Name: Verbolten
Manufacturer: Zierer
Speed: 53 miles per hour (85 km/h)
Drop: 88 feet (27 m)
Length: 2,835 feet (864 m)
Duration: 3:25
Theme: Car/Autobahn

The ride will be themed to the Autobahn, a German highway. As shown in the teaser video, a car takes a leisurely trip down the Autobahn, but suddenly lighning strikes the car and causes it to drive into the Black Forest, a "forbidden" forest in which the ride takes place. The dark forest encounters weather changes, such as lightning, as shown in the video. In addition, one launch will take place inside an indoor "event building", which will house multiple special effects.

Well now it's official, what do we think?

FAIR BOLTEN!

Kind of excited to see what all is going to go on inside the building. Vertical drop, launch, effects?!

People wanted a fair replacement for BBW? Well, here it is. It seems like the kind of coaster to fill that "Loch Ness is too big" and "Grover is too boring" gap kids seem to go through. I'm really hoping it doesn't turn out like Back Lot Shit Coaster over at KD, because I can't help but notice some similarities.

Why does everyone hate BLSC? It isn't that bad, ride wise. I mean it sucks they had to remove the MINI cooper fascia. But it is still a cool little coaster. Although it is uncomfortable...

..oh well..

I think Verbolten will definitely fill the shoes of BBW and looks about 16.7 times more interesting than BLSC if only because of that epic drop over the Rhine.

I think it'll be a lot of fun, and 50mph really isn't bad at all. Flight of Fear is awesome and it's only 54mph.

My only concern is no matter how awesome the show building is the first couple of years, effects are eventually going to break and then someone is going to get lazy or it just won't be in the budget to fix them, and the overall effect will be totally lost. Staring at you fireplace in DarKastle, where the fire at? Can't really Heat Things Up without fire... </rant> Then again even theming champions have their issues, Disney at the Yeti?

And how many people are going to pronounce the name wrong? Verboten (sounds like FAIR). Hey America, German V's found like American F's and German R's sound like 'air' I'm sure I'll be annoyed to no end about this, hate being educated sometimes...

I think Back Lot gets a lot of bad rap simply because of how awful it looks. (And for the fact that the "effects" are quite cheap and feel outdated). The actual ride itself isn't too bad, and that helix right at the beginning packs a fairly big punch for such a small ride, IMO.

Though as Alpenghost has said, the seats are extremely uncomfortable, painful even. Any bit of padding would be wonderful, but that would cause problems for a lot of, erm, larger, Americans.

I have hope for this ride, as long as they can keep the effects up, as Bry said, then it should be great. I'm really looking forward to the bridge and the drop over the Rhine. I wonder if they'll have a stop on the bridge and have creaky sounds and stuff before they let you drop? Because if I remember correctly, the second launch will be before that bridge, and there they will have breaks. (Could be wrong though.)

And I will never say FairBolten. My stupid American mind will always read it as a v. Sorry for being ignorant.

Well I think it sounds great.

My only problem with it is the theme... Black forest... and cars? Why? I feel like they are mashing things together that make no sense, desperately trying to involve racing cars somehow where it otherwise simply isn't appropriate. I'm worried the racing element won't fit with the park.


I would have thought the pronunciation was "Vair-bolt-ten"? I suppose that's practically the same. If I say "fair" with a german accent it's practically "vair".

Meh to pronounciation, America will do as America does Stupidity will always annoy me, as I'm sure my own stupidity annoys others.

Anyway, Joey, cars & and the black forest? I'm just more concerned about a car themed ride in Busch in general. How we go from old world charm throughout the entire park (minus Sesame Street) to a modern concept thrown in the mix, blah. They really should have been like 1700s horse drawn carriages at the very least. I'd just love to be a fly on the wall in these concepting meetings.

Indeed. Who knows...

I'd blame it on the takeover, but Mach Tower does fit in with the other themes.

All the park's themes are odd, in my opinion. They aren't, by and large, based on well known European stories or things you'd think of first. They are all a bit obscure... With the exception of Loch Ness Monster. Cars couldn't be further from the other stuff, which makes me wonder if that was a conscious decision to deviate..? But that begs the question as to why Mach Tower was one of the prime examples of a weird theme and yet they probably started work on the coaster before Mach Tower?

