Drachen Fire is one of those coasters that has somehow captured the imaginations of many coaster enthusiasts. Never heard of Drachen Fire (German for dragon fire)? Head over to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, in the back corner of the park, nestled in the trees you will see a large steel roller coaster.  But there is little going on at Drachen Fire. In fact, it sits closed...a rather odd site at an amusement park. Drachen Fire was built in 1992 at Busch Gardens.  All of the pictures here show the coaster in early spring, about one month before it opened.  Coaster lore says that the plans were for Bolliger and Mabillard to design two sit-down coasters for Busch Entertainment in two years, but since they were a young company and had not done a sit-down yet, they opted to build only one coaster for Busch during this time. So, the concept was passed over to steel coaster designers Arrow Dynamics.  The Gardens had had good luck with the firm, as Arrow had built their other two coasters, The Loch Ness Monster (1978) and The Big Bad Wolf (1984).  In fact, Arrow had come in when the footers for the Big Bad Wolf were laid and finished the job because the firm which had designed the Wolf (Anton Schwarzkopf) went bankrupt. 

          Arrow had done a masterful job of completing the Big Bad Wolf's design, so they seemed like the natural company to take the reins of Drachen Fire. The coaster was one of the most anticipated rides of the year and a change in direction for Busch, as they had not installed a roller coaster in any of their parks since 1984. Although expectations were high, problems arose as the coaster opened to the public. It seemed that Arrow had bitten off a bit more than they could chew. The concept given to them by B&M was a radical departure from anything the company had done to date. The ride featured many unique elements like a corkscrew in the middle of the first hill, the batwing (commonly known as the cobra roll) and the cutback (the fifth element). The cars were also a new body style for Arrow- a bit more streamlined and they featured lights along the side which looked very interesting at night. So why is Drachen Fire just sitting? Well, there were several problems with the coaster that caused low ridership. First, the new trains were just as uncomfortable as their older ones. The company did not learn that riders want freedom of movement and continued to box them in as tightly as possible.  The coaster was located at the rear of the park with little-to-no games and attractions to draw the patrons back in the dragon's lair.    

          Another problem Arrow faced was the fact that they designed the coaster using the center of the train as a center of gravity. This worked marginally well on their other coasters. But, B&M designed their coasters with the rider's heart being the center of gravity.  Obviously this was quite a difference in design technique and it meant the subsequent ride was an odd combination of design styles that did not mesh well together. The ride operated for a few years and then, because of complaints, removed the first corkscrew (fourth inversion), which was located just off the midcourse brake after the 1994 season. I rode the coaster in 1993 when the inversion was still a part of the ride and I must say I agree with this move. The element felt like it snapped my neck into the restraint as the train navigated the unusual entrance to the corkscrew. This was not just headbanging or roughness, it really felt like this was a badly designed transition. 

          The problem was not so much the corkscrew itself, but the bad way in which Arrow transitioned from the drop off the mid-course into the corkscrew. Had the diving turn been better, I think the element would have worked just fine. The coaster operated without incident until the 1998 season when it was closed due to roughness. Visiting the gardens after the coaster closed it was hard to know that Drachen Fire was ever there. There were no signs marking the ride, it is blocked off from the walkways and erased from the maps. If you asked an employee and they will probably told you they do not know what it was or when it operated. The coaster seemed to be one big mystery at the park.  

Arrow's largest contribution to the ride was their cutback element.

          So, do I think Drachen Fire should have been closed? Well, no. I think appropriate modification should have been made to the ride. The coaster was up for sale for two years and no one wanted it, so why not bring it back as an operating part of the park, instead of letting a multi-million dollar coaster sit and collect dust? Some things would need to be changed and the largest factor would be the trains themselves. As many people know, good trains can make or break a roller coaster. What would new trains do? First, they would have new wheel assemblies. If I remember correctly, very little was changed from Arrow's old trains to their Drachen Fire version. New assemblies would help the trains navigate Drachen Fire's course much easier. Their old trains rode on pretty simple coasters and compared to them, Drachen Fire was a radically different design. Larger wheels on better wheel assemblies would give riders a much smoother and better-quality ride. New restraints that were comfortable would help as would trains that gave passengers a feeling of comfort, instead of wrapping them inside the train as deeply as possible. King's Island showed that lapbars are safe on newer loopers, so why not use them on Drachen Fire?! I would have loved to see Drachen Fire operating again. The design is unique, the experience is fun. Who wouldn't love to see that great view of the Virginia forests from the top of Drachen Fire again?

         Many enthusiasts were shocked to find out that Drachen Fire was gone for good.  Tim O'Brien of Amusement Business magazine reported in the February 11, 2002 issue that Busch Gardens was tearing down the ride.  When the park opened for the 2002 season there would be few traces of the coaster.  It is sad that Busch did not think to purchase new cars with lapbar restraints for the site.  They could have marketed the ride as a new coaster, Return of the Fire if you will, and gotten more out of their investment.  Instead, they chose to tear it down.  I will miss the opportunity to ride the coaster with lapbars, but I will not miss the rides I got on the fire.

• An unofficial Arrow Dynamics site with more pictures of Drachen Fire

• Arrow Dynamics' Website

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Adam Sandy, Copyright 2002.