Zek_Teh_Kek
Hyper Poster
This trip really was one of my most anticipated trips I’ve ever been on! I’ve never been to either of these parks, and as you can see from my top 3, I really enjoyed both of these parks.
Before I got to go though, I had to march in a parade for Memorial Day, drive from the Toledo, OH area and wait one more day.
Day 1
So to start off, the drive from the hotel to Kings Dominion was about 1.5 hours, so we didn’t manage to get there at opening. We waited about 10 minutes outside of the entrance going to the bathroom and doing absolutely nothing, but then FINALLY, we entered the park. My first reaction was WOW! The park was incredibly shaded! Almost every inch of International Street was shaded, and it was really nice looking too.
I’m pretty sure my parents and my sister are extremely slow because it took FOREVER to get to Twisted Timbers, and we still had to get lockers when we got there. But after plenty of time, we entered the 30 minute line.
First off, can I just say that the props and theming for the station is really good for a Cedar Fair park. While it wasn’t much (just a truck, a floating tractor, a weird alien thing, and some apple baskets in the station), it was a nice touch. So I entered the train, 1 car from the back. I had plenty of room, and was ready for my second RMC!
And what a ride! The drop is my new favorite drop on any ride (sorry Maverick), and the 3 big airtime hills had Steel Vengeance levels of airtime. The cutback was really fun, though not as fun as the 1st inversion. The trick track double up was fun, not anything compared to what was next though. The weird lateral filled airtime hill inside the structure was probably my favorite parts of the ride. It’s so hard to explain, so funky, and so good that I loved it. The final inversion had pretty good hangtime, and was really fun. Went around the last few elements very pleased! Definitely a 10/10 from me, claiming the #3 position for the time being.
I immediately wanted a reride, but the line was too long and my family and I wanted to ride more things. So me and my sister went across from Twisted Timbers and rode Apple Zapple, my first Mack wild mouse coaster. I found it to just be ok. Compared to Mad Mouse at Michigan’s Adventure, this thing was nothing. It was a bit rattly, and a bit slow at the top, resulting in mediocre to ok laterals. 5.5/10
We started heading over to Grizzly. My dad and my sister rode in the back row, while I rode towards the middle with my mom. It was ok, definitely wild and fun, and some part were slightly intense, but it was fairly rough. It seemed like a knock-off Beast in ways. 7/10.
Racer 75 was something interesting. It looked like Racer (KI), but was anything but that. It was very smooth, but I got no airtime at all. It was just there, and didn’t really do anything too exciting. 5/10.
Avalanche was next, my first bobsled since I last rode Disaster Transport, and it was pretty fun! The helices were fairly forceful, and having never ridden an outdoor bobsled coaster, the sensation was pretty weird. It was definitely more than I expected! While it was rattly, I would ride it again. 7/10.
My mom needed to go to the first aid at the front of the park for a blister. And what else is at the front of the park? Dominator. This ride looked ok/good from the pictures, but once I saw it in person, I thought it looked great! The colors are really good too. I hopped in line for a front row ride (Where else on a floorless?) and in the end, it was a really good ride! Just some minor head banging towards the end, but it didn’t subtract from the rest of the ride. As for my favorite element? That cobra roll was really interesting, considering I’ve never been on a sitdown with a cobra roll! 8/10.
My mom had to run out to the car, and after that, it was lunch time! We decided to go to this burrito place on International Street, and it ended up being ok. The food was decent, but the service and the cleanliness was below average. My mom, being a school nurse (and a natural germaphobe), noted that “there was weird white things on the fountain drink spouts” which I’ll admit, is pretty disgusting.
We headed over to the log flume next. Not my favorite log flume because I didn’t get very wet, but it felt pretty fast! 7/10.
It was finally time to explore the rest of the Safari Jungle section of the park, and the next ride I went to was The Crypt. I’ve never been on a HUSS Top-Spin before, so this was a totally new experience! And WOW, this was a very intense flat ride! One of my new favorites for sure! 8/10.
But then there’s the bad part. I went the week of Memorial day, it was pretty empty. But what I didn’t know was that Volcano would be down! I was pretty upset over that, as it looks really fun! But I had to get over the fact that it was closed and headed over to Flight of fear. I can’t really decide between FoF at Kings Island or Kings Dominion, since I only got one ride on the KD one, but I thought it was pretty good! 7 /10.
But who cares about Flight of Fear when Intimidator 305 is right next door! This beast was easily the most anticipated trip of the trip for me. Who couldn’t say no to a bigger, faster Maverick? Well, it seems I overhyped it too much. The ride was really intense, don’t get me wrong, but it was lacking the fun that rides such as Maverick or Millennium Force have. The airtime was ok, the sharp turns were great, but in the end, it just wasn’t my kind of coaster. It’s still a great ride, but didn’t live up to the hype. 8.5/10.
