Kings Dominion (KD) Discussion Thread

I don't think we will see a new coaster until atleast 2014. Even when we do, I don't think it will be very large, more on the family size scale. As far as next year goes, I'm also hoping/thinking we will see a thrilling flat ride or something done to the Action Theater finally. If we happen to get Dinsosaurs Alive I think that we could see the movie that Kings Island got this year. I just do not understand the upcharge for a 3-D movie...

I don't think we will see a new coaster until atleast 2014. Even when we do, I don't think it will be very large, more on the family size scale. As far as next year goes, I'm also hoping/thinking we will see a thrilling flat ride or something done to the Action Theater finally. If we happen to get Dinsosaurs Alive I think that we could see the movie that Kings Island got this year. I just do not understand the upcharge for a 3-D movie...

Perhaps we'll get a windseeker plus the DA? it worked for KI after all so why not KD?

I still wish we'd get a giant frisbee, but at this point I doubt we ever will. If we do get Windseeker, I think it'd go good where the Flying Dutchman used to be. (Between Grizzly and the former Paramount Theater.) No other towers over there.

I used to have KD as my home park and had many great memories throughout my childhood visiting this park. I liked it back when it was paramount, and now much more with the changes CF made to the park. I'm visiting Virginia on vacation with my family, and we planned a trip to BGE sunday and KD tuesday. BGE was nice and very empty, it was a beautiful day in a beautiful park, but i was not nearly as impressed with the park as i used to be. Some of the changes were very strange to me, but i wont go too much into that. KD on the other hand i was VERY impressed with in every way. When I got to the park i instantly noticed how great the skyline looked. Hypersonic was gone which looked a bit strange, but Dominator and Intimidator looked great, and i would never would have guessed dominator used to be on a parking lot. Im excited to see how dominator's area fills in with foliage and landscaping over the next few years. As for my day, there was a heat advisory, and there were large crowds. But the park did there job and made sure everybody was staying hydrated by warnings over the speaker systems all throughout the parks. And even the ride ops told people where to go for the nearest waterfountain or indoor attractions and restaurants. Even just random park staff would say hi and be friendly just walking by and asked us if we were staying hydrated and cool.

Now to the rides. The operations were incredible on volcano. The line was long even early in the day when we got there, and i almost didnt wait, but my brother had not ridden it yet and wanted to. They ran 2 trains the whole day though, and to my surprise, the line did not stop moving once. Then fof was just as good. 2 trains, and they had a great system of letting in enough people for 4 people per row into the loading area, then cutting off the line, so the station stayed open and uncrowded, and the line seemed to move very far with each interval. I only waited about 15 mins for volcano, and 10 mins for fof. All of the rides i went to had just as good operations, and not once on any ride did i get stapled on a ride.

Tuesday was also my first time riding I305. Robb was so right when he said that Intimidator craps all over MF. My brother wouldnt ride it again because it was too intense, but i rode it 5 times that day. I would have liked to ride more but it was hot and i had a dad and sister and brother to think about. Too bad because for some reason it was nearly walk on all day with one train. Anyways, the drop. That ride has the best first drop on any coaster i have ever rode. Better than el toro, and ntag combined. And imo even a bit better than MF. WOW. Then the whole ride has incredible airtime that beats sros sfne imo, and normal/transitional lats mixed with airtime is just the best thing ever to me. Each of the twists was like its own inversion to me, and there is nothing in the world that compares to the feeling of flying through those twists. They totaly caught me off gaurd. Then there are the same insane turbulent gforces that make me love Titan at SFOT everywhere on this ride. Every part of this ride is just completely out of controll, and the restraints (which need to be put on maverick) made every last twist comfortable and enjoyable. Best coaster i have ever ridden. Great job kd and intamin. Now all they need is to cut down on the trims mid ride. Theres already ejector there with them, i cant imagine having even more speed there. Its nice and shiny too, which is always a plus.

Intimidator was a huge score by CF, and now they just need to continue beautifying the park (which its already pretty gorgeous from what they have already done) and it would be perfect. BTW i forgot how much i loved Volcanos launch and barrel rolls, and the themeing quality of fof. Two great rides. And drop zone is great too. Hurler is definately riding better than my last trip to the park like 4 yrs ago, so something was totaly done right there. Dominator rode great and despite all the talk of it being rough, the front row was very smooth imo and was a very great ride. Just needs some airtime. Overall, the park is beautiful, and better than ever with I305. I really am hoping to visit again soon. Keep up the good work KD!

