Spiderman competition UPDATE!!!

[Johnfish]

It looks like we will be getting a ride at Busch Gardens Williamburg that may give Spiderman a run for its money. Check out the web site for BGW and look at the video about Curse of Dark Kastle. Looks like its going to be awesome!

I will post more info once I get the chance to ride it (sometime in may)

John

 

[damo]

It looks pretty neat, John. We have been following it with anticipation. Sounds like people aren't too happy about it and I can't understand why. Did they want another coaster? Please le us know how you like it!!!

 

[Universal FReak]

the reason i dont like it is because they are talking about how it is a great thrill and unlike any other ride at a themepark
i am really pissed about this ride....in the ride it is 3-d and it even has a drop
when u look at the car layout it looks just like the car/track system used in spiderman
im sorry but this really made me mad when i heard about it yesterday
and they talk about how it will be scary like its rotm
it is like spiderman and they describe it like its the mummy
listen if they want to rip off the best to rides at universal they should have made it better and not exactly the sameand come on its a haunted house

 

[F-L-A]

It isn't competition. It's a cheap rip-off, from everything I've heard.

 

[Universal FReak]

thats exactly what i feel like
spiderman kills this ride hands down and so does rotm
busch gardens really stooped low to make this
i can't stand it on the video where they say :no one has ever used this technolgy before and that this is the best dark ride ever to be created"
i also saw the exterior and part of the queue.....it doesn't look that great and is kinda tacky

 

[ChrisFL]

Wow, so you guys have already ridden it and everything?

Anyway, what do you expect them to say about it? "Well we just decided to copy the Spiderman ride at IOA but give it a different theme".

Unless someone has experienced BOTH attractions I don't think any judgements can be made

 

[F-L-A]

I don't have to ride it to see it. Have you at least watched this before criticizing my opinion? The ride is supposedly opening in May. If so, they have A LOT of work to do.

DarKastle Video

And no one expects them to admit they ripped off the technology. But saying it doesn't exist elsewhere is a blatant lie, one which a Universal fan has a right to not appreciate. Not to mention every knowledgable theme park fan knows it's false. Also, they're now claiming that it's the most expensive attraction ever built. Anywhere. That isn't exactly the impression I get from that video. And since when has Busch ever thrown that much money at an attraction? This is Busch. The company that has allowed BGT to go down the toilet in recent years. Anyone remember their last 3-D attraction? The one that gets toted as the worst 3-D movie people have ever seen? Yeah....

They will try to copy Spider-Man's success, and fail miserably.

 

[Johnfish]

Gosh everyone sounds so upset!!. Maybe I shouldn't have used the word COMPETITION. It is obvious that this ride will not "compete" with spiderman. It is over 700 miles away so I don't see how either ride will take any business away from the other. Also The effects, if the ride uses similar technologiy to spiderman it has a 5 year advantage. If BGW put the effort and money into this than I would expect the effects to be better. I just hope they didnt let the same idiots who designed Haunted Lighthouse anywhere near this. That show is an absolute abomination. Finally I hope it lives up to the hype. They took out one of my favorite mini coasters to put this in. Please dont get all angry that this might "unseat" spiderman as an awesome ride. I was blown away by spiderman and think its great. Having said that I look forward to advanced technologies that will give me an even more thrilling experience.

As for copying a rides technology then lets just rip out alpengiest because it uses the same type of coaster design as dueling dragons. Or rip out rockin roller coaster because it uses the same technologies as flight of fear a kings dominion. I am personally very happy that these technologies have been copied. I absolutely love the Orlando theme parks but can only afford them every other year. These other rides are with in 90 minutes of my home and I can go all summer. Thank goodness for copycats!!!

Just my 2 cents


John

Oh and by the way for the experts above. Please enlighten all of us with a review. Obviously you have already ridden this ride and once I read your review I won't have to waste my money going to the park

 

[Johnfish]

I just watched the video linked above. As for this being the most advance ride anywhere comment... The guy said it was the most advanced and expensive ride at BUSH GARDENS WILLIAMSBURG


No replies guys?

John

 

[damo]

John, the reason you aren't getting any replies is that it was on another thread quite a while ago.

