Kings Dominion



Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia 20 mi north of Richmond and 75 mi south of Washington, DC off of Interstate 95.

The 400 acre park in Hanover County was originally built and owned in a joint venture between the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Kroger Company. Kings Dominion opened in 1975 and is currently owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company who purchased Paramount Parks from CBS Corporation on June 30, 2006. It offers over 60 rides, shows and attractions including 15 roller coasters and a 20-acre water park. The name given to the park is derived from the name of its sister park, Kings Island, and the nickname for the state of Virginia, "Old Dominion".

Early history as Kings Dominion (1973-83)
Following the success of Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, Family Leisure Centers (a partnership formed between Taft Broadcasting Company and Top Value Enterprises) decided to expand into a new region of the country by opening a second park. A 400-acre site was chosen in Doswell, Virginia in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic, and construction began in the summer of 1973. The new park was designed with Kings Island in mind as the blueprint using similar themes, rides, and activities.

Kings Dominion officially opened on May 3, 1975 offering fifteen attractions including the Rebel Yell, the Lion Country Safari Monorail, Galaxie, and a junior wooden roller coaster known as Scooby Doo. Also present at the opening was a log flume, steam train, a collection of flat rides and a cable-car sky ride that transported visitors between Old Virginia and The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera. In addition, Kings Dominion's 1/3-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower and the International Street Fountain greet visitors near the main entrance to the park. Original themed areas included The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera, International Street, Lion Country Safari, Old Virginia, and Coney Island.

Kings Dominion added their fourth roller coaster, a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop known as the King Kobra, in 1977. The King Kobra featured a 50-ton counter weight drop launch and was the park's first launched roller coaster. It was in the park for nine seasons before being relocated to Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Ocean City, Maryland and later to Hopi Hari in Brazil where it exists today as Katapul. Also in 1977, Kings Dominion was one of several amusement parks used as a set for the film Rollercoaster.



A campground was completed in time for the 1978 season and the park's well-known Lost World mountain debuted in 1979. Originally, the Lost World featured three rides: a flume ride called Voyage to Atlantis, a children's attraction mine ride known as Land of the Dooz, and a rotor called Time Shaft. Only a year later in 1980, the flume ride was rethemed Haunted River. Kings Dominion later expanded Old Virginia with the addition of the park's second wooden roller coaster, the Grizzly, in 1982 and a river rapids ride called White Water Canyon in 1983.

Growth under KECO management (1983-92)
Taft Broadcasting Company sold its theme park division in late 1983 for $167.5 million USD to Kings Entertainment Company (KECO), a new company formed by senior executives and general managers of Taft's Amusement Park Group. Three parks were involved in the sale — Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and Carowinds — along with a 20-percent stake in Canada's Wonderland. American Financial Group would later purchase KECO in 1987 but allowed KECO to continue to manage operations at the amusement parks.

One of the first additions under the new management group was Berserker - a swinging, inverting pirate ship added to International Street in 1984. Also that year, Smurf Mountain would replace the mine ride Land of the Dooz transforming the Lost World into The Smurfs theme. Kings Dominion unveiled a TOGO stand-up roller coaster in 1986 called Shockwave, the first of three roller coasters to be added under KECO. Shockwave has one loop like the older King Kobra but adds a helix. King Kobra was removed at the end of the season. A water slide complex known as Racing Rivers would open in 1987, and Avalanche, which remains the only Mack bobsled roller coaster in the United States, would debut the following year in 1988. The trains of Avalanche are themed after the United States', France's, Germany's, Canada's and Switzerland's bobsleds, so that riders in different trains can simulate being in a bobsled race in the Winter Olympics.

Kings Dominion continued to expand over the next few seasons starting with Hanna-Barbera Land in 1990 with the addition of more children flat rides. A new, looping roller coaster from Arrow Dynamics called Anaconda was introduced the following year in 1991 featuring the world's first underwater tunnel which travels under part of Lake Charles. Anaconda was also originally billed as having six loops, but unlike Arrow's six-inversion coaster Drachen Fire that opened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg the following year, the Anaconda actually has only four inversions: a vertical loop, a sidewinder, and two consecutive corkscrews.

