Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

[disownedpear]

I've been the park quite a lot since 2006 and I've only seen anaconda with more than a station wait maybe three times? All on a saturday. I don't think I have ever seen it with a longer line than Italian Job.

 

And I see here a lot that nobody ever has to wait for Intimidator, thats true for mabye half my visits other times the wait ranges from 15-60 minutes with one train, which for a giga coaster is not long at all but to say it always has a station wait is simply not true.

[bert425]

I assumed it was a mistake too but would make for a funny post.

 

And for the record, that was not doctored/shopped, I did screenshot that just as it looks.

 

I know you didn't doctor it, but I knew it couldn't be true having been at the park a week ago when the park had the same size crowds and Anaconda was 60-90 minutes it just didn't make sense. Anaconda still draws a line, people love their loop de loops.

 

and the bang-da-bangs

 

tho to be fair, when we were there in late July, while still rough it was not terrible, and only got a minor head-bang coming out of the corkscrew over the water.

[cfc]

You can get "loop-de-loops" on Dominator without the "bang-da-bangs."

[AmyUD06]

Quick TR from this weekend. Pictures minimal.

 

So I arrived for opening on Friday night, a little bit after opening at 7. Decent enough crowds...

 

Made my way into Old Virginia and came across one of their roving troupes of musicians.

 

 

I then Tollway Terror, their driving haunt, as it is known for huge lines and is not available on the Fright Lane program.

 

Not too bad.

 

This is often the best of their haunts, since it allows some space between cars/groups. I have to admit a few of the actors actually got me good.

 

Hopped on Grizzly with a station wait...

And didn't get beat up too bad, so 7/10.

 

I then hit up Blood on the Bayou, which was actually grouping people to leave some gaps. This was the only house I experienced this on all weekend, much to my disappointment; all of the others (and this one one Saturday night) were just sending continuous streams of people trough. Given that the lines were reaching 2-3 hours on Saturday night, I guess this is necessary, but kinda ruins the experience.

 

I then went to Anaconda for a decent wait, and found it a lot smoother than I remember. Never go away. 6/10.

 

Backlot Stunt Coaster and Intimidator's line was full siwtchbacks, so I passed. The Lockdown house had a line out into the midway. Saw Volcano had a fence erected by its entrance/FL queue...hope this doesn't bode poorly for this rides future.

 

 

I saw Avalance had a substantial line, so I just headed back to the hotel, as I had the entire day at the park the next day ahead.

 

Day 2, I arrived right at 10:00 for opening and quickly hopped on Dominator (definitely has that B&M rattle, 6/10) and Berserker, which I haven't been on an inverting ship in probably a decade. Classic ride.

 

Tried to go towards Avalanche with Platinum Pass early entry, but apparently they weren't doing it today, so just hung out for a while until the rest of the park opened.

 

Hit Woodstock Express for the first public train of the day, then it was onward to Intimidator 305, which had a decent line but didn't take more than 20 mintues. 10/10 as always.

 

The hopped on front row of Backlot after a brief 2 train wait. 7/10.

 

Wandered back towards Twisted Timbers and found a substantial line and one-train operations, so decided to grab some breakfast (a double cheeseburger) at the Juke Box Diner. I was the only customer, and had to order via a screen, and then wait about 15 minutes for a super-dry burger. Not impressed.

 

I then went for Bad Apple, Racer 75, and Drop Tower, all with minimal waits, and decided to head back to the hotel for a nap and to get ready for the night's festivities.

 

Got back to the park at around 5:45, and bought both Fright Lane and Fastlane Plus passes after seeing the security lines. This would turn out to be a great purchase, especially the Fight Lane.

 

 

So from here I get a bit fuzzy on the order (forgot to take pictures as I went through), but I did all of the other mazes (except Blackout) and found them par for the course for Cedar Fair haunts - decent artistry but no real scares. No Vacancy: Condemed was nearly black inside but they gave flashlights to just about everyone which eliminated the point. Notably all of the mazes had 2-3 hour lines, extending well beyond their setup queue lines, often backing up to nearby maze lines and getting mixed together.

