Paramount Kings Dominion

This was the only park on this trip that I had been to before, back in 1998 when the new ride to the park was Volcano, The Blast Coaster. I had really liked this park back then but it had changed quite considerably since then and there were plenty of new rides so it would be interesting to see what I thought of it this time around.

Before telling you about the park I needed to capture this picture for prosperity. Large roads in the US often have a median between the lanes. It can sometimes take the form of a bank or in this case a ditch. When turning off the road it is usually a good idea to avoid said ditch, which we almost drove into. It provided much entertainment that night! Keith couldn't stop laughing, and when he'd finally composed himself enough to walk into the hotel, when asked how he could help us I replied to the receptionist that Keith had just tried to drive us into a ditch, which cracked him up again.

First coaster of the day after being held back by security in the centre of the park was Hypersonic XLC (why let us in if we can't ride anything or go anywhere?) . I had ridden the big brother ride in Japan and completely fell in love with Dodonpa and riding this one was on the list of things to do on this trip. After a short queue we boarded our train and took our seat in the little pods that make the car look a bit stupid.

The launch was absolutely manic and rather stupidly I thought I'd ride it with my hands up. When the ride transitions from the horizontal to the vertical the forces were so strong it felt like my arms were being ripped out of their sockets.

A couple of rides after our's someone lost their glasses on the ride, which came crashing down on the ground next to where we were standing.

A really exciting ride once you get over the power of the launch!

Joining us in the park today was Hanson, and I think they liked the ride too! I wonder how much drag these silly seats put the ride under. I don't recall Dodonpa having seats like these.

Another new ride since my last visit to this park was the mouse coaster. It had a slightly unusual layout in that it was built on a triangular footprint rather than a rectangular one. It was a pretty good ride.

The drop tower was really good too, and the best of the non-coaster rides in the park.

The last time I was here, the Anaconda was a green coaster but since my last trip it had undergone a face lift. I didn't bother riding it on this occasion.

PKI had an Italian job ride and so did PKD. In fact this was the newest of the bunch having opened a month before I got to it. The ride was identical in layout but hardly any of the effects were working. We didn't even get wet in the shootout sequence. The park was still assessing the ride asking riders to complete surveys as they departed the ride. I think the staff were keen to get as much input as they could because they couldn't go on their break until a set number had been done, and it was extremely hot around the ride. Rather unfortunately the sheltered part of the queue line had been closed because the queues weren't long enough to justify using it. A shame as the shade would have been advantageous.

Having finished with the rides at the back of the park, for now, we headed over to the jungle themed part of the park. It was instantly obvious that plants had been allowed to flourish since last time, adding to the jungle theme.

Avalanche, the bobsled coaster spent all its time on the lift hill on the day we were there. Fortunately I had ridden it before.

Volcano was just as good as I remember although light had been allowed to creep inside the belly of the volcano ruining the surprises somewhat; last time it was pitch black. The ride has a launch shortly after the station followed by a second launch out the top of the volcano before you make your descent around the volcano and back down the station. In the year this ride opened the queues were just under four hours long, this time I queued for 40 minutes. Much better!

Although it was obvious from the graffiti in the queue line that they still have their slow days.

The new ride in this park was a back-to-back top spin themed around the Tomb Raider movies. It featured the normal water fountains that these rides usually have but also fireball effects, which made the ride better than most. In fact the theming on this ride was top notch. This ride was prone to breaking down and I had to wait a good while before I could ride it.

The park's kiddy wooden coaster was pretty decent. In fact all the Paramount parks had good coasters of this type, and they'd looked after them well.

The Scooby Doo shooting game had got better as we'd visited each Paramount Park and the pattern continued here. The whole attraction was better themed than at either of the other two. Some of the effects were switched off such as the snakes in the queue line though, but at least they had them, the others did not.

As with the water fountain on the water coaster at Carowinds, we spent a great deal of time playing with the cannons on the log flume. Actually we didn't do the firing, that was left to a family of quarter-rich people. We, and another chap did the distracting.

Interesting Sign #27
"No Show Today"
At PKI, myself and Tim enjoyed the School of Rock show. At Carowinds I introduced Keith to it and he liked it just as much as Tim did. So we were really looking forward to seeing how the same show at PKD would compare. Alas, we were at the park on a Tuesday, the one day in the week where there aren't any shows. Never mind. You might be able to keep the man out of the rock but you can't keep the rock out of the man. (See I learnt something at Rock School!!)

Grizzly is about 25 years old and I really liked it this last time around. It was pretty good this time too, although the trees weren't as close to the ride as I remember. Whether they've been cut back or my memory isn't what it used to be (I'll leave that for you to decide) I don't know.

The other coaster was Hurler, a little taller and longer than the Grizzly. This one wasn't as good as The Grizzly but I had absolutely no recollection of this ride the last time I was here.

This path to nowhere was in the queue line to the Hurler. I wonder where it was supposed to lead?

Interesting Sign #28
"During the fall season, this attraction contains bees and wasps at elevated areas. Those allergic to these insects should not ride".
Talk about pulling out the stops, they even supply insects for the Summer months deliberately? You'd think if they knew there was a problem they'd do something about it like install one of those ultraviolet electrocution boxes or give us swats to ride with.

Rebel Yell is the park's racing coaster and I had only got to ride the forward facing side last time I was here. This time I got to ride both but as with some other racing rides the racing element had been taken out of the ride at the turn around where one car would just suddenly slow to a crawl allowing the other to race ahead.

Shockwave is the park's stand up coaster. Having remembered how bad this was the last time I rode it I had no intention of riding it on this occasion.

The end of the day was spent taking advantage of the views from the park's baby Eiffel tower. Here is volcano with Avalanche and Tomb Raider. Flight of Fear in the background was closed this year pending its sale but is apparently re-opening following a turnaround.

Hypersonic and Hurler at the back of the park. The path through the trees beyond the rides contains the cables that power the park from the powerstation beyond.

Anaconda and Rebel Yell
The obligatory "Tower and Fountains" shot.

Six Flags has some of their staff dressing up. Paramount has them dress up and dance. The starfish was a pretty good mover but I have no idea how someone with legs as skinny as Spongebob was able to carry the costume at all.

Kings Dominion has improved significantly since my last trip there and it has some pretty unique rides in amongst the generic types. Even the mouse coaster has a layout I've not seen before. Hypersonic is very popular with the crowds but its the Volcano ride that is still my favourite.

Last new park, its north to Six Flags America