I have actually heard this "rumor" from 3 separate sources. 2 of which are basically clueless types of folks who just heard through the grapevine that it was happening. So I was pretty skeptical. Then I heard the exact same rumor from someone that I know to be VERY connected and VERY reliable. And I can tell you that the folks down at TDO DO believe this rumor.
I have heard NOTHING about what attractions/ shops/ potter locals are to be included. I have heard that Sindbad is history. Don't know anything about Posiden's or Mythos.
And the timeline is that construction will start very soon (like right after the Holiday Season) and they are aiming for a Spring 2012 opening.
Oh, and this is just my guess but I am betting it is going to just be the area from the arch just past Fire Eaters Grill to the current Hogsmeade entry arch by the train. That way they could use the temp bridge to get around the area and they will use the older bridge to access TWWOHP during construction.
But please keep in mind as of yet this IS still just a rumor.
So Sinbad is history... haha, I actually found it hilarious. But if it does go for something better (*cough*Ministry of Magic battle stunt show*cough*), then so be it.
And whoa, I'd take this with a grain of salt, but construction may begin by the end of this year??? If so, I'd probably imagine some permits getting filed in mid to late November-early December.
It seems like three things have happened in the past week:
1. Yellow support beams have arrived on site with the green track on Tuesday. 2. Construction walls have expanded to the area next to Caravan Crossing on Monday (here is a pic of the area from BGTGuide back when they were doing surveying in January: http://www.bgtguide.com/bgt/images/stories/4.jpg). This is supposedly the area where the rumored figure-8 launch tower will go up. 3. Another teaser has been posted by BGT showing the launch tower (with the first trench). It goes in the first trench and goes under a highly-themed arch (where the first launch will be). It then goes through the second launch (or booster?) and into the tower, which goes through a figure-8. It then enters the second trench.
This looks like on heck of a development. I can't wait for the announcement! =D
Park News - (9/18/10) While Universal has other fish to fry, it hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from already lining up the rest of the Lost Continent area attractions to be scrapped in favor a Phase II expansion to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Personally I don’t really see this happening as a complete transformation as the rumors indicate, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see an additional attractions added down the line. Some of the more popular rumors going around that could come to light include changing the Sinbad stunt show into a Harry Potter themed live show and the transformation of the market into a Diagon Alley area, complete with a Gringots bank location. Universally (not a pun) everyone feels that Mythos will be left alone, but Poseidon’s Fury will eventually have to make way for something new. Could it be Potter based or perhaps something entirely unique? Time will tell…
From JungleSkip at Orlando United:
Okay, take this with a grain of salt, but a very reliable friend has said that a WWOHP Phase II is a guarantee, and he is very confident in the person who told him this.
But again, take this with salt, because I have no idea where he is getting it from.
From MuggleNet:
Just a few weeks ago we told you Universal is looking to expand the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park by taking over the existing Lost Continent area within the next two to three years.
Today we're seeing that a two to three year wait may actually be too long even for Universal. In a new survey sent to some guests who visited the park, Universal asks the following:
What if -- instead of expanding it -- we DOUBLED the size of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? How likely would you be to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter again within the next 12 months to visit a Wizarding World of Harry Potter that was twice as big with twice as much everything?
The options you can select are "Very Likely", "Likely", "Somewhat Likely", "Not Very Likely", and "Not at all Likely".
While this is by no means official confirmation of a sooner-rather-than-later expansion, it proves Universal is really considering doubling the park and wants to know if past guests would come back within just a year of their last visit.
It's also great to hear that Universal is thinking about more than a little expansion. Doubling the park's size would bring it to 40 acres. As always, we'll keep you updated! Thanks to Al for the graphic showing the survey question.
This should be interesting.
While I'd rather see the Lost Continent add more rides instead of tearing down, I'm all for a WWoHP Phase 2... and I'm also all for getting rid of Poseidon's Fury! Sure the effects/theming were decent (including the water vortex that returned), but the rest was kinda... meh...
The park has updated their “Big News” page to include information about the new attractions going into the park.
The new drop tower will be 250 ft. tall and named “Mach Tower”.
They also announce that they will be building a multi-launch coaster in 2012. It could be very similar to the coaster being built in Tampa that is set to open in 2011, which is common for the park to do when adding new attractions. The coaster in Tampa is said to be an Intamin with multiple launches and a high level of theming.
Stay tuned for more details as they become available. Follow us on Twitter and join us in the FORUMS to discuss this big news!
Update: The park took down the page giving confirmed information and has replaced it with the teaser video we’ve seen before. I was able to grab a screen shot before it went down, here it is:
So the drop tower will be called "Mäch Tower."
And the thing that interests me is a multi-launch coaster for 2012. Could a Cheetaka clone be on the way for Big Bad Wolf's footprint?
Remember that mysterious yellow B&M track at the Ohio Plant last year. I remember on the backside of those track pieces, it said "X-WORKS."
And that black B&M track which appeared in the plant in July also said "X-WORKS."
And some interesting theory was brought up by Ledgy at Theme Park Review:
Maybe it is this X-Works Track, but repainted. It could be that the B&M prototype wasn´t planned to build at gardaland first and they use now a different theme. For example, there was an announcement for Thorpe Park for 2010 in the past and now Merlin decided to built at first the Gardaland Project.
If this is true, this may finally solve the mystery of the yellow B&M track. And it seems that B&M might have been working on a 4D/WingRider design for years.
As some people say... sometimes the world does get weird...
Anyways, on the subject of Gardaland, X-Raptor's crown has arrived according to this pic by Danysan95 at TheParks (on September 6, 2010):
Still waiting for trains/vertical construction...