Intimidator- 5

Volcano- 1

Flight of Fear- 1

Hurler- 1

Drop Tower- 2

Ricochet- 2

Dominator- 1

Boo Blasters- 2

Taxi jam- 1

Treasure cave- 3

Waterslides- 3

Dunk bucket- 4

Log flume- 1

Vintage cars- 2

I would have liked to hit shockwave, rebel yell, grizzly, backlot stunt coaster, the crypt, avalanche, more slides, and more rides on FOF and Volcano, but whatever thats life.

^Glad you enjoyed your day!

I was there on Tuesday and had a great time. Of course 305 is running amazingly (It somehow seems better every time!), and feels great on a hot day, but it was my first time on grizzly this year, and the retracking is great! It was smooth as silk through most of the course, and much faster than it used to run. It is twice the ride it was last year!

Wanted to (re)post this vintage image here in a relevant thread (that was taken for a trivia contest prize). It's from a cup that was purchased back in the day... 1987. A nod to childhood KD visits and 70/80's kid memories. Oh, and to repeat cycles through Yogi Bear's Cave.

I was there on Tuesday and had a great time. Of course 305 is running amazingly (It somehow seems better every time!), and feels great on a hot day, but it was my first time on grizzly this year, and the retracking is great! It was smooth as silk through most of the course, and much faster than it used to run. It is twice the ride it was last year!

Couldn't agree more,on my last few rides last weekend it was crazy air during the 2nd half of the course....thank heavens for lap belts as I definitely came up between the inside edge of the lap bar & seat divider on more than one occasion.Now that's the way a good woodie should be!!!

^Before this season there was always this bump before the tunnel that would make me and whoever I'm riding with smash heads together. It happened 5 times and man, it HURT! Thankfully that's solved now and I ride Grizzly much more!

Wanted to (re)post this vintage image here in a relevant thread (that was taken for a trivia contest prize). It's from a cup that was purchased back in the day... 1987. A nod to childhood KD visits and 70/80's kid memories. Oh, and to repeat cycles through Yogi Bear's Cave.

 

[attachment=0]04 - TPR OB Trivia Prize Cup 02 (detail).jpg[/attachment]

^^^I really like that pic, brings back great memories!!!!

^Before this season there was always this bump before the tunnel that would make me and whoever I'm riding with smash heads together. It happened 5 times and man, it HURT! Thankfully that's solved now and I ride Grizzly much more!

Funny,I never noticed it before.

I'm heading to the park for the first time next August, and under the season pass perks, "Walk on Wednesdays" were mentioned. Could someone possibly clarify as to what in the world that means? I assume it's a sort of line-jumping offered to passholders on Wednesdays, but of course I could be wrong.

^You show your pass at guest services (or somewhere else, I don't know) and they give you tickets that you give to the ride ops so you can enter through the exit and not wait in line. You have a limited number of tickets, though...

... I really like that pic, brings back great memories!!!!

man... just had a memory flash... galaxi coaster... singing frogs & mushrooms under the HB-land skyride station's ascent/descent... some spinning flat along candy apple grove called "apple bobs" (probably not)... the GIANT slide that turned me into a hydrant of tears my first trip to KD (too scared... walked up mid-way... climbed back down)... but I later overcame the menacing challenge and ended up getting stuck in one of the flat sections after the second drop I think...

oh, and King Cobra and Mt. Kilimanjaro (which I would stand and watch for minutes... listening to the "whirrring" sound... and occasionally catch it getting stuck).

From the GrayZone -

man... just had a memory flash... galaxi coaster... singing frogs & mushrooms under the HB-land skyride station's ascent/descent... some spinning flat along candy apple grove called "apple bobs" (probably not)... the GIANT slide that turned me into a hydrant of tears my first trip to KD (too scared... walked up mid-way... climbed back down)... but I later overcame the menacing challenge and ended up getting stuck in one of the flat sections after the second drop I think...

 

oh, and King Cobra and Mt. Kilimanjaro (which I would stand and watch for minutes... listening to the "whirrring" sound... and occasionally catch it getting stuck).

