Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[Thunderhead]

It's staffing more then anything. KD would prefer to run as few trains/units as possible so we only use both sides of Rebel Yell on Saturdays during the summer.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

^ Staffing maybe? When I went this weekend two years ago it was closed too.

 

I dunno,I've never seen the queue chained up like that before plus leaving trains on track rather than moving at least one offline & onto storage.

 

Your description makes what the other poster said make perfect sense. They were probably running it during the day then at some point do to employees taking lunch break and/or going home ran out of employees to run both sides. Also probably next week they will have one side shut down for the rest of the year anyway, they do every year because of staffing during school.

 

By the way, when did they add this game in front of Anaconda? I love the fact a park finally added this:

 

[attachment=0]2.jpg[/attachment]

 

And on a side note, while walking to Dominator this evening I heard the real song but I immediately had in my head this version :

 

 

Must be new because I sure didn't see that midway game on my visit saturday.

[CoasterGuy06]

It's staffing more then anything. KD would prefer to run as few trains/units as possible so we only use both sides of Rebel Yell on Saturdays during the summer.

And that bothers me. Last season I visited KD and Carowinds on their opening weekends and this was the case. Hurler and Shockwave closed. One side of Rebel Yell closed. Grizzly, Backlot, and Volcano all running one train. Yet Carowinds had every coaster (including both side of Thunder Road) running and running all trains. Even Kings Island has been running all trains on their rides on all 4 of my visits there even when dead. Believe me, I get the whole staffing thing at the end of the season, but to keep one side of a major attraction closed so often when your sister parks have theirs opens blows my mind.

[Intimidator305]

Rebel Yell hardly ever has much of a line... even with one train one side operations. Next season the ride should get more riders considering WindSeeker is opening up over there which should draw some guests back over towards that end of the Grove.

[Skycoastin Steve]

I haven't seen more than one train running on 305 since the spring, and I only go on weekdays. It's a shame that I have to wait in some ridiculous line on a dead day because they only feel like running one train on their best ride. Most of my 305 rides during the summer have come in that 10 minute early-entry period at the beginning of the day. After 11, the line is back in the queue and I refuse to wait that long for a ride I've ridden 35 times in one day before (without waiting longer than 10 minutes).

[Synshine]

Rebel Yell hardly ever has much of a line... even with one train one side operations. Next season the ride should get more riders considering WindSeeker is opening up over there which should draw some guests back over towards that end of the Grove.

 

They rarely run both sides, and hardly ever race it. It's also dreadfully rough, it's no wonder why the thing is so unpopular. Rebel Yell would easily be the worst ride in the park; that is if it's neighbor the Hurler wasn't so uninspired, and that it didn't have the fortune of being in one of only three places you can ride a TOGO in North America.

 

I haven't seen more than one train running on 305 since the spring, and I only go on weekdays. It's a shame that I have to wait in some ridiculous line on a dead day because they only feel like running one train on their best ride. Most of my 305 rides during the summer have come in that 10 minute early-entry period at the beginning of the day. After 11, the line is back in the queue and I refuse to wait that long for a ride I've ridden 35 times in one day before (without waiting longer than 10 minutes).

 

That's a shame, night rides are blissful since they decided for whatever reason to keep most of the layout unlit and in the dark.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^I'm rarely ever at the park at night, but I've gotten one or two night rides this year. It's definitely a great ride at night.

[coasterfreak101]

Rebel Yell is hardly rough. It shakes like an old wooden coaster. Just a few weeks ago I actually had one of the best rides on Rebel Yell that I've ever had. t was running absolutely great (minus only one side being open).

 

I agree with Steve that running one train on I305, even on a slow day, is insane. I hate how long it takes to ride Grizzly with one train, but I can understand it more than I can for I305.

 

Oh, and speaking of Rebel Yell, can someone explain the transfer tracks to me? There's always a blue train stored on the red side, and a red train stored on the blue side. It confuses me very much! Also, I heard something about SFGAm running one side of their racers backwards for a while again - any chance we could see that at CF parks again?

[Skycoastin Steve]

I hate how long it takes to ride Grizzly with one train

 

Especially when they literally have one person checking the entire train. It takes anywhere from 5-7 minutes for one dispatch. I'd hate to see their cycle counts on some days.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

Rebel Yell is hardly rough. It shakes like an old wooden coaster. Just a few weeks ago I actually had one of the best rides on Rebel Yell that I've ever had. t was running absolutely great (minus only one side being open).

 

I agree with Steve that running one train on I305, even on a slow day, is insane. I hate how long it takes to ride Grizzly with one train, but I can understand it more than I can for I305.

