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I understand the frustration of not having a new coaster built since 2010 (I-305). But, there were other issues that have and are being addressed with the park. Kings Dominion has been dinged time and again for being "an asphalt coaster park for teens". Cedar Fair has worked with KD to address these issues; especially for the last 3-4 years. Sorely needed infrastructure improvements throughout the park, (which I think will still go on for another 2-3 years); totally revamped kids area with new rides and amenities; revamped and expanded water park this year; entertainment has been worked on over the last 2-3 years (this year was light on entertainment); food variety and quality, as well as experimenting with food events during the season (Chef Paul). My best guesstimate for 2016 is a flat ride package for Kings Dominion; in maybe a expanded and/or reconfigured Candy Apple Grove area. Hopefully, a coaster of some sort is coming in 2017. I have a feeling it will be placed on the western side of the park (west of center walkway; probably in/along the Old Virginia section). This would help somewhat to balance out the major coasters within KD; since most are on the eastern side. Kings Dominion will "step up their game" when corporate gives them the budget to do so. Cedar Fair leadership has been quite clear, over the last 2-3 years, that they want to focus on those parks that are undersized for the regions of the country that they cater to. They identified Carowinds, California's Great America, and Valley Fair. By expanding these parks and offering new amenities, they can draw more folks to visit and spend money. Carowinds was their main focus with a 3 year accelerated development plan; which should wrap up next year with whatever water related attraction(s) are coming for 2016. They have received attractions/amenities in 3 years, what other Cedar Fair parks would take 5-6 years to get. Given, what the park has received while under Cedar Fair Management, I don't think we are being neglected. Just hang on, that next coaster is just around the corner.

Sorry to get off topic; but, does anyone know if Robb sells official TPR Hip-Waders? Yeah, yeah, I know; I should have asked that question before entering this thread.

I agree, Chef Paul has done quite a bit for the park food service in the year that he has been at Kings Dominion. I think he started late May or early June of 2014. The food department has been a thorn in the side of the park with dismal customer reviews; really since Paramount took over. The Chef and his small culinary team have focused mainly in the Surf City water park and a few places on the dry side (Country Kitchen - last time I visited, they had pork spare ribs back on the menu for the 1st time in several years). They have tweaked things across most food locations including a whole new menu for the Wayside Grill in the Old VA section. Given how many food locations are in the park, Chef Paul can only do so much in the short time he has been there. There are things that still need work in many locations. Mainly relating to the food service and methodology of getting food orders out in a timely and efficient manner. That will take some time to get a good methodology/system in place and better training for the workers. As far as the food festivals go, The BBQ & Brew event is the only the 2nd food festival at the park. Both food festivals at Kings Dominion are way scaled down versions of what has been going on at Carowinds this year. The "Taste of the Carolinas" spring event was 3 times the size of The Spring Bloom event at KD. In any case, I am glad SOMETHING is being done to shake up the stale food service at the park and I am glad to see Chef Paul trying out new things and working toward a better food department for the park.

The strange thing is that, out of the 3 racing coasters in the former Taft/KECO parks, Thunder Road underwent a complete rebuild over a 3 year period. This rebuild started about 5-6 years ago. Ever notice that Thunder Road is almost all natural wood and the Racer and Rebel Yell still have the original white superstructure?

