mhuffva Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Well, I was certainly thrown off guard by the park`s announcement. But, this coaster has always been a capacity/maintenance nightmare, given the GP love of this unique ride. Seems the "one block" operational nature of this coaster with a launch system did not allow for capacity to improve. Maybe a split load/unload area with alternating sides might have allowed more throughput. Given that volcano was a prototype coaster, I know they underestimated the power needed to launch the train and make a full curcuit that 1st season (remember the 2 seats per car instead of having the designed 4 seats per car?). The whole electro-magnetic launch system technology was still in its infancy in the mid-late 90's. FOF was just 2 years before volcano. It does appear that LIM motors, used on volcano, are NOT used on current, new electro-magnetic launched coasters. Seems LSM motors are the equipment of choice now. I also thought volcano had structural issues with stress on certain areas of the ride; especially the apex portion where the trains exit the top of the volcano. Maybe the structural engineering of the ride was not robust enough for the stresses generated. I can see now where any combination of the reasons above would make CF/KD make the decision to send volcano to the trash bin. Given CF's new policy of ditching low capacity / high down-time / high-maintence attractions over the last 2-3 seasons, Volcano's end was in sight. Thanks for taking a chance KD on a very unique and fun ride that was volcano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FutureMan2 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Such a bipolar day for Virginia. First the closure of Volcano is announced and then some huge news on the Busch Gardens coaster. I’m very sad to see Volcano go. Such an incredibly unique coaster. I remember going the first time and riding Volcano, HyperSonic XLT, the Italian job coaster, and Tomb Raider. Hopefully they can use the volcano Itself for a future ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Such a bipolar day for Virginia. First the closure of Volcano is announced and then some huge news on the Busch Gardens coaster. um.. whut? are you talking about BGT?. . cause you know, Tampa isn't in Virginia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJLehto Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) Sad. I admit it wasn't the best ride, was kinda slow and weird after leaving the top and too short, it always bummed me out you plunged down so fast right into breaks. But it was a fun unique ride. I will miss it and feel and I haven't been to KD in years and thus my final ride feels like a distant memory now, 2012 it was. Because of that I had no idea this ride was rarely operational for 2 years now and my God were the lines heinous. I certainly dont blame KD and not like it was a top tier ride but it was a classic. RIP volcano Edited February 9, 2019 by JJLehto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMarkSta Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Such a bipolar day for Virginia. First the closure of Volcano is announced and then some huge news on the Busch Gardens coaster. um.. whut? are you talking about BGT?. . cause you know, Tampa isn't in Virginia. He's not, some plans leaked for the BGW 2020 project coaster earlier in the day yesterday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Out of curiosity, does anyone know when the last time it actually operated was? We did get a lap on it on opening weekend 2018 and I know it went down shortly after that. I rode it in late April. Looking back at posts, it looks like it was down most of May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Such a bipolar day for Virginia. First the closure of Volcano is announced and then some huge news on the Busch Gardens coaster. um.. whut? are you talking about BGT?. . cause you know, Tampa isn't in Virginia. He's not, some plans leaked for the BGW 2020 project coaster earlier in the day yesterday too funny, since I actually googled BGW looking for news before responding, assuming I had missed something. doesn't seem anyone is talking about it..not even in threads here. but ok.. . guess something for folks to spin wheels about - a use for the Drachen Fire station! Back to KD tho. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveRides Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 In September 2009 I took a trip to the east coast to ride Big Bad Wolf at BGW before it closed for good. I stopped at SFA and KD on the trip too - it was my first time visiting any of those parks. Here's a screenshot of what I posted to Facebook after the trip... Note the caption! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rai Fox Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Ouch...this, right after Firehawk, two of my favorite "weird" coasters. I guess Cedar Fair's really had it with "difficult" rides. When Volcano first opened it was one of my absolute favorite coasters. It really hasn't fallen that far in the rankings since then, it's just so different. I do hope they keep the mountain and find something new to fit into it. It's so iconic for that corner of the park, and it's already held several wildly different rides; one more doesn't seem to be too much to hope for. At least those damn smurfs are definitely all cooked by now, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 I got to ride it about a dozen times since 1999. My last ride was last April when it was a one train operation. Fun ride, but a maintenance nightmare. I predict they'll replace it with a Copperhead Strike type ride in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterNerd87 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 I've got my popcorn popped waiting on Coasterbill to stir the pot... In all seriousness, the news sucks but not surprising. Seeing all these people on Facebook losing their minds is pretty crazy. My favorites are the ones who mention that it always had a long line which is why they can't get rid of it. It had a long line because capacity was so bad. My personal opinion was it was amazing for what it was. After having ridden it the first time, if the wait was more than 30 minutes, it was a skip for me. Most times you can get two rides on Intimidator to one on Volcano. It is iconic and was groundbreaking. I'm sure there's something up their sleeve and there is that GPS teaser that we haven't heard anything more about. This will surely speed up any plans for the future that they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfBobs Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Not to shocked to hear this news as I first started to hear some whispers about it being removed in December. Just didn't take them to seriously. Take it