EDIT: Here's an article from Gardaland (translated by Google Language Tools):
Work continues to Gardaland: Once the first track and first columns for the massive and extreme roller coasters, novelty of the season 2011
They're coming the first track and first columns that will contribute to the majestic, impressive and extreme roller coasters, novelty of the 2011 season at Big Ben. You begin to reveal some characteristics on the track so that - remember him, covers an area of over 16 000 square meters - the equivalent of 60 tennis courts - a very large extent when you consider that Blue Tornado occupies 10 thousand, the equivalent of eight Olympic swimming pools!
The overall length of the route arriver to nearly 800 meters said Chris McCormack, Project Manager of Merlin Entertainments, project supervisor. The dramatic and extreme roller coaster, definitely much more fast adrenaline Blue Tornado, reach the top part 30 meters high with an inclination of 40 degrees above the ground path propose two reversals in head downwards, turns 90 and a series of exciting and special technical escamotages by literally leave you breathless
The manufacturer has already done to cut, weld and calendering over 1,500 meters of steel pipes of various sizes that will make the tracks, most of them heavy reaches 10,000 pounds! But much will total 76 items, the average length of 10 meters each, grouped together, to compose the entire path - continues McCormack. Over 10,000 bolts allow the assembly of the whole structure and to better understand the grandeur of creation, we can say that one component of pre-assembled, consisting of two main structural elements, reaches a total weight of 22,000 kg
Meanwhile, inside the park, the activities continue to involve the guests after the shocking discovery of a mysterious egg enormous, found a few days ago just inside the yard, continuing the frenzied activity in the mobile laboratory. Scientists are working tirelessly in mapping DNA, the object has features never seen before and not comparable with any genetic material so far known. A scan of the site in more depth revealed the presence of other eggs
The curiosity of the guests and fans of the Park can be met by surveillance camera (on site www.gardaland.it) that allows you to monitor periodically the area of the site and update on the progression of work as a countdown keeps track of time that separates us the first fast and wild ride on this incredible roller coaster.
I just came up with two scenarios as to what will happen with Rockit:
BEST CASE SCENARIO:
It just gets shut down for two months, while they get smoother trains without any flaws. And once the ride reopens (just before my Thanksgiving trip), Express will open with the ride.
WORST CASE SCENARIO (thought this is extremely doubtful you never know... but I hope this isn't the scenario):
Rockit ends up becoming the next Windjammer Surf Racers.
In case you don't know, Windjammer Surf Racers was a coaster at Knott's Berry Farm which had tons of problems (more than Rockit). It was known to many Knott's fanboys as a "mechanical nightmare." After years of operating, it closed and the park filed a lawsuit against the designer, TOGO, which led to the death of TOGO, as a company.
The ride was removed in 2001, and now the Xcelerator occupies that spot.
Personally, I take the BEST CASE SCENARIO if I were Universal. If they were to tear down Rockit, that will be just lazy of Universal, and the ride (despite all this) became a signature attraction and a favorite ride at USF to many (including myself). And the last thing the coaster world needs is the death of another coaster manufacturing company (Maurer).
Looks like it is finally confirmed... after nearly a year of speculation... I give you... Chang's new home and new look!
JACKSON — Six Flags Great Adventure plans to add a new, 15-story roller coaster to its stable of thrill rides.
The new ride will be named Green Lantern, after the DC Comics superhero, and will be the 12th roller coaster featured at the park, park officials said Wednesday.
The theme park plans on a public unveiling of Green Lantern in the spring, according to spokeswoman Angel Aristone. The opening of the coaster also will coincide with the release of a motion picture based on the Green Lantern comic book character.
Designing the structure will be the Swiss-based company Bolliger & Mabillard, an engineering consulting firm that specializes in coaster construction.
Bolliger & Mabillard also is responsible for designing roller coasters such as Nitro, Bizarro, Superman-Ultimate Flight and Batman the Ride--all featured attractions at Great Adventure, park president John Fitzgerald said.
"Six Flags is home to many of the biggest roller coasters in the world, and Green Lantern brings an all new dimension of thrills,'' Fitzgerald said in a statement.
Officials said Green Lantern will stand 154 feet tall and reach speeds of up to 63 mph.
The newest coaster will offer a 2 minute ride and will begin with a 45-degree vertical drop before rocketing riders through five inversions … including a 121-foot-tall loop, a 103-foot dive loop and a 72-foot inclined loop.
Six Flags Great Adventure is home to Kingda Ka, considered the tallest and one of the fastest coasters in the world.
Green Lantern will be located in the boardwalk section of the theme park, Aristone said.
Anyways, the colors look great! And the ride looks amazing with TWO TUNNELS!! =D
Cheetaka:
BGT continues to tease us with teaser videos... but this time, this one looks more exciting:
Someone made a Youtube video of a video they posted on the teaser site. From the looks of things... this looks like some of the POV of the coaster (from the second trench to the area before the former wet portion of Rhino Rally).
And if those colors are the official colors... that means "Yay!" for two green coasters! Seriously though, those colors look AWESOME! =D I also like how it gets close to the Skyride with those twisty-looking airtime hills! =D And the track... it looks like INTAMIN track (I am aware that Intamin was confirmed with the track piece, but I'm still in shock that I'm finally seeing an Intamin coaster in Florida). =D
Ratmead continues to excite us with cool BGT coaster pics:
These look to be from the second trench (at least I THINK that). These also seem to look like from the old wet portion of Rhino Rally.
