Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[steamedturtle]

https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/2019/renovating-an-icon

 

Kings Dominion just announced they repainted the Eiffel Tower and renovated the surrounding area over the off season.

 

They also said they are preparing the Eiffel Tower structure for a surprise TBA. Wonder what that could be..

[steamedturtle]

Checked out passholder preview yesterday. It was quite busy and an absolutely gorgeous day.

 

Here are some shots of the future Parched Pig. Looking forward to hanging out there.

 

 

[cfc]

Kings Dominion shared some info on what's new for this season.

 

The Wait is Over- Kings Dominion Opens for the Season This Saturday

Park adds new festival, introduces upgraded food options and shows

 

DOSWELL, VA. (March 26, 2018) - Kings Dominion kicks off the 44th season with the return of family-fun and thrilling memories on March 30. Guests can experience the return of their favorite thrills include the park’s newest coaster, Twisted Timbers, which combines wood and steel for an unforgettable ride experience featuring gravity defying twists and turns.

 

In addition to more than 60 rides, shows and attractions, guest can delight in new food and beverage options, new entertainment, and immersive festivals throughout the season.

 

 

New Festival

Experience Kings Dominion like you never have before when myth and magic join together to create the all-new Grand Carnivale. Guests can enjoy this new immersive festival every day June 15 through July 7 beginning at 5:00 p.m. to celebrate the sights, sounds, smells and tastes from cultures around the world including India, China, Italy, France and Germany. Grand Carnivale has something for everyone from crafts and games, to delectable food and drink, to live music and astounding entertainment. As the evening rolls in, the Spectacle of Color interactive electric light parade, complete with dazzling floats, authentic music and mesmerizing street performers dazzles guests as it makes its way through the park and ending at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Guests are invited to top off the night at the park’s Carnivale Street Party, a magnificent party filled with international music, magic and merrymaking until the park closes.

 

 

 

 

New Food & Beverage Options

From Walking Chicken and Waffles to a Buffalo Chicken Pizza, guests can sample new flavors throughout the park. Those over the age of 21 can sit back and relax between the thrills at the park’s new taproom, The Parched Pig. Located in the Old Virginia section of the park, twelve local craft beers will rotate throughout the season and feature the park’s three exclusive beers by Center of the Universe, Kings Brew:

 

§ Kings Brew IPA

§ Kings Brew Lager

§ NEW in 2019 - Kings Brew Amber Lager

 

New Shows and Live Entertainment

A total of eight new shows will delight guests of all ages this season from two new shows in Planet Snoopy starting this spring to a brand new acrobatic show, Gravity: A Cirque Experience. Additionally, new live music and entertainment options will delight guests throughout Soak City and the Candy Apple Grove midways with top hits and classic favorites.

 

Guests can experience all of the fun and thrills this season, including unlimited visits to Grand Carnivale, Halloween Haunt and WinterFest, with a 2019 Gold Season Pass. Registration is now open for the free Kings Dominion Pre-K Pass which grants complimentary admission all season to kids ages 3 – 5. For a complete list of park hours, special events and to get the best deal on tickets and Season Passes, visit kingsdominion.com.

[BDD27]

Taking a weekend trip down to Kings Dominion and possibly Busch Gardens. Started out at the Dominion today. Finally after waiting years I managed to get on my first RMC! I gotta admit twisted timbers does not disappoint. The park ended up closing early at 5 due to rain but I will be back tomorrow. It looked like demo on Volcano continues and the covered shed at the end of the first launch is now completely gone, definitely gonna miss that ride. Not a bad day all in all, rainy but it was completely dead every ride was a walk on

[coasterbill]

It'll be interesting to see if the mountain eventually comes down with the ride

 

Wonder no more...

 

Source: KD Golden Years

 

Hot take... this sucks. This does not stop sucking.

[thrillseeker4552]

I’m not surprised to see the mountain come down with it. However that doesn’t make looking at deconstruction pictures any less painful. They have big shoes to fill with this ride’s replacement.

[coasterbill]

My guess is that they never planned on removing this ride so I don't necessarily think that they'll be in a hurry to replace it (especially after that last conference call).

 

Hopefully I'm wrong but I honestly expect this plot to stay open and depressing for awhile.

[boldikus]

This f*cking blows.

 

At least they are not wasting any time removing it though, better than leaving it sit and rot for a couple of seasons til they figure out what to do over there.

[BDD27]

So here's a trip report from last weekend. It was meant to be a KD/BG trip but we ended up just relaxing and staying at Kings Dominion all weekend. Friday was a cool rainy day and the park ended up closing early at 5pm, regardless it was completely dead so we walked right on to everything. I have to say after years of anticipation I finally got on my first rmc and twisted timbers did not disappoint. The fact that a park can turn a terrible wooden coaster into a masterpiece still blows my mind. Intimidator is still a top 10 for me and I really wish more parks would buy intamin gigas. Anaconda was running rather well and I thoroughly enjoy it, but that might just be because i have a disorder where arrow loopers are my favorite coasters. All in all it was a fun trip with short waits the whole time. I will say though I'm really really gonna miss Volcano. I've had a special place in my heart for that ride since I was a kid and the park really just doesn't feel the same without it. I really hope it has a worthy successor. At least now avalanche might be a little bit more dead

Rebel Yell ehhhh I mean Racer 75 was running well it seems like the park has been doing a good amount of track work the past few years

I might be in the small minority, but Dominator is not my favorite floorless coaster and I actually find it quite rough compared to the other floorless coasters

I'd actually take Anaconda over Dominator any day, but I'd still like to know what they were thinking when they designed the part before the corkscrews

This beast really is the star of the show the park has a really good 1 2 punch now with timbers and intimidator

Losing this beauty does hurt the lineup a bit though

It never stops looking good does it?

