Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[cfc]

Thanks for the photos, Chuck. It seems like the park held a nice event for the ride.

 

I can only imagine the area around the ride's entrance plaza, queue, and station will be heavily themed (for Cedar Fair standards) with music similar to what they were playing today throughout the area.

 

That's what I'm thinking, too.

[boldikus]

Thanks for the excellent update, Chuck!

 

I want that beef & bacon slider!

[coastin_dude]

Does anyone have the steepness of the drop?

[Blatch]

Now this looks interesting... it's RMC seeing what they can do with a more traditional out-and-back layout, but it still looks insane.

 

Though I guess my family would prefer to visit BGW during a trip to Virginia, if we go next year there's no reason for us to not hit both local parks. I could knock out my first Dive Machine, giga, and one of these bad boys along the way.

[EliHorton]

Wowie! That looks amazing! And it seems like the themeing will be pretty great on it, too! I love that Cedar Fair is adding a little bit more themeing to their new coasters! I absolutely loved the theme of Mystic Timbers and this one looks like it will be great, too!

[thedlr]

I'm sure people have joked about a shed, but that brake run at the end of the POV does look super long.

[JT325]

Great pictures Chuck! Thanks for posting. Kings Dominion is kind of sentimental to me... I was there in 83 and 84, but didn't return until 2011. On that 2 day visit, it wasn't such a great time. I have a feeling Cedar Fair has got the park up to par now. Can't wait to get back!

 

 

Just check out any of the animations for Twisted Timbers or Steel Vengeance, and take a look at the wheel bogies. The cars ride on two wheel per side instead of the usual one, and the bodies seem to be elevated a bit more off the track.

 

Yes, I see now! I actually forgot about this, with all the jumble of excitement going on in our coaster/park world today. And the Knott's announcement is still 45 mins away...

[Rayj]

I hope the pacing on twisted timbers is just as fast as the animation

[Manic Monte]

I'm just as impressed with the airtime on this thing as I am SV. Maybe more so.

[coastin_dude]

I'm sure people have joked about a shed, but that brake run at the end of the POV does look super long.

 

I can see three trains on this thing at peak attendance.

[Password121]

If this ride were to run three trains with any improved efficiency compared to two, they'd need to be able to consistently dispatch a train once the previous train drops off the lift (given how quick the layout is). With RMC trains and (I don't mean this to be rude in any fashion) Kings Dominion operations, they should never attempt to run three.

 

It's also blocked for two trains. Even with two blocks (main and transfer) on the brake run, RMC's aren't poorly blocked like old Intamins.

 

That said, this ride looks excellent! Can't wait to ride next year. I don't imagine capacity will ever be an issue at this park with a two train coaster not named Volcano.

[JimmyBo]

This is awesome. I really enjoyed Hurler when I went on it back in 2001 and I thought it had some decent g-forces and great airtime. It's nice to see that they are keeping some of those crazy airtime elements and throwing in some even more insane elements. I love that parks on the East Coast are doing more things for the Holiday season...that just makes it easier to travel out there because not all of us can escape during the summer time to hit up some of these parks.

 

Jimmy "I guess I should have submitted my resume to RMC when I had the chance" Bo

[The Yeti]

Looks like RMC El Toro

Uhhhh... okay?

 

He's probably comparing them due to the sequence of multiple straight airtime hills (first for RMC)

 

Based on what I've seen from construction, I think the third airtime hill in that sequence may be banked (to the left, the opposite direction of the following turn). The animation may not be a 100% accurate representation of the ride, so it's possible we could see other differences, as with Twisted Colossus and Wicked Cyclone.

 

I'm so glad KD is getting this. Their lineup is going from good to great!

[coastin_dude]

Looking to the future, it wouldn't surprise me to see Dino's Alive be removed soon.

