Intimidator305 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 (edited) Last weekend I made the 3 1/2 hour trip to my "home park", the fun and only Kings Dominion! Although Carowinds is ironically the same exact distance (205 miles) away, I typically visit KD 6+ times a season and only visit Carowinds once a season, just because I love KD that much more. Of course, the main goal of this trip was to check out all of the 2011 changes in the park including the new, improved, and once again trimless Intimidator 305 (my #1 coaster)! Ride Count: Saturday (4/9) 11:00-5:00 -Intimidator 305 x5 -Anaconda -Backlot Stunt Coaster -The Crypt -Avalanche -Drop Tower -Triple Spin -Rebel Yell -Flying Eagles -Eiffel Tower -Beserker -Dominator -Boo Blasters on Boo Hill Sunday (4/10) 10:00-2:00 -Intimidator 305 x10 -Volcano -Flight of Fear x3 -Drop Tower -Shockwave -Rebel Yell We got on the road at 7:30 am, and got to the park at exactly 11:00 am (with only a stop by McDonalds for breakfast) which was pretty good considering it was pouring down rain and really foggy 3/4 of the drive. As we were pulling up to the parking lot, we were suprised to see the $2 increase in parking to $12, but luckily that is the only time we would have to pay that thanks to the VIP passes. We bought our season passes, got them processed, and then headed through the gates... The mandatory shot for every visit to KD! This is also my favorite Cedar Fair entrance plaza... KD fixed the fountains over the offseason so they are looking great once again! Why hello there Dominator, as much as I like you, Intimidator 305 gets my first ride of the season! As sad as it was to see Geauga Lake close down, atleast KD got the best ride from there! Temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s and a gloomy sky really helped keep the crowds away! Didn't take many pictures while runnin... I mean "speedwalking" to 305, but I was thrilled to see Volcano actually open! After riding Intimidator 305 three times (which is even better now), Anaconda, Backlot, Crypt, and Avalache we headed over to the Grove... and since I realized the crowds were going to be light all day, I figured I could take my time and snap some photos once again. Shockwaves new paint and logo look fabulous, but the 2nd half of the ride is still torture... The new color scheme that they selected for the ride really fits in well with the north side of The Grove! Triple Spin even got a new paint job for 2011! After taking a few pictures of The Grove and getting ripped off for the Season Souvenir 305 cup and Boardwalk Fries ($20), we rode the Drop Zone! Hey, atleast its only $2 refills all season long! I believe a total of 5 new planters were added in The Grove during the offseason as well, including these two in front of Johnny's. Attempted artsy shot, but I didn't take the four minutes to wait for a Shockwave train... TOGO standups take FOREVER to load. Thought this shot was pretty cool on the way to ride Rebel Yell, which was actually RACING! North side definitely is the better side because IMO it is really smooth! After riding Rebel Yell, we went to ride Flying Eagles... 305 and Drop Tower snuck into the picture! My brother and I (I'm in the 305 hoodie) in front of one of the better flats in the park. All Access will be in the KD Theater beginning Memorial Day weekend! I really like the Old Virginia section because of the details like this, I just think it needs that "signature attraction" placed in between White Water Canyon and Grizzly behind the KD Theater, something really BIG! Oh yeah, Spongeboob is still here too, chasing that stupid pickle! Maybe next year will finally be the year he leaves, HOPEFULLY! Next Stop: top of the Eiffel Tower! OoOoOoHhHhHh Ahhh... Intimidator 305! Volcano looks great since it got the new paint last season! Flight of Fear also has an full queue now too, NO MORE HAUNT CRAP! Here is a bit of Planet Snoopy, The Grove, and Waterworks. Shockwave looks 100% better now! Overview of the east side of the park... I remember when I thought Volcano seemed tall from here before another kick-a$$ Intamin came in! Overview of the south side of the park... including the future home of Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular (on Center Walkway)! Say hello the old turn of Intimidator 305 back behind Grizzly! Or better yet, THANK YOU for not being crowded and hot as hell for a change! The fountains looking great once again and the stage being used for Spin and the Peanuts Rockin' Party which can be seen daily until Labor Day! This is how a B&M floorless parking lot coaster should look SFMM! 3 trains out of 4 possible ones, SO CLOSE! 1/2 second sooner! Who would have ever guessed a giga would be built at KD? Well, besides that clever Dippin' Dots guy... This is the moment of the ride where you hear cursing flying out of the passengers mouths because they are scared to death... My brother probably regrets saying that he loved 305 after I made him ride it 8 times in a row on Sunday with no breaks... But I could ride 305 all day long! Definitely gets my 2 thumbs up as it is my #1 coaster! Finally, back at the bottom of the tower... I am glad that KD added Snoopy's Moon Bounce when they rethemed Nick Central to Planet Snoopy because it makes the section actually seem large enough to be considered an "area" of the park now with 3 attractions, 3 souvenir places, 3 places to grab a bite to eat, and a restroom. After the Eiffel Tower, we got a ride on Beserker and then Dominator, which was smoother this season (I rode in the 2nd row). Next up was Boo Blasters, where I barely won by 10 points! I would have killed him, but I was stupid in the loading platform and forgot the gun cord was under the lapbar... Boo Blasters > Scooby-Doo. After Boo Blasters, it was back to the Congo! Volcano still had about a 30 minute wait so we skipped it and figured we would ride it first thing Sunday! KD's second best coaster IMO... Sorry B&M lovers, but Dominator is third! Finally back to Intimidator 305 for the last ride of the day! We rode it twice before we left for a total of 5 times on Saturday! Good view of 305 lift hill and 3 spots of extreme airtime! Many people just like to hang around in the 305 plaza because not only fun to ride, but amazing to watch it go up the lift hill and see how fast it goes. The wait was still walk-on at around 4:30-5:00 