CURSE OF DARKASTLE: The Chilling Tale of Busch Gardens’ Legendary Lost Dark Ride and the Rise of DarKoaster

Something remains…

In mid-2021, rumors began to circulate that Busch Gardens’ five year plan – rewritten from scratch after the COVID-19 pandemic – had gained an interesting addendum: a new ride to inhabit the abandoned DarKastle building…

Our friends at BGWFans.com first broke the story, chronicling the quiet development of an initiative they affectionately called “Project: DarKoaster.” Initial filings suggested that Busch Gardens sought to re-use the existing 30,000+ square foot ride area of the DarKastle showbuilding to house a new family-targeted roller coaster experience.

The notion of an all-indoor, multi-launch, family roller coaster was enough to warrant excitement among fans. Even better, though, was the implication that this ride would be developed by Intamin – renowned Swiss coaster manufacturers whose long streak of experimental (and often temperamental) rides has really peaked in the last decade with a string of undeniable hits (including the Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, and Busch Gardens’ own era-defining Pantheon).

And five years after DarKastle’s gates were shuttered, BGWFans’ finding suggested that something wholly unique was about to take shape within…

DarKoaster Rises

Obviously, a coaster squeezed into a former dark ride’s showbuilding won’t be breaking records for height or speed… But the plans unearthed by BGWFans did uncover something incredibly unique about the ride that would replace Curse of DarKastle.

Though just over 1,200 feet of track could be squeezed into the soundstage (with two launches along the way), this planned coaster had a trick up its sleeve. As the train reached the end of the course, rather than returning to the station, a track switch would divert the train down a bypass track segment running parallel to (but hidden from) the loading area. That would essentially return the train to the first launch section, accelerating it once more for another go-’round.

In other words, the rumored coaster would amount to over 2,400 feet of track, featuring four launches, all snuggly contained in the former DarKastle showbuilding. Even if this rumored coaster topped out only at 36 miles per hour, the family ride would no doubt feel faster thanks to the darkness (think of Space Mountain at Walt Disney World, which only reaches residential neighborhood speeds of 25 miles per hour despite the sensation otherwise) and provide a surprisingly significant ride time along the way.

Not only did BGWFans get the specifics spot-on… they even got the name. DarKoaster was officially announced September 6, 2022. Billed as “America’s First All-Indoor Straddle Coaster,” the ride would use Intamin’s tried-and-true “straddle” train design (cast on previous coasters as four-wheelers, jet-skis, motorcycles, horses, off-roading Jeeps, and Hagrid’s motorbikes) in one of their most recurring roles: snowmobiles.

(Of note: DarKastle isn’t the only remnant of a previous SeaWorld Parks owner’s extravagance to be converted into a snowmobile-themed family roller coaster in 2023; SeaWorld San Diego turned its long-abandoned Wild Arctic motion simulator into the departure point for the Intamin-made Arctic Rescue coaster at the same time. Rumors suggest that a similar snowmobile ride is likely to overtake SeaWorld Orlando’s “Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin” trackless dark ride in the near future…)

DarKoaster’s marketing promised that it wouldn’t just be a re-use of Ludwig’s real estate; it would be a continuation of his tale. Though extensive behind-the-scenes videos of the ride’s development, the ride’s creative team discussed how the new coaster would build on Ludwig’s story, nod to the dark ride’s scenes and stories, and even feature a musical score paying homage to its predecessor.

It’s not easy to create a sequel to a beloved, fan-favorite, story-centered dark ride… especially not in an entirely new medium. So what awaits inside Ludwig’s fortress now?

Escape the Storm

DarKoaster officially opened May 19, 2023, with hordes of DarKastle devotees on-hand to see what Ludwig’s newest adventure might have in store.

Whereas DarKastle was a ghostly, eerie attraction with “Haunted Mansion” style flickering torches and misty, icy gardens, DarKoaster updates the aesthetic. Now, you and I play the roles of tourists to Bavaria’s Oktoberfest celebration. Some hunker down at Das Festhaus for a beer and knackwurst ; others opt for a relaxing tour of Germany at Gerta & Gunter’s Tours and Rentals (the frame story for the similarly story-driven family coaster, Verbolten).

But for urban explorers and ghost hunters like us, it’s hard to ignore the allure of that old, abandoned, supposedly-haunted castle on the edge of town… Surely, legends of a “Mad King” who once resided there still echo through the stone corridors.

If there was a curse that kept this castle frozen in time, it must be broken now. The statue in the garden’s center isn’t of perched wolves anymore, but of a pair of legs and a saber, belonging to a long-crumbled statue of the departed King Ludwig. (Faced carved in the statue’s base seem to represent Ludwig and his long-lost mother, though ostensibly not the character models you’ll remember from DarKastle.)

Great efforts have been made to reinforce the ride’s modern-day timeline. Throughout the castle’s colonnade and hallways, signs instruct us that the building is condemned, and that we enter at great personal risk. Queue switchbacks are punctuated by piles of cases spray-painted with the ghostly logo of the “Dark Tours” travel company. A plaque – no doubt installed by a local historical society – briefly summarizes the story of Ludwig and suggests that even now, the crumbling palace is known as “DarKastle.” Snowmobile parts and loose skis indicate that when the weather around here turns, it turns ugly. But of course, for ghost hunters like us, the promise of being snowed in to a potentially-haunted castle has to sound like winning the lottery.

The queue continues into the former “Tapestry” room, now presided over by a portrait of Ludwig himself. (It’s no surprise that Ludwig doesn’t quite look like his old self. After all, Falcon’s Creative apparently retains the rights to the DarKastle IP insofar as they offer the ride for sale through their’s Falcon’s Licensing division should any other park decide to purchase it for themselves.)

