Drachenfire speculation: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!??!

I agree that SP and DF are "connected" in an Arrow, head-banging sort of way (never got to ride DF, though).  The difference I think is that SP had a great long run of straight track to work from, and a great location in the park (certainly would have been a tremendous eyesore as an SBNO).  DF is kind of "out-of-the-way", and it's layout SEEMS, IMO, to be less conducive to the Morgan "transplant" operation.  Of course, never having ridden DF means this is PURE conjecure on my part.  There's always hope, though...

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rollergator - intent on improving the "guest experience" - coming soon to a park near you

Why was DF closed in the first place ? Also, looking at pictures of it on www.rcdb.com, the trains look different than the typical Arrow trains, are they ?

It certainly looks better than the standard Arrow loopers - it's not a double loop--> boomerang-->corkscrew configuration like most of the others. I'd love to give it a ride !

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Current favorite coasters:
Wooden: 1) Beast 2) Raven 3) Son of Beast 4) The Boss 5) Timber Wolf
Steel: 1) Raging Bull 2) Millennium Force 3) V2 4) Wild Thing 5) Mr. Freeze

Poor Drachenfire. I do wish they'd reopen it, I remember the only time I rode it thinking "why the hell doesn't Cedar Point get something like this?"

Then I was horribly disappointed by alpengeist, which just reinforced that. Could have someting to do with the 5.5 hour wait I went through, though. (2 hour line. Another 30 min for front seat. Ride broke down with me getting on THE NEXT TRAIN. No WAY was I leaving that sort of line position, so there I sat. And sat. and sat. And eventually came to the conclusion that raptor is a much better ride. Ah well.

 

Coma

There are a lot of comments about what could of happened if the ride had remained open, and I have to say that I agree.  Very possibly, we would all be complaining about DF's roughness, and begging BGW to replace or reprofile.  I have always been in the minority about this ride.  I loved it how it was originally built.  Yes, I am an enthusiast, and yes...the line was always short, but heck....that was just more riding for me.  I never got sore, or headaches, and I loved the fact that you could see the hill and drop loop from the parking lot.  What a sight!  BGW needs to do something with it, that is for sure.  Remove it and use the space wisely, and/or sell it to a park here close to Seattle.  I will take it at one of our new (still developing) parks here in the Great northwest. 
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;)More about me?;)
www.geocities.com/ethylsite

Looks like they took down the info about waking coasters.   Unless I am missing something.   Please advise.

It still never ceases to amaze me why people will go on and on about a coaster being to rough.

If the water sucks, don't drink it. Unless you're George Carlin ofcourse.

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Just when you think you have all the answers, I change the questions

I never rode it. I want to I was down there in jun 99 and was TICKED that DF was closed and that the BBW wa sup and down all day so I never got to rid eit either. the two coaster I went to BG and got hyped up about on my way down there were closed. well apollo more than mad eup for it but there;s still the wonder of what this coaster is like. I have frieds here localy who arent; enthusiast who LOVE it and are sadned to find out it closed and in danger of being demolished.
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All at once the ghosts come back reeling you in now.

Um Super Stew, that just what happened, people stoped riding Drachen Fire because they thought it was too rough. When BEC saw ridership fall of the fraking map, they closed the ride (for analogy, see Steel Phantom)
lata,
jeremy
--who realizes, despite popular "enthusiast" beliefs, roller coasters ARE made for the masses...

If this is a help, Busch Gardens PR and guest relations have already stated numerous times that "Drachen Fire will not be reopening at our park."  That is what they have stated.  I wish it would open myself, but unless they are hiding this (and they would have done one heck of a job in doing so), it seems to be that it is closed.
Even so, have people who were so certain that the nest on the track was indeed an eagle nest?  It isn't, that is stated by employees.  Ask the people over in Ireland who do visits and explain about the eagles if it is an eagle's nest and they will say no, usually laugh some and explain why.  But for those that die on the words saying it is an eagle's nest, they could not reopen it because of that.  Would they run the ride and harm the eggs?  Probably not.  There are also other concerns that face its opening that everyone probably already knows so there is no sense in saying.

