As many of you know, a few months back, Busch Gardens Williamsburg annouced they would be removing their suspended coaster built by Arrow Dynamics after it’s 25th anniversary. The Big Bad Wolf operated for 25 years until September 7th, 2009. The following weekend, the queue line was boarded up, all signage had been removed, and the ride had been removed from the map.. like it was never there. For the remainder of the season, the ride remained dormant with little to no removal activity happening. Could this mean the ride was going to be saved?
We’ll know soon enough when Christmas Town begins.
IAAPA rolled around the corner shortly after the off season where an annoucement was made that The Big Bad Wolf was going to be moved to a roller coaster museaum. I doubt the ride will ever operate again, just for the fact that the ride was custom built to the landscape at Busch Gardens, but a piece of it will live on. I suppose a piece of track, and maybe a car from one of the trains will be found, and possibly a model of the ride along with information on the ride, settled snugly behind glass in a display case. Better than nothing, I guess.
I think I’m still in denial, really.
I’ve watched many rides get removed from theme parks due to low ridership or popularity. Sure, they become new rides. It’s heartbreaking just to see a new ride erecting in just a few months.. And to ride it for the first time is the most amazing feeling in the world. Imagine just the opposite.. Knowing you’re saying goodbye to an old friend for the last time, possibly never to see them again. Seeing something that was such a big part of my life go is completely heart breaking.
I remember the first time I rode The Big Bad Wolf.. I was small, but brave. My Mom and Dad bought a stuffed Wolf toy from the gift shop located next to the exit. I named him Wolfie. If I still had it, I’d probably be crying into his fur right now. I remember my last ride on The Big Bad Wolf.. It had just gotten dark.. Everyone on the train was howling in the darkness as the ride whipped us left and right. I remember telling myself in the past how much I hated this ride because it was rough and I constantly ask myself how I could say I hate a coaster. For my own sake, I’m a coaster-nerd! We sat out on the track for a few seconds waiting for the train in the station to depart.. I’ll hold those moments dear to my heart. I wish I was only dreaming and I’d wake up soon enough, but I pinch myself only to realize.. The Big Bad Wolf is gone.
Christmas Town is here, and there’s no hope. The removal process has begun.. and there’s not much left.
From what it looks like, mostly all of the track has been removed. The first and second lifts look like they are still intact, and that’s about it. There seem to be a few supports left that have not been removed, but everything else is pretty much gone. The drop over the Rhine River.. and next to the Oktoberfest/Italy Bridge has also been removed. It just looks so blank like it’s missing a piece of history. The station is still intact, with no track.. Gosh, does it look so glum and empty. I can just see all the happy families in line for the ride, but they’re not really there anymore.. Just in my head. This just breaks my heart.
I’ve never realized I was such a nerd until this very moment.. Yes, I miss the Big Bad Wolf. The Wolf will live on forever in my heart where it won’t be forgotten. It takes true dedicatation to be so passionate about a piece of machinery that cannot feel any kind of emotion what-so-ever. Lets remember the good times, shall we?
