Saturday, July 26, 2014

Busch Gardens Williamsburg- Possible Premier Rides Coaster for 2015?

Image from BGW Fans
 Busch Gardens Williamsburg- Possible 'Primer Rides' Coaster coming for 2015?

Well, it's no real secret that fans of Busch Gardens Williamsburg have been in an uproar for months over the possible 2015 'Festa Italia' expansion.  For months the speculation has run wild over a project which we know will be roughly at a height of 156 feet.


Image from BGW Fans
Now, while it can't be confirmed, the great folks at BGW Fans have been posting up blue-prints of what looks like a stock (off the shelf) Premier Rides coaster. This also has fans in a complete tizzy, with many feeling that the park is going cheap with using a stock design and not something custom built.

While the 'Festa' area has never had a well set theme, being that more of a carnival feeling, this addition could cement the area of the park. The project name (or the working name) seems to be that of "Diavolo' who was a big name bicycle stunt rider in the 1880s.

So, while we're speculating, could this coaster have the 'moto-seats'? Meaning, your coaster train would be designed off the old 'steeple chase' idea. 

Honestly, these seats are hard to explain, so I've liberated a picture from Coasters and More. This photo is from "Booster Bike" which is in Towerland, The Netherlands.  Very similar to 'Pony Express' at Knott's Berry Farm and Steeple Chase at Coney Island.

However, Premier Rides has never used this system of seat before...but it's also not entirely unknown to have another company design the coaster trains while someone else does the track, it's just very rare in steel coasters.

Now, with that said, I can't say if this restraint system will work with a coaster that has inversions involved since nothing using them has any. Most coasters which have inversions have the normal 'over-the-shoulder' style restraint system, leaving us with a stock Premier Rides coaster with little to no themeing involved but that doesn't fit with the way Busch Gardens normally does business.

Which, in the end, leads us right back to the fact that we simply don't have enough information on this ride yet. So, until such a point, I shall resume my 'fence sitting' position and hoping against hope that Busch Gardens isn't falling into any bad habits.

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