Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[smallpox]

 

The back is awesome because of the massive airtime you get on the first drop.

 

Yep--that's why I prefer it.

 

same

[_koppen]

Does anyone think KD will get a major new attraction for 2015? Carowinds seems to get a lot of money pumped into it, so in one way to look at it KD will be left without anything major for 2015, but on the other hand they both got $25 million rides for 2010, so maybe something big could still happen?

[rcjp]

^We had this discussion a couple of pages back. I got the impression that while many think it could get a coaster for next year, some think it will only happen in 2016.

[Fooz]

I think that the front is unbeatable. That's real speed & views up there.

 

The back is fun, but the middle is just as good, I think. You get the most consistent airtime and forces in the middle, not quite as strong air as the back, but still strong and longer lasting.

[cal1br3tto]

Hmm...I don't seem to remember a strong preference, though I think the back may have held a slight edge for me. I do agree that you don't need to sit in either extreme row to have a great time!

[aCoasterStory]

Just got back from the park. We did other things today (including SFA and some time in DC), but we managed to come back to the park for a little over an hour before close. Volcano had a pretty substantial line, so I decided to try my hand at the $3 Plinko game for the line skip passes & won, so we were able to do that. We also hit Rebel Yell and got 3 rides in on i305.

 

We somehow managed to be the last 2 people in the station, so we got to ride the last train by ourselves in the front row. It was most epic indeed. Great way to end the night for sure.

[CPSFMMCW]

any one here gonna be at the birthday bash this saturday? I'll be there.

[CPmillenia94]

^The back row is more fun, anyway.

The back is awesome because of the massive airtime you get on the first drop.

 

There is absolutely no other drop that has ever given me the same sensation as I305 in the back row, not el toro, mf (maybe comparable), or skyrush. The airtime is so intense and you keep falling for what feels like forever.

[coasterfreak101]

So weird that everyone loves I305's drop so much...I don't see much in it, to be honest. El Toro and Skyrush in the back rows are the only first drops that give me butterflies in my stomach nowadays - El Toro with as tight as it is and Skyrush with the same plus that kink halfway down. I305's is cool and lasts for a long time, but it just feels like speed more than anything.

[rcjp]

^I haven't been on I305 but I assume that if the drop is as steep as skyrush's and a lot taller it can't be as intense. (which means it can still be awesome)

Skyrush with the same plus that kink halfway down.

Yeah that part is awesome, and rather unexpected.

[CPmillenia94]

^^No drops have given me that sensation in years except maybe lochness monster in the back row so I don't really judge drops based off of that

 

^What? Also I305 is steeper than skyrush. Im pretty sure its the steepest drop there is that isnt a dive machine or a beyond vertical drop isnt it? (85deg)

[Fooz]

So weird that everyone loves I305's drop so much...I don't see much in it, to be honest. El Toro and Skyrush in the back rows are the only first drops that give me butterflies in my stomach nowadays - El Toro with as tight as it is and Skyrush with the same plus that kink halfway down. I305's is cool and lasts for a long time, but it just feels like speed more than anything.

 

I sort of agree. It's great, but not my favorite part of the ride.

[coasterfreak101]

^What? Also I305 is steeper than skyrush. Im pretty sure its the steepest drop there is that isnt a dive machine or a beyond vertical drop isnt it? (85deg)

 

The difference is that Skyrush and El Toro hit their maximum of 80 degrees in probably 60-70 vertical feet or so, whereas I305 probably takes closer to 120-130 feet to hit its max (which isn't much steeper). It's still a hell of a crest, and I'm not knocking it in the least, but it definitely doesn't have the insane whip that the other two have - especially when you're sitting in the back car of Toro. Now that's a drop.

[Password121]

^What? Also I305 is steeper than skyrush. Im pretty sure its the steepest drop there is that isnt a dive machine or a beyond vertical drop isnt it? (85deg)

 

The difference is that Skyrush and El Toro hit their maximum of 80 degrees in probably 60-70 vertical feet or so, whereas I305 probably takes closer to 120-130 feet to hit its max (which isn't much steeper). It's still a hell of a crest, and I'm not knocking it in the least, but it definitely doesn't have the insane whip that the other two have - especially when you're sitting in the back car of Toro. Now that's a drop.

I second this. El Toro is the only coaster I've ridden with ejector airtime on the first drop (back row) AND sustained ejector airtime throughout the ride. That's why it's my (and many others') overall #1 coaster.

