Having spent most of the day wandering around, and enjoying Colonial Williamsburg, I headed towards Kings Dominion late afternoon. The little hotel was close enough to walk to the park, but I have my Cedar Fair platinum, so for the 2 days I decided to be lazy, and drove across the road. In reality it’s a good job I did …. after spending 8+ hours in the park I don’t think I would have made it back !!
Here’s my take on KD ……….
1) I’m either getting too old for this game …. or Kings Dominion is a sprawling park …. ?? Either way I’m Ok with it.
2) When RMC rebuild Gwazi, they need to take the best of SV and TT, shake it all up a bit, and produce the best RMC on the planet. I like both, but despite the repetitiveness of SV, the first drop makes it just that bit better an RMC than TT. Don’t get me wrong, I really like TT, and Oh boy does it live up to its name during the mad dash in what is a limited amount of space. I liked the idea of a metal detector entrance to TT as well, and the way they gave you a green/red card, so they knew who had ‘stuff’ to put in the little baggie under the seat. I’m willing to bet the Gwazi redo will be the same ?? Universal Orlando …. Take Note .. !!!!!! And yes, I still forgot to move that darn seat belt buckle out of the way for the first ride or 2 … :(
3) Don’t think I grayed out on I305 …. I can’t remember … LOL … !! Seriously though, I never had a problem. Awesome ride, especially the way it switches direction on its way around the track. Really fast too, although those trims just over half way round make the 2nd part a little less speedy. Interesting to see they have the wheels water cooled while it sits in the station. Made me smile …. some college kids in front of me actually asked if I was going to ride the coaster ?? in the front seat ?? Er, yes, that’s the plan !! Funny. But Fury’s graceful exhilaration wins hands down over I305’s brutally forceful nature. I hate those Intamin restraints anyway. Give me the B&M ‘clam shells’ every day of the week …. soooooo much freedom .. :)
4) Is Avalanche a coaster ?? I think not.
5) Oh, and yes, I am getting too old for this game ……… I thought Woodstock Express was a rough ride. And, Grizzly nearly killed me !?!? Holy crap, why do I do this s**t anyway ?? And ….. I’ve still got 2 parks to go. Will I make it back to Orlando ??
6) I305 and TT are so far ahead of the other coasters in the park, on my 2nd day, I just went back and forth between the 2. With a bit of shopping for the grandson in-between.
7) Oh, and talking about shopping. How can Kings Dominion still sell T-shirts with Volcano on ??? It’s just not cricket guys !!
8) The Ferris wheel and Eiffel tower are superb places for getting excellent photos of the park and coasters.
9) OK, I’ll try and do a top 5 …… I305; TT; Drop Tower; Delirium; Dominator
10) KD is no BGW, but a good park all the same. It wasn’t quiet, but not Disney style busy either. The school groups were mostly gone by 5pm, so it was a good last few hours for walk-on rides on my top 2.
……….. and so, it’s on to Cabela’s. I think there is a theme park somewhere close by, but hey who cares. It’s Cabela’s time again …….. :)
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Kings Dominion is definitely a big park, and I think one of the reasons I-305 has such short lines is because it's at a long dead end. The trims on the second airtime hill don't bother me because they slow the train uphill (not downhill), and there's very little of the ride left after that. However, consider that those same trims were installed on the FIRST DROP a month after the coaster debuted to reduce the speed and g's around the first sweeping right turn before it was re-profiled (who was the brainiac that decided a NASCAR-themed coaster should start with a right turn?). The restraints are significantly better than what they had before (hard-molded straps with no soft padding at all), but I think they are still WAY better than the T-bars found on Intamins built before I-305 debuted.
I definitely agree with you that Drop Tower is one of the best attractions in the park. I just don't understand why the lines are consistently so short for what is an incredible experience. That particular spot in Kings Dominion also used to be home of one of the most interesting flat rides I've ever ridden called Sky Pilot (look it up). I still like Falcon's Fury over Drop Tower, but KD's drop ride is among the best in the country. Pitt Fall at Kennywood might be the only one that can top the visuals on Drop Tower, which is a shame, because if Six Flags had mounted Zumanjaro on the other side of Kingda Ka's tower, I'm betting that you could see NYC on a clear day.