 

Oh, and speaking of Rebel Yell, can someone explain the transfer tracks to me? There's always a blue train stored on the red side, and a red train stored on the blue side. It confuses me very much! Also, I heard something about SFGAm running one side of their racers backwards for a while again - any chance we could see that at CF parks again?

 

Rebel yell runs with a red & blue train on each side now a days so they are able to alternate on both sides in such a way where it's red vs blue on northside & then the next dispatch it's blue vs red on northside.

[BigDipper 80]

To all the above, if there was one thing that bothered me about the park during my sojourn, it was the slow operations at Grizzly and Rebel Yell. A half-hour station wait for both Rebel Yell and Grizzly was completely unnecessary. Even Anaconda was having major stacking issues since the crew refused to help guests when the restraints would get stuck and the guest couldn't figure out that they needed to give it a firm push down for it to release. I305 added an extra train on most of the days I was at the park, but even then it would only occur very late in the day. At least they were always calling out for single riders, which helped me skip a lot of the wait most days .

Edited September 6, 2011 by BigDipper 80

[niiicolaaah]

...really? When the heck do you visit the park? I've been going there regularly for 3 years and haven't seen operations as bad as you describe.

[Synshine]

I've seen them stack trains on every coaster but perhaps Grizzly. There were issues at every station, but if I were to suppose the blanket issue it was that they just don't do restraint checks very quickly. There were regular issues with having to unlock and then recheck again: I witness multiple cases or guests that were borderline too big in some way to ride and time was wasted by ops trying to get them on. One time, a line jumper had boarded FoF, and ops had to spend 5-10 minutes confronting him in order to remove him from the train. And it seems like guests are in no way encouraged to do anything but take their time in the station.

 

 

I also got to witness the Anaconda op nearly shutting the gates on boarding guests because the previous guests took too long disembarking because they were fumbling to get out of the restraints and not getting immediate help. Then the OP proceeded to scold the station's guests to stay clear when the gates are closing.

 

And I don't think Rebel Yell is just old, shaky coaster; my wife and I were getting jackhammered on the return run. I've been on far older coasters that are not that rough. Heck, Grizzly is was smoother in spite of being a more intense coaster.

 

I did like they did take the effort to fill every train on I-305, and while it took a little time it was a great gesture to calming the crowds, and the crew was easily the most enthusiastic in the park.

[Homeboy23]

...really? When the heck do you visit the park? I've been going there regularly for 3 years and haven't seen operations as bad as you describe.

 

Yesterday on Dominator they had three trains and four employees checking restraints and they still stacked all trains. And this was with guests getting in their seats in a very reasonable time.

[niiicolaaah]

I"m not saying Kings Dominion is perfect or even near the top of my list of favorite parks, but:

 

^^ I've seen trains stacked on lots of coasters around the country. Doesn't make KD any worse than any other park.

 

^ It's labor day weekend. Doesn't that make the park get more crowded? More people = longer wait no matter where you are.

[QueerRudie]

I"m not saying Kings Dominion is perfect or even near the top of my list of favorite parks, but:

 

^^ I've seen trains stacked on lots of coasters around the country. Doesn't make KD any worse than any other park.

 

^ It's labor day weekend. Doesn't that make the park get more crowded? More people = longer wait no matter where you are.

 

I agree completely here- KD does, for it's best efforts, a phenominal job. They might not be perfect, and they might have issues stacking, but on a whole, they do a good, reputable job with keeping things moving.

 

And I've seen -FAR- worse examples at other parks, too. If you think there's an issue stacking with employees at KD, go 90 miles north to SFA. And then see who's doing a better job.

[eddie200330]

I don't know how many people complaining have actually worked in a park or anything, but I would imagine the employees have bad days as well as good. After all, they are human. They work outside in all weather conditions, and in Central Virginia, it can get pretty damn hot. I can understand being a little slower on these type of days. And towards the end of the season, spending day in and day out with the same people all day, things can get pretty tense and hectic in that respect. I sympathize with these people and respect the fact that they actually show up to work and do a very decent job none the least. It is like life in general, you have to take the good with the bad!

[KDCOASTERFAN]

I"m not saying Kings Dominion is perfect or even near the top of my list of favorite parks, but:

 

^^ I've seen trains stacked on lots of coasters around the country. Doesn't make KD any worse than any other park.

 

^ It's labor day weekend. Doesn't that make the park get more crowded? More people = longer wait no matter where you are.

 

I agree completely here- KD does, for it's best efforts, a phenominal job. They might not be perfect, and they might have issues stacking, but on a whole, they do a good, reputable job with keeping things moving.