In construction news, they've finally begun to dig the third trench (that goes under the path from Nairobi to Edge of Africa). See pics here:
And let me say, the Big Bad Wolf's removal last year was involved. It seems there will be an expansion involving both that area and the old Drachen Fire area. The expansion is rumored to include a drop tower (2011) and a new coaster (2012). And it seems like it will be announced TOMORROW.
Here's some reports from Screamscape for more info:
2011/2012 - Tower Ride / New Land / Flying Coaster - Rumor - (9/16/10) BGWFans has some new details about the upcoming announcement for the Williamsburg parks. In short, the drop tower is still coming, but will likely have a structure around the lower part of it like Dr. Doom in Florida. Catapult looks like it will be moved to New France, buildings revised, and coaster still on track for 2012. (9/8/10) I’ve been told that Busch Gardens Williamsburg will make an announcement about their big plans for the next two years at both BGW and Water Country USA on September 18th. (7/29/10) BGWFans has found the first group of numbered survey markings placed around the Katapult ride. As I’ve come to understand, numbered survey markings like this are actually the various control points that will surround the area to be surveyed… kind of a numbered sequence of markers that if you could connect the dots, you’d be able to draw an outline around the area where the construction will be taking place. Since some of the markings are inside the actual Katapult ride area, I’d guess that it is likely safe. (7/22/10) Busch Gardens Williamsburg has put in a building permit to the local county planning office for an expansion to Germany that will include new food buildings, walkways and “a major ride and ride locations”. You can read it yourself here. (7/11/10) Time to shake up the rumor mill… as we’ve been sent a new rumor about BGW’s next coaster project tentatively planned for 2012. According to our source the new coaster could actually come from a German company. I’m going to assume Schwartzkopf is still out of the picture, and they would likely avoid Maurer at this point given the troubles Universal has had with the Rockit coaster. This pretty much narrows things down to Mack and Gerstlauer. While Mack is mostly known for the Mouse coasters, they did make a big splash into the launched coaster market last year with Blue Fire, and their spinning coasters are very cool as well. Plus they have a long standing relationship with the Busch parks. While Gerstlauer hasn’t been used by the former Busch parks yet, their impressive Eurofighter line of coasters (launched and vertical lift hill varieties) have already proven to be very adaptable to highly themed environments as seen with Dollywood’s Mystery Mine and Hansa Park’s Curse of Novgorod. A highly themed indoor/outdoor ride like this would be a great fit into BGW’s already impressive coaster collection. (6/10/10) According to a report about the meeting BGW had with the local council about getting a waver to build their new drop tower ride, the park was granted their request. The few details given about the ride seemed to indicate that it may be placed on the old Big Bad Wolf site. Comments also mentioned at the meeting regarding noise issues and such seemed to indicate that the ride would not be fully enclosed either. (4/29/10) According to the local news Busch Gardens Williamsburg has applied for a height waver to build a new “tower” style attraction, “not to exceed 260 feet above ground level”. The plans suggest that the tower will be built in the Germany section of the park next to Der Wirbelwind swing ride. The funny thing is that I had first posted a rumor that an application for a height waver around 250 feet way back in January. And if you go back to a little over a year ago, we announced that one of Busch’s next two big thrill rides would indeed be a freestyle style drop tower ride. If the plans from one year ago remain the same, this new drop tower ride will actually be enclosed inside a dark castle themed structure, inspired by the Mystery Castle ride from Germany’s Phantasialand theme park. I’ve embedded a video below giving a unique, looking up from the ground, view of the Mystery Castle ride. This seems to offer a ride experience more like Disney’s Tower of Terror ride with speedy Up and Down movements along with special effects along the way. For comparison’s sake, the German ride is listed as being 65 meters tall, or 213 feet. The idea of adding drop tower ride at BGW isn’t new however, as various plans have been drawn up at different times over the past decade. The first plan I had heard of was way back in 1999 when the park was coming up with plans to retheme the Hastings area into Ireland for 2001. While the only ride that made the final cut for Ireland was Corkscrew Hill, the land was actually envisioned to have a massive new signature attraction at one point, a pair of S&S Space Shot towers with the lower halves enclosed within a Castle themed structure, with the tops half of the towers poking out from a pair of tall castle spires. If this sounds familiar to anyone who has visited Florida’s big theme parks, it should, because the concept was an admitted copy of the brand new (at the time) Dr. Doom FearFall towers at Islands of Adventure. As for this new version… I guess it’s finally time to see if the new owners are ready to build something as impressive as this could be, or if it will be stripped down in concept to be a more simply, plain and ordinary outdoor drop tower ride. More when we find out. (1/31/10) A Screamscape reader tells us that Busch Gardens Williamsburg may have applied for a 250 ft height waver for a future attraction at the park, likely for the 2011 season. Can anyone else confirm this? (1/25/10) One of our readers put together a little documentary video for everyone to enjoy entitled, “Say Goodbye to the Big Bad Wolf”. It was shot during a last second trip to the park to visit the Wolf one last time just days before it was to close down for good. (12/29/09) It seems BGW’s Christmas Town event was popular enough that not only will it return in 2010, but they’ve put out a sign to say that it will expand into Italy next year. Take a look over at Behind The Thrills. Now for the bad news as I’ve been told that there is no longer any trace of the Big Bad Wolf coaster as you can see in the pictures posted here. (12/4/09) A pic a friend gave me shows that the drop over the Rhine River is the only thing standing left from Big Bad Wolf. (12/1/09) Christmas Town starts. Now for some bad news, almost all of the Big Bad Wolf is gone. They have the second and first lifts, and the drop over Rhine River still intact, but no sign of anything else. Shame… (11/9/09) The Big Bad Wolf will get an exhibit. (9/9/09) A tribute video for the Big Bad Wolf has been posted to Coaster-Net. (9/8/09) From what I’ve been told Big Bad Wolf was pronounced dead at Busch Gardens Williamsburg