palmerleeberry

^Okay, then I won't talk about blackfish since I've never seen it and don't want to . . . I've been to this park once in 2003 on my way home after two week in Florida and I made two mistakes during my visit: One, it was Labor Day weekend; and two, Hank Williams Jr. was performing that night. In other words, the park got CROWD-DED!!! Ten years later and I can see how much the park was changed. Thanks for a great trip report.

Hey, any type of foot-chopper element on an inverted coaster that causes the rider to panic and suddenly lift his or her feet up is always a good thing in my book. As for the area that the Bat and the Banshee are in, I hope they do rename that area into a Halloween-type theme. Since Kings Island is no longer in the movies, the Action Zone is becoming less active these days and needs a new theme. A few upgrades and extra theming in the surrounding rides would do the trick and make this area the scariest area in Kings Island. "I'm not perfect; I just love to ride!!!

All right - I'm sold. A trip to Kentucky Kingdom is in my travel plans for next year. But Holiday World and Kings Island shouldn't worry about me because I will be visiting their parks as well with Holiday World first, then Kentucky Kingdom, and finally Kings Island. I got to visit their website and I am impressed with the lineup. Good Grief, look at all those water rides - do they know I could get water logged? As for the flats, I forgot that the old Six Flags park didn't have bumper cars, so I'm glad that this new Kentucky Kingdom will. ROLLER SKATER 2014 - TAKE A RIDE AROUND OUR RINK!!!

^ While I will agree with your statement, I also wish that they would spruce up Volcano and put in some extra theming to make this great ride even better. How about when the train enters a lava tunnel before it launches and enters another cave full of lava after the ride is over and is heading towards the station. The conditions they have now make the ride look like it's still being built and the riders should be seeing that they're inside a volcano and not the shell of one. With all the new improvement and classic charm that are returning to this park, who cares about any new rides ( although bringing back a ride would be a nice and pleasant surprise as well )? 35 YEARS OF VISITING kINGS dOMINION - AND COUNTING!!!

Looking at those old pictures of Kings Dominion's earlier days always bring a tear to my eyes - Okay, now that's out of the way, I'm excited about the upcoming Kings Dominion 40th season in which they plan to bring back the charm of yesteryear. While everyone is remarking how great the old Rebel Yell queing station used to be, how about how great the tracks used to look, with the red tracks and blue rails? Last time I was there, the Rebel Yell looked like a dirty white coaster. I'm hoping a new paint job for the Rebel Yell is in the works. 35 YEARS OF VISITING kINGS dOMINION - AND COUNTING!!!

After that piece of news, I've got one thing to say - BABY, YOU JUST GOT BURNED AGAIN!!!

ALL RIGHT, THIS IS SO ( your favorite expression inserted here ) GREAT!!! The singing mushrooms are back and for this long-time visitor who must have visited the park over a hundred times this is great news. I had a speculation on if Kings Dominion brought back the singing mushrooms, then I thought they might put them in the grassy area near the carousel. Instead, they taking out the old store that used to be in the spot across from Dodge "Em and putting the singing mushrooms there. This is going to be wonderful! But one question still lingers: will the piano-playing frog have that cigar in its mouth, or will they take it out due to today's sensitivities concerning smoking? Back in the 70's, nobody care whether or not the frog smoked cigars, but things are different here in the twenty-first century. For me personally, I don't care either way, but that is a decision to be made by management. So we have blue ice cream, the return of Candy Apple Grove, the return of Safari Village, new lighting packages on the rides, fountain lights, and the return of the singing mushrooms. Now this Kings Dominion lover ask because I dare: "What's next?" 35 SEASONS OF VISITING kINGS dOMINION - AND COUNTING!!!

That is super duper incredible: it amazes this rider and amusement park flyer. During the Halloween season, you have lots of groups that would construct and operate a haunted house, but I never heard of anyone constructing a dark ride before. But if these people could do it and within their two car garage, then think about the possibility of a group ( as their fund raiser ) constructing their own dark ride inside a leased space ( such as a store block ). If anyone did that around here, then they would be the talk of the town. You better keep your eyes peeled; this might become on ongoing trend!