[neil009]

^What? Also I305 is steeper than skyrush. Im pretty sure its the steepest drop there is that isnt a dive machine or a beyond vertical drop isnt it? (85deg)

 

The difference is that Skyrush and El Toro hit their maximum of 80 degrees in probably 60-70 vertical feet or so, whereas I305 probably takes closer to 120-130 feet to hit its max (which isn't much steeper). It's still a hell of a crest, and I'm not knocking it in the least, but it definitely doesn't have the insane whip that the other two have - especially when you're sitting in the back car of Toro. Now that's a drop.

 

According to Wikipedia, Skyrush hits 85° as well. RCDB seems to agree. It's just as steep as I305.

[rcjp]

^What? Also I305 is steeper than skyrush. Im pretty sure its the steepest drop there is that isnt a dive machine or a beyond vertical drop isnt it? (85deg)

It's as steep as skyrush (85), as neil009 has just pointed out.

[coasterbill]

I second this. El Toro is the only coaster I've ridden with ejector airtime on the first drop (back row) AND sustained ejector airtime throughout the ride. That's why it's my (and many others') overall #1 coaster.

 

I agree with this. I305 has a ridiculous drop but I like El Toro's better. Then when you factor in lap bars versus over the shoulder restraints it's no contest.

 

Personally my favorite part of i305 isn't the drop, but the Maverick style transitions. They're just flat out insane.

 

Still... both El Toro and I305 are world class rides so I feel ridiculous nit-picking... but you need to when you're comparing them because they're both so awesome.

[CPSFMMCW]

Birthday Bash is tomorrow. I'll make sure to take plenty of photos and can probably have a trip report up on sunday.

[cfc]

^Have fun. I can't make it due to a prior engagement.

[palmerleeberry]

Well, since CPSFMMCW photo trip report isn't up yet, I guess I give my own trip report.

 

1) This was the first time I used the All-Day Dining plan. I cashed in my paper at the Border Café to obtain a wristband. I also had my souvenir cup because the dining plan didn't include drinks. I would eat at three different restaurants: Hungry Hippo for burger and fries, Victoria's Pizza for two slices of pepperoni pizza, and the Dinner Bell for chicken tender and fries. A refill for my souvenir cup cost only $1.04, but if you have a season pass on you, then it's ninety-four cents!

 

2) Got to the park when they opened up and the first ride I got on was THE BERSERKER!!! This ride is celebrating its 30th anniversary! I rode Dominator next, then with the help of my CEDAR FAIR PLATINUM PASS, I was able to pass through and head to Volcano. I also became the first rider on Scrambler ( plus I was the only rider at that time). Soon, the park began filling up and I had no more walk on and ride.

 

3) Only one ride was announced to be out of service - The Drop Tower. Even though it took them time to get The Crypt up and running, The Hurler was running with two trains. Snoopy's Rocket Express and The Ricochet were both down at the beginning of the day, but as the Rocket Express began running around noontime, the Ricochet didn't start running until a quarter till three.

 

4) As for the weather, it was mostly cloudy with some drizzle periods ( probably why some rides opened up later than others). Sometime after six, they stopped running the rides due to T-storms in the area. Within a hour, they were back running the rides, but by that time I was leaving the park.

 

5) Finally, I want to give a shout out to a little girl at the 2:30 karaoke show who sang Katy Perry's "Roar" and did a pretty good job. YOU GO, GIRL!!!

 

Overall, I will plan a return trip when the waterpark and nighttime events open up. I like the All-Day Dining Plan and will likely purchase another one on my next visit. This is my third trip this season and I have plenty of more visits to go.

 

And for all you milestone junkies out there who actually give a darn -

Boo Blasters is celebrating its 10th year,

Hurler is celebrating its 20th year,

The Berserker is celebrating its 30th year, and

Woodstock Express is forty years young!

 

kINGS dOMINION - BETCHA YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL!!!

[CPSFMMCW]

Well, since CPSFMMCW photo trip report isn't up yet, I guess I give my own trip report.

It is too up, its in a separate thread titled something like "Kings Dominion Birthday Bash May 10th" Check it out.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Very Simple TR

 

Went to Kings Dominion for their "Birthday Bash" and Rode the Following

- Great Pumpkin Coaster (461)

- Carousel

- Rebel Yell: Left? (462)

- Rebel Yell: Right? (462)

Sang KD Karaoke and Sang Livin On A Prayer by Bon Jovi (Cedar Fair, Karaoke is not hard to operate. Just run normal karaoke)

- Americana

- Flight Of Fear (463)

- Intimidator 305 2x(464) Met Rachel at that point

- Volcano

- Dominator

- Boo Blasters (Over 1,000)

- Flying Eagles

Ate at The Buffet there and heard a really loud band. Rachel Left

Food I Ate:

- Pinwheels (At least 15 of those)

- Sprite

- Water

- Blue Powerade with Sprite

- Sliced Beef

- Rolls

- Mashed Potatoes

- Chicken Nuggets

- Mac & Cheese

 

- I-305 (Last Row)

- Met CPSFMMCW as I was walking back to the car in pain.