with a grain of salt, but from the whispers it had a lot to due with stress fractures on the track, supports and bolts. And was just ungodly expensive to repair. True? Untrue? Idk, but sounds reasonable now that they officially announced it's removal. Hopefully more information will come out with time. Sigh, another credit left on the table. On my 4 lifetime visits to KD the ride was closed all day each visit. Definitely bummed I missed this one. I do wonder if they plan on keeping the mountain for future plans or if the whole thing will come down with the ride itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterdoug Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Well, this sucks. I'm grateful I got to ride it back in 2014. I was always intrigued by this ride. I bought a Fast Lane + and got several front row rides on it. I'm really thankful for that. Like others have said, while not amazing, it was unique and fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted February 9, 2019 Author Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) Here's some footage we shot a couple of years ago including a reverse POV that I don't think we ever posted.... And this right here would be my thoughts exactly... In all seriousness, the news sucks but not surprising Edited February 9, 2019 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlp94 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 ^ Just a question based on your personal experience, Robb, but how well had it aged over the years for you? I mean, you used to live nearby so I'd imagine you know the coaster well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyUD06 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 I'm not Robb, but I can answer. I've been riding it every year for the past 8+ years, including 2018 before it closed, and it hadn't degraded at all during that time. In that time it's always had issues and from 2010-2017 it was "one ride only on FL+" and always had a substantial line. I have to admit I'm not happy about this at all. Volcano was in my top 10 steel coasters just for that launch and the uniqueness of the ride. I'm definitely sad to see it go and am happy I was able to get a ride in this past year. On the plus side, at least it wasn't Avalanche too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolinaJay Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Sooo, to replace Volcano, yet still pay homage to it, I say they do a Mack (or Intamin again...) launch coaster and name it "Vulcan" which was the god of fire, volcanos, and metalworking. See the concept here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 While this announcement is sad, it isn't very surprising. I think the law of diminishing returns finally caught up with Volcano. I'll miss this unique coaster, which I always had to ride first thing in the morning before the days of Fast Lane Plus. Those two launches were incredible. I guess I have been lucky to have been able to get in quite a few rides of it over the years. Our purchase of the Fast Lane Plus passes last April proved to be a wise decision. Who knew that they would be our final front row rides on the ride? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Farmer Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Ouch. I visited Kings Dominion for the first time this past summer and thought the park was great. Volcano standing there dormant was a definite bummer, though. I had tentative plans to give it another shot this year, but I'll likely put it off for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Married a Canadian Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 don't skip Racer. ..the retracking they did had it running AMAZING in the summer of 2018. (sure it's just an out and back racing woodie. . but man, was it fun. . and in the rain it was *flying*) Thanks Bert, your advice for Kennywood was spot on last year, so we will definitely be doing "Racer". While it is disappointing that Volcano will be gone, we picked KD for this years trip (along with BGW) because they have an excellent line up of rides. I'll be on this thread in a month or so asking for further tips and general preferences. We have our Florida trip coming up in a week, so I haven't really turned my attention to our June schedule yet. The Volcano news just caught my eye this morning....and given that my son wanted to ride it, I had to break the news to him this morning! At the moment he is more focussed on "Rip RIde Rockit" and "Hulk" at a certain park in Orlando. I am focussed on dressing up as a princess in the upcoming races in Disney (seriously!!). KD will soon be my focus after I let my inner princess out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_FuryBull_330_ Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 What, they are removing it, but I had planned a trip to Kings Dominion for the summer and I was hyped for this ride. Well I guess I will never ride it in my life . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 ^ Just a question based on your personal experience, Robb, but how well had it aged over the years for you? I mean, you used to live nearby so I'd imagine you know the coaster well. I'm not Robb but I visited him quite often from 2001 and started riding Volcano and made sure to ride it on every visit after! I never remember any 'roughness' on it, and it always took my breath away with those launches. I also think it used to have way more down time (late 90's early '00's) and had been doing better up until last season when it was down the majority of the year. Sad to see it go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT325 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Man this really sucks. I loved that ride, despite it's capacity and other issues. It could be saved or rebuilt, but oh well. It's a shame all the new stuff is all so same-y and the really cool stuff gets trashed. Meanwhile, in the burbs of Chicago... "Oh, so happy so happy so happy. So happy they spent a little money on me and I'm even more popular now. Happy Happy Joy Joy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 What a shame, it looked like such a great ride. Wish I could have gotten a spin when I visited KD last June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted February 9, 2019 Author Share Posted February 9, 2019 ^ Just a question based on your personal experience, Robb, but how well had it aged over the years for you? I mean, you used to live nearby so I'd imagine you know the coaster well. I haven't lived "nearby" since 2001 so I'm probably not the best judge. That being said, the last time I rode it would have been 2015 or 2016 and I feel like it ran "fine" without any real noticeable issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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