Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[Zand]

It's a start. But the Dale Earnhardt coaster and the alien coaster don't make sense in the jungle either lol.

[CoasterNerd87]

That's because they aren't, sorta. Yes, they are on the Safari side of the park, but their walkways are very clearly themed to the rides.

Back Lot Stunt Coaster is very obviously in the Safari section and just clashes with the theme. 

[CoasterAuditor]

I feel like KD can get away with FOF and I305 in the back corner of Jungle-X.  They feel very isolated from the rest of the section honestly.  Backlot definitely could use a retheme though.  Luckily it is kinda also tucked in it's own corner from the rest of the area with trees obstructing its presence if you aren't right next to it.  But I certainly think they could just retheme it to a temple of some kind and call it a day.  Whether they do or not though I am skeptical, that would not be the cheapest retheme.  

[swfan1988]

Hmmm...anyone got any ideas? I got nothing on this one.

 

[AmyUD06]

If I had to guess, I'd say a rename/re-theme of Scrambler to fit the overall vibe of the area.   EDIT:  It can totally use it, too.  I'm pretty sure it's still rocking its original lighting package from whenever it was originally built.  At one point it was called Witch Doctor, which while I guess now isn't too PC, would be a good fit.

Redoing Backlot would be major work that I'm sure they would have announced more than 3 weeks before opening.

[BotanicalStig]

Glad this part of the park is finally getting love. Avalanche is one of the best rides in the park (definitely the best family ride). Thrilled to see that they are working on it rather than ripping it out. 

[RideThroughTime]

The Scrambler is being rethemed to Arachnidia for Jungle X-Pedition: https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/2022/aannouncement

[AmyUD06]

1 hour ago, RideThroughTime said:

The Scrambler is being rethemed to Arachnidia for Jungle X-Pedition: https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/2022/aannouncement

Good news.

[KBrylczyk]

So, what, are they gonna shoot silly string at you while you ride?  Because I'm OK with that.

[John Peck]

Part of me was hoping they were finally going to put up the old Geauga Lake Spider that they have had since the park closed, but I think they might have sold or scrapped it.

[mhuffva]

KD received the Spider, El Dorado, and the Americana Ferris Wheel from Geauga Lake.

From what I heard in the park rumor grapevine, KD inspected each ride when they arrived. It was determined that the Spider was not in good shape and the park never installed the ride. El Dorado and Americana were added the same year.

I am not sure if El Dorado was in the best shape either. KD kept that ride in operation for 3-4 seasons. It was removed when Wind Seeker was added to that spot.

So, out of the original three rides, only Americana Ferris Wheel still operates at KD.

 

[John Peck]

^ I had also heard that as well that the Spider wasn't in good shape despite being refurbished. At GL the Spider was probably the most "moved" ride that they had, with at least 4 or 5 locations that I can remember. El Dorado had some refurbishments, but it was only a shadow of its former self from when they installed it in 1991. The Giant wheel at GL was taken down to its A-Frame in the winter of 2004-2005 and given an extensive refurbishment and that's why it most likely still runs today. Cedar Fair is accused of doing many things to GL, but one thing that was certain is that they poured a ton of money into many of the rides there.

[mhuffva]

It sounds like the rides had long lives while at GL. Were any of them already used rides when they were at Geauga Lake? Or, were all new?

[cfc]

21 hours ago, mhuffva said:

KD received the Spider, El Dorado, and the Americana Ferris Wheel from Geauga Lake.

From what I heard in the park rumor grapevine, KD inspected each ride when they arrived. It was determined that the Spider was not in good shape and the park never installed the ride. El Dorado and Americana were added the same year.

I am not sure if El Dorado was in the best shape either. KD kept that ride in operation for 3-4 seasons. It was removed when Wind Seeker was added to that spot.

So, out of the original three rides, only Americana Ferris Wheel still operates at KD.

 

El Dorado was prone to breakdowns (I was riding it once when it did).  It was fun when it worked, which was rarely.

[garyman6]

I'll be traveling to Richmond at the end of March.  I'll be coming in on a sunday.  I see that the park is only open on weekends so far and closes at 5 that night.  I probably wont get to the park till after 1:30 pm.  Is it possible to get all of the major coasters in in about 3 hours?  If so, how should I plan to do that?  Thanks for any help.  It will be my first trip to KD.