last night at about 8:42pm. The lines were said to be fairly large on the last day until a spot of bad weather hit which ended up causing a good percentage of park guests to pack it in for the day early. Sunday seemed to also be a very good day for the Wolf with the average line length reported to be 60-90 minutes all day and the park extended hours to keep the Wolf running later into the night so everyone in line could get their final rides in the front row. According to one reader, the park was supposed to close at 9pm and the Wolf was running until 10:45pm on Sunday night. So sad… but I’m going to end this with a reader review of the Wolf’s final day. “I have been riding the Wolf faithfully since she opened in 1984, and like many thousands of fans, have been saddened at her retirement. I did, however, make the most of her final season, and have enjoyed a few dozen rides on her in the past 4 weeks. I was at Busch Gardens when the gates opened this morning with my 6 year old son, and we were among the first riders of the final day to go out of the station in her first run of the day. It was awesome, and though sad, it was also a great way to pay respects to a coaster legend. It was also neat to be amongst the hundreds of other riders who were there to say so long, many of whom were in vintage t-shirts and hats that dated back to the Wolf's heyday! We will all miss her and only hope that her replacement will be half as grand as she was. Goodbye Big Bad Wolf, and retire knowing that you have thrilled millions in your 25 years! We will all miss you!” (9/7/09) Today is supposed to be the last day for the Big Bad Wolf! Give her proper send off and for those of you who have bought the Save The Big Bad Wolf T-Shirts, lets see some pictures of you wearing them at the park! Sadly, it was already reported to me that the park has already removed the Wolf from their online park map. So sad… (9/3/09) BGW wants to remind everyone that you only have until this Friday at 3pm to put in your bids to be one of the final 24 riders on Big Bad Wolf. The money does go to a good charity, the Busch Wildlife Conservation Fund at least. Looks like the top bidder is a huge one, having bid $27,300 for just one seat. Umm… that’s more than all the rest of the bids put together…wow… for that you could have bought every seat on the train and had a private last ride. (9/1/09) According to the Bruce Wilson, the park’s Communication Supervisor, “anyone in line for The Big Bad Wolf prior to park closing will be able to ride. The last ride, however, will be reserved for the top 24 bidders in the auction.” So there you have it… and while I’d love to be there for the last ride myself, I’ve got to pity those who bought tickets to do so, as it could be a very very long wait for that privilege. (8/30/09) The countdown to Save the Big Bad Wolf is on… as the last day is set for Sept. 7th. If that wasn’t bad enough, the park is trying to take advantage of enthusiasts now and is going to auction off the last seats on the last ride ever. How sad and tacky… I was hoping we could see some kind of massive crowd of people on the last night, howling all the way, filling the queue to the point that they would have to keep the Wolf open for several hours after the park closes just to give everyone a last ride. Now they’re going to try and organize it into one final ride? I just don’t see how they can do that without knowing how long the line of legit riders is going to be unless they’re going to do something extra insulting and close off the line several hours before the park even closes, thus denying the regular park guests the chance to get a last night ride in. (8/13/09) Before it’s too late, I’ve summoned the aid of well-respected artist and coaster enthusiast JM Toussaint, to create a special T-Shirt design for our Save The Big Bad Wolf effort. JM Toussaint is a concept designer who, among other things, worked on the Dania Beach Hurricane at Boomers, the TransDemonium dark ride at Parc Asterix in France, The Cobra coaster at Admiral Vrungel's in Russia... He also created the RCDB logo and is currently working with the Dreamland Trust on plans to revive the legendary amusement park in Margate, UK. If I’m not mistaken, he is also the man responsible for nearly every cover of First Drop Magazine, the publication of the European Coaster Club. Now please do head over to PrintFection to check out our new official Screamscape Gear store where you can view our cute Wolfie T-Shirt design. I chose PrintFection to create the shirts after hearing some good reviews for them, and also the fact that they seemed to have reasonable prices, and allowed me to put these shirts up for sale with zero mark-up from myself. So just in case anyone is wondering, I’m not making a dime off these items, they are all being sold at PrintFection’s lowest cost. Pick up a shirt and wear it to the park to show your support and love for The Big Bad Wolf! (7/28/09) The About.com Theme Park page has posted a poll to get your opinion about the closing of the Big Bad Wolf. Meanwhile I’ve been told one of our readers make it on the air at a radio station in New York City to bring some attention to the closing of the Big Bad Wolf and our efforts to keep the coaster around for future generations. An online petition has just been started to Save The Big Bad Wolf so please do go and sign up. (7/25/09 - Updated) I’m afraid it is official now, Busch Gardens Williamsburg has come clean with their plans to rip apart the Big Bad Wolf. Even worse, according to their press release you only have until Labor Day (Sept. 7th) to ride it, so it won’t be open through Howl-O-Scream which is a shame as a night time ride through the woods in the dark is as big a part of Howl-O-Scream to me as the haunts themselves. It’s almost funny as they say they are making the announcement now so fans can get a last ride in, but they’re only giving you a little over a month’s notice and without Howl-O-Scream rides, I know there sure is no way I’m going to be able to make it back one last time to pay my respects. In the press release and new FAQ on the park’s website they keep saying that Big Bad Wolf has “reached the end of its service life” which is a bunch of crap. All rides need care, repair, and maintenance as they get older. The truth is that the Wolf is simply run out of “budget money.” It’s all bad timing as they want to build something nearby, want to create a better access pathway to former Drachen Fire site and with the economy the way it is, it’s just easier for them to deny the budget to make any needed preventative maintenance work. Knowing Busch Entertainment as I do, I’ve always said that Busch has been more than willing to pay top dollar to buy the best rides and coasters they can get their hands on. As the capital for these projects comes from the corporate office, they get approval nice and easy... but for some reason Busch never has a good budget to maintain things after the fact... and