Added: 4 years ago
From: Ryan120420
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  • griffin took its spot

  • Comment removed

  • Wow your mom's good at taking coaster footage! Haha that's awesome how you went on 24+ times! With every classic Arrow coaster that is taken down, my heart breaks a little more.

  • I own 6 of the roller coaster cars to this ride

  • Amazing but it still is a fail compared to Kumba

  • They may be making coasters larger, taller, and faster, but they're also making them smoother and less intense. Part of the appeal of Drachen Fire to fans of the ride was it's relentless intensity! I loved every second of it! I was a 3rd grader when Drachen Fire opened, and it instantly became my favorite coaster (A title it still holds today). I rode it back to back every season. Seeing you in this video and your excitement for this roller coaster reminds me of myself in those days. TY

  • Its really awesome and somewhat creepy watching this raw style 'old' video footage of your vacation. Really cool to see this ride in its originality. Good on you for uploading and the quality is fine! :)

  • These trains were what led the Fire to downfall. If it had better trains, it would probably still be thrilling riders today.

  • @FortisBong > They look like Vekoma trains to me.

  • this was after they took the first corkscrew out and put the straight downhill brake section in over the walkway...loved this ride..a bunch of pussies with a headache caused this thing to be closed...i rode this thing well over 100 times when i was 11-15 and had no issues...was so sad when we came to the park and the gates to the entrance were closed...

  • @fairymoka the ride is called Drachen fire

  • Why did they demolish it. It looked just fine.

  • I was not born...

  • Thank you for posting this. I was lucky enough to ride this during the first or second weekend it opened. I LOVED it!!!

    Got my friend to ride with me, he agreed only if we didn't seat in front so I stepped into third line, turned out the first two were for very front seats in front car, we ended up in the back two! Sorry Brian, I noticed that whenever we rode from then on he chose the front car, riding in back wasn't the same.

    Thanks again for posting video.

  • i love the B&M inspired trains...

  • WoW. I rode this "monster" back then, it was a real blast. I'm so sad they removed it !_! The last time I was there, me and my cousins went 14 times in a row trough this INCREDIBLE ride. Wish I could add a 15th......... ahhhhh great memories.

  • They were definitely a tight fit, not much freedom, and it was pretty rough at times, but still i loved this coaster - especially enjoyed the low elevation corkscrews

  • I remember this!!! :~)

  • Wow! Thank you so much for posting this. I was lucky enough to ride this and I believe I rode it on the last week of it's operation (Anyone know the exact date it closed?). I was about 11 and I thought it was an amazing ride. I never had a problem with it. Riding at night was amazing, with the cars lit up. Oh yeah best part was that there was NO wait what so ever. My friend and I stayed on it till the park closed, with out getting up. Good times.

  • DF trains I think operate on a coaster in Japan or Taiwan.

    The seats are exactly the same as any arrow looper, so yes it was a tight fit. But when I rode it, it wasn't. But it would be if I were to ride today.

  • this coaster could have been fixed up into something nice...i.e lapbar restaints! but to bad they care not to give it a whirl and its rumored to be in deconstruction if it is still there you get an EXCELLT view from the train ride check it out hell...BUY IT! lol im sure how long Drachen fire has been sitting you could get it for the price of a house or even less!

  • It was torn down in early 2002.

  • When I was here the ride was up but sitting dormant. We were pissed since it looked so crazy. We later found out this ride was just pure pain, so then I wasn't so sad about missing it.

    My cousin said it broke his glasses.

  • Love the way it was filmed. I feel like I'm there. The train ride was neat with the girl saying how tall and fast it was. Boo hoo another good coaster I didn't get to ride RIP.

  • Wow-I can't believe they took this ride down. I remember my first time riding it thinking I should have held my head more steady-it would rock your neck for sure. Would love to go back to BG one day to see the new rides.

