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Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread


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No, I was just "whining" to provide some perspective.  Not everyone who goes to parks:

-Has a smartphone (we have at least one member here on this forum who doesn't, and it's not always for financial reasons).
-Has an unlimited data plan.
-Has a brand new phone with a battery that can last a full day/wants to carry around a charger.
-Chooses to bring their phone with them in the park (especially a park like SFGAdv with their stupid locker policies on the most major rides).

I have no problem with them offering Flash Pass through the mobile app/web.  For some people, it's great.  And the more people who use it, the less people waiting in the line to pick up the Flash Pass device.

For others, the watch is much more convenient, if not their only option.

Choices.

That's all I was saying; they should offer choices.

There's no need to attack me on a completely separate thread for having an opinion that slightly differs from yours.

 

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Definitely make your list of must rides for the park, and start at Twisted. The park is absolutely hit and miss in the early season. Is it crowded or empty? Are they only running one train? Is staffing low? What is the weather (this time of year it's common to have all four seasons withing 48 hours).

After Twisted, I would plan for Tumbili (if it's on your list) or either Flight of Fear and I305. If you plan on entering Dominator's line at least 15 minutes before close, you should be able to get in. I would only plan on buying FL+ if the park is busy, or you don't want to give up time to stop what you're doing to go get one. Check the app as soon as you get there to see what their wait times are. Should give you a good enough idea if you need one when you walk in.

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I've never even been to KD but last year on our trip to Carowinds I watched the Fast Lane prices from the day the calendar came and about a few weeks before our trip and they changed pricing for several days for the rest of the season. For that day (a Saturday) at CW it went from like $80 to I think around $110 to $120? I'm not saying that will happen with KD, and $40 doesn't exactly break the bank or anything, but for $65 I'd go ahead and lock it in.

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2 hours ago, Hilltopper39 said:

I've never even been to KD but last year on our trip to Carowinds I watched the Fast Lane prices from the day the calendar came and about a few weeks before our trip and they changed pricing for several days for the rest of the season. For that day (a Saturday) at CW it went from like $80 to I think around $110 to $120? I'm not saying that will happen with KD, and $40 doesn't exactly break the bank or anything, but for $65 I'd go ahead and lock it in.

KD is my home park, and the only two times I've seen long lines were an October Saturday and the Saturday before Easter. The park is generally pretty quiet, but if you wanna maximize rides $65 for a fast line won't really be a regret.

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5 minutes ago, PKI Jizzman said:

Headed there Friday of Easter weekend! Yeah not buying FL until I get there if needed. I really only want to ride flume, TT, i305, Drop Zone.

 

Sorry Apple Zapple.

HAHAHA. . I actually like how they run Apple Zapple. . .despite the silly name, it's one of the few Wild Mouse I bother to ride :)

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Kd is relatively great park for crowds, but there still can be substantial lines at times. I've never gotten FL in hundreds of visits, but there are definitely rides I just skip some days. Last year, FoF was crazy. That and Reptilian will be the ones to rope drop. Also, ride Dominator before official opening or wait until much later. 

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Welp, today was opening day. Tumbili operated for about 20 minutes before it closed for weather, followed by the park @ 1pm. For those of you who find the free-spins to be too intense, rest assured KD put trims on both drops. 🤣 No, I'm not joking. Video is floating around if you do some searching.

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I’m going to Kings Dominion weekend in April 8-9. Friday and Saturday I was also wondering about fast lane plus. How are the crowds on weekends in April and can you get by without fast lane plus? Also can you wear Fanny packs and put your cell phones in a Fanny pack around your waist going through the medal detector or can you carry your cell phone and put it in your cargo pants? Will they allow that on Twisted Timbers or do you have to use locker free? Is Twisted Timbers the only ride there were you required to use locker for cell phones? I’m also going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg on Monday Tuesday. 

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1 hour ago, boldikus said:

Welp, today was opening day. Tumbili operated for about 20 minutes before it closed for weather, followed by the park @ 1pm. For those of you who find the free-spins to be too intense, rest assured KD put trims on both drops. 🤣 No, I'm not joking. Video is floating around if you do some searching.

I mean, to be fair, all Free Spins have trims in those locations.

The ride was also running in freezing temperatures and empty in some cases. I don't think it will be quite as slow under normal conditions versus what we're seeing now.

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7 hours ago, Lightning Rod said:

I’m going to Kings Dominion weekend in April 8-9. Friday and Saturday I was also wondering about fast lane plus. How are the crowds on weekends in April and can you get by without fast lane plus? Also can you wear Fanny packs and put your cell phones in a Fanny pack around your waist going through the medal detector or can you carry your cell phone and put it in your cargo pants? Will they allow that on Twisted Timbers or do you have to use locker free? Is Twisted Timbers the only ride there were you required to use locker for cell phones? I’m also going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg on Monday Tuesday. 