but we were whipped so we only rode it twice... The extreme air is BACK! I never thought in a million years that I would be seen wearing race-looking merchandise, but I do just because 305 is that awesome, they got $80 out of me on souvenirs (including the 305 Coaster Dynamix) this trip! Thanks KD for using my name as the example in the gift shop! If you look at the turn from the lift hill, you can tell that the radius of the first turn did not change at all with the new turn! The footers just had to be extended for the taller/larger supports. The transitions at full-speed with the new straps are fantastic! Maverick needs these straps ASAP! Many (including myself) believe that there are less trims on the 3rd hill than there were on Opening Day last year which provides great air on that hill! Not crowded + Cool cloudy day + Improved 305 = One of the best experiences at KD ever! 305 gets two thumbs up! Who knew that flowers and Nascar could go together? Oh yeah, they replaced all of the 305 flags in the plaza this season since last years faded a bit. Still only new paint on the brakerun and station for Anaconda... The ride wasn't rough besides right after the MCBR when I rode it. Although the theme of Backlot doesn't go with the Congo at all, I do like the location because it separates the Congo and WaterWorks really well. 305 and Anaconda hidden deep in the Congo! I don't think I have ever taken a picture of the Crypt from the side before... Looks pretty cool! "Welcome to the Congo! Home of avalanches, crypts, active volcanoes, downtown Los Angeles, anacondas, aliens, and a tribute to the world's greatest racecar driver!" We cut through KidZville instead of taking the Dominator path on the way out for a change. This year at the KidZville Stage there is a show called Charlie Brown's Pirate Adventure, and when it was going on there was quite a crowd watching it! This year in Planet Snoopy at the PEANUTS Showplace there will be a show called Saddle Up! featuring country music from today, the show opens up Memorial Day weekend. Although many claim that kids don't have any idea who the Peanuts are, I always find kids so excited to see them at every Cedar Fair park I go to. Dominator rises above Planet Snoopy's Joe Cool's Driving School. 4 coasters, no trains, just my luck! But I must say, KD has an awesome skyline from the parking lot now! We left the park at 5:00 pm, went to check in the Marriott in Glen Allen, had dinner at Chilis, and went back to the hotel because we were whipped... Day 2 (Sunday 4/10) was another cloudy cool day, but it did get sunny and warmer in the afternoon! Beserker was testing as we were waiting on the rest of the park to open to go ride Volcano before the line got long! We didn't ride Dominator because we were worried we wouldn't be done in time for the rest of the park to open, and we wanted to get to Volcano before the rest of the stampede got there. Neat shot of Dominator going back into the station with the signature loop. Waiting for the rope to drop at the entrance of Planet Snoopy we noticed several trees marked with ribbons for lights for Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular! Supposedly there will be lights on the Eiffel Tower like at KI. After getting off of Volcano (which is still a a great thrill after 13 years), we rode Flight of Fear 3 times in a row! We were the only ones on the train 1 time. After 3 rides on Flight of Fear we rode Intimidator 305 8 times in a row, yes 8 in about 40 minutes! NOOO LINE! This was Dippin' Dots stand who claimed they were building Intimidator 305! Intimidator 305 rises above everything! Beat that theming BGW! HAH! The creepy monkey is freaked out because there are racecars and aliens in his Congo! I wonder if this will ever be a huge Planet Snoopy? Retro bumper cars! I never ride them, I like the building better when it is a Haunt maze! You get a great view of how 305 towers over Anaconda and Rebel Yell from the WaterWorks/Drop Tower Plaza. BEST FLAT RIDE NAME EVER..... not. But what's sad is it is not that much worse that Mach Tower... Up... ...Up... ...Up & then finally drop more than 270 ft. back down to Earth. Hypersonic > El Dorado... but atleast they got something for the "asphalt jungle". North side for the win! It is smoother... 82.bmp 2nd half is still rough, but it sure looks purrrdy! The Grove got lots of new paint, so hopefully it gets something new next year, Windseeker? They need to cut down the trees so you can get the Eiffel Tower in the loop picture again! The lengendary Congo got one more visit from me to ride 305 two more times (to make it 10 for the day and 15 for the weekend) before we headed back home! Once again, another attempted artsy shot while leaving the park... 87.bmp Goodbye KD, see you soon, and thanks for a great trip! We left at 2:00 and got home at 5:30 with only stopping once at McDonalds! Edited April 18, 2011 by ernierocker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Great TR! I knew that I-305 would be back and better than ever! While not trying to sound like a total douche I was more people would have actually LISTENED to me last year when I said "Expect to see the ride go through more changes, including the possibility of the trims coming off the first drop..." because now all I have to say in response of the hundreds of pages of complaining I TOLD YOU SO!!! Anyway, decent TR - it went up on the front page! --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger01 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Is there any POV of the 'new' Intimidator 305 yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 ^ Nothing "legal" that I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intimidator305 Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 ^^^ Thanks Robb!! I also haven't seen a POV of the new 305 so far, not even an illegal one which is a shocker considering I thought a few of the GP would compete to get the first one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Now that I305 is back and better than ever, what will our local area posters complain about now??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intimidator305 Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 Now that I305 is back and better than ever, what will our local area posters complain about now??? The slight bump that you barely feel where the old track meets the new track... