bejackso

rode rapterra several times at ACE spring con last weekend and could not believe how bumpy it was in the back row, outside seat. it wasn't uncomfortable or painful, just jarring. big, pronounced bumps/jolts throughout pretty much the entire ride. if i was KD i would be looking to fix this.

i wonder if the lines are short today because they limited capacity for opening day ONLY. curious to see how crowds are in the coming days/weeks. in other news, express passes are indeed now on sale for when i will be there on 06/05 and 06/06 for a whopping $300 each. i'm not getting them..........yet.

got it, thanks. i saw the hours on the app are 10am-9pm (early admission 9am). we don't have early admission so i am hoping 10am-9pm both days will be enough to do everything. i also want to go to the rooftop bar in helios to check that out as a "must see" item.

thank you zand! this is exactly the feedback i was looking for. for further clarification: the rides we would like to do are: stardust racers, ministry, monsters, mine cart madness, wing gliders, curse of the werewolf. the arcanus show, carousel, and mario kart would all be bonuses if we can get to em. anything other than those i dont care about. also do you know what the hours will be for the park? i can't seem to find this anywhere. i am guessing 9am-10pm?

quick question on express passes. i am going to epic on thursday 06/05 and friday 06/06, open to close both days. i have my tickets and trip all planned out. HOWEVER, i did not think to buy express passes until now, and i see they are all sold out. 1. will they be available to buy day of inside the park? 2. if not, and we are unable to get express passes, how big of a deal is this? will we still be able to hit most the rides? i don't care about riding every single thing, just want some of the biggies (stardust, ministry, monsters, maybe 1-2 more). any advice/thoughts on rope drop strategy and getting around the park would be appreciated. i realize that's probably been spelled out in this thread already but i don't have time to comb through it all.

glad i wasn't the only one who checked the calendar to see if it was april fool's day

love the family friendly B&M invert and nostalgic BBW theme, but man, these names are awful.

any idea/predictions on when penguin trek will open? thinking about planning a trip to SWO in april/may.

so the opening of AFO is 03/31/23. the park's hours that day (listed on website) are 4-10pm. this doesn't seem to add up......wouldn't they open earlier in the day for this? anyone have any intel if there is a media day/ribbon cutting/etc earlier in the day? would love to fly down from VA for this event, but want to be sure a) it's actually happening b) i can actually attend and don't need a media pass

went to BGW today for the last day of mardi gras. somewhat chilly temps may have kept the crowds away, as it was not that packed. couple of notes: 1. i had 2 young kids with me, so didn't get to ride any coasters 2. mardi gras food was better than expected but not outstanding 3. the show in globe theatre and festhaus were both entertaining and worth the time 4. darkoaster preview was pretty weak, didn't even go inside the bldg, but oh well random thought i had when at the park? when did the below events start becoming a regular thing at the park? 1. christmastown - as far as i can tell, this was 2008 2. howl o scream - pre 2000?? 3. food and wine festival - 2015??

any word on the official opening date of pantheon? looks like the park has already posted what days they'll be open in march, but no word on pantheon from what i can see. hopefully they have a special opening/media day and invite ACE members.

has BGT released a formal opening date for iron gwazi yet? if they haven't, any realistic guesses? late march?

I for one am excited for this event and will be driving down from Richmond. Kudos to the park for trying to do something in 2020. Mainly I'm going just to ride Copperhead Strike lol (haven't ridden it yet)

looks like phoenix phall phunfest is canceled for this year? i can't find any references to it on the park's website. anyone know more?

hallelujah! way to go busch gardens for being flexible and at least partially opening the park.

looks like they're combining the covered bridge festival and PPP this year into one event on saturday october 10th. hopefully this event still happens and isn't cancelled because of covid. yall think flying turns and/or impulse will be open for this?

Went to holiday world briefly today. Arrived 30 min after park opening to an absolutely massive crowd outside the gate (I guess bc today was a weekend). I bet it was easily over a thousand people all lined up waiting to get in. That said the line moved quickly and took about 30 minutes. There was no Health screenings or covid forms to fill out, which I thought was odd. Only went through a metal detector and that was it. Virtual queuing system was def nice, got to look around in the shops while waiting. love the made to thrill designed swag, but I can't stomach paying 30 bucks for a t-shirt. Got a ride in voyage, which I had never ridden before, which was excellent. LONG ride! Regarding covid.... I'd estimate less than 5% of people wearing masks. No one was really doing any social distancing either. This personally doesn't bother me, but I can see how it would really turn a lot of people away. That said, it was great to see many many people out and about supporting the local theme park and trying to get back to normal. It was very very hot, I suspect most people came for the water park

Also meant to comment on coronavirus stuff. I would say virtually everyone in the park was wearing masks at all times. Social distancing was a mixed bag, not perfect, but overall not too bad.

Went to the park today. Arrived at 10:30 and headed straight for Orion. Got an access pass and was able to ride 30 min later. Continued to get access passes throughout the day for a total of four rides. The line was never that long for Orion as long as you went within the last 15 minutes of your time window. Rode a handful of other coasters as well, lines were always 30 minutes or less. Observations : 1. All park staff at all rides, shops, restaurants, Etc were very cheerful and helpful 2. All park staff were pretty strict on mask-wearing and reminding guests to keep their mouths and nose covered at all times, including on the rides 3. Orion is an excellent ride. I would certainly rank it below Fury 325, and barely below Leviathan. If it were 20% longer I think it would beat out Leviathan. The sideways airtime Hill right after the first drop is incredible as is the turnaround. But overall it's just too short. That said, the first drop was particularly good / seemed like long duration, and the speed airtime Hill after the turnaround had what seemed like really extended air time 4. Banshee is incredibly intense. Is this the best B&M invert in existence? 5. Had never ridden Mystic Timbers before, so that was great to hit that twice today. The shed is pretty dumb though

Went to the park today, had a good time. Not many people wearing masks, not many people being socially distant. But, since there were light crowds, everyone was kind of naturally socially distanced. I'm not too worried about coronavirus, so personally I was not bothered by any of this, but I can see how some people would be. It was depressing to see empty shops and restaurants and rides and games with a lone employee just sitting there with no guests to tend to. But I was glad to go and support the park and buy some swag. Also I think the water park had more people in it than the actual amusement park.

I'm cool with Kings Dominion getting a 4D free Spin. They're not my favorite ride, but they're still fun and the GP should like it

has anyone else noticed on the KI ticketing/reservation website the # of spots remaining for various timeslots for upcoming days has vanished? i sure hope the park isn't looking at reduced days/hours because of weak demand for reservations from the GP. i have a ticket/reservation for this friday 07/17, coming out of state, gonna be BUMMED if the park is closed. although i kind of doubt it would be on a friday

hopefully all the coasters will be open, that's all i really care about. i also wonder if the campground will be open? i'll tent camp in july, don't care about heat, just wanna visit the park

any word on when/if knoebels will be opening?

not sure if you can create a poll on here, but curious what the general TPR thoughts are in terms of B&M giga rankings, with the announcement of orion last night. obviously nobody has ridden orion yet, but based on the POV/layout, i would rank them as: 1. fury 325 2. leviathan 3. orion