Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[vcgjr76]

Has there been any noticeable activity at Hurler?

 

I just got home from the park. Nothing new with Hurler. Not even flags or markers.

Did 305 ever open yesterday? I was at the park from 10 to 4, and aside from a few test trains being sent early in the morning, there was no activity. Was contemplating sticking it out a bit longer, but it's a heck of a drive back to NY.

 

I305 opened up around 5. That's some bad luck for you but hey, you have to drive back home at some point.

[coneyislandchris]

Did 305 ever open yesterday? I was at the park from 10 to 4, and aside from a few test trains being sent early in the morning, there was no activity. Was contemplating sticking it out a bit longer, but it's a heck of a drive back to NY.

 

I305 opened up around 5. That's some bad luck for you but hey, you have to drive back home at some point.

I thought I wanted to know. Now I realize I didn't really want to know. Thanks for the info though.

[madmax]

Has there been any noticeable activity at Hurler?

 

I just got home from the park. Nothing new with Hurler. Not even flags or markers.

 

Please tell me this means they're using it as firewood.

[ImNotOneOfYou]

Has there been any noticeable activity at Hurler?

 

I just got home from the park. Nothing new with Hurler. Not even flags or markers.

 

Please tell me this means they're using it as firewood.

 

What if it isn't the type of fire you've been wanting?

[madmax]

Has there been any noticeable activity at Hurler?

 

I just got home from the park. Nothing new with Hurler. Not even flags or markers.

 

Please tell me this means they're using it as firewood.

 

What if it isn't the type of fire you've been wanting?

 

Any type of fire would do.

[Sythe]

Has there been any noticeable activity at Hurler?

 

I just got home from the park. Nothing new with Hurler. Not even flags or markers.

 

Please tell me this means they're using it as firewood.

 

What if it isn't the type of fire you've been wanting?

 

Any type of fire would do.

As long as a certain type of bear isn't affected by this fire!

[madmax]

Any Hurler updates?

[coneyislandchris]

Any Hurler updates?

Just the news you've been waiting for.

[ul9601]

went today as my first visit - Intimidator is a real something! Quite enjoyed it. It's crazy though, front row had 30-45 minutes wait all day and the rest pretty much walk-on. And no Fast Lane to the front row was definitely disappointing.

Volcano was also pretty good - Dominator was ok and backrow on Rebel Yell was a surprising backbreaker - didn't expect that.

Hurler wasn't going and someone hurled riding Grizzly so I gave it a miss.

By the way Rebel Yell operation was a right mess - they were running two trains but for some reason one train was walk-on or half empty and the other one had the station full and ops didn't do anything about it.

Overall operations weren't as slick as the likes of CP...

[njcoasterguy34]

Any Hurler updates?

 

If and when there are any updates, you can bet someone will post them here without waiting for you to ask if there are any updates.

[bill_s]

went today as my first visit - Intimidator is a real something! Quite enjoyed it. It's crazy though, front row had 30-45 minutes wait all day and the rest pretty much walk-on. And no Fast Lane to the front row was definitely disappointing.

Volcano was also pretty good - Dominator was ok and backrow on Rebel Yell was a surprising backbreaker - didn't expect that.

Hurler wasn't going and someone hurled riding Grizzly so I gave it a miss.

By the way Rebel Yell operation was a right mess - they were running two trains but for some reason one train was walk-on or half empty and the other one had the station full and ops didn't do anything about it.

Overall operations weren't as slick as the likes of CP...

 

Of course fastlane doesn't include front row, I certainly hope no parks do that. Back row of RY is back row of a car, "wheel seat", always worse on every conventional wood coaster in the world. The sides have seperate entrances and exits, there's nothing that can be done if people don't choose the shorter side (the sides would have to be a lot different for me not to prefer the "losing" side anyway). They don't have to be as quick as CP, that place is way more crowded (according to reports, I'll probably never go there).

 

Re: Hurler, new ride announcements are usually in August, if it goes that way.

[ul9601]

^ usually front row queue starts in the station, not all the way out like I305, so you can still save some time - why would you spend megabucks for Fast Lane if it doesn't save you time on the marquee ride of the park?

And IIRC other racing coasters have a single queue splitting at the station - otherwise it's stupid. They stopped running the other train because hardly no one was showing up for the other train.

[Bmanscool]

I once saw the regular line shorter than the Fast Lane line for Windseeker!

[7flags]

I could be mistaken but I believe the trim brakes on the drop of I305 have either been removed or just weren't turned on. I visited both Memorial Day weekend and the trims were running but yesterday the ride seemed much more intense. I can normally resist graying out through the first turn but I almost blacked out on my first ride and every positive G moment after the first turn also caused me to gray out. In addition to the unusual intensity I noticed that the pictures weren't timed correctly (the last few showed just the track, no train) and there was water sprayed on the wheels in the station. Either a bunch of coincidences, or no trims.

[Password121]

Just got back from the park after an afternoon/late night visit with my riding buddy of sorts.

 

We arrived around 4:30 and started with a quick meal since we were hungry and to get some use out of the dining plan. After a 'meh' chef salad we started with Delirium as he hadn't ridden yet this year, then continued with a walk-on to Grizzly and on to the rest of the park. Some miscellaneous thoughts...

