I will hope to have coverage of Media Day posted by Thursday evening. The weather is supposed to be spectacular for the rest of this week!
Only problem I have with what I have seen is that the landscaping around I-305 is completely barren and devoid of theme or nature. I hope King's Dominion pretties things up a bit before I visit in July.... I certainly like to have some scenery with my thrills!
Here it is:
Lift Hill: 10 of 10 - fast, quiet, best in coasterdom
First Drop: 10 of 10 - straight down, huge accelleration and wind blast
First Curve: 9 of 10 - very intense, train perpendicular to ground @ 94 MPH, near gray-out
First Air-Time Hump: 9 of 10 - very long ejector-time duration
Rest of Ride: 9 of 10 - extreme speed continues throughout ride, intense but very smooth
Seating: 9 of 10 - good room and seperation between adjacent riders, second row in each car is elevated for visibility
Restraints: 8 of 10 - the OTSR's do NOT get in your way - I had hands-up the entire ride, best restraints I've seen that aren't lap-only (like a B&M hyper, which get 10 of 10)
Loading: 6 of 10 - line moved fast but I didn't like the "assigned seating" and having to beg a ride-op to let me ride in the front row!
Theming and such: 7 of 10, as good as most, nothing notable, most of ride is over bare ground for the present (not too pretty) which will improve
Overall Thrill Level: 9.5 of 10, only exceeded by launched stratas
Intangibles: The I-305 track structure is amazing. Only two towers support the huge lift-hill/first drop. It "looks" state-of-the-art, extremely impressive advance in structural engineering for coasters. The bright red and yellow are visually intense and match the ride experience - this is a beautiful coaster.
What I'd fix: The assigned seating has to go. The trim breaks coming back in (before a nice air-time hump) apply too much breaking, IMHO.
I will be surprised if this ride is not a Top 10 in the World, maybe landing around #5. Absolutely world-class and an absolute "must-ride".
