Located at
Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Drachen Fire is a steel
roller coaster designed by Ron Toomer of
Arrow Dynamics. The track is 3,550 feet long and the coaster reaches a height of 150 feet, with its longest drop running 145 feet. It reaches a top speed of 60
mph and has five
inversions. The ride has three trains, each with seven cars, which holds two in the front seat and two in the back seat for a total of 28 riders per train; ride time is two minutes and 25 seconds. Drachen Fire was built at a cost of
$4 million.
Drachen Fire opened on April 4, 1992 with six inversions. It operated for a few years, then closed briefly to have its fourth inversion, a corkscrew, removed after complaints that it was excessively rough - Arrow had not designed the transition from the previous element well, but no one was seriously hurt on the ride. Complaints of roughness continued, though, prompting the park to close the ride following the 1998 season. Today, Drachen Fire is in SBNO status - but if a visitor isn't looking for it, they might never know it was there. No signs mark its location, it is not shown on any map, access is blocked from public walkways, and employees are not supposed to answer questions about it.
Update: After less than ten years on this Earth, Drachen Fire went to the scrap bucket in the sky. In February 2002, the ride was dismantled and its steel melted down for use elsewhere.