Kings Dominionator 305

Kings Dominion 2012

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, 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, thankfully), I snapped some photos and walked on in. The park was already opened and the rides running. I hadn't been since 2007, so I walked around the newer area for 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. The ride is very intense, and delivers much airtime on the hills. I definitely Greyed out. The lateral forces were kind of rough with the restraints, but not totally unbearable. The trim is definitely noticeable, but didn't kill the end of the ride, and even the hop up to the final brake run gave major air.

The ride delivers. I didn't get a chance to re-ride, but I definitely enjoyed my one ride and hope to ride it again. 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.

Flight of Fear-I really love these rides. I will say, though, I don't know if I'm just jaded but the launch doesn't seem nearly as powerful on these. Plus, the ride comes almost to a stop on the mid course brake run. But it's fast, fun, and doesn't beat you up like it used to.

I planned to ride Volcano next, but the line was way long so I headed to the Ferris Wheel, only to find out I needed another partner. So instead I walked back by Windseeker. I didn't ride since I have one in my back yard. But I did ride Hurler.

Hurler-I rode near the front and it was actually really good. Kings Dominion and Carowinds added trims after the first drop, but they weren't so bad for this ride. It wasn't jackhammering much and actually gave decent airtime.

The line for Ricochet was longer than I wanted to wait in, but I still got in line.

Ricochet-Wild Mice freak me out. The first drop is much better than the version at my home park, but the rest of it is normal Wild Mouse. Trims weren't on too hard. It's not the best, nor the worst. It is what it is.

Next up I got some food and went to find Rebel Yell. I kept missing the entrance to it, so I ended up going to Grizzly instead. I got to the station and it was empty so I walked right on to the back of the train.

Grizzly-This thing was running so well! Grizzly has such a good layout. The first drop was wonderful, and the rest of the ride has speed, air, and some aggressive laterals. The tunnel has that one hill the throws you up every time. So much fun. I should have went back on it, but I had limited time in the park.

After Grizzly I ended up riding Shockwave right after it had opened. It has a nice new paint job. But it needs a nice new restraint job.

Shockwave-I forgot how terrible the trains are. Honestly, I felt very unsecured and uncomfortable. The layout is fun, I love the Togo stand up airtime, but the restraints are just terrible. There was ample airtime on the hill before the (really intense) helix. And then it's just a bunch of hills and a turn or two. Fun, but not Fantastic.

I did end up walking back and finding Rebel Yell's entrance. I planned on riding both side but didn't. And that's okay.

Rebel Yell (Left)-Rebel Yell was running very good this year. I'm surprised at how good the wood was for this visit. I love me some Thunder Road, but it's been a bit rough as of late. Racer was giving great airtime, a smooth ride, and nice views of Intimidator. What else could you ask for?

Up next was another walk-on, Backlot Stunt Coaster.

Backlot Stunt Coaster-The launch on this is fun, but boy is the helix intense. Swerving thru the cop cars and then up, down, and around is much the same, but sadly Kings Dominion has let the mid course show go to waste. The Helicopter doesn't rise up and barely spins (it's kind of at an angle so you can still see it). I didn't see any of the 'gun shots' from the helicopter hit the wall, and no fire. Then of course you launch into darkness and out of the sign. Meh. Fun, but I wish the effects still worked.

I walked by Anaconda but knew I wasn't going to ride, then I bit the bullet and went to Volcano. The line was long. Really long. It always is. But what I found out, after 90 minutes, was that every third train was used only for Fastlane. Now, let me preface this tiny rant by saying I love Fastlane, and recently used it at Kings Island. It's worth the money. But it needs to be implemented right. No other ride did this during the day. It was terrible. Every. Third. Train. That killed capacity. Shame on Cedar Fair and Kings Dominion. There were plenty of empty seats on the regular trains, and you could have just put some people in some of those rows, or mark off some rows like other parks do.

Volcano-I love the launch. It really is a fun coaster, and very powerful. The roll out of the top of the volcano is great, and the rest of the ride is smooth. Love the last hill. I just wish there was more theming in the tunnel after the second launch. But whatever.

