awclark

Does anybody have or know if there are any pics of this coaster? I rode it a bunch in Summer '04 when i was going down to visit my cousins and enjoyed it a lot and thought it was a lot of fun (especially the butterfly loop!). I heard that it looked really good and all with the bright red track and now black supports. Please post links or the pics themselves if you find them.

I've heard from a bunch of places that the main reason why the coaster has been closed is not for low-ridership, complaints of roughness, or anything else of that matter. It was the trains that were considered out-dated and unsafe. I dunno if it would take three years to get new trains, but I think that is what they wanted, and what they are waiting for. Maybe they want it to run quietly too, because of hurricane Harbour next door, so it can actually run in the summer (But I think the screams would confuse them whether it's a swimmer or the ride). I rode it myself, and the restraints were HORRIBLE. The worst ever. I only had one headbanger on the entire ride though. It was after going down the 2nd hairpin dive, and when you head up that really fast S-Curve. Other than that I thought it was enjoyable. I thought everything after the 2nd to last hairpin was fun becasue it wasn't braked at all so it picked up some speed and pulled some g's in the helix. I'd say open it again, but with lapbars.

well, i am a fan of course of the ride as some of you know from my rec. (http://nldc.interfix.net/p1092) I rode it twice in 1 day sometime in the summer of '97. I was 7 at the time so i was at the perfect height for maximum headbanging. I was a coaster fan at that age (yes, that early on) and I only knew the ride from an old VHS America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills. The ride was a walk on and the area was pretty much dead from what i remember. I have no idea how I found it because I remember I spotted it but probably somebody in my family had to go to the bathroom or something, i dunno. I think they were running two trains that day, but not one train from what i remember was ever full. There wasn't even a line for the front. I got on and right off the lift my head was banging. We sat in the middle, but i don't remember any hangtime. I just remember my head was constantly banging the entire ride, even on the airtime hill! The only part of the ride that was smooth that i remember was the lift, and the straightaway down into the cutback. I got off and everybody in my family hated it. That long ago, none of us really knew what to do when headbanging occured. I remember going back later that day to ride with my dad to see that if I sat in a different seat, the ride would a lot better. Wrong, the ride was worse and i got off and as soon as I saw my mom and sister, my eyes were full of tears (c'mon i was 7 yrs old, haha). I am really sad to see it go though. I mean they tore it down after Premier Rides replaced all of there harnesses with lapbars. If they had done that the ride experience would have increased greatly. Ridership may have increased, but i think the location was HORRIBLE, the coasters reputation was bad, and too much money had been invested already to try and make it better. I mean the ride was on this TINY little path that weaved b/w the Festhaus and the German buildings part of the BBW. The rides sign was even hidden back in there, so you would not know what was back there until you saw the sign. I they had placed the sign right on the start of the small path b/w the Festhaus and buldings, people would know what would be back there. You could barely even see the ride from the main midway. Now about the money invested in the ride to fix it. Even opening day the ride was not that great. Only 2 years after opening the track was modiefied. The corkscrew after the MCBR was torn out and an ultra lame straightaway was put in with trim brakes. Then since i am now noticing the ride created more hangtime in the inversions as the years went on, the lift maight have been slowed down to reduce some of the headbanging. Then the cables were added on the cobra roll to brace it and keep it more sturdy so it did not creat those bad whips you get. I think this coaster was too advanced for arrow at the time. They should have thought about it more and spent time designing it so it could have worked instead of creating those awful transitions. It was a coaster that was ahead of it's time and arrow designed it in the same way that they designed there standard looping coasters. ie all of their loops were the same size and diameter (that's why their loops are raised up, such as Viper or GASM at SFMM and SFGAdv). Their corkscrew always entered on a high bank that turned in the way the cork was going. On DF you'll notice it goes on a bank but unbanks and enters the cork going the other way. It was these unusual elements that arrow had never done before that made the ride not so great. The trains also boxed you in more than their standard looping coasters. The trains were poorly engeniered in which the wheels (like almost all arrow and vekoma coasters) did not fully grip the rails. B&M's and Intamins trains grip the rails all the way around. Because of this the train could shimmy a little bit and stuff. The reason for these new trains I think was mainly becasue of the new radical elements, the standard arrow looping trains would not be able to handle them. Basically the demolghing of this ride was inevitable. Even if the trains were modified, it would be more money to invest in new trains. And BGW hated the location from the start because it was out of the main loop of the park. PKDcoaster has a decent pic that he modified to show how far out of the way the coaster really was. You can also see the where the sign to the coaster is. It really was wedged back in there with a snaking path that weaved in b/w all of the existing rides and attractions. The park follows 1 main loop around the park and it was way out of the way. I guess that's all i'm going to say haha. That's my LONG 2 cents on the ride from my experince and knowledge of it. I guess you can say that i'm just a small fan of the ride, just a small fan. haha hope you caught the sarcasm.

