Big Bad Wolf

In 1984, Busch Gardens Williamsburg prepared a new suspended railway for its Oktoberfest hillsides. The Washington Post described cars hanging from a 2,800-foot track, passing a village and forest before the promised plunge toward the lake. washingtonpost.com

Arrow Dynamics supplied the finished machine, and Big Bad Wolf opened to the public on June 15, 1984. Its suspended trains did not turn riders upside down; instead, they swung beneath the rail, making the village corners and wooded run feel loose and theatrical. coasterpedia.net· en.wikipedia.org

The ride became one of the park’s handsome capital achievements of the decade. A 1989 Washington Post business account listed Big Bad Wolf among Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s major additions and gave its cost as $6 million. washingtonpost.com

After twenty-five seasons, the Wolf made its last journeys in 2009. ACE later summarized the park’s stated reason: Big Bad Wolf had reached the end of its serviceable life; Verbolten later occupied the same important ground, preserving and reworking portions of the old place. ridewithace.com· behindthethrills.com