Busch Gardens makes the right turn with new Verbolten

June 11, 2026, 12:08 AM · “Don’t turn right! Don’t turn right!”

That’s what guests hear and see on warning signs just as the car-inspired train they’ve just boarded veers to the right and launches into the Black Forest on Verbolten Forbidden Turn. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has punched up the theming on one of its most popular roller coasters for 2026 and has revitalized the 14-year-old ride. Last week, I was invited by the park to a media day and VIP event to experience the renovated attraction, but unfortunately the coaster was having technical issues. However, invited guests were given a rare opportunity to see what the park had done to the attraction’s queue, station, and show building.

I had a chance to see some of the new set pieces along the indoor section of the track and even got to see the train cycle from inside the building. I returned to the park today to finally ride the rethemed attraction and experience all the new elements firsthand.

Busch Gardens has completely revamped the backstory of Verbolten, and that’s clearly evident in the queue. The park has added two new animatronic figures in the queue. Frau Hexel, a foreboding which-like character has taken over the old tour office and reminds guests about the dangers of visiting the Black Forest.

Brüm is appropriately positioned in the janitor’s office (converted from the former greenhouse room just before the ramp up to the station),

and clearly proud of his achievements, having earned Employee of the Month.

Additional signs and props have been added throughout the queue area and station to enhance the theming, and new video monitors can be seen on the far side of the load platform that act like windows, reminiscent of similar monitors in the queue of Voltron at Europa Park.

Once on board, the trains and track are unchanged, and despite being 14 years old, the coaster still feels modern with brisk LSM launches and the signature drop track element. Along the course, new signs and props can be seen as the train leaves the station and makes that dreaded right turn (the park even utilized an extra piece of left-curved track to represent the path that should have been taken). Inside the show building, enhancements were made to the lighting and props as the train enters the building, and a giant tree has been added that the train plunges through before reaching the drop track. In speaking with some of the people responsible in retheming the coaster, this tree element was incredibly complicated to erect because it was built in three separate piece that had to be assembled inside a building, around the already bolted-to-the-floor track, and with just a few inches clearance between the top of the tree and the building’s ceiling. Guests who have ridden Verbolten before this retheme will instantly spot the orange VW Beetle on the left at the base of the giant tree the used to be staged near the station.

The drop track element is where the biggest on-ride changes have been made. What was a rotating sequence that gave guests three different shows (wolves, spirits, and storm) has been replaced by a single show program. However, that show now features an animatronic of Frau Hexel and Brüm who provide a distraction before the train drops into a room filled with creepy glowing eyes. The remainer of the ride is unchanged as the train is launched up a hill overlooking the Rhine River and then plunging towards the water and back to the station.

Much like what the park did two years ago with Loch Ness Monster, Busch Gardens Williamsburg has breathed new life onto an already well-themed coaster. Unfortunately, this renovation doesn’t include on-ride audio, which could probably have been used to enhance the store even further, and the new drop track sequence is difficult to see or hear near the back of the train. However, for a coaster that was perhaps showing some age and declining in popularity, Verbolten Forbidden Turn is poised to be incredibly popular this summer and for years to come, as long as trains keep making that right turn.