DarKastle Rises
From a concept developed by Falcon’s Creative Group, Super 78 Studios animated ride footage that would tell the story of a legendary Mad King and his eternal quest for power… a tale inspired by the real Ludwig of Bavaria to be sure, but amounting to an entirely original story and a from-scratch cast of characters to rival the iconic figures developed in-house by Disney and Universal.
Working from Falcon’s provided layout and storyboarding, Studio 78 (who had not worked on Spider-Man) needed to essentially re-invent the astounding process initially developed for Universal’s ride that had been called “squinching” – the purposeful distortion of an images’ perspective to counter the changing sightline of guests moving past the image in a highly precise, pre-programmed path and pace.
Easier seen than said, the result is that if you were to stand in place in front of one of the ride’s screens, the image would appear to squish, stretch, elongate, squash, and slide. However, from the precisely-calculated point-of-view of a moving vehicle, the perspective appears natural, merely extending the scene.
On the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, guests boarded “SCOOPs” developed by the Daily Bugle as road-ready news-gathering vehicles – perfect for heading into the streets of New York in the midst of a Sinister Syndicate attack.
Now, the first application of Oceaneering’s EVOLUTION ride system would see its smaller, budget-friendly, pneumatic-motion, eight-passenger “SCOOPs” dressed as “Golden Sleighs” set to tour guests through the wintery castle grounds (and in turn, connect to a similar sleigh ride “one fateful night, long ago” as depicted in the ride’s pre-show).
Though construction on the site had begun in February 2004, it wasn’t until December that Busch Gardens officially confirmed Curse of DarKastle – a next-generation thrill ride set to open just five months later.
Curse of DarKastle opened May 1, 2005… but what guests found inside didn’t last long before being reimagined… Still, let’s step into Oktoberfest and see what Busch Gardens’ new ride had in store when it opened to guests.
Oktoberfest!
Ah, welcome to Bavaria and to the heart of Oktoberfest! Themed to the annual Munich-based “Volksfest” (or “People’s Festival”), Busch Gardens’ Oktoberfest is indeed alight with the sounds, smells, sights, and wonders of a true German celebration… Beer gardens, fresh hand-made pretzels, carnival rides, maypoles, banners, oompah music, lederhosen…
This really is a celebration of “The Old Country,” so much of which is reflected in the “melting pot” of American culture today.
Wrought-iron arbors and crawling vines turn this hamlet into one of the park’s most beautiful, reigned over by the gorgeous Festhaus where community tables, fresh German fare, and authentic entertainment invite you to “Roll Out the Barrel!”
…But for today’s adventure, we leave the warmth and celebration of Oktoberfest behind, weaving our way through vendors, games, and “Marktplatz” toward a most imposing sight…
Built up from the rocky peaks of the area is a central stone tower. Its square, pointed golden turret recalls the pointed tents of Oktoberfests’ food stales and games, as if the festival itself evolved to mirror this ancient, undisturbed castle it resides around.
The closer we get to it, the farther away the sounds of celebration; replaced by an eerie, distant whistling and a whispering wind…
The tower’s face is marred by ice, and water drips from its windows, streaming down into a pool of melted runoff below. It’s an eerie water feature, suggesting that this ancient castle is in the midst of an endless cycle of freezing and thawing… A tapestry is speared into the tower, frozen over with icicles seems somehow untouched by time. Its shimmering gold letters reading: Curse of DarKastle.
As a weenie, it’s a spectacular icon, drawing us inward to wonder what could await within… And as luck would have it, it appears that the wrought iron gates between perched, snarling stone would’ve have been opened. Do we dare journey into the ruins of Mad Ludwig’s kingdom? Of course we do. Our adventure through the Curse of DarKastle begins…
Within the gates
Though the gardens are overgrown with brambles, berries, shrubs, and holly, you can still make out the labyrinthine, circular path drawn around an imposing stone statue of three wolves… An overgrown, untended garden in the shadow of a frozen stone castle… There’s no mistaking it: we’ve stumbled upon something unusual…
The queue weaves around the threatening wolves, a mysterious mist seeming to hover over the icy gardens… In the distance, an ethereal note swells over the eerie, otherworldly, subdued musical score.