While you guys are debating ad-nauseum on the merits of each coaster manufacturer and coaster style, I am sure you have worked up an appetite. Kings Dominion is holding a BBQ & Brew event for the next two weekends (Sat. & Sun. only | August 1-2 & 8-9). This is a scaled down event similar to what Carowinds is offering. The menu includes things such as beef brisket, pork ribs, chicken, smoked sausage, and pulled pork. The meats will be prepared in a variety of BBQ styles and BBQ sauces. The park will also offer veggie stuff like roasted corn on the cob, mater/cucumber salad, and some sort of peach dessert. The Brew part includes 4 different Virginia craft breweries for each weekend and one hard cider brewer that will be there for both weekends. I believe each brewer will be featuring several styles of beer in their production lineup. In addition, there will be a military BBQ competition the 1st weekend of the event. There will be 5-6 military chefs competing in 4-5 teams. There will be ice carving demos under the Eiffel Tower by these teams Saturday and BBQ judging and awarding to happen Sunday. The 2nd weekend of the event, KD's Chef Paul will be doing some stuff with the park's food truck. The BBQ event will be located mostly in the area near the Country Kitchen Restaurant (parts of the central walkway and some areas of Candy Apple Grove. The military competition is supposed to be around/under the Eiffel Tower. The link below will take you to the park's special event section. Also, CPFoodBlog.com has a nice write-up on the event (you might have to scroll back 3-4 pages as that site is frequently updated). KD's BBQ & Brew event

Remember how I305 is the best steel coaster ever? 5 years is not a long time, you cannot claim that they've cut off all business with Intamin. It's definitely not plausible they'd go with anybody other than B&M, judging by the last 3 years at Cedar Fair. But you cannot say 0%. I'm sure that despite the 4 modifications, I305 brought in an insane amount of business for KD. It's all guesswork on our part not having the numbers. Given that Cedar Fair ended up demanding tax breaks before expanding and then ended up deciding to push large capex projects to Carowinds specifically instead of KD, maybe they didn't get back what was expected or hoped for? From what I viewed from local new outlets in Charlotte and Richmond; going back to late 2013, Cedar Fair approached the Charlotte metro leaders asking for tax breaks in exchange for accelerated development at Carowinds. The dog and pony show from the park chain was them being down to the wire with either Kings Dominion or Carowinds getting the accelerated development. If Charlotte did not agree to the tax breaks, Cedar Fair would go to Virginia and give KD the royal treatment (nothing was mentioned about CF approaching the VA local leaders for tax breaks). After some back and forth between the Charlotte metro local leaders, they agreed to the tax breaks and Carowinds is enjoying the windfall of capital improvements. 2014 - Harmony Hall and new Water slide complex (I think). 2015 - Fury 325, all new parking entrance and booths; new park entrance; new food events. 2016 - New Water Something(s) Now flip to Virginia and Kings Dominion. One of the Richmond metro news outlets caught wind of the negotiations down in Charlotte and they interviewed one of the Hanover County supervisors to get more info and/or their reaction (Hanover is the county where Kings Dominion is located). The county supervisor stated that the Board of Supervisors has not been approached by Cedar Fair for anything. He stated that the county was not aware of the negotiations that were going on between Cedar Fair and the Charlotte metro area. He went on to state that the county and Kings Dominion has always had a good working relationship and they look forward to what the future holds for the park. So, it seems to me that Cedar Fair approached the Charlotte folks first to see if they could get some tax concessions for the accelerated development at Carowinds. Whether or not this development would have happened without the tax breaks or if CF would have approached the VA local officials for the same thing, if they did not get the tax breaks in Charlotte; we will never know.

I saw those flags along the ShockWave side of the center walkway a couple weeks ago. They look more like landscaping / irrigation markers than for survey construction flags. They could be used to mark where the electrical lines are for the nighttime light show on the center pathway. Those electric cables run on both sides of the path, from the Eiffel Tower to the bottom of the path behind the Country Kitchen on one side and the Shockwave Helix on the other. I am surprised that the Country Kitchen is closed. I know the park keeps a tight reign on the operating budget. If they don't expect/project a certain number of visitors for that day, certain food places are shuttered to save on daily operational expenses. But, usually those are the mid-sized to small food locations. Usually, the major food places are kept open, like the Country Kitchen. Come to think of it, I thought I saw folks complaining that the AC in the Country Kitchen was intermittent or not working at all. With temps in the mid to upper 90's in central VA over the last few weeks, the dining, serving, and kitchen areas would be miserable for everyone. Maybe KD just closed the restaurant until they fix the AC. As far as 2016 goes, I just keep an open mind. My best conjecture at this point is a flat-ride package and some more upgrades to Candy Apple Grove next year. I feel 2017 is the year of the coaster for KD.