I agree that the cars are totally off-the-map. (HA!) They don't really add much of anything. Who takes a high speed car into the Black Forest?! I would have been happy with generic coaster cars rather than automobile themed cars. They just don't...work for me.

To be honest, it seems like the coaster Zierer said "Hey, we only do car-themed coaster cars. Work around it." And Busch just said "M'KAY!"

Mach is sort of an odd theme, but it works because it's odd, if that makes sense. Verbolten would be improved tenfold if they just got ride of the gimmicky auto-theme. It's over used and underwhelming.

Maybe the cars came from the idea of Ferrari World? Gimics and trends oh my! Yeah that or zierer said that quote, very reminicent of Clients From Hell haha, hopefully not nearly that bad but still.

I think I agree with Dillon that an unthemed train with a nice paint job would work wonders and do away with any cheesiness. Honestly can we really judge until seeing the actual trains?

Yes, we can judge it, because it's not the visuals it's the concept that's urking me.

Sorry but since it's in America it'll be pronounce as it's spelled. Anyway, who wrote the laws on proper language? I work with Mexicans that can't pronounce my name correctly and I don't call them idiots. It's what you learn and I'm fine if everyone pronounces things the way they learn them. I'll have to ride this first but it sounds like a fail! A launch coaster 53 mph? BG has lost the race in the thrill coaster department but are taking major steps backwards. It don't have to go 90 but what about 65 to 70? If you want to be realistic how many cars go 53 mph down the autobahn? They market as a family attraction but you have to be 48 inches to ride? Wasn't the Wolf 42 inches or am I off on that? Anyway, I can't wait to see if they build another coaster as I've heard talk about, hopefully it'll be a flying coaster or something exciting.

Flight of fear goes 54 and packs enough punch. Who cares how fast it actually goes as long as the track is designed to accommodate for the speed and make it thrilling? He'll I'm in love with Disneyland's Space Mountain and that thing goes what, 20mph?

I guess I should have posted it a bit different. If it's going to be a slower "family ride" as Busch Gardens is saying then make it 42 inches so kids can ride it. My daughter is just now 42 inches and I'm guessing she has two more years before she gets to 48 inches or even a bit more. For me, unless it goes backwards like Expedition Everest, then speed does matter. That is just my personal taste, I like speed and if they are trying to theme it like the autobahn as I mentioned in my last post the speed of 53 is too slow. The trains should be more like a prius if that's the case.

Love the "Clients from Hell" site, hahahaha.

I completely see where s99 is coming from. Autobahn = fast in most people's minds, and let's be honest, people go faster down I64 than this coaster (traffic permitting, which admittedly isn't often.)

But, as Bry said, FoF only hits 54 and that thing is probably my favorite at KD. Granted, it's twisty and turny with inversions and in darkness, which actually increases the feeling of speed. Half of Verbolten will be outside, losing that "unsure" element of darkness that it will have inside the "event building."

I think after a while, I'll come to terms with the auto-theme, but it still irks me simply because it just doesn't make sense. It just won't look right seeing vehicles driving through a forest. Fast vehicles. Unless they do turn out to be Prius's hahahaha.

It's fun to mock Americans for their ignorance because Americans haven't a clue what happens outside their country, where as everyone else in the world is fully culturally aware of every culture in the world, obviously. *sarcasm*

As for Americans pronouncing things as they are spelt, really no. Vitamin.... Where's the e guys? Oh that's right, there isn't one, cuz it's vit-a-min not vite-a-min. Don't you guys also say kindergarten as kinder-garden?

Not saying we're any better in the UK, but if we pronounced everything as it was spelt then dyslexia would be a thing of the past...

I'm kind of with you though, it doesn't actually matter. Most people call Volkswagen volts-wagon here, I dunno about in the US?



As for the speed thing... it's not top speed that actually matters. It's acceleration primarily, and the illusion of speed created by passing objects. Being a terrain coaster, I almost guarantee it will feel faster than any other ride at the park. 50mph can feel insane at ground level on a coaster. I would have thought Griffon has the highest top speed of BGW's coasters, but it feels the slowest because it lacks any sense of acceleration or interaction with the environment.

