A BGT Dark Ride?

[krazyhorrorkid]

I have been going to Busch for as along as I can remember. The park is beautiful with the landscapes with it's animals, the shows are pretty decent, and the rides makeup one of the best lineups in a park here in the United States. But something has always bothered me, we have plenty of Thrill rides, water rides, and stuff for the littler audience, but why don't we have a dark ride? When we had the very early rumors of Cobra I thought I was finally going to get my wish, but nope. The theme really would of worked as well for a dark ride. Is there something I don't know about that is holding them back? Do they not see use in one? Was one ever planned recently or in history? Will we ever get one?
TY

 

[GAcoaster]

I think after Busch spent SO MUCH on Dark Kastle and it was something of a miss, they were shy about adding another. Also, Akbar's was something of a dark ride and it never got the reaction they wanted.

I thin one of the Sally shooter dark rides (especially an Egyptian themed one) would be a great addition at some point, and the price is doable. That or a Sesame dark ride, but I think SeaWOrld would probably get that.

 

[Magic Feather]

Some time in the last decade BGT got pretty close to getting a dark ride. Not positive on what happened, but I think it was probably a financial strain that caused them to call off that year’s capex.
What’s really interesting to me about BGT’s development is two things: 1) a lot of it is reactionary 2) it’s really rare for things to be pushed back.

For the first, BGT might be one of the best parks when it comes to keeping the pulse of what people want. RMC Gwazi was not a serious consideration until there was an undeniable rallying cry for it from fans. It was nothing more than a thought in the back of their heads when the ride actually closed. Cobra’s Curse, Tigris, and Jethro were similarly “what does the park need” additions.

For the second, Busch has scrapped a lot of smaller additions over the years when they were In a financial pinch. Usually it balanced out because they also got some of the bigger additions in the years where things were able to go through. Perhaps the most public example of this was the proposed enclosure of Sand Serpent in what I think was 2018. That said, I don’t think Jethro will have this same fate, mostly because I think it’s already been manufactured.

 

[shiekra38]

I have been going to Busch for as along as I can remember. The park is beautiful with the landscapes with it's animals, the shows are pretty decent, and the rides makeup one of the best lineups in a park here in the United States. But something has always bothered me, we have plenty of Thrill rides, water rides, and stuff for the littler audience, but why don't we have a dark ride? When we had the very early rumors of Cobra I thought I was finally going to get my wish, but nope. The theme really would of worked as well for a dark ride. Is there something I don't know about that is holding them back? Do they not see use in one? Was one ever planned recently or in history? Will we ever get one?
TY

They've had two simulators, Akbar and Questor, which were actually the same simulator.

I once asked this question to Mark Rose when I met him during an ERT event with ACE.

I asked what's next for BGT? Will we ever get a ride like Spiderman at IOA?

He said, "DarkKastle just opened at BGW and in my opinion was a poor man's Spiderman, I think we'll continue to innovate with coaster technology"

IMO, BGT is not trying to compete with the likes of IOA or USF, They're trying to be a notch above a Cedar Fair park, but just a notch below your big Orlando parks.

I honestly think it's a good niche for them, and personally, think it's where they are firing on all cylinders.

That is not to say we will never get a Wanda dark ride or something comparable to what you would find at Legoland...It just seems unlikely.

I think Cobra's Curse is about as 'dark ride' as I see them going in the future

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

They've had two simulators, Akbar and Questor, which were actually the same simulator.

I once asked this question to Mark Rose when I met him during an ERT event with ACE.

I asked what's next for BGT? Will we ever get a ride like Spiderman at IOA?

He said, "DarkKastle just opened at BGW and in my opinion was a poor man's Spiderman, I think we'll continue to innovate with coaster technology"

IMO, BGT is not trying to compete with the likes of IOA or USF, They're trying to be a notch above a Cedar Fair park, but just a notch below your big Orlando parks.

I honestly think it's a good niche for them, and personally, think it's where they are firing on all cylinders.

That is not to say we will never get a Wanda dark ride or something comparable to what you would find at Legoland...It just seems unlikely.

I think Cobra's Curse is about as 'dark ride' as I see them going in the future

Heard Akbar and Questor were ok rides, I was more thinking of a Track/Trackless dark ride, use Empire of the penguin as an example if you wish.

I will sit here say until the day I die with my opinion that Cobra's concept would of been executed amazingly as a dark ride instead of a coaster, and when going through the first time, I felt like the queue was for a dark ride, not a rollercoaster.

 

[shiekra38]

Heard Akbar and Questor were ok rides, I was more thinking of a Track/Trackless dark ride, use Empire of the penguin as an example if you wish.

I will sit here say until the day I die with my opinion that Cobra's concept would of been executed amazingly as a dark ride instead of a coaster, and when going through the first time, I felt like the queue was for a dark ride, not a rollercoaster.

Empire of the Penguin cost SeaWorld $40 million with no results

Mako cost $20 million with better results, and is called the best coaster in Florida and one of the best hypers around

Additionally, Iron Gwazi is rumored to be a very cheap addition as well at less than $11 million and we know that's going to be an attendance juggernaut

The problem with BGT and SeaWorld doing dark rides is it's a waste of time without an IP and just a general waste of time when they will always be compared with Universal and Disney

That's not to say it will *never* happen, but for the time being it seems like Sesame would be the only viable option for a dark ride from them.

