Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[BeemerBoy]

I can understand where the rest of you are coming from i.e. that rides need to be tweaked, etc. But the need to reduce the speed by 15 mph from the original speed is a rather large percent error. Yes...we don't know enough to make a final judgment. But still...could their projections have been that much off? And the answer could be "yes". We don't know.

True, but is this really all that different from having to remove an entire element from Maverick? What was that quote the engineering student made about engineering being about the science of estimation, or something like that? I'm beginning to just accept the fact that Intamin designs something to be "in the ballpark," builds, and then tweaks from there. Sometimes it's gonna require drastic change, and sometimes not. I'm cool with that.

 

And for the record, I'm expecting the F1 coaster, with its drastic climate and surroundings, to go through the exact same process. We just probably won't hear as much about it.

[redfoot12]

^I'm actually expecting the F1 coaster to be a disaster but, like you said, I doubt we'll hear from the local Abu Dhabi fanboys at least

[cgodsey]

^^ They are in a different position as the park isn't open yet. I would bet that testing has already began on both coasters and they are well on their way to the right wheel compounds.

Edited June 3, 2010 by cgodsey

[robbalvey]

People gotta remember that with the crazy weather the east coast suffered this past winter they are lucky the i305 opened on time to begin with!

 

The testing and tweaking that is going on now is what would have happened for a couple of months prior to the park opening.

 

And now that the park is open and only a limited amount of time is avaialble to tweak, that 2 months may very well get stretched into 6 or 7 months.

 

Personally, I find this whole process very interesting to watch!

 

--Robb

[pkdcoaster]

I went today and got about 20 rides in on I305,5 on Volcano,3 on Dominator (twice in a row in the front) and 1 on FOF in 3.5 hours, so yea the park was dead but VERY HOT & Humid!

Nothing new about I305 since last week

It is funny to me that the GP comments are Unchanged since it opened!

Top 3 are

1. WOW that was fast!

2. I Blacked out!!

3. It hurt my neck/jaw.

 

If KD has a concern about the Blacking out these trims do nothing for that. The only purpose the trims are serving is saving the wheels.

The Blacking out is the same to me as it was when it opened and the problem is that you are in the same G pull for sooooo long. Starting with the pullout of the first drop and ending when you hit the straight track on the 2nd hill. The G's are not stronger than what you feel on any other coaster, it is just the amount of time spent in the G's allowing the blood to be pulled from your brain causing the grey/blackout. (if you care)

IMO the only way to fix that is to reprofile that turn (making it a rising overbank or something)

The ride is very good but not every enthusiasts (or GP's) cup of tea mind you. IMO even before the trims(were moved to the drop) it would have never contended with MF,Bizarro,EGF in the rankings but a solid top ten coaster it is.

 

Another interesting thing about I305 that not many people talk about is the HUGE difference between the left side of the train and the right side. The left side is WAY better IMO The first 2 "S" turns fling you up and out of your seat and probably the best airtime on the ride is now coming into the Brakes on the left side.

 

After the initial "shock" of a slower I305 has worn off to me it is still a great fast ride but just has some issues that need to be worked on. I believe the ride will stay the same way it is now till at least Labor day. None of us have any idea what is being worked on now (if anything) between Intamin & CF/KD. So for now this is the ride love it or hate it.

 

JEFF

Am I missing a tooth?

[KDcoasterMAN]

Look at all the dead bugs on the front of that train!

 

(Stupid post done)

 

The GP were giving the same reactions that the coaster has been getting since it opened when I rode it on Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

EDIT: I found this video on Youtube and I think it perfectly captures the spirit of this ride!

[Jness3]

Oh my gosh! That's my video! Thanks for watching it dude!

[pkdcoaster]

Very good video dude!

did you get any other angles from the waterpark? (I assume that shot was from the wavepool area)

 

JEFF

[Jness3]

Thanks man, and no, I didn't get any other angles from the waterpark, but yes, I got that one shot from the first wave pool. I305 can pretty much be seen from anywhere in the waterpark though, it's very impressive looking.

[CPmaverick]

Look at all the dead bugs on the front of that train!

You should see a Cedar Point train during June. That I305 train has about the same amount of bugs as Woodstock Express. It can be quite disgusting sometimes.

[FeelTheFORCE]

^ Forget about June, when I was there May 25th Mantis was PLASTERED with bugs, lol.

[DBru]

Keep in mind that there is only one other ride of this type in the world, and that ride was built 10 years ago, and probably being designed more than 12 years ago. A lot has changed in the word of technology in a decade.--Robb

 

I totally agree with this...however, shouldn't those 12 years have brought advancements in technology?

 

I mean, besides an error with the supports on Millennium Force's first overbank, have there been any publicized issues with the coaster's speed or layout? While it is arguable that I305 fits in its own class of "giga coaster," there is no denying that MF has been running since 2000 with no trims and simple lap bars, whereas Intimidator has only been open for a couple months, and is constantly undergoing changes in speed and (possibly) restraints.

 

Nevertheless, I'm anxiously awaiting the moment in time when I can make it out to Kings Dominion to experience I305. While I appreciate all the reviews from people who have already ridden the coaster, I feel it's best to wait until I ride it myself to form an opinion. After all...I'm that guy who still enjoys The Crypt (KI).

[chadster]

To me, the turn after the drop was just as intense as before, but still, no "blackout" for me. I did find that if you ride in the front car, the feeling of the train wanting to break free is almost not noticable, sitting towards the rear, the trims are much more noticable in my opinion. I think they are going to find that the turn after the drop *might* end up being too intense for many people to handle well, but still, there was no shortage of people willing to wait hours on hours to ride it over Memorial Day weekend.

