Photo TR: Kings Dominion

Kings Dominion. It's a park we sure have seen a lot of in the past couple of years. But instead of starting off here at the main gate, let's start a half-mile up the road, at KD's Camp Wilderness.

Our home away from home for our week in Doswell.

All of the streets around the campground were named after rides in the park.

An attempt at being artsy.

Even the campground is fully stocked with trashcans. It is impossible to escape their grip.

The main lodge, stocked with a typical campground general store and some plush chairs left over from 1975, with an equally dated pool located out back.

Now, the main reason I had headed down to Virginia in the first place was to visit an old friend who I had not seen in ten years. After living in London and Naples, finally settled down in Fredericksburg about four years ago, and I was elated to finally meet up with her once again.

But of course, when one is camping around the corner from Kings Dominion, one can't help but stop by for a visit.

Let's head over to the park, shall we?

I suppose this takes us back to where we started, doesn't it? This photo, is, of course, different from the first one, as Virginia state law requires that one must take this exact photo of the Eiffel Tower each time you enter the park.

This being my first time at the park, I took all sorts of photos, particularly along International Street.

KD's street is just as nice as KI's, but I love the architectural differences and the different sense of place afforded by KD's larger trees.

I wonder what lurks behind those cellar doors... probably more trashcans.

What's that I spy lurking through the trees? I must investigate this mystery further.

I feel like I have seen this coaster somewhere before...

*On an unrelated note, I like how this photo turned out.

Hmm, "Dominator". Sounds familiar. I can't quite put my finger on it.

I really liked how the ride's entrance uses to be under this turn while it was still at Geauga Lake.

We have achieved vertical loop.

These folks have just survived shuffling through two corkscrews.

Honestly, I didn't find the rattling to be as bad as some have made it out to be. I remember it shuffling through the corkscrews at Geauga Lake, too.

One final photo of Dominator before we head back to I-Street and press toward Congo.

Let me interject for just a moment. All of these photos were taken over a four-day period, which should help explain why the sky tends to change color from photo to photo. For my own sanity in uploading, I'm grouping the photos by ride, regardless of the day they were taken. Let's get back to a few more photos, shall we?

Eiffel Tower in Hulk Mode.

Intamin really did a great job with this tower, and the one in Cincinnati.

I guess this means that we are at the top now.

An interesting perspective.

More obligatory "top of the tower" shots.

We'll be getting to you soon, I305.

You too, Grizzly.

It's good to be back at ground level, isn't it? I think it's time to take a stroll over to Congo.

I cannot lie- I think that Volcano is a very good-looking ride. If I could, I would ask it out on a date.

I wish more of these full-circuit launched inverts would have been built. They're quite fun, although the capacity issues are a glaring problem.

I'd say that Volcano and Skyrocket are the only two coasters that I've been on that have zero-g rolls that actually deliver what they promise.

Fire was being shot off, albeit sporadically, and I never managed to get a photo.

One of the nicest hot dog carts around.

Huss makes fantastic flats, and Top Spins are wonderful.

A terrible photo of Avalanche. My first Mack bobsled! It was a decent ride.

Although the landscape doesn't particularly scream "Congo", the buildings look passable.

Guardians of the Overpriced Temple of Food.

The only notable thing about Anaconda is that it's over a lake. But you probably already knew that.

The Arrow magic seat rides just as smoothly on Anaconda as it does on the other Arrow loopers I've been on.

The Anaconda Signature Shot.

Silhouetted against a twilight sky.

Anaconda leads us to the real star of the park, looming right there in the background. But seeing as this post is stuffed full with photos already, you'll have to wait for Part 2 to see I305, the Grove and Old Virginia. Stay tuned!

Any questions, comments, and concerns are appreciated, as always!

These are some great pics!! Makes me want to get back there, the only time I've been was when Hypersonic was up and running. For all you KD masters, has Volcano always had 8 cars? I seem to remember the trains being longer for some reason.

Nice pics Kings Dominion looks like a nicely landscaped park with great rides. I especially like the theming of Volcano, I wish more rides launched out of the top of a structure. Makes me wish CGA was more like Kings Dominion

^^ I do know that when Volcano first opened, it ran with trains of 8 people as opposed to the 16 it carries today, due to Intamin having trouble with getting the full trains up to speed. I don't believe that it's ever had any train longer than the current 16 passenger ones.

^hmm must be that I'm remembering wrong Thanks!

I always forget what seats are the magic ones on arrows, can somebody tell me? I think it is in the two back cars but that's all I know.

encore!

MORE! MORE! MORE!!!! MORE!!!!!!

This is one of the most detail-oriented posts I've seen in a long time- and i'm looking foward to seeing the rest of it!

Time for part 2-- I think some I305 photos might be in order:

I doubt you have ever seen a "through the trees" photo on TPR.

This ride is what makes KD worth visiting.

Now that I've ridden I305 and Millennium Force, I suppose that I'll have to compare the two. I honestly have no clue which one I like more; other than the height, the two are entirely different, and I like them both for different reasons. MF is fast, graceful, and simply "looks right", and it's the kind of ride that's pure fun. One can't help but throw his hands in the air. But I305 is completely mental and it's most likely the most forceful rides I've ever experienced. I don't know if I'll be able to break the tie the two have on my list, so for now, I'll let them coexist in my number one spot.

It's smiling!

Typically, one would caption this as "TWISTY!!!!1!!111", but I prefer the term "noodly bits".

Those folks are having the flesh melted off of their face at the moment.