[Barge84]

Went to the park last Saturday with SuperShawn. I'm not a huge fan of Kings Dominion, but there are a lot of things to like. Just a few observations:

 

I-305 - I just gets better every time I ride it. The park wasn't too busy, which was surprising. Some of the rides had decent lines, but I-305 was consistently in the 10-20 minute range. In the morning it was only about a 3-4 train wait to ride. I lost track of how many times we rode it, but it was somewhere around 15 times if I had to guess. Finally got a night ride, and it was as good as advertised. Plunging into complete darkness was unexpected. I love how they barely light any of the ride. This was the first time that I had rides where I didn't grey out, so I'm not sure what that means.

 

Rebel Yell - It was running great! Glad to see that they gave it some love in the offseason. Had a couple of surprise WTF moments of air. Got pulled over the initial drop and the same thing happened after the turnaround. It could use a paint job, but otherwise I was really happy with Rebel Yell this year.

 

Hurler - I don't hate this one as much as everyone else, and outside of a portion of the middle of the ride, it was relatively "smooth".

 

Richochet - Didn't have this credit, so we waited way too long for it. Watching my giant 6'6" frame cram into the tiny car was a highlight of the day for Shawn.

 

Dominator - Waited about 35-40 minutes. Longest line we waited in all day (skipped Volcano). I think it's a fun ride. The first half has a different layout, so I've always appreciated that. It did seem a little rough near the end, but I think Dominator is an above average floorless.

 

Singing Mushrooms - Never got to see them perform.

 

40th Anniversary - The park looks great! I loved the Eiffel Tower at night, and the new fountains with lights look fantastic! I really love what Cedar Fair is doing with their parks. The fireworks show was huge. It probably lasted close to 15 minutes. I'm not sure if it was a special holiday weekend or not, but they spent a ton of money.

 

As you can see, most of the day was spent riding I-305. We took a few hours off to head down to Richmond and take a break in the middle of the day, because I really wanted some night rides on I-305. It was well worth it.

[Philrad71]

We were at the park yesterday and my single ride on I-305 just knocked Millennium Force out as my #1 steel. I wished that the line had been shorter as I would have ridden a couple more times, but the one ride I got was simply amazing. I have ridden MF twice this year and for some reason, it seems to have lacked the punch of previous years. Possibly because it was about 48 degrees when we rode it? Guess I'll find out when I visit again this summer...

 

Here is a quick recap from our day:

 

* Rebel Yell - as mentioned above, not a bad coaster at all for it's age. Walked on the fourth seat and got some nice pops of air. Glad to see they are giving this coaster some love, although as mentioned...it could use a bit of a paint job.

 

* Ricochet - it was a walk-on and the grand-kids loved it!

 

* Hurler - not quite as bad as I remember, but those helices...good lord. Not recommended for the 40+ crowd.

 

* Grizzly - rougher than I remember, but not too bad. Still would like to try this one at night in the front seat.

 

* I-305 - new #1...'nuff said.

 

* Luckily, they were having dollar days at select locations so we were able to score two hot dogs and a bottle of water for $3. I am sure that the Burger King and the truck stop across the parking lot must be loving those high food prices...$15 for a chicken sandwich meal? Eeeek!

 

* Singing mushrooms and floral clock - awesome that they brought them back.

 

* Historical signs around the Eiffel Tower by decade - really cool to read about the history of the park.

 

* Park employees & ride op's - most need to be trained by the Cedar Point staff. While I went back to the car to unload the backpack from the water park, my partner waited 15 minutes for a drink at the Starbucks at the front of the park while six employees were standing around looking clueless - he was not a happy camper. I will give a shout out to the older gent ride op (Bill?) at I-305. Guy has to be in his 70's and still does his job (in the scorching heat, no less) full of vim and vigor...other employees at the park should learn by shadowing this guy for a day to see what a model employee looks like.

 

* White Water Canyon - is it just me, or is this one of the lamest raft rides ever? What happened to the geysers and waterfalls on these types of rides? Even Roman Rapids at BGW seemed kind of lame and we barely got wet.