[bert425]

https://www.kingsdominion.com/fast-lane-passes

 

get Fast Lane +   

end of March on a Sunday, it's only $65

you probably wont' need it for I305 (it scares folks and never seems to have a line), but you WILL need it for Twisted Timbers.

(and it gives you all the FL rides too. . so that's gonna be your best bet to ride more than just a couple of things in 3  1/2 hours)

[boldikus]

I think on a Sunday in March it will be pretty easy to get the majors done without fast lane in 3 hours. Just head right back to Twisted Timbers and wait however long you have to and then the rest shouldn't be a problem. Maybe hit Backlot next since the line moves slowly. As Bert said I305 doesn't really get long lines except maybe during Haunt, Dominator tends to get lines earlier in the day as its the first coaster anyone passes after entering but after morning rush it dies down. Everything else should be easy - Racer 75 never gets lines and no one can even find Grizzly, and why would you even entertain the idea of riding Anaconda? I honestly would bet that Timbers doesn't even have a long wait on a Sunday afternoon, unless of course its just a freakishly gorgeous day or something.

[coasterbill]

Yup.

This park is really good at being an absolute ghost town in March. Be prepared to by Fastlane but it's available at every shop and not going to sell out so there's literally no reason to buy in advance anyway. Just go and see. If the Timbers line is beyond the merge point, buy Fastlane.

[bert425]

for $65 it's  a no brainer for me. . I'd get FL+

 

[boldikus]

^ If you like wasting money for no reason... sure.

If he was going on Saturday or even all day Sunday it would make sense to me but we've been there on Sundays and its always a ghost town. That early in the season? It definitely will be unless its just a freakishly perfect day weather-wise. But if he is there for three hours and nothing has a wait except for Timbers spending $65 just to skip that line seems pointless.

[bert425]

^ LOL.. I just dropped a lot  of $$ on FL+ for Kings Island during Coasterstock - where we're gonna get a lot of ERT anyways.

I look at it as $65 is not a lot of money for a perk that can guarantee you little wait.  And s/he's never been to the park before. . so better to pay the smallish amount and guarantee a good time.

but I also agree with Bill that it can be purchased in the park at any point if they get there and it looks busy

[AmyUD06]

I thoroughly agree with @bert425here.  Even if you don't need it, or only need it for one ride, parks are always better experiences where you don't have to worry about lines at all.

FL definitely helps on Twisted Timbers, Flight of Fear, Backlot, and Dominator, can help a little at i305, but the most understated use of FL at this park is Avalanche/Reptilian.  With only loading a max of 14 riders per train (often less), this has easily the worst throughput at the park, and any help there is massively needed.

[coasterbill]

I don't think anyone in this conversation disagrees with getting Fastlane. Let me be clear: Yay Fastlane. We love Fastlane. Fastlane at this park is great.

We all think you should be ready to buy it, Boldy and I have just gone to this park a lot in March and know that there's at least a 50% chance that the park will be so dead that every single ride will be a walk-on AND there's no benefit whatsoever to buying it before you get there at Kings Dominion. Actually it's better to buy it at the park anyway since you don't pay a processing fee and you get the added benefit of checking to see if anything is actually beyond the merge points before you buy it.

It's not likes he's going in October. It's late March. If it's 44 degrees and cloudy there will be six people in the park. If it’s 70 and sunny, sure… buy it when you get to the park.

The park agrees with us that it might be a ghost town that day which is why Fastlane starts at $65 and it’s selling for the absolute bare minimum price for all of March.

This is an argument between a bunch of people who agree with eachother. Lol

[boldikus]

3 hours ago, Mike240SX said:

I thoroughly agree with @bert425here.  Even if you don't need it, or only need it for one ride, parks are always better experiences where you don't have to worry about lines at all.

So you'll splurge on fast pass when you absolutely wouldn't even need it but you're too cheap to pay for unlimited data?

Priorities, kids.

[AmyUD06]

47 minutes ago, boldikus said:

So you'll splurge on fast pass when you absolutely wouldn't even need it but you're too cheap to pay for unlimited data?

Priorities, kids.

I never said that I didn't have unlimited data.  I absolutely do.  But thanks for trying.