Busch Gardens Williamsburg

[DiogoJ42]

What the...

I'm sorry, did I read that right? It's going to me made by who?!?!?!?!?! Surely that's a joke, right? They may as well say Pinfari are building it! The only people who have any experience of this kind of thing are Intamin.

[captain]

[quote=""DiogoJ42""]They may as well say Pinfari are building it! The only people who have any experience of this kind of thing are Intamin.[/quote]
Hmmm I'm not sure. Intamin were the only ones to have built a wing-rider, but B&M came along, saw everything that was wrong with Intamin's and easily surpassed it. You could argue (and I definitely would) that the only accomplished part of Thirteen is the drop section, and it would be logical to assume they'd make BGW's, but having seen the prototype other companies can work on it and improve it.

Zierer also have some skill with launches, as seen on the highly-regarded =http://rcdb.com/3534.htmWicked at Lagoon. This has both a flat and a vertical launch, and whilst using similar trains to a Eurofighter, has lapbars.

Another thing to mention is that using a manufacturer like Zierer, who are likely to provide the track for cheaper than Intamin would have, is that more budget can be spent on theming, something that Thirteen pretty much failed at. Plus I'd expect this to have a pretty massive budget anyway.

[Nightfall]

Well obviously it's not going to be the Intamin style drop we imagined. Actually this is less surprising than it sounds. Zierer have been trying to break into the big coaster market for some time now. They managed to beat Gerstlauer to produce a Euro-Fighter with a lapbar (Wicked).



and Crossbow which is desperately trying to be more than a kids coaster.

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I guess this has been there big project since then. It looks like there trying everything they’ve got and for a big name like Busch to invest that must be something special.

[Rob L]

Wow wow wow wow! I can't say much more right now, that looks incredible! And I can't quite believe Zierer are making it, a very big more for them which no doubt they will fully embrace. I thought this has Intamin 2 coaster deal written all over it!

Now if only I could push back my trip to Busch by one year, damn missing out on big things by one year both times going to the US!

[DiogoJ42]

I seriously have doubts about this being a Zierer. Sounds to me like someone trying to wind up us geeks. Until we get some concrete proof, I'm putting my money on Intamin.

[monsterdan5]

Well if it looks anything like the plans, its going to be good :P

Giant hands? This could be an interesting theme...

[Sam]

[quote=""Rob""]And I can't quite believe Zierer are making it, a very big more for them which no doubt they will fully embrace. I thought this has Intamin 2 coaster deal written all over it![/quote]
To be fair, Zierer aren't quite as rubbish as everyone thinks they are. They collaborated with Schwarzkopf for Knightmare, Jetline and Lisebergbanananananana. Also they opened a really awesome Eurofighter style thing with two launches including a vertical launch!



So it seems like Zierer have randomly decided to MASSIVELY up their game, starting with Wicked at Lagoon and now this.

Oh yeah and it looks like we now have a name for the coaster, and I think it's an awesomely inventive name!

VERBOLTEN

[DiogoJ42]

Were it just launches, I could buy it. But it's the addition of the Th13teen style drop that makes me doubt it.

That said, I would be happy to be proven wrong.

EDIT:

Just found this POV Of Wicked. It looks and sounds a tad on the rough side, to say the least!

[AstroDan]

This could be Zierers own Blue Fire.

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[.Will]

Ooooh? This is an exciting project it is good to see another company getting a look in. Hopefully they can start to be a bigger producer of thrill rides and add some more spice to the market.

[Jonny.F]

After getting over the initial shock of reading it would be a Zierer, I'm really looking forward to seeing what this ride will be like. Seeing what Busch have pulled off recently with Manta and Cheetah Hunt (assuming its as good as it looks) I have every confidence that this will be a phenomenal experience. That drop also looks stunning. It really looks like it's Zierer's big break into the big market and it's great to see another manufacturer other than B&M and Intamin being used for these big projects (though I would like to have seen a Mack launcher). Love the name Verbolten too

Just another reason for me to want to visit one of the parks I most want to visit

[Blaze]

I laughed and thought it was a joke when I saw the title, but to be honest, Wicked looks superb, and their history with Anton means we should give them a chance, this could be their Blue Fire moment.