Most coasters do have bins/shelves to put stuff in/on. If it is an expensive camera, I would suggest renting a locker to put it in when you want to focus on riding attractions. If it is just adults, or you have tweens and older, there are only two shows that are family/adult oriented. There is "Cirque Imagine" at the Kings Dominion Theater (3 showtimes a day, 4 shows on Saturday; off Monday). Circus / acrobatic theme. Great performers and overall show is quite good. "All Wheel Sports" at the Peanuts Showplace (3 showtimes a day, 4 shows on Saturday; off Wednesday). Folks doing stunts on street bikes, inline skates, Trampoline work. It has a large ramp setup on the stage for jumps, flips, rotations, etc. Fun entertainment. The rest of the shows are Kiddie oriented. They also have a Karaoke show with singing hosts and audience participation. There are no real song/dance performances in the park this season.

Given the early dismantling of Shockwave, I can think of few possibilities: 1) The ride is being scrapped. A. New attraction(s) being added for 2016 on that site. B. Site will set empty for 2016 and 2016 attraction(s) installed somewhere else. C. Site will set empty for 2016 and that 2016 is another "off" year for park attractions being added at KD. 2) The ride has been sold (See A-C above) I heard a few folks state on other sites that ShockWave's supports were re-painted/touched up this season. If that information is true, then I would lean toward the coaster being sold. As far as A. though C. goes, I am going to keep an open mind. I am not too keen on another coaster being crammed into that site. Of the 3 Togo Standup coasters in the old KECO park chain, KD's was the shortest in length; due to the limited land they had available to work with. I could see part of the land used for a larger coaster to pass through that area; with the rest of the land used for some future flat ride(s). I never locked in my head that 2016 was a coaster year anyway. I thought 2017 would be viable for a new coaster. Should be interesting to see what we get for next season.

I think that Cedar Fair has been pretty clear that their main priority, over the last couple years, has been to focus on those parks in the chain that have the most potential for customer growth. To me, Carowinds was a small park in relation to the potential customer base that it can draw from. You have the Charlotte metro area and, within 2-3 hours drive, most of the other major cities in NC and SC. I would assume that CW pulls from Northern GA and Eastern TN as well. So, Cedar Fair accelerates the park growth over a 3 year period. I assume it started last year with the Harmony Hall food/entertainment facility and other general infrastructure improvements. This year with Fury, a new entrance, and parking lot overhaul. Next year, Thunder Road rides into the sunset and whatever potential water related attraction(s) is/are being added. CF condensed 5-6 years worth of capital improvements into 3 years. Valley Fair received a new/refreshed area in Route 76 last year and new stuff for the water park this year. Rumors are in the air concerning more stuff for the water park and a possible separate entrance for it. CA's Great America put in a facility to cater to the 49'er fans. Seems the park could make some money catering to that demographic, even on days the park itself is closed. Since Kings Dominion was acquired by Cedar Fair in mid-2006, the chain has treated the park pretty good. In the last 9 years of CF ownership (starting in 2007, the 1st season when they could plan/do capital improvements), we have received 2 major coasters; 2 water park expansions; Wind Seeker; a couple flat rides; a completely upgraded/expanded kids area in Planet Snoopy. We have had 2 "off" years where there was no ride/attraction added. But, in those years (2011 & 2014), the focus was on entertainment options and visible park infrastructure/landscaping/atmosphere improvements. Yes, it has been a long stretch since I-305 was installed and that coaster drought might go until 2017. I have not seen any indication that a major 2016 coaster is in the works. But, I think Kings Dominion has a well rounded collection of coasters that the majority of the GP enjoy. Plus, one of the things the park gets negative reviews on, is the perception from some that KD is an "asphalt coaster park for teens". I think Cedar Fair is trying to break that perception to say that Kings Dominion is not just about coasters; it is about family and friends enjoying a variety activities together. And that philosophy has been drilled into the heads of the GP for the last 2-3 years by marketing and upper management. I don't know what Kings Dominion has in store for 2016, if anything; but, given the trends happening across the Cedar Fair chain over the last couple seasons, I think good stuff in the works!