*** This post was edited by DragonCyrs on 9/8/2001. ***

Hey all you coasterbuzzers out there making opinions on DF when you haven't even ridden it, I say your opinion should be voided!! Even you Jeff!! Never compare DF to the garbage known as Steel Phantom. I have ridden both and DF was far more thrilling, unique and a heck of a lot smoother. The best arrow looper by far.  Remember people that DF was original designed by B&M and also does not have the typical junk arrow mega-looper trains. DF trains were sleek and even light up at night. It is rediculous to speculate that all of us would want DF to been torn down. You have to back your thoughts with some facts instead of just speculation.

DragonCyrs, the last statement that I heard never said that the coaster would not reopen at Busch Gardens, it simply said that the park was no longer trying to sell the coaster and was exploring its options to either dismantle or reopen the coaster. Secondly, having been to BGW about 20 times or so this summer, and trying to get a peak of DF everytime, I can tell you that it is an eagles nest on DF. I was even fortunate enough to see the bird on two occasions. I don't think it would open for Hallow-O-Scream, but I think the possibility of it reopening in the future is increasing with FoF and B&R:TC lap bar changes. All it would take is for Arrow or another company to make trains with lap bars for DF. Think of it this way, it would be a cheaper way for BGW to add a coaster, and turn a PR fiasco into a success.

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Jeff said:

I say tear it down and build something else or give Morgan a whack at it.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Watch the grass grow!

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You know, coming from some clueless member of the GP, this wouldn't be so apalling, but these are the words of our beloved CoasterBuzz webmaster? You really think that they should simply tear down the only roller coaster in the world that debuted the world's first cobra roll, the world's first and only cutback, and the world's first and only wraparound corkscrew? I hope that you're not a member of ACE! To utter such atrocities in public, and on the most popular roller coaster message boards on the internet no less, is a sacrilege! I don't care if you're the webmaster of these boards or not, you should be ashamed of yourself! Drachen Fire is probably the most unique roller coaster in the world, and you would have them tear it down to make room for some generic piece of garbage that wouldn't have any better ridership than the precious gem that it replaced? You would actually condone allowing any manufacturer other than the ride's original manufacturer, Arrow Dynamics, to perform reprofiling maintenence on it? I would go off on you like I've never gone off on anyone before in my life, if it weren't for the fact that doing so would only serve to get myself permanently banned from these boards, and perhaps this polite and civilized reprimanding may end up getting me 86'ed anyway, but REALLY, you should be ASHAMED, Jeff! You of all people should know better than to say something like that about a ride as unique as Drachen Fire! 
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http://www.gayrollerride.com

*** This post was edited by irondraggon on 9/10/2001. ***

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irondraggon said:

You know, coming from some clueless member of the GP, this wouldn't be so apalling, but these are the words of our beloved CoasterBuzz webmaster?

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I wouldn't be so quick to tear up the gp. If they didn't pay the big money to go on rides we would be ridding jr. gemini all summer. If the parks had to rely on season pass funds..........

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I hope that you're not a member of ACE!

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I'm not a member, but I didn't think ACE was the kind of club that doesn't welcome your opinion.

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To utter such atrocities in public, and on the most popular roller coaster message boards on the internet no less, is a sacrilege! I don't care if you're the webmaster of these boards or not, you should be ashamed of yourself! Drachen Fire is probably the most unique roller coaster in the world, and you would have them tear it down to make room for some generic piece of garbage that wouldn't have any better ridership than the precious gem that it replaced? You would actually condone allowing any manufacturer other than the ride's original manufacturer, Arrow Dynamics, to perform reprofiling maintenence on it? I would go off on you like I've never gone off on anyone before in my life, if it weren't for the fact that doing so would only serve to get myself permanently banned from these boards, and perhaps this polite and civilized reprimanding may end up getting me 86'ed anyway, but REALLY, you should be ASHAMED, Jeff! You of all people should know better than to say something like that about a ride as unique as Drachen Fire! 

