Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[bluestreak]

Ok good to hear, thanks for the update. When you have a trip coming up where you'll be driving 8 hours, it's easy to get alarmed about things like that lol. Friday can't get here soon enough.

[mark549]

Did TT valley because it was cold in the morning? National Weather Service says it was 33 F at 7 am today at Ashland, nearby. How long does it take for RMC rails to warm up to be able to run properly?

 

http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KOFP.html

[Rayj]

Is there a test seat at the entrance of Twisted Timbers?

[El Toro_Ryan]

Did TT valley because it was cold in the morning? National Weather Service says it was 33 F at 7 am today at Ashland, nearby. How long does it take for RMC rails to warm up to be able to run properly?

 

http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KOFP.html

 

I think the cold temperatures were definitely a factor. I know the ride had actually been running top fast the day before and the park may have tried to counteract the overspeeds with a change in the suspension system on the trains or the wheel setups.

 

I don’t know if the track itself causes as many issues in the cold but I know the type of wheel and grease highly affect performance in colder temps.

[cfc]

Is there a test seat at the entrance of Twisted Timbers?

 

Yep

[AmyUD06]

Apparently Twisted Timbers opened up around 8PM last night....and promply shut down again at 9. No idea if they got it going again; I left.

 

I stopped by this morning to try again for Twisted Timbers....no dice. Bunch of guys in RMC clothing walking around the brake run/transfer track area seemingly checking things. Waited about 30-45 minutes then gave up and headed home.

 

I'll second what was said about yesterday's operations....just nutty for this park.

-Dominator not open until mid-day.

-FoF and i305 not open until ~1 PM.

-Volcano had a rollback on what looked like the 4th train of the day which took the ride down for an hour.

-Lines for Woodstock Express, Avalanche, Backlot, and Anaconda backed out of the queue lines.

[ScreaminNewEngland]

Apparently Twisted Timbers opened up around 8PM last night....and promply shut down again at 9. No idea if they got it going again; I left.

 

I stopped by this morning to try again for Twisted Timbers....no dice. Bunch of guys in RMC clothing walking around the brake run/transfer track area seemingly checking things. Waited about 30-45 minutes then gave up and headed home.

 

I'll second what was said about yesterday's operations....just nutty for this park.

-Dominator not open until mid-day.

-FoF and i305 not open until ~1 PM.

-Volcano had a rollback on what looked like the 4th train of the day which took the ride down for an hour.

-Lines for Woodstock Express, Avalanche, Backlot, and Anaconda backed out of the queue lines.

 

 

It's the beginning of the season in March on a chilly day what did you expect? Not everything is going to be up to standards at the very start of the season. Plus Twisted Timbers is brand new, they are working out the bugs.

[Jason Maier]

Hopefully . . . this is just opening weekend jitters as far as operations go and NOT indicative of what it will be like the rest of the year

 

Generally, how are KD operations compared to other CF parks?

[cfc]

I was there with Larry on Saturday, too. Oh well, there will be other days to ride Twisted Timbers.

[bert425]

Voyage - I will send you a PM if TT comes back up. We won’t be over that way again for another hour probably. It took us 2 hrs 5 mins to get on Volcano. Unbelievably, they WERE running 2 trains! The dispatches were just so outrageously slow that it seemed like 1 train. They were holding people back so the station didn’t get crowded which I appreciate. Same at I305, which has had virtually no line all day.

 

TBpony never updated here, but I *did* get a text from her while in Houston visiting family on Sat night, so I'll play secretary.

 

--> after waiting 2:05 for Volcano, they DID successfully get a ride on TT (wait was 1:40).

 

she said about TT (and I quote from the text):

 

"Awesome ride, we were cackling and screaming like little kids. We were laughing so hard. in the dark was wild"

 

As Liz has Amazing taste, I'll take this review to heart, meaning i'll LOVE it when I get to ride it.

 

she also noted that after their ride on TT, they made their way back to Volcano, which by then had a station wait!. .they rode front row and were the only folks on the train.

[AmyUD06]

Apparently Twisted Timbers opened up around 8PM last night....and promply shut down again at 9. No idea if they got it going again; I left.

 

I stopped by this morning to try again for Twisted Timbers....no dice. Bunch of guys in RMC clothing walking around the brake run/transfer track area seemingly checking things. Waited about 30-45 minutes then gave up and headed home.

 

I'll second what was said about yesterday's operations....just nutty for this park.

-Dominator not open until mid-day.

-FoF and i305 not open until ~1 PM.

-Volcano had a rollback on what looked like the 4th train of the day which took the ride down for an hour.

-Lines for Woodstock Express, Avalanche, Backlot, and Anaconda backed out of the queue lines.

 

 

It's the beginning of the season in March on a chilly day what did you expect? Not everything is going to be up to standards at the very start of the season. Plus Twisted Timbers is brand new, they are working out the bugs.

 

Oh, I wasn't complainining...apologies if it came off that way. I understand Twisted Timbers is new and has some kinks to be ironed out. I was just commenting on the unusual-for-this-park state of operations.

 

And I wouldn't exactly call mid-50s to low-60s "chilly".

[AndrewA86]

Ohhhhh that's not what I want to hear... I'm going today, TT better be freakin running!!!!!!

