Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[mhuffva]

Since the announcement was made, I always thought there might be chance for the return of a new version of a former flat ride making a comeback to the park. The park gave us the general outline of what is going to happen for 2014 and left room for "surprises" to be announced later.

 

Flat rides like the Enterprise "Apple Turnover" (I'm not sure if they still make these. Might have to get a used one and refurbish it), Monster/Spider, Himalaya, Vertigo (not sure of the manufacturer's ride name for this one - I remember I had a cover that came over the ride cars while the ride was in motion). One of these retired rides could come back, (new/refurbished), without a major hit to the budget. It would be nice to see the steam train come back in some form or the sky-ride cable cars. I just feel those attractions are high ticket items that I don't think are in the budget for 2014. Time will tell.

 

What I don't expect is Kings Dominion to flip a switch and make the park exactly the way it was say 30 years ago. Some people think that every defunct ride is coming back and the animal safari itself. Not gonna happen. You would have to bull doze nearly 50% of the current park and take a couple years re-construction to make that come true. Cedar Fair does not seem to have the financial ability to blow 150+ million on one park to do that.

 

What is important to me is to see the park get some of its former theme elements back and the resulting charm/atmosphere that comes with it. Plus, the Grove and Congo areas are in serious need of a makeover anyway. They have become way too bland/generic in recent years.

[megametal]

I'm sort of hoping they rename the main restaurant in Safari Village back to The Hungry Hippo. Still, unless there's a retheme of FOF, I-305, and BLSC, the themeing still won't be right.

[coasternut]

Just a great day to be at KD. Temps were cool upper 60's / low 70's. I don't think the G.P. knows that "Timmy" is open again. I was on the first dispatched train for the General Public (GP). No lines all day for it, but they made you walk around. In 4 hours I got 14 rides on Timmy. Welcome back to this ride.

[redfoot12]

Thanks for the update. I plan on going late tomorrow afternoon. Glad you helped break I305 in for me today.

[palmerleeberry]

coasternut stated this in a recent post:

Just a great day to be at KD. Temps were cool upper 60's / low 70's. I don't think the G.P. knows that "Timmy" is open again. I was on the first dispatched train for the General Public (GP). No lines all day for it, but they made you walk around. In 4 hours I got 14 rides on Timmy. Welcome back to this ride.

 

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!!!

[xmichellex]

Can anyone that was at the park recently confirm if Fast Lane was being used for i305? They took i305 off the list of Fast Lane rides on their website--don't know if they did this when the ride was broken and just haven't updated it yet, or if FL is no longer an option for it... I believe it used to be. I hope they haven't changed it--it was the whole reason I was going to get FL (well, that an Volcano).

[jray21]

I think the announcements for upgrades and bringing things back is good. It's a great way to do infrastructure upgrades and pass them off as celebrations!

[pixelated85]

Hey guys-

 

I'll be making my first trip to KD on Sunday, Oct. 27. Was curious if anyone had some helpful tips on how to manage our day at the park. The calendar said it'll be open 12-10 I believe. Does KD usually get slammed for their Halloween festivities? Should I be looking into their fast pass/fast lane/whatever? Any tips would be great, thanks.

[cfc]

^Sunday shouldn't be too bad. I'd play it by ear regarding Fast (or "Fright") Lane.

[smallpox]

as always ... Dominator will be calling you as you enter the park, but ignore it. ride Volcano first. it has a super-slow line that just grows and grows throughout the day.

[zachclarke2]

Dominator opens about 15/20 minutes before the rest of the park, so if you're there when it opens you should be able to knock out 1 or 2 rides on it before the park opens. But once the park does open, go straight to Volcano, you'll save a ton of time versus riding it later.

[cfc]

^I'd still say go directly to Volcano and hit other nearby rides--I305, Flight of Fear, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Anaconda, of you must. You'll probably want to hit Shockwave as soon as you can, too. The Dominator line thins out pretty considerably in the afternoon.

[cfc]

Kings Dominion is hosting a "Monster Bash" this Friday night (September 27) to kickoff Haunt.

 

Gates open at 6:00pm for fully dressed monsters.

Block Party with special events, including music, dancing and a food eating contest.

Suggestions for fully dressed monsters include: Fake blood

Distressed clothes

Face make-up and accessories

Dirty hands

Grungy nails

Faux claws and scars

No masks or face coverings

Be as creative as possible! The best themed costume of the night will be awarded 4 tickets to Kings Dominion next year.

 

You can find more information here: https://www.kingsdominion.com/events/plan-a-visit/special-events/Monster-Bash

 

Here's your chance to win some KD tickets and scarf down massive amounts of funnel cake!