A new 20-acre water park addition called Hurricane Reef opened in 1992. To build the water park, Kings Dominion filled in two-thirds of Lake Charles near the Candy Apple Grove region of the park. Originally it featured the Monsoon Chutes (two pairs of free-fall body slides, at 70 and 50 ft high, respectively), the Torrential Twist (two enclosed body slides which wrapped around each other), the Pipeline (four open body slides), Cyclone (three enclosed body slides, the center of which was a free-fall), Tidal Wave (two open slides, which riders rode on inner tubes, Splash Island (an area for children with five water slides), and a lazy river.

Paramount's Kings Dominion (1993-2006)


Kings Dominion continued its growth when it became part of Paramount Parks in 1993 and switched its name to Paramount's Kings Dominion. New attractions and areas of the park themed to Paramount's television shows and movies appeared at Paramount's Kings Dominion almost every season that they were under Paramount's ownership. In 1993, they added a motion simulator attraction, originally featuring the Days of Thunder movie, and Lion County Safari was removed at the end of the season. The 1994 season saw the addition of a new area of the park themed to the 1992 Paramount motion picture Wayne's World, which featured their third full-size wooden roller coaster, The Hurler, a shop called the Rock Shop, and a Stan Mikita's restaurant similar to the one featured in the movie. Since then, the Wayne's World section has been merged into the Candy Apple Grove (since renamed the Grove); the Stan Mikita's was converted to the Happy Days Cafe, and the Hurler no longer has Wayne's World theming, except for a few spray painted "Wayne's World" logos near the exit of the ride. In the next year, another children's area, known as Nickelodeon Splat City, opened near the Shockwave roller coaster, this was a product of Viacom purchasing Paramount in 1994. This was later converted into Nick Central. Also Smurf Mountain was removed in 1995, leaving a dormant fiberglass mountain in the back of the park.

In 1996, Paramount's Kings Dominion introduced its second launched roller coaster, and first LIM-launched roller coaster, The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear. The Outer Limits had a 56 mi per hour launch, four inversions, and an identical "spaghetti bowl" layout to the ride of the same name at Kings Island. Almost as notable as the launch of The Outer Limits was the fact that the entire ride was in semi-darkness; the riders could not see where they were going. (Six Flags America, a nearby park in Maryland, features another "spaghetti bowl" roller coaster with the same layout as Flight of Fear, known as Joker's Jinx. Joker's Jinx, however, is an outdoor coaster.) Five years after The Outer Limits opened, Paramount Parks' licensing agreement to use theming from the television show after which the ride was named expired; the Outer Limits-related theming in the ride and its queue was removed, and the ride was renamed Flight of Fear.

1997 featured the debut of Kidzville, a re-theming of the Hanna-Barbera section. Added was the new Taxi Jam roller coaster, and Scooby's Playpark became a construction themed playpen called Kidz Construction Company. Yogi's Cave was rethemed to Treasure Cave and filled with scrappy theming from other rides. Many rides in Kidzville, such as Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster, George Jetson's Spaceport, and Huck's Hot Rods, continued to bear the names of Hanna-Barbera characters.

Paramount's Kings Dominion continued what became a trend of adding launched roller coasters in 1998, when they opened Volcano, The Blast Coaster in the former Lost World mountain. The mountain's previous rides had all been removed several years prior, and Volcano gave the mountain a major transformation. Volcano, which was manufactured by Intamin AG, was the world's first LIM-launched inverted roller coaster. The ride featured two separate launch sections, an Immelman style loop out of the top of the mountain, and three heartline rolls on the way back down. (Huge explosions of fire are shot out the top of the mountain for added effect.) Volcano was themed to the 1997 film Volcano; the other Paramount Parks added inverted or suspended roller coasters themed to Top Gun around the same time. During the next two seasons, Paramount's Kings Dominion expanded Hurricane Reef behind the Rebel Yell and renamed it Waterworks. (Most of the original Hurricane Reef remains open as of 2006; the two areas are joined by a path under the Rebel Yell.) The new portion of Waterworks includes Pipeline Peak, a set of four enclosed water slides, one of which (the Night Slider) is the world's tallest dark free-fall slide. In 2000, Nick Central opened on what was Nick Splat City and part of Kidzville.

