BBW retiring after 25 years.

[Alpengeist]

This is very sad news.:(

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (July 24, 2009) – After 25 years traveling at the speed of fright, The Big Bad Wolf will take its last trip through Busch Gardens' Bavarian village Sept. 7.

"We hate to see The Big Bad Wolf go," said John Reilly, Busch Gardens' general manager. "We realize The Big Bad Wolf is a guest favorite. We're making the announcement now so coaster fans can ride one last time before it closes after Labor Day."

The world's first suspended roller coaster took coaster design to a new level when it opened in 1984. And while it cannot claim to be the fastest or the tallest, more than 29 million guests have ridden what has become one of the park's most beloved thrill attractions. Legions of fans—young and old alike—often cite it as their introduction to the coaster experience.

"The Big Bad Wolf offers a thrilling ride experience coupled with aggressive ride dynamics. While it remains a safe attraction, it has simply reached the end of its service life," said Larry Giles, Busch Gardens' vice president of engineering and design.

Park officials are reviewing several design concepts for a new park attraction to replace The Big Bad Wolf, but no announcement is planned at this time.

Busch Gardens is a Worlds of Discovery®. Other Worlds of Discovery® include Water Country USA in Williamsburg; Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fl.; the SeaWorld parks in San Diego, San Antonio and Orlando, Fl.; Sesame Place near Philadelphia; Discovery Cove in Orlando; Adventure Island in Tampa; and Aquatica, SeaWorld's water park, in Orlando.



-courtesy of RCDB-

[CedarPointer]

The world's first suspended coaster design? Um, no... The Bat...

[-NGS-]

:( So much fun, glad I was able to ride it in its final years.

[kraken613]

Noooooo!!!!!! WHY???? SAD.......

[Cedar Point]

Aww, I really liked that ride! :(

[ThrillRider27]

This is terrible news. BBW was one of my favorites, and it added so much to the park's coaster diversity. It will be missed. Whatever is placed there better make up for it.

[Greatdrift]

DANG!!! I should have rode it when i went there when i was 6!! But of course didn't.

[-LiLDaReDeViL5-]

Another coaster gone that I won't be able to experience. :(:down:

[RCTfangirl]

Yet another classic has to go...And sadly I haven't even ridden it.

And BBW was the first suspended coaster built I think, because it was started by Schwartzkopf but they went bankrupt so Arrow finished it.

[CedarPointer]

No, The Bat was the first. (Actually, Alpen Flug came before it, but only lasted two weeks) The Bat was 1981-1983. BBW opened in 1984.

[Greatdrift]

^ Even though bat was first, BBW was the MOST SUCCESSFUL!

[CedarPointer]

If it's so successful, why are they removing it? :)

[liamrocks]

Wear, tear, and the the little kid barfed on one of the seats.

[Wild 1]

^^ The thing is, we are not sure why they are removing it, the reason they stated about its age is so vauge it could mean anything!

^ Wear and Tear could be one thing but couldn't they have just added those lighter Vekoma Trains?

[The Ghost]

No, no, no, no, no, this can't be...it's a sick joke right!? There is no reason for it to go down, it operates fine, just...why!?

Um, petition time anybody?

[ytivarg]

I'd rather see Iron Dragon torn down than BBW. Was supposed to go ride it this summer, but postponed it to next summer. Oy.

Another one bites the dust.

[Boston]

Big Bad Wolf is my favorite roller coaster ever. :(


I'm so sad now.

[Cedar Point]

I'd rather see Iron Dragon torn down than BBW.
Agreed 100%. BBW is infinitely better than Iron Dragon. I rode BBW at least 5 times when I went last summer, and 3 times the summer before that. So I've been lucky enough to experience it, but it's still sad to see it go. :(

[CedarPointer]

Iron Dragon is terrible. Of course, the only other suspended I've been on is Flight Deck at KI.

[ytivarg]

Well, the whole situation kinda puts a dark cloud over all remaining suspendeds in action. How long will the rest of them last?

[CedarPointer]

Flight Deck's demise is inevitible- seen the paint job recently? The original red color AND bare metal can both be seen on the track.

[ytivarg]

I've heard FD's removal around the rumor mill for a bit now... But, I think SOB has thrown a wrench into all that now.

