Busch Gardens Williamsburg announces 2006 lineup

My heart skipped a beat at first and thought this was the GCI announcement. ;-)

What do people think of Curse of DarKastle? I've heard such mixed reviews, and they're already tweaking it...

I've not been on Darkastle, but I do know that Spiderman gets tweaked on a regular basis. I think that it's nice that a dark ride can have minor details reworked for the sake of making it better. Another words, "tweaking" a ride such as Darkastly doesn't necessarily mean that the ride is rubbish. It means that it's so complicated that there is always room for improvement, imho.

What's with all of this "family friendly" talk. ;)

Families equal more money than your typical teen thrill seekers. That's why all the talk of Families.

Tweaking DarKastle doesn't bother me. Removing it would bother me since that would deem it a flop.

I wish I got to see Irish Thunder but I went to the park before it was open. Since it only ran summers and I usually hit the park in the spring. Oh well maybe I will get to see the new show some day.

Imaginique.... not my cup of tea.

I got to go on DarKastle and I really liked it. The special effects were well done and I would have rode again if I had the time. Now keep in mind I have never been to Disney or any other real theme park for that matter, but I think this ride was spectacular! Now I want to go back and see what they changed in it!

I noticed that the timing was off every single time during the fireplace scene, so maybe that is being tweaked.

Perhaps they'll remove all the props and put in strobe lights. ;)

I really enjoyed my two rides on DarKastle. Granted I've never been on Spiderman, but I thought DK was the most spectacular dark ride I've ever ridden.

I loved DarKastle, and I have been on Spiderman about 50 times. Though not as technologically advanced as Spiderman, it is unique and one of only two such rides in the country (the other being, of course, Spiderman).

I rode both Spiderman and DarKastle and noticed that the timing was off a little on DarKastle. Also the last sene played after we passed it. So I am not suprised to hear they were tweaking it. Cant wait for that park to get a wood coaster. But I often wonder will they just put it where Drachen fire was or opt for another local.

Having rode both I have to choose Spiderman. It was much more exciting to me because it was easy to follow, it was paced really well. The special FX were totally amazing.

While DarKastle was a lot of fun, it was really hard to follow because once you rounded the corner into the second scene it seemed the whole thing went into hyperdrive! You were constantly being bombarded from all angles by elements. This made it hard for me to follow. Plus, as BG Nut said, it's timing was a bit off.

Spiderman has to be the best darkride ever because just about any one can figue out the storry.

Also Spiderman can scare the crap out of you with the speccial effects!:):):):)*** This post was edited by Hamster Boy 2/1/2006 10:03:30 PM ***

Wow...THAT was annoying.

Anywho, I don't think a new woody, if built, would ever go in DF's old spot. DF's location was one of the reasons it wasn't very popular.

Spiderman has had the same timing issues in the past. I see it as something that is constantly reworked.

I'm not surprised they are re-working DarKastle, people could not figure the back story and enjoyewd but did not understand.. perhaps they are adding the back story in now??

Irish thunder is leaving BGW, thats means their last performance will be at BGT in march... if you need it bgtguide.com might get a video of it up in a few weeks.. just got to video tape and edit it myself.. then give it to them...

I had a season pass to busch gardens and i thought it was alright but not worth it for the wait so i think to keep its popularity up the best thing to do would be to tweak it a little because like many other people said the timing was off but overall it was a very advanced ride

DarKastle wasn't well received by locals. I live about 15 minutes from BGW. I normally don't visit, but I went to ride DarKastle this past September. I found it to be rather confusing, and the timing was way off. Most of the locals I have talked to said they didn't get the theme of the ride, they too found it very confusing and pointless.

Spiderman on the other hand was truly amazing. I loved it.

For all of you exspecting BGW to get a wooden coaster, FORGET IT!

Kingsmills, a gated residential development next to BGW won't allow that. Kingsmills features homes ranging from $250.000 to several million dollars. The residents have protested against the noise that roller coasters and riders make at the park. They have a major hand in the future development of BGW.BGW have found ways to quiet their latest B&M instalations, but the only way they can quite a woodie is to put it in a concrete building.

Apollo's Chariot will be the tallest and probably the most intence thing BGW will get for a long time, maybe even ever.

In my opinion BGW need to desperately start appealing more to families. Consentrate less on beer consuption and more on family freindly rides and themes. Update or haize The Land Of Dragons and add a Seseame Street themed section complete with characters. Break this whole 3D/4D cycle. DarKastle, The Haunted Lighthouse, and Corkscrew Hill are all depressing and morbid rides, and shouldn't or don't appeal to families.

A page needs to be taken from the Paramount, Disney, and Universals book.
*** This post was edited by Airromeo4Ever 2/4/2006 10:39:17 PM ***

Hmm - for a depressing ride, it sure had long lines when I was there last season ...

As far as Kingsmill goes - doesn't Busch own that property? And how close is the nearest home anyway? I've stayed at Kingsmill and driven all over that place, and it's a good mile from any ride.

Having said that, I don't see BGW adding a woodie either, for the same reason Disney and Universal won't - the upkeep. I just get the feeling the resort parks see their maintenance as too much of a headache. But whatta I know ...