Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

Also, has their been any news about Curse of Darkastle? I see it on their website, which makes me hopeful...

 

We have an answer, but you're not going to like it.

 

The park is closing it and replacing it with essentially nothing. You can help them name their new event space though. Gartensburg Castle, NewKastle or Oktoberfest Palaste? Comment with your choice from these 3 (only 1 vote per person)... poll ends Jan. 26 at noon.

 

I'm not joking.

Damn that sucks! I rode this ride back when it opened in 04 and loved it. When i rode it again in 2015 although it wasn’t the same it was still a really good, fun ride. Sad to see it go. First Big Bad Wolf and now this, RIP Darkcastle.

Such a great and unique ride. This is a sad one for sure. It's one thing if they replaced it with something even more awesome... but... yeah... wooo event center?

Glad I got to ride it while it was around

Very odd. The ride wasn't amazing but it was fine for that park and a decent dark ride for a regional place.

Very odd. The ride wasn't amazing but it was fine for that park and a decent dark ride for a regional place.

Yep. I imagine the expense of maintaining DarKastle finally did it in. It was complicated to run, and it hasn't been a huge draw for a few years.

Oh, you know what's a great idea when you want to expand seasonal operation into winter? You close your one dark ride. Cosmic brain level stuff.

We're at the point where I want someone to buy the company. Anyone.

a decent dark ride for a regional place.

Makes me wonder if it just wasn't a good enough ride to keep the locals coming back. We're so used to rides here in Orlando like Transformers and Kong that are, IMO, a "one and done" which is fine since many of the visitors are not from around here and are only riding these attractions once in a lifetime or once in many years.

Whereas a park like BGW I'm sure has a much much higher "annual pass" locals population of guests, and while the ride was "ok" maybe it's just not something that kept people coming back after 13 years. It basically just overstayed it's welcome at the park.

I do agree that while the ride was "fine" (although probably my least favorite of all the screen-based 'shake you around in a box' style dark rides) I'm not going to lose any sleep over it knowing it won't be there for my next visit, and if anything I think removing it just gives the park one less 42" ride where they don't have that many to begin with.

So color me totally indifferent to this announcement. I've been on it a few times, it was "ok" but nothing I'm really going to miss.

Oh, you know what's a great idea when you want to expand seasonal operation into winter? You close your one dark ride. Cosmic brain level stuff.

Ha! As I hit "submit" I knew there was another thing I was thinking that I couldn't put my finger on. That sentence above should have read....

and if anything I think removing it just gives the park one less 42" ride and one less indoor ride they could operate during inclement weather, where they don't have that many to begin with.

Awful news indeed. Sad to see it go, but hopefully Battle for Eire fills the void.

Sad to see DarKastle go. I found it to be on par with Six Flags's Justice League dark rides and better than Knott's Voyage to the Iron Reef.

What makes me most upset about this is that BGW has an impressive ride line up filled with variety! This attraction was a cornerstone in that variety and it's also a very high quality darkride! Understandable that its very expensive and might not be the draw it used to, especially since it's not tied with any IP. However, I'm very upset to see this one go! SeaWorld is just not about the dark rides are they?

I don't love it, but I understand it (kind of). I really liked the ride. It was probably the best new style dark ride at an American regional park until these Justice League rides started coming out (I've got to hand it to Six Flags), but this thing never had a line and it wasn't due to it's overwhelming capacity.

DirkFunk is right though, Christmas Town and Christmas events in general are getting more and more popular and they're doing gangbusters business that time of year. Closing one of your indoor rides when you have very few to begin with seems really strange to me.

... wait. It was always closed for ChristmasTown? An indoor, temperature controlled dark ride? No... stop... you're f*cking with me. Well never mind then.

Also, has their been any news about Curse of Darkastle? I see it on their website, which makes me hopeful...

 

We have an answer, but you're not going to like it.

 

The park is closing it and replacing it with essentially nothing. You can help them name their new event space though. Gartensburg Castle, NewKastle or Oktoberfest Palaste? Comment with your choice from these 3 (only 1 vote per person)... poll ends Jan. 26 at noon.

 

I'm not joking.

That's a (somewhat unsurprising) shame.

I'm not much of a pure coaster enthusiast, and I prefer parks with a balanced roster of attractions (and there aren't a whole lot of major attractions at regional thrill parks that my mom can partake in). So losing a unique dark ride is disappointing. From what I could tell, Curse of Darkastle was a few cuts above what you would expect at a park like this.

It's not like I'm going to cancel my (planned) June trip because of this, but it does make me want to kick myself for not getting around to the park last year or the year before that.

As an aside, is early June a good time to visit Busch Gardens? I was thinking of catching the Food and Wine Festival.

a decent dark ride for a regional place.

Makes me wonder if it just wasn't a good enough ride to keep the locals coming back. We're so used to rides here in Orlando like Transformers and Kong that are, IMO, a "one and done" which is fine since many of the visitors are not from around here and are only riding these attractions once in a lifetime or once in many years.

 

Whereas a park like BGW I'm sure has a much much higher "annual pass" locals population of guests, and while the ride was "ok" maybe it's just not something that kept people coming back after 13 years. It basically just overstayed it's welcome at the park.

Maybe, maybe not. They're an hour from Richmond, 2-3 from DC/NOVA. Plus SeaWorld Orlando has been pushed into being re-positioned as a park geared increasingly to locals on passes, which they've stated in their calls and reports.

I do agree that while the ride was "fine" (although probably my least favorite of all the screen-based 'shake you around in a box' style dark rides) I'm not going to lose any sleep over it knowing it won't be there for my next visit, and if anything I think removing it just gives the park one less 42" ride where they don't have that many to begin with.