Wow wee wow wow!!! Thanks to Midgetman82 and the picture of a chassis being tested on the track has lead me to three conclusions: The Roller Skater is being worked on at the park, The Roller Skater will be running on opening day, and I'm not the only one who cares deeply about the Roller Skater. If the chassis looks good, then I hope the train will look even better; after all, who wants to go roller skating in ugly shoes? ROLLER SKATER 2014 - AM I crazy or WHAT?!?

First, because I have a CEDAR FAIR PLATINUM PASS, I plan on visiting Kings Dominion as part of their 40th anniversity which would include Blue Ice Cream, fountain lights, Candy Apple Grove, and hopefully the return of the singing mushrooms. Second, with that same pass, I plan on visiting both Carowinds and Kings Island. Third, a visit to Kentucky Kingdom as I welcome this park for coming back to life. Finally, depending on where I'm planning to go on my 2014 summer trip, I'm sure it'll be at an amusement park that has a coaster treated by RMC.

I hate to steal a line from a movie, but . . . "If they build it, then we shall come!" Okay, it's not the same wording, but the meaning is still the same. PLEASE DON'T BURN ME!!!

Well, I guess I can offically stop calling it "Lying Turds" and call it "Flying Turns"! I bet that this will go into the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest time it took to construct a coaster to opening day. May a record like that never be broken!

The part of the article that blew my mind was the part about the floating island. How are the Disney Imagineers going to pull this one off? Perhaps give the illusion of a floating island because if the Disney Imagineers could imagine it, then they could turn it into a reality. Avatar was that type of ground-breaking movie that after I've seen it, I wonder how on Earth did they get this picture made. Last time I got blown away was the movie Jurassic Park and we all saw how that movie franchaised out. In one of the illustrations, I saw what looked like a boat ride attraction. Jray21 stated in a recent post Last time I was at the park it was 2006 and I don't remember any river attraction ( I was more concentrated on Everest that year), so I'm asking jray21 and anyone else about this River at Animal Kingdom. Regardless if it was before my visit or came after my visit and ran for a short time, then I'm glad that this "River" will be running again and not left to decay into obscurity. If an attraction like Everest got me coming to Florida in 2006, then methinks that Avatar will cause me to drop all vacation plans and come to Florida when it is built to fruition.

Saw the POV video of Thunder Run and it's layout is similar to Kings Dominion's and Carowinds' Hurler, but in a mirror layout. Still, it's a triple out-and-back coaster and I remember it being a good ride during the last time I was at Kentucky Kingdom. During the few times I was at that park, I never saw them run more than one train on Thunder Run. On the days of my visit, there wasn't much of a line, so I figured that they didn't need to run two trains on those days. I know that the Roller Skater was always a one-train operation ( Am I still the only one concern with the Roller Skater?), but I cannot remember whether or not Thunder Run had a second train on the transfer track. So the new ride announcements will be coming in November? I don't know if the riders and amusement park flyers can wait that long; we might end up going crazy over speculating what might be coming to the park, thus add extra pages to this post. Ain't that great or what?

