Intimidator305

No, and it is awesome!!! If you don't have the chance to do all 3 courses, I would rank them 1)Black Bear Cliff 2) Geyser Gorge 3) Rocky Top Trail, so if you don't think you are going to do all 3 courses, so I would recommend doing them in that order. Be sure to do Adventure Mountain early in the morning or right before the "after 3 next day free" crowd comes in to avoid waiting a long time in line because it takes a while to dress and hook everyone up to the course. If you go within the first hour (9-10) there shouldn't be a line at all because it is in the very back of the park. Both days I went it was walk-on in the early mornings and had quite the wait later on in the day.

I'm curious of to which side the guy landed when he jumped out of the Eiffel Tower to look for the cracked asphalt next time I go. I never knew that you could still see the spot. Details?

That is what I have always heard as well... but maybe everyone I talk to read it on Wiki!

I wasn't trying to be a "hero" or anything, but I could see where you got the idea when I re-read my post, so I apologize. I was just saying the partnerships with the hotels were horrible and didn't offer any good discounts at all. I think if they wouldve not partnered up with so many, and just the main ones (Camelot, Breakers, Carribbean, Dunes Village, ect.) and actually provided great packages that saved you money instead of cost you more that the hotels could have drawn a lot more attention to the park. The park did have a shuttle for a short while, but it was only one, and it ran only one route from Broadway at the Beach to the park. If anyone is at Broadway at the Beach, they definitely would of not wanted to go to the park that same day, they should have ran the shuttle down 501 to downtown Myrtle where the Pavilion used to be, atleast there you have people walking around looking for stuff to do and the shuttle pick up would be smack dab in the middle of the hotels. As far as the area around the park... Around the park itself is a dump, but right across the waterway is one of Myrtle Beach's busiest areas, Coastal Grand Mall. SCDOT actually built a bridge (Harrelson Blvd) connecting the Coastal Grand Mall area to the park, but of course with road construction, the bridge took forever to build and didn't open until halfway through the year in 2009. If the bridge was built when the park opened up as HRP nobody would have had to drive down 501 and go through the former crappy Waccamaw area. They wouldve just had to get off at the 17 bypass bridge, which provides a lot better "first impression" of the area. I doubt the park will ever open back up, but if it does, free admission is needed with the option of a wristband or pay-per-ride tickets, because thats what everyone who visits Myrtle Beach is used to (Former Pavilion, Family Kingdom, Nascar Speedpark, and now the Nostalgia Park). So that way people that drove out to the Coastal Grand Mall area could drive right across the bridge to the park and take a ride on a coaster or two or just check the park out. Just a thought...

Actually, Freestyle Music Park did do this with MANY hotels, but all of them were rip-offs. You were better off booking the hotel room and buying the tickets separately to get the better deal because they did the 2 for 17.76 all of July and did the 2 for 29.99 for the rest of the season... (they got desperate for customers ).

Have to treat the riders like they are a bunch of high schoolers, because of the selected few that ruin everything for everyone!

Awesome pictures! Too bad the sun sets behind the dead Thrill Zone. That wouldve been AWESOME to get some Intimidator pictures with that sunset, but somehow you made the Thrill Zone look cool, so congrats!

Actually, the area already has two similar areas of Downtown Disney. One is in North Myrtle and it is called Barefoot Landing while the one in Myrtle Beach is called Broadway at the Beach. Broadway at the Beach actually has a few of the Pavilion's old rides in the Pavilion Nostalgia Park. They have the Pirate, Wave Swinger, Caterpillar, and the Carousel to name a couple. http://www.pavilionnostalgiapark.com/home.aspx I don't think anything will ever draw away the crowds in Myrtle Beach from Broadway at the Beach, Coastal Grand Mall, the Tanger Outlet Centers, and the beach. The only thing that ever did was the Pavilion, and now thats gone... IMO, that is why Dollywood is such a success in Pigeon Forge (a town similar to MB). They do not have anything similar to Broadway at the Beach, an actual mall that you can go to, or sand and an ocean. They do have a Tanger Outlet Center, but it is more of a one-day type of thing...

I'm pretty sure there have been 3 deaths at KD. One being the Shockwave incident, another person died on Galaxi (which used to be where Shockwave is), and the someone died after doing something stupid on the Eiffel Tower.

