Kings Dominion announces Intimidator 305

This ride really does look incredible. What blows my mind is the first drop of 300 feet at an 85 degree angle. I mean that is 5 degrees away from being completely vertical! Unreal. I know how it feels to drop 300 feet at an 80 degree angle on MF and that feeling is increible. I can only imagine what it is going to feel like on this awesome ride! Seems to me like it would go slighty faster than MF due to the 5 degree difference in the angle of the drop but I am no engineer by any means. It really doesn't even matter because when it hits over 90 mph that is some incredible speed!

phoenixphan :-) said:
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?

They aren't claiming it will be the tallest coaster in the mid-atlantic. They're saying it's the tallest of it's type in the mid-atlantic.

RatherGoodBear said:
At least if the trains are no good, they can trade them in and get $4,500 toward new ones.

Only until monday

I for one I'm proud that I was the first person to formally complain about the ride in this forum :)

But really there are two types of complaining that i've seen here; there is the complaining that I've done, and then there is the other complaining like what I saw a lot of when looking at the forums on the kdfansite last night!

I was really looking forward to this ride beating SD2000 as the tallest and fastest gravity based roller coaster. I also had high hopes that this ride would replace MF as my number one ride. I was hoping for a ride with a long duration ride like SROS SFNE that had a layout similar to MF but with El Toro airtime mixed in; basically combining the two best coaster IMO. Those expectations were not meant and its all my fault. Kings Dominion never said anything. It was us that kept speculating and yes even some people like myself bought into the screamscape rumor; as i knew some people would point out where i got that 350 number from.

But at the same time, This ride looks awesome!! It is definitely going to be one of my top rides for sure. I'm really excited; still excited enough to plan a visit for next summer, that hasn't changed at all!! That first drop is unbelievable!! The first drop on MF is the greatest moment of any coaster in the world IMO, and this is 5 degrees steeper wow!! I can't wait for this ride to open and I still can't wait to get there at some point!

Now there are other people that i've seen who think this ride couldn't have been any worse. Some people here and many on the KDfansite. After reading there posts their probably cancelling their plans to KD. They have lost all the excitement that they ever had for this coaster. All that I have to say to them is that its THEIR FAULT!! KD never said anything about what this ride was going to do! They built up their own excitement! KD didn't! That's where it is ridiculous!

Edit: I guess before someone corrects me, I should add that yes we did know that it was going to be a Giga, but that's it. There were a billion possibilities from that point on. For all we know KD could have been faking us out with the intamin track and it could have been a 300 foot SOB :)

GIGAFORCE01 said: I was really looking forward to this ride beating SD2000 as the tallest and fastest gravity based roller coaster....

That was about as realistic an outlook as me looking forward to having sex with Brad Pitt.

I've waited a day before posting just to see what all the negative response was going to entail. I'm surprised not many seem to be excited about the SPEED on this ride, like what Rita at Alton Towers COULD have been without the height restrictions, low to the ground for most of the ride, just FLYING through most of the course. Imagine taking those multiple transitions like Maverick but after dropping from 3TIMES THE HEIGHT of Maverick's initial drop. It's too late to bemoan the fact that this isn't a GIGA version of SROS or Expedition GeForce, but what it IS looks awesome to me.

Look at Millie:

First drop: 300 feet
Overbank: 169 feet
Second Hill: 182 feet

Intimidator eschews the overbank and goes directly into the second hill:

First Drop: 300 feet.
Second Hill: 150 feet.

Hellooooo? Can you say extended airtime?

^^^ You would say that now wouldn't you?

phoenixphan :-) said:
but if I recall my geography classes correctly, isnt New Jersey also a Mid-Atlantic state?

Depends on who you ask generally.. Some consider all the way up to NY as Mid-Atlantic. While we were taught in school the core Mid-Atlantic states were Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. But we were also taught what mixes well with Rum too..

