My, what big tracks you have
Big Bad Wolf revisited coming to Busch Gardens Williamsburg
One of the most iconic coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, Big Bad Wolf, will be getting a sequel of sorts in 2025. The park announced that The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge will be opening next year in the German-themed Octoberfest section of the park. Unlike its predecessor, which was a thrill ride, however, the new midway entry will be a family coaster. It’ll be Big Bad Wolf with less teeth.
Details are a bit sparse, but the park did reveal that the new coaster will hit a top speed of 40 mph. That will put it on par with mildly thrilling rides such as Slinky Dog Dash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It will be noticeably tamer than the original Big Bad Wolf’s 48 mph dive down towards the Rhine River. Passengers as short as 42 inches will be able to board the new ride (compared to 52- and 54-inch height requirements for the park’s major thrill machines such as Griffon and Pantheon).
Like its predecessor, the new ride will feature trains that will hang beneath the tracks. The first Big Bad Wolf was a suspended coaster from defunct manufacturer Arrow Dynamics. Its cars were tethered to the track with arms that allowed them to swing to and fro. Only a handful of suspended coasters remain, including Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. The Big Bad Wolf progeny will be an inverted model from Bolliger & Mabillard. Its trains will not be able swing, however.
Busch Gardens says that the new ride will include some themeing. “This attraction is unlike anything we’ve ever done before,” states Kevin Lembke, the park’s president. “We’ve created an experience that combines storytelling with family-friendly thrills. Guests will feel completely immersed in the story of the Bavarian village, as the sound of screams and the echo of a howling wolf creates chaos in the familiar town.”
Suspended family coasters can be loads of fun. Phoenix at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park in New York is a hoot, for example. Manufactured by Vekoma, it climbs 68 feet and hits 34 mph, but feels way faster. (By the way, I got to operate the Coney Island coaster. Check it out.)
Because parks have to tout every new ride as record breaking, even if they have to tie themselves into pretzels to justify the claim, Busch Gardens is proclaiming that Big Bad Wolf II will be North America’s longest inverted family coaster. That’s a lot of qualifying attributes. At 2,583 feet, it will be longer than rides such as Dragonflier at Dollywood in Tennessee (1,486 feet) or Phoenix Rising, which opened this year at Busch Gardens Tampa (1,831 feet). But it will be shorter than the first Big Bad Wolf, which spanned 2,800 feet.
Busch Gardens held a naming contest for the coaster–and then tossed out the results. Instead of picking one of the weird, German-sounding names that the park offered as choices, many voters apparently indicated that they wanted to stick with the name of the beloved, defunct ride. So Big Bad Wolf it shall be.
It will be located in the same spot as another defunct coaster, Drachen Fire. Also created by Arrow Dynamics, the park closed the looping coaster in 1998 after seven years of operation. Guests complained that it was excessively rough, but I found it to be an enjoyable, if intense, ride that was loaded with floater airtime.
Big Bad Wolf will be the highlight of the park’s 50th anniversary season.
Do you miss the original Big Bad Wolf? Might you plan a visit to Busch gardens Williamsburg during its 50th year of operations?
Very much looking forward to this. Unfortunately I never had a chance to ride the original Big Bad Wolf - I got into the coaster hobby very late in life, long after it had been torn down.
While the enthusiasts might be disappointed this one will be rather tame by comparison, I applaud the addition of another family coaster to the park. My kids love BGW, but my son, who is still a bit timid towards the bigger coasters, really only had InvadR and DarKoaster as his options on our last trip (I think I could have cajoled him onto Verbolten as well had it been open). I'm sure he'd have no hesitation riding Big Bad Wolf, so I'm excited for him to have another option.
I'm also really glad they decided on the last-minute name change. I was not a fan of any of the suggested names, and they had to know people were just going to call it Big Bad Wolf anyway. We will definitely be visiting again to give it a ride when it opens!