[98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert Park Research: Historical Background: Park Name: Currently: Kings Dominion (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 Fair Entertainment Formerly: Family Leisure Centers [A combination of Top Value Enterprises and Taft Broadcasting Company] (1975-1982) Kings Entertainment Company [A combination of the Senior executives from Taft Broadcasting, Kings Dominion Carowinds in North Carolina, Kings Island in Ohio, 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 shuttle loop. 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 parks 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 rotor, 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 United States. Arrow Dynamics’ “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 Busch Gardens 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 water park 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 roller coaster, “The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear.” In 1997, the park opened and expanded their kid’s section of the park, renaming it KidzVille. In 1998, Intamin’s “Volcano, The Blast Coaster” was opened, which was the world’s first LIM-launched inverted roller coaster. In 2001, the park opened “Hypersonic XLC”, which was a thrust air 2000 air-launched coaster that broke down extremely frequently, and resulted in Paramount Parks 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 Cedar Fair 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, “Dominator” was opened, which was the park’s first roller coaster with 5 inversions. In 2010, Intamin’s Dale Earnhardt-themed “Intimidator 305” 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 Planet Snoopy 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 Myrtle Beach Pavilion 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 Amusement Park in Maryland as “King Kobra,” and it operated from 1987 to 1989. It was relocated again to Alton Towers in the UK as “Thunderlooper”, where it operated from 1990 to 1996. It was relocated once again to Hopi Hari in Brazil 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 Sidewinder, 25st tall Double Corkscrew] Name of Rollercoaster: “Avalanche” Year Opened: 1988 Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Bobsled Manufacturer: Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG Height: 69ft Inversions: 0 [98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert 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: Premier Rides 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; Cobra 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: “Grizzly” Year Opened: 1982 Type of Rollercoaster: Wood Sit Down Manufacturer: Taft Attractions Group (using the Coney Island Wildcat design) Height: 87ft Inversions: 0 Name of Rollercoaster: “Hurler” 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 Toboggan Coasters, Inc. Height: Both North and South: 85ft Inversions: Both North and South: 0 Name of Rollercoaster: “Ricochet” Year Opened: 2002 Type of Rollercoaster: Steel Sit Down, Wild Mouse Manufacturer: Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG Height: 49.8 ft Inversions: 0 [98-186 FINAL PROJECT] Hannah Hoffert 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 Lion Country Safari 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.