  • when did u go the rides there now are a step up

  • the last time I was at BG was in 95 or 96; they were in the construction stages of Alpengeist then.

  • god i wish they hadn't taken this down. Im a rollercoaster-holic, and it was dismantled around when i was born. It sad though, i live very near Busch and vist there frequently, and seeing the area where it used to be sends a chill thorugh my spine. They still have the old station for it, as its now been converted into a Hallo-scream attraction. if only, if only.

  • where is the old station that was turned into a hallo-scream im going soon i would like to know where one of there passed coasters once was

  • as you go along the train, after leaving the festa italia station and crossing the river tressel, it is the second building you see on your left. the also have an old storage house fromt the ride, which remains there today.

  • During howl o scream, the haunted area that uses the land and station Drachen Fire used is called The Neverafter, it's behind the Festhaus. You can get back there unless it's for a concert on the weekends during the summer or for howl o scream.

  • was this the busch gardens in Virginia or florida. Its been a few years since I went to the one in Virginia, and I don't remember this being there. Oh well, I could be wrong XD great video by the way. =)

  • Virginia

  • oh okay...

  • what whas this ride replaced with?

  • Nothing, the area where the ride was located still sits empty.

  • God I loved this coaster!

  • the 7 - 27 - 95 one was about 3 weeks after i was born. haha. i love this video because i went on my first roller coaster when i was 10, and i make my parents film me on the roller coasters too, lol..

  • Comment removed

  • Wow how many craptasic coasters can you have in one park?

  • about 14 at kings dominion

  • Very funny, when BGE has unreliable, overhyped Griffon with two drops and two inversions, stuck on the lift Alpengeist, bumpy old nessie, 2 drop Big Bad Wolf, and hyper coaster pretender Appolo. Wow, why do you keep responding with so much B.S.

  • You want to talk about unreliable rides? lets talk about Volcano, Flight of Fear, Back Lot Stunt Coaster, and the former XLC.

    You want to talk about bumpy rides? Lets talk about Shockwave, Anaconda, Hurler, XLC, Grizzly, and Rebel Yell.

    LNM bumpy? Smoothest arrow coaster I have ever been on.

    At least Busch Gardens has a hyper Coaster, and a high ranked one at that.

    Hate to break it to you, but more people like BGE more than KD, the attendance numbers prove this.

  • I have been a season pass holder at KD for 10 years. I have seen FOF break down 2 times, Volcano maybe 20, Backloot never. XLC was removed, so dont bring that up. Rebel Yell and Hurler are wooden, wooden coasters are bumpy! Grizzly is being retracked this year. And Shockwave and Anaconda draw very high amounts of people. KD will have a hyper coaster in 2010, one that is actually a hyper coaster. Appolo is only 170, dont call it a hyper coaster.

  • haha get fucking shit on kings dominion lover

  • what the hell are you talking about, a-hole?

  • im talking about him shitting all over you ASSHOLE, atleast im not afraid to spell it out, fucking cunt

  • You sound really immature when you curse.

  • you sound really immature when u keep commenting about how shitty BGE is and how great KD, if u like KD why do u go on BGE videos, u probably like watching them hoping that someday KD might get a pretty good ride

  • I watch them to realize how lucky I am to live close to Kings Dominion and to convince people to go to KD rather than BGE

  • We already have great rides and we will have the tallest coaster in VA in 2010

  • well its not really working since more people still go to BGE and, so what if they got a new coaster that is big and tall. WOHOO, now KD will have 3 good rides

  • Apollo

    170 feet WITH a 210ft drop = Hyper coaster

    My two visits to the park I Saw:

    BLSC break down 3 times

    Volcano break down 4 times

    XLC break down 6 times

    Flight of Fear break down 2 times

    And this is not including the power glitch the park had shutting down everything in the park.

    Yes, wood coasters are suppose to be bumpy, but not to the point where your spine is about to shatter.

    Who says KD is getting a Hyper? A rumors are saying Carowinds is getting the Hyper next year.