The park added its third launched roller coaster, Hypersonic XLC, in 2001. Hypersonic XLC, a Thrust Air 2000 air-launched coaster made by S&S Power, launched riders from 0 to 80 mi per hour in 1.5 seconds, taking them up a 87-degree incline and down a 87-degree drop. The entire ride takes about 25 seconds. Hypersonic XLC broke down frequently and was closed for the first three months of its second season; no other Paramount Parks installed a similar ride. Nevertheless, Hypersonic XLC helped establish Paramount's Kings Dominion's reputation as "the launched coaster capital of the world". Hypersonic XLC was removed after the 2007 season.

The early 2000s saw Paramount's Kings Dominion opening new rides similar to existing rides at other Paramount Parks. In 2002, the park opened its new wild mouse roller coaster, Ricochet. Carowinds also installed their Ricochet in 2002. Diamond Falls, the giant flume ride at Paramount's Kings Dominion, also closed that season, leading to several seasons of speculation from park visitors over which ride would take its place. The 2003 season saw Kings Dominion become the final of several of the Paramount Parks to open a Drop Zone Stunt Tower. The Drop Zone at Paramount's Kings Dominion, at 305 ft high, was the tallest freefall ride in the world at the time it opened. In 2004, Paramount's Kings Dominion added Scooby-Doo! And the Haunted Mansion; similar Scooby Doo-themed dark rides had opened at three other Paramount Parks during the three previous seasons. In the next season, Paramount's Kings Dominion added an inverted top spin called Tomb Raider: Firefall, now The Crypt, which was an outdoor version of a similar ride named Tomb Raider: The Ride at Kings Island. The differences between the two were that at Kings Dominion riders' feet dangle freely and at Kings Island there is a floor. In the 2006 season, Paramount's Kings Dominion opened the Italian Job Turbo Coaster, its fourth launched roller coaster. Unlike the previously built launched coasters at Paramount's Kings Dominion, each of which was faster than its predecessor, the Italian Job Turbo Coaster is designed more as a family ride and features several launches at 40 mi per hour. Renamed the Backlot Stunt Coaster in 2008, the ride is similar to the Backlot Stunt Coaster rides at Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland, which both opened in 2005.

The Cedar Fair era (2007-present)
Control of the Paramount Parks had been transferred from Viacom to CBS Corporation at the start of the 2006 season; the parks had themselves been up for sale since the previous off season. CBS made several controversial moves with Paramount's Kings Dominion during the 2006 season. First, a roller coaster based on The Italian Job had been advertised on television as being open at the start of the park's 2006 season, whereas it did not actually open until late May, almost two months into the season. The placement of the ride was rather dubious; some enthusiasts ridiculed the park management for placing the entrance of The Italian Job, which was themed to a street chase, in the middle of the park's African-themed Congo section near the Anaconda roller coaster. Second, visitors to the park during the 2006 season found that the trees in the queue of the Grizzly were cut down to make room for a new upcharge go-kart attraction called Thunder Raceway. Third, Paramount's Kings Dominion closed Flight of Fear. Paramount's Kings Dominion gave no indication in the previous season that Flight of Fear would be closed for 2006. Rumors had suggested that it would be relocated to another former Paramount Park; since Cedar Fair acquired Paramount's Kings Dominion, the park worked to get the ride operable again. Flight of Fear reopened on August 18, ending speculation of the ride's relocation and/or sale.

On May 22, 2006, Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. announced that they were purchasing all five Paramount Parks. The sale was finalized on June 30, 2006 for $1.24 billion. The park retained its Paramount's Kings Dominion name through the end of the 2006 season and reverted to its original Kings Dominion name beginning in the 2007 season. For the 2007 season, the park lowered its single-day admission by $5 to $44.95, one year after Cedar Point had made the same change to their ticket prices. This was the first time that Kings Dominion has ever lowered their ticket prices for a full season. In addition, they brought back their Starlight discount, which allows admission to the park for $29.99 after 4pm. Kings Dominion expanded WaterWorks for the 2007 season, adding a second wave pool called Tidal Wave Bay, a four-person family raft slide called Zoom Flume, and a ProSlide Tornado.

