What Will Be the Next Coaster Removed From BGW?

[wombat96]

Something really interesting about the BGW roller coaster line-up is that only one addition is still operating from the era before 1997, Loch Ness Monster. The other eight coasters that reside in the park opened after that and are still operating to this day. We've seen various Roller Coasters removed over the years with the last being the Big Bad Wolf in 2009 as it had reached the end of the service life. With Pantheon opening this year and another massive roller coaster rumored to open in the next 2-3 years, will the line-up stay the same? Or will the park remove another coaster? While it seems unlikely given the young age of many of the currently operating roller coasters at the park, and how they each serve their own unique role, it does seem likely to expect a coaster to be removed within the next decade. While I would hate to see any coasters removed from the park, apart from Tempesto, it is fun to speculate on how the roller coaster line-up may change in the near future.

I'll start off with a rather odd choice, Alpengeist. Based on the gradual slowing down of the MCBR over the years and supposed structural issues from being in the ravine, it seems likely this B&M Invert could be a prime candidate for removal depending on how these problems progress.

 

[The Quist]

After losing Darkastle and BBW, I hate to think of any of them not being there. I don't think Apollo's or Loch Ness are even on the table as they are so iconic, however I would have said the same for BBW. Given that Larry Giles himself even said they didn't have to get rid of it to build Verbolten, I'm not sure legacy is something they even care about. Alpengeist does seem like the obvious choice for first to go but it would definitely leave a large void in the scenery and experience altogether.

 

[halfabee]

I have no idea what might leave next... but I find it interesting that so incredibly few B&M installations have been completely removed over the years. There have been relocations, rider-experience reconfigurations, and even the total rebuild of an existing layout, but the scrapping of a B&M ride system is extremely rare. Yes, we'll see more over time, as tastes change and the ages of their older installations continue to grow. And as a standalone company they're only slightly older than a typical new-ride service life in the first place. But it is remarkable nonetheless.

...So I would hate to see a ride like Alpengeist be among the first handful of B&Ms to disappear. It's a great ride, and also an absolute engineering marvel among its peers for terrain usage, odd-plot layout design, and sheer size. Only B&M could have created that ride at the time the park needed it, and it remains a useful part of the park's ride lineup.

 

[SLC Headache]

Alpengeist: Seconding the worries of this being next to leave, because of the condition and because it doesn't even seem to have a photo booth any more. I hope this gets the Hulk treatment (maybe a bit of a reprofile) and doesn't join Volcano in the park in the sky.
Tempesto: Low capacity = low ridership. It had the back-and-forth launch as its unique feature, and Pantheon does that but is a much more fleshed-out experience. But it takes up pretty much no space.
Loch Ness Monster: Aging very gracefully, and a park icon. Unless the park gets some hotshot (or worse, corner-cutting) new management and feels the need to "revitalize" the area.
Verbolten: Much as I resent this ride's existence, I have to admit it's probably going to be around a long while. It has excellent capacity, seems to be very reliable, and is a crowd-pleaser. That said, I could see it going the way of DarKastle if the show building further deteriorates.

I'm reminded of this video which asked the same question.

 

[warfelg]

Honestly, the only answer here is Alpie.

Griffin - Can chew through lines quickly, takes up a small footprint that would be hard to repeat, Still in good shape.
InVadr - Too new, only woodie.
LNM - Nessie isn't going anywhere with the investment of new trains.
Apollo - He (fun fact, only coaster I call a he) just got a major investment.
Tempesto - Won't be replaced by a coaster, small footprint, and recent addition.
Verbolten - Big investment, can shew through lines, unique elements, should be next on the block for investments.

 

[UncleDuncan]

Alpie is the obvious answer but it should be LNM.

 

[Jonesta6]

The B&Ms are likely to stay the longest after the precedent still held by Nessie, I think Alpie will stick around for quite some time with maybe some renovations that may require some extra down-time - I'd argue it too is a park icon.

Btw, @SLC Headache the photo booth element on Alpie has been gone for well over a decade, likely due to a mix of low revenues and the difficulty of getting good shots of riders in the middle seats. I think that's a poor predictor of a ride's shelf life.

Honestly, though I know I don't think it's a good idea at all, I think the next thing we'll see removed will not be a coaster but one of the water rides (not Le Scoot given the relatively recent full renovation), or removing some of the theater/simulator space in Ireland to do something there (again, not a fan of the idea for how much of the immersion that would ruin).

 

[SLC Headache]

Honestly, though I know I don't think it's a good idea at all, I think the next thing we'll see removed will not be a coaster but one of the water rides (not Le Scoot given the relatively recent full renovation), or removing some of the theater/simulator space in Ireland to do something there (again, not a fan of the idea for how much of the immersion that would ruin).

Escape from Pompeii is as iconic as the coasters. Removing Roman Rapids, on the other hand, would open up expansion.

 

[UncleDuncan]

I feel like the term "iconic" is approaching "classy" levels of ambiguity.

 

[Jonesta6]

Escape from Pompeii is as iconic as the coasters. Removing Roman Rapids, on the other hand, would open up expansion.

I thought there was a ride systems reno on EfP recently as part of the renewed relations with Intamin. But if the park deems it too costly to continue operating, I can see them scrapping it and possibly reusing some of the facade for whatever's next.