[eddie200330]

I hate to ask the redundant question, but are Saturday's for Haunt, mainly late October, really bad crowd wise? 10:30 - midnight makes for lots of time and quite frankly with junior in tow the mazes and such will be hit or miss anyway. I would prefer to spend the time riding anyway. What are lines like for the rides after the sun goes down?

[Homeboy23]

I worked Rebel Yell two years ago during haunt and on Saturdays around 3-6 running two trains only one side the line was near the entrance. You know how long the queue is... Be prepared for bad crowds.

[eddie200330]

I worked Rebel Yell two years ago during haunt and on Saturdays around 3-6 running two trains only one side the line was near the entrance. You know how long the queue is... Be prepared for bad crowds.

 

How are Sundays?

[cfc]

^Sunday won't be as crowded as Saturday, and most people will be there for Haunt in the evening (lines for the mazes can get long, but ride lines should be shorter--well, with the possible exception of Volcano).

 

Here's a press release from the park about Haunt.

 

Hundreds of Monster Unleashed for Halloween Haunt at Kings Dominion

13th Season Starts Friday, September 27 with Monster Bash Block Party

 

DOSWELL, VA. (September 25, 2013) — More than 450 monsters will be unleashed at Kings Dominion as darkness falls and evil rises for Halloween Haunt on Friday, September 27th, featuring two new mazes and a new live show. In all, Haunt will feature 10 blood-curdling mazes, six terror-filled scare zones, five evil-raising live shows and more than 20 of our thrill rides in the foggy, dark of night that will leave you quivering with fear.

 

“This year, there’s more to fear than ever before for Halloween Haunt,” said Kings Dominion Vice President and General Manager Pat Jones. “We’re excited to open two new mazes along with a new live show this year and I promise our guests that Kings Dominion is the place to be for the region’s best Halloween scare.”

 

Kings Dominion dares its guests to enter into a 200 foot long mine shaft where dead miners are seeking their revenge on unsuspecting takers at the all new “Miner’s Revenge” maze. Plus, take a trip to the all new “Zombie High” where a science project has gone wrong and the dead are no longer dead. In addition, the popular “No Vacancy: The Inn at Darkside Manor” maze is back in 2013 with new features, along with “Cornstalkers” and “Doll Factory”, among others.

 

Only at Kings Dominion, a decaying circus comes back to life as rock music fills the air with the all new live show “Edge of Darkness”. Returning in 2013 is the popular show “Blood Drums” with high energy percussion, music, rhythms, sparks and lights. The terror continues with six scare zones lurking through the park.

 

The horror kicks off every night with the Overlord’s Resurrection, as our spine-chilling monsters are sent out into the night.

 

Halloween Haunt starts on Friday, September 27th with the first-ever Monster Bash Block Party on Friday, September 27. Guests dressed in a monster costume can join the 450 other minions prowling around Kings Dominion, partake in a funnel eating food eating competition, learn to dance like a Haunt monster and more.

 

Halloween Haunt attractions operate on select nights from Friday, September 27th through Sunday, October 27th. Guests can get the most up-to-date hours of operation by visiting www.kingsdominion.com/haunt. Haunt is free with park admission.

 

Edited September 26, 2013 by cfc

[palmerleeberry]

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!!!

[jray21]

So was the event worth it? Anyone else go?

[B Rip]

When is KD going to announce their plans for 2014? I'm sure we aren't getting a coaster, but they at least have to have something cool for the 40th anniversary!!!

[Homeboy23]

They announced it on September 12, look at page 966.

[eddie200330]

They announced it on September 12, look at page 966.

 

Going back and watching the video I can't help but wonder if some of the rides featured in it will be making some sort of comeback, like the Apple Turnover and Monster. It just says something along the lines of reintroducing old theming and a few more surprises. Will be interesting to see what they have in store. Would love to see a repaint of Rebel Yell back to the shiny red, white, and blue it used to be.

[mhuffva]

They announced it on September 12, look at page 966.

 

Going back and watching the video I can't help but wonder if some of the rides featured in it will be making some sort of comeback, like the Apple Turnover and Monster. It just says something along the lines of reintroducing old theming and a few more surprises. Will be interesting to see what they have in store. Would love to see a repaint of Rebel Yell back to the shiny red, white, and blue it used to be.

 

Since the announcement was made in mid-September, I always had it in the back of my head that a return of a former flat ride or two was possible. A new version of the Monster and/or a refurbished Enterprise making a comeback (I don't think any current ride manufacturer fabricates new Enterprise rides anymore). At this point, I certainly don't see a major ride investment like the Steam Train or Sky-Ride Cable Cars making a comeback; at least not for 2014.

