Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[smallpox]

 

Don't confuse speculation with confirmation. There's nothing to confirm that KD will get a hyper next year. For all the enthusiasts know, KD could be getting a used boomerang next year.

 

 

New for 2016, Boomerang, the new coaster coming to Kings Dominion! Go forwards and even backwards on a ride you'll never forget. This is the biggest roller coaster the park has recieved since 2010. It will feature what we like to call the Boomerang affect, this great design is made so that you'll feel like someone hit you with a Boomerang, doesn't that sound like fun!

 

marketed as the tallest and fastest looping orange shuttle coaster in the mid-atlantic region!

[Bmanscool]

Looks like I found an error on the main Kings Dominion website on the park history section under

"Today's Kings Dominion".

*https://www.kingsdominion.com/media-center/park-history

Soak City is misspelled "Saock City"!

[Donkey123]

They spelled the word the wrong too.

[ariznglori]

Is no one going to say anything about the misspelling of "Safari Village"?

[chargersmichael]

LOL whoever wrote that probably rode I305 like 30 times in a row before typing that...

 

Their excuse...

"stupid AUTO CORRECT"

[mike541x]

And this is why proofreading is important.

[certifiedcoastergeek]

LOL whoever wrote that probably rode I305 like 30 times in a row before typing that...

 

Their excuse...

"stupid AUTO CORRECT"

LOL correction though: Shockwave/Anaconda/Hurler 30 times in a row

[certifiedcoastergeek]

I was bored and made this Hurler track replica (sort of, about as accurate as the game allows). I was able to fine-tune the drop height, train type and car number, top speed and general layout, but there's no station and some elements (like the overbanked turn that goes through the lift hill) had to be improvised as best as possible (it ain't NoLimits, and my NL1 disappeared from my computer for some reason, not that I ever figured out how to play). Other than that, I would like some constructive criticism!

(Another note: Due to RCT3's strange block-brake system, I was forced to start the POV at the top of the chain hill, unless you all wanted to wait one-and-a-half minutes for Train 2 to complete the circuit )

(Also, I intentionally moused over to show the "switch-track" briefly near the end.)

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[DonkeysWaffles]

There's a really cool ride that my friend and I built in NL2. It's a launched wing coaster but it not only deuls (2 sides) but it loops around like Twisted Colossus. It has two launches to 70 mph and has 7 inversions (Batwing, Zero G-Roll, Loop on one side), (Immelmann, Corkscrew, barrel roll on the other). It is around 2,500 feet on each side for a total of roughly 5,000 feet of track.

[TB305]

There's a really cool ride that my friend and I built in NL2. It's a launched wing coaster but it not only deuls (2 sides) but it loops around like Twisted Colossus. It has two launches to 70 mph and has 7 inversions (Batwing, Zero G-Roll, Loop on one side), (Immelmann, Corkscrew, barrel roll on the other). It is around 2,500 feet on each side for a total of roughly 5,000 feet of track.

Now at the great value of 35 million dollars!!!

[DonkeysWaffles]

There's a really cool ride that my friend and I built in NL2. It's a launched wing coaster but it not only deuls (2 sides) but it loops around like Twisted Colossus. It has two launches to 70 mph and has 7 inversions (Batwing, Zero G-Roll, Loop on one side), (Immelmann, Corkscrew, barrel roll on the other). It is around 2,500 feet on each side for a total of roughly 5,000 feet of track.

Now at the great value of 35 million dollars!!!

 

LOL. But KD hasn't spent a lot of money on a giant project in recent years, so they can get an expensive investment in the next 2-3 years.

[TB305]

There's a really cool ride that my friend and I built in NL2. It's a launched wing coaster but it not only deuls (2 sides) but it loops around like Twisted Colossus. It has two launches to 70 mph and has 7 inversions (Batwing, Zero G-Roll, Loop on one side), (Immelmann, Corkscrew, barrel roll on the other). It is around 2,500 feet on each side for a total of roughly 5,000 feet of track.

Now at the great value of 35 million dollars!!!

 

LOL. But KD hasn't spent a lot of money on a giant project in recent years, so they can get an expensive investment in the next 2-3 years.

Kings Dominion doesn't choose how much money they get to keep for themselves, otherwise we would have already had a coaster. This is evident by CF's rejection of KD's request in 2014 and 2015 for a new coaster. It isn't like KD gets to save their money, it goes to CF, who then decides where in the chain it needs to be invested.

