Things are getting weird in the roller coaster world…
Once upon a time, fans knew their coaster manufacturers forward and backward. Arrow. B&M. Intamin. Premier. RMC. But increasingly, something very unusual is spreading across the world of thrill rides: “Mutant Coasters“. These unique hybrids are literal fusions of new and old; of wood and steel; and even of multiple ride manufacturers whose dissimilar pieces are literally bolted together in plain sight. Like a chemical reaction, these unlikely combinations together create something entirely unique.
Today, we’ll take a look at six wild case studies of mutated rides, made of unusual pieces that build into one complete whole. We think you’ll agree that in most of these cases, we’re lucky to have seen what happens when these parts hybridized into something new…
It was January 2018 when Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced that unbeknownst to fans, they’d already taken their last ride on the park’s Lost Legend: Curse of DarKastle. Originally opened in 2005, DarKastle had done the unthinkable by porting the still-coveted ride system of Universal’s The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man to a regional, seasonal park. Punching well above its weight, Busch Gardens’ DarKastle was a cult classic fusion of mythology and technology, introducing a completely original story, characters, music, and world in a ride that was funny and frightening; action-packed and adventurous.
So when Busch Gardens re-opened for the spring season in 2018, seeing the gilded German palace on the edge of Oktoberfest roped off with its marquee removed was a heart-breaker. Even seeing the dark ride’s showbuilding hollowed out in favor of seasonal haunted houses and Santa Claus meet-and-greets felt like a gross underutilization of prime real estate… and a tragic abandonment of a genuinely-cool, original IP.
Image: SeaWorld Parks
Five years later, DARKOASTER was meant to change that. A return of a climate-controlled, indoor, “dark ride” style experience (in a park whose dark ride count has fallen from 2 to 0 in the last half-decade), DarKoaster is also intended to serve as a sort of “spiritual sequel” to the iconic dark ride that preceded it. Does it all come together? Well… (Naturally, spoilers for DarKoaster will be out in the light, so read on at your own risk!)
“Long ago, in the deepest heart of the Black Forest, a young prince lived – unloved – in a dark castle…”
Once upon a time, Curse of DarKastle was an almost-unbelievable technological showcase – well ahead of what guests would expect from a seasonal, regional theme park. This 21st century haunted house infused with a custom-created story of a Mad King hellbent on trapping guests in his icy palace did the unthinkable in attempting to repurpose Universal’s greatest ride system with Disney’s signature storytelling. It was a Modern Marvel; a testament to the newfound power and accessibility that technology afforded even to “in-between” parks… But of course, it was doomed.
Though DarKastle brilliantly headlined Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s park of myths, legends, and adventures from “The Old Country,” it ended up a ghost story itself… at least until a spirited return to DarKastle thawed the castle’s gates once more, creating a spiritual sequel few saw coming… Do dare cross the threshold into Mad King Ludwig’s Black Forest fortress, forever frozen in time…?
A new era of the “Coaster Wars” is upon us… but it looks a whole lot different than the one you’re used to.
In the evolving industry of thrill rides, something has changed… With records broken and re-broken, ceilings shattered, and park lineups packed with giant coasters, the age of being the “biggest,” “fastest,” and “tallest” has turned out to be pretty unsustainable. Instead, a new model is emerging – one where parks compete not with each other, but with themselves, looking for custom, personality-packed rides that can be beautifully integrated into their parks existing collections, history, and legends…
Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.
This article and hundreds more are available for Gold and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!
If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Gold and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.
Founded in 1987 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, B&M today is one of the world’s most respected roller coaster design & manufacturing films, supplying headlining attractions to amusement parks across the globe. In fact, you’d be hard off to find a major, thrill-focused coaster park in the United States (or elsewhere, for that matter) that doesn’t have at least one B&M creation among its lineup…! No, really… Try to think of one…
If you’re not sure, just venture into the rabbit hole of your friendly, neighborhood park’s unofficial fansite discussion board; scour RCDB; or more to the point, visit a park with a seasoned coaster enthusiast. Without fail, a coaster geek can spot a B&M a mile away thanks to unmistakable signs: rounded support columns; four-abreast trains; signature “pre-drops” before the biggie meant to relieve stress on chain lifts; buttery track transitions; signature maneuvers like wing-overs, dive loops, Immelmans, and cobra rolls… once you know how to spot them, B&Ms are everywhere.
Image: B&M
In part, the proliferation of B&M rides around the world is thanks to the firm’s apparent three-word mantra: reliability, reliability, reliability. A designer who knows how far to push the limits (and what lines not to cross compared to, say, their nearest competitors, Intamin), B&M rides are trustworthy crowd-pleasers and people-eaters. But the spread of B&M coasters is also due to their part in the epic “Coaster Wars” of the ‘90s and early 2000s, when parks were willing to spend big to prototype B&M’s cutting-edge, record-breaking ride systems that would earn parks attendance, awards, and acclaim.