the older something gets, the harder it is to push a maintenance budget for anything through the red tape, department meetings, and so on. After all the budget needed to maintain and keep Big Bad Wolf running has to go up against other things... like kitchen upgrades, new gift shops, restaurants... you know... things that make money and give a quicker Return on Investment. So when the VPs all sit around and haggle over which projects will make the budget on any given year, you can pretty much count on the ‘operations’ and ‘entertainment’ side of things getting the shaft every time since they don’t directly bring in income like Food and Merchandise departments and don’t have the ears of the corporate masters like the HR and Marketing departments do. What almost makes this more insulting is that while they claim they have other ideas they are looking at for the Big Bad Wolf site in the future, they claim that those projects are far enough away that they haven’t been finalized yet. And yet... Big Bad Wolf has an “established timeline to dismantle this major attraction.” Sounds like they’ve had this in the works for some time to me! So why are they removing the Big Bad Wolf so early then? From what I’ve been told (off the record) it is because that when they do get around to announcing the unimpressive lackluster plan that is in place, they would rather have the Wolf be only a memory and a non-issue, rather than face the negative feedback from park guests. So I’ve got to ask everyone... are you willing to fight for the Big Bad Wolf? Then you’ve got to write in, call in, or visit guest relations and let them know just how upset you are about this. I’ve seen coasters come and go... but something about the Big Bad Wolf has always been special to me, and I don’t think that I’m alone. Frankly, I’d rather see the Loch Ness Monster sent to the scrap-pile long before Big Bad Wolf was ever touched. While Nessie is a bit unique itself... it is not nearly as unique or as amazing as the Big Bad Wolf is. Once the Wolf is gone there will only be 3 suspended coasters left in the USA (Ninja, Flight Deck and Iron Dragon). Internationally there is also the Vortex in Canada, Vampire in the UK(which was upgraded a few years ago with new floorless trains) and Eagle’s Fortress in South Korea. On a global level, only Eagle’s Fortress has been able to give the Wolf some competition as to which one is the best in the world. There are also a small handul of Vekoma made version of the same ride system such as Grampus Jet in Japan, Sky Coaster in Thailand and Dream Catcher in Europe, the later two were both upgraded to Floorless trains as well. I really think Busch Gardens is just “missing the boat” here and not trying to upgrade and save the Big Bad Wolf for the next 25 years. It’s just ironic that a park that is supposed to care about “preservation” and protecting “endangered species” has been so quick to sentence one of the most rare coaster designs in the world to an early death after only 25 years. The marketing folks just can’t see the value is reinventing this classic ride for another 25 years and the bean-counters are all too quick to deny the budget for it so they can pay off InBev’s debt from the purcahse of Anheuser-Busch. To be honest... had InBev never come knocking at Busch’s door with their take-over, I don’t think that this would be happening right now. Here is the official press release from the park... read it and weep. I did... WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (July 24, 2009) – After 25 years traveling at the speed of fright, The Big Bad Wolf will take its last trip through Busch Gardens’ Bavarian village Sept. 7. “We hate to see The Big Bad Wolf go,” said John Reilly, Busch Gardens’ general manager. “We realize The Big Bad Wolf is a guest favorite. We’re making the announcement now so coaster fans can ride one last time before it closes after Labor Day.” The world’s first suspended roller coaster took coaster design to a new level when it opened in 1984. And while it cannot claim to be the fastest or the tallest, more than 29 million guests have ridden what has become one of the park’s most beloved thrill attractions. Legions of fans—young and old alike—often cite it as their introduction to the coaster experience. “The Big Bad Wolf offers a thrilling ride experience coupled with aggressive ride dynamics. While it remains a safe attraction, it has simply reached the end of its service life,” said Larry Giles, Busch Gardens’ vice president of engineering and design. Park officials are reviewing several design concepts for a new park attraction to replace The Big Bad Wolf, but no announcement is planned at this time. (7/14/09) A few of you have already send off comments to the park in support of saving the Big Bad Wolf however it seems that the park has already drawn up a general reply letter where they give off the same line that we’ve heard before, “While the park's management appreciates your comment, the company has a long-held policy against commenting on rumors or speculation concerning future park attractions.” Keep it up for now though... the battle isn’t going to be won in a day. I came up with a new idea today, one that was also suggested by a reader as well, that we come up with some kind of T-shirt design for the enthusiast crowd to wear into the park that clearly says something about saving The Big Bad Wolf as a way to let the general public know about the park’s plans to remove this world class coaster. The park can see fit to blow off enthusiast claims to keep the ride as a “minority opinion” but if we can bring this news to the attention of the rest of the park guests who will also complain, there may be a chance we can Save The Wolf! Meanwhile one source claims that the public outcry that started earlier this summer over the leaked plans to remove the Wolf may have been enough to ensure it returns for the 2010 season, but the plans to remove it are still alive and well. I think they failed to understand how much people loved this coaster, on top of the higher upkeep costs involved with a coaster of this age. After 25 years of operation, the ride’s systems could use some upgrades and the trains are also nearing the end of their life span and need replacing. Instead of embracing the opportunity to buy new “open body” style trains that would increase the thrill of the ride as well as increase the rider’s visibility, they are instead opting to drag the old girl off into the woods on a date with a shotgun which is just sad beyond words. (7/13/09) Bad news for the Big Bad Wolf this week. Ever since we brought the story to light to the greater public that Busch Gardens Williamsburg was possibly seeking to remove their most popular family coaster, The Big Bad Wolf, the park and all rumors about it went dead silent. All attempt to find out more information about this over the past month have been met with a brick wall… as no one associated with the park is willing to talk about