Amid winter jackets strewn across cases, several pieces of ghost-hunting equipment are set up around the room with various meters and screens recording the happenings in the chamber… Of course, keep an eye on the portrait and you may see the ghostly visage of Ludwig lean out from the portrait, scan the room, howl in frustration, then sink back into the frame. It’s not much of a “pre-show” but the little flash of exposition tells you most of what you need to know to “get” DarKoaster: there is, indeed, the ghost of a Mad King that still inhabits this castle, and our appearance has made him mad.

From there, it’s into the former stables, where now (appropriately), we’ll climb aboard not golden sleighs, but sleek purple and gold snowmobiles. We’re supposed to surmise that while we’ve been inside DarKastle, a supernaturally-sudden winter storm has whipped up, and that our only chance of escape is to take to the snowy grounds on these left-behind snowmobiles facing whatever natural and supernatural trials may await in the snow…

As we discuss in our full review of DarKoaster, it’s definitely smarter to call DarKoaster a spiritual successor to DarKastle than an outright sequel or continuation. It’s clear that Ludwig served as an inspiration for the new ride, but only the simplest “Easter eggs” of the dark ride can be found within. This Ludwig doesn’t quite resemble the one we remember. He doesn’t speak, either. And there’s not really a “beginning, middle, and end” to our race through the darkness…

Which isn’t to say DarKoaster isn’t a very fun ride in its own right – it is! Along the double-pass course the “snowmobiles” reach 36 miles per hour and tackle dips of about as many feet, altogether blazing along 2,454 feet of track and those impressive four launches. (Our hand-drawn ride layout above, the point-of-view video below, and an off-ride look at DarKoaster in action will help you keep your bearings.)

In short, riders launch through the darkened, hollow interior of the showbuilding, passing the occasional physical prop or projected element. As expected, some elements are only viewed on one pass or another. Others change via lighting and projection between rounds one and two. Admittedly, the contents also vary in quality – a set of static mannequin “ghouls” that light up as you pass in round one is more hokey than homage, and Launch B takes place beneath odd, suspended “clouds” that fire lightning bolts on the second go-round).

Notably, just one physical set from DarKastle remains – the “exterior” castle wall that separates the ride from the loading zone (above), previously seen via the “Castle Gates” scene and now running parallel to the between-rounds bypass.

Arguably and in terms of show quality, it might’ve actually been stronger to have filled DarKoaster’s cavernous interior with fog and used even simple projection tricks (think Space Mountain’s disco ball “stars”) to leave guests dipping and diving through a perpetual, roiling “snow storm,” dashing this way and that in the foggy snow drifts as projected surfaces show Ludwig’s werewolf spirit giving chase. Instead, the ride’s sparse decor don’t do it many favors in terms of show quality, and certainly nothing approaching story.

Likewise, the ride’s music is also an odd choice. Despite earlier suggestion, it doesn’t seem to draw at all from DarKastle’s score. Worse, it sounds more like music meant to be looped in an eerie queue rather than the action-packed score of a multi-launch coaster. It doesn’t take much to imagine re-using the exciting, orchestral score of DarKastle’s motifs.

More to the point, it would’ve been nice to have a musically-triumphant finale that left riders on the brake run feeling they’d “succeeded” in escaping and cheering as they re-entered the station. Instead, the low-level hum of eerie background music just sort of fades away as the trains enter a projection of Ludwig’s open mouth. You can get a sense of that musical oddness in the point-of-view video below…

The ride’s music, too, leaves something to be desired. It doesn’t seem to draw at all from DarKastle, and more to the point, it sounds more like an eerie, background score developed for a queue than the action-packed, dramatic score of a ride; a more high-energy, orchestral piece borrowing DarKastle’s motifs would’ve helped, and a triumphant finale would’ve told riders on the brake run that they’d “succeeded” in escaping, leaving them cheering as they re-enter the station (a la Universal Orlando’s Revenge of the Mummy). Instead, the eerie background music just quietly concludes as the ride enters a projection of Ludwig’s mouth to signal its end.

But ah well. Ultimately, DarKoaster is a better legacy-leaver to DarKastle than an empty event space was, and the new ride perfectly fills the gap between Grover’s Alpine Express and the more intimidating Verbolten in the park’s lineup.

And hey, escaping Ludwig’s wrath a second time? For Busch Gardens fans, it’s a victory well earned. We just have to hope – for the park’s sake! – that they’re committed to DarKoaster in a way that they couldn’t quite manage for its predecessor.

Ludwig’s legend

While the years had not always been kind to Curse of DarKastle, it earned this spot in our lineup of Lost Legends for the way it dared to take a ride system so defined by its original installation and bravely reinvent it. DarKastle was just the kind of ride Disney Parks fans clamor for – an original story with compelling characters, brought to life with thoughtful detail and cutting edge technology.

With DarKastle, Busch was convinced that they could make a multi-sensory, 4D, motion-based dark ride of their own, and they succeeded. Packed with thoughtful details, twists and turns, and a compelling plot, DarKastle was indeed a wonder… even if it might’ve been more spectacular than SeaWorld could maintain.

The good news is, like Ludwig himself, the story of DarKastle may not really be over. As the ruins outside of Oktoberfest find a new way to drop guests into the midst of a supernatural frozen fable, we’ve got our spirits high about how DarKastle may live on…

Then, we want to know your thoughts. Did you know the icy history of DarKastle’s real-life inspiration? Do you remember the “original” DarKastle before its 2006 swap for thrills? Did you noticed the ride’s steady decline into a C-Ticket family ride? Will you miss this forward-thinking dark ride at Busch Gardens, or was it simply too ahead of its time for SeaWorld to maintain?