I actually worked as a ride operator for volcano during highschool and summers throughout college. I miss getting to test ride it every morning! brings back some really good memories! It unfortunately even when I worked there had some serious problems with rolling back at the top of the volcano and we would close it for hours almost 2 or 3 times a week.
Agreed. But I am also super exited for the Rapteria, the ride that will replace the volcano. Next time you visit the park, you will see a screen near the entrance!
I love the work that they have done with Grizzly, but from my experience of the one time I rode it I think they should’ve retracked the entire thing. Right after you leave the tunnel and go through that one dip switching from Gravity Group track to the original, I got jackhammered really bad and it definitely ruined the rest of the ride for me
At my age, I have to beware of wooden coasters and Grizzly has always been painful to me. Thanks for telling me about the "jack hammer." It makes my decision simply as far as whether to ride it again.
I was there when the grizzly opened as a kid in ‘82. I was 10 on an elementary school field trip of some sort. I remember the grizzly just being very rough, but enjoyable. My old man would take us since probably the late 70’s to early 80’s. Anyone remember the potatoe sack slide? remember when they handed you a ticket booklet to use up for each ride? When you run out of tickets you either buy more or walk around or go home. Too bad Racer 75 is no longer the rebel yell
It really depends what you're going for. Twisted Timbers is an excellent ride with one of the best sequence of airtime hills in the world. That said, I305 is probably a more overall consistently thrilling experience. It does have three good airtime moments but they aren't the focus. Even the big turnaround after the drop isn't the best part of the ride (though it of course very forceful.) I think the rapid turns in the second half really make I305 elite. I'd say I305 is more unique and impressive for what it is than Twisted Timbers but mostly because Twisted Timbers is so typical of RMC. But on the other hand, RMC is pure excellence so there's nothing wrong with being a typical RMC because that immediately means it's an elite coaster.
@@zacg_ That is some detailed reasoning. I just adore Twisted Timbers because it was the first coaster I rode with an inversion. I can’t really say anything about I305 because I haven’t ridden it, but if what I heard it true: then I305 will be nuts (in a good way)
@@IsleofPigsStudios wow! TT is a heck of a ride to have as your first inverting coaster. It really is amazing. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm almost curious to hear what you think of more typical inversions as you experience more because the inversions on TT are very unusual outside of the RMC set.
We still did not get an apology from the KD park manager for being falsely accused of stealing water. We were apparently the topic of a search for over an hour with security looking for us... over two bottles of water. We paid for two drinks, but the coke was not mixed right and undrinkable, so we asked the cashier if we could get the water instead. She said yes and as we got off of the Backlot Stunt coaster over an hour later, a security officer wanted to ask us questions. If anyone knows the park manager, we would like to hear from him/her. We have been unsuccessful in getting an answer through their survey they sent us about our trip. It was ignored. I was also ignored on their KD Facebook page.
@@Historybluff1986 That in itself is theft and price gouging people in need of water Many parks give away free water, but it is usually in the small bathroom cup size and it would take several cups and a lot of time to wait in line to be sufficiently hydrated. When we were accused of this, we were not even allowed to speak with the accuser to see why the misunderstanding happened. But having the receipt that we paid for drinks saved us.
@@joeconner3315 Yeah, it is not a petty thing either. Security said it could be a serious problem, so I am still treating it seriously since it was a serious screw up on their part. If you think it is petty, hopefully you will be falsely accused of something "serious" soon so you can experience it. And maybe it will happen to you when you are 10 hours from home on a vacation.
This is interesting because I haven't been to KD in a long time, maybe 20 plus years even. I remember FoF and Anaconda being the top two. Also, what happened to the Shockwave? Did it get replaced?
hello mr keep riding coaster. love the videos but I have to ask, what do you think about King's Dominion retheming Intimidator 305 to a space theme and creating a Space-themed area like the one at Kings Island? I noticed that it hasn't been repainted in quite some time, and it seems like they're waiting. Would it be possible? I'm thinking for their 50th that might be on the table along with a repaint of Racer and possibly a retheme For The Back Lot stunt coaster as well. What do you think?
Idc KD should've just revamped Volcano modernize the launch to their most reliable magnetic launch's they use today, you can kind of make an exception to your most popular ride
I personally am not a huge KD fan and I'm not entirely sure why. I think it's because I find the park to be a bit of a mess in terms of layout and cohesion. Also, the parking lot and front gate are just a disaster if you ask me. But they definitely have an above average coaster collection and their top two is arguably the best one-two punch out there maybe only challenged by SFNE, Magic Mountain or Cedar Point.
Yo, Anaconda was actually probably the smoothese Arrow looper ive ridden. Ride in the very back row. I went in expecting a prize fight though, so i rode very defensively. I-305 tops all the coasters there, and is hands down the best giga in existence. Ever. Never will be a better one. Ever ever. Did i mention that I-305 is great?😂
I live an hour from this park; Anaconda will give you whiplash and a migraine at the same time. I am shocked it's still operating. The only way you have a chance of reducing the effect of getting thrashed like a rag doll from the shoulders up is to press your head back hard as you can for the entire ride.
