[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

Park Research: Historical Background: Name: Currently: (2007 to Present)

Formerly: Paramount’s Kings Dominion (1993 to 2006) Kings Dominion (5/3/1975 to 1992) Location: Doswell, VA, USA

Chain Affiliations: Currently: Cedar

Formerly: Family Leisure Centers [A combination of Top Value Enterprises and Company] (1975-1982)

Kings Entertainment Company [A combination of the Senior executives from Taft Broadcasting, Kings Dominion in , in , and Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario] (1982-1993)

Paramount Park Chain (1993-2006)

Opening Date: May 3rd, 1975

Major Events:

 The construction of the park began on October 1st, 1972 with the design of Kings Island in mind.  Kings Dominion was opened by Family Leisure Centers on May 3rd, 1975, offering 15 attractions, including 2 rollercoasters that are still operating in the park today.  In 1977, Kings Dominion added their first launched coaster, King Kobra, which was a Schwarzkopf .  Additionally in 1977, the park served as a filming location for the film Rollercoaster.  In 1978, the park added a campground to serve as housing for their guests.  In 1979, the “Lost World Mountain” was debuted, which still serves as one of the major landmarks today. It has housed countless rides over its history, including a flume

[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

ride, a children’s mine ride, a , a haunted river ride, a Smurf-themed attraction, and currently, an inverted launch coaster called “Volcano, The Blast Coaster”.  In 1982, the park was purchased by the Senior executives of Taft Broadcasting, and formed the Kings Entertainment Company (KECO) with three other parks in North Carolina, Ohio, and Ontario for $167.5 million.  “Avalanche” was debuted in 1988, which remains the only Mack bobsled rollercoaster in the .  ’ “Anaconda” was opened in 1991, which features the world’s first underwater tunnel.[Fun Fact: “Anaconda” was originally designed to have 6 loops, but in the end, they decided to drop 2 of them, which turned out to be a great move on Kings Dominions’ part, because unlike Arrow’s 6 inversion coaster “Drachen Fire” that opened the following year in Williamsburg, located a short 2 hour drive from Kings Dominion, “Anaconda” turned out to be a successful ride and not a “rollercoaster failure”.]  In 1992, the park added a new 20 acre section of the park.  In 1993, Paramount purchased KECO, and the park became part of the Paramount Park chain.  In 1996, Paramount’s Kings Dominion opened their first LIM-launched , “The Outer Limits: .”  In 1997, the park opened and expanded their kid’s section of the park, renaming it KidzVille.  In 1998, ’s “Volcano, The Blast Coaster” was opened, which was the world’s first LIM-launched .  In 2001, the park opened “Hypersonic XLC”, which was a thrust air 2000 air-launched coaster that broke down extremely frequently, and resulted in not installing any similar rides in their other parks. The ride was removed in 2007. [On a personal note, it was a horrible ride that had extremely long lines in excess of 2.5 hours, and the ride only lasted for a grand total of 25 seconds. It was definitely not worth the wait!]  In 2003, Kings Dominion opened the world’s tallest free-fall ride at the time, the 305ft “Drop Zone.”  In 2006 Entertainment purchased all five of the Paramount Parks for $1.24 billion, and Paramount was dropped from the park name the following year.  In 2007, under the control of Cedar Fair, the ticket prices were lowered by $5, which was the first lowering in prices in the park’s history.  In 2008, “” was opened, which was the park’s first roller coaster with 5 inversions.  In 2010, Intamin’s -themed “” was opened, which was the park’s largest-ever capital investment.

[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

 In 2010, the park ended its 35-year run with the Hanna-Barbera characters and replaced them with a theme.  In 2013, the park expanded their kid’s section, making it the largest of all of the parks in the Cedar Fair chain. It features 18 attractions that cover 14 acres.

Notable Former Attractions/Rollercoasters:

Name of Rollercoaster: “Galaxie”

Years of Operation: 1975 to 1983

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down

Manufacturer: S.D.C (Italian)

Height: 45ft

Inversions: 0

Reason for Closing: Relocated to and operated until 1997

Name of Rollercoaster: “HyperSonic XLC” (XLC= Xtreme Launch Coaster)

Year of Operation: 2001 to 2007

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down, Thrust Air Coaster

Manufacturer: S&S Worldwide

Height: 165ft

Inversions: 0

Reason for Closing: It was extremely unreliable.

[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

Name of Rollercoaster: “King Kobra”

Year of Operation: 1977 to 1986

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down, Shuttle Loop

Manufacturer: Schwarzkopf

Height: 137.8ft

Inversions: 1 [Loop]

Reason for Closing: It was relocated to Jolly Roger in Maryland as “King Kobra,” and it operated from 1987 to 1989. It was relocated again to in the UK as “Thunderlooper”, where it operated from 1990 to 1996. It was relocated once again to in as “Katapul”, and it operated from 1999 to 2012. (It has been all around the world!)