The breakneck pace of innovation and the thirst for record-breaking has (mostly) quelled. The primary competitors in the “Coaster Wars” – Six Flags and Cedar Fair – have since noticed that in their two decades of bigger-taller-faster obsession, they might’ve accidentally forgotten to invest in anything but thrill rides, leading to a significant slowdown in coaster construction throughout the 2010s and a needed shift toward flat rides, dark rides, and entertainment. But now, a new patent suggests that B&M may be ready for a comeback…
Today, we’ll tour through the major reinventions of the roller coaster pioneered by B&M over its thirty year history, watching as they reposition, reorient, and remake riders’ roles in thrill rides. Think you know what B&M might have planned next? We bet you’ll be surprised…
Friends, family, we are gathered here today to close a chapter; to say our last goodbyes; to send a decade of attractions to the big theme park in the sky. In the 2010s, we bid adieu to no less than 20 once-ambitious attractions. Some went out in a blaze of glory; others, a wimpering spark of a doomed fire.
Yet for each of these 20 closed attractions – the good, bad, and downright ugly – their closures marked the end of memory-making for some. Indeed, your children or your grandchildren may never see these attractions in person, and unlike the 13 “Endangered” Rides We Worry May Not Survive the 2020s, for some of these attractions, their endings were a total shock. For others, that may be for the best… but in any case, here are our last goodbyes to 20 attractions we lost in the 2010s, in order of closure.
Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.
This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!
If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.
Humans have spent much of their modern history trying to take to the skies, and for nearly as long, theme parks have sought to create the seemingly impossible sensation of soaring. From the gentle charm of sailing over London on Peter Pan’s Flight to the breathless, tear-jerking wonder of AVATAR Flight of Passage, engineers have come a long way in granting humanity the power of flight. But once in a while, they get it wrong.
Imagine a roller coaster so rough, its first riders told the news that they’d “need a new spine” afterwards. Imagine that the feedback on this multi-million dollar roller coaster was so consistantly negative that engineers literally rebuilt a section of track just to try to save the ride from being universally despised. Imagine that despite all their best efforts, the park determined that there was quite literally nothing that could be done to save the ride, tearing it down after just a few years.
It may sound surreal, but this almost-unbelievable tale is only the start of our story today as we explore one of the most short-lived and poorly-received roller coasters ever and the scar it left on one of the world’s most beautiful parks.
UNDER REFURBISHMENT! You know I love to keep things fresh around here, and as a result, this feature is currently under construction! As I finish up edits over the next few days, you may encounter outdated information, repeated or disjointed sections, or “past perspectives” that refer to current events in the future tense. If you don’t mind sifting through some rough edges, I think you’ll still enjoy it… and check back soon for a fully refurbished story!
If you ask Universal Orlando, the 2019 opening of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal’s Islands of Adventure represents not just a reset (ending Universal’s long-time dependence on screens and simulators), but the dawn of a new era: the age of the “story coaster.” Is the new Wizarding World E-Ticket the first? Well…
Granny, what big eyes you have… What big teeth you have… What big drops you have! Once upon a time, a legend lived in the darkest woods of Williamsburg… Like the fairy tales carried from the Old Country, the legend that lurked in the misty, moonlit forests of Virginia is today spoken about like a myth, surviving only by the stories whispered from one generation to the next. But trust anyone who grew up calling “the world’s most beautiful theme park” home: the Big Bad Wolf was real.
You’ve been part of our Lost Legends series, where we dive deep into forgotten attractions to immortalize their stories. We’ve set out to capture the truth behind the tales – how they were born, what they were like, and why they’re gone today. It’s your comments and memories that keep Alien Encounter, TOMB RAIDER: The Ride, VOLCANO: The Blast Coaster, and Son of Beast alive, to name just a few.
Gazing up at this ferocious family coaster, you might’ve been among the generations of riders who called the Big Bad Wolf their first “big” coaster; those who recognize it as the ride that would kick start a quarter-century of thrill seekers before disappearing at the height of its popularity. This spectacular, suspended swinging coaster helped redefine what a family coaster could be, thrilling young and old as it raced through the woods of Virginia “at the speed of fright.” And today, its legend lived on…
And before we head off, remember that you can unlock rare concept art and audio streams in this story, access over 100 Extra Features, and recieve an annual Membership card and postcard art set in the mail by supporting this clickbait-free, in-depth, ad-free theme park storytelling site for as little as $2 / month! Become a Park Lore Member to join the story! Until then, let’s start at the beginning…