As for the realism thing, I wonder how many cars driving through the black forest plummet underground? Come on, this ride is a fanciful narrative like all the park's attractions. You know the Loch Ness Monster doesn't exist, right?

Flying coasters and exciting are not words I'd put together. Flying coasters are about experience.

None of the park's rides are very intense or scary, I'm not sure why this one's bothering you. If anything, the fact that it has a drop mechanism and a launch already makes it more intense than all the park's existing coasters.

You have weird ideas my friend.

Well I'd say my opinions are what they are, not weird or wrong. If I think flying coasters are exciting, who's to say I'm wrong? It's my opinion! I understand the whole fantasy thing about rides like Loch Ness. In a fantasy you can still theme it well, for example would you build a ride theming like a dog track and make the cars or trains designed like a collie or would a grey hound make better since? I'm just saying we can put some realism in a fantasy theme to make it better. It is also your opinion about Griffon feeling like the slowest coaster there. My opinion is different, the free fall feeling then going under a tight bridge feels plenty fast for me. It feels faster than Apollo's for me but that's my opinion. I do agree rides can feel faster because of elements like Alpengiest feels faster to me than 67 mph. Expedition Everest at Disney AK feels faster than it is because of the elements so I'll give you that. I'm not going to judge anyone here because we all have rights to our own opinions!

Oh I do hate it when people pull the "just my opinion!" card. Yes, of course you are, I never said you weren't. I never criticised you, I was just challenging your thoughts. That's healthy discussion.

As someone who lives in a country where the majority of quality rides are terrain coasters, who then visited the US and went massive coasters who are like twice the actual speed of those back home but feel half it, I think you'll be blown away by how fast 50mph can feel when there's scenery whizzing by.

I'm baffled how anyone could think Griffon seems fast or intense. To me, it's probably the tamest large coaster I've been on. It's so tame. It is absolutely forceless. If you close your eyes on it, nothing actually happens.

As for your comment on realism, I do kind of agree, but I don't think the speed thing is an example of what you're talking about. I'm far more bothered by the combination of the dark mythical fantastic forest with the autoban theme, which just frankly makes no sense, than the top speed which I know from has no actual impact on ride experience.

If you're well into your realism, boy you'd love the Merlin parks - who go out of their way to convey the mundane boring realism of the everyday in their themes.

"War-uh" Don't want to hear about pronunciations. hahahaha

The "opinion" card is only valid on national holidays and Wednesdays.

But seriously, I do agree that proximity to the ground/scenery does impact the feeling of speed. (Hence why you feel like you're going slower in a massive truck than in a small hatchback car.) And Griffon has its days, but mostly, it is quite tame. The two drops are great, but I honestly don't feel like I'm going 70 mph (or however fast it gets, as I don't remember at present). It's sort of like an...un-circular swing? You're just sort of gliding, which is perfectly fine, and tremendously enjoyable might I add. It's just not the terrifying experience it's made out to be.

If they theme something to a mythical creature, they won't have things that don't pertain to that mythical creature. (Ex: Titanic in the queue for Loch Ness. It just doesn't go together, even though they're both "in water.") I think a ride should pick a theme and stick with it, not mash two themes together that don't even fit. Purely autobahn, sure, ok, I can deal. Purely black forest, awesome. Auto-black-forest-bahn: No. I honestly think they've just slammed the autobahn in there to make people think it's fast. To draw "those" Americans in who think "OH AUTOBAHN IT'S GOING TO BE SUPUH FAST AND FERRARI AND I WANT CAKE NOW." In other words, it's a marketing gimmick.

Why are people defending a slow family coaster calling it intense. First off nobody has seen the ride, next like I said a mere 53 mph doesn't impress me. If speed don't matter, ask the people who ride Maverick at Cedar Point which has speed and has tight turns, inversions and speaks of being thrilling. Back to Griffon, I never was quoted in saying it was intense. Of course it's not but to me the free fall of the first drop feels fast and smooth, the whole ride is smooth but is quite brisk. Try riding it at 45 degrees and say it seems slow. Maybe I wouldn't be so hung up on the theming of Verbolten if they would have made it like a country road vs. the Autobahn and also have like Mini Cooper cars or something like that to fit the whole fantasy. Busch Gardens theming has been going down even when AB owned the park. Think of Apollo's Chariot, and Griffon the last two coasters are really weak on theming. They used to do great, Loch Ness was themed well, I think even Alpengiest could make an arguement for a well themed ride. I always thougt Escape from Pompeii was done well, Curse of Dar Kastle was done well too. Since Sea World Entertainment took over if that's what they are calling themselves now we have Europe in the Air, I'll let everyone judge that. This year we got Mach Tower, not exactly themed well. I guess I should be glad they are attempting to theme Verbolten.

