MERCHANDISE HERE: teespring.com/stores/theme-pa... Coaster Studios Videos used: • Volcano: The Blast Coa... Sean Flaharty video used: • Big Bad Wolf - The Fin... Disaster Transport demolition video by Steven Lin
I've gotten a few comments regarding my use of stock footage. Some viewers liked it, while others said it took them out of the video and was distracting. I do not want my videos to turn off viewers, and my number one goal is listening to the fans. I meant for the stock footage to serve as an illustration to the emotional reactions of park guests to the rides' closures as well as comic relief. While I will not be reuploading again, I will aim on using a more moderate amount of stock footage In future videos. This was experimental and an attempt to try new techniques. I'm always happy to hear from my viewers when it comes to constructive criticism.
Eh, not a fan of the stock footage. I feel that it didn't really add anything, and some of the clips were poorly keyed as well. The content, overall, was great, so well done on that front!
I cried when it closed and I never rode it I went to universal once when I was a kid and got up the courage to get in line for it with my family when I got to the station I was an inch to short and never got to ride it
You ain't kidding. I keep reading about how fantabulous Hagrid's is from people who, seemingly, have no idea what had to be sacrificed in order for Hagrid's to be built. Hagrid is a fine coaster with great theming, but it doesn't hold a candle to DD. Hagrid is just a ground-hugging coaster with a crapton of brake runs whereas DD was a "true" rollercoaster made all the more thrilling with its dueling aspect, which was discontinued for a really ridiculous and irrelevant reason. For those Potterheads cursing me with their plastic wands, I've ridden both, even back when DD still had its dueling theme and Hagrid's is a VERY pale replacement. Even the queue for DD was magical, and this was back when Universal didn't have a clue as to how to do queue theming. When the queue was converted to Dragon Challenge, it lost a big part of what made DD such a great ride, but at least the ride itself remained largely intact (minus the dueling aspect). To clarify, I don't hate Hagrid's. I just hate that DD had to be eliminated in order to make room for Hagrid's.
@@fredleggett923 Hagrid's rollercoaster is a marvel of tech that can work well with many cars running at the same time, 7 launches allowing up to 12 cars to be safely running on the same track is insane, terrain hugging imo is much better than just having track in the air. A lot of the fun from coasters for me is the full experience, theming, immersion, intense and gentle inversions and other track pieces. As much as I do enjoy a bit of duelling from DD, the rest of it just seemed like any other coaster, and seemingly not special in any sense, it was just a good, duelling coaster. Take away the duelling, and again, its just another hanging coaster, that honestly, would have a run for its money against others like it, Nemesis from Alton Towers for example. Although Hagrid's is a mismatch of many different techniques, its how it does them, and how well it does them that creates its large amount of positive reviews. Its an enjoyable ride, highly themed and overall a great experience for families. How you can say Hagrid's isn't a "True" coaster is beyond me, seeing how, a hanging duelling coaster has any more equity as a "True" coaster than a launch coaster has? Really, a "true" coaster would be like an arrow dynamics with like 1 loop in it. Just seems a bit weird and I dont really understand why you couldn't call anything that rides on a track, a "true" roller coaster tbh. And although the Duelling loop does look cool af, it is still an issue that loose items can inflict damage on someone, minor or life changing. I dont think DD was taken down to make way for Hagrid's, i think it was taken down and they put in a really good coaster (despite its first couple of months) in place after it was taken down. So maybe you gotta get that sour taste out your mouth, its not a glass half empty type of deal, give the park the benefit of the doubt at least. They could of just closed the ride, or better yet, replaced it with a terrible ride.
As a Virginian, losing Big Bad Wolf and Volcano hurts. I did get to enjoy them both multiple times. I have to give Verbolten it's props, though. I rode it bitterly, but when we hit the drop track and dropped to Big's old river drop, my face broke into a smile. It's a worthy successor. King's Dominion better have something good up their sleeves to replace Volcano. It's has to be a launch coaster; something that has what Volcano was mixed with what HyperSonic could have been. While they're at it, they need to give a cosmetic update to Flight of Fear and bring Anaconda back to it's former glory. I love my park, but man it could be a superstar with the right changes.
Big Bad Wolf was so many children’s ride of passage to adult coasters, including my own daughter. We will always miss it. Verboten is okay, but it doesn’t not live up to Big Bad Wolf. Volcano was always worth the 2 and 1/2 hour drive and 2 hour wait. It was one of the best!
Dueling Dragons was one of my favourite roller coasters, I was lucky enough to ride it when they had the dueling feature, it was so good! Broke my heart when they disabled the dueling feature and broke my heart when they tore it down 😣😣
Dueling Dragons was the BEST ride. I went to Universal a few times growing up and remember riding the coaster over and over, running (probably sideways from the dizziness) as soon as I got off to get in line again. I was so upset when I heard it was closing. No coaster compares to the weightless feel, thrill of the near-miss collisions, and gorgeous view on top of the coaster before the big, initial plummet.