[grsupercity]

There's a really cool ride that my friend and I built in NL2. It's a launched wing coaster but it not only deuls (2 sides) but it loops around like Twisted Colossus. It has two launches to 70 mph and has 7 inversions (Batwing, Zero G-Roll, Loop on one side), (Immelmann, Corkscrew, barrel roll on the other). It is around 2,500 feet on each side for a total of roughly 5,000 feet of track.

Now at the great value of 35 million dollars!!!

 

LOL. But KD hasn't spent a lot of money on a giant project in recent years, so they can get an expensive investment in the next 2-3 years.

Kings Dominion doesn't choose how much money they get to keep for themselves, otherwise we would have already had a coaster. This is evident by CF's rejection of KD's request in 2014 and 2015 for a new coaster. It isn't like KD gets to save their money, it goes to CF, who then decides where in the chain it needs to be invested.

 

See, Iv always read that they look at each park separately. Which I would take as that they dont take KD's earnings and use them for CPs new coaster or vise versa. .02

[Bmanscool]

There's a really cool ride that my friend and I built in NL2. It's a launched wing coaster but it not only deuls (2 sides) but it loops around like Twisted Colossus. It has two launches to 70 mph and has 7 inversions (Batwing, Zero G-Roll, Loop on one side), (Immelmann, Corkscrew, barrel roll on the other). It is around 2,500 feet on each side for a total of roughly 5,000 feet of track.

Now at the great value of 35 million dollars!!!

 

LOL. But KD hasn't spent a lot of money on a giant project in recent years, so they can get an expensive investment in the next 2-3 years.

Kings Dominion doesn't choose how much money they get to keep for themselves, otherwise we would have already had a coaster. This is evident by CF's rejection of KD's request in 2014 and 2015 for a new coaster. It isn't like KD gets to save their money, it goes to CF, who then decides where in the chain it needs to be invested.

 

See, Iv always read that they look at each park separately. Which I would take as that they dont take KD's earnings and use them for CPs new coaster or vise versa. .02

 

I think they look at each park as separate as well but I'm not sure if that applies when it comes to park investment.

Cedar Fair seems to a lot better job at this Six Flags though. At least they don't add Cedar Fairs in front of the name of all their parks and seem to avoid cloning roller coasters as much as possible, unlike Six Flags. They also try to use individual themes for all their park attractions/areas, except for using the Peanuts characters in the kids areas and the cloned theming Paramount left behind.

Edited June 21, 2015 by Bmanscool

[RollerManic]

I think Cedar Fair is the right one. KD hasn't fluxed in (its high) attendence and so there is no need for another major investment. No reason to pile more mobey ontop of money. They're using KD to support other parks.

 

Okay, so yes, the $50 mil promised for CanW and CaroW is more that ridiculous... but CF is going to be giving several small parks next year major investments. Because of this, I can care less about their spendings.

 

The only people wrong here are the local enthusiasts. There is no such NEED. An enthusiast views his needs differently. Rather than what they have / dont have in terms of selection (and mind me, KD is very well off /rounded), they hold the park to investing in any such [significant] coaster periodically. To them, its all about consistent (over years) new rides, but to the park, its an attendence numbers game.

 

There is no need, just simply want.

[Bmanscool]

I think Cedar Fair is the right one. KD hasn't fluxed in (its high) attendence and so there is no need for another major investment. No reason to pile more mobey ontop of money. They're using KD to support other parks.

 

Okay, so yes, the $50 mil promised for CanW and CaroW is more that ridiculous... but CF is going to be giving several small parks next year major investments. Because of this, I can care less about their spendings.

 

The only people wrong here are the local enthusiasts. There is no such NEED. An enthusiast views his needs differently. Rather than what they have / dont have in terms of selection (and mind me, KD is very well off /rounded), they hold the park to investing in any such [significant] coaster periodically. To them, its all about consistent (over years) new rides, but to the park, its an attendence numbers game.

 

There is no need, just simply want.

 

Much of the local GP locals, non-enthusiasts who go to both Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens are tired of Kings Dominion not receiving a new coaster, thus spending their money at Busch Gardens instead. On the other hand, Busch Gardens, which is less than an hour away, has added the new Tempesto this year for 2015, Verbolten for 2012, and Mach Tower for 2011. So, Busch Gardens has added two new coasters before Kings Dominion has added any new coaster. You also can't forget that most of the local GP is too scared to ride Intimidator 305. Kings Dominion must add a new coaster soon if they want to stay competitive!