  • Looks goood :)

  • if that ride was stiil there

    i would SO ride it

  • that was taken 3 days b4 my birthday - 7/24/95 :o

  • sadly this ride had been shut down already when i went to the park for the first time

  • Busch Gardens should now approach B&M to "remake" Drachen Fire and call it "Drachen Fire 2000", use a lot of the same elements, layout, etc, but w/ the smooth, fun B&M taste

  • yea they should

  • I agree that Busch should put a B&M in the empty space where Drachen Fire was, but the name's gotta be better than Drachen Fire 2000. Maybe something like Drachen's Revenge. Drachen Fire 2000 sounds like a ride that's almost a decade old, I like where your heads at though. If they ever put anything back there again, it would be accompanied by a new country to connect Oktoberfest and Festa Italia, one reason Drachen failed was it was totally out of the way.

  • they should name it "Drachen Fire, the Return

  • wtf are you talking about nascar, all of BGE's new coasters (Appolo, Griffy, and Alpie). Man you have a good point, finally something we CAN agree on!

  • did you even ride Drachen Fire, my cousin got a concussion on it, no kidding! Anaconda has never done that to someone, besides Anaconda was built for Drachen, man you are a dipshit. As for XLC, it was removed... it broke down a lot. Reminds me of Alpengeist in that way. What do you expect XLC was a prototype just like Volcano and Flight of Fear. Nothing like those rides had ever been built before, proving that KD has many unique coasters... unlike BGE.

  • ". Nothing like those rides had ever been built before, proving that KD has many unique coasters... unlike BGE. "

    LOL, eight of the fourteen coasters at KD are clones. None at BGE are clones, all custom an unique to BGE.

  • Alpengeist, inverted coaster (many of those)

    Griffon- (5 in the world that are similar)

    Nessie (arrow looper... enough said)

    Big Bad Wolf (ninja, except ninja os actually good)

    Appolo (mini hyper, well I'll give you that)

    KD 3, Bge 1 another win for KD

  • Sorry, but type of coaster dose not mean clone.

    Name One of BGEs 5 major coasters that are CLONES.

    You cant.

    "Appolo (mini hyper, well I'll give you that)"

    Sorry, but Apollo is a Hyper, 210ft drop.

  • a hyper coaster has to be 200 feet TALL. Anywho, i never mentioned clones, and there are not 8 clones. Grizzly does not count because of noticable differences. So it really is around 5. Dont sponge numbers. BGE does not a have a wooden, launched, or standup coaster... wjich does not seem unique to me... 5 lift hill steel coasters, only one with more than two inversions, not very unique...

  • You forgot about the CLONE of Grizzly at Canada's Wonderland. Also Grizzly is a Clone of Coney Island Wild Cat.

    KD has 8 Clones.

  • The coney island wildcat has been gone for years. Canadian Minebuster is not even modeled Wildcat. Making Grizlly one of a kind. Please name all clones, there is not 8.

  • Dude, they are EXACTLY the same. /watch?v=r4kGVzrVfBA /watch?v=ydnvLCKncOs Grizzly Rebel Yell Backlot Stunt Coaster Taxi Jam Flight of Fear Ricochet Hurler Scooby Doo Ghoster Coaster All can be found at different parks.
  • alpengiest is a clone of nothing, tottaly orginal, Griffon is different from all of the other diving coastes, nessie is the only roller coaster in the world to have interlocking loops (also new and original) Big Bad Wolf, idk thats the only ride like that i have ever been on, Appolo is totally new and Original, even though it is just another smooth out and back coaster

  • This is kinda random ryan but, Warner Music kicks ass.

  • Iam sure many people on youtube will agree.

  • Man, I am glad we could agree on at least something!