OMG! yeah i want it. What's ur e-mail? you can PM me or something whatevers good.

you don't need to worry.... there was a problem with the .nlpack for both of them. I had to delete it off the site. When i get it working i plan on getting it posted in many places.

both versions are up and ready to download over at coastersims.com

usually it's becasue your program is stuck on an environment. Try changing it back to the original default No limits environment. That should help. That's what I always do if I find a glitch in the scenery.

"Can You Take the Heat" because on March 7, 2006 you get to go back in time to '92, or '98, to take the heat of DRACHEN FIRE!! lol, cheesy i know.

I have an Apple laptop. If any of you know how to convert it to the .nlpack form. I have a pack extractor but not the track packager. It is onlyh for Windows. Maybe I can change it by just changing it from .nltrack to .nlpack. I dunno, does anybody know how?

yeah that's a problem that people may run into. I need to stress very big that the park pack is required to have the full effect on the coaster. I mean the only obj. that i used were the pathways and that is a huge chunk. There is also the environment that is also required to also get the full effect. It is called Ambrosia. It is from DCs221 who was able to send it to me so i could get it.

The 3ds is all from the coastersims Park Pack over at coastersims.com All of the other detail is ALL handmade with wooden beams and LOTS and LOTS of Nodes. haha. It is time consuming but to me, my DF station turned out really nice.

that's 5 people right there. I'll try and get it sent to you all right now. Just a note... You MUST have the Coastersims Park Pack for ANY of the 3DS to show up at all, otherwise there will be no paths and it will look like crap. haha

If you are a member over at ACN, you might've heard about my Drachen Fire rec. that has been many months in the making. If you havn't, check it out here: http://nldc.interfix.net/p1092 5 lucky people will get a first hand look at the rec. in which they will ride and give me feedback on the ride. It is also getting previewed at ACN if you do not get the chance to get it here. The 1ST 5 PEOPLE TO POST THEIR E-MAIL ADDRESS WILL GET A 1ST HAND LOOK AT THE COASTER. I need your e-mail address so I can e-mail you the file. If their are any issues please tell me. YAY!!! Let the race begin!!

i rode it twice when I was 7 yrs old. I hated it then, but i love it now. I wish SO badly that i could ride it again, if BGW didn't tear it down. Drachen Fire. I am building a really accurate rec. of it in No Limits becasue i am so obbsessed with the ride. You can check it out here: http://nldc.interfix.net/p1092. The most recent pics are at the bottom. The only other coaster I want to ride REALLY badly is Expedition Everest. I just love disney and their effort they put into their rides.

i rode it twice when I was 7 yrs old. I hated it then, but i love it now. I wish SO badly that i could ride it again, if BGW didn't tear it down. Drachen Fire. I am building a really accurate rec. of it in No Limits becasue i am so obbsessed with the ride. You can check it out here: http://nldc.interfix.net/p1092. The most recent pics are at the bottom. The only other coaster I want to ride REALLY badly is Expedition Everest. I just love disney and their effort they put into their rides.