Big Bad Wolf should of gotten a historic plaque after it was removed. All the Williasmburg locals and those far/between cherish its place in our childhood. Still, Verboten is fantastic and good replacement.
The Big Bad Wolf was one of my all-time favorites. It was one of my first roller coasters that I rode where I was seated under the track. The thrill of riding through the village and across the lake was amazing. It will be missed.
The Big Bad Wolf was one of my first roller coasters as a child. I can't remember if I rode the Loch Ness first or if it was the Big Bad Wolf. It was always a must ride whenever I went to Busch Gardens. I wish I could have taken my children to ride it. We have since moved a good distance away from Virginia. I hope to go back for a vacation now that the kids are older so that they can experience all the coasters that Busch Gardens has now. The Verbolten is a fun ride and I am glad they did try to pay respects to the Big Bad Wolf with the theming and the drop near the river.
@@johngriswold4303 I will never go to Universal Studios again either, also because it has just become a greedy corporate juggernaut by now. But I will still go to Florida just for Busch Gardens.
@@johngriswold4303 So just because they took a ride, you'll never go to 3 of the world's favorite parks in the world. I'm pissed they took it out as well but I still go. Sounds like yall are to uptight.
@@LordMalice6d9 its common that old rides get removed when their service life is over or just to make newer rides. velocicoaster and hagrid's are really fun
I went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for my honeymoon last September. The dueling dragons coaster was already gone, and Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure wasn't finished yet. I missed two great coasters due to bad timing. T_T
You're not missing anything on Hagrid's. It's a piece of junk that keeps breaking down. I took a 3-day trip to Universal and it always had problems to the point where I never got to ride it. Waiting times of 4-6 hours are normal even if you go at rope drop. I won't miss it if they tear it down.
It was in Bring it On? I've seen that movie but don't remember DD being in it. I know HULK was in The House on Haunted Hill but can't seem to remember DD being in anything.
We Went to that Blacppol pleasure Beach Park every single year, that Wild Mouse wild was one heck of a ride, it may have gotten rougher over the years but that compact layout with those sharp corners and with those steep drops into air times and stuff really made up for it. That ride was a bad boy ride hands down and it'll be missed deerly!
Same, I was always too young and then the two years I go in a row (last year and 2017 me being 13 and 14) it was closed. I've always wanted to ride it.
Volcano was my first REAL steel coaster and it hurt my heart when I went to KD the last time only to see the mountain was basically gone. I nearly cried on Avalanche because there was not much more than rubble left of the coaster. Volcano will forever be missed 🥺
I went to Universal for a band competition (in 2017) and I remember having such a blast on Dragon’s Challenge, I rode in front on both tracks. They must’ve closed the ride a few months after we went there. This is devastating honestly cause I had such a fun time on the ride, now I’ll never experience that same thrill ever again🥺. RIP Dragon’s Challenge, thanks for some pretty great memories....😢
Former Colossus ride-op here...While I definitely miss the original Colossus, she definitely wasn't her former self in later years. Adding extra trim brakes, etc. over time really gutted her of her original glory. So while it was sad to see her go, Twisted Colossus is a huge improvement. Sad they couldn't have just restored her to her former awesomeness though.
SFMM is my home park since the 70's. My favorite memory was riding Colossus with the smaller Psyclone trains, after Psyclone was demolished! I still miss Shockwave also!
The last few times I rode Colossus it seemed to me that the Red side seemed to have been used less often. I had only ridden the Red side a few times, and it seemed to me they always just ran the Black side. Any reason for this? Secondly, I think the failure of Twisted Colossus is not ensuring that the ride Duels. That is the whole point of a Dueling rollercoaster. I wish RMC would have kept Colossus as a 2 tracked 2 station coaster and ensured that the ride ALWAYS dueled. I have heard many folks complain that TC doesn't duel as often and it can be a disappointment.
The absolute worst thing 6FMM did was to put the trim brakes over the double-down that was probably the best part of the ride. That also lost the air time on the return leg hills. It was supposedly done to allow them to run 3 trains on the popular ride by having another block. But popularity immediately fell off and they seldom even ran both sides, let alone made any attempt to race. IMHO twisted Colossus is a huge improvement and better than the original. BTW the best west coast goodies are Gold Striker and the Santa Cruz Giant Dipper. Knott's Ghost Rider and Twisted Collosus are a pick-em for third place.
