Skycoastin Steve Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 ^I think I managed something similar to that last year, too. It doesn't happen often, that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intimidator305 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I always get a ride on it at opening to be on the first or second train of the day (thanks to the CF Platinum Pass 10 min early entry), and by the time I get off of the ride the line is always at the line is already stretched to the turnaround of the chlostrophobic ramp (which is atleast a 15 min wait from there)... Â Another good time to ride the ride is on Friday nights during HAUNT, and Sunday's when they actually do HAUNT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 ^Haunt Fridays are great evenings to visit KD thanks to the smaller crowds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugecoltsfan Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I actually managed to ride Volcano with only a 15-20 minute wait last year. The strange part is that it was a Saturday night during Haunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfreak101 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Yeah, I usually head into the park, ride I305 front and back and Flight of Fear in the back before hitting Volcano, and I can usually ride front and back with a wait just on the last ramp down to the load station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I think we all know he hates Volcano and SFA. I believe it's about time for a "Kings Dominion needs a B&M invert" and "Six Flags America sucks" post... Â I would prefer a better layout for the ride but that of course isn't gonna happen....IMO the ride just falls short since all it consists of is 1 sidewinder & 3 heartlines while descending back & forth around the exterior of the mountain,I think I'm quite entitled to hold that opinion....and yes SFA in it's current state still "sucks" but it looks like they're finally making an effort to turn that park around by adding something new to the park after ten years worth of nothing but removals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfreak101 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 ^You forgot to mention that KD needs a B&M invert to help Volcano's terrible, dreaded, horrid capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Farmer Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 ^Too bad Kings Dominion's doesn't spin like Kings Island's! I do like the spinning on KI's and on Mach Tower at BGW, it's cool to be able to see the entire park disappear beneath you instead of just a slice depending on your luck. Â The rotating and possibly capacity are the only two practical reasons I could see a park going with Gyro Drop instead of Second Gen, but according to their own web site, Giant Drop has a capacity of up to 1440 pph and Gyro Drop is up to 1360 pph. Has KD's Tower ever rotated? Â Side note- Never knew Intamin was offering their take on the S&S version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 ^No, KD's has never rotated. By leaving off the mechanics (and their extra weight) in the design they were able to add more seats and higher capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bull24471 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 One of these days I am going to ride drop tower after I conquered my fear of heights! I thought it rotated when it first opened. Hmmmmm interesting ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacoaster09 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I think this is great news! I am supportive of any attempts to increase throughput and capacity on a ride. If I am reading correct this will allow them to load two trains at the same time? At first I wasn't sure how it would help capacity as I thought the train would end up sitting in a holding block as usual but I guess allowing them to load 2 trains at once would definitely help. Â In addition I have always hoped that they could return the trains to their original intended size. I know that would require more than just the station. I always hoped that they could extend the initial launch track to allow them to get more speed to a train of bigger size (6 or 7 cars instead of 4). I heard that they kept having roll back in initial testing which caused them to shorten the trains. I feel like the dual loading and larger trains would definitely improve throughput since the ride time/length will remain the same. Â Â I love volcano... completely took me by surprise on my first ride and the beginning is such a rush no time to catch my breath... but now I'll easily pass because of the line. I don't like waiting forever for an extremely short ride. It's unfortunate because it doesn't matter what day you do... Volcano will always have a line. So I readily welcome this improvement (with or without my wishful thinking for longer trains). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottom_feeder_13 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Sounds like a good thing I just hope they leave construction off until after ECB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I think this is great news! I am supportive of any attempts to increase throughput and capacity on a ride. If I am reading correct this will allow them to load two trains at the same time? At first I wasn't sure how it would help capacity as I thought the train would end up sitting in a holding block as usual but I guess allowing them to load 2 trains at once would definitely help. Â In addition I have always hoped that they could return the trains to their original intended size. I know that would require more than just the station. I always hoped that they could extend the initial launch track to allow them to get more speed to a train of bigger size (6 or 7 cars instead of 4). I heard that they kept having roll back in initial testing which caused them to shorten the trains. I feel like the dual loading and larger trains would definitely improve throughput since the ride time/length will remain the same. Â Â I love volcano... completely took me by surprise on my first ride and the beginning is such a rush no time to catch my breath... but now I'll easily pass because of the line. I don't like waiting forever for an extremely short ride. It's unfortunate because it doesn't matter what day you do... Volcano will always have a line. So I readily welcome this improvement (with or without my wishful thinking for longer trains). Â AFIK volcano always had the short four car trains as part of it's design,otherwise the station & the number of gates would've been made longer during during construction.When it first opened they took one row of seats off of each car to reduce weight to increase reliability. Â I was watching that video of their take on the S&S tower & am thinking that perhaps they might someday want to take a stab at exploring their own version of the failed thrust air concept in the future? just imagine the possibilities if they learned from some of S&S's mistakes & came up with a much better layout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) I was watching that video of their take on the S&S tower & am thinking that perhaps they might someday