I wish I would have rode Boo Blasters but I didn't. I did ride Dominator. I wasn't going to, but the line was so short. I didn't need the credit, but wanted to see if it was still as good as it was at Geauga Lake.

Dominator-The drop is really sweet but I'm just not a huge inversion fan. The ride is good, but inversions often make me queasy. It wasn't terrible this time, and Dominator is as good as it ever was. It's not as pretty as it was at Geauga, but it is a good ride that rounds out Kings Dominion's lineup.

I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower for some photos and then left. I could have rode more, but I needed to get back. I may make it back to the park this year, but I'm definitely not going to wait as long between trips. That the park is closer really works for me so much better than when I lived in West Virginia.

Racer=Rebel Yell?

Yeah, the Fast Lane thing with every third train? That is just stupid. It is like the single rider line for Maverick at Cedar Point: an absolute waste of time.

I absolutely love coasters with inversions, but Dominator threw me for a loop (no pun intended). I got serious airtime on the drop, but I got kind of disoriented after that...I didn't care for it, although I loved the look of it.

I'm glad to hear someone liking I305. I haven't gotten to ride it yet, but it has been getting mixed reviews, and I was wondering if I should bother making the fairly significant drive to ride it when I've ridden everything else in the park already. Just might have to do it though!

Great trip report!

Going on Saturday. I guess I should get to Volcano first.

LOL yeah, I meant Rebel Yell. I was at Kings Dominion last weekend and Kings Island this weekend so I'm a bit off ;-).

Tekwardo, that is quite the traveling in one week. I'd be confused too! I forgot to say before: Wild Mice freak me out too! I don't know what it is, but they make me extremely nervous, and they're not really fun enough to justify waiting in line for, either. I DO like the one at Kings Dominion for that cool drop on the beginning. It is so smooth and really gives a nice feel to the start of the coaster. Still, I would rather ride just about any coaster rather than a Wild Mouse. Except maybe Hurler. Maybe they worked on it a little or something because I haven't been to Kings Dominion since the year before I305 came, but that ride actually made me ANGRY it was so bad. I loved the first drop and felt that it was pretty intense for a wood coaster, but immediately after that, I was begging for my mommy because it was so rough. Do you know if the trims were the only rehabbing they did?

I know a lot of Hurler (maybe all?) was retracked over the last year or two.

Hershey's mouse owns all other mice. It's silly that they all can't be run that way.

I fixed the formatting. Apparently it lost some of the ride breakdowns, so I improvised as I'm not on my Mac and don't have the original on this PC. Hurler was running surprisingly good. Thats 2 trips where it has ran well for me (2007 and 2012). When it runs good, it runs really good.

And yes, I wish all mice ran like Hershey's.

I've ridden Hershey's Mouse, and I cannot remember it! I might have to ride it again soon to compare. I wanna get back on Skyrush anyway, so...

Hurler had great potential to be fantastic (why I think I was mad that it sucked), so now I really really want to get back to KD. I'm gonna have to reconfigure my weekends in June to get down there before it gets totally ridiculous. Last time I was down there right before fourth of July and it was empty, but I don't wanna take a risk like that again. Lol now I'm all excited! I've been jonesing for coasters but so tired of driving, but this is renewing my excitement. Awesome!

I would have thought that their limiting of 2 rides per Fast Lane wristband on Volcano would have taken care of the problem of too many Fast Lane users at the ride. I guess it didn't work if a 1/3 of the capacity is going to Fast Lane.

It's almost a catch 22.

If I buy into Fast Lane which ride am I immediately going to use it on?

The one with the most miserable waits, of course.

I do almost wish this system would have been like Six Flags' system with the Q-Bots. Say what you will about the "skip the line" systems, but in terms of functionality, Six Flags got it nearly perfect. Maybe once they have a few seasons under their belts, Cedar Fair will make this work better as well.

Totally. Lo-Q is the standard in my eyes. Can't believe more US parks haven't jumped into bed with them.

Having used the fast lane, I love it. But they were even sending out half full fast lane trains. There wasn't a 'Line" of fast lane people. They could do it so much better. At least fill the train with non fast lane.