Yup anaconda has awkward transitions in the middle section but gives me way less of a headache than dominator, anaconda has some super underrated inversions, esp the corkscrews which give the best hangtime on any arrow looper
I completely disagree with these rankings except the top 3. The top 3 are no brainers though. I would personally put Flight of Fear over Grizzly. I also would not have put Anaconda that low.
I remember one time back around 2003-2004 i got stuck and had to ride anaconda twice back to back because after the first ride, the seat restraint wouldn't release for me and nobody came to help me out lol..so i just sat through another ride😂 I was also getting very sick that day but i still managed to get on every ride in the park. I wasn't wasting what ended up being my last trip to Kings Dominion lol.. i hope to go back some day
I put Twisted Timbers ahead of 305, because Timbers consistently gets better for the length of the ride with the best airtime in the park. 305 does not get better throughout the ride. It's intense, but to me, not fun. I'm 60 years old, and fun beats intensity every time.
1. Intimidator 305, it’s the best roller coaster I’ve ever ridden, I got 8 rides total on it, 5 of them were back to back and I would’ve done more if the park wasn’t closing! There’s a lot I could say about this coaster, but we’d be here all day so I won’t 😅 2. Dominator, underrated, only did it once but I really enjoyed it and it surprised me, that drop off the midcourse gave some really good air time 3. Twisted Timbers, it disappointed me quite a bit but it’s still a great ride, it’s the third RMC I’ve done so I just expected it to be somewhat on par with the others (Lightning Rod and Storm Chaser) 4. Tumbili, this is the first free spin I’ve ridden and it was insane! I was tempted to put this at number 3, it was the first ride to scare me in like 7 years, I flipped 5 times and it gave upside down ejector airtime! When it dipped under itself the first time it flipped in a way that flung me downwards, and it genuinely made me believe I had been ejected! 5. Backlot Stunt Coaster, I’ve ridden the one at my home park Kings Island many times, and I actually thought this one was slightly better! 6. Flight of Fear, this on the other hand was much worse than the one at Kings Island, I only rode it to compare them and because I305 was down at the time 7. Reptilian, first bobsled I’ve ridden and it was good fun, I rode in the very back on my one ride That’s all I got to ride here, I probably could have ridden more, but I had sore legs and decided to put most of my time into I305. Hopefully whatever coaster gets added next will give me an excuse to come back here, cuz I really loved Kings Dominion!
Glad you enjoyed grizzly this year, as a KD homeparker, I got to see it go from a rough mess and my number 10 at the park to my number four with great airtime
What I think KD should do is take out Anaconda, replace it with something like Abyssus from Energylandia and put in a launched wing coaster as a replacement for volcano the blast coaster, then add 2 more nice coasters and at least 5 awesome flat rides
Sorry but it’s gotta be 0 grain and grill 1 intimidator 305 2 grizzly 3/4 dominator/twisted tied 5 tumbili 6 backlot 7 reptilian 8flight of fear (move up 3 slots if it’s crazy hot) 9 apple zapple The rest aren’t worth rating
Pretty good rankings! Looking forward to a ride on the smoothed out Grizzly. Also I agree with Backlot Stunt Coaster. My 11 yr old likes TT, but Backlot is her favorite so far. I miss the Volcano!
I-305 Twisted Timbers Dominator Then theres a mess of FOF, Backlot, Reptilian, Then Rebel Yell Then Tumbili. I STILL havent got on Grizzly since they were finishing it up when i was there in April, and now its shut down for a haunt! Guess im gonna have to go back again just to ride Grizzly once, and spend the rest of the time on I305😂
Does anyone know what's going on with the park later this year? Wasn't able to ride I305 or Grizzly when I went earlier this year and was planning on going due to full year operations like Carowinds now has but the app says it's closed after November. Really need that I305 ride
My first real roller coaster was dominator I went with my sister and we had totally different reactions.my sister was the kind of person to put their hands up on a roller coaster.on the other hand I'm the one who is screaming and holding on for dear life.
Anaconda is the only roller coaster that I think I have ever actually been hurt on. I think I have like permanent neck damage or something after riding that ride it is so bad. And this is somebody who loves a rough wooden coaster
1. I305 2. Twisted timbers 3. Dominator 4. Flight of Fear 5. racer 75 6. Back lot stunt coaster 7. Reptilian 8. Anaconda Didn’t get to ride grizzly because of it being closed and tumbili’s line was too long for me to get that in during my trip. Didn’t do any of the kids coasters Edit: also i305 is my new number 1
Completely agree with these rankings except Number 7 and 8. I would personally have Reptillian lower than Anaconda. The thing is though I enjoy every coaster at Kings Dominion, so the rankings don’t matter much to me except i305 and Twisted Timbers.
I remember when I was about 7 (2013) I rode the Racer 75 as my first coaster and almost died. My lap belt wasn't in properly and I told the staff, they didn't care and said "You'll be fine". Every time we went down fast, I was not in my seat alt all, holding onto the bar in front of me, and my mom physically holding me down. The reason why I'm never going on it again and all other wooden roller-coaster or one's with no harness
I actually have Grizzly and FoF over Dominator. I think Dominator is super overrated and is getting rattly and rough now, as I always manage to experience headbanging when I ride it now. It used to be smooth but it’s getting old.