In December 2006, Kings Dominion also put Hypersonic XLC up for sale. The park announced plans to keep it running until a buyer was found. It remained in operation during the 2007 season and was closed and dismantled several weeks before the 2008 season started. Also during the 2007-2008 offseason, Cedar Fair renamed the park's last two rides to open with Paramount theming. Drop Zone Stunt Tower became Drop Tower Scream Zone, The Italian Job: Turbo Coaster became Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Tomb Raider: Firefall received the name The Crypt. The Paramount Theater also changed its name to Kings Dominion Theater.

The 2008 and 2009 seasons saw Kings Dominion receive three rides which had operated at Geauga Lake during its dry amusement park's final season. On October 23, 2007, Kings Dominion announced that Dominator, a floorless roller coaster, would be moved to Kings Dominion and located in the International Street section. Dominator opened on May 24, 2008, becoming Kings Dominion's first roller coaster with five inversions. For the 2009 season, two flat rides once located at Geauga Lake, like Dominator, opened in 2009. Located near Rebel Yell, Americana became Kings Dominion's first Ferris wheel. El Dorado, a pendulum ride, opened in the former site of Hypersonic XLC next to the Xtreme Skyflyer.

For the 2010 season, Kings Dominion has installed Intimidator 305, a 305 ft (92.464 m) tall gigacoaster by Intamin AG. The ride features a cable lift hill, an 85° first drop and a maximum speed of at least 94 mph (145 km/h). The ride, which is themed to the late NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, was announced on August 20, 2009, and represents the park's largest-ever capital investment. It is open as of May 2010. Also for the 2010 season, the Kidzville and Nickelodeon Universe areas of the park are being re-themed to Planet Snoopy, as are the children's areas at Canada's Wonderland and Kings Island. The park has renamed the Hanna-Barbera themed rides in Kidzville to match the Planet Snoopy theme, ending the park's 35-year run with Scooby Doo and other Hanna-Barbera characters.

During the Cedar Fair era, the park introduced the Halloween event "HAUNT". While the park had always had a Halloween event, the new HAUNT event has been received very well.

International Street
International Street is the park's main walkway area, which greets guests when they enter the park. Both sides of the walkway are lined with shops, including two park related souvenir shops just inside the park's front gate. International Street also has one thrill ride, Berserker. Originally, only the walkway and its shops were considered part of the International Street area; during the park's Paramount seasons, the boundaries of International Street expanded to include the Action Theater.

Like Kings Island, the centerpiece of Kings Dominion is its 1/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, located just across the International Street fountain from the main entrance gate. Kings Dominion’s famous replica of the Eiffel Tower was designed and fabricated in Austria with steel imported from Zurich, Switzerland. From the observation deck, guests can enjoy a view of more than 1000 sqmi of Virginia countryside. Today International Street is basically where you can do your souvenir shopping, get a cup of Starbucks, and experience Berserker, Dominator, Eiffel Tower, Action Theater and Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular.


 * Eiffel Tower
 * Berserker
 * Action Theater
 * Dominator
 * Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular

Old Virginia
Along with International Street, Old Virginia is the only original section of Kings Dominion that has kept its same name throughout the park's history. In the 1970s, Old Virginia had an Intamin Flying Dutchman flat ride called Jamestown Landing; behind it, Old Virginia had a steam train ride, Old Dominion Line, which ran through the woods in the back of the park. Jamestown Landing closed by 1980; the Old Dominion Line stayed until it closed in the 1990s. Today Old Virginia is the center for water rides which are Shenandoah Lumber Company and White Water Canyon, its also where the 2nd latest wooden coaster at Kings Dominion the Grizzly and with some of the park's great family rides like Blue Ridge Tollway and Flying Eagles.