Current Rollercoasters:

Name of Rollercoaster: “Anaconda”

Year Opened: 1991

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down (Custom Looping Coaster)

Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics

Height: 128 ft

Inversions: 4 [100ft tall Loop; 90ft tall , 25st tall Double ]

Name of Rollercoaster: “Avalanche”

Year Opened: 1988

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Bobsled

Manufacturer: GmbH & Co KG

Height: 69ft

Inversions: 0

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Name of Rollercoaster:

Currently: Back Lot Stunt Coaster (2008 to present)

Formerly: Italian Job Turbo Coaster (2006 to 2007)

Year Opened: 2006

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down

Manufacturer:

Height: 45.2 ft

Inversions: 0

Name of Rollercoaster: “Dominator”

Year Opened: 2008

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down, Floorless

Manufacturer: Bolliger and Mabillard

Height: 157ft

Inversions: 5 [135ft tall Loop; Roll; Interlocking Corkscrews]

Name of Rollercoaster:

Currently: “Flight of Fear” (2001-Present)

Formerly: “Outer Limits: Flight of Fear” (6/18/1996 to 2000)

Year Opened: 1996

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down, Enclosed

Manufacturer: Premier Rides

Height: 74.2ft

Inversions: 4 [Cobra Roll, Sidewinder, Corkscrew]

[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

Name of Rollercoaster:

Currently: “Great Pumpkin Coaster” (2013 to present)

Formerly: “Taxi Jam” (1997 to 2012)

Year Opened: 1997

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down, Kiddie

Manufacturer: E&F Miler Industries

Height: 8 ft

Inversions: 0

Name of Rollercoaster: “”

Year Opened: 1982

Type of Rollercoaster: Wood Sit Down

Manufacturer: Taft Attractions Group (using the design)

Height: 87ft

Inversions: 0

Name of Rollercoaster: “”

Year Opened: 1994

Type of Rollercoaster: Wood Sit Down

Manufacturer: International Coasters, Inc.

Height: 83 ft

Inversions: 0

[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

Name of Rollercoaster: “Intimidator 305”

Year Opened: 2010

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down, Giga Coaster

Manufacturer: Intamin AG

Height: 305ft

Inversions: 0

Name of Rollercoaster: “Rebel Yell”

Year Opened: 1975

Type of Rollercoaster: Wood Sit Down, Twin Coasters (North and South)

Manufacturer: Philadelphia Coasters, Inc.

Height: Both North and South: 85ft

Inversions: Both North and South: 0

Name of Rollercoaster: “”

Year Opened: 2002

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down,

Manufacturer: Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG

Height: 49.8 ft

Inversions: 0

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Name of Rollercoaster: “Shockwave”

Year Opened: 1986

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Stand Up

Manufacturer: Togo

Height: 95

Inversions: 1 [Loop]

Name of Rollercoaster: “Volcano, The Blast Coaster”

Year Opened: 1998

Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Inverted, Suspended Catapult Coaster

Manufacturer: Intamin AG

Height: 155ft

Inversions: 4 [Roll Out, 3 Heartline Rolls]

Fun Fact: First ever launched inverted rollercoaster!

Name of Rollercoaster: Currently: “Woodstock Express” (2013 to present)

Formerly: “Ghoster Coaster” (2010 to 2012-2013)

“Scooby-Doo’s Ghoster Coaster” (1997 to 2009)

“Scooby Doo” (1974 to 1996)

Year Opened: 1974

Type of Rollercoaster: Wood Sit Down, Family

Manufacturer: Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc.

Height: 35ft Inversions: 0

Fun Fact: This ride actually opened before King's Dominion! It was a part of a now defunct attraction.

[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

Analysis of Rollercoaster Line-Up:

Kings Dominion is well known for their steel rollercoasters, especially the ones that have been installed since the park became a part of the Cedar Fair chain, such as “Dominator” and “Intimidator 305.” However, the park only possesses 4 wooden rollercoasters, 1 of which is a family ride, and 2 of which that are almost 40 years old! It has been almost 15 years since the last wood rollercoaster was added, in comparison to their 10 steel rollercoasters that exist today. Speaking from personal experience, I find that the park’s current wooden rollercoasters are sub- par, and the park is in desperate need of a new, modern wooden rollercoaster. All of the current wooden rollercoasters are very rough, and depending on which seat you sit in on “Grizzly”, the wheels of the car actually lift off of the track a bit as you go over the hills. Additionally, the restraints featured in these rides are very out dated and make the rider feel very unsafe, for example, on “Woodstock Express”, which is meant for children, the single lap bar in the car does not come down far enough to touch the child, especially when a larger adult is riding with them. Because of this, park visitors tend to be hesitant when riding the wooden rollercoasters or will avoid them all together. As a result, I have decided that the park needs a new attraction that can have visitors fall in love again with classic wooden rollercoasters. Rollercoaster Design:

Name: “Imperium”

Manufacturer:

Type: Wood Sit Down: A-B-A-B-A Sequencing (A=Hills and B=Helixes)

General Location:

[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

Rollercoaster Layout:

Elements:

1. 145 Foot with a 140 Foot Drop 2. 55 Foot Hill 3. Helix 4. 25 Foot Long Underwater Tunnel 5. Helix 6. 75 Foot Long Downhill Sloped Section (Fitting the Incline of ) 7. Slanted Helix with Headchopper Element 8. 40 Foot Hill 9. Double Helix with Headchopper Element 10. 60 Foot Long Downhill Sloped Section (Fitting the Incline of the Land) 11. 3—20 Foot Bunny Hills

[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert

Features:

Theming: Patriotic Eagle —The ride semi-models an eagle’s flight pattern through a forest: soaring up and down through the skies, its hunting circle patterns, and swooping down into the water to catch its prey.

Cars:

Philadelphia Toboggan Company Cars: Eagle Body Design/Decor

2 Trains: 2 Riders per Row, 3 Rows per Car, 5 Cars per