it either way. In fact… no one wants to talk about the Wolf at all, which is concerning as this summer is the Big Bad Wolf’s 25th Anniversary… (1984 – 2009) and yet the park jumped at the opportunity to hail the Loch Ness Monster’s 30th Anniversary last summer. If your luck enough at all to get a question about the future of the Big Bad Wolf off to someone who might be “in the know”, about all anyone has gotten so far is the standard “I can’t comment about future blah blah blah…” Of course as I’ve said for years, when it comes to situations like this, it’s not always what they say that matters, but sometimes what they are not saying matters just as much. If you were to ask one of the members of management if a rumor that they were going to remove Griffon next year were true, they would surely short and tell you that was complete hogwash. And yet no one is reacting that way to the rumors of The Big Bad Wolf’s demise. I know sometime that a particular ride’s time has come… and it’s removal while sad was just a matter of time, but I don’t believe that this is the Big Bad Wolf’s time at all. If you visit the park, be sure to stop by guest relations (or e-mail them) and tell them how much you enjoy riding it. How having the Big Bad Wolf has really made every trip to Busch Gardens special for you and your family. Tell them how much your kids loving being able to ride it, as it was the only major family friendly coaster in the entire park. Let them know you care and how upset you would be if they removed it… because once the Wolf is gone… it’s gone forever. It was custom built to take advantage of the park’s terrain and there is no way it will ever be moved to a new location. Surely there has got to be a way to keep the coaster and build whatever expansion plans they have for the former Drachen Fire location. To hell with the three little pigs… save The Big Bad Wolf! (6/1/09) For the past week or so I’ve been trying to track down any solid leads to a very disturbing rumor about a popular ride that could be leaving the Williamsburg Park... and so far I’ve only met with silence. I’m not convinced this rumor is true so I’m going to keep digging until I find out more, but on the off chance that it is true, I feel everyone deserves a fair warning so you can start planning a trip to get your possible last ride in. That said, the nasty rumor buzzing around the park is that this could be the last season for the Big Bad Wolf. While the coaster certainly isn’t as popular as it’s bigger and newer B&M cousins, Big Bad Wolf is still a very popular ride. On top of having a most interesting pedigree as a ride that started out under Schwarzkopf and ended as an Arrow Suspended Big Bad Wolf is generally considered to be the very best Suspended coaster ever created anywhere. For those reasons alone, I find it shocking that Busch Gardens would even consider removing this coaster, on top of the simply fact that Big Bad Wolf is the only true full scale Family Coaster they have in the park with a height limit of only 42 inches, compared with 48” for Nessie and 54” for Apollo, Alpengeist or Griffon. Personally, I know I was able to use Big Bad Wolf as a great transition coaster for my oldest son as he moved up away from the kiddie coasters and was ready to try something bigger but wasn’t 48” yet. Big Bad Wolf was the perfect kid, as a full scale awesome ride and I just can’t believe they would be so dumb as to remove it only to make room for a new access pathway to provide better access into the former Drachen Fire area for the rumored new land. There has got to be a way to keep the Wolf and add the new land, so I can only hope that this rumor is wrong wrong wrong... please let it be wrong. They wouldn’t dare... would they? (4/16/09) Our spies tell us that the park still has big expansion plans on deck to add a new land to the park, taking over the former site of Drachen Fire. The unfortunate side of things is that many of Busch’s big plans were put on hold when InBev took over the company, so there is no telling if this plan is still moving forward or just on hold for the moment. Either way, it seems that the multi-year plan to build an entirely new country (Spain is the most likley) in still very solid. It’s all a matter of “when” and not “if” at this point from what I’m told. In addition to adding a new train station to service this area on the line, we’ve heard about two major new attractions that will also be fighting for your attention. One would be the chain’s second B&M Flying coaster, where the design will be based on what they’re learning from Manta right now. Like many of the rides in Williamsburg, I’d expect this one to be an even bigger and longer coaster than what we’ve seen from Manta already, and given the location, I can help but wonder just how close some of it may some to Big Bad Wolf, or perhaps even diving down close to the river. The second big attraction being talked about would be actually something unique for the Busch parks, their first true “freefall” style tower ride. However don’t expect to see another Drop Zone style tower or something as basic as that. From the sound of things, they want to keep the entire experience INDOORS... offering an experience more like Mystery Castle from Phantasialand in Germany. Since this is a multi-year project, let’s assume the plan is to build up the land in complete phases, so expect one new ride with each phase if everything gets approved. (10/30/07) The latest whisper on the wind in Williamsburg indicates that there may be a possible multi-year plans to add a new country at Busch Gardens Europe. A multi-year build plan is very likely as we’ve seen Busch do with SeaWorld Florida’s Waterfront area. Over the years different counties have been mentions as possible future projects, but some say that they’ve heard Spain mentioned specifically as a primary choice in the past. As I recall, the park currently has an old England area, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy… so there are still other options as well such as Greece. (10/24/07) We’ve heard an interesting rumor for Busch Gardens Europe today that gives us a good location to watch for the park’s next big expansion in 2009 and possibly beyond. In short, we’ve been told to keep our eyes open for a possible fourth train station to be added to the line, this time in the German area of the park. Things get interesting when you realize that the best place to put down a new train depot in Germany would be back along the existing tracks near the old Drachen Fire spot, which is a fairly large and undeveloped area currently being used for the three back-to-back Never After haunt experiences. Given the massive size of this area alone, it could be used for anything from a massive new coaster to a large new themed land. Of course the bigger the size of the development, the bigger the chance that this could become a project that will take more than one year to build out, so 2009 may just be the beginning.