For Kings Dominion the dark ride should be "Revenge of the Doozies". The expatriates of the Land of Dooze are pissed and ready to kick some butt and take back their mountain! To survive, they find ways of making furniture from retired trashcans and sell them to the suckers ... park patrons. (Sigh ... boy am I showing my old age).

Yea, I forgot about that being on Wayside's menu. I did see two KD fan sites talking about the beef brisket sandwich there. Both were very complementary about the brisket. One person stated that it was "melt in your mouth" and it was better than what is served at "Trapper's Smokehouse" at BGW. That's surprising given the good reputation of BGW's barbeque. The Bistro 75 food venue description, on KD's web site, stated days and hours of operation will vary. Course, being outside dining, I can see weather impacting the venue. I assume the expected number of visitors to the park might play a part in whether or not they staff that location. Plus, I read somewhere that Chef Paul's culinary staff was spread thin with the mini-food festival this month and he was not sure if he could staff both this early in the season. Some of the food related changes at the park that I heard about: Outer Hanks - changed something with the fish and shrimp that they serve (not sure if a new supplier, batter, or a combination of both). Jukebox Diner - supposed to now have a burger fixin's bar like Hungry Hippo. Chef was to have come up with a new burger combo. new flavored milkshakes Johnny's - new meatball sub Country Kitchen - new BBQ sandwich and BBQ sauce (pulled pork and pulled chicken sandwiches). new and/or improved meal side items. Pizza - might have limited time specialty pizza's served a the Pizza Parlor on Intl Street (not sure about Victoria's Garden in CAG). Chicken Shack - new personal pizza's (pesto chicken being one of those). New type of potato fry at some locations (photo of it looks like a thick curved chip). More types of meal size salads and wraps throughout the park. Course, the revamped food locations in Soak City. There is a nice web site that focuses on food/sweets across the Cedar Fair chain. Interesting to see what is being done with dining across the park chain. check out cpfoodblog.com I hope to get to the park tomorrow for the first time this season. Might have to check out the food festival!

Spring Bloom started last season with just International Street and flowers. For 2015, KD expanded the flower part into Planet Snoopy and added the mini food festival. Yes, the park's food festival is on the small side. Seems most of Cedar Fair's budget went to Carowinds this year. ("Taste of the Carolina's" | 9 food booths; each serving 3 "tasting size entrees" and a dessert. Plus, beer and wine pairings. Even has own sub-page on the Carowinds web site. TOTC seems to be on par with what BGW has been doing for the last 2-3 years). A good number of the food places at Kings Dominion have been tweaked for 2015 by Chef Paul and his culinary team. From an all new menu at Wayside Grill in Old VA (Beef brisket and barbeque sandwiches) to new offerings/sides at the Country Kitchen. The chef is supposed to be focused on the food locations in Soak City this year. The water park "Chick-Fil-A" is out and a new in-house food venue serving Tex-Mex is in (fish tacos and so forth). Another, water park food location is to open "Fonda's Fiesta". Not sure what venue is serving what menu wise. The existing "Sharkey's" food location is supposed to be redone into a grab and go location with wraps, salads, desserts, etc. Other food locations on the dry side of the park have had changes made to their menu's as well.

Nice video! Thanks for the memories! Course, you were a little premature with the title "Paramount's Kings Dominion". Paramount/Viacom did not take over the park until the end of the 1992 season. Your video was shot when the park was still under KECO management (Kings Entertainment Company).

