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1 Rating Posted by: skifast22 on 5/20/2005 6:35:00 PM

Hmm..i thought i had rated this the other day but apparently not. Kurse of Darkastle is definately a unique ride, considering the only other of its type is the spiderman ride at the universal parks. The 3D movie sequences are very good, and pretty scary. One could consider this a new age haunted house. While the 3D portion of the ride is extremely good, the pre-show, story development and storyline of the ride leave something to be desired. Unlike Spiderman, there is nothing to tell you about the story as your waiting in line. Sure you can see the big castle, and the statue of the wolves, but there is no hint at all about what the story of the castle is. Once you get to the ride, there is a short preshow that starts to set up the story, but its not done extremely well, say like the videos in the line queues for spiderman. And as your on the ride, i feel the story kind of falls apart at the end. Ive ridden it 3 times now, and Im still not sure what exactly happens there. They could have added more sensory effects to the ride as well, like fire, wind, etc... the times i rode, there was 1 fog effect, and 1 water effect. The "big fall" that they advertise is not as convincing on the one as spiderman either.

Ok, the tone of this review does sound kinda negative, but dont take it wrong..it is a very good ride. It just doesnt live up to Spiderman do to the weak story development and storyline, which is why I give it an 8.

Well, you have to take into account that Spiderman already has a familiar story line...but all of what youve said, I agree with for the most part. I thought the drop was well done...not once during the ride did I find anything unconvincing. But then again, I have to have ridden it 3 times and I need to have ridden Spiderman. I rode it only once, and that was after a grueling 3 hour wait, so maybe I was just happy to ride anything. That being said, I still think it was an amazing ride. Good review, though. You admitted that the ride was quality, and you supported the reasons why you think it didnt deserve a higher rating....unlike others who just blow up in a fiery rant

Ferg, hte anonymous poster gave his reasons. He didnt just say "it sucked" and move on, he presented his case. I wish he would join the site and stop posting anonymous so much, but still, he supported his position and thats ok even if you or I or anyone else doesnt agree with it. :critic:

Still, you dont completely trash a ride that others obviously enjoyed. It just isnt respectful. If for some reason I hate Millennium Force, there is no way that I would come onto a site and rip it apart like that. I would at least tone it down a notch...

Heck, I dont mind if people trash a ride - even one as great as Millennium Force. When they dont support why they think that is when we have a problem.

Nothing wrong at all with "trashing" a ride that a lot of people love. It is your opinion. If you dont think it is a great ride, then you dont think it is a great ride, just as you think something is. The reason that you think it is not respectful is because you are on the "good" end. Lot at everything that I take for loving Hercules. Sure, the majority hated the ride... hmmmm bad example considering the majority hated the ride. Ok, lets take the Flyer at Knoebels. Look at the nuts that love that ride. Now if I came on here and bashed it just a little, they would be on me like nothing. However, I would be entitled to my opinion just as they are. What they are essentially doing would be the wrong thing to do. It is an opinion and you are just mad because you think the ride is great. I think that you should be the one to "tone it down a notch".

Well thank you very much, Hercules, for supporting the person who is overreacting and is obviously the more immature person of the two of us....I dont know why everyone is turning against me when this Anonymous dude is the one that is too cowardly to join and only says nasty and biting remarks. Im entitled to my opinion too (even though it has recieved criticism for some reason) and I think this Anonymous-posting crap is ridiculous...Whats even more disturbing is the support this guy is getting. I dont understand why you needed to pick a fight, Hercules...I havent said anything bad except towards this Anonymous who busts in and says the ride sucks. Then I get yelled at for calling him out...Its crap, just total crap. I become the aggressor and this guy becomes my helpless prey...Its all backwards. Why should I tone it down a notch? He was the one that blew in like a hurricane and left in his wake the mangled reputation of DarKastle...

Wow you guys have major mood swings. Maybe if you both werent so retarded you would see I was agreeing with ferg.

Herc, I have a question. If someone came in on your review for Storm Runner and just simply said: "It sucked bad," you would be ok with that?

Thank you for agreeing with me, taco...i didnt catch that last part of your post: "When they dont support why they think that is when we have a problem." But even still...some people actually thought he supported his views, which I think is pretty crazy. The only way he supported his opinion that it sucked was by simply saying it sucked. Anonymous: just try to have some tact, ok? Say you didnt like the ride at all, or that you were disappointed...not that it just plain SUCKED. I can see where some people might not like it, but I wouldnt say it sucks by any stretch. You have to give Busch credit at least for doing something so advanced and being able to keep it running fairly consistantly.

I have preaching the "support your comments" thing for what seems like ever. Its not going to work.

Hey, Im brand new on this site, and I joined because I was learning a lot by reading all of your reviews.
My ride experience is somewhat limited, but I did just recently ride DarKastle twice during my trip to BGW with my wife.

Although skifast filled in the blanks for those opaque ideas of "something missing" that I had, I still thought the ride was great fun. The "big drop" was very visually well done although I expected it to be a bit longer in duration.

I also experienced the fog and water effects, and thought they were well done. The water effect still took me by surprise even after I felt the wet restraints upon entering the sled at the begining of the ride.

Another element that makes this ride great is the fact that it moves through a pretty good number of different rooms in the castle. It was a pretty long ride, which makes me really appreciate the parks provided value for my dollar, more than Six Flags Great Adventure.

I did think that the introductory storyline was well done, and that the chilling temperatures in that room added to the effect. I really got into it at that point. It is possible that the storyline wasnt followed through at the end of the ride, and I think that it is an astute observation for skifast to notice this because the visual and sensory effects were good enough to distract me from the actual story.

Thanks everyone for a great discussion.

Again, Busch Gardens undertook a more difficult task than the creators of Spiderman on the terms of story line. Take ten people off the street and ask them if theyve ever heard of King Ludvig of Bavaria, and I bet none of them will have any idea what you are talking about. Now take the same ten people and ask them who Spiderman is, and Im sure theyll give you a detailed description of Peter Parker and be able to name at least 2 of Spidermans famous villains....It is the familiarity of Spidermans story that attracts such a wider audience for that ride. DarKastle has a completely foreign storyline, which is appropriate taking into acount that BGW aims to bring you into foreign lands

Hey fergusonat, you make some very good points. I saw you mention these points as well in a discussion of integration into American culture of the Spiderman phenomenon, somewhere else on this site. This is quite insightful on your part, and a good criterion on which to base a ride rating. I actually enjoyed the fact that the DarKastle storyline was foreign to me, and I did not find it cheesy in the least. I find this approach to be one of the factors that makes the ride innovative. This is also one of the reasons why I prefer BGW coaster theming to that in Six Flags Great Adventure. Alpengeist and AC use theming that has a much greater allure to me due to inexperience with it.

TheRock, as far as coaster theming goes I think Busch and now recently Island of Adventure have the market cornered. I havent been all over the country yet, but I dont even think other parks really try as hard as they do. Its probably expensive. So youve already seen one of the best themed parks around. Just a suggestion. I see youre from NJ, if you want to get more coasters under your belt you could easily do Dorney, Hershey, and Knoebels in one weekend. I did Knoebels and Dorney in one day.

Rode DarKastle today. Found out I was one of the lucky ones. Seems the ride breaks down a lot, and by a lot I mean, three cars of people went through since it opened from being broken the day before, and then it broke down again. From talking to other riders and some of the ride attendants, it seems that this happens a lot. It was a pretty decent ride when we did ride it though.

It has been running a lot better recently though. The first day, it broke down every five minutes, which put the line at about 3-4 hours. Last time I rode it, although some of the sound effects were screwed up, I only waited about an hour, so they are improving

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