We chose Monday to visit Kings Dominion theme park in Doswell Virginia near Richmond.
Kings Dominion rolled out a brand new, re-imagined Planet Snoopy, a perfect place for the kids, but we went there for the roller coasters. It was a beautiful sunny day, a little hot, but not too crowded. We were looking forward to the Volcano, Intimidator 305 and Dominator rides among others.
There is a one-third replica of the original Eiffel Tower in Paris, France on the park grounds, which offers an incredible view of the park.
Here we are next to the entrance, ready for a full day of FUN!
Equipped with a park map, after storing our belongings in a locker, we started our fun day with the Volcano ride. Volcano The Blast Coaster is uniquely themed, the world’s first launched inverted roller coaster. Riders fly into the heart of a volcano and blast up and out of its top through the use of electromagnetic energy or LIMs.
The roller coaster then continues outside the volcano with three heartline inversions as the train travels on a tubular steel track. It was our favorite ride at the park and we rode it 4 times. The ride had an amazing launch, roll out, turns, and headline rolls. It was so smooth and the blast off speed was perfect.
Waiting in line for the Volcano ride.
The next favorite ride for us was Intimidator 305. The ride stands 305 feet at its highest point with a first drop of 300 feet at an 85-degree angle. This ride is an intense 4 G ride with high-speed twists and turns.
The G-force acceleration acts as a multiplier of weight-like forces, meaning that in the 4 G ride the gravity feels like if your original body mass has been multiplied by 4. It is named and themed after the legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt and his #3 car, the Intimidator. We couldn’t miss a great photo opportunity at the Intimidator 305 entrance.
In the evening, the lines were really short, so we had a chance to ride the Intimidator 4 times as well. I greyed out for a second during the first and second ride, but the rides felt smoother after that. This ride is the most intense ride in the park and the most thrilling one.
Finishing the ride.
The oldest ride in the park, Anaconda, wasn’t intense but was smooth and enjoyable.
Another thrill ride is The Dominator. This ride is one of the newest ones. It is also the world’s longest floorless coaster at 4,210 feet (1,280 m). We enjoyed its twists and turns.
The Shock Wave ride is unique in that riders stand throughout the two-minute experience. First drop of 84-feet while standing delivers a one-of-a-kind thrill. While not the first, it is currently the oldest operating stand-up roller coaster in the United States (from Kingsdominian.com).
The Hurler is a wooden roller coaster. It was my least favorite – too much bumping and shaking. This ride speeds up to 50 miles per hour through a series of wide, heavily banked turns, flat turns, hills and humps.
The Drop Tower ride is one of the most thrilling rides in the world according to the Kings Dominian site. It has the longest Gyro height drop in the world at 272 feet. It was a completely different experience. I really liked it!
It was getting hot, so we decided to cool off in the White Water Canyon. This ride is a simulation of white water rafting with raging river rapids adventure. The other visitors had the same idea, so the line was humongous, but at the end, we did cool off and get wet. 🙂
For the Berserker ride we boarded this giant Viking ship, which swung forward and then backward, and then finally went over the top.
The Crypt ride became unexpectedly popular with us. We enjoyed this ride at least 3 times. This ride intended to make the riders feel the sense of impending doom on their journey of epic dimensions. We were tossed through the air accompanied by the thundering sound of tribal drums, dangling head first over a pit of flames and water while turning over the top.
It was refreshing to walk through the mist at the gate inside the park in the middle of the hot day.
Boo Blasters is an interactive dark ride experience. Riders have a special weapon called a Boo Blaster to zap Boocifer and all the Ghosts away.
I had to buy this picture taken by an automatic camera inside the ride. It is just funny. Dave and Tim look very dedicated to the game, but Kayleigh and I just look confused. 🙂
Avalanche is the only bobsled coaster running in the United States today. There are seven cars per train and the various cars are themed after Olympic bobsleds that represent five countries. The countries include France, the United States, Germany, Sweden, and Canada. Each car has its country specific Winter Olympic decals. The ride creates a bobsled team experience as your sled races out onto the track through high-speed twists and turns to the finish.
With so many rides are done, there was time to visit the Eiffel Tower before the rain started.
The Eiffel Tower stands 315 feet and it is one of the park’s original and signature attractions, which offers a birds-eye view of the park and surrounding countryside. Here is Volcano view from the Eiffel Tower.
A view of Intimidator 305, Anaconda and Shenandoah Lumber Company water ride (blue pipes).
A view of the Dominator from the top.
The Wind Seeker view.
Here is green Shock Wave at the bottom of the picture. Drop Tower and Hurler are on the right, Anaconda and Intimidator 305 are on the left.
A beautiful view of the fountains opens from the Eiffel Tower observation deck.
A panoramic view of the park was enjoyable, and the refreshing breeze from the observation deck felt wonderful.
It is even prettier at night.
The light show started at dusk, accompanied by music.
Time to leave the park. We had a very nice day full of great rides with wonderful company. We should do it again. 🙂
