Saturday August 4th, I attended my first TPR event and second roller coaster enthusiast event. East Coast Bash at Kings Dominion. It was also my first time going to Kings Dominion, which means new credits I racked up!
I don't know what else to say here other than I had an
amazing time at the event, and would absolutely love to attend another hosted by TPR. Anyone who went to the event may remember seeing a sweaty black kid with a DSLR and ClubTPR shirt. Yep, that was me.
Just a word of warning before I go into pictures, I may have used my fisheye lens a little too much during this event. I thought I should have brought and used it since other people would and already have taken thousands of other standard photos of the same things. So why not try something different from what everyone else would be doing... I'm saying this because I understand that not everyone is a fan of wide-angle photos. That's okay, because I have standard and zoomed photos mixed in as well.
Either way, I hope you can enjoy what I have.

- I have arrived!
- Viewed 6925 times

- The morning consisted of getting checked-in by Robb himself, getting our vouchers, and getting in the park.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Soon, we were led straight to the back to ride one of the most badass coasters on this planet.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Dale Earnhardt: THE RIDE!
- Viewed 6925 times

- Did I mention this was my first time on an Intamin giga... besides a bad experience I had on Superman:ROS at Six Flags America involving a stapled lap bar.
- Viewed 6925 times

- First coaster of the day. First ride on I305. Fell in love with it after greying out on the first turn!
- Viewed 6925 times

- Next ride was Volcano. First Intamin inverted coaster (let alone one that launches).
- Viewed 6925 times

- The ride is great! I really wish there were more inverted launched coasters out there in the world other than the shuttle versions of these. The 3 rolls were sweet!
- Viewed 6925 times

- I wasn't a big fan of it crushing my privates though...
- Viewed 6925 times

- Benefit of ERT! :D This was when I was in line for the second ride.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Then I came back for more I305, because the first ride wasn't enough!
- Viewed 6925 times

- Raise your hands if this ride has airtime.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- Seriously, the drop was epic, the heavy turns were intense, the transitions were insane, and the airtime was beautiful! It's an all around beautiful roller coaster that I wouldn't mind re-riding until I passed out of exhaustion!
... (Okay, maybe not really.)
- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- Robb's in the back seat, right side in this photo.
- Viewed 6925 times

- I was trying to get used to faster shutter speeds on my camera. I had to switch to my fastest speed because this coaster 'flew' through the course.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- 0.5 seconds later.
- Viewed 6925 times

- I wish I could identify the people that are in my photos.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Soon the regular folks came in. Since I got my 4 laps on I305, it was time to move on to another coaster.
- Viewed 6925 times

- It was time for another one of my favorites. (This photo came out MUCH better than I had expected it to!)
- Viewed 6925 times

- 16 years. Sixteen Years Old!!! As long as this thing has been around, it wows me every time!
- Viewed 6925 times

- After Flight of Fear, I rode I305 again for the heck of it, and then headed towards Drop Tower. I got my first credit on Italian Jo- err, I mean, Backlot Stunt Coaster.
- Viewed 6925 times

- It's a very cute coaster. Not as amazing as I expected it to be, but I kinda liked it.
- Viewed 6925 times

- These are, hands down, my favorite amusement park flat rides ever.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Have I bored you with too many photos yet? Hope not. Soon the Boo Blasters challenge commenced.
- Viewed 6925 times

- A woman tallied our scored so we could win prizes when we met for lunch. I scored 1440.
- Viewed 6925 times

- I soon rode a few flats like Berserker and The Crypt. The Crypt was my first "true" top spin, and boy was it crazy! That finale had my head spinning!
- Viewed 6925 times

- A few skips later, and TPR lunch started.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Virtually anything I've ever read about TPR quests were true. They were fun to watch and participate!
- Viewed 6925 times

- There was alcohol (I didn't drink any, I'm 18!), there was running, and there was a moment when Robb asked contestants to be the first to bring up Club TPR shirts. The guy who borrowed the one I was wearing was second to reach him.
- Viewed 6925 times