I never got to ride Dueling Dragons, but I rode Hagrid's four days after it opened, and I really hope that the removal of Dueling Dragons doesn't prevent people from seeig how amazing of a ride Hagrid's is. While it's not as thrilling as it sounds like Dueling Dragons was, the ride feels absolutely incredible (and, as was said in the video, the theming is also amazing). Even though I'm very much a thrillseeker/adrenaline junkie, I literally cried after riding Hagrid's because of how amazing it felt. So I just hope everyone gives it a fair shot to get an unbiased opinion 💕
As somebody who’s ridden both, I was heartbroken when I first discovered the dueling dragons had been torn down. Then, I decided to give hagrids a chance because I’d heard such great things about it. After riding that one too, I can confidently say that hagrids is the ONLY coaster that could ever follow up the dragons. Hagrids is my favorite ride in the park alongside Velocicoaster.
One of my biggest regrets was never riding the Hypersonic XLC, but it was always closed when I visited. I haven't been to the park in years, and now my newest regret is not riding Volcano one more time. I loved that roller coaster. I was extremely upset when I heard the announcement. A lot of my friends were too.
The Dueling Dragons was legendary and as much of a fan favorite as this guy says. My family would always ride it whenever we went to Universal on vacation. The last time I got on it was in 2007. It was such a great ride and gave us good memories. It's a shame it closed down.
It had such a short life for a modern coaster. Those 2 launchers unfortunately made the electrical costs to much for them 2 maintain and operate. Was my dad's favorite ride, and go figure they started to tear it down 1 week after my dad had passed away😥. My fav was the Dominator, rode the same train on it for 2 1/2 hours strait. So fun yet relaxing. We use to go 3-4 days a week. Was also funny driving right by Boring Busch Gardens to go to KD after we moved.
Gwazi was my first coaster, I’m now a huge fanatic. I loved it. Me and my family used to call it the “bone shaker” and whenever we went on holiday to the US, we would always go on it. The year we went and it was closed was tragic
Chiller should definitely be on this list over many of the coasters that made it. Between capacity, breakdowns, and popularity, it almost always had a huge line, but the experience was excellent and unique particularly after they switched to lap bars.
I never actually got to go on the dueling dragons I'm from England and have only been to America once in 2009 but unfortunately I wasn't tall enough to go on the dueling dragons and the other rollercoasters and I wish I could've gone on the dueling dragons
These zipper pouches don’t even stay closed half the time. I put my phone and wallet in one and made sure I zipped it and remember that the operators made sure you weren’t holding anything and that the zippers were closed. Anyways, by the time the ride was over the zipper was undone and I can’t believe my phone and wallet didn’t fall out! I was so mad but thankful I didn’t lose my stuff
Literally they could've just made it mandatory to leave all of your belongings with someone you know on the ground so that it reduce the danger of unidentified flying objects hitting you in the face mid-inversion. I wish I could've ridden this coaster in my lifetime, alas, I was too young, too poor, and too far away to even be able to have a chance at riding this cool looking coaster.
I got to ride The Big Bad Wolf in the early 90's, right around when Drachen Fire opened (I got to ride that before they nerfed it and I loved it.) The Big Bad Wolf is still one of my favorite coasters. I'll never forget flying through the town, over the water, through the woods, narrowly missing buildings and trees. I've ridden faster, I've ridden taller, but there was just something special about that ride. I'm so glad to have that memory. Loved The Loch Ness Monster too, but, The Big Bad Wolf, man what a ride!!!!! Then, at night!!! Unbeatable!!
Dragon challenge was my first rollercoaster ever :’) I was terrified to ride and was bullied to go on but after getting off I wanted to ride again and again! It started my love of coasters, sad its gone :(
Megan Peters verbolten does a great job in memorializing the big bad wolf, especially with the second drop. BBW’s second drop is iconic and legendary among coaster fans.
When I went to Carowinds from 2014-2016, I *loved* thunder road. It was my favorite coaster at the park. (Yes, I thought it was better than intimidator) I marathoned Thunder road every time I went. Every time I watch POVs of thunder road, I tear up. I really miss thunder road and how fun it was. I will always love you thunder road!
Alyssa Miller , it is a great addition to the park but not my favorite . I rode it once , without someone sitting next to me , and was thrown around so much I thought I was gonna fly out ! I'm just gonna stick to Intimidator from now on 😂
Dueling Dragons was our favorite since our visit in 2009. The interior theming along with choosing "Fire" or "Ice" made it the most memorable enjoyable theme park visit of our lives. Went back wearing our DD shirts when it was turned into Dragon Challenge. Ride staff were recalling their own memories of the good ol' days and asked about ours :). I purchased two DD mugs back in 2009 with a 3D dragon face half red/ half blue and are displayed in my living room.
When he says Last Rides given, each time I hear Last Rites and smile, imagining a Priest there brought in especially to ease the ride into Roller Coaster Heaven. Thanks brain.
"Go and bring joy to the afterlife, my mechanical child. And pass on knowing you have brought joy to many riders in your life." Sorry, I cant help ramble off a monologue at that line.