Looks amazing. Surely the dark section should be a finale though? Surely everything after that is going to be in the shadow of it? Thirteen's works because it's the finale, the ride builds up to it, but in this, it's right at the start.

That's my only concern, however, because it's looking great.

[seanyboyuk]

Maybe they have paid both companies to provide the launch and drop sections? Surely that cannot be out of the question?

Maybe the drop section will have a very fast launch built into it? With the hands themeing bit i cant see why in the ride youre going to be dragged down by a set of hands and then pushed out?

[Rob L]

I am able to "confirm" a few things about this coaster. Busch say that they do not yet have a name for the new coaster; it sounds like the name will be released once they have decided. They would not confirm the manufacturer however they have another one of the manufacturer's rides in the park so have worked with them before. This does point towards Zierer as the kids coaster in the park is a Zierer. The staff seem to be very excited about the project. Also our tour guide had heard of Thirteen and said they'd been talking about it not long ago, and another staff member commented on my Thirteen t-shirt saying he knew about it. More evidence that this will indeed have some kind of drop in the event building. I know we knew this already but just a bit more stuff.

On the train ride around the park you go past the construction site and they tell you a little bit about the coaster over the speakers. The event building is going to be huge; they have dug a very large rectangular hole and look ready to start putting in some footers soonish as there are markings on the ground. A lot of other site clearance has taken place.

I shall uploaded some photos I took of the site sometimes next week.

[themealgang]

All I am going to say is good luck to Zierer on this one (if it is them who are manufacturing the ride.)
Actually, I don't feel that they are complete fails or virgins when it comes to building big money thrill ride attractions. Everyone has seem to have drawn attention to Wicked at Lagoon, and someone did briefly mention the "Crossbow" that was their big attempt at a solid family coaster, but they did also design the "Star shape" attraction, which we all know when operated correctly, that ride can certainly deliver.

If this works out for them, I can clearly see them taking the same steps as Vekoma. Vekoma were (and still are to a certain extent) the market leaders in family coasters (and they know how to build them right ). What Vekoma then did was branch into the thrill market, and despite providing generally rough rides, they have learned from their mistakes by modifying the likes of their restraint design, and adding new thrill rides to their arsenal.

After riding Cheetah Hunt, I know that Busch know how to deliver a good, solid ride. They are certainly not stupid, and I am sure IF Zierer have been chosen, they will deliver.

[Rob L]

As not all of the leaked plans have been posted here I thought I would link to them for you all; they can been seen here.

Some of the different views from inside of the event building are very interesting! It goes up and down a fair bit in there, and although it's hard to say at this point one of the views does strongly suggest a Thirteen style drop. The track is 100% going to drop at the end of the event building network of track but whether is is just going to be a straightforward drop is yet to be seen. If you read the text on the first plan it can been seen that "blackout drop" is labelled , as well as UV effects, lightning effects, LED effects, tree near misses, vortex branches amongst other things that can't be seen. It looks like the event building is themed around the spirit of the forest. Certainly something to look forward to!

The theming also looks fantastic which is to be expected from Busch.

It is expected that they may be an announcement regarding the 2012 coaster soon after the delayed Mach Tower has opened and it may well open this coming weekend. An announcement will be very welcome.

[Rob L]

Busch will be making their announcement about this new coaster at 10.30am local time (3.30pm BST) on September 17th at their Pass Holders Appreciation Weekend.

[Sam]

[quote=""Rob""]Busch will be making their announcement about this new coaster at 10.30am local time (3.30pm BST) on September 17th at their Pass Holders Appreciation Weekend.[/quote]
In other words, prepare for the most hilarious coaster announcement since Th13teen!

Will it be streamed live anywhere?

[Rob L]

I'm not too sure if it is going to be streamed live anywhere but I shall post here if I see anything! If not I'm sure there will be a video of the announcement sometime after.

I actually think this is going to be very good, Busch are very excited about it!

[Rob L]

I am yet to see a video of the announcement however it has now been confirmed that this will indeed be called Verbolten and will have a top speed of 53mph.

A teaser video can also be seen here.

Hopefully there may be a few more things to post about soon.