Oh yeah, I had that same memory flash that also included THE LOST WORLD. As for that spinning flat ride in Candy Apple Grove, there were two of them: the Apple Turnover and an Octopus ride that was called The Mad Apple.

Anybody got any more nostagic things from KINGS DOMINION they would love to share on this post?

"I've got one - the times when I was used plenty of times before this website came along and I ended up spending my time on the bed lonely. But I'm still smiling!"

From the GrayZone -

man... just had a memory flash... galaxi coaster... singing frogs & mushrooms under the HB-land skyride station's ascent/descent... some spinning flat along candy apple grove called "apple bobs" (probably not)... the GIANT slide that turned me into a hydrant of tears my first trip to KD (too scared... walked up mid-way... climbed back down)... but I later overcame the menacing challenge and ended up getting stuck in one of the flat sections after the second drop I think...

 

oh, and King Cobra and Mt. Kilimanjaro (which I would stand and watch for minutes... listening to the "whirrring" sound... and occasionally catch it getting stuck).

 

Oh yeah, I had that same memory flash that also included THE LOST WORLD. As for that spinning flat ride in Candy Apple Grove, there were two of them: the Apple Turnover and an Octopus ride that was called The Mad Apple.

Anybody got any more nostagic things from KINGS DOMINION they would love to share on this post?

 

"I've got one - the times when I was used plenty of times before this website came along and I ended up spending my time on the bed lonely. But I'm still smiling!"

They also had vertigo & flying bobs in the grove section as well.

^ And I have never once seen a picture showing their Flying Bobs nor their Mt. Kilamanjaro, oddly enough. I hear they had a Calypso over by the Hanna Barbera Land area back in the late 70s too.

^ And I have never once seen a picture showing their Flying Bobs nor their Mt. Kilamanjaro, oddly enough. I hear they had a Calypso over by the Hanna Barbera Land area back in the late 70s too.

Kings dominon golden years has some pics on their facebook page showing it.

They also had vertigo & flying bobs in the grove section as well.

The flying bobs... that ride would be the "Apple Bobs" I recall.

Found an old 1978 KD park map online and it appears this ride was called "Adams Apple" that year. Or at least an attraction called, "Adams Apple", was located in the spot where I remember the flying bobs existing. However, I still recall it named something different when I went (first visit to KD was either in '81 or '82).

Heres some crazy 1080p park footage by some amateur video guys with nice cameras and post-processing. Its a little cheesy but the footage is amazing! If you havent been to kings dominion this certainly shows some of the areas really well.

So...I'm in Richmond, but haven't gone to KD yet. I need some advice on the best day (that I have available) to go. The options are: this Friday from around 1pm to close, all day Saturday, or all day Sunday. Also...I am going to BGW on the weekend as well, so that's something else to consider. My initial plan was BGW Saturday and KD Sunday. However, I will be done with my work duties around 1130 on Friday, so that is why that day is now an option. I just want to try and go on the best day possible even though fri-sun isn't ideal.

Avoid Saturday at all costs. Both Sunday and Friday aren't very crowded at all, I've been both and I can't say which was better off the top of my head.

Sundays at KD aren't bad, crowd-wise in my experience. However, you may be able to get everything in that you want even with the shorter time on Friday, though it's usually more crowded than Sunday is. I'd say go with Sunday so you can do re-rides.

of those choices, i'd definitely pick sunday. fridays are just as crowded as sundays, i believe.

going to KD (or any park, really) on a saturday is just unbearable for me.

I went to the park for the first time on Tuesday. It wasn't busy at all, possibly because there were thunderstorms in the forecast. Despite the forecast, it didn't rain at all! We were at the front of the pack that was lead back to I305 in the morning and rode it four times in a row with just a 2-3 minute wait each time. The longest wait of the day was Volcano around 11:30, which was 20-30 minutes. Crowds got even lighter throughout the day - we were able to ride Dominator six times in a row either without getting off or just switching rows when someone was waiting to get in the row we were in. All the coasters either met or exceeded my expectations. I305 was AMAZING. It may be my new favorite coaster! If there is bad weather in the forecast on the day you plan to go, consider taking the risk - it may be worth it!