Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[cfc]

Yes, they seem to be having some opening week issues. I think I'll wait until the park is a bit more "in sync."

[Intimidator305]

The only ride not working on Opening Day was Drop Tower due to it being very windy and Backlot Stunt Coaster was also down. Fast Lane worked great and the park was doing well managing the very large crowds. They were doing a great job getting through the lines (faster than usual) and the only problems I heard of were at some of the food places.

 

Sunday until today It sounds like some of the launch coasters are having problems and WindSeeker is having trouble with these strong winds we've been having in Virginia.

 

Anyways, KDFansite is at the park today and they believe they found John from CP, Greg from KI, and Jason from DP riding Intimidator 305!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150717398212272&set=a.10150550531162272.393543.228082587271&type=1&theater

 

 

It appears that high-up KD staff and others were in KidZville with blueprints and pointing around.

 

2013 - Much needed rennovation of KidZville into one huge Planet Snoopy with new rides? That's what I have been hoping for and thinking for a while now as KidZville needs attention next to bring it up the level of the other areas now. KD didn't get the big Planet Snoopy expansions in 2010 like the other parks since they were opening up the 25 million dollar giga coaster in the back of the park, so this makes sense!

 

2014 - coaster? This would make sense also since Wonderland waited 4 years after Behemoth to get another one and 2014 will be 4 years since Intimidator 305 was built. A coaster would be a nice follow up to a kiddie area expansion...

[Coaster_Fanatic]

Does anyone have any idea why Drop Tower was closed yesterday? I saw it testing in the morning, and then again towards closing. But it never opened. And I don't think it was the wind because WindSeeker was still running all day long.

 

2013 - Much needed rennovation of KidZville into one huge Planet Snoopy with new rides? That's what I have been hoping for and thinking for a while now as KidZville needs attention next to bring it up the level of the other areas now. KD didn't get the big Planet Snoopy expansions in 2010 like the other parks since they were opening up the 25 million dollar giga coaster in the back of the park, so this makes sense!

 

This would be one of the best things Kings Dominion would have to offer to be a clean family friendly park. The Kidzville rides that are there now are getting really trashy and dated, so this would make sense.

[Intimidator305]

^ Fran (who works Drop Tower) told someone that Drop Tower's max wind speed is 28 MPH while WindSeeker's max wind speed is 35 MPH... but you know how theme park rumors are. The high winds both Friday and Saturday sure added quite a thrill to WindSeeker at the top!

 

And yes, now that WindSeeker has improved the southside of The Grove greatly, the area in the park that needs the most attention is definitely KidZville.

[bull24471]

Does anyone have any idea why Drop Tower was closed yesterday? I saw it testing in the morning, and then again towards closing. But it never opened. And I don't think it was the wind because WindSeeker was still running all day long.

 

2013 - Much needed rennovation of KidZville into one huge Planet Snoopy with new rides? That's what I have been hoping for and thinking for a while now as KidZville needs attention next to bring it up the level of the other areas now. KD didn't get the big Planet Snoopy expansions in 2010 like the other parks since they were opening up the 25 million dollar giga coaster in the back of the park, so this makes sense!

 

This would be one of the best things Kings Dominion would have to offer to be a clean family friendly park. The Kidzville rides that are there now are getting really trashy and dated, so this would make sense.

 

Yes it was closed Monday for what reason not sure . It did make a few full runs then went down.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

^ Fran (who works Drop Tower) told someone that Drop Tower's max wind speed is 28 MPH while WindSeeker's max wind speed is 35 MPH... but you know how theme park rumors are. The high winds both Friday and Saturday sure added quite a thrill to WindSeeker at the top!

 

And yes, now that WindSeeker has improved the southside of The Grove greatly, the area in the park that needs the most attention is definitely KidZville.

 

As I recall from the DIY show "project extreme" that ran a few years ago the wind speed is indeed 28 MPH max for DZ so that's pobably why it's been having problems lately.

 

A kidzville expansion/PS retheme definitely makes sense for 2013 and is needed since they didnt do much for 2010 except rename the former nick central attractions & then 2014 would be a good year for a new coaster to debut at the park...plus it would fit in with the whole family rides one year,thrill rides the next philosophy that the park has been using for quite a while now.

[Coaster_Fanatic]

Wow Kings Dominion's Facebook is being filled with a lot of hate . The only hateful thing that I have to say is that the Fast Lane was a horrible idea for WindSeeker.