  • no i never rode it, honestly it looked to painful, alpengiest sometimes broken down but no ride is exactly perfect, Flight of Fear was built at Kings Island first, but i have to admit Volcano is a good ride but has like a 1 and a half hour wait, i just dont think it is worth 20 secconds of ride

  • Trust me, the wait is worth it for Volcano. You dont see those lines on Alpengeist, Appolo, Nessie, and BBW. Griffon sometimes, but that is because it is somewhat new. Volcano is 11 years old and is still the park favorite. Flight of Fear at KI and at KD were built the same year, check your facts. Drachen Fire was the first of three dissapointments at BGE. Appolo cmae next (mini hyper), then Alpie (maintence nightmare), and finally Griffon (2 drops 2 inversions). All dissapointments

  • "Trust me, the wait is worth it for Volcano. You dont see those lines on Alpengeist, Appolo, Nessie, and BBW. Griffon sometimes, but that is because it is somewhat new."

    All of the rides you mentioned are high capacity rides compared to Volcano.

    "Appolo cmae next (mini hyper), then Alpie (maintence nightmare), and finally Griffon (2 drops 2 inversions). All dissapointments'

    Umm, Alpinegeist came next, and Apollo is a hyper. And none of the rides you mentioned are disappointing.

  • Definition of a hyper coaster:

    A hypercoaster can mean one of two things; * A style or model of roller coaster with three features:[1] [2] [3] o An initial drop or lift hill of 200299 feet o Lacks inverting elements o A lift hill, not a launch

  • here is a quote from the coaster critic "The term hyper coaster was coined to refer to roller coasters 200 feet or taller."

    coaster force "Today, the name "Hyper Coaster" or any of its generic variations are used to describe any steel non-inverting out & back or twister roller coaster that stands between 200-299 ft. tall and sets out to give riders airtime or big drops."

  • would you like anymore quotes?

  • And yet, if you read his review on Apollos Chariot, he considers it a Hyper coaster.

    A hyper coaster is a coaster with a lift of 200-299ft OR a drop of 200-299ft.

  • LMAO!

    What ever makes you sleep at night.

  • I did not give your comments negatives.

    Thanks for blaming me.

  • You cannot admit anything. You wont admit when your wrong... you try insulting me. Hmm... who does that does remind me of? Nascartw2! Rather than responding to me, he calls me a dickhead. Pure immaturity. Dont stoop to their level Ryan, argue, dont insult

  • Don't blame me for something I did not do.

    Goodbye!

  • i called u a dickhead, u said for me to go breast feed to my mom, wow really mature (and very wierd) to say to a regular person

  • haha u insult people to u fucking hipocrit,

  • I'm so upset I never got a chance to ride it, because it was shut down before I ever met the height requirement

  • Your so lucky you got to ride Drachen fire. Great video!

  • Awsome video man. This ride is massive would have been great if the actual plans followed through and B&M built it. Would have been one great ride.

  • yes it would

  • Awesome. I loved that ride! It went downhill when they changed a section of the track though so it wouldn't be as rough. I don't know why people thought it was so rough. I mean if you just kept your head back against the headrest, it wasn't so bad. Rough would have been the Outer Limits at King's Dominion before they replaced the harnesses...those things killed me every time

  • thats cool thanks for posting this.

  • I just have to say that Drachen Fire looks fun, but it sounds VERY rough with all of the clanking that was heard.

    I love how the trains are styled though. It's a shame that only a few Arrow coasters have those kind of trains.

  • how old were you?

  • 7 years old

  • That skinny guy is me. And Drachen Fire was not that rough and was not made by Vekoma.

  • Most epic video ever.

  • lol

    reminds me of cloverfield fdor some reason

  • It kills me that its gone!

  • awesome footage... shame i'll never be albe to ride it.... :(

  • is this wer the griffon is now?

  • No.

  • is it closed now?

  • defunct=Closed.

  • Ah yes the first coaster i ever rode lol when i got off it i thought for a short time that every coaster gives headaches till i rode lochness and realized it was just that one RIP: @~8~~

  • *Tears*

    thanks for posting i just got my youth back. man i miss that ride!!!