This is off topic, but I hope this will bring some life back to this board.

Anyway, in regards to Verbolten, I feel this is a smart move for the park. Keep in mind that Busch parks, as they like to claim themselves, prefer to create "experiences" rather than record-breaking thrill rides. Their logic is that something that is considered a fun new addition will bring the people through the gates, and if they can throw in a few new world's-first things, so be it, as is the case with Verbolten. Those few new things are used in marketing only, as the final product is more focused on a re-ridable, "fun" coaster that can put a smile on guests faces as they get off. That's what you call reaching your target market.

I'm just trying to convince you that you're underestimating what 50mph can do based on what we know about the ride, and what I know about other rides.

I'm also trying to convince you that your perception of the park's other coasters as being big scary thrill rides is only that, perception.

Here's why Verbolten will be more intense than you are writing it off to be. (I made a car pun there... but none of you Americans will get it, so I'll have to explain that "writing it off" is what we call "totaled" SEE ITS FUNNY ISNT IT?)
- Firstly, intensity we experience on a coaster is primarily subjective. It's not just about actual forces pulled. It's about the length of time for which they are pulled, the illusion of speed, the change of forces, the wind hitting your face, etc.
- Verbolten is not a massive B&M... so it's only got to compete with LNM for intensity, and that isn't exactly intense either. Large B&Ms just are not intense by any stretch of the imagination. Alpengeist is very tame (I <3 it though) but hits 67mph, compared to Nemesis which only hits 50. Or to go with an example you'd know, Batman, which is again only 50. It's not speed that matters, it's the speed with which it takes an element. The higher the speed in the smaller the element, the more intense a ride will be. Because Batman, and even more so with Nemesis, are so comparatively tiny and less drawn out between elements, they are more intense.
- With launching coasters, the top speed seems to be irrelevant, it's the acceleration speed that's important. Whats the acel on this? Do we even know yet? You guys who experienced Hypersonic should know this fact more than anyone, it had an insane acel speed. Yes, it reached 80mph too, but I bet it felt a heck of a lot more intense than any of the Intamin ones which reached 80+.
- It's a terrain coaster, they always feel a heck of a lot faster than they are.
- 50mph isn't slow anyway... It's pretty standard.

Maverick is one of my favourite coasters, but it feels insane because it's a small terrain coaster. Like you said, tight turns. Thats' the key here. Same with Intimidator's second half. It's drop, whilst I only rode it with trims, doesn't feel fast at all because there's no scenery rushing by. The second you near the ground it's like holy... ssssshh! Also, Maverick only hits 70 after the launch. One thing that really is impressive about Maverick is the dynamic changes in speed, intensity, direction, landscape and style.

This won't feel anything comparable to Maverick, but assuming it's not trimmed to death like Thirteen (Thirteen's layout was designed without the second lift in mind, which was then added to be a block section, and it had to be trimmed...), it'll be better than you expect.


I just brought it up as an example, and I agree completely with you. Griffon hits 71mph, which is why I brought it up. It's very fast, but... doesn't seem it. First time I rode it was in winter and it was indeed pretty... terrible.


I think the dip in theming was a worldwide thing, actually, because we're seeing a return to the heavy use of theming in the UK now too. Like with the whole AB takeover, people in the UK blame the takeover from Tussauds to Merlin for the theming downfall, when actually it began long before that. So I agree with you there. I think it's down to the fact that everyone has now tried bigger, better, gimicks, worlds firsts and now everyone is trying to offer something truly different with the use of narrative to immerse people and completely transform the experience of the hardware.

I think bgeguy is right. And I think it's odd that we haven't seen a coaster like this (one based around narrative and aimed at a wider audience) from the park before.