 

[Universal FReak]

yeah i already talked about this here and at ioacentral
ok it may be a good ride and good for you to see it
understand your argument and copycats are ok
it was just that other people i talked to also got really mad about it
i guess me living really close to universal is how you live close to busch gardens johnfish
as soon as u ride it come back and tells us what "you" think of it and if u like spiderman more or less...i already made my descision

 

[Johnfish]

I understand how you feel. i tend to want ot defend my "my home park" Until recently i turned my nose up at Paramounts Kings Dominion. I used to put it down all the time and claim BGW was much better. I was given a season pass for PKD and went for the first time. I fell in love with all the coasters! This park is great for coasters. I still like BGW for its theming and park like setting but I also love PKD for the coasters. Now I have two great parks to visit this summer.

I am really looking forward to Dark Castle and i hope it lives up to the hype. And i am really looking forward to IOA and Spiderman again after thanksgiving.

John

 

[Universal FReak]

i love PKD
u mean the one in VA right
i have been there a couple of times
they also have some really cool coasters worth going on
thanks for understanding johnfish

 

[Johnfish]

yup thats the one universal freak. I live about 40 minutes away. I ve lived in the area for 10 years and tuesday was the first time for me. My 16 yo son and I had a great time!!! There were no lines and we must have done 8 coasters in about 3 hours. My head is still spinning. It was great!!!


John

 

[Johnfish]

Well I am ashamed to say that it took me this long to make my first trip to BGW this year.... But we finaly made it and I got to ride the much anticipated dark kastle ride. I know there have been a lot of reviews prior to this but I wanted to add my 2 cents as I started this thread. I was both exhilirated and dissappointed in this ride. I do not think it is any better than spiderman over all and that is why i was dissappointed. As far as i can tell this ride uses an identical ride system and many of the same 3d/4d elements as spiderman. (spinning car, appearing to fall from a building etc.) I would have exxpected some new additions to the technology instead of an exact duplication of the 3 year old (?) spiderman tech. Having said that I felt the theming and the ride were excelent and delivered just as thrilling a ride as spiderman. In some ways it was scarier. lots of things shooting out at you. I understand there were a fair amount of younger kids that were freaked out by it. (and some adults as well). It definitely had a more "PG" feel to it than spiderman. I thoroughly enjoyed it from that stand point. The only other criticism I have is that during the ride the character voices some how get lost and it makes the story somewhat incoherent. Im not sure if it is because of the volume of the individual voices or the frenetic pace of the action but the story becomes hard to follow. Other than that I really enjoyed it.

One tip about seeing the show... Get to the park 20 minutes before opening and head to this ride first. We got on first thing this morning and rode right away. I went back several times after that until closing and the line had to be an hour long or longer. I really wanted to ride it again but couldnt justify the wait. At this point I would say that BGW has a hit on its hands. But I personally would have much rather seen them invest in a new roller coaster.


Just my 2 cents....


John

 

[phamton]

Thanks for the review, John.

 

[Slacking]

I'll be up at BGW in a week, looking foward to riding this!

Also looking foward to riding Alpengeist and Fabio's Wild Ride for the first time.

Haven't been to BGW in 9 years (omg, has it been that long since 1996?), so it'll be nice to be back espcially frequenting BGT for the last year and a half.

 

[Johnfish]

Hey Slacking...

Hope you have a great time. Take my advice and hit darkastle first thing in the morning. We got there at 9:30 for 10 am opening. They let us go as far as the loch ness monster. That had a short line so we rode it and by then they had the gate open to go to germany. Go down the hill under loch ness and up past dragon land. Bare to the left and dark kastle is right there. After dark castle we went right to alpengist and there was no wait. It was my sons first time and he was a bit nervous. But he really loved it. We got right back in line and did front row. Front row is the best just like dueling dragons. Alpengiest is great but I love Fabios wild ride or as its better known Apollos chariot. This coaster has some of the most awesome air time I have every experienced.

Have a great time!!!

John

 

[damo]

I LOVE Apollo's Chariot. The single rider's line sure helps but you have to weave your way through the normal line to get to it. The very last time we rode it, it started to pour as we went up the lift. That was one painful ride.

 

[Slacking]

I LOVE Apollo's Chariot. The single rider's line sure helps but you have to weave your way through the normal line to get to it. The very last time we rode it, it started to pour as we went up the lift. That was one painful ride.

At least it wasn't raining birds.