Pun_Machine

BG is now offering behind the scenes tours of Verbolten! I'm going to have to do this! http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschgardens-williamsburg/Attractions/Exclusive-Park-Experiences/Verbolten-Insider-Tour

I've actually been surprised by the lack of downtime on Verbolten. With all that's involved with that ride there are infinite points of failure, but it opened on schedule and hasn't really been down all that much for your average new ride. I've been able to take multiple rides every time i've been to the park since it opened.

^ Then you could consider the nauseousness a feature rather than a bug!

^ Man, now i wish i'd seen it. Sounds like it might have caused me to have more respect for Europe in the Air... Nahhhhh.

You've obviously never ridden King Arthur's Challenge, which used to be where Europe in the Air is now. One of the single cheapest-looking pre-show videos ever for the worst simulator ride ever. Correct, never have... I've only been there for EItA, Corkscrew Hill, and Questor. I don't even remember seeing King Arthur's Challenge there.

It is terribly annoying, nothing but "Fahrt" jokes and incessant repetition of the phrase "die black forest ist VERBOTEN!" It's probably the stupidest pre-ride show i've ever seen. It hurts me more so because i studied German in college and can tell how ridiculous a lot of what she's saying would sound to a native German.

^ I must be in bizzaro world! I find that Dominator and Diamondback are 2 of the smoothest rides i've been on, while Alp shakes me like Eddie Money!

^ I've noticed that rattle getting worse year over year.

Anyone have any inside info on the recent Verbolten downtime? They announced on FB that it would be closed Monday and Tues, and a friend of mine tried to go ride yesterday and said it was down for most of the day.

It's not usually painful... that one time though my head really came off the rest from the dip and instantly got shot back into it hard.

To my knowledge only the lights on the blue train are operating currently. They also only run when the train is outside of the event building. Much of the ride is in near-complete darkness, they really only want you to see what they let you see in the building. That happened to me recently, I deduced that it was due to sitting in the 6th car. In that seat the dip of the train coming out of the event building will make your head pop off of the headrest (unless you're making a conscious effort to keep it held back) an instant before the front of the train hits the launch causing it to whip sharply back against the headrest. It's quite painful, avoid car 6 or be prepared for it. Of course if you're in any seat and have your head sufficiently away from the headrest at the launch you'll probably get bonked just as bad.

^^^^ Is there a way for them to verify your age without an ID for beer purchases or that you have a season pass for the discount? Cool idea, much easier way to pay for things. May still have to carry a wallet, or something... albeit considerably lighter.

Looks like coasterforce on YouTube has posted a pov for each of the 3 themes. They also use the cam or look around at the effects. You may not be able to ride today but you can ride virtually.

One thing I notice on all of the POV videos is that they miss the best effects in the show building. There's so much cool stuff in there that you have to look around to see. That forrest reveal after the brake run out of the helix is so impressive but nobody's caught it on a POV.

I didn't picture Gunter as fat, but i did think he'd look more like a german version of Doc Brown from BTTF.

^ Like i said in my first impressions, it didn't meet my expectations. I don't think many people are actually saying anything as strong as 'this is the second coming,' The consensus that i'm seeing is that it's a fun ride that was pretty well done. Sure there's some vibrations and some of the transitions might be a little tight, but it's not like it's an Arrow or anything. It's actually not very rough as coasters go... at least many of the ones i've ridden. You're right about the show building stuff... it doesn't change much. The only thing that changes in the different 'stories' is the lighting effects just before, and during the drop section and the soundtrack that's played throughout. That was a bit of a disappointment for me, as was the apparent lack of effects or any light at all for about 40% of the indoor portion (though from reports and guesswork this may be because they just don't have a lot of stuff working yet.) It's certainly not completely what i had envisioned, and i feel like they missed several opportunities and outright botched some minor details, but it's still a good ride. I felt like it was in the same class with Stunt Coaster, but executed much better and a lot more unique, Just my opinion.

If you look closely at the monitors in the station there's one labeled "Guntercam" and it's sort of a "Blair Witch" first person shot of someone wandering around, you can see their feet from time to time. I guess Gunter is currently out wandering in the Black Forest.

The POVs don't capture half of what you see inside... And it's way more impressive in person. Not as impressive as I was expecting, but still quite impressive.

^ it's pitch black with the exception of when they fire the strobes and selective lighting. You only see what they want you to for the most part

I went again this morning and got 2 more rides in. They had some serious downtime at noon for a bit over an hour. Looks like they've gotten more of the effects working properly though. Not sure if it was me or not but the special effect lighting seemed dimmer today.

Here's some photos i took yesterday: Verbolten Queue & Station Also, someone has posted a pov video on youtube. It's not a great representation of the ride and it's clearly taken without permission so i won't link it here. However, if you can't wait to see something in motion, it's out there. Verbolten is open again today, go ride!

Ok, Just got home after riding Verbolten 5 times... Here are my observations: First of all it's an awesome ride, it's not extreme in anyway... just pure fun. The themeing in the queue is extremely rich and detailed very cool/creepy. The pre-show video is a drawback though... nothing but corny fahrt jokes, it was disappointing. The station looked amazing, they even went so far as to paint stains from oil spills, oily footprints, and tire tracks on the floor. The ride itself was just a little bit rougher than i expected but not rough enough to really complain about. As you roll out of the station you can hear/feel the rumble of the engine. The launch into the event building gives you a good kick and the effects/set pieces in the entry tunnel are amazing. I got to experience the Spirit of the Forest and Thunderstorm 'stories.' I didn't get to see the Big Bad Wolf one. The sound effects are great, especially the thunderstorm. It looks like they may be having some trouble getting all of the effects online at the moment, most of the ride on my first few goes was total darkness however later in the evening i started seeing more and even caught a glimpse of the 'moon box' that i didn't see at all on my previous rides. It doesn't look like the effects change at all for the 3 'stories,' only the sound effect tracks, that was a bit of a disappointment as well. The selective lighting inside the show building is a real wow factor and the painted drops look absolutely beautiful! The drop track is a real nice kick in the butt at the end of the show building, it's a surprise even if you're expecting it... very well executed. They also did a great job blocking the light from the exit tunnel until you roll into the launch. The back half of the ride is just as thrilling, the high speed curves and drop from the bridge is great. As the train rolls into the bridge they even have some creeking sound effects, a nice touch IMO. Over all my expectations weren't exactly met, but i still think it's an amazing ride and look forward to riding it many more times this summer. The front seat is definitely worth the wait on this one, and the back seat ain't so shabby either.

I'm in queue!!!

I was going to try and chance it after my last meeting today at 3... but it sounds like it would be foolish to go now.

I hadn't seen this posted yet https://www.buschgardensnews.com/page/verbolten Some nice up close testing footage!