The park stated they were to start to do prep work for the new slide complex in mid-late November (Facebook). I assume that means a good deal of digging for the water lines, drainage, splash pool, etc. They did not state any timeline as to when the concrete for the tower footers, pool, and walkways would start nor the slide tower build. There is supposed to be a good deal of infrastructure improvements throughout the water park, so I would think a lot of ground work is involved. Unless the park releases construction photos, I don't think you are going to see much.

As a "peeping Tom" looking in the Knott's window, a couple thoughts/questions. I respect those who like a traditional dark ride with sets and figures throughout; but, with the fully refurbished flume and Calico Mine ride in the last couple years, I am curious why you would want yet another dark attraction of the same style? I have a hard time trying to see Knott's taking on Disney and Universal in some sort of "Battle of the Titans". It seems the park and CF corporate management has found a good marketing/development path to carve out their own market share; without being foolish enough to take a battering ram to the gates of Disney or Universal. Finally, I can't even think of comparing a 10-12 million dollar dark ride attraction to a $100 million+ dark ride attraction at Disney or Universal.

As Chuck and others have explained, Christmas Town is more focused on the Holiday. It is about the park atmosphere, shows, food, and shopping. Rides are secondary in this event. The park "tries" to have at least one major coaster open and some flats running, depending on the weather. Operating hours are from 2 pm to either 9 or 10 at night. Most of the event happens after the sun has gone down (only 2-3 hours of daylight). During this time of the year in Virginia, we can have daytime temps as high as in the 60's-70's and lows in the 40's. On the flip side, we can get temps in the 30's-40's during the day and teen's-20's at night. Our weather is really fickle and can change quickly. So I guess it comes down to your expectations; if you expect Christmas Town to be normal ride operations for the park, like in the spring, summer, and fall, then this would not be a good time to visit. If you want to visit to enjoy the beauty and seasonal offerings from the park, with whatever rides are open as a bonus, then you should go.

It seems that Cedar Fair is stepping up their game when it comes to food across the park chain. Some of the larger/most visited CF parks have had an executive chef for the last couple seasons. Parks like Carowinds and Kings Dominion hired their chefs this year. It appears that corporate wants more culinary oriented folks in the food & beverage departments. At KD, Chef Paul was hired in June. He has tweaked a few things in the general park food service. Since he came in the middle of the high summer season, he has been limited in what he can do across the park for this year. I have heard rumors he really wants to kick things up for 2015. Chef Paul has been creating food related special events late this summer and into the fall. He dabbled in an outdoor full service bistro on International Street (Bistro 75) in August. He did a one day event called "Tower Tastings" in September. He set up food on the lower observation deck and folks could buy a ticket to go up to the top of the tower to try the food out. I think he had 7-8 items to nosh on and Champagne shooters to wash the food down with. Course, he is now doing the Haunt VIP Meals on Sat & Sun. There is a nice writeup on a site called CPFoodBlog. This is an unofficial site dedicated to the food service across the Cedar Fair chain (not just Cedar Point). There is a nice review of KD's 2nd Haunt VIP meal (and a link to the 1st KD Haunt meal preview/review). You might have to scroll down a little to get to KD's food entries.