Eventually, I had to do the park’s Arrow looping coaster, Anaconda. Coming in with fairly low expectations, and considering there was nobody in the station, I figured I’d go for front row. And because I was wearing my Steel Vengeance shirt, someone just HAD to notice it. A ride operator for Anaconda noticed it and we started talking about it. But as for the ride, I’d say the ride op that noticed my shirt was more interesting than it. The drop and first 2 inversions were ok, better than I expected, but after the MCBR, it was pretty bad. It was better than I expected, but still not as good as other Arrow loopers I’ve ridden. 5/10.
After getting spited by Backlot Stunt Coaster, we decided to head back to Twisted Timbers, seeing as it had just reopened. I headed for the back, and another ride op noticed my shirt, asked if I was a coaster enthusiast. He then asks if I wanted more airtime, and ends up giving me, get this;
A good 2-3 inches of room.
2-3 INCHES OF ROOM! Did I ride like that? No, but I still left a ton of room. Holy flipping crap this thing was running SOOOOO much better. The drop was really whippy, and really good, but then came the 3 airtime hills, which were some of the strongest consecutive airtime hills I’ve ever experienced. Steel Vengeance has the length of the airtime, and sometimes the strength, but Twisted Timbers has alllll strength and a good amount of length. The airtime hill in between the lift hill and the drop was amazing as well, and it managed to make its way to my second favorite coaster. Got another ride in the front right after, but sadly got stapled. However, it was still really good.
And thus ends my day at Kings Dominion. I had a lot of fun, and the park was great! I was a bit upset being spited by Backlot Stunt Coaster and Volcano though, and I do have a few problems with the park;
The operations were below average. The Twisted Timbers operators thought that it was fine to take as long as they’d like to get a train ready for dispatch just because they were running one train, or so it seemed. I’m pretty sure I saw the timer go over 100 seconds a few times.
The layout of the park, while it may seem simple, was really annoying. Twisted Timbers is off in its own little corner, Planet Snoopy has WAY too many pathways, and why have only one entrance to the Volcano area?
I have a few praises for the park, too;
The park is really pretty! The amount of trees makes the park really shaded, and it looks very natural!
The park has a really nice lineup. All it’s really missing is a hyper coaster.
Overall, I had a great day, and I sure hope to come here again!
EDIT: Sorry for lack of photos, they're all on my phone.
Before I got to go though, I had to march in a parade for Memorial Day, drive from the Toledo, OH area and wait one more day.
Day 1
So to start off, the drive from the hotel to Kings Dominion was about 1.5 hours, so we didn’t manage to get there at opening. We waited about 10 minutes outside of the entrance going to the bathroom and doing absolutely nothing, but then FINALLY, we entered the park. My first reaction was WOW! The park was incredibly shaded! Almost every inch of International Street was shaded, and it was really nice looking too.
I’m pretty sure my parents and my sister are extremely slow because it took FOREVER to get to Twisted Timbers, and we still had to get lockers when we got there. But after plenty of time, we entered the 30 minute line.
First off, can I just say that the props and theming for the station is really good for a Cedar Fair park. While it wasn’t much (just a truck, a floating tractor, a weird alien thing, and some apple baskets in the station), it was a nice touch. So I entered the train, 1 car from the back. I had plenty of room, and was ready for my second RMC!
And what a ride! The drop is my new favorite drop on any ride (sorry Maverick), and the 3 big airtime hills had Steel Vengeance levels of airtime. The cutback was really fun, though not as fun as the 1st inversion. The trick track double up was fun, not anything compared to what was next though. The weird lateral filled airtime hill inside the structure was probably my favorite parts of the ride. It’s so hard to explain, so funky, and so good that I loved it. The final inversion had pretty good hangtime, and was really fun. Went around the last few elements very pleased! Definitely a 10/10 from me, claiming the #3 position for the time being.
I immediately wanted a reride, but the line was too long and my family and I wanted to ride more things. So me and my sister went across from Twisted Timbers and rode Apple Zapple, my first Mack wild mouse coaster. I found it to just be ok. Compared to Mad Mouse at Michigan’s Adventure, this thing was nothing. It was a bit rattly, and a bit slow at the top, resulting in mediocre to ok laterals. 5.5/10
We started heading over to Grizzly. My dad and my sister rode in the back row, while I rode towards the middle with my mom. It was ok, definitely wild and fun, and some part were slightly intense, but it was fairly rough. It seemed like a knock-off Beast in ways. 7/10.
Racer 75 was something interesting. It looked like Racer (KI), but was anything but that. It was very smooth, but I got no airtime at all. It was just there, and didn’t really do anything too exciting. 5/10.