Edited June 21, 2015 by Bmanscool

[Propeller Factory]

Ok guys I have a trip report. So I went on Thursday, and I had a fun time. I skipped shockwave and grizzly, and the crypt was closed. 305 was running 1 train, along with all the woodies. I went on my first drop slide and omg they are so much fun. U go flying lol I didn't realize how fast they were. I would also like to say that for everyone who hates hurler but loves grizzly, grizzly is equally as rough as hurler (I thought hurler was less rough until Thursday lol) but yeah both are equally rough, and hurler is definatly not more rough than grizzly. Rebal yell is fun, it was running well, also racing well. I love soak city, everything has paint and it's just really nice, like the wall along the new path, and all the new lockers and stuff in the back. I still think they should make a path from hurler to the soak city splash house, because theta would make soak city a loop, also give more traffic to the back side of the park. Yeah so I had a fun time. It was funny whenever I got in line, I got in the shortest part, because right after me a huge group of people would always get in. I guess I was lucky. I learned how to get really high on flying eagles also, they was fun. I want a flat ride in that lil field next to dominator a croc screws, cause dominator isn't really near anything, and it takes a while to walk over there so I feel like there should be a supporting ride next to it. But yeah I had a fun time woop woop.

[TyRush]

^^To say locals are not spending money at KD and rather BGW might be true, but facts don't lie and KD attendance has stayed roughly the same for the last few years as mentioned before. No need to keep adding to what already makes you good money at the moment. Smart business if you ask me.

[mhuffva]

I think that Cedar Fair has been pretty clear that their main priority, over the last couple years, has been to focus on those parks in the chain that have the most potential for customer growth.

 

To me, Carowinds was a small park in relation to the potential customer base that it can draw from. You have the Charlotte metro area and, within 2-3 hours drive, most of the other major cities in NC and SC. I would assume that CW pulls from Northern GA and Eastern TN as well. So, Cedar Fair accelerates the park growth over a 3 year period. I assume it started last year with the Harmony Hall food/entertainment facility and other general infrastructure improvements. This year with Fury, a new entrance, and parking lot overhaul. Next year, Thunder Road rides into the sunset and whatever potential water related attraction(s) is/are being added. CF condensed 5-6 years worth of capital improvements into 3 years.

 

Valley Fair received a new/refreshed area in Route 76 last year and new stuff for the water park this year. Rumors are in the air concerning more stuff for the water park and a possible separate entrance for it. CA's Great America put in a facility to cater to the 49'er fans. Seems the park could make some money catering to that demographic, even on days the park itself is closed.

 

Since Kings Dominion was acquired by Cedar Fair in mid-2006, the chain has treated the park pretty good. In the last 9 years of CF ownership (starting in 2007, the 1st season when they could plan/do capital improvements), we have received 2 major coasters; 2 water park expansions; Wind Seeker; a couple flat rides; a completely upgraded/expanded kids area in Planet Snoopy. We have had 2 "off" years where there was no ride/attraction added. But, in those years (2011 & 2014), the focus was on entertainment options and visible park infrastructure/landscaping/atmosphere improvements.

 

Yes, it has been a long stretch since I-305 was installed and that coaster drought might go until 2017. I have not seen any indication that a major 2016 coaster is in the works. But, I think Kings Dominion has a well rounded collection of coasters that the majority of the GP enjoy. Plus, one of the things the park gets negative reviews on, is the perception from some that KD is an "asphalt coaster park for teens". I think Cedar Fair is trying to break that perception to say that Kings Dominion is not just about coasters; it is about family and friends enjoying a variety activities together. And that philosophy has been drilled into the heads of the GP for the last 2-3 years by marketing and upper management.

 

I don't know what Kings Dominion has in store for 2016, if anything; but, given the trends happening across the Cedar Fair chain over the last couple seasons, I think good stuff in the works!

[BeansproutMidget]

^

[certifiedcoastergeek]

I think that Cedar Fair has been pretty clear that their main priority, over the last couple years, has been to focus on those parks in the chain that have the most potential for customer growth.

 

To me, Carowinds was a small park in relation to the potential customer base that it can draw from. You have the Charlotte metro area and, within 2-3 hours drive, most of the other major cities in NC and SC. I would assume that CW pulls from Northern GA and Eastern TN as well. So, Cedar Fair accelerates the park growth over a 3 year period. I assume it started last year with the Harmony Hall food/entertainment facility and other general infrastructure improvements. This year with Fury, a new entrance, and parking lot overhaul. Next year, Thunder Road rides into the sunset and whatever potential water related attraction(s) is/are being added. CF condensed 5-6 years worth of capital improvements into 3 years.

 

Valley Fair received a new/refreshed area in Route 76 last year and new stuff for the water park this year. Rumors are in the air concerning more stuff for the water park and a possible separate entrance for it. CA's Great America put in a facility to cater to the 49'er fans. Seems the park could make some money catering to that demographic, even on days the park itself is closed.