 

--Delirium is a really fun ride and even better at night. The entire park has a nice atmosphere at nighth that I really dig.

--Grizzly sucks. I know this ride has its following but after the first drop its just too jarring for my taste (I know some say this adds to the ride but I call BS) and nothing really redeeming that warrants riding every visit.

--Backlot surprises me every time. Really enjoy this little ride.

--Flight of Fear isn't really "rough" but it's not as smooth as Joker's Jinx up at SFA and for how disorienting it is this takes away from the experience. Also the midcourse blows.

--Volcano goes down for weather and other operational stuff way too often. It's my third favorite in the park so I always ride it (front row this time) but it went down 30 minutes for someone spotting lightning after sending one train of riders after ending down all day until 6.

--Dominator was running really well today. A definite second favorite in the park and a really solid B&M overall, especially in the back.

--Woodstock Express is my favorite wood coaster at Kings Dominion. Haters gonna hate but everything else sucks, including Rebel Yell which we didn't bother riding this time.

--We ended the day with a nighttime ERT of sorts on Intimidator 305 from 9 to 10. We rode the back every ride except the front once (only a three train wait at 9:45) and wow, holy crap. This ride is crazy intense in the back and was running really fast at night. After tonight I would say it's solidly my number two behind El Toro but in three weeks I could easily say it's my number four after revisiting Cedar Point. I'll just say it's a top five ride for sure.

--Maybe I haven't had enough good barbecue but I'm going to Country Kitchen every visit now. Wow the pulled chicken sandwich with baked beans, cole slaw and corn is by far the best food I've had at a corporate amusement park. Everyone needs to go there when you visit Kings Dominion and even though it would be expensive without the dining plan it's a lot of food and very filling. Can't say enough about that meal.

 

Ride count

 

Delirium 2x

Grizzly 1x

Backlot 1x

Avalanche 1x

Volcano 1x

Woodstock Express 1x ( )

Flight of Fear 1x

Dominator 2x

Intimidator 305 7x

Can't complain about these crowds

Crazy fast. Crazy intense.

Down all day until around 6. Got there right in time to watch one train launch and then go down for "weather," but operational after another 30 minutes. Fun in the front row, but I'm not a huge fan of the heartline rolls which is essentially half the ride. Definitely prefer traditional inverts but still a fun ride with a good couple of launches.

I guess this is kinda cool? It's a quirky thing about the park but it seems nobody actually cares about these for how much people seemed to love the idea when they were announced.

Night rides? Don't mind if I do!

The line at 9:45 before our 7th ride. Thanks for a great day Kings Dominion!

[bill_s]

^^-- Flight of Fear is 50 times better than Joker's Jinx exactly because of that disorientation in the first half you speak of. JJ is slowed down through the first half due to the lack of a mid-course trim and yet gets no sense of hangtime through the corkscrew, in fact I got a painful jerk there last ride. Clearly not what the layout was intended to do, a kludge. With the dark and sounds, FoF is a standout ride, JJ is merely OK.

 

RE: fastlane front rows, you're right, I just can't imagine how they'd do that with the existing layout, and I305's one of those rides with extra popular front row.

 

As to "other racing coasters have a single queue splitting at the station - otherwise it's stupid", what's stupid is how long Rebel Yell's queue thing is, if it were reasonable length would be less a problem. Which it usually isn't. Hey KD, it's not 1975 anymore.

[coasterbill]

Flight of Fear is a criminally underrated coaster.

[7flags]

Is it me or are the trims on I305 not running anymore? I visited on the 22nd and the ride seemed much more intense than usual. To add as evidence the photos weren't timed correctly and there was water spraying on the wheels which I had not noticed before. I visited Memorial Day weekend as well and didn't notice these things.

[michaellynn4]

The lack of a mid-course brake and intense whip through the corkscrew is exactly why JJ is superior to FoF. I don't understand why anyone would want floater in a corkscrew. Screw that, give me intensity any day. It's the best part of the Batman clones.

 

If the park ever decides to turn off that brake, then maybe I'll reconsider my position. Until then, JJ is vastly superior.

[boldikus]

Never been to KD so can't comment on FOF but that last corkscrew on Jokers Jinx is the best part of the ride besides the launch. Holy crap the whip through that thing.

[michaellynn4]

Never been to KD so can't comment on FOF but that last corkscrew on Jokers Jinx is the best part of the ride besides the launch. Holy crap the whip through that thing.

 

Goddamn right, especially in the back row. You don't get that on FoF because of the mid course, which slows the ride down to a crawl at that point.

[coasterbill]

Never been to KD so can't comment on FOF but that last corkscrew on Jokers Jinx is the best part of the ride besides the launch. Holy crap the whip through that thing.

 

Flight of Fear is better because if you're riding Flight of Fear that means you're not at Six Flags America.

[boldikus]

In absolutely no rush to get back to SFA, but stoked to get to KD in the fall.

[coasterbill]

As you should be.

 

And to be fair, Flight of Fear is actually better anyway just because it's in the dark. That makes anything awesome.

[LiftThrill]

As you should be.

 

And to be fair, Flight of Fear is actually better anyway just because it's in the dark. That makes anything awesome.

I enjoyed FoF more than Poltergeist because the disorientation actually works. There were points when I couldn't tell which way it was going and going into the brake run I legit thought we were sideways. It was hilarious.