[DILinator]

I haven't been to the Virginia parks since 2002, and I've been wanting to get back ever since. I was thinking of going this year, until I got the feeling (earlier than most, if you search back through this thread) that Hurler was going to be RMC'd in 2018, and delayed that until next year. So now I'm really geeked for my highly anticipated return then! TT looks SO great, and it'll be my first time on I-305 as well! But yeah, KD hit it out of the park with this RMC makeover, and while it's not nearly as impressive as Steel Vengeance in my opinion, it's not too far behind!

[coastin_dude]

Good thing is that this opens before SV, so it can build a name for itself before SV gets all the hype.

[coasterbill]

Great update!

 

This ride looks awesome. Once this thing opens I think you can make a strong case that Kings Dominion has the best coaster lineup in the chain after Cedar Point. Even if this is one of the weaker RMCs (and I doubt it will be), an RMC in the same park as the world's most intense giga coaster, probably the world's best floorless coaster, Volcano, Flight of Fear (which I love and find infinitely smoother and more enjoyable than the Kings Island version) and a bunch of other solid rides (like Avalanche, Grizzly and Backlot) sounds absolutely great.

[Intimidator305]

Flight of Fear (which I love and find infinitely smoother and more enjoyable than the Kings Island version)

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who strongly believes in this. Also, I agree on your statement of the park's lineup.

 

It should be noted that the placement of Twisted Timbers is fantastic too, as it will finally even crowds out within the park a bit more since Safari Village/Congo has all the 'big' coasters besides Dominator.

[CoasterAuditor]

Great update!

 

This ride looks awesome. Once this thing opens I think you can make a strong case that Kings Dominion has the best coaster lineup in the chain after Cedar Point. Even if this is one of the weaker RMCs (and I doubt it will be), an RMC in the same park as the world's most intense giga coaster, probably the world's best floorless coaster, Volcano, Flight of Fear (which I love and find infinitely smoother and more enjoyable than the Kings Island version) and a bunch of other solid rides (like Avalanche, Grizzly and Backlot) sounds absolutely great.

 

Not to mention a relatively solid flat collection! Delirium, Crypt, Windseeker, Drop Tower, etc (Oh and Shenandoah Lumber Company).

[alilstronger]

Looks like an awesome ride! Can not wait to get my Cedar Fair season pass already for next year.

[TBpony414]

Looking to the future, it wouldn't surprise me to see Dino's Alive be removed soon.

 

I sure hope not! I know I'm in the minority about the whole thing but it's the best Dinosaurs Alive that I've been through. Love me some dinos!

 

Great coverage on the announcements, Chuck! While TT isn't anywhere near as wild as SV, I'm really looking forward to it. Sometimes the most fun coasters are little and all the small bunny hills in TT are really appealing. I'll definitely be checking out Winterfest as well. It'll be interesting to see how it compares to BGW and SFGAdv in that respect.

[beenagins87]

Great update!

 

This ride looks awesome. Once this thing opens I think you can make a strong case that Kings Dominion has the best coaster lineup in the chain after Cedar Point. Even if this is one of the weaker RMCs (and I doubt it will be), an RMC in the same park as the world's most intense giga coaster, probably the world's best floorless coaster, Volcano, Flight of Fear (which I love and find infinitely smoother and more enjoyable than the Kings Island version) and a bunch of other solid rides (like Avalanche, Grizzly and Backlot) sounds absolutely great.

 

After visiting Kings Island last month, I didn't really notice much difference in their FOF other than they had a lot more light peaking through, which makes the one at KD superior imo, the one at Kings Island might as well had the lights on.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

Good thing is that this opens before SV, so it can build a name for itself before SV gets all the hype.

How do you know?

 

Also, agreed that FoF at KD is much, much smoother than FoF at KI. Also, as far as Arrow loopers go, I enjoyed Anaconda more than Vortex.

[Canobie Coaster]

I didn't notice much of a difference between the two Flight of Fears. Both are great rides.

[CoasterAuditor]

I am so excited for this coaster! It looks awesome. I really like the unique cutback after the series of epic looking camelbacks. Some people are already saying it looks like a "low tier" RMC but to that I say "what do you call an RMC that's not the best RMC?" the answer is "An RMC."