 

As for rides, I hit Avalanche (please never remove this, 8/10), Twisted Timbers (10/10), and the swings.

 

I also got a burger from the food truck Mambo Burger, which took much longer than it should have for a only halfway decent burger.

 

Day 3, I swung back into the park just for a front row ride on Twisted Timbers, and then made by way back to Delaware.

 

Next Trip: KD for Winterfest.

Edited October 22, 2018 by Mike240SX

[thrillrider]

^Where in the park is the "foot" truck?

[cfc]

^There was a taco truck in Candy Apple Grove near Racer a few weeks ago.

 

The only way to do Tollway Terror without a fairly long wait is to get Fright Lane and queue up for the ride when it just starts getting dark (not as much fun in broad daylight).

 

You're right about the "artistry" in the mazes. I think Knott's is a pretty strong influence on the other Cedar Fair Haunts (but the talent used is variable).

Edited October 22, 2018 by cfc

[Philrad71]

^^ I think it's next to the dinning hall at the front of the park.

[AmyUD06]

^Where in the park is the "foot" truck?

 

Good catch.

 

The Mambo Burger food truck was near the rear of Candy Apple Grove, next to the Taco truck and smoking zone, and across from the Beer truck, near Racer 75/Windseeker/Twist&Shop.

[lgboogie]

Anyone know anything about the bonus day on Saturday Nov 3? They added it to their schedule a few weeks ago, don't know if it will be Haunt or not. Was hoping for one last visit without the Haunt crowds.

[AmyUD06]

The park closes at 8 and that day isn't on their Haunt calendar, so I'd assume no Haunt that day.

[Yubstep101]

Does anyone have an idea if Twisted Timbers or Intimidator 305 operate in the rain? I'm planning on heading down for the first time this weekend.

[lgboogie]

Does anyone have an idea if Twisted Timbers or Intimidator 305 operate in the rain? I'm planning on heading down for the first time this weekend.

 

When I went in July it was pouring most of the day and they were both running although I passed on Intimidator, the rain hurts super bad at 90 mph

[BeansproutMidget]

Does anyone have an idea if Twisted Timbers or Intimidator 305 operate in the rain? I'm planning on heading down for the first time this weekend.

 

Looking at the Saturday forecast, I305 will probably be up before TT will. Traditionally, we can run in the rain (lacking thunder of course). However, we find that one train tends run better than the other in the rain, and depending on how MUCH rain there is, we may stop for and wait for the rain to die down until we get the go-ahead to reopen.

[Yubstep101]

Another question, are Cedar Fair Halloween events generally better than Six Flags ones? Or are they on the same page? Granted it's nowhere near the level of Universal, but how comparable are they to one another?

[anonymouscactus]

I've done haunt at most Cedar Fair parks multiple times, and a few different Six Flags fright fests the past few years, but stopped doing the mazes in most recent years at Six Flags: A. Because they are an additional charge and B. The quality of all the ones I have been in were truly awful.

 

That being said, some of the Cedar Fair haunts have been growing stale, and we had some pretty bad walkthroughs at Cedar Point this year, but we always go early in the season when we don't have to worry about lines or crowds. Doing either chain in October will probably require a Fright Lane/ Express Pass if you want to keep your sanity. I don't think any maze at either chain is worth more than a 30 min wait at an absolute max, but that's my opinion.

 

Cedar Fair is way ahead of Six Flags, but after doing tons of local haunts around the country, what they offer isn't nearly as great as some of the places we have been to. But for an amusement park, they are pretty good.

[CoasterAuditor]

Screamscape stirring the pot about 2019 at Kings Dominion and CGA.

 

Park News - (11/2/18) Could new announcements for Kings Dominion and California's Great America be coming soon? According to a post on Twitter an early teaser poster for Yukon Striker that was up at Cedar Point has been removed and now there are a few new letter envelops to be found that contain some interesting longitude and latitude coordinates on them.

The first, 37.8399 N 77.4442 W, takes us to a landscape planter location inside Kings Dominion’s Planet Snoopy area.

