Drachen Fie being dismantled

Had a thought. Was DF Arrow's last Megalooper (6 inversions or more) and did its demise end that category?

I'd sure like to see another 7+ Looper based on TT's technology.

along with many of arrow shuttle loopers, schwartszokf's, togo's and the rest of those that have long sense left........

R.I.P. Drachen Fire

I'd like to see them sell it to a smaller park like Waldameer's or Conneaut that could benefit from a new well-known rollercoaster, or maybe even Knoebels.

Do they plan on replacing it with a new coaster?

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Matt's Homepage for la jolie fille de France et le gâteau de Marie:
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Thank goodness... finally something has been done and we can all end this useless speculation as to what will happen to this coaster.

I never rode it, I never even saw it  and never will see it(visited BGW in 1977 and planning to return in April 2002... demolition is scheduled to be completed before opening day in March)... but like I said in other posts, since it was SBNO, it turned into a legend... had it remained open, we would all be complaining how rough it is and saying "Busch Gardens should tear it down and put (insert coaster style of  your choice) in it's place." *** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 2/11/2002. ***

I think we're so shaken up over this, we didn't notice that the headline reads "Drachen Fie being dismantled."  Truly bad news, my friends (not the headline, the news).
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My wishlist for the 2002 season includes 121 different coasters, 92 of which I have not ridden.

Well, I never got to ride Drachen Fire, and never will now.  Sigh.

This is a shame, but if it makes way for a new, better ride, then so be it.  I LOVE Taipan's idea for "Dragon's Flight".

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--Greg
"The collective women in your life have more baggage than a Samsonite factory..."
My page

I was about to say the same thing SLFAKE.  I'm sorry that a lot of people here didn't get to ride it, but if it were currently operating, people on this board would be complaining about it left and right.  The vast majority of the trackage was just plain out unpleasant, and there would  be a hell of a lot of people saying "TEAR IT DOWN!!!"   I hate to see any coaster go, I really do, but hopefully now we will get the wooden ride that's been rumored for the past, what?  5, 6 years?
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Idle hands were orient to her.

Well, everyone with hope that it will be auctioned off, I am sorry to pass along some information that I learned this year at IAAPA.  I was an ambassador for IAAPA and was able to talk to many owners and CEO's of parks.  One of the people I taked to was the GM of Bush Gardens Williamsburg.  He told me it was "being dismantled and would become a very expensive piece of scrap metal."  But who knows maybe they changed their mind and found a buyer, but I doubt it.

earlier this year there was a rumor going around that The Great Escape was interested in purchasing Drachen Fire. There were two spots were it could have went, (both being in ghost town) and now with the rumor of the Steamin' Deamon being removed it could happen...no complaints here if it does! :)
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John
Planet Xtreme - http://home.nycap.rr.com/greese1/
Planet Xtreme Forums - http://pub39.ezboard.com/bplanetxtreme20680

Well, you know Busch will never buy another Arrow product.

This is the worst coaster news I have heard since.....??????.....ever! When I saw this ride on NOVA in 1992 or 93 when I lived in California, I was crazy about getting on this thing. I moved to Maryland and didn't get my drivers license or to the park untill after the ride closed. You can imagine the expression I had when I got to the park in 98 and not knowing it was closed untill I got to it. "What? I waited 5 years for this?". I truly hope some park will have faith in this ride and purchase it because (some of you might find me crazy for saying this) I can't think of a single steel coaster that I have wanted to ride more than this one. I will always be a lover of Arrow Coasters, their coasters have never caused me pain. At least I can still watch videos of the ride. That is the only consolation. For everone who got to ride Drachen Fire, you are so lucky!
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Gravity is your friend! *** This post was edited by go with gravity on 2/11/2002. ***

Drachen Fire was a pioneering coaster, but as is so often the case with new things, they didn't get it right the first time.  It was the second worse head banger that I have riddden  If you never got to ride DF, be glad, your brain thanks you.

The scrap steel will probably go for less than $100 per ton,  and it will cost a bunch to cut it up into pieces small enough to dispose of it.

I'd love to see it replaced with a super smooth woodie such as the latest from Intamin or GCI.  One of these would provide the park with something different, but in character with the park.

I will miss Drachen Fire very much.  I always wanted it to reopen and thought that it was much less rough than some other coasters.  The first part of the ride into the corkscrew that high off the ground and then the drop to the ground after hanging upside down was awesome.  Also, the train design was unique when it was built and the lighting on the side of the trains was great.  Also the second to last inversion was different and fun.  There are so many similar rides out there and this one was a unique ride that I liked a lot. :(

what happened to the eagle, the poor prescious eagle--if it wasnt for that damn thing, DF would have been taken down last year and we would have had a new coaster this year~Damn eagle!

Hey MagnumXLRob200 - I doubt it. 
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Idle hands were orient to her.

GWG, sorry buddy, but the coaster is going to sleep with the angels, if you know what I mean.
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If you have to figure out how to ride a coaster to be comfortable, then that's not a coaster worth riding.

I thought the expression was "sleep with the fishes", LOL.  Sad to see DF go, another ride I only got to see in an SBNO condition...after CI T-Bolt, WindJammer, now this, I am forced to wonder if I am not the "kiss of death", so to speak, for SBNOs.  They sit idle for years, I see them sitting idle, and right away, along come the bulldozers, blowtorches, everything but dynamite.  Perhaps I should only visit OPERATING coasters from now on...

If Busch really wanted to get rid of the ride, I "imagine" a more reasonable price for the coaster MIGHT have drawn a buyer.  At $4.5M, that's just pure insanity.  If parks had that kind of business sense, we'd still be on Scenic Railways...

I too saw this roller coaster on NOVA is school a few years ago! That really sucks that it is being torn down but you have to move on to BIGGER and better roller coasters!

well even though I heard she was a rough one, her design was as close to perfection as anything.  it looked beautiful and I will always remember it as that really cool looking coaster, with two first of a kind inversions that I never got to ride.  may she rest in peace and may her memory stay with all of us and be done justice with her replacement.

speaking of DF's replacement, I don't know what it will be, I don't know when it will be build, but, judging from Busch's previouse record, you can bet it will be a B&M if its steel and probably a GCI if its wooden.

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-Bob
Knott's Berry Farm Cuba ~South Park
"Your proctologist called, he found your head!" ~Jerry "The King" Lawler

This is truly Sh**ty, but what else are you gonna do its just some metal, and maybe they will put in a coaster that is superior to it

heres my idea:
Build a B&M megalooper and make it have the same color and name it the Revenge of Drachen Fire, and keep the same tight logo.

or

build a GCI twister that weaves through the woods like The Raven, but still call it the Revenge of Drachen Fire