 * Kings Dominion Theater
 * Flying Eagles
 * Shenandoah Lumber Company (Log Flume)
 * White Water Canyon
 * Blue Ridge Tollway
 * Grizzly
 * Thunder Raceway Go-Karts

Candy Apple Grove
The Candy Apple Grove section opened with the park in 1975, it was also known as Coney Island and The Grove, it is currently Kings Dominion's largest section in the park. Candy Apple Grove opened with an orchard theme, complete with singing mushrooms, large candy apples, and three apple themed flat rides which were Adam's Apple, Apple Turnover, and Bad Apple.

Today Candy Apple Grove is known for some of Kings Dominion's thrill rides like Racer 75 and Drop Tower, and family rides like Wave Swinger and Americana. Besides rides you can play games like Water Racers or play games in Candy Apple Grove Arcade, eat great foods like lasagna to burgers at Victoria Pizza and Juke Box Diner, and shop name brand items at the Rock Shop

Carousel


 * Apple Zapple
 * Dodgem
 * Drop Tower
 * Twisted Timber’s
 * Racer 75
 * Shockwave
 * Wave Swinger
 * Xtreme SkyFlyer
 * Windseeker
 * Americana

Planet Snoopy
Kids love the rides at Kings Dominion! And you don't want to miss Planet Snoopy! Enjoy a hug from your favorite PEANUTS character to a ride on our kid-sized coaster, there's lots to do for even the littlest thrill seeker.


 * Joe Cool's Driving School
 * Flying Ace
 * Boo Blasters on Boo Hill
 * Lucy’s Crabbie Cribbies
 * Woodstock Whirlybirds
 * Snoopy’s Space Buggies
 * Snoopys Junction
 * Lucy’s Tug Boat
 * Charlie Browns Wind Up
 * Linus Launcer
 * Snoopys Rocket Express
 * Flying Ace Balloon Race
 * Peanuts Turnpike
 * Snoopy vs Red Baron
 * Sallys Sea Plane
 * Peanuts Road Rally
 * Peanuts 500
 * Great Pumpkin Coaster
 * Kite Eating Tree
 * Woodstock express

Jungle X-Pedition
Jungle X-Pedition is Kings Dominion's westernmost section. It was inspired by one of the park's original attractions, the Lion Country Safari. Containing a boat ride and a monorail train through a nature preserve, the safari attraction closed in the 1990s. The Jungle X-Pedition section remains and now contains some of the park's most technologically innovative rides, such as Tumbili, Anaconda, Flight of Fear, and Intimidator 305.


 * Avalanche
 * Scrambler
 * Anaconda
 * Backlot Stunt Coaster
 * Tumbili
 * Intimidator 305

Soak City
Soak City, Kings Dominion's water park, can be thought of in terms of its two sides, Northside which was formerly known as Hurricane Reef, and Southside which is the newer section of Soak City. The rides that Soak City had as Hurricane Reef in the mid-1990s are all located in front of Racer 75 roller coaster; the newer rides are behind Racer 75 and are accessible by walking under the Racer 75 on a walkway between Baja Bends and Shoot the Curl.


 * Baja Bends
 * Big Wave Bay
 * FreeStylin'
 * Lazy Rider
 * Lil' Barefoot Beach
 * Pipeline Peak
 * Shoot the Curl
 * Surf City Splash House
 * Tidal Wave Bay
 * Tornado
 * Zoom Flume