want to take a stab at exploring their own version of the failed thrust air concept in the future? just imagine the possibilities if they learned from some of S&S's mistakes & came up with a much better layout. Â One park has already done this--Silver Dollar City with Powder Keg (a "Frankensteined" ride that's a lot of fun). I definitely would love to see something like Powder Keg at KD (and other parks). Edited April 18, 2012 by cfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 ^You're not the only one. I'd love to see some more rides like Powderkeg. I always thought that particular design would be more popular. Â dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I was watching that video of their take on the S&S tower & am thinking that perhaps they might someday want to take a stab at exploring their own version of the failed thrust air concept in the future? just imagine the possibilities if they learned from some of S&S's mistakes & came up with a much better layout. Â One park has already done this--Silver Dollar City with Powder Keg (a "Frankensteined" ride that's a lot of fun). I definitely would love to see something like Powder Keg at KD (and other parks). Â I know about that one since it was Arrow/S&S who modified the original buzzsaw falls "liquid" coaser that premier rides built back in the late 90's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Farmer Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I was watching that video of their take on the S&S tower & am thinking that perhaps they might someday want to take a stab at exploring their own version of the failed thrust air concept in the future? just imagine the possibilities if they learned from some of S&S's mistakes & came up with a much better layout. Â One park has already done this--Silver Dollar City with Powder Keg (a "Frankensteined" ride that's a lot of fun). I definitely would love to see something like Powder Keg at KD (and other parks). Â I have a hard time coming up with a ride more underrated than Powder Keg. Can't think of a better fit for Holiday World if they eventually add steel. Â Some of those cartoonish launchers S&S is building in China are pretty intriguing as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VACoasterdude Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Was at KD on Sunday 4/15 and it was great, most coasters were a walk on. Even Volcano did not have a long wait. Kudos to the ride op on I-305 who asked for a single rider to fill the front seat with another single rider. She would ask anyone waiting for the front first, then asked anyone in the queue. Got to ride in the front twice without waiting. Â Does anyone know why Back Lot is only running the white car right now? The blue and red cars were no where to be seen. This caused a pretty long line Sunday afternoon, so my daughter and her friend decided not to wait. Â Regards, Â RIP... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 ^I know that Stunt Coaster has had some issues with "valleying" this season (oddly enough, with the white train). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Was at KD on Sunday 4/15 and it was great, most coasters were a walk on. Even Volcano did not have a long wait. Kudos to the ride op on I-305 who asked for a single rider to fill the front seat with another single rider. She would ask anyone waiting for the front first, then asked anyone in the queue. Got to ride in the front twice without waiting. Â Does anyone know why Back Lot is only running the white car right now? The blue and red cars were no where to be seen. This caused a pretty long line Sunday afternoon, so my daughter and her friend decided not to wait. Â Regards, Â RIP... Â When we went on opening weekend backlot only had white train running with red on the storage track while blue was nowhere to be seen,I guess it's early in the season so they're still trying to get rides up to capacity but backlot has been having rollbacks lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bull24471 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Was at KD on Sunday 4/15 and it was great, most coasters were a walk on. Even Volcano did not have a long wait. Kudos to the ride op on I-305 who asked for a single rider to fill the front seat with another single rider. She would ask anyone waiting for the front first, then asked anyone in the queue. Got to ride in the front twice without waiting. Â Does anyone know why Back Lot is only running the white car right now? The blue and red cars were no where to be seen. This caused a pretty long line Sunday afternoon, so my daughter and her friend decided not to wait. Â Regards, Â RIP... Â When we went on opening weekend backlot only had white train running with red on the storage track while blue was nowhere to be seen,I guess it's early in the season so they're still trying to get rides up to capacity but backlot has been having rollbacks lately. Â As of last Saturday the 14th red was not on the storage and on another park site some one said they saw parts of blue laying under the ride. I didn't see it anywhere but will say this Backlot is a fun coaster and I hope they can get all 3 trains running this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoole Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Posted on Screamscape today:  "Park News - (4/20/12) If you visit Kings Dominion this summer, be sure to get your ride on Volcano: The Blast Coaster while you can. The coaster isn’t leaving… but I’ve heard it reported by Coaster Crew that Volcano is expected to close down before the end of the summer to begin a major renovation on that ride and station area that is supposed to increase capacity and allow for three train operation."  If this is true, I guess it sucks for those planning a trip late this summer, but it sounds like awesome news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XYZ Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 This will really make the capacity better and shorten those long waits tremendously. I wonder if Volcano will get the new Intamin restraints shown in I-305 because they have to buy a new train rather than "borrowing" one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfreak101 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 ^Do they not still have the third train from a decade ago? The ride was designed to run with three, and unless they've totally scrapped it for replacement parts then the third is still around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Posted on Screamscape today: "Park News - (4/20/12) If you visit Kings Dominion this summer, be sure to get your ride on Volcano: The Blast Coaster while you can. The coaster isn’t leaving… but I’ve heard it reported by Coaster Crew that Volcano is expected to close down before the end of the summer to begin a major renovation on that ride and station area that is supposed to increase capacity and allow for three train operation."  If this is true, I guess it sucks for those planning a trip late this summer, but it sounds like awesome news. It's been discussed for the better part of the last 5 or 6 pages.  http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1169502#p1169502 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now