September of 2010 Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced the biggest expansion to date with an all new ride in 2011, two new water slides at neighboring Water Country USA, and a complete retheme of the Germany area of the park. However, it was the announcement for 2012 that really got everyone salivating. An all new coaster is going in the area that was once occupied by legendary coaster, Big Bad Wolf. Nothing else was said, leaving everyone chomping at the bit wondering what new beast will be taking place of the once legendary Wolf.
Earlier this week Busch Gardens released an all new survey asking what they thought of four names for their new attraction coming to the park in 2012.
“See if you can brave the Black Forest on Busch Garden’s all-new roller coaster in the Germany area. What starts as a nice ride through the countryside quickly launches into a lightning-fast, multi-sensory dash through crazy turns, hidden hazards and heart-pounding drops. Inspired by the famed autobahn, the ride combines fast launches, special effects and indoor and outdoor elements to make it a one-of-a-kind coaster experience.”
- Revenge of the Black Forest
- Uber Bahn
- Black Forest Turbo
- Verbolten
On the bright side, at least Busch Gardens asking fans what they think this time around. Could this have something to do with a certain cat hunting coaster? (I kid!) Given the name and the description of the ride, it seems that BGW is getting their own hybrid version of Test Track at EPCOT. Do you like the idea of a fast German car ride through the woods? Seems like it could be fun if done right, meaning let’s not wait until the last minute to dive down that huge cliff, let’s get some good airtime off of it.
The park has also gotten approval from the local planning commission, and has indicated that they will indeed use the old station from Big Bad Wolf as the station for the new project. Also announced during the meeting is the new themed bridge that will go in by the old BBW brake run.
If you’re not sure where exactly that is, Festhaus Park is in that general area. So instead of coming off the Italy bridge and going directly to the ride, you’ll have to go towards Festhaus Park cross the new “themed bridge” and head around to what was the “exit” side of BBW, and now you’ll exit from what was once the entrance…at least that’s the best we can tell from the descriptions given.
And let’s talk about the description a bit. It sounds as if we are definitely getting a German car version of Test Track at EPCOT with the description of “hair-pin turns”, and “multi-sensory experience”. Could this type of system work for the park, which is known for cutting edge coasters? Or will fans simply hit the parking brake? The only thing left to know now (besides the exact track layout) is the manufacturer. The chain has a history of getting two coasters from the same manufacturer for both their Virginia park and their Florida park. Yet many are saying that this is the perfect time to launch the first B&M launch coaster. There is one other B&M Coaster with a launch (Incredible Hulk at IOA) but it was a custom job and not something in the company’s normal line. Could we possibly be seeing a new turn for the coaster kingdoms favorite coaster company? More as we know it.