Avalanche was next, my first bobsled since I last rode Disaster Transport, and it was pretty fun! The helices were fairly forceful, and having never ridden an outdoor bobsled coaster, the sensation was pretty weird. It was definitely more than I expected! While it was rattly, I would ride it again. 7/10.
My mom needed to go to the first aid at the front of the park for a blister. And what else is at the front of the park? Dominator. This ride looked ok/good from the pictures, but once I saw it in person, I thought it looked great! The colors are really good too. I hopped in line for a front row ride (Where else on a floorless?) and in the end, it was a really good ride! Just some minor head banging towards the end, but it didn’t subtract from the rest of the ride. As for my favorite element? That cobra roll was really interesting, considering I’ve never been on a sitdown with a cobra roll! 8/10.
My mom had to run out to the car, and after that, it was lunch time! We decided to go to this burrito place on International Street, and it ended up being ok. The food was decent, but the service and the cleanliness was below average. My mom, being a school nurse (and a natural germaphobe), noted that “there was weird white things on the fountain drink spouts” which I’ll admit, is pretty disgusting.
We headed over to the log flume next. Not my favorite log flume because I didn’t get very wet, but it felt pretty fast! 7/10.
It was finally time to explore the rest of the Safari Jungle section of the park, and the next ride I went to was The Crypt. I’ve never been on a HUSS Top-Spin before, so this was a totally new experience! And WOW, this was a very intense flat ride! One of my new favorites for sure! 8/10.
But then there’s the bad part. I went the week of Memorial day, it was pretty empty. But what I didn’t know was that Volcano would be down! I was pretty upset over that, as it looks really fun! But I had to get over the fact that it was closed and headed over to Flight of fear. I can’t really decide between FoF at Kings Island or Kings Dominion, since I only got one ride on the KD one, but I thought it was pretty good! 7 /10.
But who cares about Flight of Fear when Intimidator 305 is right next door! This beast was easily the most anticipated trip of the trip for me. Who couldn’t say no to a bigger, faster Maverick? Well, it seems I overhyped it too much. The ride was really intense, don’t get me wrong, but it was lacking the fun that rides such as Maverick or Millennium Force have. The airtime was ok, the sharp turns were great, but in the end, it just wasn’t my kind of coaster. It’s still a great ride, but didn’t live up to the hype. 8.5/10.
Eventually, I had to do the park’s Arrow looping coaster, Anaconda. Coming in with fairly low expectations, and considering there was nobody in the station, I figured I’d go for front row. And because I was wearing my Steel Vengeance shirt, someone just HAD to notice it. A ride operator for Anaconda noticed it and we started talking about it. But as for the ride, I’d say the ride op that noticed my shirt was more interesting than it. The drop and first 2 inversions were ok, better than I expected, but after the MCBR, it was pretty bad. It was better than I expected, but still not as good as other Arrow loopers I’ve ridden. 5/10.
After getting spited by Backlot Stunt Coaster, we decided to head back to Twisted Timbers, seeing as it had just reopened. I headed for the back, and another ride op noticed my shirt, asked if I was a coaster enthusiast. He then asks if I wanted more airtime, and ends up giving me, get this;
A good 2-3 inches of room.
2-3 INCHES OF ROOM! Did I ride like that? No, but I still left a ton of room. Holy flipping crap this thing was running SOOOOO much better. The drop was really whippy, and really good, but then came the 3 airtime hills, which were some of the strongest consecutive airtime hills I’ve ever experienced. Steel Vengeance has the length of the airtime, and sometimes the strength, but Twisted Timbers has alllll strength and a good amount of length. The airtime hill in between the lift hill and the drop was amazing as well, and it managed to make its way to my second favorite coaster. Got another ride in the front right after, but sadly got stapled. However, it was still really good.
And thus ends my day at Kings Dominion. I had a lot of fun, and the park was great! I was a bit upset being spited by Backlot Stunt Coaster and Volcano though, and I do have a few problems with the park;
The operations were below average. The Twisted Timbers operators thought that it was fine to take as long as they’d like to get a train ready for dispatch just because they were running one train, or so it seemed. I’m pretty sure I saw the timer go over 100 seconds a few times.
The layout of the park, while it may seem simple, was really annoying. Twisted Timbers is off in its own little corner, Planet Snoopy has WAY too many pathways, and why have only one entrance to the Volcano area?
I have a few praises for the park, too;
The park is really pretty! The amount of trees makes the park really shaded, and it looks very natural!
The park has a really nice lineup. All it’s really missing is a hyper coaster.
Overall, I had a great day, and I sure hope to come here again!
EDIT: Sorry for lack of photos, they're all on my phone.