Timeline

 * 1974: Preview center opened featuring a movie theater, Ghoster Coaster (then called Scooby-Doo), and Lion Country Safari (at that time, visitors had to drive their own vehicles through the safari section, later to be replaced by a monorail a few years after). Rebel Yell had been completed at that time, but did not open until spring of 1975 along with the rest of the park.
 * 1975: Park opened in spring of 1975 (One week after Busch Gardens "The Old Country" in nearby Williamsburg, VA)
 * 1976: Apple Turnover (Enterprise flat ride)
 * 1977: King Kobra (Steel coaster)
 * 1978: Kings Dominion Campground
 * 1979: Lost World (Themed area); featuring Journey to Atlantis, Land of the Dooz and Time Shaft
 * 1980: Haunted River replaced Journey to Atlantis
 * 1982: Grizzly and Amphitheater
 * 1983: White Water Canyon; Galaxie coaster closed
 * 1984: Berserker; Smurf Mountain replaced Land of the Dooz
 * 1985: Diamond Falls and Scooby's Play Park
 * 1986: Shockwave; King Kobra removed
 * 1987: Racing Rivers
 * 1988: Avalanche
 * 1989: Sky Pilot (Flat ride, took the place of Apple Turnover)
 * 1990: Hanna-Barbera Land expansion
 * 1991: Anaconda
 * 1992: Hurricane Reef (Water park)
 * 1993: Days of Thunder (Motion simulator theater)
 * 1994: Hurler; Old Dominion Line steam train removed
 * 1995: Nickelodeon Central; Smurf Mountain is removed
 * 1996: Flight of Fear and Xtreme SkyFlyer
 * 1997: Taxi Jam; Hanna-Barbera Land renamed KidZville
 * 1998: Volcano; Action Theater replaces Days of Thunder
 * 1999: Expansion of Hurricane Reef to WaterWorks
 * 2000: Pipeline Peak added to WaterWorks
 * 2001: HyperSonic XLC (Xtreme Launch Coaster); Shockwave and Anaconda both receive a new color scheme for the year
 * 2002: Ricochet and Triple Spin; Diamond Falls closes
 * 2003: Drop Tower and SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D
 * 2004: Scooby-Doo & The Haunted Mansion
 * 2005: The Crypt
 * 2006: Backlot Stunt Coaster and Thunder Raceway Go-Karts; Flight of Fear shut down until mid-August when it reopened; FearFest's last year before stepping to a new level of fear
 * 2007: Tidal Wave Bay, Tornado and Zoom Flume added to WaterWorks; last year for Hypersonic XLC; the park welcome Halloween Haunt, a new level of fear inspired from another Cedar Fair park, Knott's Berry Farm (Knott's Scary Farm Halloween Haunt)
 * 2008: Dominator (Originally from the now close amusement park Geauga Lake)
 * 2009: El Dorado and Americana (Both relocated from Geauga Lake); Grizzly retracked
 * 2010: Intimidator 305 (Intamin AG Giga Coaster), Planet Snoopy (Retheme of Nickelodon Central) and Boo Blasters on Boo Hill replaces Scooby-Doo & The Haunted Mansion; Rebel Yell retracked; trim brakes on Intimidator 305
 * 2011: Snoopy's Starlight Spectular - a lightshow featuring Snoopy and the gang.  Opens June 18. Trim breaks off Intimidator 305, modifications to first turn; Shockwave painted with a different color scheme and Grizzly Retracked.

Retired rides and attractions

 * 1974-1993: Lion County Safari
 * 1975-19??: Adam's Apple (himalaya ride)
 * 1975-19??: Flying Carpets
 * 1975-1983: Galaxie (Galaxi) made by S.D.C.
 * 1975-1994: Old Dominion Steam Line train
 * 1976-1993: Apple Turnover (Enterprise ride next to Lake Charles)
 * 1977-1986: King Kobra (Steel Coaster)
 * 1979-1980: The Lost World Mountain: Journey to Atlantis (Replaced by Haunted River)
 * 1979-1997: The Time Shaft (located in the mountain of Volcano)
 * 1980-1997: The Haunted River (located in the mountain of Volcano)
 * 1984-1995: Smurf Mountain (located in the mountain of Volcano)
 * 1985-2002: Diamond Falls (Big Splash ride) (located where Black Lot Stunt coaster sits)
 * 2001-2007: Hypersonic XLC compressed air-launched coaster made by S&S Power
 * 1989-19??: Sky Pilot (Located near Rebel Yell in Candy Apple Grove)
 * 1975-19??: Chairlift (Two entrances, one next to the Rebel Yell and one in Hanna-Barbera)
 * 1975-1993: Safari Monorail