Kings Dominion announces Intimidator 305

Okay. It may well be the next big thing in coasters.

There's one thing that kinda bugs me: RED TRACK???? Can't CF build a coaster without red track? Did they get a discount by buying a tankerload of red paint?

What's so bad about red track? Yeah, they use it a lot, but it looks nice, seems to age well and I don't think most people care.

IMO red track looks best in photos. I contrasts well against a blue sky. I doubt that this has anything to do with the choice, but just an observation.

RavenTTD said:
The one two punch of Intimidator and Volcano make KD a top tier park and puts it way ahead of both SFA and BGW in my opinion.

Personal bias aside I will go with the givens. If you are in comparison of roller coaster numbers, then yes, KD is pulling ahead of Busch. But Busch's main motivation isnt in laying as many coasters in a park as you can. Take a look at all their parks (including Sea World).

Yes they have a few coasters in each park to cater to those who want a thrill and to draw a select crowd that isnt into shows, but a good chunk of the operation budget is in themeing and shows/entertainment. They are more in the similar direction as Disney where the ambiance for families is their main goal.

But I would be careful of the distinction of "pulling way ahead". For coaster enthusiasts/thrill seekers, sure.. Families. Ehh.. Not so sure.

^In terms of coasters, while Busch for the most part may be lacking in quantity, they really make up for it with the quality of the rides. Of course I'm sure most people know this by now, or at least should.

Anyways, this ride looks great. I hope I can get out to KD sometime in the next few years to ride it.

Preaching to my choir dude. Dont have to tell me that.

But unfortunately in the world of park marketing, you hear more about the number of coasters more than you hear about the quality of the coasters.. So even in advertising, which is supposed to know their audience and what they want to hear, they rarely capitalize on that fact.

Either way, Im glad to have 2 parks in my back yard that I can get all the levels of interest I have fulfilled for the most part.

I think the design of the coaster looks amazing, especially the curve after the main drop. I cant wait to ride it next year.

Bill said:
Intimidator's designers fell into the same old trap:

1) A marketing need for a height record.

2) A cramped footprint .

3) The need for short supports to save on total cost.

What do you get? A G-force laden, ground hugging Spaghetti Bowl. Congratulations, it's an inelegant disaster. I mean, honestly? A turn-around DIRECTLY after the plunge? That's almost as bad a design flaw as having a long lift hill into the station at the end of a ride. Or having a break run at the bottom of the first plunge. Why even bother with a record breaking plunge? Why not just launch people at high speed into the turnaround?

In fact, why not just have the trains smash into a brick wall at the bottom of the first hill? Now that would make for some good G-forces!

Awful.

When are capricious ride designers going to admit that they need to take their designs through focus groups? It's as if they're a bunch of pseudo-scientific narcissists with no regard for pacing, ridability, or likability and with no accountability for their designs. Just sad.

The three criteria you gave have created some of the best roller coasters in the world, not the worst.

So Cedar Fair wanted an [almost] record breaker. What's the big deal? Records don't make the best coasters, but they don't normally hurt, either. And despite what other people think, in my opinion, the average park goer does pay attention when parks brag about their shiny new toys. When Maverick first opened, I had several friends tell me they thought the ride was good, but wondered why it didn't break any records. The record gives the park another marketing ploy, helps bring more people into the park, and provides the money for the next ride.

Since when did ground hugging and a small footprints become bad things? One of the best features of The Beast is that it almost never leaves the ground, and once the Flight of Fears got rid of their OTSR, these became awesome rides. Kawasemi at Tobu Zoo Park features the same ground hugging first turn, which is just the beginning to this intense, smooth, and airtime filled coaster. There's no pain at all, just a smooth snap as you roll into and out of the turn. Intamin isn't Dinn Corp.- they know exactly how to make a turn right out of the first drop, and they do it extremely well.

Ground hugging goes hand in hand with short supports. Calling money saving a "trap," though, makes it easy to understand why we're in such an economic mess right now.