I liked Thirteen, I liked Expedition Everest and I liked Winjas, but I think these trick-track storytellers all have things missing that, from here, it looks like Verbolten is addressing. Thirteen was too tame and the theming was weak, Expedition Everest's pause mid-trick really kills the immersion and Winjas lacks a narrative to guide you.

By the way guys, I'm going to the Euro Attractions Show next week, and Zierer will be there. I wonder if they are showing technology from this? If you have anything you'd like me to ask them, post it in here.

Just want to throw in there that Maverick is only really fast at one point, after the launch… oh and it also goes right into some trim brakes right after that launch too, so really the ride is probably below 50mph for most all of it but feels faster cause of the low to groundness.

53 is just a number, perceptions will be everything.

And from seeing the giant pit and the show building foundations in person, it's incredibly compact so that 53 will probably feel insane with how tight the turns are going to be.

Well, I'll have to be amazed then I guess. I thought maverick had a top speed of 70 or so on the first drop as well the launch out of the tunnel, but I get your point. To me being inside takes speed off just like closing your eyes. I don't know what Cheetah Hunt (sp?) is like because I never rode it but it looks pretty intense because it's outside and lots of tight turns. I look foreward to each ride being a bit better and maybe Verbolten will be better than Maverick and CH. just like Griffon was higher, faster, and for a few months the only floorless dive coaster. Kingda Ka topped TTD and so on, I just don't believe this one is topping other similar rides but I could be wrong and I hope I'm wrong since I have a season pass and go to BG about 10 times a year.

We'll really just have to wait and see about the feeling of speed inside, lighting design will play a big role here I'd think.

As for being the "best of its kind" I'm really just expecting something similar to the DarKastle - Spiderman comparison: A nice attempt and can stand on its own fine but it's obviously no Disney/Universal attraction.

Maverick is only 100ft, there's no way a 100ft coaster can hit 70mph from gravity. I bet it doesn't even even hit 50 on that drop like Bryan says. I mean think about it, if it takes Intimidator 300ft to hit 90 and it that has a much heavier train.

Revenge of the Mummy is only 45mph, indoors, but feels absolutely insane. When I googled it's speed I was expecting at least 60. Who even knows how that gives the illusion of speed. That ride is insane. I love Premier's rides, how on earth do they do it.

I'm not expecting this to be anywhere near as good as either of these rides, as those rides are in the outstanding category. If we rate coasters on a 1-10 basis, they are like a ... 12. But I do think it'll be a lot more exciting than you imagine, that's all.

Gonna try and speak to Zierer today, see if they've had much other interest for similar complicated ride systems. The UK representative probably won't know that much about Verbolten, but we'll see.

I thought Mummy was faster than that for sure, really need to get around to riding that one of these days...

Oh hey almost time for the weekend and going to the park again!

I spoke to Zierer yesterdaaaay. They were very friendly. Obviously couldn't share much about Verbolten, but I found out that they don't manufacturer the launches they use. Somewhat interesting.

That is an interesting little tidbit. Could you tell if it was another coaster company or a thrd party all together? Watch Intamin does it

Mummy is only 45?! Jesus. That ride feels like it's at least 60 hahaha. As Bry said, it's likely to do with lighting and things, which will play a large part in Verbolten's indoor section.

I'm actually really excited to see what they do inside that building. Think they'll have a sort of cinema screen and show a clip before the vertical drop? Or just animatronic/loud tree noises?

And I guess that doesn't really surprise me that Zierer doesn't do the launches. A smaller company like that probably doesn't have the resources to have a pnuematics/hydraulic/magnetic devision for launches. Though, if they don't do the launches, will they have the fin brakes, as on Maverick? Or will they have old-fashioned clamp-style brakes? OR SKID BRAKES YES. No. But if they do have the fin brakes, I imagine the same people that do the launch will be doing the brakes....

^Hmm thinking of cinema screens, Busch should know how to do this. Sea World San Diego had some pretty nifty screens surrounding the track oh Atlantis on the elevator lift section.

I've heard a few people talking about a verticle drop on here but nothing from BG. What's the deal with that and how do you pull this off? I saw the land that was cleared and the building area don't look all that large but maybe because I haven't seen it up close. I would think you'd be in and out of that building in a matter of 15 seconds or so unless it slows down when you go in for effects. Also has anyone heard if the construction is on target for the rumored opening date of the parks first operating day next season?