Apple Zapple is actually a really fun ride I find it to be way more fun than the average wild mouse style ride

I was a little sad that Anaconda's splash effect wasn't working I'm not sure if it wasn't ready for the season yet or they just don't use it anymore, but I always thought it was a neat effect

I think I might have to go ride the rest of the rmc coasters now!!!

And the trains look really nice too!

Can't forget about this little classic either

I was really surprised to find out kings dominion has fried oreos, BUT I LOVE THEM

One more just because this ride is so good

My only shot of grizzly, I used to really love this ride, but it really needs work it's gotten unbearably rough and I really hope the park notices and does some track work

Hey that ride isn't on the map

And it really breaks my heart to know it never will be again...

RIP Volcano, you will be missed

I'll be back again soon!

[Dombot]

^ Great report! Nice to hear some Anaconda love, glad I'm not the only one that really likes it. Join the cult, people.

 

On a much sadder note, it really sucks to hear about the mountain coming down. I kinda expected it, but I was really hopeful that they could keep the structure and fill the space with another ride. RIP Smurf-cano. You shall be missed.

[PKI Jizzman]

Thanks for the photos everyone, as sad as it may be.

 

In other news, I miss I305!!! What an incredible ride.

[jlp94]

Apparently Twisted Timbers just closed a few minutes ago due to something flying out and hitting a rider. Anyone at the park to confirm this?

[bluestreak]

Apparently Twisted Timbers just closed a few minutes ago due to something flying out and hitting a rider. Anyone at the park to confirm this?

 

I don't know if its had downtime at all today but I just saw a video on Instagram with it running with people on it so not to worry.

[ScreaminNewEngland]

Never knew where people were getting the whole Dominator being rough thing from.... I find it to be just as smooth as almost all of the other floorless coasters out there.

[southpuddle]

Because for some enthusiasts if the slightest vibration is felt or they’re jostled in their seat a bit, the ride is considered rough.

[Jaykethekid]

Because for some enthusiasts if the slightest vibration is felt or they’re jostled in their seat a bit, the ride is considered rough.

Not necessarily

 

I found dominator to be considerably rough for a B&M as it felt like my head was a ping pong ball between the shoulder harness. Through some of the turns, it slapped my ears silly . Though it's not unbearable or headache inducing, its more annoying than anything else. It kinda took away from the ride for me as it had a really nice layout.

[BDD27]

^Maybe rough is the wrong word to use, but I find that some B&M coasters develope a rattle/vibration over time. By no means is Dominator a bad ride to me, it definitely adds quality and variety to Kings Dominion considering it is there only B&M coaster and is a top notch attraction. Compared to the many other B&M inverts and floorless coasters I've been on I just find Dominantor to have a strange rattle that the others don't. I'll just stay in my own little world and enjoy getting thrown around by old arrow loopers while they are still around

[average.coaster.fan]

I mean if you ride Dominator in the front row it definitely does have a lot of headbanging. Dominator is such a fun and intense floorless but it may need to get some TLC in the near future.

[Jason Maier]

I mean if you ride Dominator in the front row it definitely does have a lot of headbanging. Dominator is such a fun and intense floorless but it may need to get some TLC in the near future.

 

Maybe a re-tracking and/or new trains with the vest restraints?

[AmyUD06]

"Re-tracking" a steel coaster is rebuilding it virtually from scratch. When Morey's re-did Great Nor'easter, it cost over $4 million.

[FeelTheFORCE]

I believe the vest restraints require a larger gauge of track to accommodate wider trains, so the entire track & supports would need to be replaced at that point. I rode Dominator in August of last year and found it to be perfectly fine.

[steamedturtle]

I don't find Dominator to be rough at all. I usually keep my hands on the arm rests, and it's perfectly smooth and rerideable.

[thrillseeker4552]

I have found that Floorless coasters are by far B&M's most "temperamental" coaster type when it comes to smoothness. I have never ridden a rough Invert, Hyper, Flying, Wing, Dive, etc. But the Floorless coasters can really bounce around a lot (especially on edge seats in the middle rows). Scream is my most ridden Floorless among the 7 or 8 I've done, and my rides on it are wildly inconsistent. Sometimes it runs very well and others it feels like it has octagonal wheels.

 

I enjoyed Dominator quite a bit and thought it ran fine, but it's not my favorite Floorless because I love the snappy zero-G rolls, which Dominator lacks.

 

Given that B&M does Dive Coasters with vest restraints now, I am confident that any new ground-up Floorless, especially if built by Cedar Fair, will include vest restraints.

[cfc]

I don't find Dominator to be rough at all. I usually keep my hands on the arm rests, and it's perfectly smooth and rerideable.

 

The only sometimes "rough" patch on Dominator is the corkscrews after the MCBR, and it isn't all that bad. At least that's been my experience.

[Rougarou]

No Words!

Picture provided via Twitter