Paramount Kings Dominion; Aug 22, 2004

Paramount Kings Dominion ?????? now there is a park that knows how to throw a whole bunch of thrill into a short space of real estate! We had a two hour drive to the park and really it went by quite fast due to some laughter and the like in the car. Arriving at the park I finally put together the word ??????Paramount?????? with the movie company ?????? yeah; my mind just never put them together. LOL

When we went to get our tickets I happen to ask if they had a military discount and to my surprise they did! Admission cost us all $25 each rather than the $44 per ticket, so already I was a happy guy! Also, I will happily mention that with the exception of when we got to ride Volcano, we never waited any more than 15 minutes for any rider!

Once they removed the ropes from the general area to access the rides we went directly to Volcano where I took the following picture.







We waited in line for almost 30 minutes when we were told that it would be closed for a while so we walked over to Anaconda. This ride is wicked. The inversions are almost too slow and you feel yourself hang against the restraints for just a second. Very nice!!! Here are a few shots of Anaconda for your eyes.





After Anaconda was a short trip to Flight of Fear. This is a wicked indoor coaster with some serious inversions in the dark. Always a pleasure to feel g??????s in the dark and not really be able to see where we are going. There is some light of course (more for effect), but riding in the dark always brings a nice smile to my face.



OK, enough of this steel ?????? I needed wood! We walked a bit to the other side of the park and came across Rebel Yell. To my liking, this is a woodie designed as a racer, yet one train goes forward and the other goes backward. Yeah, I had to ride them both. Something about going backwards over a typical out and back was verrrrrrrry nice indeed!

Going forward:





Here is the layout of this beast:



Up the lift going backwards:



Deciding that some more steel was needed we talked over to Shockwave. This is a standing looper with an intense helix that has you at about a 90 degree angle to the ground. The weight of this thing on your legs is quite impressive!





Following Shockwave we went over to the HSXLC. OH MY! A long wait for a 15 second ride, but the speed this thing generated not to mention the sheer brilliance of the design was awe inspiring. Truly, this coaster had it all!

Hurler was next. Wow! This thing has some amazing lats! After the first drop you have a right hand turn that slams you into the seat and airtime to be feasted on for days! The design of this really impressed me and here are some pics to feast your eyes on.







Here is a shot of Hurler from the top of the lift on Grizzly:



This brings me to the next ride of the day ??????. Grizzly. This coaster is a beast! The speed on it was intense this particular day. It was like, it had been lubed up two days before and the grease was just starting to break itself into a groove. The airtime was immense and the drop into a quick breather was a very nice touch. You drop, get air, and then come up on a panoramic view of the woods, turn around, and begin some serious bunny hills. This ride was my favorite.



OK, walking around the park to get some souvenirs we realized Volcano was open so we went and got in line. This was a 90 minute wait, but the thrill was worth it. When it stopped I actually said, ??????Who needs drugs? What a ride!!?????? The sheer velocity of this thing was immense, and shooting us out, up, and rolling into a 260 while exiting the top of a mountain ??????. Wow. It has to be ridden to be believed. The heart lining is very intense, and for a second on each one you fall forward against the restraint ?????? love that feeling of being totally helpless and hoping the harness holds, heh. I was also fascinated with the wheel makeup, so I took myself a quick shot of one.



Well, that was my trip to PKD ??????. And what a trip it was! If you have not been, you need to go ?????? just trust me on this ... you WILL NOT regret the time you spend there.

Sounds like you had a blast

Did you like Shockwave? We have a Togo stand up coaster exactly like it up here at Paramount Canada's Wonderland and so many people say its such a crappy ride, butI love it. Especially in the back, after you exit the loop and go up the hill and down into the helix. That part has such a stomach gripping feel.

Shockwave was painful for me when i went on it, it was way to uncomfortable for me.

[coolbeans326]

brilliant, TCONWELL, well done, you've done what I apparantly have not. [:(]

Shockwave was amazing ... that helix kicks your butt while standing up. (The loop is no big deal.) You actually feel the blood in your legs and standing becomes kinda tough, even though it is only for a few seconds. It passes, but you are certainly aware of it while it happens, then it shoots you out and over a camel back for some quick air ... nice feeling for sure.

what is the banking of that helix???

close to 90 degrees. Its the same coaster as Skyrider at PCW

Sorry it took me a while to get back ... FN has it about right. The bank runs at about 80 degrees with close to a 4G pull.

Out of pure curiosity, when the train goes through the helix on Shockwave does it make a roaring/vibrating shaking type sound? Here at PCW when the train goes through the helix the platforms on the sides of the helix rattle like crazy and make this loud ass noise

Hmmmm, I was not listening for wierd noises, but it was very smooth. I cannot remember any wierd vibrations or anything like that.

PKDs has some speed difference Im guessing....

Sky Rider has some awesome air and fun positives but the loading is really slow.

More than likely, pcw ... the loop was pretty tame but the top speed is listed at 50 mph. I would guess that is the helix cause the loop ain't but 35-40 and pulls about 2 g's (if that). It is pretty rough on some of the bunny hills, but that helix is what I remember the most.

[coolbeans326]

to bad you can't do that with the B&M stand-ups, they should really get rid of that bicycle seat so they can make the ride more intense, and have more air.

Cool .... could be a chance to get involved in a patent???

I'm glad you like PKD. I am a Paramount fan myself as Carowinds is right down the road from where I live and PKI is a yearly visit.
I went to PKD last year and you pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as ride experience goes. I love thier standup almost as much as ours. Ours being a B&M 4 seater they both bring alot of punch for short rides.
I am surprised you did not ride or comment on thier Bob Sled. I know what most people think about them but thiers is way cool. The motion of going from left bank to right bank had me laughing the entire ride.
Thanks for the report. It brings back memories and made me go watch my video and pictures I took.

I actually liked the bobsled coaster that PKD had, it was pretty good for such a short coaster...one of the better coasters there IMO.

300th POST!!

Yeah, Avalanche @ PKD is a good ride. Its actually pretty intense when the MCBR is off.

I rode it guys ... and gave it the press time I thought it should have. (chuckle)

Something about bobsled coasters ... it is like a waste of steel (especially at PKD) that could have made a coaster like HSXLC that much longer (LOL).

i love PKD. i had no really bad experiences on any ride, even shockwave. well, i rode it alomost 4 years ago but it was alright. HSXLC didn't do it for me. it was 2 outta 5. no air at all and the launch hurt me. did you get a chance to do drop zone? a lot of ppl say it's no biggie but the drop rides are always one of my favs. VOLCANO IS THE BESTEST LAUNCH COASTER EVA!!![approve]