They don't allow fanny packs on their coasters. Absolutely no cell phones allowed on Twisted, and here you do get a small free locker (big enough for your phone, keys, and wallet). 305 and Flight of Fear do not have a place in the station for loose articles.

The week you are planning on going is Spring Break in VA. Expect it to be crowded, more so on Saturday. Considering you will be going two days, you'll be able to ride everything without FL. If you want to ride everything multiple times,you'll want to get FL+.

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9 hours ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

I mean, to be fair, all Free Spins have trims in those locations.

The ride was also running in freezing temperatures and empty in some cases. I don't think it will be quite as slow under normal conditions versus what we're seeing now.

Today I learned all free spins have trims in those locations.

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Tumbili can only load one of its two trains at a time? Cedar Fair isn't expecting this ride to be too popular I take it? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hey everyone,

Thanks for the advice for my trip on March 27th for a few hours late in the day.  Definitely headed to twisted timbers first then.  I'm really surprised about I305, I thought that would be a tough one to get on and honestly, its the coaster I'm most looking forward to.

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21 hours ago, garyman6 said:

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the advice for my trip on March 27th for a few hours late in the day.  Definitely headed to twisted timbers first then.  I'm really surprised about I305, I thought that would be a tough one to get on and honestly, its the coaster I'm most looking forward to.

You'll probably be able to ride it a ton.

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Photo TR: Saturday, March 19th, 2022

My friend Ian and I made the trek down to Kings Dominion on Saturday, March 19th, for my first park trip of 2022.  Though the park hours were short (only 11-5), this worked out since we had a concert (Alice Cooper!) to get to in the evening anyway.  This was my first trip to this park in probably 5+ years without Fast Lane/Plus, so yeah it was a bit of an experience haha.

We arrived around 10:15, then just hung out in the one very-out-of-the-way smoking zone at the park, outside the gate, way down in the corner behind the old Season Pass office, until 10:30 when the entry line got moving.  Man did it feel good to be back.  I figured the overcast skies would lead to lower crowds, but not so much. The temperature turned out great for the day (starting in the mid-50s and ending at almost 80, with moderate wind but no rain).

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Yep, definitely good to be back (me on the left).

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International Street looks so weird with bare trees.  Guess it's been a while since I've seen the park open this early in the year.

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Our first stop, since there was no early entry (and Ian didn't have it anyway), was Dominator.  A one train wait for the 2nd row, I was in the right middle seat.  Running all three trains!  Usual rattle in the second half, but overall a great first coaster to start off 2022; amusingly, this was my next-to-last coaster of the 2021 season!

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After that ,we grabbed a quick ride on Berserker (half-cycle wait for the second row from the left).  Took normal than longer to get to an inversion, but got the standard 3 full rotations once it got going.  I see you peaking through the trees over there...

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We then hopped on Woodstock Express before the lines of kids got too bad (3 train wait for the back row).  Notably, they were only running one train here, and the graphics from the front of the lead car were missing.

Afterwards, we made our way into the new Jungle X-Pedition area to check out the changes there.  Here's a whole ton of pictures of the revised area:

No more Outer Hanks/Bubba Gump Shrimp...

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...No more Hungry Hippo...

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...and no more sea of blacktop!

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Pretty sure this should have a sign on it?

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Some other decorations:

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Poor old Volcano queue house/station.  Hopefully being saved for whatever will eventually go there.

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Still nothing going on behind the fence.

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So I had some super-high hopes for the Scrambler re-theme into Arachnidia.

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While the new paint definitely looks nice, it appears that the went from a shitty 1980s lighting package to no lighting package whatsoever.  It was still only the second weekend, so maybe it's still in the works?

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Avalanche Reptilian is also back accessible, and looking great, but was sadly not running first thing in the morning.  It did open later, but had a line backed up past the old Volanco building, so we decided to pass.  So glad they decided to save this, being the only one in the US and a rarity throughout the world.

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So here's what everyone's really excited about...Tiki Twirl!  Sorry, I guess I'll start using it's real name:  Tumbili.

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Okay, new ride review time!

Tumbili:  Though this is a shorter model than the "standard" that has been cloned ad-infinitum at most Six Flags parks, I figured that would actually work in my favor, since I was not a big fan of Joker at SFGAdv.  Yes, it's braked around each of the turn-arounds, just like all of the others, and has spin-inducing magnets on top of the first hill and just before the second turn around.  Yes also, the station is only designed to load/unload one car at a time (there are two total), and they use the same parking position for both activities.  In good news, there is no mandatory locker situation; instead there is a box for loose articles/bags accessible directly before entering the loading area, which is also completely accessible to the next group and anyone exiting or waiting to use a disabled-access-pass.  Wasn't the biggest fan of this from a security standpoint, but I guess it's better than mandatory-use lockers.  There is a nice soundtrack as you climb the lift, and in the back set of seats you get a great view of the park from the lift.  Also note that there is a Fast Lane queue built; it merges before the split to go to either side of the station.  It was not in use this day, nor was there any signage indicating that's what the second path was for. Here's a video of a complete cycle:

What did I think?  Meh, just like Joker.  30-45 minute wait.  Ian and I got three full flips, and noticed our side-mates (two small children) got like 7, so if you're lighter you'll get more rotation.  I think it's a great addition to the park and will help draw crowds away from other lines, but one and done was enough for me for my lifetime.  Ian felt exactly the same way. Unfortunately it will also draw more crowds to Reptilian, which is still my #3 ride in this park. 5/10.

