GREAT!! Trip to King's Dominion 6-13

I went with a church group to King's Dominion and I had a great time and everything exceeded my expectations.

We got to the park a little past twelve o'clock. I was really worried about being there so late, but the park was pretty empty. The weather was partly cloudy and hot.

We hit SHOCKWAVE first because that's what my group wanted to. This ride isn't really as bad as people say it is. It seemed a little better than King Cobra at PKI, except for the rough turn at the end. We rode this again later in the day as well. **1/2

Next was HYPERSONIC XLC. I am assuming they keep the line out in the plaza and let groups in after a launch because they were only using one side of the station and it gets too crowded. I rode two times in a row and then hit it again later. The most I waited was fifteen minutes. Wow, that launch is crazy! The first time I was really nervous, and the lights not working gave me nothing to judge our launch on. The hill and the apex were crazy, and the back seat gave collossal airtime. Those brakes at the end are really loud and quick. I really enjoyed this ride and it was better than I thought. **** 1/2

After a $10, chicken finger and fry lunch, we hit RICOCHET. It looked really slow and boring. But once on it, our four seat car did whip a couple of the turns pretty fast. **

Next was HURLER, and it was a little disappointing. I remember the Carowinds one had some air and was a little more fun. This one seemed a little rough and there was not much airtime. **1/2

After this was REBEL YELL, and I chose to ride forwards while some others hit backwards. Of course they didn't race, because some jerk put gum in the backwards train. I really didn't like this ride too much either, as it was really jerky and there was no air. I think Thunder Road at Carowinds is better. **

DROP ZONE was next in line. I got right on and sat down in the comfy Intamin seats. After the quick ascension up to the top we sat for a sec and then dropped. The drop was great and it gave some nice freefall. Although not as intense as I remember the King's Island one to be, it was a great ride non-the-less. ****

ANACONDA was ready to take us next and it blew away my expectations. The ride is really cool looking over the water and the trains were quite comfortable. The ride itself is great and I loved the drop into the tunnel and the loop and sidewinder. The brakes on this one nearly stop you, and that's a good thing. The only real jerk on this ride is between the helixes. The corkscrews over the water are "hangtime heaven" and probably the best part of the ride. I hit this ride four times. ****

FLIGHT OF FEAR was next, and without over the shoulder restraints thankfully. I rode three times, and the front was definetly the best. Although the launch is nothing compared to XLC, it is still pretty good. I really liked being able to see the track as you're on it. The first two rides I got were smooth and swift, but the final one seemed a bit jerky. Overall, this ride is much improved with the lapbars and a great inside ride. ****

VOLCANO was next, and once again, Intamin rules. The launch, the rolls, the smoothness. I got four rides in, as lines were nonexistant! Nuff said, *****

AVALANCHE was our final coaster in Congo and it was a decent little bobsled. We rode twice. **1/2

After this we hit the RAFTING RIDE AND THE FLUME, both were well themed and cool in the woods. They didn't get me too wet though, and it would have been nice on such a hot day. ***1/2 each because of their nice natural surroundings.

GRIZZLY was next, and it was a lot better than Great America's. It was rough but it had nice surroundings and some good elements. ***

After this we hit some of the rides again (the numbers I stated were cumulative throughout the day!).

Overall, PKD far exceeded my expectations and I had one of my best coaster days ever. The park had nice natural surroundings, great coasters, and get this, FRIENDLY AND FAST STAFF!!!!! We ended our perfect day with a nice severe storm and headed home soaking wet, what fun!

PKD: ****1/2

*** This post was edited by Willh51 6/14/2003 10:29:09 AM ***

Nice TR. You really got lucky with the lines...most of the times i go volcano is always atleast an hour long, FoF about 30mins, and Hypersonic about an hour. About drop zone though...how could PKI's be any more intense? From the second it drops till it hits the brakes, the air is my seat.

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1. Millennium Force
2. HypersonicXLC
3. Alpengeist

I haven't been on DZ @ PKI and I too was wondering how it could be more intense. PKD's is taller and faster :::shrugs:::

I do know that the air blast when it hits the bottom is greater. Maybe that's what he means?

Corey

I kind of worded that wrong, Drop Zone just wasn't as scary as before, it was still an "all air" fall. I also forgot to stress how reliable the rides were, I mean Hypersonic, Drop Zone, Volcano, etc... NO BREAKDOWNS AT ALL!! I was also pleasantly surprised how the rides stayed open with thunder in the distance, they only closed when the severe storm was right over our heads.