Drachen Fire
Drachen Fire was a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. Manufactured by Arrow Dynamics based on initial designs from industry newcomer Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened to the public in 1992. Drachen Fire featured a lift hill, six inversions, and a zero-gravity camelback element. One of the inversions was removed following the 1993 season to improve ride comfort. The track was blue with silver supports, and it was located in the Oktoberfest portion of the park behind Big Bad Wolf and Das Festhaus. It was originally configured with three trains, each consisting of red cars with grey seats, and featured red trim lights that illuminated the trains at night. Drachen Fire was closed in the middle of the 1998 season following a history of low ridership and complaints of roughness. It remained standing until its demolition in 2002.
History
Construction and opening
In 1991, the Anheuser-Busch Entertainment Corporation announced a myriad of upcoming rides for their various amusement parks. Keith M. Kasen, then General Manager for Busch Gardens Williamsburg, commented on the addition of Drachen Fire for the 1992 season stating, "Anheuser-Busch has shown a commitment to reinvestment and making a real strong quality statement." Construction began in the fall of 1991, which was filmed for its upcoming marketing campaign. Footage of the design, construction, and testing process of Drachen Fire was later documented in a 1993 PBS special of their NOVA program, titled "Roller Coaster". Construction of Drachen Fire was completed in early 1992, placing it on schedule to open the same year on April 4.Busch Gardens heavily marketed the new ride in what was identified as the park's biggest promotional campaign in over a decade dating back to Loch Ness Monster in 1978. The tagline marketed for the ride was "Feel the Heat". The park hired comedian Dana Carvey to meet and greet visitors, as well as cut the ribbon at a special preview opening ceremony on April 3, 1992. After six or seven successful runs during the preview event, a train stalled on the lift hill forcing passengers to evacuate. During the downtime, Carvey offered an impromptu stand-up comedy routine to entertain the crowd and keep guests occupied. When the ride resumed operation, another train stalled on the lift hill again forcing the park to close the ride for the remainder of the evening. For its official opening to the public the following day, Drachen Fire remained closed all morning and eventually opened midday.
Operation
The ride drew large crowds and was initially well-received by many coaster enthusiasts. American Coaster Enthusiasts President Ray J. Ueberroth called the coaster "an outstanding ride", and the group's former president, Randy Geisler, stated, "I can just say it's spectacular." However, less than a month after opening, the coaster's popularity faded when it gained a reputation for its roughness. Passengers were routinely advised by announcers to remove any clip-on earrings before riding and keep their heads pressed against headrests during the ride. After increasing complaints, the park removed the diving corkscrew element between the block brakes and the cutback element for the 1995 season.Drachen Fire was featured on a 1996 edition of "Theme Parks a Go-Go" on the E! Network. The segment was hosted by actor Alex Winter who was shown riding the Drachen, at the time fastest coaster in the park, through some of its inversions. Upon completion of the ride, he stated that his vertebra was snapped like a twig. Although famous at that time for his comedic roles, this comment stands as a testimony to the Drachen Fire's reputation for being a rough experience.
Closure and demolition
The removal of the diving corkscrew element failed to resolve ongoing issues with ride safety and comfort. With decreasing ridership and at least one lawsuit filed, Busch Gardens closed Drachen Fire abruptly in July 1998. Initially, the park had plans to modify the coaster, but it was ultimately listed for sale. The park had several offers but failed to reach agreements with prospective buyers. It remained standing in an idle state until 2002, when the decision was made to dismantle the ride and recycle the steel. Director of public relations Cindy Sarko stated, "There had been a steady erosion of ridership... That, combined with the high operating expenses of the ride, helped park officials make the decision to shut it down."Ride experience
After leaving the station, the ride made a small dip and turned 180 degrees to the left, where it entered the lift hill. At the top of the 150 foot lift, the ride made a shallow dive of around 50 feet, then entered a wraparound corkscrew which had an apex of 120 feet, before descending the remainder of a curving drop, ending up facing the opposite direction of the lift hill, and achieving a speed of 60 miles per hour. The ride then entered a first of a kind camel back hump hill, which was designed to balance the riders between positive and negative g-forces, giving a feeling of weightlessness. The ride then entered the Batwing element, which featured two inversions in one element. The ride then turned up an ascending hill to the left, and entered a run of Block Brakes. Next, the ride dove down into a corkscrew, then a slight left turn over the park midway into a cutback. The ride then traversed back over the midway, under the first corkscrew and entered a second corkscrew. It then quickly entered a counter-clockwise helix. Exiting the helix, the ride made a right hand turn onto a final brake run, which would then lead straight into the ride station.Ride location
The majority of Drachen Fire’s track was located behind the present day Verbolten ride, in an area now called Festhaus Park. A large elevated curve in the ride did extend over the concrete walkway and into the area behind Das Festhaus, near the Black Forest Picnic Area, before looping riders back around again into a corkscrew.To enter the ride area guests would pass through a metal framed gateway, whose arches held the Drachen Fire sign. Today that same passage leads to Festhaus Park, a multi-purpose area used sporadically as a concert venue and for various special events. While most attractions have a highly visible entrance that can be seen from quite a distance, this was not the case for Drachen Fire. Guests had to pass between the Der Autobahn ride, to the left, and the large Das Festhaus building, to the right. This may have made the ride more difficult to locate for some park guests and could offer an insight as to why no permanent major attraction exists in this location today, despite several rides being added to the park since the 2002 dismantling.
At least three of the major structures created for the ride still exist on the property today, all of which are located beyond the Festhaus Park gateway. A park map from 1997 shows the wooden building containing 5 metal roll up doors, which resides on the left side of the concrete walkway, was the Drachen Fire gift shop. The previous ride boarding station is the largest wooden building located inside the Festhaus Park area and a slightly smaller wooden building served as the maintenance facility. Some portions of all three buildings are visible during daylight hours, shortly after crossing the Rhine River, while looking right on the Busch Gardens Railway train ride. In June 2019, local network affiliate WAVY-TV reported that a plan was approved by local officials to construct a new ride in the former Drachen Fire location that would be approximately in height.
Later years
In 2006, Busch Gardens began to use the former Drachen Fire site as a concert venue.In 2009, Busch started holding the Glory at the Gardens concert series in Festhaus Park due to overflowing The Royal Palace Theatre in Aquitane.
In 2016, Busch Gardens began selling Drachen Fire T-shirts at the park for the first time since the ride's closure.