Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[ajm1240]

In Cedar Fair speak, I believe your "E-ticket" is the PDF you should have printed out after you purchased your pass online.

 

I bought the pass at Cedar Point at the end of last season (not online) so I did not get a PDF...only a receipt and a form to fill out with my name address, phone, etc. The receipt has a bar code label on it, so I'm hoping that it will be sufficient enough to get me in the gates.

I did't even know you could do that. They don't offer that at KD. Passes, renewals or otherwise, are not sold until after the first of the year.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

I know quite a few people going tomorrow.

 

But I'm wondering if it were crowded today, considering Thursday was so crowded...

 

Went yesterday & the park was busy.

 

Rebel yell north went down in mid to late afternoon & didn't reopen,Dominator had about a two hour wait when we first arrived but was about a two train wait by 9 pm with three trains running whereas there were only two running earlier while hurler & shockwave had the longest lines of the day....even the flats were nearly full as it took about two cycles to get on triple spin.

 

I think I'll stick to the middle on 305 as riding inthe back was way too extreme for my taste,especially in the twisties....I did have an opportunity to run into Tasha there & complimented her on the job she & the crew were doing.Didn't get home till 12:30 despite getting on the road shortly after 10 pm & boy I'm beat.

[braztaz]

In Cedar Fair speak, I believe your "E-ticket" is the PDF you should have printed out after you purchased your pass online.

 

I bought the pass at Cedar Point at the end of last season (not online) so I did not get a PDF...only a receipt and a form to fill out with my name address, phone, etc. The receipt has a bar code label on it, so I'm hoping that it will be sufficient enough to get me in the gates.

I did't even know you could do that. They don't offer that at KD. Passes, renewals or otherwise, are not sold until after the first of the year.

 

I ordered my Platinum Pass online in the beginning of December.

 

Oh, and Hurler had long line? The only reason I ever ride that is to get a quick credit when I don't feel like waiting...

[Philrad71]

Rebel yell north went down in mid to late afternoon & didn't reopen,Dominator had about a two hour wait when we first arrived but was about a two train wait by 9 pm with three trains running whereas there were only two running earlier while hurler & shockwave had the longest lines of the day....even the flats were nearly full as it took about two cycles to get on triple spin.

 

Wow...two hour wait for Dominator in 80 + degree heat? No thanks. Guess if it is that busy when we're there next Sunday, we may just end up hitting I-305 and maybe a couple other coasters and then take the kids on all the kiddy rides. We're getting too old to deal with anything with much more of an hour wait for any coaster (or ride).

 

Too bad the water park doesn't open till the 28th of May...we'd probably spend most of our day there like we did last year!

 

Edit: I see that the Dominator line was 2 hours at the beginning of the day...typical (I suppose) because it is near the entrance. I usually avoid those front of the park rides at the beginning of the day. Still not sure I would wait over an hour for anything @ KD though...maybe I-305.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

Rebel yell north went down in mid to late afternoon & didn't reopen,Dominator had about a two hour wait when we first arrived but was about a two train wait by 9 pm with three trains running whereas there were only two running earlier while hurler & shockwave had the longest lines of the day....even the flats were nearly full as it took about two cycles to get on triple spin.

 

Wow...two hour wait for Dominator in 80 + degree heat? No thanks. Guess if it is that busy when we're there next Sunday, we may just end up hitting I-305 and maybe a couple other coasters and then take the kids on all the kiddy rides. We're getting too old to deal with anything with much more of an hour wait for any coaster (or ride).

 

Too bad the water park doesn't open till the 28th of May...we'd probably spend most of our day there like we did last year!

 

Edit: I see that the Dominator line was 2 hours at the beginning of the day...typical (I suppose) because it is near the entrance. I usually avoid those front of the park rides at the beginning of the day. Still not sure I would wait over an hour for anything @ KD though...maybe I-305.

 

I hear ya.I got in line for the ride at about 12:30 or so & didn't get off until around 2 pm or slightly afterward & the crew was running extremely slow too.

[palmerleeberry]

Hey Ya! I've just got back from Kings Dominion from a Saturday 4-22-11 visit and I have a few things to report on. When I arrived there at 10 a.m., the sky had an overcast, the park wasn't crowded, and it was breezy and cold; by 2 p.m., the sky opened up to let the sunshine through, the temperatures warmed up, and the park got CROWDED!