LOL, see, I hadn't thought of that either. Good trade! Seriously though; so maybe they can cut some costs by reducing their attraction load by one and laying off a maintenance guy or two without badly affecting the attendance. But what does that say about the vision of the company that they didn't, say, retheme it? Put some new projectors in, give it a new name, you have a new for XXXX ride for less money than it costs to probably install another Italian protos#ittype that doesn't work.

I don't love it, but I understand it (kind of). I really liked the ride. It was probably the best new style dark ride at an American regional park until these Justice League rides started coming out (I've got to hand it to Six Flags), but this thing never had a line and it wasn't due to it's overwhelming capacity.

 

DirkFunk is right though, Christmas Town and Christmas events in general are getting more and more popular and they're doing gangbusters business that time of year. Closing one of your indoor rides when you have very few to begin with seems really strange to me.

 

... wait. It was always closed for ChristmasTown? An indoor, temperature controlled dark ride? No... stop... you're f*cking with me. Well never mind then.

Kings Island had FOF closed for Winterfest. Their one indoor coaster: Closed. There's no accounting for common sense.

I'm with the people who didn't think much of it, but like, c'mon, that's not the best answer as to what to do with the ride system and that building.

Kings Island had FOF closed for Winterfest. Their one indoor coaster: Closed. There's no accounting for common sense.

Yeah that was insane too, especially since the swings were open so it's not like the ride was buried in the back far from everything else that was open. It was RIGHT THERE (kind of like DarKastle).

Personally (since the crowds totally justify it), I think Williamsburg should just open every non-water ride in the park for ChristmasTown anyway like Dollywood does (even if you insist on a 40 degree limit for the coasters) since the average temperatures for Williamsburg and Pigeon Forge are virtually identical and because I mean... Great Adventure exists and then raise prices for the event since they're providing a much better product but that's a different discussion for a different day.

I'd heard promising things about DarKastle, but it wasn't particularly memorable for me. Then again, I'm not much for screen-based dark rides outside of the best of the best (say, Universal's better offerings).

I would have ridden it this summer, but I guess that allows me to get another ride or two on the B&M's so.... meh.

But then they're answering nearly every post with "Check out Battle For Eire, the new VR ride in Ireland", I'm not happy about that trade off.

I'd heard promising things about DarKastle, but it wasn't particularly memorable for me. Then again, I'm not much for screen-based dark rides outside of the best of the best (say, Universal's better offerings).

I will remember it as The One After Spiderman, in Universal IOA, Orlando. And that was great, because it was a non

Disney/Universal park taking on a (still) new dark ride concept and creating it's own unique story and themeing, etc.

Sorry to read it's going to be leaving.

DarKastle wasn't quite my thing (I don't care for screen rides that much), but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I see why many people (including everyone in my family) absolutely loved it. RIP.

Well damn. Good thing I went to BGW a couple times last year and got to experience DarKastle before it closed for good. I thought it was a really fun ride that was a great way to cool down and relax between riding coasters. And maybe I'm just weird, but the fact that it wasn't IP-based was part of its appeal for me.

I did like DarKastle but I won't lose sleep over its closure. It was a one and done ride for me every visit. I think I'll most miss the refreshing AC since it always seems to be triple digits for my visit.

I did like DarKastle but I won't lose sleep over its closure. It was a one and done ride for me every visit. I think I'll most miss the refreshing AC since it always seems to be triple digits for my visit.

There's always the craft-beer room in the Festhaus.

Back when I rode DarKastle (and walked the track) on the East Coast trip, the ride was one a handful of its kind (along with Spider-Man) so I think I was more impressed with it than I would have been if I rode it more recently. I do wish Antarctica at SeaWorld Orlando had been more like DarKastle in its length and theming because the bar was seemingly missed from where DarKastle had set it, by a lot.

It is a shame that the park opted to go the route of closure as opposed to re-purposing the ride system and structure for a new attraction. I get that they'll find great use for it during the park's seasonal offerings but when you have a purpose-built venue of that size meant for an attraction, it feels like the "easy" way out to convert it to a venue for horror mazes and holiday meet & greets.

Also, has their been any news about Curse of Darkastle? I see it on their website, which makes me hopeful...

 

We have an answer, but you're not going to like it.

 

The park is closing it and replacing it with essentially nothing. You can help them name their new event space though. Gartensburg Castle, NewKastle or Oktoberfest Palaste? Comment with your choice from these 3 (only 1 vote per person)... poll ends Jan. 26 at noon.

 

I'm not joking.

 

[fbvideonew]

[/fbvideonew]

 

We thought we'd say goodbye to Curse of DarKastle with this final ride (digitally of course). The ride building will transform into a special events venue starting this year. While the ride maintained a loyal following over the last 13 years, we will be able to now offer new & exciting opportunities for Howl-O-Scream, Christmas Town & other events. With that said, we want you to choose the name for the new event space. Which would you prefer: Gartensburg Castle, NewKastle or Oktoberfest Palaste? Comment below with your choice from these 3 (only 1 vote per person)... poll ends Jan. 26 at noon.

HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE news. . the ride, the theme, the castle setting. . . one of the best things in the park (to me, since I really like the overall mix of rides/attractions in a park).

was it the most exciting ride in the park? nope, but the setting, and as someone who HASN'T ridden the similar rides at Universal, it was super unique and we rode it multiple times on our one prior visit to BGW a few years ago.

such a shame this is happening

Europe in the Air ? feh. . take that turd away. . . DarKastle? THIS was a shining gem, and now will just be a hole in the crown at BGW

"one and done" sounds like a crap ride. It wasn't, but it was more a one-time, single-experience not oriented to reriding and something you'd expect to not stay with the the same program for decades.

Maybe they'll see how the VR goes and repurpose some of the hardware for that ... the whole ride in a tiny dark box.