swampfox

Yeah I've been going to Kings Dominion since I was 2. Most of the trees on the left hand side of the park are gone, which leaves little shade. There weren't many there to begin with. I think things have gone slowly downhill for KD, but things are looking up now. The horribly placed Hypersonic is gone, and Dominator is going in, though the location is not the best. Paramount didn't really destroy the park, but made some bad decisions along with the good ones. Hurler's placement sorta made Grizzly less fun. Volcano, while being an okay ride, replaced four other rides (Smurf Mountain had been gone for a few years before that though.) I'm just glad that the park still has some of it's old atmosphere. Avalanche is still there, Old Virginia is still rustic, and the mountain is still around. They could turn around in the next 5 years or so, but I have a sad feeling that the last Mack bobsled in America could be going bye-bye soon.

I have to agree with BRTeller. I think perhaps it's possible we've been spoiled the past ten years or so with B&Ms and Intamins. I don't get to go to many parks, but I have never found Grizzly at KD to be painful, nor Comet at HP. In fact, the only painful wood coaster experiences I've had were Hurricane Category 5 at Myrtle Beach Pavilion and the Carowinds copy of Hurler. I've not been to Cedar Point yet to ride Mean Streak, but will this summer, and by the looks of things, I'll find it slow, but not rough. But yeah, personally I think some of us like all coasters. I'm one of em. I have never not enjoyed myself on a coaster, even after getting back pain for hours after Hurricane. But maybe that's because I only go to 3 parks at most usually a year. Dunno.

What is it with wooden coasters from before 2000 being called rough now? I've been around coaster boards for about ten years and some rides that were seen as the best four years ago are now considered rough, even with no changes. Grizzly at KD is supposed to give a rough and tumble ride, but I've heard enthusiasts say they'll never ride it again, and I've never considered it rough. So is this roughness on The Beast like Grizzly at KD rough? It sounds like the type of roughness that is being spoke of. As long as it isn't like the Hurricane at Myrtle Beach Pavilion. That about killed my back. I gotta ride this at night, as I'm a sucker for night rides on anything over daytime rides. Not many will agree, but parks at night to me are more memorable experiences. I'm going to KI for my first time this summer, so maybe one day ride and definitely a night ride on The Beast? I've wanted to ride it since I was like 5 and saw it on America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills. Sadly I still have that tape.

I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters

Mine was Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds. I was 8 or 9 I think.

Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones

The old Smurf Mountain/Land of the Doz station on the mountain at Kings Dominion is still there. Before Volcano, from 1994-1997, the whole course of the ride was still there as well, as well as the train. Now the old station is slowly rotting away. Part of the entrance to Volcano is in fact the entrance to that old ride. Also, Haunted River's splashdown track is still there as well, they make a good joke of it too as a boat is on the track with skeletons in it. If you look closely at the mini-mountain on the right of Volcano, that's where Time Shaft, a rotor, used to be encased. Now I believe that's where some mechanical stuff for Volcano is put. The other mini-mountain by Flight of Fear used to partially enclose a Bayern Curve. Never seen any pics of that ride at KD though.

Yeah, and I must say I'm not a big fan of Cedar Fair's map style. I guess I'll get used to the cartooniness though. It's not as bad as the mid-90s Six Flags ones where they color coded it and you couldn't tell what type of coaster was what. Can't wait to try out Dominator. They said it'd be ready in May right?

Pictured Life - Scorpions

Yeah, TSO is great. You should check out some CDs by the band that sorta split up to create Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They were called Savatage. Their later albums made them decide to do TSO as a side project, but it sorta became the main project.

My favorite band changes a lot.... Right now it's Rainbow, which is the band Ritchie Blackmore formed after he left Deep Purple in 1974. Ritchie is so much better than the uber-easy "Smoke On The Water." Check out Rainbow's instrumentals Difficult To Cure, which is based on Beethoven's 9th or Anybody There, which is a really emotive electric guitar instrumental. Sharing the spot with Rainbow is Deep Purple, Queen, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, KISS, Bruce Dickinson, and Alice Cooper.

Snowman (instrumental version of "Walking in The Air") - Rainbow

Ride The Wild Wind - Queen

Crystal Ball - Styx

Just got back from seeing Three and Porcupine Tree in Raleigh. Both put on a really great show.

I forgot to mention a great band called Electric Wizard. Get their album Dopethrone if you like sludgey doom metal.

I went to Myrtle Beach and saw Megadeth on last Friday. It was a great show with moshing and crowd surfing in a place that supposedly disallows it. Great setlist too.

Perhaps they will use the extra space for themeing, as those 2 rides are pretty near each other if I remember correctly. Nice themed line like Batman maybe? I'm kinda wondering how these Dark Knights will turn out. Looks promising on the themeing side right now, but they haven't told us much either.

Egypt - Symphony X

Laura - Billy Joel

I'll start off with some under-appreciated classic rock albums. In Rock - Deep Purple Don't expect Smoke On The Water. These songs are complex and rock harder than anything on Machine Head. Child In Time has some of Ritchie Blackmore's best guitar playing. Sabotage - Black Sabbath Probably their best album besides Masters of Reality. (Paranoid is over-rated) Must listen to the album if only for Megalomania, which is very cool. Draw The Line - Aerosmith Yeah, not many hits on this one, but it's my favorite album of theirs. It even has Joe Perry doing vocals on one song. Last album before most would say the band went downhill. Love It To Death - Alice Cooper From when it was an actual GROUP called Alice Cooper. Their first hit record, and it has no throwaway tracks. The song Black Juju sounds a lot like The Doors. This is getting taxing... from now on, just the album names and group. Fireball - Deep Purple Eldorado - Electric Light Orchestra Animals - Pink Floyd (their best album, but sadly always overlooked) Queen/Queen II - Queen Leftoverture - Kansas Don't Look Back - Boston Rising - Rainbow Pieces of Eight - Styx Love Gun/Ace Frehley/Alive II - KISS (Yah, I love Ace Frehley.) Sorry that was so long.

Geek U.S.A - Smashing Pumpkins

^That's why I've enjoyed every park I've been to. I go with a pessimistic attitude. I even really liked SFA back in 2000 when it was supposed to have REALLY sucked.

This is probably a stupid question, but could they possibly be removing their old mouse, or moving it to another park the year after next? But since this new one is enclosed, the general public probably won't even know that it's a mouse.

I hope to get on this next summer. Any excuse to go back to Hersheypark... I love that place. Great family park. I for one am very happy with this addition. To those that want something more spectacular... Exactly what were you expecting? I'd rather they add things like this than become a thrill park that ends up going downhill like KD did in the late 90s or Magic Mountain did around the same time frame, right?