I'm back again to this post to answer a question that was asked by jray21: You betcha sweet tarts the event was worth it, especially on that day I visited Kings Dominion. With ten haunts, five shows, and six scare zones, Kings Dominion's Hallo weekend had more scares per acre than ever before. Even I couldn't do them all in one night, which is why I'll be returning in two weeks to catch up anything I miss and reride any ride that I felt I ddin't get enough of in the first place. But I know there are some that will be asking, "Hey, what about for those that don't like to be scared, especially young children? How can they enjoy an event like this?" I'll simply reply, "Then come to Planet Snoopy, which is renamed Planet Spooky for this event. " On an earlier post, I stated the extra attractions they added to Planet Spooky, but I forgot one more attraction: At Joe Cool's Driving School they divided the area by half. While one half features your normal cars, the other half features pedal tractors. How cool is that to a kid? Plus you have some attendants dressed up in not-so-scary costumes; such as, clowns, pirates, and even one dressed up as Robin Hood. So while the Halloween is warm and friendly during the day, that all changes when night falls and the monsters begin to come out. Some rides will be closed at nighttime, including Planet Spooky, but the high thrill rides will still be running. This will be my sixth time this season visiting Kings Dominion, and I cannot wait until next season to see the surprises Kings Dominion will have in store to the riders and amusement park flyers. 35 YEARS OF VISITING kINGS dOMINION - AND COUNTING!!!

Well, it was a week ago that I went out to Kings Dominion for their Hallo-weekend event, and I'm surprised that there haven't been anyone else commenting on this post. Since I'm here and have a few minutes to kill, I might as well get on with it. The sky had cloudy overcast for the entire day, plus it was a little windy and chilly, but no rain fell. I arrived around noontime and stayed until eleven at night. The crowds were light during the day, but the park started crowding up during the evening ( when the monsters started coming out ). All the rides were up and running during the daytime ( except Dodge 'Em, White Water Canyon, and Flight of Fear which were used as Haunts ). The ride with the longest wait was The Volcano with a 45 minute wait. When evening fell, several attractions were closed, including Planet Snoopy, which boosted a not-so-scary Halloween for the kiddies. They even added three new attractions for the kids: a hay maze, a petting zoo, and Pig-Pen's People Washer ( the kids get to play inside an inflated play area filled with bubbles). As for what awaits for us next year to celebrate Kings Dominion's 40th anniversity is still anyone's guess, but I did meet someone in line while waiting to ride the Volcano who remembers the singing mushrooms and even had a picture of it on her smartphone. If they do bring back the singing mushrooms, methinks the best spot for them is the grassy area next to the Carousel. I hope they bring it back exactly as before, but methinks that the only difference would be the piano-playing bullfrog won't have a cigar in its mouth. In as earlier post, I've been writing about the "Celebration" show that ran in 1983 that celebrated Kings Dominion. If they brought that show back and updated it, then methinks this should be how the show should be presented. Besides having dancers and singers, it will also feature a screen that will show pictures and movies. Introduction - "Celebration"; Act 1 - "Before Kings Dominion" - singing old country songs like "Buffalo Gal" and "Skip to the Lou, My Darling"; Act 2 - "Opening Day" - songs from 1975 like "Shining Star" and "Love Will Keep Us Together"; Act 3 - "The Line" - The orginal song from Celebration; Act 4 - "Thriller Rides" songs with new lyrics from "Thriller", "Love Rollercoaster", "Round and Round", "Free Fallin'", "Swingin'", and "Higher"; Act 5 - "The Past Attractions" with the song "Changes"; and Act 6 - "The Future" that will end with the "Celebration" finale. 35 YEARS OF VISITING kINGS dOMINION - AND COUNTING!!!

All right, lets keep those updates coming because I've have become an addict and I want another fix! I'm glad that Thunder Run is running well, but what about the Roller Skater? Am I the only one that gives a whoopy-doo about that coaster? Just when we were speculating on what type of steel coaster the park will be getting, now Ed Hart has to go and torture us some more on several new rides that will also be added inside the park. I can see the Star Flyer being placed in the spot where the old Helluvator once stood, but I'm also thinking that the third ride might be the Scrambler. Why I hope it's the Scrambler? Because I like the Scrambler! 2014 can't get here soon enough.

I have another worst coaster experience to add - There was the time that I spent two hours waiting in line to ride Millennium Force and it wasn't a bad wait because the DJ was playing some great tunes and you had some people dancing as they moved along. If me and my friend got on board and rode Millennium Force then that might have been the biggest highlight of our vacation. But then the lousy ride breaks down and the ride attendants saying it might be an hour before they can get that coaster going again, so we lefted. Five minutes later, we're at Cedar Creek area and we see the Millennium Force running again. We Got Robbed!!!

