Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge a Spiritual Successor to the Original

Last week Busch Gardens Williamsburg officially opened Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge, their new Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) family-friendly inverted coaster. And in a rare occurrence, a whole crew of Coaster101 writers were on hand to give it a ride during the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) Spring Conference. Which means we have lots of thoughts on the new coaster!

Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge pays tribute to the original Big Bad Wolf, an Arrow suspended coaster which operated from 1984-2009 in the theme park’s Oktoberfest area. But while the theme pays tribute to the original ride and there are numerous nods to it, such as a double lift hill, we should be clear that it’s a very different model, with a different layout in a different spot in the park.

While Verbolten occupies the space previously the original Big Bad Wolf’s home, “The Wolf’s Revenge” claims the land formerly home to Drachen Fire, another Arrow coaster which operated from 1992-1998. That land stood largely untouched after it closed, aside from for seasonal events. That includes Drachen Fire’s original station, which is now repurposed for The Wolf’s Revenge.

The Wolf Is Back For Revenege

The Wolf’s Revenge follows a story of a wolf coming to ravage a small German village. The ride includes onboard audio featuring a warning bell alerting the villagers when the train leaves the station. Cresting the first lift, the wolf howls as the coaster descends, twisting and turning its way towards the village. The train flies over the stables, with a torn up roof from the wolf’s attack and a nice little nod to Drachen Fire (the stables have the name “Drachenställe” written on them, meaning Dragon Stables). You then hurtle through a smashed gate at the front of the town.

Next you enter a helix swinging through the village, all the buildings showing signs of claw marks and damage from the wolf. And no 2-D flat facades here, these are all actual little buildings. It’s an impressive level of theming, especially for an area that can’t be seen from any part of the park except the ride and the train. And the helix along the buildings does a solid job mimicking the swinging cars of the original ride as it flew through the Bavarian hamlet.

Following the trip through the village, the train speeds past the stable again – which is impressively full of stuff that you again don’t really have time to see – and enters the second lift. The bells toll and the wolf howls again as the ride drops, this time towards a set of wooden spikes and a wolf trap. The ride pulls up and twists a few more times, reaching its finally.

With the Wolf either caught or driven off, the villagers now celebrate at a beer festival. The train curls around a banners and tables with beer steins on them, and after a final wolf howl the onboard audio switches to upbeat German oompah music as the ride pulls back into the station.

Theming Ups The Excitement

The real main highlight of the ride is all of that theming. Some of the more recent coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg were maybe a little sparse in the the theming along the track (*cough* Pantheon *cough*), so we’re excited to see Busch Gardens returning to its roots with such an immersive environment built around The Wolf’s Revenge. And it manages to tell the story through the surprisingly long ride just with that theming. Environmental storytelling at its finest!

That also ties into the other consensus highlight we all shared, which is that the ride really surprises. As our writer Evan put it, it’s a family coaster that doesn’t water down the experience. It’s full of tight turns and low to the ground action that increases the feeling of speed, and tons of “near misses” that up the excitement factor even at only 40mph. And as you can see in the photos there are a lot of new, small trees. We’re excited to see how many more “near misses” there are when those grow in.

All of that also really helps the ride keep up its pacing. Even the middle lift hill doesn’t feel like too much of a break, as the audio and visuals help keep the energy up while you climb.

Our Minor Quibbles

We all enjoyed the ride a lot, and really appreciate how much detail it had. But we did have a few minor quibbles. While the speed and pacing were generally really solid, we all thought the second half of the ride felt a little abridged. The drop after the second lift leads pretty quickly into a the final “celebration” helix. It’s hard to  complain about the ride’s length after a first half much longer than we expected, but it would have been great to have a little more after the second drop.

The other minor complaint is on the seat. The restraints are very much not “Big Guy” friendly. They’re also really high off the ground and required sort of jumping into them even for an average height adult man. We imagine getting in and out of these trains won’t be easy for a kid that just barely meets the generous 42 inch height requirement.

Lastly, we all sort of wish the coaster was a little less off by itself. The area it’s in behind Verbolten is really out of the way, and as we mentioned you can barely see the coaster from anywhere else. Hopefully over time the park will add more to that corner to draw people back there.

Comparison To Other Family Inverts?

Family inverted coasters are becoming more common, so how does the latest compare. Dragonflier at Dollywood – a Vekoma invert – is another obvious comparison. Our writer Kyle Lindner viewed this as Dragonflier’s big brother, with a much longer layout and more forceful ride. Evan Scharff, another of our writers, echoed that, calling Wolf’s Revenge the “more complete experience.” Meanwhile our president, John Stevenson – noted Dollywood homer – prefers the “gracefulness” of Dragonflier, but conceded The Wolf’s Revenge has the more impressive layout and theming

The Wolf’s Revenge’s sister coaster, Phoenix Rising, which opened at Busch Gardens Tampa last year is another obvious comparison. Mike, our resident Busch Gardens Tampa expert, will have an in depth comparison to Phoenix Rising coming soon.

A Worthy Successor

The pacing, theming, and forces really make The Wolf’s Revenge a great addition to the Busch Gardens lineup. As Kyle put it, it really feels more like a intermediate thrill coaster than a family coaster, even with the family friendly stats. John described it as thrilling without being intimidating. It helps fill a nice family friendly coaster gap with the 42 inch height requirement, the lowest of all of the “big” coasters at BGW, while still offering plenty of excitement and thrill.

We also feel like it succeeds as a tribute to Big Bad Wolf. Evan, the only one of us who rode the original, phrased it as, “The Wolf’s Revenge captures the spirit of the old ride with the suspended trains, the village theming, and that feeling of racing through a story. The nods to the original are there, but it stands on its own as something fresh and modern. It’s more of a spiritual successor than a remake, and honestly, that’s the right approach. It honors the legacy without being stuck in it.”

Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge opens to the general public on May 23. Busch Gardens Williamsburg was holding member previews this pass weekend, so check their website to see if there are any other opportunities for extra chances to ride. And when you’ve been on it, let us know below what you thought of it and if you think it captures the spirit of the original!