BTW, some reports I added/edited the quote, because of its involvement with the expansion (I forgot what was quoted, and that's why I edited).
As for the coaster, I have this strange feeling that it could be one of these possibilities:
CHEETAKA CLONE:
Usually when BGT adds a new coaster, BGW adds something similar (Montu to Alpengeist, SheiKra to Griffon). I have this feeling that they may clone Cheetaka if it is successful.
But say that tradition is broken (Blackstone ownership), then there's always...
B&M Flying Coaster:
If you look at an early report, it seems like one of the possibilities of a new coaster is a B&M Flying Coaster that swoops down the Rhine River (with the design based on Manta). That's why I think it's possible.
MACK Launch:
Now this one is one I hope comes true (or the B&M Flyer/Cheetaka clone rumor). I rode Blue Fire at Europa Park last summer, and it was EPIC!
Gerstlauer Eurofighter:
I haven't been on an Eurofighter yet, but they DO look cool.
So who knows what coaster? But I do know that it will most likely take over the old Big Bad Wolf spot (from an article).
ORLANDO, Fla. -- One of Universal Orlando's most popular rides has been closed for days. WFTV spent Friday working to find out if Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit's closure is because the manufacturer issued a service bulletin (read it) about one of the ride's parts.
A Universal spokesman told WFTV the roller coaster's closed due to maintenance.
The ride is a wildly-popular roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, but for three days it has gone nowhere.
"What happened when you got up there and you couldn't go on it?" WFTV reporter Ryan Hughes asked a park guest Friday.
"We were leaving, it was closed, that sort of thing. Go on to a new ride," the guest said.
Universal officials cited maintenance as the reason for the closure, but it comes in the midst of a recall involving one of the ride's parts.
The ride's manufacturer says the coupling bars on the coaster's vehicles can become loose over time; they're used to keep the rider inside the car.
Universal spokesman Tom Schroder insisted that is not the reason why the roller coaster is closed. In a statement to WFTV, he wrote, "We are obsessive about safety. We have aggressive inspection and safety programs in place for all our rides and attractions. Those programs meet or exceed all manufacturer guidelines. Anything in a September 2nd manufacturer’s advisory would have been dealt with weeks ago. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is temporarily closed for unrelated maintenance."
Schroder would not confirm if the ride had the defect in the past, but chatter on Internet blogs indicates it could have something to do with the shut down.
The service bulletin, issued by Maurer Söhne on September 2, 2010, identifies issues with "the coupling bar of our X-Car vehicle." According to the bulletin, the company will have to revise the design of the coupling bar and the "repair solution or new design will be available in approx. 2-3 months."
The bulletin was very specific that operation of rides using Maurer Söhne's X-Car Coaster must immediately stop.
"Any operation of the Sky Loop or X-Car Coaster with tandem train must be immediately and strictly stopped until the examination has been evaluated!" the company wrote in the service bulletin.
Rip Ride Rockit opened in August 2009. It's considered an "X-Car Coaster" that was designed by Maurer Söhne, who at the time it opened called it the largest roller coaster of its kind in the world.
Visitors were turned away at the entrance to the roller coaster Friday. A spokesman told WFTV rides are inspected every day at Universal and closures are common. He added that the theme park is obsessive about safety.
A ride attendant told WFTV reporter Ryan Hughes the roller coaster will be closed until further notice.
AHHH!!! Okay... these problems are giving me an awful headache! I had a nightmare at one time (took place in the future): I was visiting Universal and I noticed they were tearing the ride down. I really don't want that to happen because of this!!!!
Okay, so recently, what's been going on at Six Flags Great Adventure?
August 25, 2010 - One of the trains from Riddler's Revenge has arrived in the backstage area by Nitro (the park's B&M hypercoaster).
August 26, 2010 - One of Chang's trains has appeared behind the Fly Me To the Moon theater.
September 3, 2010 - Chang's lift motor has appeared in the backstage area by Nitro. GASM's lift hill is gone.
September 11, 2010 - A holding area has been made by Kingda Ka for track. A spiral staircase has appeared in the construction site (from the block brake portion). A new generator is placed in the employee parking lot.
The loop and some of the drop from GASM remains.
And from Screamscape:
Park News - (8/27/10) From what I’m hearing, Riddler’s Revenge may have been missing it’s 3rd train for months now, as a source in the Chicago area reported seeing it at SFGAm along with Chang’s two trains last Spring. These trains are now being moved to New Jersey for SFGAdv. That’s all fine and dandy for the new “Chang Lantern” coaster there, but will Riddler be getting a replacement train at The Mountain anytime soon?