 

* Rode Anaconda with my partners grand-daughter because she was begging someone in our group to take her on it. She is 7 years old and her reaction was: "I liked the loops over the water part, but that thing really banged my head...I don't think I like it". Certainly can't argue with that!

 

* Splash Works - Nice water park, but crowded as hell despite the amusement park not being overly busy. Certainly looks like they have plenty of room for expansion. A water coaster, another (better) lazy river and more slide towers would be nice for that area in order to better moderate the crowds and long lines.

 

* New locker system - nice that they don't have the wristbands with keys anymore, but I was nervous about the four digit PIN when the guy standing next to me could easily see me punching it in. Seems like a would-be target for thieves where they could just watch you punch in your PIN and then raid your locker once you are out of sight? It will be interesting to see how this works out, but I was a little skeptical.

 

* 40th anniversary - would love to see them continue to bring back the overall theme park experience like they used to have. Some additions to the water park, more shows/attractions, lower food prices (& with healthier options) and perhaps another big coaster would round out this park rather nicely....and perk up some of those employees a bit while they're at it!

[Password121]

We were at the park yesterday and my single ride on I-305 just knocked Millennium Force out as my #1 steel. I wished that the line had been shorter as I would have ridden a couple more times, but the one ride I got was simply amazing. I have ridden MF twice this year and for some reason, it seems to have lacked the punch of previous years. Possibly because it was about 48 degrees when we rode it? Guess I'll find out when I visit again this summer...

 

Here is a quick recap from our day:

 

* Rebel Yell - as mentioned above, not a bad coaster at all for it's age. Walked on the fourth seat and got some nice pops of air. Glad to see they are giving this coaster some love, although as mentioned...it could use a bit of a paint job.

 

* Ricochet - it was a walk-on and the grand-kids loved it!

 

* Hurler - not quite as bad as I remember, but those helices...good lord. Not recommended for the 40+ crowd.

 

* Grizzly - rougher than I remember, but not too bad. Still would like to try this one at night in the front seat.

 

* I-305 - new #1...'nuff said.

 

* Luckily, they were having dollar days at select locations so we were able to score two hot dogs and a bottle of water for $3. I am sure that the Burger King and the truck stop across the parking lot must be loving those high food prices...$15 for a chicken sandwich meal? Eeeek!

 

* Singing mushrooms and floral clock - awesome that they brought them back.

 

* Historical signs around the Eiffel Tower by decade - really cool to read about the history of the park.

 

* Park employees & ride op's - most need to be trained by the Cedar Point staff. While I went back to the car to unload the backpack from the water park, my partner waited 15 minutes for a drink at the Starbucks at the front of the park while six employees were standing around looking clueless - he was not a happy camper. I will give a shout out to the older gent ride op (Bill?) at I-305. Guy has to be in his 70's and still does his job (in the scorching heat, no less) full of vim and vigor...other employees at the park should learn by shadowing this guy for a day to see what a model employee looks like.

 

* White Water Canyon - is it just me, or is this one of the lamest raft rides ever? What happened to the geysers and waterfalls on these types of rides? Even Roman Rapids at BGW seemed kind of lame and we barely got wet.

 

* Rode Anaconda with my partners grand-daughter because she was begging someone in our group to take her on it. She is 7 years old and her reaction was: "I liked the loops over the water part, but that thing really banged my head...I don't think I like it". Certainly can't argue with that!

 

* Splash Works - Nice water park, but crowded as hell despite the amusement park not being overly busy. Certainly looks like they have plenty of room for expansion. A water coaster, another (better) lazy river and more slide towers would be nice for that area in order to better moderate the crowds and long lines.

 

* New fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo system - nice that they don't have the wristbands with keys anymore, but I was nervous about the four digit PIN when the guy standing next to me could easily see me punching it in. Seems like a would-be target for thieves where they could just watch you punch in your PIN and then raid your fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo once you are out of sight? It will be interesting to see how this works out, but I was a little skeptical.

 

* 40th anniversary - would love to see them continue to bring back the overall theme park experience like they used to have. Some additions to the water park, more shows/attractions, lower food prices (& with healthier options) and perhaps another big coaster would round out this park rather nicely....and perk up some of those employees a bit while they're at it!

Nice TR. I would like to second what you said about Bill at I-305. I was there in April, and he was the liveliest operator I've ever seen. He was enthusiastic and his voice sounded like a recording- he was awesome! My friends and I were joking around with him throughout the day- we got about 10 rides. We shared jokes and he remembered us after leaving for a few hours. If only more operators were like him.