King's Dominion [4.9.07] : Theme Park Trip Reports

Sorry but no pictures. I was out the door at 8am and didn't realize I had forgotten my camera until we were well on our way.

Anyway: Trip Report.

We got to the park around 11, and it was not nearly as crowded as I had expected. They're still in the process of "de-Paramounting" the park. Things like the Paramount music and logos and such still have to be changed and I suspect that over the next few years we'll see some of the rides change to CF-friendly names and themes.

I have no idea why, but the first thing we went on was Tomb Raider:Fire Fall, and it was great as always. The music still plays, all the fire and water still shoots up. All in all, still good.

Next we had to get IJST out of the way since none of us had been there in 2 or more years. The line was really short. We walked right up to the individual row Q's and we were on in about 5 minutes. That ride really surprised me. Despite the slow launch start, it was a lot more intense than I was expecting. The area around it threw me off too. Before it was built, that area was just Anaconda, the lake, a few water slides, and a private area. Now you won't recognize it if you haven't been there since before it was built.

KD started pretty slowly. Before 1, it seemed like nothing was open. Volcano, HSXLC, Anaconda, and Ricochet didn't open until late afternoon. After IJST, we got on Flight of Fear (again hardly any lines at all) and it was still fun. I still enjoy that ride even though I'm more accustomed to Joker's Jinx (outside and no slowing down at the top).

After FoF, we didn't really know what to do since it was still early and not many of the rides were open. So we started out towards Rebel Yell and ended up getting on Shockwave and the flat ride in front of it along the way. Shockwave (being the only stand-up I've ever ridden) was pretty fun, even for a Togo. Rebel Yell backwards came next and it was really fun too. The only other time I had ridden the backwards side, I ended up injuring my elbow, but this time it was really fun.

Next came Grizzly. The one coaster I always counted on as being fun was probably the most painful ride I've been on in a long time. The cars either got smaller, or I got bigger. Either way, it was really uncomfortable. I guess we shouldn't have ridden in the back though seeing as that ride hasn't had much work on it in a long time. Such a disappointment.

Having ridden about half of their rides already, we decided to go check and see if Volcano was up and running. Surely enough it was, but the line was really long, so we decided to hide right outside the tunnel at the beginning of the Q and jump out and surprise people as they walk by. Since Volcano wasn't worth waiting for yet, we went over to Avalanche. I really don't have much to say about it... bobsled coasters are fun...

After lunch, we went into a shop and got some plastic pirate swords and had a duel outside (just a little random fun). Anaconda was finally working, so we got on it, and it was still fun even with all it's Arrow-ness. And who woulda thunk it, HS:XLC was finally testing, so we headed over there and rode Rebel Yell forwards. I, being stubborn and impatient, had to go over and get in line for Volcano, which had finally died down a bit.

So then one of the most annoying, aggravating events in the history of amusement parks occurred- I get ride up to 1 or 2 trains away from riding, and it breaks down. Luckily it wasn't anything major and the ride was back up in about 10 minutes. So I rode/froze my fingers off and it was still amazing. Volcano is a ride that you have to experience in order to appreciate it. The sensation you get on the top section is really amazing. Doing a heartline roll at 140ft in the air is so awesome. Even though it's really short, it's still really fun.

So after Volcano, I headed over to meet my friends (who didn't wanna ride Volcano with me) by entrance to Hypersonic. I just found out the ride was open, so I assumed they were already in line, but they weren't, so I met up with them a few minutes later and got in line. We waited for the front since it's not really worth it to ride anywhere else on it. I must've done something wrong this time around because when we hit 90????????? up, my head starting banging against the back of my seat. It was really uncomfortable, but the sensation of the ride is something not to be missed if you're there. Also, for those of you who have never been there (or at least not once before 2003 and after), they removed a couple of the first brakes on the hill, so the stop is even more intense. This is Hypersonic in a nutshell: move slowly to the launch, get shot out of a cannon, fly upwards, come down, turnaround, go over a hill, and hit a brick wall.

After I accounted for the brain cells lost on Hypersonic, we headed over to Hurler, which had no one in the station, so we jumped in line for the front car. Hurler surprised me; I've never had a fun experience with that ride until today. It was a lot smoother than I remember and had better airtime than what I remember. Now that I think of it, I should've gone on it again, even though the ride op working on it stapled me [death to stapling].

After we got off Hurler, we saw that Ricochet was open, so we got on. I love wild mouse coasters. I think the reason I like them so much is because everything seems like it's a miniature version of something and you can either crush your friend next to you or be crushed on the hairpins [:p].

Next came Dropzone. I'm not a huge fan of drop rides, so I was actually kind of nervous before I got on. It all changed for the better though once I realized I actually could breathe on the way down. Besides the thought of falling, the breathing part is the only thing that gets me. But like I said, it changed for the better and we got on it again.

So having made some good time (riding all the rides I wanted to ride before we left), I realized my friends still hadn't ridden Volcano. With about an hour left before closing, we headed over there, and much to my surprise, we were able to walk right up to the front row Q. I was shocked, I had never seen it so empty before. I guess after never having been there on a really quiet day, you get used to waiting at least 20 minutes for it. We got on, and it was just as fun as before.

With about a half hour left, we got on Tomb Raider again and then headed over to Scoobie Doo. That is one of the best rides in the park, in my opinion. The cars are small, but they have buzz bars w/o dividers and the track is in good shape. The ride ops working at it were cool and let us get an extra ride or 2 before leaving (seeing as it was just us 3 and a few little kids who don't like the back rows). So that about wrapped up our day and we left happy. It was probably the best visit there I've had in a long time.