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If you're gonna argue the subject at hand more power to ya, but if you're gonna tear someone apart because of their opinion then it's a pretty sad day for the enthusiast world. Obviously there are things we don't know and BGW is gonna do what they think is the best thing for everyone.

Chill out and go enjoy the other 1257 coasters of the world.

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http://pacoasters.proboards.com/

I didn't think anyone wanted to ride DF more than me.  I've never ridden it, and I'd drop everything to ride it too. 

 

However, trying to give the webmaster the "gasface" cause that's his opinion is a little more than ill-advised.

 

Unique or not, if it's not up and running, and it's not gonna be reprofiled, it's not doing anyone any good.  Frankly, it erks the crap out of me that it's just sitting there rotting.  If it's NOT gonna open, tear it down.  I don't even wanna visit BGW if it's not open.  Just seeing a coaster SBNO makes me sick.

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I rode "X" and never went upside down.

Sometime I think not knowing why is worse, if we knew for sure why it went SBNO and what is going t ohappen to it. there would be this nice little foklore about it. something of a modern ghost story undoubly what ever happens to df she'll be remembered more for her SBNO days than her times operational.

first corba roll? hasen't vekoma been making boomerangs since the 80s?

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All at once the ghosts come back reeling you in now.

I think I may have been the first on here to make the Steel Phantom / Drachen Fire comparrison. Keep in mind, I was not comparring the coasters, I was comparing the situations.

The part that really "disturbs" me about Irondraggon's comments is the over all arrogance shown. First line... the "clueless general public". As Steve o implied, its the GP that pays the bills so to speak. Then there was the "I hope you are not a member of ACE," comment... More of that ACErs know better than everyone else type of thinking that seems to dominate in some quarters. Lastly there is the "tear it down to make room for some generic piece of garbage that wouldn't have any better ridership than the precious gem that it replaced?" line. While not experiencing BGW's coasters, I have visited SW and BGT... Kumba, Montu, Gwasi, Kraken... hardly "generic pieces of garbage." I highly doubt if Busch would settle on anything less than something good and original (at least in terms of layout)... that other corporation with all of those flags likes to stick with the generic.

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."

I say that they should open it up.  People would line up out the gate to ride that thing again now a days.  I don't think that anybody would care how rough it is.  People still fill up the que house for Ninja at SFoG and I'm sure that is WAAAAY rougher than Drachen Fire.  Even though I've never ridden the Fire, I'm sure that Ninja is rougher.  I aslo heard a rumor waaaay back that SFoG bought Drachen Fire and were replacing Ninja with it.  That would be cool.
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Past this point of no return your only choice is freeze or burn.

you know i rode it back before it was closed, and it was one hell of a ride. To a coaster enthusiest it was awsome, but DF was wild that i don't think any of GP will ever come to like it, it beat you up.  If BGW wants to make the coaster enthusiest happy they will try to reopen it, if they want to make the GP happy they will take it down and put a big B&M coaster there.  But wait, what if they did tear it down and put a B&M in it's spot, but had B&M build a exact replica of DF only in B&M style, with a huge cobra roll, big cutback, the orignial corksrew, maybe even a laucnh lift hill.
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Montu, God Of Coasters

Raging Bull, Don't Fight It, Ride It

If they were to reopen it with lap bars I think that the GP and enthusiasts as well would love it. The GP loves a thrill just as much as the enthusiast, some just are not willing to put up with the uncomforts of a rough coaster as much. The problems of head banging would be reduced with lap bars and I don't think there is anything that would prevent this coaster from being redeemable. It is an original, and I think it would still be a hell of a thrill if the head banging could be reduced. Whether it would have great ridership I question even if it was perfect because its location is so poor. But BGW has said for years that the next park expansion will be in that direction regardless of the fate of DF.

In an earlier post someone said B&M designed it but they didn't. At coaster-network.com/bm/bm you can look under rumours and see a signed piece of paper from B&M that says they had nothing to do with the ride.