Drachen Fire

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Drachen Fire
Drachen Fire in 1996
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Location	Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Park section	Festhaus Park
Coordinates	37°13′50″N 76°38′40″W / 37.230636°N 76.644435°W / 37.230636; -76.644435Coordinates: 37°13′50″N 76°38′40″W / 37.230636°N 76.644435°W / 37.230636; -76.644435
Status	Removed
Soft opening date	April 3, 1992 (1992-04-03)
Opening date	April 4, 1992 (1992-04-04)
Closing date	July 1998 (1998-07)
Cost	$4,000,000
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Arrow Dynamics
Designer	Ron Toomer
Model	Custom Looping
Track layout	Custom
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	150 ft (46 m)
Drop	145 ft (44 m)
Length	3,550 ft (1,080 m)
Speed	60 mph (97 km/h)
Inversions	5
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Trains	3 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train.
Drachen Fire at RCDB Pictures of Drachen Fire at RCDB

Drachen Fire was a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. Manufactured by Arrow Dynamics based on initial designs from industry newcomer Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened to the public in 1992. Drachen Fire featured a 150-foot tall (46 m) lift hill, six inversions, and a zero-gravity camelback element. One of the inversions was removed after the 1994 season to improve ride comfort. The track was light blue with silver supports, and it was located in the Oktoberfest portion of the park behind Big Bad Wolf and Das Festhaus. It was originally configured with three trains, each consisting of red cars with grey seats, and featured red trim lights that illuminated the trains at night.^[1] Drachen Fire was closed in the middle of the 1998 season following a history of low ridership and complaints of roughness. It remained standing until its demolition in 2002.^[2]

History[]

In the early 1990s, Busch Gardens approached Bolliger & Mabillard, who wanted to build two sit-down looping coasters at their Williamsburg and Tampa parks. Early talks took place between the companies, the talks included concepts of the coasters to be built. By 1992, the company had completed a total of four roller coasters and besides working on their first sit-down design for Busch Gardens, they were also developing their new inverted roller coaster, Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America. The company was set to deliver two more in 1993, their standard annual output in terms of numbers at that point. Their ability to deliver two rides to Busch Gardens was strained to the point that it was not possible. They agreed to deliver one ride, which would be Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa.^[3] Busch Gardens Williamsburg chose another option and instead decided to go with Arrow Dynamics to build the proposed coaster. It was vastly different from anything Arrow had ever done and included elements that were unique. The Swiss concept included a vertical loop around the lift hill, which could be experienced on Kumba. Arrow could not figure out how to make that work, so they created an original element, a corkscrew midway down the first drop.^[4] Rather than using Arrow's original cross-beam support structure, Busch Gardens would use a Bolliger & Mabillard-style tubular structure.^[3]

Construction and opening[]

On July 5, 1991, Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced that a new steel roller coaster would be added to the park in 1992. Built by Arrow Dynamics, the ride would be located towards the back of the park next to Big Bad Wolf.^[5] It would become the park's third major roller coaster. The attraction would feature several corkscrews and other unique elements, including a camelback hump and a cutback. The ride's 60-foot (18 m) trains would be unique with a sleek aerodynamic style design and wraparound bucket seats.^[6] It would be later named Drachen Fire.^[7] That year, the Anheuser-Busch Entertainment Corporation announced a myriad of upcoming attractions for their various amusement parks. Keith M. Kasen, then General Manager for Busch Gardens Williamsburg, commented on the addition of Drachen Fire for the 1992 season stating, "Anheuser-Busch has shown a commitment to reinvestment and making a real strong quality statement."^[8] Construction of Drachen Fire began in the fall of 1991, which was filmed for its upcoming marketing campaign.^[9] Footage of the design, construction, and testing process of Drachen Fire was later documented in a 1993 PBS special of their NOVA program, titled "Roller Coaster".^[10] Construction of the new coaster was completed in early 1992, placing it on schedule to open the same year on April 4.

Busch Gardens heavily marketed the new ride in what was identified as the park's biggest promotional campaign in over a decade dating back to Loch Ness Monster in 1978.^[9] The tagline marketed for the ride was "Feel the Heat".^[11] The park hired comedian Dana Carvey to meet and greet visitors, as well as cut the ribbon at a special preview opening ceremony on April 3, 1992.^[8][12] After six or seven successful runs during the preview event, a train stalled on the lift hill forcing passengers to evacuate.^[12] During the downtime, Carvey offered an impromptu stand-up comedy routine to entertain the crowd and keep guests occupied.^[12] When the ride resumed operation, another train stalled on the lift hill again forcing the park to close the ride for the remainder of the evening.^[12] For its official opening to the public the following day, Drachen Fire remained closed all morning and eventually opened midday.^[12]

Operation[]

