like one eyed-wolves or a few leaves not being lit as well as they once were. Without all of the original floor-to-ceiling scrims in place, however, the event building will never near the quality its creators intended.
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I knew this would happen. Soon the room will just be dark like LNM...
 
I'll just say that, on the ride, I had no clue I was in a forest. All I saw was some black walls and then flashing red lights. Despite all the great theming in the queue, it was like InvadR...there's a story somewhere but, as a first time rider, I'll be damned if I know what it was.
 
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