  • I miss this this coaster!!!!

    I loved it....if you sit properly like you should.....head back and centered, it was awesome.

  • I believe this is called 'Dragon Fire' at Canada's Wonderland.

  • Two different coasters, with two completely different layouts.

    The only thing they share in common is the manufacturer and similar names (drachen is German for dragon).

  • Griffon replaced this

  • Griffon Replaced Le Mans Raceway. Nothing has replaced Drachen Fire. The area that it occupied still sits empty.

  • The area they use for Howl-o-scream now. They have two haunted houses back there and a third one outside. the Line for the ride is the first house, and the second house is the area where the trains were kept, I wanna say.

    I only had one chance to ride this ride, when I was finally tall enough...I chickened out, I got close to the line and didn't go in. now its gone. I wish it was still there.

  • ive been to buschgardens 78 times its in williamsburg virginia but it has a europe theme

  • You must have really liked that coaster since you went on it 24 times. Why was it torn down?

  • I when on it more than that. I rode it a total of 58 times that day.

  • it was causing a lot of problems, people complained about it being to rough, so they closed it, to out a corkscrew, and opened it again. but i guess since it was all the way back in the so not enough people rode it, i think.

  • We used to call it "F*ckin Dryer" because it felt like you had just been put through a dryer when you got off. VERY rough ride.

  • man in this video the ride looks slow and i know its only 60 mph but i really wanted to ride it and im 13 so i was 3 when it got torn down

  • It was closed in 1998 and torn down in 2002

  • i would of never even knew it existed tell me more of what was there before the new rides

  • Nothing has replaced it. All thats left is the Station and the storage shed. Look in the description for a link that will tell you more about this ride.

  • WRONG... The title says its in Europe. WRONG. It was in Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia. may have had a eouropean theme, but its in the USA. i have been on it.

  • Busch Gardens Europe is the name of the park.

    I know its in VA.

    Your wrong.

  • how am i wrong

  • The parks official name is Busch Gardens Europe.

    No were in the title did I say it was located in Europe.

  • This rollercoaster isnt there anymore.

  • Im going in august too! august 14th to be exact. If your there the same day (which you hope your not)maybe I can knock some sense into your head when tell you that ITS NOT THERE ANYMORE!! ive been there way more times than 3! Ive been like 50! So you think your all a know-it-all and the "hero" come back to say good news when your not! this is not any other coaster! its an amazing old awesome one! and f.y.i im smarter than you! HA HA HA IN YOUR FACE!

  • Thanks for making my day!

  • maybe if you keep looking for it you'll find it somwhere :-)

  • I wrote Busch Gardens 3 days ago....told them coasters fans need a Kumba type ride!

    Not a launcher type, (Storm runner is extremely rough) I was bruised. NEVER was bruised on DF! And not a Giga, etc. Want a corkscrew with many turns, heartlines, etc!!!

    They will forward my email to the directors...hope they listen...there was an answer to my email!!! Write them all you coaster fans!

  • Storm runner is not rough at all...

  • 7/27/95 is the day after my b day... my b day is 7 26 95

  • wow what a cool coaster.. lol i was born on the 1995

  • Hey, this footage is amazing, Drachen Fire is one of the only other Arrow Dynamics coasters that has the same trains that the Canyon Blaster in Vegas has. Great Video!!

  • Busch Gardens did all they could to fix the ride so it wouldn't beat people up. They analyzed the ride and determined what areas still needed to be fixed to avoid guest injuries. But, in the end they were faced with making some costly modifications that MIGHT fix the problem. Faced with this, it was Mr. Busch who gave the other to rip the ride out, rather than injure another guest. Still, it would have been niced if they reused the station for another ride.