It's not that tall. Look- that light post is clearly taller.

The roll reversal on this thing is insane.

I'll bet you've seen this one before. Probably because it was added as an amendment to the Eiffel Tower Photograh Law.

Motion blur.

More pleased riders.

Enough I305, let's see what else Congo has to offer.

No, it's not African themed. Get over it.

Also not African themed. It's not the end of the world, folks.

Note the peeling billboard. That should probably be fixed.

This picture might have been artsy, but instead it is blah and overly grey. But at least (one side of) the splashdown was working! And the explosions at the helicopter scene were on. I don't recall KI having any of the effects running.

I'm surprised people haven't complained about how un-African the name "Scrambler" is.

Planet Snoopy was nice, but I would really like to see it expanded into Kidzville.

"No, this isn't Yogi Bear-related at all. It's a... um... a Kidzville Junior Ranger hat."

It's a fun ride, and it's nice to see a "family ride" in the kid's section.

Planet Snoopinator.

I was actually quite surprised with Ghoster Coaster. I liked it a lot!

KD's Boo Hill has the superior facade and queue, but I like KI's version a heck of a lot more.

Another "lamp in the foreground" shot.

Entertaining tombstones.

Booga booga booga!

Rows and rows of Pikachu can only mean one thing: We have found are way to The Grove.

Shockwave might look pretty with it's new paintjob, but my shoulders still hurt.

More vertical loopage.

The ride was OK, until Togo realized at the last minute that a coaster can't make a complete circuit without turning and hastily added some brutal ones onto the ride.

The airtime, however, was completely insane. I have never felt so close to death as I have while going over one of Shockwave's bunny hops.

Are we sure this is KD? It looks a lot like Geauga Lake.

I think that this exact photo was used on the 2004 GL park map.

Yeah, we must be at GL.

All of The Grove was pretty bad, but this end of the midway was particularly dead. They really need something to fill up this giant slab of asphalt to anchor the area visually now that Hypersonic's gone.

Hurler- what's there to say? An uninspiring layout, rough turns. Perhaps I've been battle-hardened by Mean Streak and SoB, but I honestly expected this to beat me up a bit more than it did. At least Hurler has traces of airtime, unlike the former two.

Ricochet was decent as far as mice go.

I love carousels.

Oh, good. We've escaped The Grove and made it to Old Virginia. This is a picture of Flying Eagles, if you didn't notice.

This family gave me confused looks as I took their photo.

I didn't even notice this until I got in line for Flying Eagles.

Grizzly was quite decent. And the tunnel was LOUD.

It's a decent section of the park.

Well, I'd say that covers most of the park! I'll dig up a few more photos if I can sort through any more worth sharing, and put them in a "Part 2.5" post. I hope you've enjoyed! Comments are always welcome!

I always forget what seats are the magic ones on arrows, can somebody tell me? I think it is in the two back cars but that's all I know.

It's definitely NOT in the two back rows as I experienced nothing but pain on anaconda riding back there.

The Arrow magic seat is the same as the PTC magic seat, front row of the back car.

Grizzly was quite decent. And the tunnel was LOUD.

The tunnel is one of the best coaster moments anywhere, especially at night in the PTC magic seat.

^I was caught completely off guard at how incredible it was. That tunnel was right up there with Beast's helix tunnels for me. Absolutely amazing. I wanted to snag a night ride on Grizzly, but unfortunately with the park closing at 8 the week I was there, I missed out on that. But it gives me a reason to come back!

^You literally can't see anything in that tunnel at night, it's total pitch black, which makes that turn even better when you can't see it coming.

And finally, part 2.5. It's not quite a full Part 3, and it's more of a collection of some miscellaneous photos I couldn't squeeze in earlier.

The park as seen from the campground.

A typical campground Lodge.

My only Rebel Yell photo, interestingly.

The "stacked" look Dominator has vaguely reminds me of some of Schwarzkopf's coasters.

Who ordered interlocking corkscrews?

Volcano again, and Avalanche's lift.

I liked that Volcano had bins despite the split station, but I wonder if it slows down operations even further?

The first-gen impulse trains aren't quite as sleek as the current ones.

A completely terrible picture, but I found a Smurf in the Volcano queue to be entirely hilarious.

The tunnel is very nice and shady.

This is supposed to be up with the other Dominator photos. Please pretend that it is.

A very nice corner of the park. It's a shame, though, that as soon as the sun slips just past the horizon, my point-and-shoot loses its ability to take clear photos.

Odds-n-ends from Boo Blasters.

Heading back onto International Street.

The three big fountains KD has as opposed to KI's multiple little ones are impressive.

Let's go up once more before the sun sets.

I have yet to encounter a working Intamin drop tower.

A random aside: Some of my favorite amateur photos come from the early 1970's. There was a slight blueish-grey tint to them that I absolutely love. This photo reminds me of that slightly.

And I part with a twilight shot of the Eiffel Tower.

That covers nearly everything worth sharing, and I hope you've enjoyed!

Nice Trip Report!

All of The Grove was pretty bad, but this end of the midway was particularly dead. They really need something to fill up this giant slab of asphalt to anchor the area visually now that Hypersonic's gone.

Looks like you are getting your wish with Windseeker.

Hmm--I had no idea there was a "hidden Smurf" in the Volcano queue.

^Actually, that Smurf was a prize that someone had won, and I found it funny that one had worked its way back inside of the mountain so long after their eviction. Although, if there were Smurfs still hidden inside of Volcano, that would be pretty hysterical!