Wiki's definition is all over the map (pun intended) but it also talks about the core I learned.

Mamoosh said:

That was about as realistic an outlook as me looking forward to having sex with Brad Pitt.

Really?? Even with that hideous goatee he is wearing right now?

Wow, I go to Kennywood for a day and come back to find a brand new topic with 8 pages and 149 posts about KD's newest toy.

All I can say is that it looks like a heckuva lot of fun to me. 300' near vertical drop, sustained speed and low to the ground laterals, bumps of airtime...what's not to like about it?

I love the Maverick/Millenium love child analogy. It fits, and as Jeff said, it really does capture the best of both worlds. The only way I could see to improve this layout is if it were to take greater advantage of its low-slung profile by incorporating lots of tight theming, a la Maverick.

Count me an early fan.

Bill said:
It's as if they're a bunch of pseudo-scientific narcissists with no regard for pacing, ridability, or likability...

Are you talking about Intamin or coaster enthusiasts?

Collin Aynes said:
Seems to me like it would go slighty faster than MF due to the 5 degree difference in the angle of the drop but I am no engineer by any means.

Actually, angle of decent has no effect on top speed. If you took a 300 foot hill and angled the ramp down 1 degree and carried out until it was to the ground, you would be at the same speed as if that ramp was pointed at 85 degrees down (ignoring things like wind resistance and friction).

The increased angle of decent does 2 things. 1, it makes sure it doesn't take 4 miles to get from 305 to 0, and 2, increases the accelleration. I would imagine though that the accelleration difference between 80 and 85 degrees would be negligible in terms of the human body being able to tell the difference.

Mamoosh said:

GIGAFORCE01 said: I was really looking forward to this ride beating SD2000 as the tallest and fastest gravity based roller coaster....

That was about as realistic an outlook as me looking forward to having sex with Brad Pitt.

LMFAO well thanks Moosh I've now spit coffee all over my monitor and computer workstation thanks again I needed a good ol laugh this morning.

Oh yeah my biggest disappointment is that this coaster is in VA and i'm in CA :o(

"Worst....rollercoaster....design...ever"

Not really, the ride looks awesome. The low turn on MF after the first over-bank is my favorite part of the ride. This coaster should do the same, but even better. I'm not sure about the quick Maverick like twist, but if their are no over the shoulder restraints, that shouldn't be a problem. Wish this ride was a little closer to home.

^^^ yea but wouldn't you always get less friction during a steeper drop?
That's why i would think it would be faster.

Kind of random but i just got word that KK has opened for anyone interested. atleast that's what the fans on their facebook page are saying.

Juggalotus said:

The increased angle of decent does 2 things. 1, it makes sure it doesn't take 4 miles to get from 305 to 0, and 2, increases the accelleration. I would imagine though that the accelleration difference between 80 and 85 degrees would be negligible in terms of the human body being able to tell the difference.

Don't forget 3- steeper drop means more airtime baby!:)

The Mole said:
Can CF build a ride that ISN'T yellow and red?

Funny....I thought it was Red, and Yellow. ;)

I did not want to turn my post into a BGW bashing rant. I was just pointing out that the park that was sandwiched between two parks with good hypers just went supernova. As for when I went to BGW last time, it has been probably been about 4-5 years. Going there involves driving by Kings Dominion and that is not easy to do. I may be back east soon and since I will be doing KD next year, it may be another chance to check it out. I think I want to go to SF:GAdv for sure for El Toro, and then we may do a second park and BGW may get the nod...ironically due to this announcement.

BTW, I have seen some speculation earlier as to why parks do not announce earlier and let us in on the fun all the way. This is exactly why. A huge early annoucement and people delay visiting.

Mamoosh said:
That was about as realistic an outlook as me looking forward to having sex with Brad Pitt.

Oooohhhh, do tell...?

Man, if people are already complaining about this ride, I shutter to think what is going to happen when SF announces their additions for 2010.