I thought the Club Blood maze had been changed around, especially the very first half of the maze. You used to walk all the way to the rear of the building, in what I called the "alleyway", before turning and going through the rest of the maze. Now, you only go about 1/2 way down the right side of the building before turning left toward the center. Wonder if that back right corner is the new Skeleton room? The new facade for Club Blood looks great! Too bad it has to be so far from the actual building. With the haunt building being hidden so far back in the middle of Hurler, I assume the facade was placed at the beginning of the queue line to give it a more commanding presence at the end of the midway. Zombie High's nice facade was placed much closer to its Haunt building. The park poured a new concrete pad for it to sit on and the school bus was moved to the front. I assume this was done to prevent the Zombie High and Club Blood facades from crowding out each other out in that area. Ironworx scare-zone did receive a couple new prop pieces / sign on the end nearest the Eiffel Tower. The folks in white are the park's new flash mob. They replaced the zombies dressed in black from the previous years of Haunt. These folks perform on International street, Old VA, and around the western end of Candy Apple Grove (Blood Drums stage area). As Chuck stated, outside of "Maze of Madness", most mazes are the same. It seems the park focused more on entertainment this year with 3 new shows and the "new" flash mob. New shows this year are "Eternal Jamnation: Lost Souls" at the Kings Dominion Theater. This show has a little story line to it and the cast is pretty good. Its much better than last years "Edge of Darkness". That poor show went over the edge and never came back! On the International Street Bandstand is "Fright Night". This is the 1st Haunt show, at that location, that features LIVE VOCALS in the production as well as strong choreography. All the previous Haunt shows there were mainly a dance show with lip-synching. Finally, the 3rd new show is "Skeleton Crew". This is performed on an temp stage near the entrance to Stunt Coaster in Safari Village. This is more of an acrobatic show with trampoline artists, cyr wheel, fire juggler, suspended silks performer. Pretty talented folks. The folks that produced this show is a French Canadian company out of Quebec. They are doing similar Haunt shows for 4 other Cedar Fair parks in the mid-west / northeast. I've also heard nice things about the park's new Haunt VIP Meal prepared by the new park executive chef. This is a sit down 3-4 course meal in Kings Dominion's VIP dining room/lounge (above Starbucks). Served each Saturday, and now Sunday. I think next weekend is the last time to experience this meal. (I don't think the meal is offered the very last weekend of operations).

Sunday, November 2nd is the last operating day of the 2014 season. There is NO Haunt on that day (regular operations | Noon - 8pm). The last day of Haunt is Saturday, November 1st (park hours 10:30 AM - Midnight).

I have always thought that Carowinds is undersized for the region it serves. Most major North Carolina metro areas are within 150 miles of the park; as well as a good chunk of South Carolina. Kings Dominion has "dominated" when it came to adding attractions over the years. Now, Cedar Fair is trying to right-size Carowinds to better serve the region of the country it is in. I don't think KD is going to be neglected in the future. We are getting a revamp and expansion of the water park (which is badly needed) for 2015. I believe a coaster is in the future (2016 or 2017 at the latest). Plus, the park is continuing with badly needed infrastructure improvements and area themeing in 2015 as well. The mountain is continuing with renovation; the Carousel is still undergoing a restoration process as well. I would not be surprised if more of the pathway asphalt is pulled up in favor of paving bricks. Right now, Cedar Fair is trying to get those parks in the chain, that have the most potential for growth and income, upgraded on an accelerated basis. Carowinds is one of those parks to get accelerated development over a 3 year period; which would probably take 5-6 years under normal conditions. If that helps Cedar Fair make gains to their financial bottom line, then it really helps all parks in the chain including KD.

Keep in mind that Cedar Fair is trying to "right size" parks they feel are too small for the markets they serve. The park chain is accelerating development at Carowinds, Valley Fair, and California's Great America. At least for Carowinds, that timeframe is 3 years. What might take 5-6 years at a "normal development pace", is being ramped up to just 3 years. It's a business decision that Cedar Fair hopes will bring in greater income for the chain. Who knows if Cedar Fair was bluffing the Charlotte metro government leaders into giving them some business incentives in order to carry out the expansion at Carowinds. I believe I saw a Charlotte news article interview a Hanover County, VA official (where KD is located), about Cedar Fair's presentation to the Charlotte metro officials. He stated he did not know what Cedar Fair had presented to the Charlotte government and that Cedar Fair officials had not approached the Hanover county officials concerning the potential Carowinds expansion plans. If Cedar Fair feels Carowinds needs the accelerated expansion, then good for them. I don't think Cedar Fair is ignoring Kings Dominion. Heck, for an "off year" for attractions, KD received way more general capital improvements than any previous season that I can remember. Several things are still a future work in progress (volcano renovations, carousel restoration, paving blocks in the pathways, landscaping, etc). I don't see a coaster in 2015 for Kings Dominion. My top guess is that the Water Park will get a makeover and expansion for 2015. Cedar Fair has been chugging along with water park renovations and expansions in the chain over the last 3-4 seasons. Worlds of Fun last year, Dorney Park 2 years in a row, Carowinds this year (and 2 years ago), Kings Island in 2012. If not the water park; then, I see the 40th anniversary celebration continuing with the addition of 2-3 flat rides and maybe the return of some sort of in-park transportation system (steam train or sky ride cable cars). The dark horse could be a Guardian style ride. I don't expect a coaster for Kings Dominion until the 2016-2017 seasons.