 

Clint, from Coaster Crew, did have Gene, Kings Dominion PR/Marketing person, on his Weekly Pod Cast a week or so ago. The topic was Halloween Haunt and next years 40th anniversary for KD. Gene was putting out the usual amount of market spin for Haunt and next years 40th. A couple tidbits were thrown out.

 

International Street fountains to get new LED light package and the fountain water jets to either be completely replaced or a major overhaul done to them. Gene stated KD's park management went up to Canada's Wonderland to see their fountain light setup and Wonder Mountain projection show. Gene stated we could get a night show that would be unique to us (of course, we don't have a mountain on Intl. St. to project on). Gene alluded to the possibility of extending a light show, similar to Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular, all the way down International Street to the entrance plaza.

 

Candy Apple Grove to make a comeback with the over-sized candy apples scattered about. Ride light packages to several rides in the Grove area. Again, only mention of possibilities were stated, Triple Spin, Chaser lights back on the Rebel Yell, etc. Gene did state that the Ride LED light packages were currently out to bid. What ride ends up with what light package for 2014? TBD.

 

My personal guess is that the Grove paths will be redone in some sort of brick paver. Hopefully, no more asphalt! Also, if a flat ride were to make a comeback for 2014, I think it will be here.

 

Congo back to Safari Village. Anaconda is going to get repainted. Anything else happening to this ride is unknown (ex. new trains, track work). Gene did state that Volcano with be getting changes/modifications for 2014 to "improve the throughput of the ride". Take that for what you will. I don't think anything else was mentioned concerning this area.

 

Gene, did state that "Big/Major" annoucements were coming very soon. Whether or not we will hear anything before the park closes for the season is unknown.

[palmerleeberry]

I'm back again to this post to answer a question that was asked by jray21:

So was the event worth it?

 

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!!!

[Vigil]

Last night I went to KD for the first time in about 6 years, and the first time for Haunt. I am normally a Busch Gardens guy and am used to Howl-O-Scream, but I must say it was awesome, and both my friend, a former BG employee, and I agreed that it beat out Howl-O-Scream. The weather was perfect, on and off misty throughout the night, because it kept everyone away. (Based on the number of cars in the parking lot, I would estimate that there were no more than 50 people in the entire park by the end of the night.) We did all of the rides that we wanted and all of the mazes (with the exception of the miner maze because it was closed due to flooding) multiple times and saw the show, Edge of Darkness.

 

As far as the mazes go, we liked Cornstalkers, Club Blood, and Zombie High the most. The last room in the Doll Factory was also great, and I also liked the one "maze" being the car ride and thought it was an ingenious idea. Cornstalkers is what Root of All Evil at BG should be like. The biggest thing that we noticed was just the amount of scare actors they had in every maze. They were so many people that it allowed little time for recovery between being startle, and that just makes it so much more fun. KD's less family-friendly image also allowed them to do some more creative things for scares. Overall, we really enjoyed it!

 

Edge of Darkness was OK, and showed how spoiled I've been by BG shows. The singers were fantastic, but I just don't think the "theme" gave them a lot to work with.

 

As for coasters, I rode Dominator, Rebel Yell, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Avalanche, and Intimidator for the first time. I thought Dominator was a fun ride--my first true floorless. Pretty smooth, with a cobra roll as smooth as glass (as compared to Alpengeist like I'm used to). I really liked Rebel Yell and thought it had some good airtime. BSC was a fun little ride and more forceful than it looks. Avalanche was my first Mack bobsled and was fun.

 

Intimidator...that ride was ridiculous. It was really the only thing I wanted to do, and did it deliver. The more I think about it, the more I liked it. I did not find it uncomfortable at all (other than 90 mph raindrops to the face), but the transition were ridiculous. 10/10 would ride again.

 

The other rides were also great. Windseeker was fun; Volcano was great. I liked the Crypt, though my friend was less enthusiastic. She enjoyed Grizzly a lot though, which I don't quite understand. When it drops into that tunnel...wow. It wasn't like it hurt, it was more thinking that it was going to hurt...so I guess it wasn't that bad. The first drop was cool, not being able to see the track and into the dark woods. Drop Tower was as good as I remember, which is miles above Mach Tower. So much faster, longer drop, smooth as glass, and...silent. Imagine that! Shockwave was fun as well. Hurler, Ricochet, and Flight of Fear were closed. FoF I was sad because I remembered that was a lot of fun. The other two I haven't ridden, but I've heard I didn't miss much. Anaconda we didn't ride because we didn't want headaches for the rest of the night.

 

Having not been to KD in a long time, the only thing I want to do now is go back. So, it was a really good night!