 

But the first two attractions I visited weren't good. First, I decided to go up in the Eiffle Tower to see the entire park. Mind you, it was windy and cold up there, plus you had to watch your step as the floors were still wet from the rain this morning. After I had enough and wanted to go down, the elevator doors wouldn't close shut. I had to wait at least 15 more minutes until they got the elevators working again. Oh well, at least on this attraction you weren't pinned to a seat via restraints.

 

After I finally exited the Eiffle Tower, I was on my way to the Rebel Yell when I decided to ride the Dodge 'Em bumper cars instead (why not, there were on line). I get on the bumper cars, the attendant starts the attraction, and my car moves too slowly (mind you, I've been riding Dodge 'Em for 33 seasons, so I know how fast they go), in fact, it felt like the car was traveling on sticky glue and sounded like it was going to conk out any second. And it wasn't just my car; all the bumper cars were moving too slowly. At the end my day, I would be reporting this incident to Guest Relations. Looking back, I think that the morning rain way had an effect on the attraction's electricity output (like how an electric toy would slow down when the battery is running low) and I did check Dodge 'Em one last time before leaving the park and some of the cars did look like they were moving at normal speed (I didn't get in line for a test ride; there was a long line and I had to get home). I'm sure that maintenance will check over this ride and (hopefully) Dodge 'Em will be running normally once again.

 

As for the rest of the day, everything went smoothly as possible. I did see the new roof put over the venue that will have the "Saddle Up" show, I'm delighted that the Kidzville Stage is being used once more for the "Charlie Brown Pirate Adventure" (the stage was not used last season), I saw that the old Haunt that was inside the Flight of Fear has been moved and now I wonder what will they use all that open space for. Intimidator 305 was awesome, Dominator was running three trains, and I finally rode Shockwave in celebration of its 25th anniversity (love the new paint job). Speaking of new paint jobs, I saw the queueing lines fences for both the Anaconda and the Rebel Yell got fresh paint.

 

I had a great day despite the rocky start, but a return trip is planned. I definately cannot wait until June 18 when the "Snoopy Starlight Spectacular" debuts. Anyone has their special glass to see the lights as stars, snowflakes, or hearts?

 

"Are you done yet? I miss you in bed."

[Fooz]

I was at Kings Dominion this easter, and while I was a bit under the weather ( ), It was a great day with an empty park.

 

Some notes: Drop tower was still down all day. Dominator and volcano were both running great and smoothly. Denny's across the street is the best place to eat during a KD visit. Intimidator was running insanely! Very fast in the morning, but incredibly fast in the afternoon. I was on all previous configurations of the ride, and the current version is definitely the best. The midcourse breaks are weaker than in april 2010, and it flies through the second half. It definitely affects my day at KD that there is an amazingly running extreme Giga sitting on one end if the park with no line. It was in my top 3 last year, but it is now my solid #1, and I was in the congo most of the day.. I lost less vision than last year, and never blacked out, so I think the new turn will work for some. I had been drinking lots of water though, so I think that helped.

 

Easter is my favorite day of year to visit theme parks, and this year and last, KD had very light crowds.

[Bigcoaster95]

^I know what you mean about parks on Easter. I was at Hershey yesterday. Walk on for basically everything. It was a perfect day for some great coasters.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

^^ So you visited yesterday right? It was packed to the gills on saturday.

[Fooz]

Yeah, I visited on sunday. Weather was hot, but good, and hardly any clouds.

[Philrad71]

I visited this past Sunday and did not have any issues processing my Platinum Pass...looks like I'm good to go for 2011!

 

Lines were short and the park was not all that crowded being that is was cloudy and cool. We did do a couple parent swaps on the coasters (we had my partners grandkids), which worked out great!

 

Later in the day, I-305 was pretty much a walk-on so I did consecutive rides and didn't gray out once! However, my partner's daughter-in-law rode it earlier in the day before we arrived (her first time) and grayed out, but not on the second ride. My Dad said he saw spots in the turn on his first ride, so no doubt that the coaster hasn't lost anything in the way of forces and sheer speed. We all agreed that it is definitely the most intense coaster we had ever been on.

 

Drop Tower and Grizzly were down all day and other than a couple other hiccups on some rides, everything else was open and lines moved pretty good. Looks like the Snoopy nighttime spectacular is almost ready to go as they had several JLG's with guys hanging lights in the tops of the trees.

 

Only (very minor) complaint was that very few of the employees (ride op's & concessionaires) seemed that interested in enhancing the guest experience. I-305 however, had a very efficient and fun crew.

