Dania Beach roller coaster shut down

The location is part of the problem. The coaster is a highly-visible billboard from the highway but the park isn't all that easy to reach from major roads.

rollergator said:
...most importantly by far - better road signage and access from the adjacent interstate, because driving through the run-down industrial area near the "park" isn't really a bonus... ;)

Gonch tells me quoting yourself is the highest form of self-flattery... ;)

I don't know Rob. It is easier to get to that rollercoaster than any in Central Florida...and you don't have to pay $16 to park either. I think it just was a bad business model.

Now, if they would have built that coaster out at Sawgrass Mills then maybe it would have survived.

rollergator said:
Gonch tells me quoting yourself is the highest form of self-flattery... ;)

Well, quoting yourself in from the same thread is ok, I guess. But when you can quote yourself from month or years earlier and have it be totally relevant to current conversation, then you're winning.

Gator has Gonchis envy.

Drachen Fire is one of the canonical Big Streakers that I remember. Over the years of it being SBNO, it seemed to get better and better (well, it went from God Awful to I'd like to give it another try).

Well yeah, as its history becomes more storied, more people want to be able to say they rode it at least once.

Speaking of which, remember how great The Bat was at Kings Island?? ;)

Perhaps. But you have to look at Drachen Fire when compared to the coasters that were operating at the time. It debuted way before most people knew what it was like to ride a B&M- most loopers at the time were other cookie-cutter Arrow rides so Drachen Fire was completely unique and thrilling. No doubt it would be one of those coasters we loathe today if it were still operating (SFMM's Viper, KI's Vortex, etc.) but I know that when I rode it in 1992, it was an unbelievable experience and since I never rode it after that, I continued to believe that was the case... and maybe still do to this day.

Tekwardo said:
Gator has Gonchis envy.

He's my Charlie Sheen... ;)

Count me in as one who has ridden Viper and Vortex in recent history and likes them. But I'm weird. Just not as weird as AV... ;-)

I actually kind of liked Drachen Fire for what it was. Then again, I'm a fan of Iron Wolf. :-|

I liked Iron Wolf.

I liked Drachen Fire for the one day that I got to ride it. It was new then, and had both corkscrews. It's uniqueness from other rides set it apart. The first drop with the inversion was awesome. The trains were very open. I don't doubt for a second that it became a bad ride after a few years though.

It is an interesting observation, and Drachen Fire and The Bat are kind of opposite examples. Drachen Fire got better while it was SBNO, while The Bat turned into a mass-murderer. I mean, everybody in Cincinnati knows somebody who knows somebody whose cousin was in the park the day The Bat hit a tree and killed six people. Which, of course, never happened.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Some of us actually rode both DF and The Bat and found both to be enjoyable.

Good for you.

Rob Ascough inadvertently described my experience with Drachen Fire pretty accurately. Back when it debuted, it was a ground (and arguably neck) -breaking coaster with few comparable modern steel coasters in existence. Also, my count was minimal, having only been to 3 or 4 major parks. My memory of it is all I have, and back then it was my favorite coaster until I think the year Alpengeist debuted.

At the same time, even back then I knew I was in the minority since I never saw a line for the damn thing, so I kind of understand the oddity of it becoming this legend that everyone seemed to adore.