The second set, 37.3984 N 121.9752 W, takes you to a location just outside the main entrance of California's Great America.

The #CanadasWonderland teaser poster has been swapped out at #CedarPoint, with some new envelopes to review...

 

Interesting coordinates:

37.8399 N 77.4442 W

37.3984 N 121.9752 W pic.twitter.com/67j3NGAWG2

 

— CP Food Blog (@CPFoodBlog) July 25, 2018

 

Not sure if this means anything in regards to the exact position. If it does then well more Planet Snoopy stuff, yay for those with children. But CGAs marker is outside the front gate which makes me think the coordinates are not exact. Digression if it's not a Planet Snoopy expansion my guess would be some kind of flat.............or nothing since it's November and both of these parks just opened Twisted Timbers and Railblazer.

[boldikus]

Twisted Timbers, Dominator and I305 are so good I really don't give a crap if the park adds anything next year (and I have a platinum pass for 2019). I just want them to fix Volcano.

[CoasterAuditor]

Twisted Timbers, Dominator and I305 are so good I really don't give a crap if the park adds anything next year (and I have a platinum pass for 2019). I just want them to fix Volcano.

 

I agree pretty much anything else Kings Dominion adds is just a "bonus" ride.

[jazma]

Keep in mind for CGA, they were supposed to get a Marketplace concept outside the park, similar to what Knott's has had forever.

[Canobie Coaster]

I just want them to fix Volcano.

 

This. Volcano is so unique.

[CoasterNerd87]

If you Google Map search for either park, those are the default pins that Google had set for the parks. I doubt the location of the markers have any significance other then bring people riled up about something going exactly in those spots.

[cfc]

Kings Dominion Throws Its Santa Hat into the Ring: Winterfest VIP Event

 

Theme Park Review was invited to a VIP event for Winterfest at Kings Dominion on Saturday, December 8. Well, it was originally on December 1, but there was a rainy storm system passing though Virginia that day, so the park rescheduled it.

 

Uh oh! Looks like Santa is taking off! We missed him!

 

Although it’s snowing like crazy in Virginia while I write this, the weather on December 8 was perfect--dry and cold, much like two past versions of Winterfest at Carowinds and Kings Island, which I attended years ago. (I think this was before Cedar Fair bought both parks.) But Winterfest went into extended hibernation, until Cedar Fair decided to bring it back this year.

 

It was worth the wait. Kings Dominion did an excellent job on their version of Winterfest. The park looked and sounded great, with beautiful lights and Christmas music everywhere. They also put out a nice spread for the VIP event before opening the park to the public; used quite a few “face characters” to set the mood; and offered a number of fun winter activities, such as ice skating on the lake in front of the Eiffel Tower, Christmas-cookie decorating, and plenty of shows and rides, including Racer 75 and Dominator (weather permitting), a themed version of the Blue Ridge Tollway, a 3D “Sleigh Ride” movie, and carriage rides. You can find more info on Winterfest here.

 

Unfortunately, the Eiffel Tower is not open for Winterfest, which seems like a missed opportunity. I imagine guests would enjoy a view of all the lights from the tower, but perhaps it wasn't practical to operate it.

 

It’s probably better to just show you Winterfest, rather than talk about it. This way to Winterfest!

It’s going to be a lot tougher to get this photo later this evening.

Starbucks looks very festive.

Hmm--looks like Jack Frost has been up to some mischief. If they waited until Sunday, they wouldn’t need these machines.

Gingerbread funnel cake sounds pretty good to me. But how does a reindeer work a deep fryer?

Looks like these two are waiting for their shift at the funnel-cake stand.

“‘Panda Express’? I’ve never heard of them, because the good people of Winterfest exist solely on a diet of gingerbread funnel cakes, Christmas cookies, and sometimes turkey and ham--all prepared by reindeer at takeout stands."

The honey harbanero “moonshine” has a kick--and a burn. No wonder Santa is so jolly.

The park put out a nice spread for the VIP event.