The ride drew large crowds and was initially well-received by many coaster enthusiasts.^[4] American Coaster Enthusiasts President Ray J. Ueberroth called the coaster "an outstanding ride", and the group's former president, Randy Geisler, stated, "I can just say it's spectacular."^[12] However, less than a month after opening, the coaster's popularity quickly faded when it gained a reputation for its roughness.^[13] Riders were routinely advised by announcers to remove any clip-on earrings before riding and keep their heads pressed against headrests during the ride.^[13] This resulted in ride operators in the station not only checking the train's restraints, but also checking riders' ears for earrings. The train would not dispatch unless these instructions were followed. After increasing complaints, the first corkscrew was replaced with a straight section for the 1995 season.^[4][14]

Drachen Fire was featured on a 1996 edition of "Theme Parks a Go-Go" on the E! Network. The segment was hosted by actor Alex Winter who was shown riding the Drachen, at the time fastest coaster in the park, through some of its inversions. Upon completion of the ride, he stated that his vertebra was snapped like a twig. Although famous at that time for his comedic roles, this comment stands as a testimony to the Drachen Fire's reputation for being a rough experience.

Closure and demolition[]

The removal of the corkscrew after the mid-course brake run failed to resolve ongoing issues with ride safety and comfort.^[4] Busch Gardens Williamsburg had also added two more roller coasters after Drachen Fire, Wild Maus in 1996 and Alpengeist in 1997.^[15][16] The opening of Alpengeist made Drachen Fire very obsolete by guests.^[17] With decreasing ridership and at least one lawsuit filed,^[18] the attraction was closed indefinitely in July 1998.^[1][4] The following year, the park would debut another Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster, Apollo's Chariot, while Drachen Fire sat abandoned.^[19] Initially, the park had plans to further modify the coaster, but it was ultimately listed for sale.^[4][14][20] The park had several offers but failed to reach agreements with prospective buyers.^[14] It remained standing in an idle state until 2002, when the decision was made to dismantle the ride and recycle the steel.^[4][14] Director of public relations Cindy Sarko stated, "There had been a steady erosion of ridership ... That, combined with the high operating expenses of the ride, helped park officials make the decision to shut it down."^[14]

Ride experience[]

After leaving the station, the ride made a small dip and turned 180 degrees to the left, where it entered the lift hill. At the top of the 150 foot lift, the ride made a shallow dive of around 50 feet, then entered a wraparound corkscrew which had an apex of 120 feet, before descending the remainder of a curving drop, ending up facing the opposite direction of the lift hill, and achieving a speed of 60 miles per hour. The ride then entered a first of a kind camel back hump hill, which was designed to balance the riders between positive and negative g-forces, giving a feeling of weightlessness. The ride then entered the Batwing element (cobra roll), which featured two inversions in one element. The ride then turned up an ascending hill to the left, and entered a run of Block Brakes. Next, the ride dove down into a corkscrew, then a slight left turn over the park midway into a cutback. The ride then traversed back over the midway, under the first corkscrew and entered a second corkscrew. It then quickly entered a counter-clockwise helix. Exiting the helix, the ride made a right hand turn onto a final brake run, which would then lead straight into the ride station.^[1][8][11]

Ride location[]

The majority of Drachen Fire’s track was located behind the present day Verbolten ride, in an area now called Festhaus Park. A large elevated curve in the ride did extend over the concrete walkway and into the area behind Das Festhaus, near the Black Forest Picnic Area, before looping riders back around again into a corkscrew.

To enter the ride area guests would pass through a metal framed gateway, whose arches held the Drachen Fire sign. Today that same passage leads to Festhaus Park, a multi-purpose area used sporadically as a concert venue and for various special events. While most attractions have a highly visible entrance that can be seen from quite a distance, this was not the case for Drachen Fire. Guests had to pass between the Der Autobahn ride, to the left, and the large Das Festhaus building, to the right. This may have made the ride more difficult to locate for some park guests and could offer an insight as to why no permanent major attraction exists in this location today, despite several rides being added to the park since the 2002 dismantling.

At least three of the major structures created for the ride still exist on the property today, all of which are located beyond the Festhaus Park gateway. A park map from 1997 shows the wooden building containing 5 metal roll up doors, which resides on the left side of the concrete walkway, was the Drachen Fire gift shop. The previous ride boarding station is the largest wooden building located inside the Festhaus Park area and a slightly smaller wooden building served as the maintenance facility. Some portions of all three buildings are visible during daylight hours, shortly after crossing the Rhine River, while looking right (towards the park) on the Busch Gardens Railway train ride. In June 2019, local network affiliate WAVY-TV reported that a plan was approved by local officials to construct a new ride in the former Drachen Fire location that would be approximately 355 feet (108 m) in height.^[21]

Later years[]

In 2006, Busch Gardens began to use the former Drachen Fire site as a concert venue.

In 2009, Busch started holding the Glory at the Gardens concert series in Festhaus Park due to overflowing The Royal Palace Theatre in Aquitane.

In 2016, Busch Gardens began selling Drachen Fire T-shirts at the park for the first time since the ride's closure.

Trivia[]

In 1999, Arrow implemented the same B&M-style support structure used on Drachen Fire for the Tennessee Tornado at Dollywood.

References[]

External links[]

• BGWfans.com, History of Drachen Fire
• History.amusement-parks.com, History of Amusement Parks: Drachen Fire