Last weekend I had the opportunity to take my first trip to Kings Dominion! I am an avid Kings Island goer so I guess I expected Kings Dominion to be similar. Other than a few alike rides, the layout and overall feel of the parks are totally different. The first thing I noticed as I entered the park were all of the trees. I really liked how many trees they kept throughout the park, it gave it a more secluded feel, almost like you were not at a corporate park at all. I was very anxious to get the day started as we waited by the ropes.
The first ride we went to was Volcano: The Blast Coaster. I have wanted to ride this coaster for a long time, so I was excited to finally try it out. After launching into a helix, you launch again into the volcano and then it shoots you straight up and out! Once you exit you are put through 3 inline twists before plunging back into the volcano and into the station. This is a very unique coaster that provides a very different ride experience. The only downfall is that it is not a long ride.
Just a few steps away from the Volcano sits Intimidator 305. Since the ride debuted, I have heard about how intense this coaster is and how so many people “grey out” during the first turn. There is also a big controversy on whether I305 or Millennium Force is better. I was about ready to find for myself. After your seats are checked, you hear “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!” Then you are immediately pulled up a very steep lift hill at a speed faster than I’ve ever seen. Before you know it, you are diving 305 feet down into a huge turn! My first ride I did not grey out, but during all of the following ones I did. After making your way around the turn and up an air time hill, you head back down into a series of twists, turns and some more airtime.
It is unbelievable how fast the second half of the ride is, especially as you travel through the twists. It is an experience unique to I305. I think the best way to explain this ride is to compare it to Roller Coaster Tycoon. Did you ever create a coaster that turned out to be way to fast for the track layout? The way it seemed to make the turns just looked wrong? That is how I305 looks as you watch it. The turns actually aren’t as rough while you are riding as they appear. As for its comparison to Millennium Force, I still prefer MF. Both are world class coasters that provide great rides. What makes MF prevail for me is its reridability and ride length.
There were minimal crowds, so we spent the rest of the day making our way around the park riding all of the coasters. Flight of Fear, who has a clone at Kings Island (stay tuned for “Kings Island vs. Kings Dominion”) surprised me. It was very smooth and inside the building, they had multicolored lights that lit up different sections of track. It didn’t take away from the darkness, but enhanced it I thought. Plus it was cool to see how tight all of that track is packed inside that building. Rebel Yell was another coaster that gave me a pleasant surprise. It too, was very smooth for an old woodie. I was also excited to finally get to ride this coaster because it was a part of the 1977 movie “Rollercoaster” (stay tuned for more on that too).
Hurler and Grizzly are the park’s other two major woodies. Hurler was a bit rough, and Grizzly was fun to ride because it’s layout is based on an old coaster from the Coney Island of Cincinnati.
We decided to give their Drop Tower a try next. Other than waiting a very long time for the restraints to get checked, it was a good freefall ride. Ricochet is the park’s wild mouse type coaster. It didn’t spin like other wild mouse’s, so the turns were very forceful and threw you back and forth. Needless to say, we only did it once. Another ride we only did once was Shockwave, the oldest operating stand up coaster in the USA. The first drop and loop were flawless but as for the rest of the ride, it was extremely rough.
On the other hand, Dominator was just as awesome as I remembered it from being at Geauga Lake. It still remains the world’s longest floorless coaster. The first loop is huge! The forces on this coaster aren’t too much or too little. I rode it three times in a row without a wait and it gave a great ride each time. The path that runs beside the coaster allows it to be very photogenic, there are many wonderful spots to take pictures along it.
Avalanche is just one of a handful of bobsled roller coasters left. I had only been on one other, Disaster Transport, and it is now closed. It was very different than Disaster was because it is not inside a building. For being not a “thrilling” coaster, it was very enjoyable. If you come to KD, don’t pass it by.
Before we left, I had to try Berserker, the crazy looping swinging ship! It appears to be your typical swinging ship until you realize there are over the head restraints and a very tight lap bar. It starts out like any other ship ride, but then keeps going, and going, and going, until you are spinning all the way around!
I hope I can get back to Kings Dominion sometime soon, it was a beautiful park and had a large variety of rides. My favorites were Intimidator 305, Volcano: The Blast Coaster, Dominator and Rebel Yell. If you are planning a trip to KD, I advise going this time of year. There were low crowds and the longest we waited for any ride was 10 minutes. Who else has been to Kings Dominion? What are your thoughts on it?
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