After Tumbili, we made our way over to Mac Bowl for some always-delicious Mac & Cheese.  The portion size is back up slightly, but still $15 a bowl and still no extra scoop if you're not getting a protein.  I did like the little flags.

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We then went to get in line for Racer 75 (right side only running), but the queue was halfway to the entrance and they were only running one train, so we passed.  Twisted Timbers had an empty train stuck on the lift hill, so instead we made our way to the hidden Grizzly.  As always, no real line here, and we had a three-and-a-half train wait for the front row.  They were only running one train here as well.  Saw a bunch of new wood throughout the course, which this ride has always needed, so it's good to see the park investing in it.

We took a walk up to the log flume and found it dry (normal for this time of the year, but was hoping), and made our way back down Candy Apple Grove to the not-formally-themed Alien Invasion: NASCAR Edition area of the park, and found Flight of Fear closed and Intimidator 305 with a line 3/4 of the way back to the entrance (but no switchbacks open), so we passed there too.

I checked the app and saw Twisted Timbers was running again, so we made our way back over there and grabbed a back-row ride (45 minutes)  I've said it before, and I'll say it every time, this is such an incredible ride with a stupid loose article policy.  The locker-area attendant was also doing a horrible job, since once we got past the checkpoint we had a straight shot into the rows for the station and only had two pairs in front of us for the back row.  Several rows were going out empty on every train.  It seemed like they were only allowing one or two people into the locker area at a time, and holding up everyone (even if they didn't need the lockers) until those in the locker area finished.

I checked the gift shops for any Reptilian shot glasses to add to my collection, but found zero merchandise for it.  There was plenty of Tumbili, though.  Maybe in the re-designed shop in Jungle X-Pedition, which was not yet open?  We headed out after this, since we had to get north to Hanover Maryland for the concert, and DC traffic is always a bitch and a half, even on a Saturday.

All in all, a good, if not short, day at the park to start my 2022 park season.  I've also learned my lesson about trying to do parks without skip-the-line passes...nope, not going to happen again.

Bonus!  They were handing out "First to Ride" pins after people got off Tumbili, and Ian had managed to grab one before we even got on the ride, so I've got three.  I don't collect coaster pins, so if anyone wants them, shoot me a PM and we'll work out the details.

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That's all for Kings Dominion on their second operating weekend of the year...next trip I have planned is to Kentucky Kingdom/Holiday World/Kings Island/Stricker's Grove around the 4th of July, but I'll probably get somewhere else before then.

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I haven't been on Reptilian before (formerly Avalanche).  It's one of the rides we seem to have missed on previous trips.  I've only been to Kings Dominion a few times in my life.  If I'm going with 5 buddies of mine (6 of us total) are we supposed to occupy 6 out of the 7 cars to all ride together, or are we supposed to sit two per seat?  Is it awkward?  Any insight on the logistics of this ride or suggestions?

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That depends - how close are you and your buddies? Sitting in your buddies lap is only going to be awkward if you make it awkward. Also, are any of you going to die if you can't all ride together?

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1 hour ago, boldikus said:

That depends - how close are you and your buddies? Sitting in your buddies lap is only going to be awkward if you make it awkward. Also, are any of you going to die if you can't all ride together?

I've known these guys for a few months.  What do you suggest?  Ideally, we'd be on the same trains on each ride that day instead of splitting up.

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7 minutes ago, dkepler said:

I've known these guys for a few months.  What do you suggest?

Its only gonna be awkward if one of you gets a boner. (Kidding, the ride ops would probably not let two grown men sit in one car, but then again its Kings Dominion where nothing makes sense so ymmv.)

7 minutes ago, dkepler said:

Ideally, we'd be on the same trains on each ride that day instead of splitting up.

So you're willing to deal with the clusterf*ck of the six of you trying to line up in six rows just so you can ride in separate rows on the same train? JFC. Just jump on where you can and move along to the next ride. Bill is 100% right, you're putting way too much thought into this.

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I don't think it's weird at all to want to ride on the same train as your friends. Part of the fun of riding coasters is seeing the in-the-moment reactions of the people you're with.

Dkepler, my friends and I wouldn't think twice about sharing a car on Avalanche. But everybody's different.

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