Went to Busch Gardens yesterday. The cement pad supports for the BBW hill that flew down to the river are still there and may be used for Verbolten?

They are going to be reused as far as I know.

I have some pics from yesterday I'll have to put online when I get a moment to.

I honestly don't remember where I heard the vertical drop thing, but I'm almost 95.675% sure that there will be a vertical drop, similar to Thirteen at Alton.

And, because of this vertical drop, they will indeed need to full-stop you inside the building. Granted, the building section still likely won't last more than 30-45 seconds anyway. But in coaster time, that's quite a while.

The footers I think have already been slightly modified to be used by Verbolten, unless I'm mistaken. They look...different? Like a second block on top of the larger BBW footer. Dunno though, could be insane.

Pictures would be lovely!

Anyone think there will be jets that shoot off, similar to Hulk, or Maverick, or the old Anaconda around the coaster when it gets close to the water?

Side note: Why is this the only topic that's got any life? Seems like I killed the others dead, hahaha. Sadface McSadderson. Go talk people. Talk about the awesomeness (or lack thereof) of the Six Flags coasters next year! Or other things.

There is indeed a drop track section. It's just before you leave the event building.

I've got the gallery ready to go, I can't get the files to upload over the horrid wifi we have here at school </annoyed to all hell> So as soon as I get a hold of an ethernet cable or go home they'll be added to the gallery.

Speaking of the Gallery... holy hell I need to give that thing a new skin, forums too. De-cluttering ahoy!

Where the pics at?

Annoying server issues, trying to troubleshoot and failing at it

Decided to switch it up entirely and get new gallery software. This new one has an iPhone app I can get and upload directly from there which may be cool with an iPhone 4S

Anyway! Here's the album: Click Here (ignore how ugly the gallery looks for right now, mmk?

Pics look great! That slab for the even building is gigantic. I wonder if they'll put up walls before the track or after? I'm assuming the supports will go in before the walls, but you never know. They were hard at work Friday, crane moving and all! Super excited for when vertical construction starts! Namely, the Rhine-drop supports/bridge.

Also, I really like the way that gallery thing is set up, with the info popping up when you hover over a picture. And yes, there are an outlandish number of olddddd pictures. (Side note: You would /regarding iPhone five hundred ninety-three)

Yeah I'm going to assume they'll add all the track and any over-sized objects before the walls go up. If anyone is going this weekend I'd be willing to add the pics to the gallery (all credits given of course). I won't be going again until next Friday for fall break.

Saw the construction update in the gallery. Lookin' great! I just have one question: it seems that the coaster hits a brake run, does a steep u-turn, then hits the drop track section. I don't really understand why they have the brake run, as I'm sure there are brakes on the drop track?

Maybe it just made that much sense when designing to be able to clear that section of track so another train can prepare instead of waiting for the first train to go all the way through the drop track section.

The track does look wickedly nice and compact though, looks potentially very thrilling.

I see the inside park of the track is black. Is that going to be the color outside too?

not sure yet, I'm going to assume probably. Cars drive on roads, roads are usually black?

Ah yes, I blanked on block sections the other day. Good call. It definately makes more sense now, as I'm sure that drop section adds an extra 15-20 seconds onto the ride time, which is quite a bit of time in the loading station, etc.

And I kind of imagined a grey-colored track if I'm being honest, but black seems appropriate. Black Forest, dark, mysterious, scary. Black works. Grey would actually be quite ugly now I think about it.

And I seriously can't wait until they start putting in that drop over the Rhine! Going to be awesome to see construction on a slope like that!

One other thing I've noticed is that in the concept art works the train seems to be fairly long, and judging by the brake section, looks like it will indeed be fairly long. I really hope it's not 3 cars like Stunt Coaster. I think they could fit a similarly sized 6-car train on that brake run and drop section with a bit of wiggle room, yes?

They did say it was going to have 16 passengers at a time I thought?
Construction over the Rhine should be really interesting indeed. I hope we get to see most of the ride together by the end of Christmas Town.

I'm going on Sunday so I should be able to get a good look at anything. I'll try to get some pictures. I haven't been to Howloscream in years. I hope it won't be winding down because its the last day.