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

Empire of the Penguin cost SeaWorld $40 million with no results

Mako cost $20 million with better results, and is called the best coaster in Florida and one of the best hypers around

Additionally, Iron Gwazi is rumored to be a very cheap addition as well at less than $11 million and we know that's going to be an attendance juggernaut

The problem with BGT and SeaWorld doing dark rides is it's a waste of time without an IP and just a general waste of time when they will always be compared with Universal and Disney

That's not to say it will *never* happen, but for the time being it seems like Sesame would be the only viable option for a dark ride from them.

Empire had no results?
Every time I go to SEAS it's line is sometimes the longest in the park, is it because of the preshow?

Sesame would be cool to have, however, where do we have space over at Safari of Fun? I wish we had maps of land where they could potentially put new attractions like we have with Disney and Universal Parks.

 

[shiekra38]

Empire had no results?
Every time I go to SEAS it's line is sometimes the longest in the park, is it because of the preshow?

No, the all around flop of Antarctica fell all but flat, even before the Blackfish era. It is also now closed half the time and it has terrible capacity in a park with few rides already.

Sesame would be cool to have, however, where do we have space over at Safari of Fun? I wish we had maps of land where they could potentially put new attractions like we have with Disney and Universal Parks.

That's another point against a dark ride honestly, they require a big building typically...There is room for them to reconfigure some things

I feel it wouldn't be worth the money in all reality

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

No, the all around flop of Antarctica fell all but flat, even before the Blackfish era. It is also now closed half the time and it has terrible capacity in a park with few rides already.


That's another point against a dark ride honestly, they require a big building typically...There is room for them to reconfigure some things

I feel it wouldn't be worth the money in all reality

I have learned a lot, thank you.

 

[wutisgood]

All the money should be put into a serious sesame place ride. Bring people back to the cheap addition of the park besides going to disney or universal.

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

All the money should be put into a serious sesame place ride. Bring people back to the cheap addition of the park besides going to disney or universal.

I obviously know of Sesame place, but when was the last time they received a new addition to that particular park?
You'd be surprised at the amount of people that actually have no idea that SWP&E owned a Sesame Street theme park.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

For Antarctica they would’ve been better off going with a classic Sally Corp style dark ride so they could’ve afforded to actually make it a good ride.

Oh, and Iron Gwazi cost just $11M? Dayum that’s dirt cheap.

My ideal park would be a mix of Cedar Fair/Busch-SW level coasters and Disney/Universal-level dark rides.

 

[HandsomePete]

To be fair to BG and SW, I think you could make the case that they’re in a third tier of theme parks below Disney and Universal in the top tier - the second tier being the upper echelon of parks in Europe like Europa Park and Efteling.

So from a dark ride perspective, we see them domestically as being the next step below Disney/Uni when they’re really not.

 

[shiekra38]

For Antarctica they would’ve been better off going with a classic Sally Corp style dark ride so they could’ve afforded to actually make it a good ride.

Oh, and Iron Gwazi cost just $11M? Dayum that’s dirt cheap.

My ideal park would be a mix of Cedar Fair/Busch-SW level themed coasters and Disney/Universal-level dark rides.

Yes, there is no reason why it's trackless, it could have been better

That IG cost is from a quick Google search, so grain of salt

 

[Magic-Man]

For Antarctica they would’ve been better off going with a classic Sally Corp style dark ride so they could’ve afforded to actually make it a good ride.

Oh, and Iron Gwazi cost just $11M? Dayum that’s dirt cheap.

My ideal park would be a mix of Cedar Fair/Busch-SW level themed coasters and Disney/Universal-level dark rides.

Allow me to introduce you to Phantasialand

 

[shiekra38]

Allow me to introduce you to Phantasialand

As well as Efteling

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

Just for an example/wishlist, what space could Busch build a big enough building for a dark ride.

Only could think of two.

-Questor show building (they would need to expand it but it would be cheaper to build off it.)

-Stanleyville theatre (not sure if they could even make it work with space constraints, haven't been in there awhile so I can't really get a good enough idea.)

Am I missing anything? Take some longshots if need be.

edit: Just realized they still use Stanleyville theatre, whoops. Plus they just remodeled the whole thing not so long ago.

 

[shiekra38]

Just for an example/wishlist, what space could Busch build a big enough building for a dark ride.

Only could think of two.

-Questor show building (they would need to expand it but it would be cheaper to build off it.)

-Stanleyville theatre (not sure if they could even make it work with space constraints, haven't been in there awhile so I can't really get a good enough idea.)

Am I missing anything? Take some longshots if need be.

edit: Just realized they still use Stanleyville theatre, whoops. Plus they just remodeled the whole thing not so long ago.

I think Rhino Rally was pretty ambitious of them to do, however the upkeep demands and the amount of times the ride broke down were super high.

I wouldn't mind seeing a similar concept with Dynamic Attractions' trackless RV

But I can't imagine it ever happening

 

[JoeCamel]

Just for an example/wishlist, what space could Busch build a big enough building for a dark ride.

Only could think of two.

-Questor show building (they would need to expand it but it would be cheaper to build off it.)

-Stanleyville theatre (not sure if they could even make it work with space constraints, haven't been in there awhile so I can't really get a good enough idea.)

Am I missing anything? Take some longshots if need be.

edit: Just realized they still use Stanleyville theatre, whoops. Plus they just remodeled the whole thing not so long ago.

They can carve out a chunk of the savanna if they want to expand the amusements.

 

[shiekra38]

They can carve out a chunk of the savanna if they want to expand the amusements.

Yes, for a Giga