 

For the beer lovers, they have Yuengling draft at the pizza place by the Eiffel Tower...a refreshing change over the regular Bud products!

[Intimidator305]

Seems like you had a great time! Its good to know the 305 crew is still energetic, they always seem to be the most "fun" ride ops in the park! Also, it was good to hear a Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular update, seems like they should be about done with the lights and just have to put up the huge characters.

[Philrad71]

^Yes, it looked like most of the lights were up...and I-305 is now the coaster that will keep me from picking Busch Gardens over KD every single year when we make our annual pilgrimage to Virginia.

 

KD definitely needed that really big signature coaster to compliment Volcano & Dominator and now they have it. I was originally kinda bummed when I found out the water park wouldn't be open during our visit, but it turned out that it would have been too cold anyway - original forecast was 88 degrees earlier in the week & it ended up being about 65.

 

Here's to hoping for that really good woodie at both parks someday! Next year is definitely going to be a BGE visit as I doubt we will have time to hit both parks during our annual trek.

[coasterfreak101]

So I was just Google-Imaging for a 30-day roller coaster challenge I'm doing, and I came across some old photos of Rebel Yell (today is "what was your first roller coaster?"). I'm actually blown away at how big Lake Charles used to be - I never realized how much they took away to expand the waterpark. When did that happen? It must've been after King Kobra and before Anaconda, right?

Sweet, sweet nostalgia.

[redfoot12]

^If you look towards the bottom you can see Galaxie!

 

I used to love the skiing and water shows they had on Lake Charles.

 

They added the water park (Hurricane Reef) in 1992 so I think that's when the majority of the shrinkage took place.

[eddie200330]

^^Here is a shot from Anaconda's opening year I found in a google image search

courtesy ejd1984/webshots http://news.webshots.com/album/419637432CUOxsq

Edited May 4, 2011 by eddie200330

[braztaz]

Wow...sometimes I wish they hadn't drained the lake and found somewhere else to put a waterpark. It looks so nice!

[Hugecoltsfan]

Anaconda looks so out of place in that picture.

[coasterfreak101]

^Agreed. I'd say Anaconda looks better now (even though I still think it makes what's left of the lake look ugly as all get-out), but man, I wish the rest of the lake still existed! Rebel Yell just looks so fantastic running along the water like that.

[eddie200330]

Go back to the original pic that had the King Kobra on one side, and a bright white with red and blue trim Rebel Yell on the other................Those were the days. Apple Turnover and the Monster along with Galaxie and the big slide is what made the midway what it was, not the crap they have rammed in there now.....

[netdvn]

I really wish CF would do something with that water park. Last time I was at KD (in 2004), the water park looked kinda nasty and the park had an overall rundown feeling. I'm not really sure of CF renovated parts of the water park along with the Grove area this year to make the park look less tired or if the water park has changed much outside of new slides in the years I haven't gone, but I would've personally preferred seeing that lake over the water park. I heard a rumor a few years back that the old water park was gonna be removed and the lake re-expanded, but unfortunately, I don't see that happening.

 

Seeing all those old pics, the park looked like it was in a better state back then.

 

Can't wait to head back to KD soon to see how much the park has changed though!

[Intimidator305]

^ CF has done a great job getting rid of that "feeling" I would say... Let's just say I used to like BGW more, and now I like KD more. I used to visit KD 1-2 times a year and didn't have a season pass, now I visit it more than 5 times a year and have a season pass... and I live 3+ hours away.

Edited May 5, 2011 by Intimidator305

[Skycoastin Steve]

^You're insane if you think KD is a better park than BG.

[braztaz]

Well, what KD doesn't have in theming it makes up for coasters. I prefer KD over BGW too.

[B-RadG]

Well, what KD doesn't have in theming it makes up for coasters. I prefer KD over BGW too.

Crazy, crazy children. You can pick out coasters at KD that specifically suck. There's literally one coaster that would make a Top 25 list and that's Intimidator 305. Busch Gardens has Griffon, Alpengeist, and Apollo's Chariot. All of which have been highly praised and ranked since they opened.

In fact, Intimidator 305 was not even in the top 10 in the Golden Tickets the year it opened (no, they're not the most reputable source.)

The highest rated coaster at KD was ranked 57th in 2009, Volcano. Apollo's Chariot had 16th, Griffon 27th, and Alpengeist 54th. So the point here is... no, that is a false statement. Though they may have more credits they don't have better coasters.