Naturally, we ascend out of the gardens and into the castle, past wrought-iron lanterns, carved crests, and stately windows, deep into the darkened hallways. Maroon wallpaper seems to conceal hidden wolf patterns as the stained glass windows suddenly seem to indicate that it’s a dark, snowy night… But how?
Eventually, guests are ushered into a circular chamber of carved stone arches and tapestries, lorded over by one single massive chandelier and flaming lantern torches encircling the room. Tapestries seem to show the same mysterious, handsome figure embroiled in battles, lavishing in the riches of the kingdom, and more. The largest tapestry in this stone chamber, however, shows only a vacant, wooded glen… But watch closely as the fibers of the tapestry appear to come alive, moving and shifting.
An original story calls for a prologue, and here, sealed in this antechamber, ours comes to life…
Long ago in the deepest heart of the Black Forest, a young prince lived – unloved, neglected – in a dark castle… Like the ghostly horrors that always grow in secret shadows, Prince Ludwig grew to be a troubled child. Soon, even the kindest servants avoided his evil gaze…
One dark winter’s night, as Ludwig wandered the lonely, frozen grounds of the castle, an old woman appeared. Outraged at this intrusion, Ludwig howled in fury! In her place crouched a snarling wolf… as her angry yellow eyes bored into Ludwig’s, she revealed his dark destiny: wicked ruler of a corrupt kingdom! Guided by the wolf, Ludwig set out to take the throne. His parents tried to put an end to his ruthless ambition, but they mysteriously vanished…
Mad little Ludwig became king and transformed the castle into an impenetrable fortress with secret passageways to terrify his guests! Soon, the treasury was empty. King Ludwig’s advisors tried to overthrow him, but he just laughed and threw a lavish winter festival in their honor. That night, Mad Ludwig led his guests on a tour of the castle in his fleet of Golden Sleighs. No one knows what really happened, but they say the walls echoed with terror…
The next morning, the sleighs were found in their stalls but no one ever found Ludwig or his party guests… and to this day, the castle remains frozen in time…”
The tapestry returns to its original image of the woodland, but now it’s covered in a blanket of snow. As a deep, bone-chilling iciness overcomes the chamber, the torches around the room turn blue, and a wall lifts up to reveal a secret passage into the castle’s “open air” stables, with red doors leading to each horse’s stall. High, vaulted stone ceilings overhead give way to the night sky beyond…
And there, a mysterious vehicle approaches. A line of Golden Sleighs gracefully glides along, picking us up for our own tour of the castle, just like that fateful night so many years ago… Only this time, the sleighs aren’t being pulled by horses…
Seated inside, our journey begins…
Reading this brings back so many memories. Curse of Darkastle was such a unique and special ride. It’s inclusion of a unique story, beautiful scenic work inside and out, and use of an emerging ride system tailor-made for lower budget, regional parks was such a huge step forward for the industry as a whole. Were it not for A-B needing to sell the entertainment division during its merger with InBev, immediately followed by the Great Recession, I truly feel we would see more of this ride system and a lot of creative and beloved experiences at many of the regional chains. Its decline is truly sad. In a park that is so consistently the most beautiful park in the country, the slow demise of DarKastle should have been the canary in the coal mine for BGW fans. Since this, we have seen quality decline around the park. I’m not intending to imply that the park is in shambles, but the unthemed Pantheon and lack of scenic elements and effects in DarKoster shows that budgetary considerations are the main priority. The spirit of creativity, and the willingness to take chances that could pay off for a singular park as well as the industry is slowly eroding at every park. However, seeing Cedar Fair beginning to invest again in themed lands (Aeronautica Landing at Carowinds and The Boardwalk and Cedar Point) gives me hope that we are at the beginning of a rebirth of regional parks outside of simply thrill destinations, and I hope that BGW joins in the revolution. The tradition and history of that passion exists in the forest in Williamsburg, and starting small with improvements and unique storytelling like DarKoaster is a first step back to what we all remember.