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braztaz Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Now that I305 is back and better than ever, what will our local area posters complain about now??? The slight bump that you barely feel where the old track meets the new track... I honestly didn't even feel the bump when I rode it on the 1st. I think it's one of those things where if you're not paying attention to it or thinking about it, you don't notice it. It's that little. Anyways, great trip report and I'm glad you loved the new i305! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Now that I305 is back and better than ever, what will our local area posters complain about now??? The slight bump that you barely feel where the old track meets the new track... And that's something that will smooth out over time, too. Remember, one set of track has a year of wear on it, the other doesn't... Of course, I'm sure the locals will also not listen to me on that fact either and complain about it for 362 pages.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewoplis Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Great TR! I think I305 looks even more impressive with the new turn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I hear ya that OV needs a signature ride aside from grizzly to really pull peeps over there but where could anything fit behind the KD theatre?If I'm not mistaken the highway pretty much borders the park on that side so there's not much space to work with but I'd love to see a nice B&M invert over there cough CGA's flight deck cough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosscoe Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Great trip report, The coaster was close to perfect last year with the trims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Dang, I missed out on two different versions of this coaster: Original hard restraint no trims ride, and the soft restraint trimmed ride. I hope to soon ride it before it goes through another change (if it does... I'm sure it won't). Great photo-TR BTW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Awesome TR! The picture of Dominator is so beautiful. I305 looks really good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 ^They really did a great job of landscaping underneath it. To think that was a parking lot a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triggernel Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I don't know if it's a chain wide thing, but Valleyfair pass holders get $.99 refills instead of $2. Great report, and awesome pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intimidator305 Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 I hear ya that OV needs a signature ride aside from grizzly to really pull peeps over there but where could anything fit behind the KD theatre?If I'm not mistaken the highway pretty much borders the park on that side so there's not much space to work with but I'd love to see a nice B&M invert over there cough CGA's flight deck cough. Actually, there is a ton of room! I always thought an out-and-back hyper would have fit great back there that wrapped around Grizzly and Hurler before 305 came along... In fact, a coaster the size of 305 could almost fit back there! BTW, thank you all for all the responses, this was my first TPR photo trip report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Great Trip Report! I now really want to get back up there and ride Intimidator again. Maybe next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imawesome1124 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I *might* be going to KD this year for Kingsfest where I will get to see my favorite band, Skillet. But the tickets alone would cost a total of $250+ . Hopefully we win the lottery so we can go. Riding the new I305 and seeing my favorite band perform would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott45 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 So how accommodating is the restraint system for big riders? I'm 6'3" and 300 lbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 ^^^^Dang!!! I didn't even suspect that they had that much room to work with but if I'm not mistaken the land directly south of hurler is off limits for expansion purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intimidator305 Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 ^ I thought the land behind Hurler could be used until the maintenance road, but I could be wrong. I also have no clue about the condition of the land back between the Grizzly and WWC, it could be a drainage area or swampy like sections of the 305 land was/is. I do think if they do actually use that land, it definitely needs to be a coaster added back there, I'm sure they could make something work. And thanks again for the responses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfoot12 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 So how accommodating is the restraint system for big riders?I'm 6'3" and 300 lbs You should be able to fit. I'm 6'2 and was in the 290-300 range last year and had no problems riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyEisentrout Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I love the old catwalk mounts on Dominator. They look so weird, as if a support was supposed to be there but isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 ^ I thought the land behind Hurler could be used until the maintenance road, but I could be wrong. I also have no clue about the condition of the land back between the Grizzly and WWC, it could be a drainage area or swampy like sections of the 305 land was/is. I do think if they do actually use that land, it definitely needs to be a coaster added back there, I'm sure they could make something work. And thanks again for the responses! I could picture a decent invert or flyer going in back there.There's gotta be suitable access behind grizzly in order for the park to perform annual maintenance on it so most of that land should be suitable for expansion....There appear to be powerlines pretty close to the land south of hurler so perhaps that explains why it's a no go for expansion back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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