[CedarPointer]

The Crypt's removal is far more likely. The ride has torn itself apart to the point that the gondola no longer has the ability to move on its own- the two flips are achieved by locking it in place during a rotation.

[ytivarg]

I still haven't been on a full cycle of "The Crypt"... Been on Tomb Raider countless times... but my one and only time on Crypt was opening day this year. Went to it right when the park opened... sat down for the 2nd cycle of the day. We went up, we started to turn upside down, grinding metal noises, and we stopped upside down for about 10-15 seconds, then slowly returned to loading position.

It was thrilling. :rolleyes:

[CedarPointer]

It's more thrilling than the current cycle. It's a waste of time now.

In fact, the theming is more thrilling than the current cycle.
2rI7EXudcM4

[ytivarg]

Well, I saw all that while I was in line... 'cept it wasn't moving. ;)

[iDelphi]

R.I.P Big Bad Wolf, you will be missed :(
http://photos.igougo.com/images/p156624-Williamsburg-The_Big_Bad_Wolf.jpg

[catgrrl]

I just found out about this as I got home today. I am not happy.

BBW was the first rollercoaster I rode as a kid. I've been going to BGE for most of my life, and it's always been there. Before 1984 I was a toddler so I wouldn't have remembered the prior coaster that stood in the area before. We always rode BBW in the evening because it seemed to whip through the trees faster, and that last descent to the river was thrilling in the evening air.
I've even had dreams of falling off the ride and into the water below.

So, I'll really miss this ride. My hubby isn't into coaster's with huge drops. I could always get him to ride BBW, and we'd howl as we climbed the chain to the top.

So many memories...going. I guess that's how progress goes, eh?

We think that there's probably too much stress on the metal and it's too expensive to replace all of the supports. The other theory is that they want to make way to build behind where Drachenfire once stood, but with the topography in that area I'm less inclined to think they'd take it down simply to expand that area.

[Krakatoa_Coo]

OMG! ive only been to BGE once and I was 5 years old and i couldnt ride the BBW and now..... I havent ben there ever since and i wanted to go so bad but i guess i can't

:cry::cry::cry::bulb::(

RIP BBW

[CedarPointer]

We think that there's probably too much stress on the metal and it's too expensive to replace all of the supports.
That would be my guess. From my observation of Flight Deck, the track flexes quite a bit, and that would put a lot of fatigue on the structure after 25 years.

Oh, and grav: The demonbat in TC's line is actually working now! I was SHOCKED that CF actually fixed theming...

[The Ghost]

I guess all we can really do now is hope for a worthy replacement. The only thing I could even think of that could be built on the sacred ground of BBW is some kind of terrain hugging wood coaster similar to Boulder Dash (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxyfw7BfblQ).

[Squid2]

As of this moment, my wife and I are now planning an emergency trip to Virginia to get in our last rides... this is one of the few coasters we both love and can ride comfortably. (Anyone want to join us or meet us up there? It's cheaper to plan things together!) I really want to curse and yell and scream "Why?" in the faces of the owners of BGW. I can't imagine why they would tear this coaster down... is there any inside info out there on this?

Squid2

[Cedar Point]

I imagine it's just because of wear and tear on the track.

[DeviantFart.]

One of the best ride there when i went last summer, it has a great drop down in to the lake, why did it have to go... =[

[TheFreshEffect]

I was glad to have ridden it but I'm intrigued by what will be replacing it.

[ytivarg]

From what I've heard, don't hold your breath for anything next year

[Behemoth08]

If Arrow was still around, I wonder if BBD would still be there:bulb:

I know S&S owns them, but I don't see them doing anything about it.

[ytivarg]

It looks like the S&S Free Fly could be the "next generation" of the suspended design. Gentle enough for the whole family, but still a fun ride...

http://www.s-spower.com/coasters/freefly/freefly.php

[Squid2]

Not enough capacity... what, something like 6 people a train? It can't compete with the throughput of a coaster with 24 people per train.

No takers on planning a trip to BGW?

Squid2

[CedarPointer]

^^^Getting parts is not the problem- S&S does parts for Arrow rides.

[ytivarg]

Not enough capacity... what, something like 6 people a train? It can't compete with the throughput of a coaster with 24 people per train.

