Busch Gardens Williamsburg reveals 2026 roller coaster, Verbolten: Forbidden Turn
Verbolten: Forbidden Turn, a reimagining of a classic roller coaster, will open at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in spring 2026
Busch Gardens revealed Verbolten: Forbidden Turn on Nov. 8, 2025. And now the park is preparing for it to reopen in late spring 2026. It’s one of the many roller coasters being revamped around the U.S. this year. We just got back from a hard hat tour, so we can share more details!
Busch Gardens said this of Verbolten: Forbidden Turn:
Fairytales fade fast in the Black Forest, promising charm and folklore at every fork in the road. On this reimagined Autobahn adventure, one wrong turn could be your very last. The all-new Verbolten: Forbidden Turn debuts in 2026.
The park posted a brief teaser video on its Instagram page.
On April 15, 2026, Busch Gardens Williamsburg hosted a hard hat tour as ‘Verbolten: Forbidden Turn’ prepares to open in late-spring 2026. Here are some images of the tour, taken by correspondent Melody Matheny.
Photo by Melody Matheny
What is Verbolten: Forbidden Turn?
Verbolten is a roller coaster that travels both indoors and outdoors within Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Germany section.
‘Verbolten: Forbidden Turn’ is a retheme of Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s existing Verbolten launched coaster, keeping the current track layout and ride system while adding a new storyline, characters, visual effects, animatronics, and puppetry.
The previous version opened in 2012. Watch this POV:
What’s Changing?
The attraction’s storyline and themed experience are changing, not the coaster hardware itself. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is retaining the existing track, ride vehicles, and core ride system while introducing a new adventure led by Frau Hexel, owner of Hexel’s Magical Motor Tours, who sends guests on a magical drive through Germany’s Black Forest.
Before boarding, riders will meet Frau Hexel and her trusty companion Brüm inside the Visitor Center, where they greet guests and provide instructions for a successful journey. Throughout the attraction, new characters, visual overlays, animatronics, and puppetry are expected to transform the familiar coaster into a refreshed story-driven experience.
Photo by Melody Matheny
Busch Gardens parks belong to United Parks & Resorts, the same company that owns SeaWorld and Sesame Place theme parks. This week, CEO Marc Swanson reported a quarterly loss of attendance and revenue for United, and said the company can “do better” at marketing its parks. Two new SeaWorld parks are planned internationally.
Are you a fan of the original Verbolten? Are you looking forward to riding Verbolten: Forbidden Turn in 2026? Stay connected with AttractionsMagazine.com for daily coverage of theme park news, trip reports, and exclusive interviews from United, Disney, Universal, and independent attractions around the world.
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Moves like refurbishing a less than 15 year old ride that has never been a big draw is just one of the reasons park attendance and revenue are down. A single person visit is $86 for the ticket, $40 for parking and then their expected to pay $10 a beer and average $25 for a meal. No one wants to be $150+ for a day in a theme park when $100 gets you a season pass at Kings Dominion less than an hour away. I swear these people go to college for years, work up to a CEO position and have the common sense of a rock.
😂🤣😂🤣…the theming completion of Pantheon should have been BGWs priority before this.