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

 

[vacoasterfanatic]

no, im referring to the last of the 3 big mcbr backdrops.

 

[ControlsEE]

are you talking about the door that blocks the sunlight after the drop?

Verbolten doesn't have any doors that block the sunlight, just cleverly placed baffles

 

[SLC Headache]

I'm also in favor of another scenario, one where the car is repossessed mid ride, and is just towed back to the maintenance bay "impound lot".

Hmm, changing the outdoor section from a rattly attempt to give the intensity of the Wolf, to a solemn and scenic return to the station? I like this idea. Always thought having the outdoor section be fast and furious just ended up upstaging the drop track.

DarKoaster will then have to have a 42" minimum to not be redundant with this and to fill the gap the Wolf left behind.

 

[cschnizer]

quick side note, verboltens final floor to ceiling backdrop is gone, leaving roughly HALF of the final in building block exposed, also you can see everything in the double helix.

Was that the big partition between the crest of the launch hill and the drop track?

 

[andyb]

Food for though; You're hypothetically given a solid budget to refurbish the theming for Verbolten. Without going full Disney on the ride, what would you do? I would:

-add some sort of thing to the spirit storyline where the car is possessed. Maybe have it "shut down" as you reach the stop, then all the stuff happens after which the headlights come back on and the car drops.

-fog machines at the bottom of the drop

-I'm sure this has been discussed before but at night do things to make it feel more sinister/spooky. Have the voice in the station telling you to put down your seatbelt be the spirit(I know this has brought up somewhere because I've seen it, probably in this forum so if someone could respond to this with the original post so I can give credit that would be greatly appreciated) and then as they dispatch have either Gerta or Gunter be like "wait! you're not supposed to be going in there at this hour! Come back!"

I get the joy of having a fresh perspective, having ridden this for the first time last week. I agree, there are some things that would be easy and cheap that would really help communicate the narrative. I mean, the point is "You're going into this forest and it's hostile and doesn't want you there and will attack you. The Spirit of the Forest is in control here." That's hinted everywhere—the car outside attacked by vines, the greenery "taking over" the queue lane markers, etc. But the hints are so undertoned that it's easy to come away with "It's about riding in a car, and then it gets dark and scary, and then the rest is a roller coaster." As you suggest, a very little bit of more direct warning in the pre-ride spiel would help clarify what we're supposed to be worried about.

 

[G-Starr]

You are right. I’ve ridden it a couple of times and never knew there was a story behind it. Interesting.

 

[GrantLee123]

I just wish they would bring back the ads from when it opened of it being a scary spooky car chase. Really hyped up the ride.

 

[Nibbins]

You are right. I’ve ridden it a couple of times and never knew there was a story behind it. Interesting.

You have to listen to the phone calls in the little building with the suitcases in the queue.

 

[swimmerboy29]

I get the joy of having a fresh perspective, having ridden this for the first time last week. I agree, there are some things that would be easy and cheap that would really help communicate the narrative. I mean, the point is "You're going into this forest and it's hostile and doesn't want you there and will attack you. The Spirit of the Forest is in control here." That's hinted everywhere—the car outside attacked by vines, the greenery "taking over" the queue lane markers, etc. But the hints are so undertoned that it's easy to come away with "It's about riding in a car, and then it gets dark and scary, and then the rest is a roller coaster." As you suggest, a very little bit of more direct warning in the pre-ride spiel would help clarify what we're supposed to be worried about.

Exactly. I love scary stuff-I'll go and watch creepy TikToks at 11 pm and then turn over and go to sleep without a problem, and Hereditary had me sleeping with the lights on more because of the creepy song at the end than the actual movie itself. You get the idea.

Meanwhile, I had to put my head inside of my sweatshirt the first few times I rode Bolt because of the tunnel, thank god it was chilly outside otherwise I'd have looked like an idiot walking around in a sweatshirt in 70 degree weather. I'm 23 and I know full well that it's a roller coaster and I'm not actually getting accosted by wolves/a storm/a ghost Karen that wants me off of her lawn. Am I still going to get that feeling of anticipation and slight anxiety when I'm putting that restraint down on Saturday morning? You're damn right I am.

I just wish they would bring back the ads from when it opened of it being a scary spooky car chase. Really hyped up the ride.

I remember there was a RCT3 POV of what they thought it would look be like complete with hands reaching out of the ground right before the car drops that I must have watched a zillion times. I was convinced that those hands meant there was gonna be some sort of witch encounter on the ride.

