Kings Dominion - 07/04/09

We went to KD for the second time this year, last time being in April when it was practically empty. We got there just before 10:30, thinking it opened then, but apparently they opened at 9:45 instead (someone said it was supposed to be 10 but they opened early for the lines.)

We got in line at Guest Services to get our friends the guest passes for $25 off with our Platinum Pass from Dorney Park and that line seemed long but moved fast. Our passes from DP scanned at the gate with no problems. Once inside we booked it over to Dominator. The line looked very long, but it moved right along. I think we waited maybe 35 minutes or so to get on it. The ride was great, no complaints from our group and the ones who rode it for the first time liked it too.

Next up was Beserker. The line seemed short but it takes FOREVER to get on that ride and we must have waited over 45 minutes. Then just as we were next to get on, they shut down the ride so the ride op could retrive something from below. Later we learned it was SUNGLASSES. I'm sorry but if you are dumb enough to leave them on, too bad for you. I could see if it was a wallet that someone tried to secure and it fell out anyway, but SUNGLASSES? Anyway, we finally got on and it was fun as usual... scares me when it gets to the full flip and we hang upside down for a few seconds. :)

After that it was after noon already so we grabbed lunch and then got our stuff from the car and headed to the water park part. We'd never visited that area and it was hot, so the water was welcomed. We hit the first wave pool and it was super crowded. We kept going and found where the second one was but decided to go on the one tube ride there... it's a giant raft/tube thing (forget the name) where multiple people can sit in it. It was a bit scary because on two of the turns our raft nearly folded in half. If you aren't holding on, you are going to fall out! After that we headed to the second wave pool and waited FOREVER for waves. Finally the waves came and we hung out in there for a while. Then it was off to the area where it has nets to climb on and such and we got dumped on by the big bucket of water a few times. After that we walked over to the rapids ride and rode that before changing into regular clothing again. The line was long but moved along. I think it was about 30 minutes that we waited. I LOVE that rapids ride the most out of any I've ever been on.

After the rapids ride, we changed, took our stuff back to the car and then headed to the Backlot Stunt Coaster. We waited about 10 minutes and then they said the coaster was down and didn't know how long it would be. We decided to wait and about 15 minutes later 4 mechanics came along, talked to someone in the control room and then two of them went out and shoved the coaster in the station forward about a foot and then they launched it. The second one then entered the exit point and the people waiting were able to get out. Right after that the third train flew out of the tunnel and they launched the second empty coaster, let the 3rd one empty, ran it through and then we were able to get into the station and we got in the front row in 5 minutes. I thought it was funny that all the mechanics had to do was push it forward. Apparently it didn't stop in the right place which threw everything off. I heard people complaining as they got off that they should get something free for getting stuck and I had to laugh.

Next up was Anaconda. It's one of my favorite rides from my childhood. We waited a good 30 minutes for that and it was fun as always but it gets rougher each year it seems like. I got to see the area where the new coaster will be going, they had it all cleared out and lots of stuff over there for construction and a few footers were poured and ready already too.

After that we wandered around, looked at the lines for Volcano and decided against a 2 hour wait. We wound up eating dinner in the shrimp place... great food but they were a bit backed up so we had to wait a while. After that we rested for a few minutes and then headed over to Avalanche.

I have to say Avalanche is one of my favorite rides in KD. I am fascinated by it and just love how fast it seems to go. We waited about 30 minutes for that, the line was back to the beginning of the entrance but moved fairly fast. After that we looked at the line for the Backlot Stunt Coaster but it was really long. I was hoping to get on again since I love that one but we were just beat... it was 9 PM and we decided to head out, stopping at a few shops along the way.

We didn't ride too much but had a great time. The lines for the "great" rides were just too long. I've ridden them all before so I didn't mind bypassing them. All in all we had a good time and I'm hoping to get back for the Haunt this year. I like Dorney's Haunt so I'm hoping the KD one is just as good, if not better.

I forgot, we rode the Scooby ride too.. I won with the most points. I know it's a kids ride really, but it's fun. :)

The Scooby Doo shooting ride is cool! I had never been on it until last month myself and was very surprised.

We always reride scooby doo on our visits there unless the waits are too long. Fun ride! Good Times!