The park was much cooler when it was HRP, so I'm going to have to go with Freestyle being the bigger epic fail. Plus, I knew they would fail with a name like Freestyle Music Park... Actually, I really liked HRP, their prices were just rediculous and they didn't have that many rides. If someone with a brain and money would buy the park, add a several more decent attractions, make the park cool again, and try not to act like an Orlando park this park would be a success.

I experienced one train waits on 305, but I've never been so lucky when it comes to Volcano... I think the shortest I have waited for the ride is about 30 mins.

I try to ride Volcano once each time I make a trip up to KD. I always go two days back to back, and try to hit up Volcano the first day, because it always has the longest line and the most downtime every single time I go... always! It just doesn't make any since to wait 2 hours for Volcano when Intimidator 305 has a 15-25 minute wait!

I agee, I have seen pictures of the ride under construction and couldn't believe thats what the ride looked like before they add the theme and special effects. I believe we will see even better dark rides this decade, heck look at Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, its getting great reviews, just imagine the technology with dark rides by 2020.

Thanks for the feedback! I was just curious because my last visit to BGW seemed like we didn't make a route in the shape of a circle. But when looking for dark ride layouts I found this detailed website of WDW's Haunted Mansion http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index336.html and this detailed layout of the actual ride at WDW and Disneyland at the bottom of the page http://www.freewebs.com/cokoroxmania/neworleanssquare.htm

I was just curious to whether parks such as Universal Studios, Disney, and even Busch Gardens actually release the layouts of their dark rides or if any have been leaked out. When you are in the ride it is hard to figure out how you make your way around and leaves you curious of the actual path that it takes, whether it is long/short, twisty/straight, ect. If any of you know where I could find rides such as Darkastle and/or Spider-Man layouts that would be awesome! Thanks!

I LOVE THIS IDEA! Your parks look awesome! May I recommend giving a few of you coasters paint jobs during the offseason as the park kind of looks "dark" from the overview images? As in the replacement of Bon Voyage I would consider putting a record-breaking coaster there so the guests that are not planning on visiting the park, but staying at the hotel might become convinced to visit the park if they walk outside of there hotel and see a breath taking massive structure reaching towards the clouds. May I also suggest adding a wooden kiddie coaster like Ghoster Coaster at KD? BTW... How do you take screen shots and post them on here? I have recreated all of KD and Dollywood and would love to share!

Nothing was turned into a GIGA! I'm pretty sure nobody was expecting that. What a difference 10 months can make! Intimidator 305's construction began on June 1st 2009 and its media day was April 1st 2010. BTW, love your trip reports!

This is what I love to hear! But anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed Kings Dominion! I have to agree with you... Volcano's line is way too long, but its definitely worth it every once in a while. I just can't stand to wait 2 hours for it when there is a giga coaster just a couple hundred feet away with a line that takes 1/8 of the time to get through!

Great so far. Excited to read your review of Kings Dominion!

5 times in a row!

If Shockwave is removed, I could see the park putting a flat ride on the Carousel end of Shockwave's area (Giant Frisbee?), and actually expand Planet Snoopy on the other end (near Peanuts Showplace) and add a couple small kiddie rides and connect it to the path next to Flying Ace.

My bet is that the ride is in its 8th season and most people that go to KD have been there before and already experienced it. A lot of the people that have been on it, come off terrified, atleast almost everytime I've been on it thats been the case. Also with the addition of Dominator and Intimidator 305 the Grove is getting a lot less popular (so is Old Virginia). I hope the next additions/improvements happen in the Grove (spuce up the area where XLC was and paint Shockwave!) and Old Virginia to bring some life to the areas.

Glad you had fun, and more importantly I'm glad you enjoyed Intimidator 305! I also think Hurler isn't that bad either... I mean its a wooden coaster, its supposed to shake you to death. Shockwave is my second least favorite coaster, with Nighthawk @ Carowinds taking the #1 spot. BTW, Dominator's loop was actually painted when it arrived to KD, they just painted it yellow.

I rode it (Dominator) recently in the back row far corner and had TONS of rattling, but the further you go forward in the train, less and less rattling occurs. But I really do not mind it, it really isn't noticable besides towards the far back at the moment. Plus, some may call me crazy, but I would much rather have Dominator than Griffon anyday...

Glad you enjoyed Intimidator 305 so much. In my opinion it is still a world-class coaster despite being slowed down a little. Thanks for the awesome trip report!