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Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread


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A lot of the secondary schools around Richmond seem to have break April 6-10, which appears to be reflected in the operating schedule. I was at the park for the April 12-13 weekend last season and crowds were pretty light. Only Volcano and Backlot built up any real queues.

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I don't mean to change the topic, but I'd like to give my take on 2016 speculation at Kings Dominion.

Most speculation (haven't really heard any solid rumors at all) points towards a coaster of some kind in 2016. At first glance, this seems fairly likely, as six years seems like a decently long break between coasters, especially at one of the larger Cedar Fair parks with the attendance numbers these years (~1.5 million range). However, for me, these are the only signs pointing towards a coaster next year. Yes, I-305 was the same year as Carowinds' Intimidator, and we all know that Carowinds has Fury 325 essentially ready to open. But when you look closer, the two Intimidator's were nearly exactly the same price in 2010 and Carowinds is a comparable size/scale to KD. But Fury was the result of CF choosing that park for growth. That ride as it is would not be without that $50 million (not saying no coaster, but not a $30 million giga). KD is not one of CF's four biggest parks (CP, KI, Wonderland, Knotts), nor one of its selected growth parks. This, along with the steady stream of moderate scale investments since Intimidator (Windseeker, Planet Snoopy, 40th/Soak City), lead me to believe that they aren't necessarily "saving" for a major investment. Add on all the mishaps/additional expenses due to I-305 (2010 wheel problems, first turn, stuck on the lift, downtime, etc.) as well as the fairly obvious fact that this coaster's popularity with the GP does not live up to it's scale and potential, and I don't believe CF is jumping out of their seats looking to throw millions at KD, just yet.

 

Another indicator for me is to look elsewhere in the chain. For the last five to ten years, CF has done 1-2 major coaster projects. One in recent years (excl. '10 and '13). Spending around $30 million/year chainwide on coasters doesn't leave much up for grabs, and with CP's supposed dive coaster in 2016 and Canada's Wonderland supposed coaster in 2016, I don't see the capital for KD. Even Valleyfair might be more of a priority than KD for a coaster. Now, that's not to say they couldn't split up the budget (or, spend more than most years), but even then I don't see more than two projects in a single year.

 

Maybe I'm wrong and 2016 is the year. That would be awesome; I'm all for it. In my mind, I just don't necessarily see it happening.

 

Now that I've posted all this, watch them go ahead and announce last rides on Hurler, Grizzly, Shockwave or Anaconda opening day.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Last week I got to go on a winter tour of construction for the park and they have alot of great plans to revitalize the water park. and so far it looks Great. Here are some pics I got, enjoy

 

Jeff

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Shoot the curl is completely gone. I think they said a food area will go here. There will also be a walkway along Rebel yell to make a loop in the old water park section

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Baja bends getting some new paint

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Lazy river will have an exit on both sides.

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New kids splash area

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Slide pieces have arrived

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Assembling the slide pieces. The steel structure has not arrived yet.

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Storing them in the empty wave pool for now with the star of KD supervising construction.

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footers and splash pool seem close to being finished.

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Hurricane Heights will be between the new wave pool and Pipeline Peak.

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I305 chasis

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I305 train

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New wheels

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Naked front car

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can't wait to ride again

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Stunt coaster

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Volcano train

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Shockwave harnesses

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The 2015 season park map has arrived! https://www.kingsdominion.com/images/uploads/file/KD15-045%20Park%20Map%20And%20Guide%20Final(1).pdf

 

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I do like it better than last years since it looks more full and complete. It has some trees along with names on the major attractions and overall just looks better.

 

It also lists the new shows for the 2015 season!

Cirque Imagine: June 20 - September 7 Kings Dominion Theater

PEANUTS Palooza: March 29 - October 31 Grand Bandstand

Charlie Brown's Happy Campers: March 29 - October 31 PEANUTS Playhouse

 

Returning shows for 2015 include...

The Lost World 3D: Action Theater

Open Mic Karaoke: Grove Stage

Schroeder's Sing Along: PEANUTS Playhouse

All Wheels Sports: PEANUTS Showplace

PEANUTS Meet & Greet: Planet Snoopy

 

I believe we may see another show announced for the Grand Bandstand once the Dominion at Dusk arrangements are made for the peak of summer to go along with the fountains, light show, and fireworks.

 

The Cirque Imagine show should be great - I only heard fantastic reviews of the Cirque show at Kings Island last season!

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^ This is actually a new version of map Cedar Fair was attempting last season at KD and it seems like it is here to stay after working out the kinks and complaints guests had about it. Surprisingly, it is much more realistic compared to the typical Cedar Fair version that the park had from 2008 - 2013.

 

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2013 park map

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I was just thinking, what if KD got an Intamin Hyper Coaster just called "Fury". It would kind of be like the whole Intimidator/I305 thing we've got going on with Carowinds. Plus, since Carowinds's Giga is taller than ours, our Hyper would be taller than theirs. I would love to see someone make a concept design on NL2. I can't since I'm awful at it.

 

EDIT: I know this won't happen, but why not use out imaginations?

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While enthusiasts would be all for an Intamin hyper, Kings Dominion is probably the one park in the world that it really would be overly redundant. Intamin hasn't really changed their hyper style since 2010 (Skyrush as an example... intense turns and ejector airtime), so it really could be a 2/3 scale custom version of I-305. A B&M hyper might work at the park, but even then, downsizing from giga to hyper for the "new" coaster might not work too well. For Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, and Cedar Point it was a logical progression of 200 feet than 300 feet (plus 400 at CP), but 300 to 200 might not pull the crowds.

 

If Kings Dominion were to look at B&M for their next coaster, a wing coaster, dive coaster, or possibly an invert would be solid options, IMO.

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Park maps have never been too helpful for me. They're too out of scale to really figure things out other than general area of the park.

The sizes of the rides might not be that accurate, but it actually looks like a decent map. One you could actually use. The previous map was pretty much just a coaster cartoon. This actually looks good.

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I was just thinking, what if KD got an Intamin Hyper Coaster just called "Fury". It would kind of be like the whole Intimidator/I305 thing we've got going on with Carowinds. Plus, since Carowinds's Giga is taller than ours, our Hyper would be taller than theirs. I would love to see someone make a concept design on NL2. I can't since I'm awful at it.

 

EDIT: I know this won't happen, but why not use out imaginations?

I hope your actually right but it would be redundant unless you build an Intamin hyper that is designed to be like Expedition GeForce or Bizarro. The ride would need to focused on airtime to actually work at the park. I personally really want more Intamins in the US too many B&Ms right now.

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I was thinking along the lines of Bizzaro (SFNE) or Goliath at Walibi Holland. I was looking at Google maps, and I saw a potential spot to put it. Remove Avalanche and have it extend to the left toward the parking lot. If you look on maps you'll see what I mean (unless I wasn't clear enough).

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