  • Busch did not do all that they could to fix the problems with DF

    New trains with lap bars would have easily taken care of the complaints of roughness. It worked for Flight OF Fear at Kings Dominion and Kings Island.

  • Roughest Ride Ever. Headache for sure every time! Outer Limits at KD when it first opened was almost as bad!! They changed the harnass at KD and it's much better now.

  • y did they bring this down? =(

  • There is a link in the description that tells you the entire story on why it was torn down.

  • nice ride

  • My mom went on this ride when she was pregnant with me....My sister says, "so that explains it"

  • lol

  • For all those wondering, they removed Drachen Fire because of its intensity. It was few of its kind from designer Arrow Dynamics to feature a roller coaster train design where the center of gravity was placed on the chest of the rider instead of the head, hence it banging everyone around who didn't keep their heads back. Because of the intensity factor, and poor location, with nothing around it to attract unknowing guests, it did not have the popularity that Busch Gardens wished of it.

  • Damn dude. How old were you in the last one? You're in the last car by yourself. At your age you must have alot of guts.

  • 7 years old.

  • I ride roller coasters all the time.  And to be truthful this ride literally hurt me. I would be interested to go back and see if it gave me a concussion. I still like the ride though. And on a lighter note the Griffon is freakin' awesome smooth and will take your breath away.

  • I loved that ride when I went there as a kid.

  • Compare the build with Appollo's Chariot, the B&M design influence is clear. Wow, 58 times in a day by like a 10 year old. Shows you how much of a bunch of pussies the people who complained are. My hopes are that something similar will be built there eventually. I can confirm they still have the trains in the maintenance shed. There are only 6 trains like them in the world. The existing trains could be used on Loch Ness. Who knows, maybe they still have them for a reason.

  • 7 years old.

  • Ya, those trains would look cool on loch ness.

  • It was a sad thing, but they were thinking of profits...

    I sadly never got to ride that monster...and oh do I regret that

  • the sketeton was part of hollow scream , when was this you saw it

  • I miss this ride. They should have never tore it down. It was so much better than Loch Ness. Miss it. Love the footage...brings back lots of memories. Thanks for sharing.

  • They took it down because some moron with a previous neck problem got whiplash on it and sued the park. They closed it down for a while tro try to fix it but things weren't working out so it closed. It was actually built by the same company that did Loch Ness too, Arrow, but unlike Loch Ness, Drachen Fire was a rushed project that B&M was supposed to do. It did stay up for a few years because a bald eagle built a nest in the track, so at least a glimmer of light came out of a sad story.

  • I knew all of that. Thanks though.

  • where is this

  • Williamsburg VA.

  • how many times did u go on this

  • That day 58 times. All together from 1996-1998 75 times.

  • WOW thats insane,

  • oh yea u are right on that they did have that drachen fire sighn on the little bridge over-pass, but i remember riding the train around the ride when it was closed and remember seeing what it looked like were trash bags on the station windows and their was like a skelenton sitting up in their on a bar or hangin up in the window plus they had the little dragons carved into wood shaped to fit up under the little roof on the outside edges, but yea u are right about that.

  • their was a skelenton in the boarding station, u don't remember??

  • No, The station was just that a Station. A Nice one but no theming except for that Drachen Fire Sign on the front of the station house.

  • yea what was that skeleton that was their when i rode it?, i remember seeing a skeleton in the station

  • i wish i could of rode it

  • it was ok... to jerky and to much neck damage.... haha they had to destroy it because of all the injuries

  • Y DID THEY TEAR IT DOWN!!!!!

    i wanted to ride it

  • it was a fun ride btw

  • Look in the description for a link to a web site that will answer all your questions.

  • people where pussys

  • The reason they took it down was because people were getting hurt on it

  • I WAS TOO AFRAID TO RIDE ROLLERCOASTERS WHEN THEY SOLD THIS. im very upset..i understand you needed to keep your neck back otherwise you'd get a bad headache.

    lol

  • oh. ok ty