The problem with opening expansion using the space taken by RR is that it's still going to remain a dead-end unless there become plans to connect to the DF area - the only way I can see them being able to do that is a renovation on the train trestle that expands it wide enough for either a walking path or a new transport ride (monorail?)... Which would be highly unlikely given the cost and the right of ways needed on both sides near the train tracks.

 

[rswashdc]

Assuming all the current rides are in good structural condition, I could see Pantheon as the first to go. While it's going to be a popular ride, I can see it being a major challenge to keep operational on a regular basis which is going to cause negative perceptions (e.g. multiple mid-course evacuations is going to draw negative press). Pantheon reminds me so much of Hypersonic and Top Thrill Dragster in terms of requirements to safely operate that at some point I could see the park just decide to cut its losses and put in a simpler, more reliable ride.

 

[ludmarco]

Even though LNM is pretty old, the park likes to brag about how it was the “first coaster with two interlocking loops.” I definitely agree that it would be Alpie, though it would be sad to see it go! Maybe BGW could just replace it with a ”new and improved” version? Same track, same theme, but new construction?

 

[UncleDuncan]

Even though LNM is pretty old, the park likes to brag about how it was the “first coaster with two interlocking loops.” I definitely agree that it would be Alpie, though it would be sad to see it go! Maybe BGW could just replace it with a ”new and improved” version? Same track, same theme, but new construction?

"Sad"

 

[Jonesta6]

Going against what I mentioned earlier that I don't think Alpie or Le Scoot are going anywhere, I could see a possibility of both being pulled and a terrain coaster installed using their land (save the trees!).

It seems to me that they would have a tough sell if they were to try to get height waivers for that plot of land given that KM is really close to it compared to the rides in Festa. Not saying it's impossible, but I think it'll be quite awhile before they're interested in filing that kind of paperwork again outside of 2022.

 

[halfabee]

Pantheon reminds me so much of Hypersonic and Top Thrill Dragster in terms of requirements to safely operate that at some point I could see the park just decide to cut its losses and put in a simpler, more reliable ride.

While Intamin doesn't have the best reliability record, those other two systems are/were VERY different and use(d) totally different, comparatively less developed tech. Hypersonic was literally S&S's very first coaster.

 

[rswashdc]

While Intamin doesn't have the best reliability record, those other two systems are/were VERY different and use(d) totally different, comparatively less developed tech. Hypersonic was literally S&S's very first coaster.

The day Pantheon opens it will most likely be the least reliable coaster in the park, ergo it's the one most likely to be removed next. While Pantheon's tech isn't entirely new, it is more complex than any other coaster at BGW and doesn't have a great reliability record.

 

[halfabee]

The day Pantheon opens it will most likely be the least reliable coaster in the park, ergo it's the one most likely to be removed next.

Not to make too much of this, but Alpengeist was the least reliable coaster in the park the day it opened. I was there that spring as it went up and down again and again. Typically a reliable B&M ride system, but beset by more than its share of issues initially. So maybe Alp is first to go, if that's our metric.

Verbolten had its problems at first, and also was the most complex coaster at BGW upon opening. Zierer didn't exactly have a long track record of successful implementations at VB's scale, another similarity to Pantheon, meaning (unlike with B&M) there was no reason to really expect high innate reliability after an initial shakedown. So maybe it's next to leave the park.

I certainly won't defend Intamin's record on reliability, but maybe it's best to wait for a ride to open and operate for a while before keying our ergos off of exactly one predictor (among several) of long term longevity.

 

[Jonesta6]

While you may be true about complexity for BGW, just think that Hagrid's uses a similar set of technologies plus a few not coming to BGW (no slow set scenes, drop track, or extreme amount of trains/blocks, motorbike cars... Not sure about the RFID seat check verification) and while it had its bugs for the first few months a lot of that was due to being the first with the technology (fast switch track) and all of the crazy things IOA wanted before the ride system was completely proven.

Now that Intamin has gotten Hagrid's to be much more reliable, there's a good chance they've taken what they've learned from it into the Pantheon ride system (including making adjustments to already fabricated or installed components). So while it'll probably have it's first year bugs, I doubt it will be completely unreliable the way you're implying @rswashdc.

Tbf, they did stop operating DF relatively soon after opening, but that was more because Arrow wasn't up to handling B&M's design.

 

[UncleDuncan]

While you may be true about complexity for BGW, just think that Hagrid's uses a similar set of technologies plus a few not coming to BGW (no slow set scenes, drop track, or extreme amount of trains/blocks, motorbike cars...

Spoilers :-/

 

[rswashdc]

While you may be true about complexity for BGW, just think that Hagrid's uses a similar set of technologies plus a few not coming to BGW (no slow set scenes, drop track, or extreme amount of trains/blocks, motorbike cars... Not sure about the RFID seat check verification) and while it had its bugs for the first few months a lot of that was due to being the first with the technology (fast switch track) and all of the crazy things IOA wanted before the ride system was completely proven.

Now that Intamin has gotten Hagrid's to be much more reliable, there's a good chance they've taken what they've learned from it into the Pantheon ride system (including making adjustments to already fabricated or installed components). So while it'll probably have it's first year bugs, I doubt it will be completely unreliable the way you're implying @rswashdc.

Tbf, they did stop operating DF relatively soon after opening, but that was more because Arrow wasn't up to handling B&M's design.

Biggest difference with Hagrid's is Pantheon is putting a multi-launch right behind the fast switch, so anything goes wrong or trips, the train is going to be stopped out there in the mid-course. If it can re-launch from there, that's great, otherwise it's going to be an evac every time.