That's just a prototype ride in S&S's parking lot. I'm sure a full-scale ride would have a longer train.

Also, smaller trains are kinda the hype these days, anyways. Maverick, Farenheit, etc...

[randomperpie]

Aww, this always looked like such a great ride, shame I'll never get to go on it.

I have to hope Vortex stays a bit longer at CW.

[David Ellis]

One highly-rated coaster I will sadly never ride :cry:

Are the park scrapping it, or will it be sold...has there been any announcements on its longer-term future?

David.

[Behemoth08]

That's just a prototype ride in S&S's parking lot. I'm sure a full-scale ride would have a longer train.

http://www.rcdb.com/ig4312.htm?picture=9

[CedarPointer]

Are the park scrapping it, or will it be sold...has there been any announcements on its longer-term future?

It's very terrain-hugging, so I doubt it could be set up somewhere else. It's like moving The Beast.

[fathorse]

Of course this happens this year. I've been hyping going to BGE since I went with a friend in 2005, and we were planning to go in 2010. Now my wife will never experience the thrill and complete awesomeness of Big Bad Wolf, since she can't ride coasters at all this summer.

[coinich]

Aw, crap! I loved that ride! One of the few I rode there!

[catgrrl]

Why can't your wife ride the coasters, fathorse? Are you gonna be a daddy soon? :)

I'll be going on the 16th of August, so I'm lucky to ride this one last time. Maybe twice if there's not a humongous line. (which there will be as it is all over the news here, I live close to the park)

[ytivarg]

http://www.rcdb.com/ig4312.htm?picture=9

Woot! I didn't know a real one existed anywhere. Thanks for the link!

[-NGS-]

Woot! I didn't know a real one existed anywhere. Thanks for the link!

Someone hasn't been following TPR...:o

[ytivarg]

Computer time hours go down when you have a real life. ;)

[-NGS-]

Hey, right now I'm trying to salvage the time I have left before I get fully committed to my real life again.

[ytivarg]

Enjoy it while it lasts!

[Plokoon111]

Well so it goes, you will be able to pay your respects to the local junk yard, or is this going to be saved for new suspended projects? Now you guys know how I feel when a darkride gets torn down. ;)

But to stay on topic this ride looked cool, wish I could ride it.

[-Bolt-]

Goddamn you BGW. :mad:

More valiant efforts have been made to save kiddie coasters, you worthless management team.

Bolt

[Harpo]

That's really sad. BBW and Vortex (Canada's Wonderland) are my two favorite suspended coasters.

Since the last Arrow suspended coaster was built in 1993, it wouldn't surprise me if it just became too difficult or expensive to obtain replacement parts.

Yes, S&S took over Arrow, but they still may have discontinued parts for these rides -- I don't know, but it is possible.

After all, there are still some 1st generation Intamin drop towers around, but they are disappearing because Intamin no longer supports them, hence parts are difficult to obtain.

[Wild 1]

Well good news for is, I might be heading up there on the 12th, but it is doubtful, I really want to ride it, at least once!

[Myn-o-mite]

Wow same thing happened to me with Geuaga Lake, wanted to go can't bang something terrible happens. WHY? :cry:

[Ark-Angel]

I've never got to ride it, never been to Busch Gardens but I can't let this Legendary ride go without getting one chance on it..

I'm currently planning on going to Busch Gardens on the first Weekend of September to ride this... anyone else interested in getting together for some final ride time on that Saturday?

[catgrrl]

Went and said goodbye to Big Bad yesterday.

Evening ride through the trees, howled all the way up the lift, and took that last drop over the river.

Sigh. BBW will be missed.

[Squid2]

It doesn't look like my wife and I can make it up there in time to ride it one last time... :cry::(:cry: If anyone is going, please take as many pics of the ride as you can... I'd love to add a few more to my collection.

Oh, such sweet memories.

Squid2

[-LiLDaReDeViL5-]

It's official, at 8:42 PM EST, Big Bad Wolf's last train pulled into the station.

http://www.twitvid.com/3D5E2

[Alpengeist]

It's a sad day indeed. Good-bye old friend.:(

[catgrrl]

My friends got to go and ride it on Monday. Said the line for the front row was looooooong.

:cry: I'll miss it. It was my first coaster ride when I was a kid.