2011 - Chang / Green Lantern - Semi-Confirmed - (8/27/10) From what I’m hearing, Riddler’s Revenge may have been missing it’s 3rd train for months now, as a source in the Chicago area reported seeing it at SFGAm along with Chang’s two trains last Spring. These trains are now being moved to New Jersey for SFGAdv. That’s all fine and dandy for the new “Chang Lantern” coaster there, but will Riddler be getting a replacement train at The Mountain anytime soon? Also, a new update on CoasterFusion shows off one of Chang’s trains having just arrived on site. While the restraints certainly look new, I have to disagree with their assessment about the paint job. It doesn’t look new to me… just cleaned. (8/26/10) CoasterFusion has posted a pair of pictures showing off a trains for Chang that has arrived at the park, but something isn’t quite right. From the look of it, the train may actually have been borrowed from Riddler’s Revenge at SF Magic Mountain. Anyone know if Riddler is currently missing a train? (According to a quick request on Twitter, a reader report sthat they did notice only 2 trains on Riddler the other day.) On a side note, I was informed long ago that when Chang was moved to it’s new park, they were wanting to obtain a 3rd train for it. I had assumed they were looking for a new one, but perhaps they went for a used one. Chang’s trains also only had 7 rows per train, compared to the standard 8 cars per train normally used, and from what I’m told, there are only 7 cars on site.
Check out what BGT posted on their Facebook on Friday:
It's Friday, and we at BG feel like having a little fun with our Fans this afternoon. How about a photo shared with us from the team working on our 2011 Attraction?
Is that track in the making???? That Intamin box track looks beautiful! =D
Anyways, I have this feeling that we could be seeing some of these appear in the Adventure Island water park's overflow lot (where SheiKra's track was stored) in the coming weeks...
2011 - B&M Coaster - Rumor - (9/10/10) Heide Park hints a bit more about their new Dive Machine coming next year, which will apparently have a Pirate theme to it. According to one source, the trains will be narrower and likely seat only 6 across. The trains will be either 3 or 4 rows long, depending on who you ask. Going along with the Pirate theme, I’m told that the big first drop may fall into the middle of a shipwreck and offer up some great themeing all around. (9/7/10) According to an older posting at Tips-n-Pics, Heide Park confirmed that the new coaster would be a B&M Dive Machine, with the themeing coming from John Wardely. It’s also been mentioned here that the new coaster will actually feature a vertical dive of just 40 meters (131 feet) along with an Immelman and splash-down effect. Based on the regular sized track on site along with this bit of information, I’m betting we may be seeing B&M’s first Junior Dive Machine. I wonder if they’ll come up with a smaller version of Dive Machine trains for it or just use regular Floorless trains. More as we find out. (9/3/10) According to a reader who claims to be somewhat of a B&M track expert, the B&M track on site at Heide Park does not appear to be standard Dive Machine track to them. Looking it over again, I’ve got to agree… that track should not be for a Dive Machine at all. So I’ve got to wonder, just what are they working on?
Yay for B&M's first Junior Dive Machine! I was hoping it would be bigger... but IMO anything Dive Machine-related is exciting to me.
I found some concept art for Project 2011 at BGT (which WILL be called Cheetaka) in Orlando United (from Ratmead):
The first one shows what looks to be a rock statue of a cheetah.
The second one shows a warning sign for the coaster (which may be in the queue).
The third one shows the entrance of the coaster (which WILL be called Cheetaka) which seems to take over the current Skyride entrance, with the Skyride entrance rerouted to the right.
The fourth one shows a walkway to the Crown Colony restaurant. Here's a quote from Ratmead at Orlando United:
It will still be there, but they are changing the side that faces Cheetaka a bit. The stairs will be gone and they are making a pathway up to the doors, and it looks like there will be some outside seating.
The fifth one shows the first trench with Cheetaka's track. From the looks of it, even the support beams will be themed.
The sixth one... while you might not see it... it's actually support beams for the launch tower, which will be themed as well.
The seventh one shows a new entrance arch for the Crown Colony area (by Caravan Crossing).
The last one shows the station and some of the queue, which won't be as long as I thought.
And here's some plans (the description is in the order of the pics):
1. First Launch/Cheetah Exhibit
2. Intamin Box Track
3. Pond after the Second Trench
4. Profile of the Second Trench
5. The theming around the first portion of the coaster
This is SOOOOOOO exciting!!!! =D Now I can't wait... BGT make that dang announcement already! We all want it!
Or at least give us track...
UPDATE: Here's a site for the pics I found (Kraken&Manta PM'd me in OU):
2012 - Project: 18 - In Development - (9/2/10) Lots of rumors are starting to float in about just what Project: 18 may really be. Unfortunately they are running wild… talking about everything from a full blown B&M Dive Machine to unique medium sized coaster oddities like a ZacSpin or S&S El Loco. Of course the one theme most rumors have in common is that whatever it is, it should feature vertical or beyond-vertical drop(s).
2012 - Project: 18 - In Development - (9/1/10) I’m hearing that Project: 18 is alive and well… and prepared to transform the Gotham area of the park for 2012 by adding something unique. Not a lot is known yet… only that I’ve been told that it will not disappoint. Why? Because the new management knows that not only is the SoCal market perhaps their most difficult to please market due to the heavy competition from Universal, Knott’s, Legoland, SeaWorld and Disney, but the locals have also come to expect huge mindblowing projects from this park on a regular basis.
"Something unique"... "will not disappoint"... Sounds very interesting!
Can anyone say "Joker-themed B&M Dive Machine with a new layout"???? =D
My name is Kyle and I am a University of Central Florida alumnus in Digital Media. I have been a long-time roller coaster/park enthusiast; however I used to be afraid of coasters. That all changed after I rode Dragon Challenge for the first time in 2006 (RIP) on the Ice/Hungarian Horntail side. Since then, it's been upward from here; fast forward to today, and I've ridden some of the tallest and fastest coasters in the world. I've also visited parks throughout North America and Europe. And I'm not done yet; in fact, I intend to design a theme park myself!