[LogBur]

Quick question for the KD regulars.

 

I'll be driving down from Michigan this week and initially was planning on visiting Wednesday. While the forecast looks fine from a rain standpoint, there are projected winds of 15-20mph for most of the day (with heavier gusts). How likely are the major coasters to be operating in these types of conditions? I can potentially shift to visiting Thursday if this level of wind will shut a lot of stuff down.

[boldikus]

It's kinda crazy the park is having as many issues as they are especially with TT after opening day. On opening day we had very little issues other than a few things being closed (Drop Tower was the only thing we really cared about) but we expected that on opening day. TT ran all day with only one breakdown that I remember hearing about but ran consistently the times we were at the ride that day, and operations all around weren't amazing but were far from terrible.

[CoasterAuditor]

Quick question for the KD regulars.

 

I'll be driving down from Michigan this week and initially was planning on visiting Wednesday. While the forecast looks fine from a rain standpoint, there are projected winds of 15-20mph for most of the day (with heavier gusts). How likely are the major coasters to be operating in these types of conditions? I can potentially shift to visiting Thursday if this level of wind will shut a lot of stuff down.

 

I have never actually seen any of the coasters closed due to high winds at Kings Dominion. Windseeker will shut down instantly once it has found the wind it seeks.

[redfoot12]

I got walked.....Oh well at least the three rides on i305 made up for it. Back to the gym....

 

sorry to hear that. . I know you were concerned about that.

 

but you got a great consolation prize, and you have the whole summer to keep working towards the goal!

I've got some work to do too...

 

Not only did I get denied on Twisted Timbers but for the first time in my life I got denied on I305.

 

I went back to the park yesterday and successfully rode Twisted Timbers!

It was an amazingly intense ride in the back. I feel very fortunate to live 20 minutes away from such an excellent coaster, not to mention I305 (which I was able to ride as well).

As much as I'd like to say my one week of dieting was an absolute success, I'll chalk it up to better choice of clothing and better ride ops!

[steamedturtle]

Ohhhhh that's not what I want to hear... I'm going today, TT better be freakin running!!!!!!

 

It's running!

 

Edit: drop tower is now g2g as well. First time I've seen it running this season.

Edited April 2, 2018 by steamedturtle

[jrd64fan]

Ohhhhh that's not what I want to hear... I'm going today, TT better be freakin running!!!!!!

 

It's running. xD

 

 

Are you serious? Couldn't tell because of xD.

[steamedturtle]

My bad, edited for clarity. It is up today with 1 train running. Green train is covered with a tarp.

[bill_s]

Quick question for the KD regulars.

 

I'll be driving down from Michigan this week and initially was planning on visiting Wednesday. While the forecast looks fine from a rain standpoint, there are projected winds of 15-20mph for most of the day (with heavier gusts). How likely are the major coasters to be operating in these types of conditions? I can potentially shift to visiting Thursday if this level of wind will shut a lot of stuff down.

 

It will slow down the coasters. I rode Dominator the day before hurricane Sandy dumped Star Jet into the ocean, and between the cold and wind it felt like it wasn't going to finish the course -- which was really cool since I've ridden it so many times, but may not be what you had in mind. Crowds might be better. Sunstantial rain does close I305 before other rides. Forecast does show wind abating before closing time ( http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KOFP&state=VA ).

 

It was windy last Friday night, turning upper 50s into rather frigid. Dominator was down then also.

[coasterbill]

Quick question for the KD regulars.

 

I'll be driving down from Michigan this week and initially was planning on visiting Wednesday. While the forecast looks fine from a rain standpoint, there are projected winds of 15-20mph for most of the day (with heavier gusts). How likely are the major coasters to be operating in these types of conditions? I can potentially shift to visiting Thursday if this level of wind will shut a lot of stuff down.

 

I wouldn't worry at all. I don't expect anything noteworthy to close, and it's supposed to be warm enough that the coasters will probably run fine.

[CoasterAuditor]

It was windy last Friday night, turning upper 50s into rather frigid. Dominator was down then also.

 

From what I had heard from a park employee (take that with a grain of salt of course) Dominator was having issues with its moving floors on Friday not wind.

[LogBur]

Thanks for the info guys!

 

Gonna stick to the original itinerary - Tuesday evening for a few hours and then all day Wednesday. Hopefully the threat of some light rain will keep a few folks away as well.

[dakota381]

I hope I'm not opening a can of worms here but I'm curious about the loose articles policy and new lockers. I saw a post on here that someone was told to remove a fanny pack before riding TT. I don't use a fanny pack but I have one of these tactical pouches that attaches to your belt and I'm hoping it won't be a problem taking this on rides at KD. I'd like to chalk the whole fanny pack incident up to new rules and new ops and maybe it will calm down by my trip up in early June. Anyone have any thoughts on this to help ease my mind?

 

Here's what it looks like.

[bgtlover]

Fanny packs are indeed not allowed on Twisted Timbers.

If what you have is hidden under your shirt and not bulging too much you MIGHT get away with it. I wouldn't hold my breath however.

 

Here is a photo posted in a comment on FB about the loose article policy for TT (I would assume it's the same as Intimidator 305 & Flight Of Fear as they installed lockers at both & removed the bins).