Car tour into the forbidden black forest...
Car tour into the forbidden black forest...
| Theme Park | Busch Gardens Williamsburg |
|---|---|
| Park Area | Oktoberfest |
| Type | Rollercoaster |
| Audience | Thrillseekers |
| Opened | 18 May 2012 |
| Manufacturer | Zierer |
| Model | Elevated Seating Coaster |
| Length | 2835 ft |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Max Speed | 53 mph |
Verbolten
For many years, Busch Gardens' famous Big Bad Wolf suspended rollercoaster thrilled park visitors with its daring drop down to the Rhine River. When the coaster was permanently closed in 2009 most people would have assumed this unique finale was lost forever.
Luckily though, Big Bad Wolf's replacement "Verbolten" recreates the drop with its final section closely following the line of the old Big Bad Wolf track down the river bank and even reuses some of the original ride's footers.
Verbolten opened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2012 and is a multi-launch rollercoaster from Zierer. It takes the German Autobahn as its theme, seating guests in car themed trains which are sent out on a tour of the forbidden ("verboten" in German) Black Forest.
Near the beginning of the ride, trains are launched into a show building for Verbolten's indoor section which features various diving curves, helixes and hills before the train comes to a stop on a brake section, all the time surrounded by various special effects. After being still for several seconds the train unexpectedly drops vertically downwards, and is then launched out of the building for the outdoor section.
Verbolten is a fantastic, rather forceful, family ride with some excellent theming. Its LSM launches are pretty punchy, the layout (especially the indoor section) is fun but intense, and the vertical drop section is great if not as forceful or dramatic as Intamin's version.
Verbolten ride sign
The rollercoaster is in the Oktoberfest section of the park
Tour company themed station
Crashed car theming
Inside the station
Checking restraints
Out of the station
Into the forest
Dropping down
The famous Big Bad Wolf drop
At the top
Dropping down towards Rhine River
Final brakes
Back in the station