Most KD fan site predictions are leaning toward 3 possible scenarios for 2015. None of them really revolve around a coaster for next year (maybe a 2016/2017 time frame for a coaster). 1) Possible continuation of the 40th anniversary celebration with 2-3 former flat rides making a comeback. Might include something like a new sky ride cable car system or maybe the return of the steam train [some sort of in-park transportation system]. 2) Water park expansion and renovation. Seems like Cedar Fair is on a roll with multiple water park expansions/renovations over the last 2-3 seasons (Kings Island, Dorney, Carowinds). 3) Dark ride a la Guardian. Ouimet did say they were looking to expand this type of attraction across the park chain. Plus, KD did state the Volcano Mountain was undergoing a multi-year renovation. Whose to say that the park could not expand the mountain enough to house a dark ride attraction (though, it going to be interesting to see how they use any of the existing mountain structure with the volcano supports riddled through it). I lean to one of the 3 possibilities above happening for next year. At this point and time, any of these could happen ... or none. Just fun to speculate.

After the last 2 rides closed at the end of 1995 season, the park gutted the inside of the mountain leaving only the outer shell. It took them nearly a year and a half to complete this process. ("Smurf Mountain" closed at the end of the 1993 season; while the "Haunted River" and the "Time Shaft" closed at the end of the 1995 season.) The demo process included removing all of the track and supports for "Smurf Mountain"; removing most, if not all, of the concrete river channel (inside the mountain), water reservoir, and final hill/drop for the "Haunted River"; the "Time Shaft" was removed and its entrance/exit tunnels eliminated. Not only were the ride removals were done; but, all the caverns/rooms/scenes that divided up the interior of the mountain for the "Haunted River" and "Smurf Mountain" were demolished. Again leaving only the shell , the outer "skin" of the mountain, intact. During that time, the "Smurf Mountain" station had the track and ride controls removed, and the area where the track was located filled in/covered over with concrete. What was left, was just the outer shell of the station. The park may or may not have left the station queue rails in place; I don't remember. I would have to ride the "Avalanche" and look at the station area when heading up the lift hill. Since the "Smurf Mountain" station was integrated into the side of the mountain, I assume the park decided to leave it as is. Maybe it would have cost too much to remove it and reconfigure that part of the mountain. Whether or not the on-going mountain renovation project ends up removing it in the future, is anyone's guess.

There are a couple other Volcano renovation photos of the station area on the park's Facebook site. One shows the old entrance ramp into the station load area has been removed and stairs have been added; with the bottom of the stairs facing the rear of the former unload area. The stairs appear to link up with the original overhead walkway passing over the track. I had initially guessed that there would be 2 load/unload areas in the station renovation. From the pictures, it appears the original unload area will become both the load and unload area. The former load area becomes a hold/dispatch block? I am not sure how the current renovation would help with capacity running just two trains. It might help if the park has purchased a 3rd train to run on the ride again. Some of the photos show portions of the exterior of the mountain. You can see several areas under renovation as well; part of the park's multi-year renovation plan for Volcano. Hmmmm .... there is quite a bit of unused space in the mountain structure. Makes me wonder if the park could use part of the structure for a future dark ride . . . a la CW's Guardian?