 

I watched them replace the wheels on one of the trains pre-trims on the drop. What was interesting was this particular train was making a horrendous noise and they were still letting people ride it. Maintenance eventually took it off the track and began repairs, almost as if they had done it a time or two

[KDcoasterMAN]

Oh my gosh! That's my video! Thanks for watching it dude!

 

Yeah dude! I love these kind of videos!

[CPmaverick]

^ Forget about June, when I was there May 25th Mantis was PLASTERED with bugs, lol.

Finally, the Mayflies decided to show up in May

[JEAPUgrad]

^The Beast has trims on the drops after both of its lift hills. On the second lift hill's drop, I believe there is more than one trim, but I'm not 100% on that. Yes, it is kind of obnoxious. Maybe KD will be to tweak the trims on i305 to achieve a more thrilling drop when they get more time. Right now they're quite busy with running the park and might just not have time to get i305 running as well as it can run. There are only so many hours in the day and keeping the park running/dollars flowing into the cash registers is always going to take priority over tweaking a ride, even if it is their star attraction.

 

But to make the comparison to the Beast is a little unfair.

 

I rode Beast today for the first time in two years and while being trimmed to death, the Beast still holds it own in the speed department. I haven't been on I305 since the trims were added but many people have said that the ride seems to have slowed down quite a bit.

[robbalvey]

Keep in mind that there is only one other ride of this type in the world, and that ride was built 10 years ago, and probably being designed more than 12 years ago. A lot has changed in the word of technology in a decade.--Robb

 

I totally agree with this...however, shouldn't those 12 years have brought advancements in technology?

You're not thinking about this on a macro level. Let me put it into perspective.

 

If history repeats itself they won't build another one of these until you're 28 years old.

 

Think about everything you know right now about the technology around you - your cel phone, your laptop, your iPod, current internet speeds, etc. Lock that into a cabinet somewhere. Along with it, put everything you currently know in there. All the files on your hard drive, everything.

 

Allow all of these things to advance in technology around you for the next 12 years.

 

Go pull that stuff from 12 years ago out of the cabinet.

 

You are told to make something that is very similar to what you pulled out of that cabinet, but using today's technology. Do you see how difficult that would be?

 

Now granted, this is far from a perfect analogy because Intamin have been making many other coasters, Mega-Lite's, etc. But you see where I'm coming from with going back to Millennium Force for reference, right?

 

It's like, imagine someone handed you a laptop with Windows '98 installed.

 

There are many things that you're going to know, many things that you've learned along the way that you can apply, but if you haven't done something in 10-12 years, there's a lot of re-work you're going to have to do. It's not like Intamin have been making 305+ foot, 90 MPH, non-launched coasters every couple of years and each iteration teaches them something new. They've made *one* other - and that was over 10 years ago.

 

And when you put MF and i305 side by side, they don't really look much like each other at all. I would think that there isn't as much as you think from MF in i305.

 

Hence why it needs a lot more tuning and tweaking to get it right.

 

--Robb

[BRTeller]

Wow, it kinda feels like everyones running in circles here.

 

I have to agree with Robb on a few things though that have certainly changed my opinion before. The trims could simply be by request of KD, and the ride was running as planned. That KD could have requested for the ride layout, and that it's almost certain more changes will be good.

 

I want to make one thing clear though, I do NOT think it was a bad idea adding the trims. The ride was too rough to ride it more than a few times, and by purely personal opinion I would have maybe enjoyed it more being slightly slower. Oh and I defiantly thought the second air time hill was sort of weak, and seeing that with less trims makes me excited to ride it again later this year.

 

Now from a different opinion on what I'd love to see from the ride/park (again just personal opinions here), would be more landscaping around it. Or that pond that was in the computer renderings. It isn't really a technical issue, so I figured that might be some reasonable input. But then again I have no idea on what the financial issues/capabilities would be in doing so.

 

I figured maybe looking at some other useful things that would actually make the ride better, rather then complaining about trims that in a way make it better for different reasons might be a better thing to see happen, or talk about.

[ginzo]

I totally agree with this...however, shouldn't those 12 years have brought advancements in technology?

 

It did bring an advancement in technology: Intamin developed a new type of track that required less supports and was therefore cheaper.

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 20, 2011 by themeparkman25

[DBru]

Hence why it needs a lot more tuning and tweaking to get it right.

 

--Robb

 

I won't quote your entire post, because it was a long one...but I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to thoroughly explain your argument in a rational response to my question. It completely makes sense to me, and I got a lot more out of it than I usually do from our disputes.

[redfoot12]

Just to stoke the flames a bit...

Unconfirmed reports on kdfansite have at least some of the trims on the first drop being removed.

[Calicoasters]

^ Forget about June, when I was there May 25th Mantis was PLASTERED with bugs, lol.

 

When I went in June last year, my on-ride DVD on Raptor is just 2 minutes of me getting hit by bugs!

[robbalvey]

Just to stoke the flames a bit...

Unconfirmed reports on kdfansite have at least some of the trims on the first drop being removed.

Why won't people just listen to me when I say this ride is still being tweaked and to expect to see changes all summer long?

 

Of course you're going to see some trims removed...and probably put back on...and then removed again...and then placed in a diferent area...and then removed again.

 

I feel really bad for KD right now. It's like TMZ following around a famous celebrity and reporting to the world every time they fart.

 

--Robb

Edited June 5, 2010 by robbalvey

[redfoot12]

^Right. The way people react to something like this is that the park will make a change and then...that's it...there's your ride...we're done with it.