Kings Dominion 2012

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May 26, 2012
Doswell VA

I’d been trying to get to Kings Dominion for I305 since it opened but no such luck. Since I was in the area, though, I couldn’t pass a trip up since I was so close. I got up slightly later than I’d planned, but was hoping for light crowds on a Sunday. After arriving at the park and finding the season pass/preferred lot right near the front gate, I snapped some photos and walked on in. The park was already opened and the rides were running. I hadn’t been to the park since 2007, so I walked around the newer area around Dominator, and thru the Peanuts area, then back to Intimidator 305.

Intimidator 305–The drop was great and the first hill hill was absolutely insane. I greyed out on the first turn. The ride was very intense, and delivered major airtime on the hills. After the second hill there are some very quick turns with major lateral forces in the infield of the ride. The lateral forces were kind of rough with the restraints, but not totally unbearable. Then you hit the 2 bunny hops near the end of the ride. The trim was definitely noticeable, but didn’t kill the end of the ride, which consisted for a couple of more tight turns and a turn/hop up to the final brake run that gave major airtime.

The ride delivered. I didn’t get a chance to re-ride, but I definitely enjoyed my one ride with hopes to ride it again soon. Next up was the closest coaster to me, Flight of Fear. There was no one in the queue inside the building until you got to just outside the station.

Kings Dominion 2007

Kings Dominion | Photos | Videos

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August 10, 2007
Richmond VA

After checking in we showered and got read to head to Kings Dominion. Around that time, Tina called. The extended plan for Saturday was to drop Matt and Bill off in Beckley with Tina, who would continue to chauffeur them along to Camden Park and Ohio. Instead of all of that, though, Tina decided to ‘surprise’ us by coming to Virginia, and she was about 2 hours from Kings Dominion. She was going to meet us there the next day…but since our plans had changed, Tina had to readjust. She had a motel for the nite and was ready to crash for the evening, so we told her we’d meet up with her and go to Busch Gardens the next day as we headed out to Kings Dominion.

We hopped in the car and headed to the park. When we got to the gate the one coaster that Bill & Matt wanted to ride, Avalanche, was listed as closed for the day. Bill and I had season passes that worked on the new system they had installed, but Matt had to take his Worlds of Fun season pass to Guest Services. It didn’t take long, though, and soon we were inside International Street and headed for Hypersonic XLC. You may know about my experience last time I was at the park and how I didn’t get to ride this coaster. In 2001 I planned to visit the park to ride the then new coaster, but it was closed. I knew this when I went, however, a week after my visit, the ride re-opened.

And since I really did want to ride it, and since it has been listed for sale by the park owners, and since it isn’t really a very close park that I got to a lot, I wasn’t taking any chances. I hadn’t seen it launch when we first arrived at the park, but we did eventually see it cycle. The line wasn’t very long so we hopped in line for my first credit of the trip. Matt and I opted for the back half of the train. And as we were 2 trains from our ride, the ride shut down. There was an issue with some kid on the train, I’m not sure what happened, and his dad was being an idiot, jumping over the rails into the station. Bad move. After the train sat in the first staging area for a few minutes, they rolled it back into the station and everyone was made to get out of the train. Then they tested it about 4 times. Finally, the ride started back again.

Paramount’s Kings Dominion 2002

Kings Dominion | Photos | Videos

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June 17, 2002
Doswell VA

It had been about a decade since my last visit to Kings Dominion.  When I was younger, my extended family would go during the summer when we were visiting my grandparents, who lived closer than we did. Some of my brother’s friends were going, so we were supposed to go with them, but he flaked out last minute. I really wanted to go and ride their newest coaster, Hypersonic XLC. At this point in life I was really starting to get into coasters and parks as the internet had introduced me to a whole new community. Eventually I decided I would drive down myself during the week for a day.

So after a weeks delay in my plans I headed south on Monday June 17 for a day at the park. The ride to Doswell, VA was LONG and BORING, but an easy one mostly consisting of interstate. After getting lost in Richmond, turned around, and back on the right track, I found myself on Interstate 95 only a few short miles to PKD. There is a large sign right by the interstate marking Kings Dominion so that you know to get off on the next exit. The park is kind of in the middle of no-where, with a few factories and gas stations near it.

I arrived around 11am, paid to park, and found a close spot near the entrance. After getting my backpack and heading towards the main gate I was happy to see that the whether was very mild, and of course since it was a Monday the crowd was very light.  While making my way to the front entrance 3 people around my age stopped me to ask if I had purchased a ticket yet, to which I replied no. They had an extra ticket since a friend dropped out of going and asked if I wanted to buy it for $20, which is half of what I would normally have had to pay to get into the park. Score!