[bull24471]

People have to remember it is only the first week of the new season . Ride ops and food services are training as best as they can. Takes time to get in a routine when it is only a few weeks into your training. Just my thoughts....

[cal1br3tto]

The only hateful thing that I have to say is that the Fast Lane was a horrible idea for WindSeeker.

It must have been implemented very badly, whether that's due to the policy itself or simply the newness. I remember it working just fine at Kings Island (as someone using Fast Lane). Surely there must be some easy solution.

[cfc]

People have to remember it is only the first week of the new season . Ride ops and food services are training as best as they can. Takes time to get in a routine when it is only a few weeks into your training. Just my thoughts....

 

There are always kinks to work out in the early going. The park has to get used to using Fast Lane, too. This is why I usually don't go on opening week, if I can avoid it.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

People have to remember it is only the first week of the new season . Ride ops and food services are training as best as they can. Takes time to get in a routine when it is only a few weeks into your training. Just my thoughts....

 

Give it a few weeks & things will be up to speed,aside from fastlane being a problem at some rides overall I had a decent visit saturday & hope to get more rides in come next month when the park goes to it's 10 pm closing time.

[Intimidator305]

I don't understand how you think Fast Lane isn't being ran right on Windseeker, as I thought it was being ran well. What they were doing Friday and Saturday seemed completely fair to me on all the Fast Lane rides with the exception of Volcano... My only complaint about it is that I'd love to see them somehow merge the Fast Lane line for Volcano in the station like they did for Intimidator 305, Dominator, and Flight of Fear.

 

IF they are going to continue doing Fast Lane the same on Volcano, I'd wish they would eliminate the Fast Lane on it while the back 2 rows are closed. Capacity is already down to 12 riders, throw in some Fast Lane riders, then you easily got a 3 hour line! Luckily, I got in 10 mins early because of my Cedar Fair Platinum Pass and got a ride on Volcano on the second train of the day. By the time I got off... the line was already spilled out of the Volcano towards the queue switchbacks. Yes, the ride is VERY popular still.

[Coaster_Fanatic]

^On my visit (Monday) they were only filling up half of the carriage on WindSeeker, the other half was reserved for Fast Lane users. It just ticked me off a little that they wouldn't fill up the carriage completely, unless there were people in the Fast Lane queue.

[Intimidator305]

Did the ride have a a decent size line? If not, I imagine them only loading half the carriage for balance issues similar to what they do on Drop Tower. Considering this ride holds 64 people, it chews through the line. Also, I wonder if it was something to do with testing the ride as on mid-Saturday they had the ride running empty, then 1/4 full, then 1/2 full, before returning to a full carriage (I watched this from on top of the Eiffel Tower).

 

Just speculating here as I can't imagine more people buying Fast Lane on Monday than on Friday/Saturday... On each of those days I only saw 2-8 Fast Lane people per cycle on Windseeker. Even 8 people is only an 8th of what the ride holds.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

^On my visit (Monday) they were only filling up half of the carriage on WindSeeker, the other half was reserved for Fast Lane users. It just ticked me off a little that they wouldn't fill up the carriage completely, unless there were people in the Fast Lane queue.

 

Well this should not be happening at all,seems like they're starting to run windseeker using the SF style of "reserved seating" which goes against the policies set forth for how the system is set up to operate.....besides a high capacity flat ride,unlike a coaster shouldn't be operated in such a manner to begin with.w

 

I can just see a ROS type situation happening in which guests in the main queue will eventually be forced to wait every other cycle to ride & if no fastlane users show up then the ride will simply cycle empty every other time.

[bull24471]

Got ask something here and maybe someone with my problem can help. I am 6'3" 305 lbs and had problems fitting the test seats on Dominator and I305.Is there a big persons seat on either of these coasters or am I just SOL?????? I know Flight of Fear I can't ride due to it's restraints... If anyone has a comment feel free to let me know.....

[cfc]

B&M rides usually have a seat for larger persons in the middle rows (with two seatbelts), but I don't know if this is the case with Dominator.

[HighRoller]

B&M rides usually have a seat for larger persons in the middle rows (with two seatbelts), but I don't know if this is the case with Dominator.

 

FACT! Rows 4 and 5 each have a seat for "guests of larger size".

[bull24471]

B&M rides usually have a seat for larger persons in the middle rows (with two seatbelts), but I don't know if this is the case with Dominator.

 

FACT! Rows 4 and 5 each have a seat for "guests of larger size".