I particularly liked the little Beef Wellington “nugget.”

There were yummy desserts, too.

After an official welcome . . .

. . . we were free to check out the activities and shopping on International Street . . . oh my god! Winterfest flash mob!

It was cold, and Jack Frost and his ladies like it that way.

You can get you photo with him here during Winterfest--Holiday Mule cocktail optional.

Er, you two might want to steer clear of the funnel-cake stand. Just a word of advice.

These two very friendly chaps are Captain Macaroon and General Napoleon (as in the pastry, I assume). They were my favorite face characters that night, thanks to their outrageous French accents.

Some folks took advantage of free skating for the VIP event. They made a huge skating rink out of the International Street fountains.

I can’t guarantee that these PJs are made of llamas.

My favorite Christmas tree ever! Nice work, Charlie Brown.

Time for a decorate-it-yourself sugar cookie.

My cookie before . . .

. . . and after.

Brenda, my guest for the evening, decided on a Teddy Bear with a white vest. She’s also enjoying a Holiday Mule.

Beware of strangers bearing candy canes.

You can rent these “igloos” for the night at the Eiffel Tower.

Looks like a nice place to warm up in the evening. The “fireplace” is a heater, and the rental includes "concierge" service and a free carriage ride or free skating. More to come.

[cfc]

Ready for more Winterfest festiveness? Then you've come to the right place.

It’s getting darker. Time to let the public in and check out the rest of the park.

Reindeer love bean burritos, you know--especially on Christmas Eve. Watch out, Santa!

Let’s explore the rest of the park . . .

. . . starting with an Old Virginia Christmas.

You can drive to the “12 Days of Christmas” on the Blue Ridge Tollway.

Sheesh! Santa’s reindeer are cleaning up with the Winterfest food concessions.

Old Virginia looked really nice.

Enjoy a little musical interlude with the Mistletones.

If you want to see Santa, head to Old Virginia.

This walkway was infested with vampires during Haunt. I guess they don't celebrate Christmas.

The carousel is all spruced up for Christmas, too.

We had a fun, chilly ride on Racer 75--stopped here to get some clown to put his cell phone away.

Let’s enjoy the synchronized lights and music on Winterfest Way (aka, Candy Apple Grove).

This is a poor photo, but it illustrates how one can turn a Haunt facade (Trick or Treat) into a Winterfest decoration.

Again, I was impressed with what Kings Dominion did here.

Candy Apple Grove has never looked better.

I don’t think the Mushrooms were singing that night, but they were dressed up for Christmas.

The most festive trash can in Kings Dominion.

I liked the giant “old-fashioned” Christmas lights in the trees at Charlie Brown’s Christmas Town (or Planet Snoopy).

There are great views all over the park at Winterfest.

Hmm--what’s this? Has Charlie Brown finally sold out and embraced Christmas commercialism?

Peppermint Patty and Sally tried to sell us trees, but had to settle for a photo, instead.

The Eiffel Tower is the single most spectacular decoration at Winterfest.

Here’s look at the Cool Yule show on International Street.

The skating rink takes on extra magic at night.

Yep--everybody was trying to get a photo here as we left.

Thanks for the cocoa and the mug, and for a fun night at Winterfest, Kings Dominion!

[CoasterAuditor]

Great report Chuck! I was there Saturday evening with family as well. The park looked GREAT! I didn’t get to sample any treats myself however. Did watch Charlie Browns Christmas Spectacular in the KD theater and thought the show was great as well as Cool Yule.

 

We waited about 45 minutes for the Blue Ridge Tollway and they’re doing this thing where they play then “12 days of Christmas” over and over and over.

 

The tower I agree was absolutely fantastic and I really enjoyed its presence throughout the night, Definitely a fun cool event. I think it will start to get crazy busy the closer to Christmas it gets.

[cfc]

^We left around 7:00 pm, and there was a huge line of people waiting to get in. There was a traffic accident at the entrance of the parking lot, too, so that was backed up.

 

I might go at least one more time with my Cedar Fair pass. As I said earlier, KD did a really good job with event.