 

Since Kings Dominion was acquired by Cedar Fair in mid-2006, the chain has treated the park pretty good. In the last 9 years of CF ownership (starting in 2007, the 1st season when they could plan/do capital improvements), we have received 2 major coasters; 2 water park expansions; Wind Seeker; a couple flat rides; a completely upgraded/expanded kids area in Planet Snoopy. We have had 2 "off" years where there was no ride/attraction added. But, in those years (2011 & 2014), the focus was on entertainment options and visible park infrastructure/landscaping/atmosphere improvements.

 

Yes, it has been a long stretch since I-305 was installed and that coaster drought might go until 2017. I have not seen any indication that a major 2016 coaster is in the works. But, I think Kings Dominion has a well rounded collection of coasters that the majority of the GP enjoy. Plus, one of the things the park gets negative reviews on, is the perception from some that KD is an "asphalt coaster park for teens". I think Cedar Fair is trying to break that perception to say that Kings Dominion is not just about coasters; it is about family and friends enjoying a variety activities together. And that philosophy has been drilled into the heads of the GP for the last 2-3 years by marketing and upper management.

 

I don't know what Kings Dominion has in store for 2016, if anything; but, given the trends happening across the Cedar Fair chain over the last couple seasons, I think good stuff in the works!

[RollerManic]

You know, every roller coaster is another risk for the park. What if it doesn't have a good return? What if there is an incident and the public backlashes? You have to hire more employees and maintain yet another coaster.

 

Is this a bit dramatic? Actually, it is. But it all has happened before mutliple times.

 

Only because KD is doing soo good that I think KD will not be seeing another major roller coaster. Now, if they did, it wouldn't be bad, but CF IMO has a pretty good current focus.

[certifiedcoastergeek]

You know, every roller coaster is another risk for the park. What if it doesn't have a good return? What if there is an incident and the public backlashes? You have to hire more employees and maintain yet another coaster.

 

Is this a bit dramatic? Actually, it is. But it all has happened before multiple times.

 

Only because KD is doing soo good that I think KD will not be seeing another major roller coaster. Now, if they did, it wouldn't be bad, but CF IMO has a pretty good current focus.

The only "flops" in terms of large capital investments that did not produce an equally impressive return were Hypersonic XLC and Shockwave. Neither of these were added under Cedar Fair.

Cedar Fair is starting to recognize how to repair the PKD image of an asphalt teen park by gradual beautification and minor upgrades and improvements. Like it or not, Kings Dominion's ride lineup is the best in the state. Now, it's the park's turn to play catch-up to Busch Gardens in terms of family appeal. (In the meantime, it's Busch Gardens' turn to play catch-up in terms of rides, with additions like Verbolten and Tempesto.) What does this mean? In an effort to directly combat Busch Gardens' tourist appeal, Cedar Fair is, and will continue spacing out large thrill ride and/or coaster investments, at least for the next ten to fifteen years. Back in the Paramount days, a new coaster was added every two to four years. Does this mean that KD will get the Geauga Lake treatment? No. Does it mean that Cedar Fair sees any less potential in the park? No. They see potential in different areas. Honestly, I think too many people on this thread complain that 2016 isn't the year of the coaster (my former self included). However, if you look at the long run, you'll be thankful that Cedar Fair isn't making the park Paramount 2.0 with no attention paid to park appearance. In 2016 or 2017, I think that Kings Dominion will get a large thrill ride or family ride (like a Giant Frisbee, Disko "coaster", or a Triotech), with the other year used for general improvements. In 2018, the park will definitely receive that GCI, RMC topper Hurler, B&M launched wing hypercoaster, or whatever else you guys have dreamt up recently. Is this a bad thing? No. What does this mean? This means that Cedar Fair will make the park look and feel much cleaner and nicer overall, so that if and when the next large, newsworthy attraction hits the park that those first-time and infrequent visitors will be compelled to come back sooner rather than later (which is what Busch Gardens does well), which is the potential that the chain sees in the park. In the meantime, sit up straight, hold on tight, and enjoy the ride.

[BeansproutMidget]

^

[RollerManic]

I was refering to "flops" in the industry in generaland I wasn't even thinking of PKD v. CF

 

KD, like you said, has the best lineup in the state, but IMO the best in the region (Carowinds and SFGAd being the biggest oppositions of the title). My first trip to KD isn't until July so I cant speak of family attractions.

 

Speaking of which, any recommendations on a weekday at the park? What to expect?