 

And I've seen -FAR- worse examples at other parks, too. If you think there's an issue stacking with employees at KD, go 90 miles north to SFA. And then see who's doing a better job.

 

Actually it wasn't too long ago(maybe as early as 08) when they were doing a heck of a decent job checking most trains,now that seems to have fallen by the wayside a bit lately,heck I don't even hear them say "check" anymore like they're supposed to when checking restraints these days.....still the I305 crew was doing a super job loading & dispatching trains on saturday afternoon when we rode.

[netdvn]

I've seen them stack trains on every coaster but perhaps Grizzly. There were issues at every station, but if I were to suppose the blanket issue it was that they just don't do restraint checks very quickly. There were regular issues with having to unlock and then recheck again: I witness multiple cases or guests that were borderline too big in some way to ride and time was wasted by ops trying to get them on. One time, a line jumper had boarded FoF, and ops had to spend 5-10 minutes confronting him in order to remove him from the train. And it seems like guests are in no way encouraged to do anything but take their time in the station.

 

I also got to witness the Anaconda op nearly shutting the gates on boarding guests because the previous guests took too long disembarking because they were fumbling to get out of the restraints and not getting immediate help. Then the OP proceeded to scold the station's guests to stay clear when the gates are closing.

 

That sounds like more of the guest's fault for not paying attention and listening to the ride ops/reading the signs/using the test seats and not the fault of the operators.

 

It seriously can't be that hard getting out of Arrow restraints. I don't remember Anaconda's being that complex (of course that was in 2004 and things could've changed), but on LNM and BBW, all you had to do was lift the harness above your head.

 

If I were in a position where guests were blocking the gates from closing, I'd scold them too. At BGW, the coasters have a automated spiel that specifically tells guests to stay clear of the gates when they close and stand behind a safety line. I'm very sure KD has the same. Not helping guests who have trouble with getting out of their restraints is a different story though, but outside of that, it sounds like the ops were doing their job and it's the guest's fault for making the waits slower.

[coasterfreak101]

Oh, and just to offer a view on the other side of things - I was there two weeks ago and they were dispatching a train on Dominator almost consistently before the last train had hit the final brakes. I've never seen them move so quickly there, so kudos! And the I305 crew was dispatching great, but still with only one train.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

^^Not so easy when the restraints sometimes jame up plus the addition of lapbelts makes it even more difficult to get in & out.

[BigDipper 80]

It seriously can't be that hard getting out of Arrow restraints. I don't remember Anaconda's being that complex

 

In regards to Anaconda's restraints, I think that the big issue was that they were "stiffer" than, say, Dominator's restraints, which made it difficult for some people to use the common sense to push up on them harder. As I look back to what I posted before, I realize that it could have been much worse, and as a whole, the crews did a fair job. Not Cedar Point good, but decent. I simply get irked watching six or so trains get dispatched in thirty minutes when that wait could have been shortened by adding another train. Of course, I am neither a ride op nor a park manager and have no control over such matters. I admit that part of my problem is that I'm used to seeing the coasters at Cedar Point running at full capacity nearly every time I visit, regardless of the crowds. I'll just need to learn more patience .

 

That being said, Dale (an older gentleman) over at I305 was one of the nicest and most enjoyable ride ops I've seen in a while. Great guy.

Edited September 6, 2011 by BigDipper 80

[Intimidator305]

That being said, Dale (an older gentleman) over at I305 was one of the nicest and most enjoyable ride ops I've seen in a while. Great guy.

 

I agree! He might not be the fastest, but he sure is the nicest and funniest ride ops I've ever encountered at Kings Dominion! I hope he stays over at Intimidator 305 like he has been this summer... I love when the train pulls in the station and he screams "How was that ride?" with a big smile on his face. Atleast he looks like he really enjoys his job and tries to make conversation and tell jokes to guests whenever possible. Keep up the good work Dale!

[Synshine]

 

That being said, Dale (an older gentleman) over at I305 was one of the nicest and most enjoyable ride ops I've seen in a while. Great guy.

 

"Gentleman" is the perfect description. I love they gave him a headset mic for announcements.

[XYZ]

For 2013, I think that KD should take out Shockwave and put a good Euro Fighter on that spot, I think it would be perfect for the park to take out a horrible, unpopular coaster with a fun, and more popular coaster, plus KD can handle the lower capacity unlike the larger Cedar Fair parks such as CP and KI.

 

EDIT: A perfect coaster would be like Takabisha @ Fuji-Q Highland

 

rcdb.com/9795.htm?p=35140

Edited September 6, 2011 by XYZ