Drachen Fie being dismantled

Posted | Contributed by thrillman

The work to dismantle Drachen Fire, the five-inversion Arrow Dynamics steel coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, began last week. Work is expected to be completed by opening day in mid-March.

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Wow - I go to a business meeting for 2 days in Baltimore and find that Drachen Fire is gonna be officially gone!!??!!  Of course, you know I've got to get on top of this and find out more details for you on the InsideBuschGardens.com website.

I'll be attending a special preview day on March 17th for season pass holders -- so if it's really gone - I'll have the photos from the former ride online!!

Robbie B. - Webmaster

InsideBuschGardens.com

The ACE rep had no knowledge of where it was going, nor would they ever had that info. Anheuser Busch runs a tight ship on what they do internally. As history serves, they sold Sea World pretty much in a huff.
That was a great link. Thank you.
Jeff's avatar
Agent: Like I've said before... those who know don't talk, those who talk don't know. When you hear things from people you trust, it's because they trust you, and you don't repeat it because you'll break the trust. You obviously get that... why can't others?

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

I always thought this ride would reopen  and at BGW  

I remember the first rumor I ever read about it   in NAPHA newsletter it was reported that it had been sold to PARK ASTERIX in France  they were going to paint it brown I think and remove the last corkscrew   They even had a name and theme for it  but I dont remember that     This was the year before BGW  built APOLLOS CHARIOT  and the ride was still open

I always believed that when BGW built ALPENGIEST   that it was strange  the park built 2 rides with the same special element(cobra roll/batwing)  now it doesnt matter

I just wish I had had a piece of land to let them store the ride till it did sell

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JOHN
"It's a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that" -BETTER OFF DEAD

The story at AB quoted somebody from the park stating that their are no plans for a coaster but they mat use the area for a educational type camp, if so bad news!!!!

I also wasnt aware that they removed a inversion and reprofiled the ride with a corkscrew instead, to make the ride less rough.

Bob O there were originally 2 corkscrews that kinda interlocked perhaps as a take off on LOCH NESS' interlocking loops,  anyway the corkscrews were separated by the cutback element   the top corkscrew originally came right after you dropped off the trim brake run  it was removed and the track straightened  into the cut back  I think this also made the speed into the cutback faster
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JOHN
"It's a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that" -BETTER OFF DEAD
I think they should melt down the steel and make an aluminum-steel alloy.  Use this alloy for their beer cans in a commerative "DF" can.
Is DF the only coaster to have a "cutback"?
Sawblade5's avatar
I'm still upset about Busch Parks doing this to DF and probally will be for days. I hope Jeff puts the Date 2/11/02 on the RC Rollback as teh day Bucsh tore down DF. I'm very upset about it. It just so terrible that this park would do such a thing a ride which probally wasn't even that bad. I also Wonder what can be done to other stell coasters that are SBNO like VIPER at SFGA, (Which I bleive that Togo Merged with Premier right if this is true Premier should put their new lap bar trains on it and get it going again) Thunderbolt Express at Camden park along with the others in storage at OIFP, and Taz's Texas tornado at SFAW (For god sake put the good Schwarzkopf trains on it or have a company build a train with lap bars on it or better OTS that are not cement).
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Chris Knight
All Your Base are belong to us
That's not roughness that intensity
I was able to take a few spins on it during its inaugural year and felt the coaster was one of Arrow's finest. The open trains, the unique elements (I loved the wrap around corkscrew and cutback), and the beautiful loading station. It was very different from the other Arrow loopers built during that time. Only bad thing was the coaster's location.

It's sad to see any coaster be dismantled but DF has been a headache for BGW. Goodbye Drachen Fire.

X Factor

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SFWoA: An Unofficial Guide
http://sfohio.tripod.com

This is truly a sad day.  I have a history with this ride, though I've never ridden it, and now it's just being destroyed, cast to the same fate as the damned Windjammer.  I'm so pissed off right now it's ridiculous.
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The Luv Monkey has spoken...
Track Record: 29 and counting...
"F*** this f***ing world. I love everybody."
For what its worth, Astroworld has no plans to send Texas Tornado the way of Drachen Fire.  They really are seriously trying to get it reopened.   

In the big picture, perhaps its a little sad when a sentimental ride meets its end - but rough rides that bang up park guests give the whole industry a bad reputation and turn people off from visiting parks and riding coasters.  Better to throw out the bad apples.

Jeff's avatar
While I never got to ride it, I don't quite understand all of the "sadness." We had the same thing when Steel Phantom came down. Please, I knew that thing was a piece of crap and so did everyone else. No one ever rode the thing. Drachen Fire was in the same boat.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Jeff I think the  reason for the sadness is that it stood there so long and so many rumors went around about it that alot of us had hoped that we would ride it again    Then to find out it was going to be slaughtered just crushed that hope    The ride was a beautiful structure before they butchered it  with the removed corkscrew and once you learned where to "hold on" it was a great ride(the only part I found really rough was the hop onto the mid course brake and many coasters still operating have spots where  you have to  "hold on "  ex. you better brace your legs before that inclined loop on Mean Streak)

Kennywood told us flat out hey youve got 1 more season to ride the phantom then its gone  it didnt sit there for years making us long for one more ride, crappy or not   .Busch left us hanging   they even closed it in the middle of a season and acted as if it wasnt even there       maybe some flat rides in the area wouldve helped bring more people to that corner   maybe the rides they removed from   the Italy section

oh well now its  hopeless
maybe I should change my signature from "white boy " to coaster
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JOHN
"It's a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that" -BETTER OFF DEAD *** This post was edited by john13601 on 2/12/2002. ***


and Taz's Texas tornado at SFAW (For god sake put the good Schwarzkopf trains on it or have a company build a train with lap bars on it or better OTS that are not cement).


The "good" Schwarzkopf trains as you put it (I assume you mean the old accordian style trains) were stripped and turned into the "new" style.  It's the exact same trains.  You can not have just lap bars on Texas Tornado (ask any of the old timers about WHY Thriller got the original accordian harnesses to begin with..)  and yes, Schwarzkopf's first attempt at an OTSR was not exactly perfect.

 

But yes, they really seriously are trying to get it open.  With a little luck, it should be open by June. 

who cares ! i rode that coaster the first year it opened and it was a headbanger and not much fun at all. i went there after they reprofiled it and it was still a piece of crap. good riddance.
Jeff:

Compared to DF, Steel Phantom did a huge business.  DF was always a walk on with the train no more than half full.  Only masochists wanted to ride more than once.

alpengeist 13:

Can you provide a link to that newspaper article?

Someone said something about Busch not caring. Believe me any time a corpaoration has to write off a multimillion dollar investment, spend the money to tear it down, and then sell it for scrap they care. *** This post was edited by Jim Fisher on 2/12/2002. ***

Steel Phantom at least was rebuilt into Phantom's Revenge. At least there is a ride there. Drachen Fire will be just-gone!

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