thunderbeast1968 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 So, the other day I was watching a video of Drachen Fire, and wondering what happened? Rough ride, uncomfortable trains? I went to Busch Gardens and the coaster was basically new, but not open. Did the park get reimbursed for this coaster? The video I watched, looked like it might of been a fun coaster. Anyone get a chance to ride it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Yes, I rode it. Many times. It was a very violent ride. The General Manager, I am told, was not happy with the ride experience. The story ended similarly to other such instances. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 It's really a fascinating story. I'm by no means a great firsthand source to telling it, but the basics: The two Busch Gardens parks (in Florida and Virginia) often build similar roller coasters together. One gets Griffon, the other gets SheiKra. Montu and Alpengeist. Even Cheetaka and Verbolten. 1993's addition to the Floridian park was the B&M multi-looper Kumba (identified by its unique loop that wraps around the lift hill). B&M (still a fairly young company at the time) was contracted for Florida's parks but had to withdraw from Kumba's "compliment" set to debut in Virginia due to a full schedule (EDIT: This was right 'round the premiere of Paramount Parks' Vortices and Six Flags' game-changing Batman: The Ride). Somehow, Arrow came along, inherited the job and the plans, and decided to create the ride themselves. The result was an Arrow roller coaster (think Vortex, Adventure Express, etc. with their admittedly awkward track transitions and pre-computer-planned layouts) that tried to duplicate B&M fixtures (cobra rolls, wing-over corkscrews, etc). According to "legend," Arrow couldn't figure out how to duplicate Kumba's loop-the-lift and ended up creating a unique element of a corkscrew halfway through the first drop instead (so again, imagine one of Vortex's corkscrews, but right in the middle of the first drop... see this photo). And still to this day, Drachen Fire is the only Arrow coaster that ever had a "cobra roll" element. Even the supports were built to resemble the style of B&M's - the only Arrow coaster to have that look about it from start to finish, I believe. It really does look exactly like Kumba's lift hill, compared to the lattice structures Arrow sitting coasters almost exclusively have on their main lift hills. One inversion was removed at one point with roundabout intention to make the ride less violent, but it didn't help enough. Its station is still standing completely in tact and is used for a haunted house. (That last paragraph... is there an echo around here?) 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 For what it is worth, years ago I personally asked Ron Toomer about this plan sharing story. He said there is almost no truth to this widely told "legend." The company was asked to develop a coaster similar to or inspired by Kumba. Ron said the same thing later at several different Coastermanias. Nice story, though. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB1 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I heard it was burned up by a dragon, thar be dragons in those woods. If it is not there today, it was taken down for a reason. I never got to ride this dragon, a shame I havent, but it looked and sounded like a great ride. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderbeast1968 Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 My first trip to Busch Gardens, I really wanted to ride Drachen Fire, I believe that I saw the coaster on a Travel Channel special. We arrived at the park to discover that DF is closed down. I believe it was 1998, but Alpengeist was a new attraction that blew me away. I absolutely love this coaster, the theme is really cool. Nice invert style coaster. I think that I recall riding the train, and seeing Drachen Fire sitting there (looking fairly new) and thought "what a shame, it looks fun" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Quite a deal was made about this ride - I recall seeing many stories on the TV, and I'm in Toledo, Ohio! Anyway, I have a couple of POV videos of this ride, which I thought looked so cool, but you can't tell the ride experience from a POV video. It's a shame that some ideas just don't transfer well from drawings to reality, and it was a shame that such a beautiful looking coaster had to be destroyed. I would have bought it if I'd of had the funds - and of course if I had the funds for that, I'd have the funds for land to put it on. Having said all of that, it reminds me of what Kennywood did to Steel Phantom. They hired Morgan to come in and re-do 7/8 of the coaster, removing the awkward parts & loops, making it a non-inversion ride - but a wonderful non-inversion ride! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Drachen Fire wasn't aluminum. More likely it ended up as recycled steel. The Pittsburgh area used to use steel beverage cans, but that's been many, many years ago. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 This is what they made Chevy Vega engines out of, but that, too, was many, many years ago! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI-ORIG-EMP Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 The Chevy Vega was my first car and it was a doozy! First thing out of the lot the steering wheel cover came loose and the air vent lever pulled off! Yep, one heck of a car that soon found a lucky owner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBEASTunchained Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 71' Vega 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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