Big Bad Wolf (roller coaster)

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Big Bad Wolf
The 80-foot drop over the Rhine River.
Location	Busch Gardens Europe
Park Section	Oktoberfest
Type	Steel
Opened	1984
Manufacturer	Arrow Dynamics
Model	Suspended swinging coaster
Track layout	Terrain
Height	100 feet (30.5 m)
Drop	80 feet (24.4 m)
Length	2,800 feet (853.4 m)
Max speed	48 mile per hour (77.2 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	3:00
Big Bad Wolf at RCDB
Pictures of Big Bad Wolf at RCDB

The Big Bad Wolf is a suspended swing roller coaster in the Oktoberfest section of Busch Gardens Europe. A suspended swinging coaster has the cars hanging under the track, which swing freely after every turn.

1 Track layout
2 Trivia
3 See also
4 External link

[edit] Track layout

The Big Bad Wolf comes out of the station in a train of seven cars. There is a very small drop and then the train takes a sharp left then right up to the first lift hill. The train then reaches the top and descends down a 40 or so degree angle, reaching speeds of around 40 mph. The train then steers its way though a Bavarian village, narrowly missing houses and shops.The cars then hit a section of brakes leading them to a right turn to the next lift hill. This chain lift takes the riders up to an approaching 80-foot drop. This drop after the second lift hill sends riders barreling straight towards the Rhine River at 48 mph, swooping right above the water, and making that image one of the most classic coaster images ever. The dive toward the water is also helped because the cars are below the track, making it even more convincing. After this close encounter with the fish, the train twists and turns and slowly makes its way back up to the station.

[edit] Trivia

The Big Bad Wolf is one of the few coasters with two lift hills, the second of such in Busch Gardens Europe. The Loch Ness Monster is the other.

Big Bad Wolf was originally designed by Anton Schwarzkopf and intended to be an early prototype of the flying roller coaster. Little remains of this plan today except the footers, which were originally poured for the Schwarzkopf coaster. After Schwarzkopf filed for bankruptcy Busch Gardens, still wanting a new roller coaster, turned to Arrow Dynamics for yet another prototype coaster, the suspended swinging coaster. This is the coaster that stands today.