And that "trap" the designers fell into is known as giving the client what he or she wants. I don't have any experience in coaster design, but I have worked with one of the world's largest construction and engineering companies- clients don't given you $25 million and say "Have fun! Let us know when you're finished!" They're there every step of the way making sure you design exactly what they want. Which also means they would be responsible for focus groups, not the designer.

Looks awesome, that first drop looks terrifying to me, the Superman clones are scary enough dropping into a low turn from 200ft.

Impressive that there were able to get it for the same price as MF from 9 years ago.

ridemcoaster said:

Families. Ehh.. Not so sure.

Families especially. BGW is not for kids. I grew up in the area and never preferred BGW to KD and I did not know anyone who did. Kids don't give a crap about European theming. BGW is for adults who want something nicer than your typical park and don't care about the rides as much, and enthusiasts who have grown bored of the rides, but are in denial about it. All those people should just go to Europe. They still have not bothered to add a wooden coaster, and Alpie is just sad for how bad it is for how big it is. It is my least favorite B&M invert. AC is good, but not super, and there is nothing in the park that I crave except Da Vinci's Cradle and there is a better one of those in Branson.

I did shed a tear when Dale Earnhardt died. Saw it live. Terrible. But, in reality, I will cheer on this ride. It looks like a winner.

^^When was the last time you visited BGW? There are quite a few family-themed areas in the park. They have a Sesame Street Garden of Fun area to name one and Land of the Dragons to name another. And let us not forget the animals. Kids love animals, right?

It's cool that BGW doesn't create a draw for you compared to other parks. But I don't think the conclusions you are drawing for others are based on reality.

This ride looks amazing! I love how they are naming it after Dale! I miss seeing him drive, what a great stock car driver.

Looks like Milli is going to have a harder time winning "the worlds best steel coaster" award for 2010 and on....

I'm guessing they went with a lift instead of a launch because of reliability issues with the hydraulic launch coasters. I bet if those rides had been 100% successful the first time this baby would be launched.

Bill said:
Congratulations, it's an inelegant disaster. I mean, honestly?

Are you kidding me? You act like you've been on the ride already. The worst part about your comments is that it confirms what a friend of mine said prior to the announcement, that some enthusiasts would begin complaining and say it sucks immediately. "Just sad," as you say.

As people have indicated that the ride is like a love child of Millennium Force and Maverick, I would say that's just about the best win you could have. The public loves those two rides. Even better, it's something unique, which is another win.

I for one think of the low part after the second drop on MF, and think, wow, now take that even faster. That's what we have to look forward to, and I'll take that over 1.5 seconds of 120 mph any day.

Thanks Carrie.. Beat me to that one.. I was going to quote park statistics on age demographics, but you summed it up far better.

And did you just use Carats? ;)

But Raven, dont let your personal view get in the way of actual facts of the park. There is a large amount of family and kid foot traffic there. In fact their summer pass, which was geared to the driving teenagers was a huge hit the last couple of years.

Even if you dont have access to statistics, just walk around for a few minutes and note who is there. I think you will find you are a tad off the mark.

I wouldn't compare this ride's ground hugging track to the Beast. The Beast is awesome because of how it goes through the woods. This ride doesn't come near trees. It's just another ride put on flat land with grass.

ridemcoaster said:

And did you just use Carats? ;)

Guilty. It was an impulsive edit when I realized Agent Johnson got in there before me. :)

There's always going to be people complaining about rides that aren't built yet or rides that they have never been on. And it's only August!

-Tina

Its quite sad really... Kings Dominion is getting a giga, and all most enthusiasts can do is bicker and complain. I think the lift hill is very sexy (wonder if this ties in with the 1001 Nachts lover thread)... and the ride is going to be very well received by the GP. Its a wind win for KD, as the GP will love the Intimidator theme, as well as not knowing that its not really any kind of record breaker. In fact, that is my only point of confusion. KD says its the tallest coaster in the mid-atlantic, but if I recall my geography classes correctly, isnt New Jersey also a Mid-Atlantic state?