originally posted on 9/23/2022 1:19:00 AM
Image: Courtesy of Busch Gardens. View full-sized image.
With technology allowing for increasingly long-range predictions, visitors to Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Virginia) may want to arrive prepared with winter coats, scarves and snow boots for the 2023 season. The forecast is already calling for a raging storm on the grounds of King Ludwig’s resurfaced, abandoned fortress, and brave souls will be called upon to board snowmobiles and embark on an expedition to uncover the secrets behind Virginia’s meteorological phenomenon.
DarKoaster: Escape The Storm, billed as the world’s first all-indoor straddle coaster, will be supplied by Intamin Worldwide and will utilize the park’s iconic Curse of DarKastle building that has been closed since the dark ride was removed following the 2017 season. While no specific details have been released regarding what riders will encounter behind the walls, the coaster is expected to pay homage to the beloved attraction with subtle theming nods obvious to Busch Gardens Williamsburg fans.
With Pantheon, the park’s multilaunch thriller, having debuted for the 2022 season, DarKoaster will be juxtaposed in back-to-back years. “DarKoaster will be an exciting and unique addition to our world-class lineup of coasters,” said Kevin Lembke, Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s park president. “Featuring four launches along 1,400 feet of track, riders will traverse most of the circuit twice for an adventure covering a total of 2,454 feet of twisted steel. Due to its indoor setting and 48-inch height requirement, the attraction will be “a ride for the whole family to conquer… throughout the year.”
Keen-eyed coaster enthusiasts will note the snowmobiles in the rendering provided by Busch Gardens Williamsburg closely resemble the jet skis riders board on SeaWorld San Antonio’s Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster, leading to speculation that DarKoaster will utilize a similar ride experience and perhaps even feature common mechanical components. Trains are expected to be five rows of two.
Track is in place for DarKoaster.
Photo: Clint Novak. View full-sized image.
Considering the entirety of the coaster’s structure and track already having been assembled inside the former DarKastle building, the truth will likely not be known until it starts welcoming its first adventurers in 2023 (at the time of this publication, an opening date has not been announced).
When DarKoaster debuts, it will join a much-acclaimed lineup of coasters in Amusement Today’s 2022 Golden Ticket Awards winner for Most Beautiful Park, including Alpengeist, Apollo’s Chariot, Griffon, InvadR, Pantheon and Verbolten. It is also worth noting Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the home of Loch Ness Monster, for which an event held to commemorate its opening in 1978 served as the venue for the formation of ACE. The park will reach a coaster count in the double digits (10).
— Rob Ascough
#ACENews