- There was also tv-less karaoke. They sung Bohemian Rhapsody, and some were surprisingly good at it!
- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- I'd like to thank this man right here. I apologize that I can't remember his name, but he helped make this event great!
- Viewed 6925 times

- I braved Crypt again due to its really short lines after lunch ended. Then I headed over to I305 to be ready for the backstage tour.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Gotta go fast.
- Viewed 6925 times

- When I arrived, everybody was hanging out in the gift shop because of the heat.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Soon, though, the tour began.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Again, in an attempt to be different, I used "the eye" lens.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Everyone got up close and personal with the rotating drum.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- Soon Robb got us all to gather for the group photo, which was posted to the TPR Facebook page. I laughed when I saw my face blocked out by a hand!
- Viewed 6925 times

- When everyone was ready to take more photos of the coaster, the next train stopped on the lift. Low and behold, two guys everyone knew was in the backseat at the time!
- Viewed 6925 times

- Robb told everyone to boo at them, so they did.
- Viewed 6925 times

- How's it going!
- Viewed 6925 times

- Soon the train got going though. They cleared the line for I305, and there was a very short line in front of the entrance, so I hopped in. It only took them half an hour for them to fix it and let people back on. What changed was that the operators warned people to keep their shoes on while on the ride.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Eventually, I rode my first Windseeker. It was the most gentle ride I rode in the park, and was needed due to the amount of walking and intense coaster riding I've been doing all day. This ride's line also went really quick. It looked like a long wait, but I was on within two ride cycles.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Hurler wasn't as bad of a ride as people said it would be. Maybe I got a good seat on it? I dunno, but I wouldn't mind re-riding it in the same seat. (Third car, front row.) Also, the line for this ride was empty.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Soon I went up the Eiffel Tower since it didn't have a wait.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Obligatory?
- Viewed 6925 times

- Tiny people on gigantic ride!
- Viewed 6925 times

- Then the line for Dominator shortened, so I jumped at the chance to get in line. I got in line for the front seat, and loved it!
- Viewed 6925 times

- Viewed 6925 times

- I met with my dad and my brother later, who spent their time in the hotel and came in at some random time during the day. We first rode Rebel Yell together.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Here's me, a sweaty dork who's almost too shy to be in front of his own camera, waiting in line for Grizzly. Might I mention that we passed the path that led to Grizzly 4 times before we realized we had to go through the Dinosaurs Alive gift shop to get on it. >=-(
- Viewed 6925 times

- Since my brother has never heard of Flight of Fear and was interested to ride it, that's what we did.
- Viewed 6925 times

- We ate pizza later and watched the nighttime fireworks light up behind Anaconda (a coaster I should have gone on). Then they told me their goodbyes and left me to finish the event with Nighttime ERT.
- Viewed 6925 times

- I was on the first lights-on train of the Flight of Fear lights-on ERT. it was cool being able to see, and it seemed to go even faster through the course.
- Viewed 6925 times

- Then came my last ride on I305.
- Viewed 6925 times

- It was actually pitch black out there, which made it really creepy.
- Viewed 6925 times

- I ended up on the last train on Intimidator, and there was only one other person on it with me!
- Viewed 6925 times

- I quick walked over to Dominator where Robb was getting everybody hyped for their last rides of the night. I finally got 3 more laps on it!
- Viewed 6925 times

- And thus ends my super long trip treport.
- Viewed 6925 times
I'd like to send a
huge thank you to Robb, Elissa, everyone who attended the event, and the staff & management of Kings Dominion for making this day awesome! I had a great time, and would love to attend another TPR hosted event sometime in the future!
Edit: Forgot the coaster count!
Intimidator 305: 7
Volcano: 2
Flight of Fear: 3
Backlot Stunt Coaster: 1
Hurler: 1
Dominator: 4
Shockwave: 1 (By the way, I actually enjoyed this coaster. It's not the smoothest, most comfortable coaster, but it's not
that bad!)
Rebel Yell: 1
Grizzly: 1