Congo
Roller coaster - 54 inches to ride
★ ★ ★ ★
A $25 million Giga Coaster from Intamin, Intimidator 305 is named after the late Dale Earnhardt's stock car. The name of the coaster references Earnhardt's nickname, his car number (3) and the height of the coaster, 305 feet. I305 includes three high speed turns and five air time humps. The trains are black, with the red Chevy logo, Dale Earnhardt's signature, and the Intimidator 305 logo on the front.
When the ride first opened, it reached a top speed of almost 95 mph following an 85-degree, 300-foot initial drop. However, frequent "blackout" complains and other issues led engineers to install trims on the freefall resulting in reduced speeds. A significant redesign of the first 1/3 of the coaster to address these problems has resulted in removal of the trims. The revamped ride opened during the 2011 season.
I305 is currently rated as the 13th best steel coaster on the planet by Amusement Today (2011).
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'Graying out' on this roller coaster turned out to be a highlight of our day at King's Dominion. Watch out for that first turn- it's a doozy.
Intimidator 305 is the most intense giga coaster in the United States and the only one that sometimes causes people to "gray out" (start to lose consciousness) when riding (something the Rao Family considers a fun bonus). Even with the re-profiling of the coaster's initial sequence, it still packs a wallop. We rode this one during early entry and got in six or seven rides (sometimes without leaving our seats) before we moved on to other adventures in the park. Super intense, super cool, Intimidator 305 is a great ride. It is not the most "fun" coaster in the park (Volcano wins that honor), but it is certainly the most intense.
This is one of the most intense coasters I've ever ridden. From the awesome initial drop to the numerous twists in the track it never lets up. In addition it's wonderfully themed. As a disclaimer, I must admit that I'm biased in favor of fast, tall Intamin coasters.
This is perhaps the most intense coaster I've experienced. Rather than other giga coasters like Millennium Force or Intimidator (Carowinds), this beast skips the uphill crest after its first drop and pulls right into a 270-degree turn, the last 90 degrees of which pull uphill, yielding intense lateral and positive Gs and causing every one of our group of 7 to grey out. If you've never greyed out before, expect your vision to blur and equilibrium to give out. That only makes the remainder of the coaster, which also sacrifices airtime for lateral Gs, that much more intense. Two rides of this monster and I could barely walk for the next hour. There's nothing quite like it.