This is also completely hypothetical because I like to imagine things but like a revamp for the 15th anniversary would be cool where they sort of re-do the storylines:

1. Wolf stays because BBW but now it's a werewolf.

2. Switch spirit of the forest to an Alpengeist tie-in with simulated snow and the pre-drop scene is snow demon-esque roaring and a frozen branch falling on you. Fully aware that they're two different areas of the park but could be cool.

3. Something maybe related to The Wild Hunt, like you have to escape them or something, no idea how you'd do it though.

Take all this with a grain of salt, slow day at work so I'm letting my mind run wild.

 

[cschnizer]

Am I the only one who thinks Verbolten is a modern take on the cliche of encountering the scary things in the woods beyond the safe and happy village?

 

[horsesboy]

Thought zi would share a humorous story. I had my brother visiting about 7 years ago and we went to BGW he had not rides Verbolten and we were sitting toward the back of the train. So we get to the drop track and I start messing around going of my God the launch didn't fire like it was supposed to launch forward and had him thinking it was stuck. Then of course the floor drops out I don't think I have ever heard anyone scream so loudly on the ride before or since.

 

[swimmerboy29]

Am I the only one who thinks Verbolten is a modern take on the cliche of encountering the scary things in the woods beyond the safe and happy village

That could be a super neat idea for HoS. Make the entirety of Oktoberfest into a scaretory called The Black Forest and make it look like it's been completely overtaken by the Black Forest. Scare actors dressed up as people looking like they've been overtaken(?) with vines and stuff and could also have werewolves and stuff.

 

[Coasternerd]

That could be a super neat idea for HoS. Make the entirety of Oktoberfest into a scaretory called The Black Forest and make it look like it's been completely overtaken by the Black Forest. Scare actors dressed up as people looking like they've been overtaken(?) with vines and stuff and could also have werewolves and stuff.

Get a Black Forest themee show inside the Festhaus with specialty food for HOS that has a warning saying you may be overtaken by the Black Forest if you stay too long… I’m liking this idea

 

[swimmerboy29]

I know the DarKastle replacement is pretty much confirmed to be a family coaster, but what about....

A shooting dark ride that ties in to Verbolten called Black Forest Blasters, where you take the role of paranormal investigators hired by Gunther and Gerta to clean up the Black Forest. Only problem is you would be effectively hunting wolves and that might present an issue.

 

[Icer]

Thought zi would share a humorous story. I had my brother visiting about 7 years ago and we went to BGW he had not rides Verbolten and we were sitting toward the back of the train. So we get to the drop track and I start messing around going of my God the launch didn't fire like it was supposed to launch forward and had him thinking it was stuck. Then of course the floor drops out I don't think I have ever heard anyone scream so loudly on the ride before or since.

I love doing this to first timers. I start panicking like "why are we stopping? why are we stopping?". Managed to get my one friend to unleash a terror scream similar to that time he fell to the ground at the end of Circo when the one clown bungee jumps down through the smoke. Verbolten's drop track is a stellar element for first timers and we often overlook just how amazing that indoor building is for new people, mainly because we know how great it used to be themed.

 

[andyb]

I love doing this to first timers. I start panicking like "why are we stopping? why are we stopping?". Managed to get my one friend to unleash a terror scream similar to that time he fell to the ground at the end of Circo when the one clown bungee jumps down through the smoke. Verbolten's drop track is a stellar element for first timers and we often overlook just how amazing that indoor building is for new people, mainly because we know how great it used to be themed.

It definitely got me a few weeks ago when I rode it for the first time. I'd even seen ride videos, and you can't tell, in the dark, that there's a drop!

 

[vacoasterfan229]

Ive realized lately that the finale has become very rough, especially on the blue train. It feels like the guide wheels are bouncing between the rails. Im starting to wish that this was built by Mack or Intamin.

 

[Icer]

Completely agree, I have felt that way for a few years now. That part is unacceptably rough and is only getting worse as the trains age, when it was glossy smooth at opening.

 

[panopticon31]

I still have no idea how the hell Zierer of all manufacturers got the nod to build Verbolten over.....literally anyone else.

 

[halfabee]

I noticed the weird endemic vibration issue just past the bridge drop within maybe a month or two of opening. All the trains had it. It was never glass smooth.

Surely it could have gotten worse since then, but it was never particularly great.