Thank you HighRoller glad to know I can ride Dominator. I do remember when Volcano opened they had a belt extension for it for larger people. It sucks to have a large upper body and large legs as well.....

[Intimidator305]

I visited Kings Dominion on Friday (Opening Day) and Saturday to kick off my 2012 coaster season. Overall, I had a blast and got lots of rides in despite the surprisingly large opening weekend crowds. The new attractions for 2012 include Windseeker, Dinosaurs Alive, and Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia 3D... but so much more has been done around the park!

Just to name a few:

-Fast Lane which actually is being ran very well and fair with the exception on Volcano

-Avalanche got a new paintjob and is looking great

-The International Street fountains got painted

-There are many dinosaurs scattered around the park promoting Dinosaurs Alive

-There are more new planters in The Grove

-Center Walkway got brick pavers and new barrier walls

-A ton of the rides got new entrance/exit ramps plus an elevators to meet the new handicap reqirements

-Grizzly has a new sign and entrance because of Dinosaurs Alive

-New food options

-And much much more!

 

On Friday (opening day) I was at the park from 11:30 AM - 6:30 PM (7 hours). The park was packed! A lot of the rides had full queue lines with 2 trains running including Intimidator 305, Flight of Fear, Volcano, and Dominator. Windseeker had a line spilling a few hundred feet out of the queue reaching the Xtreme SkyFlyer entrance. The park was surprisingly running operations smoothly and quickly handling with the unexpected crowds as good as they could. The biggest problems seemed to be at the food stands, but when getting my 2012 Windseeker cup refilled, I didn't have to wait too long.

 

On Saturday I was at the park from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (7 hours). The park wasn't as crowded as opening day, but it sure was much more crowded than opening weekend in years past. By the afternoon many rides had a full queue including Windseeker spilling out of the queue like the previos day. Operations were going well once again and I was glad to see familiar faces like Dale working on Intimidator 305 and Fran on Drop Tower. Once again the food stands were packed, but overall I didn't have to wait long for my refills and Boardwalk Fries.

 

What I rode (in order):

Friday

Windseeker - 1

Wave Swinger - 1

The Crypt - 1

Dominator - 1

Beserker - 1

Shennadoah Lumber Company - 1

White Water Canyon - 1

Grizzly - 1

Hurler - 1

Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia 3D - 1

Intimidator 305 - 1

Saturday

Volcano - 1

Flight of Fear - 1

Intimidator 305 - 9

Windseeker - 1

Drop Tower - 1

Rebel Yell - 1

Eiffel Tower - 1

 

Windseeker is a fantastic addition to the park as it seems like a hit with all riders. It blew my expectations away and it was much more intense and thrilling than I ever thought it would be, but I feel like that might be because it was really windy both days. It really fits in that part of the park well with the same colors/lighting as Juke Box Diner. It also really takes up a lot of that empty space where XLC was and the park also put brick pavers around the ride to break up the "asphalt jungle".

Dinosaurs Alive seemed to be another hit with familes as just to buy tickets at both ticket booths for the attraction had a long line. I personally didn't do the attraction, but you could see a lot of it from on Grizzly and it looks very nice.

Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia 3D was also getting quite a lot of attention. It seemed the theater was hitting capacity each show and they would have to turn away guests until the next show. Originally the park was showing the movie every hour, but changed it to every 30 minutes due to the demand. I don't miss the crappy moving seats at all and the 3D quality was amazing. Kids and adults seemed to like the movie and I love the fact that it isn't an upcharge like at KI and Wonderland.

 

Overall, a GREAT way to kick off whats going to be my biggest coaster season ever, especially since I got 10 laps on my favorite coaster, Intimidator 305. Riding it 9 times in a row on Saturday morning was amazing. Next park: Carowinds!

 

My images are too big, so I'll have to go change the size. I'll upload them later.

[Coaster_Fanatic]

So Backlot decided to valley again today. Not very good news for the ride..

[KDCOASTERFAN]

So Backlot decided to valley again today. Not very good news for the ride..

 

I hear that volcano had a rollback again too.

[bull24471]

So Backlot decided to valley again today. Not very good news for the ride..

 

I hear that volcano had a rollback again too.

 

It is funny how cold and weather all play on coasters physics and running abilities ...

[cfc]

Yes, it has been unusually chilly in Virginia today.

[bull24471]

Yea it has been unusually Cool for this time of year. I am use to the cooler side of Spring being from the Shenandoah Valley area. Looks like saturday or Sunday should shape up to be nice 70's and possible 80's.......