6. Drachen Fire

Image: Jeremy Thompson, Wikipedia (license)

Location: Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Virginia)
Cost: $4 million
Lifetime: 1992 – 1998 (4 years)
Video Evidence: Point-of-view video
Full Story: Disaster Files: Drachen Fire 

The Story: Roller coaster enthusiasts know a whole lot about ride manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, a Swiss firm responsible for many of the world’s most popular steel coasters including the inverted, Wing Rider, and Dive Machine models. The firm famously paired with Busch Gardens’ two parks in Florida and Virginia to create sibling style rides. When Florida got the inverted Montu, Virginia got its sister, Alpengeist. Same with SheiKra and Griffon.

In 1993, B&M opened Kumba in Florida, a multi-inversion coaster with an iconic loop around its lift hill. However, prior commitments with Six Flags to build the world’s first inverted coaster prevented B&M from building a sibling at the Virginia park. Arrow Dynamics, a popular manufacturer of the era, stepped in – even using B&M’s plans as a guide – to create a sister for Kumba at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Why It Failed: Arrow Dynamics, which has since gone bankrupt, is known (perhaps infamously) for its multi-loop coasters, which have a reputation for being uncomfortable. Arrow operated in an era during which computers were not used to build and bend track, often melting and arranging track on site leading to abrupt track transitions, unusual elements, and unexpected forces. Such, we can imagine, was the deal with Drachen Fire, their take on B&M’s ultra-smooth, multi-inversion Kumba. Even using B&M’s signature supports instead of their own usual style, Arrow built their best take on a B&M coaster with Drachen Fire, though it didn’t include the smooth transitions and tasteful pacing B&M is renowned for.

The ride originally included six inversions, including a corkscrew halfway down the first hill and a “cobra roll” – a B&M classic that Arrow had never used before and never used again after. Two years after opening, one of the ride’s corkscrews was removed to make the experience more comfortable. The ride closed in 1998 with plans to modify the coaster, though it never happened. Four years later, it was removed from the park. Today, the ride's station is still used for a haunted house during the Halloween season, while the rest of the ride's footprint is dedicated to a picnic area and part of the park's Verbolten coaster. Looking for the full story? Check out Disaster Files: Drachen Fire for all the grisly details.

5. Journey into Your Imagination

Image: Disney

Location: Epcot (Orlando, Florida)
Lifetime: 1999 – 2001 (2 years)
Full Story: Disaster Files: Journey into YOUR Imagination

The Story: One of the dark rides that defined Epcot during its early years, Journey into Imagination was a unique omnimover-style ride through – you guessed it – imagination. Guided by a jovial original character named Dreamfinder and his faithful imaginary friend, the energetic purple dragon Figment, you literally entered imaginary landscapes to the tune of the Sherman Brothers' "One Little Spark." The ride carried guests through dreamscapes celebrating arts, literature, performance, and science as gateways to imaginative thinking. The ride was such a fan-favorite, it earned its own in-depth entry in our series Lost Legends: Journey into Imagination.

The ride, created by famed Imagineer Tony Baxter, was a fan-favorite with Dreamfinder and Figment becoming tied directly to Epcot’s identity. In 1999, the ride was completely re-done as Journey into Your Imagination, with a theme to tie into the new “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” 3D movie. The entire pavilion was unified into an “Imagination Institute” theme and the dark ride was re-cast as a journey through the institutes sensory labs. Dreamfinder, Figment, and "One Little Spark" were occasionally visible as mere cameos, but their time as icons of Epcot was over.

Why It Failed: While the original “Journey into Imagination” was probably in need of a new lease on life as the new millennium neared, turning the attraction into a sort of cold and lifeless scientific tour without its defining characters irked fans big time. As well, 6 minutes were shaved from the ride time by shortening the dark ride’s circuit, closing off half of the show-building entirely. The debilitating and sad story of the half-baked ride is forever saved in our Disaster Files: Journey into YOUR Imagination entry that's a must-read for Epcot fans.

The ride closed as quickly as it had opened and, after seven months off, opened again in 2002 as the long-winded “Journey Into Imagination With Figment,” retaining the laboratory / Imagination Institute theme but including a more mischievous and off-putting version of the little purple dragon here and there. A dozen years later, fans still haven’t warmed to the unfortunate dark ride, and rumors persist that any day now, the entire pavilion will close to either get a new lease on life, or become another unfortunate loss like Epcot's closed Wonders of Life and Horizons pavilions.

At this point, a closed pavilion may be preferable to a dated 3D film (be it Honey, I Shrunk the Audience or the currently-playing Captain EO) paired with a disliked dark ride that really only serves to kick Epcot fans while they're down.

4. Walt Disney Studios Park

Image: Disney

Location: Disneyland Paris
Full Story: Disaster Files: Walt Disney Studios Paris 

The Story: The mad dash to add a new gate to every Disney Resort during Eisner’s ill-fated Disney Decade of the 1990s meant almost everyone got the short end of the stick, with half-done, lazy parks lacking imagination, charm, detail, and attractions. 2001 saw the disastrous opening of the original Disney’s California Adventure next the original Disneyland, which was instantly disliked and ended up necessitating over $1.5 billion in fixing over the course of the first fifteen years. 2002’s Walt Disney Studios has fared even worse.

Click and expand for a larger view. Image: Disney

Why It Failed: Opened with nine (yes, nine) things to do (three rides and six shows... can you find them all in the map above?), the park was by far Disney’s smallest in terms of size and number of rides, yet commanded a ticket price equal to Disneyland Paris next door (with fifty attractions). An obvious money-grab, Walt Disney Studios languished.

Since opening, the park's seen an influx of nicely dressed family flat rides, a spinning coaster, a tepid Toy Story Playland, and a version of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Still, Walt Disney Studios continues to fare poorly compared to just about any other Disney Park on earth. A sizable investment in the impressive looking new attraction and land based on Disney and Pixar’s Ratatouille did something to bolster the park, but it’s in need of a full, multi-billion-dollar rebuild in the vein of California Adventure if any lasting success is to be expected. And given Disneyland Paris’ finances, don’t hold your breath.