[griffondor]

So I went to Kings Dominion this weekend, and I have quite a bit to talk about. I'll try to keep it short.

First off the service. It's not anything compared to Carowinds. Keep in mind that if you go as a Carowinds employee like I did, you're going to have a lot of trouble going in. You have to park in the employee lot, the entrance is just before the main gate. Before you go through security, look to your left and there will be a pathway on the other side of the fence leading to the guest entrance. Go through there. Now here comes the tricky part. The employees at the main gate won't let you in. They give you this confused look and direct you to guest services. Don't go there, just tell the employee to scan your carowinds id. If you don't work at carowinds, obviously it's a much easier situation. As you enter the park, you will notice that many of the employees are not nearly as perky as the ones at Carowinds. They all have a sad look on their face, and obviously are not happy to be there. I was very disappointed overall with the service. On to the rides.

When the park opens at 10:00, the only major ride open is Dominator. This is a great ride, however the line moves very slow for a B&M. Brace yourself for the corkscrew after the brake run, as it can jerk your head around a bit. The rest of the park opens at 10:30. Obviously I headed straight for...the gliders. Not quite as fun as the Carowinds counterpart, mostly because there isn't a wonderful singing voice in the background. Next, I went to Intimidator 305. This line moves VERY fast. if it's back to the block with the Intimidator 305 sign, 30 minute wait. It's that fast. The ride itself is the most intense roller coaster I've ever been on. Going 20 mph up the lift hill is scary. I just wish they could fix the tire problem and take the trims back off. You can feel them slowing you down as you go down the first hill. Be prepared to grey out as you exit the helix into the second hill. Don't go on Hurler. It's even worse than Carowinds. You've been warned. Anaconda is probably the worst Arrow I've been on. It's just too rough, especially the transition near the end. Flight of Fear has a very slow line, and I didn't think it was worth it. It was a bit too scary for me having the tracks so close together. Volcano also has a very slow line, about an hour and a half wait if it's past the entrance to the line. If you have the time, it's a must ride. If you're there at night, they have stadium seating for The Crypt, and it's quite enjoyable. Grizzly is a bit rough, and doesn't look safe if you're watching from inside the station. They have done an excellent job remodeling Rebel Yell in-house. It's similar to Thunder Road, but not quite as fast. Thunder Road will be better if GCI ever finishes the job they started. The Backlot stunt coaster is quite an experience, although we got stuck for an extended period of time in the gunfire area. The helix at the beginning can cause some to grey out, quite a few G's there. Shockwave is alright IF you know you to properly ride a stand up. Make sure you're seated on your butt, not anything else. And bend your knees a bit. You can get some air off this ride if you listen to those instructions. And that's about it. Hope I didn't miss anything.

[Cosmo_TAD]

^ I have not had any problems getting into any sister parks at all this year. You do know your supposed to go to guest services and sign in right? They will direct you on how to enter the park (which at ki, kd, and dorney) was through the front gate. The only one that wasn't was cedar point which was through guest services, at the front gate.

You did miss the two best rides there, Ricochet and Avalanche!

[Jay]

I went to Dorney Park and Kings Dominion this year and did not have to go to guest services. Went to Kings Island last year and did not have to go to guest services. All 3 parks read my pass when parking and at the gate.

The last time I did have to go to guest services was for Valleyfair in June of '08.

[Skycoastin Steve]

I love overly negative trip reports that are just negative for the sake of being negative.

I'm not even the biggest fan of KD, but I've still had some pretty decent days there this year. No, I don't think they have the guest interaction down pat like Carowinds does, but it's still a fairly nice park. I'd usually rather go to BGW, but KD really isn't that bad. Another problem was you went on a weekend.

Here's some of the soundest advice you'll ever get: DON'T GO TO ANOTHER PARK ON A WEEKEND. You'll hardly ever have a good time going to a park on a weekend. I rarely ever have. Pick a weekday (they're easier to get off from work anyway), and go then.

Regarding Thunder Road, it's a 5-year renovation plan by GCI, so it's still going to take a little bit longer to finish. And from the sound of things you preferred Shockwave over Grizzly, which literally almost makes me break down in tears. And how can you complain about FoF being too scary? That's the point of a roller coaster!

[griffondor]

After thinking about it a bit, I probably did like Grizzly a bit more than shockwave. Both got very rough especially Shockwave. And they had the lights off in the tunnel the first day and on the second day. About the lines...I expected that. The problem is, I work Monday through Friday, so I thought it would be easier for everyone if I went on a weekend. Not going to change my opinion about Flight of Fear though. I realize a coaster is supposed to be scary, and I've been on some of the worst (Intimidator 305, Griffon, and many others). But there's a fine line that I thought it crossed. Overall, I REALLY enjoyed the weekend. I just wished I didn't have so much trouble with admissions.

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

Thanks for the report on KD! I cant wait to go in a few weeks for summer conference. Is the hurler up there really that bad? I cant wait to try the crypt it looks fun, I have only been on one top spin ride at the state fair many many years ago, and i dont believe it was floorless... They look like they have some neat rides. I think with all the extra ERT we will get on I-305 I wont have to worry about rushing to it right when we get there friday evening. I think we will just be able to go around the park and hit every ride they have (except some of the things that we have like ricochet) and probaly even have ample time to check out there waterpark & slides. Do you have any advice on what rides to ride first etc? I planned on just going around the entire park, I plan on taking a LOT of pictures since I dont know if I will ever get to go back to KD. I am really looking forward to it. I cant wait to try flight of fear and volcano, these will be the first launched coasters I have ever been on, as well as the backlot stunt coaster. Only 2 1/2 more weeks and I will be on my way....the 20th just cant come fast enough!

[griffondor]

Yeah, the Hurler over there is rougher than ours. Head to Volcano or Flight of Fear first. Those lines move slowly and can get very long throughout the day. Crypt was alright, I rode in the front to get the full effect of the special effects, though I've heard that the back gives a better ride. By the way, I went on i305 like 10 times while I was there and never found a way to get rid of the grey out. If you don't want it to happen to you, try consulting a fighter pilot One last thing: They open the first section of the park at 10 (Dominator, a swinging ship, and a few shops), then everything else opens at 10:30. What do you all do at the conference? I don't think I can go unless I get my ACE card

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

Thanks for the pointers! I am not sure what all they have planned, doesnt look like to much. I know on Friday the 20th we get in at 4 (or all day if you have a pass I guess and get the ACE pack at 2-4pm) and they have a welcome thing at 7pm. The park will close to the public @ 8 and we get I-305 ERT until 10, not sure if other rides are included or not. Saturday will be 7:30am registration and start riding at 8 or 8:30am on some rides ERT, and I think the only other thing "planned" is a all you can eat buffet at 6pm. And of course ert on i-305 until midnight and probaly some other rides. I think I will have plenty of time to do everything while I am up there and probaly do the waterpark for a couple hours as well. We are staying at the hotel across the parking lot or whatever so we can easily go get swim gear on and go to the waterpark and also eat lunch @ denny's or whatever they have there. If you dont have an ACE card, you should still be able to go I went on the backstage tour in March without my card... You can register online. You can also email the Maggie I think she does all the registration stuff and ask her, send me a note if you need her e-mail. I am excited about this trip because this is like the only other park I have gone to other than carowinds haha... Its gonna be a blast!