Sorry if I came in over a week late to congradulate Hoilday World for finally getting a swinging ship and calling it "The Mayflower". As for its placement over water should make this ride extra special, just like the Ocean Motion in Cedar Point and the two other swinging ship rides located at Kings Island and Michigan Adventure. Deep down, I'm still waiting for an Easter theme . . .

coasternut stated this in a recent post: The next sound you will here will be millions of riders and amusement park flyers shouting out loud, "IT'S ABOUT FRICKING TIME!!! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? DID YOU HAVE TO ORDER THE PARTS FROM OUTER MONGOLIA?" Now that is out of the way, I can now focus all my attention into Kings Dominion's next season and learn what surprises will be waiting for us as they celebrate 40 seasons. 35 YEARS OF VISITING kINGS dOMINION - AND COUNTING!!!

All right, I shall confess this and get this over with. At Kings Dominion, I was all against the Windseeker when the park announced it a few years ago. Why was I against it? We already had two swinging rides inside the park already: The Wave Swinger and Flying Ace, and I felt that the addition of Windseeker would be overkill in the swinging rides. Boy, I never have been glad to be wrong; Windseeker is one of my three favorite flat rides inside Kings Dominion ( Scrambler and Triple Spin are the other two), and it's even cooler to ride it at nighttime. 35 YEARS OF VISITING kINGS dOMINION - AND COUNTING!!!

Wow, is it just me or do I get too excited whenever I get updates on the work being done to reopen Kentucky Kingdom? Keep those updates coming because I think I have become an addict and I want another fix!

Wow wee - I'm so happy . . .I think I wet my pants. Excuse me for one second. All right, I'm back, now where were we? Oh yes . . . Wow wee - I'm so happy about Kings Dominion making this announcement that I'll take it over any new rides and attractions any old day. Kings Dominion will be celebrating 40 years and will bring back some of its classic charm. The return of Candy Apple Grove, the Fountain Lights, Safari Village coming back, and who know what else? SFGOdud25 stated in a recent post - And I would say from this huge classic woodie fan is that I would second that motion!!! Someone else suggested to bring back the singing mushrooms - I would kill to see them again. Then there is the speculation of bringing back a classic ride that once entertained riders back in its heyday. I'm all for it, but what is it and where will it go will be the big question mark. While I would love to ride Haunted River, Galaxie, Hypersonic XLC, and the King Kobra again, you would have to move heaven and earth, plus interfere with the space and time ratio in order to make that a possibility. As for some of the flat rides that once ran inside the park, I'm sure they could find a worthy replacement (Apple Turnover, anyone?) One idea I would love to see the park do is to bring back the sea lion and dolphin show (like I said before - I'd kill to see that). Another show idea is to bring back "Celebration" - the song and dance show that celebrates the past, present, and the possible future of Kings Dominion. Kings Dominion will be celebrating its 40th anniversity next season, and I have been visiting the park for 35 of them and feel like I can do 35 more. 35 YEARS OF VISITING kINGS dOMINION - AND COUNTING!!!

Here's a story for the "Ride it and they will come" department: One year in Knoebel, I was the only rider on the Wipeout. After that ride was over, Believe it or not!, there was a massive line of riders waiting to board. Talk about stepping into another world experience. "I'm not perfect; I just love to ride!!!"

On the Timber Ride coaster, just add some theming and you can turn an otherwise boring kiddie coaster into something fun and exciting (much like Kings Dominion did as they transformed the Taxi Jam into The Great Pumpkin Coaster) As for the Tobaggon coaster, I know that Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA has one and before riding that coaster I never thought it was possible to go straight up on a lift hill. There is another coaster I know that has a lift hill like that - Fahrenheit at Hersheypark. When it comes to coasters, regardless if they're big or small - I will ride them all!!!