My daughter and I were among the last riders on Firehawk on closing day last year. It was perhaps her favorite roller coaster because of the flying effect. She’s even said she would rather have Firehawk back than the upcoming giga. 😱. I think she will change her mind next spring. I had credits on a few of the other rides mentioned here and watching this video brought back memories of park years gone by. Thank you for posting it!! 👍
I miss Firehawk too!! Orion is one of my all time favorites tho. Wish we could have both or that they at least add a flying coaster next! Did you guys end up liking Orion?
I rode Gwazi in its final year. Yup....it was painful and brutal. The defunct coasters I miss the most is the Mountain Flyer that ran at Mountain Park in Massachusetts. One of the most beautifully hell bent for leather wooden coaster one could enjoy. The hairpin turnaround was great!
Man I remember thunderroad!!! It used to be awesome!!! Funny story, when I was a young teen, my brother and I rode on this. However my brother is 6+ feet. In the loading dock there are several support beams. My parents told him to put his hands down but it was too late and he smacked his hands going 20 mph into the que. Another time we actually got stuck on the duel hill. One car would sometimes go forward and the other backwards. So we were stuck backwards on the hill as the other car sped past. But somehow once fixed he still managed to beat them down the top hill and drop. The BEST part of the ride. I will forever miss this coaster. It was an amazing wooden coaster.
Dueling dragons was my favorite ride at Universal and I am so devastated to learn about why they disabled the dueling feature. And volcano was incredible! Hersheypark is the closest park to me, and I was comparing it to storm runner at the very beginning until it just took off. These two are so sorely missed.
I rode Volcano in 2017. The line was long because it kept getting closed over mechanical issues but whooey that ride was awesome!! First coaster I went on by myself and first one that went more than 60mph. Now I'm a coaster maniac. Miss you, Blast Coaster ❤️
Volcano: The Blast Coaster was truly a ride that will be SORELY missed! Loved the launch and oh did you feel the push that sent you through the cone of the volcano! Quite a feat when you think about it! Gone but never forgotten!
Thunder road was my first roller coaster, I was one of the last to ride it. When I got off I just stood there and looked at it in all it’s beauty one more time. When I heard they were finally taking it down I cried.
I got to ride Thunder Road back in the Summer of 1999. I've noticed that Top Gun coaster 🎢 is no longer there NEITHER. Too bad. IF ONLY they had KNOWN about the long awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick
Right? The Vortex at California's Great America was awesome, I remember being really sad when I learned it was closing. It wasn't torn down luckily, just repainted and turned into a floorless coaster called Patriot
My father, an ACE member since before I was born, cried when Colossus was shut down, bitched for a year. Then he road Twisted Colossus and said "if I'd known how good that would be, I'd breathed so much easier." His favorite coaster *ever*. He loves it.
They have a lot of area available now that Rip Roarin' Rapids is officially closed (I will miss that one). Maybe we'll see a Thunder Road revival on that side of the park.
the big bad wolf was my first coaster, I'll miss it dearly :') funnily enough I was scared to ride the other coasters, but would go on bbw all the time
Had the pleasure of enjoying Duelling Dragons (the loop made you flinch so hard) and Gwazi (back breaking end times) back in 07. Sad to see them gone...
They could have gone to s&s though cause they had the blueprints for every arrow suspended coaster and if they do choose (which I hope they do) s&s could revive the model
@@markwilliams2620 same, I wish I could've enjoyed the early 2000's of Muse's concerts, I especially would've wanted to see the 2004 Rock Am Ring concert. Unfortunately, I was only 2 years old (this concert was 2 days shy of my 3rd birthday) and I am also a low income hispanic American, instead of a rich German or generally European adult.
This was the first time I have heard about Dueling Dragons closing. I grew up 10 minutes away from IoA and for a while I had season passes. When the park first opened I rode the ride, and Hulk, dozens of times. It was always a good time. You mentioned how being in the front row was great for when the competing cars went head on, but also being in the last row was awesome because being in the last row was where you were literally whipped around those turns. I'm gonna miss Dueling Dragons. It was a great ride.
There is one ride that I miss which started my love for roller coasters and that is Knightmare from the long closed down Camelot theme park here in the UK. After the park's closure in 2012 due to low visitor numbers caused by a combination of bad weather, the 2012 Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Knightmare was to be sold to other parks but the owners had a price for the coaster that was too high for a deal to be made. This lead to Knightmare being left standing and rusting for 8 years until it was sadly demolished in February this year.
I felt that Colossus mention hard, especially when I remember riding it at the age of 7. Luckily, I did buy that wheel from the train during Coaster Con. And it’s a dueling RMC now.
I never realized how lucky I was to ride Volcano during my first visit to KD in 2017 - especially considering it didn't open till like, 5pm on the day of my visit.
I wear glasses and sunglasses when my contacts are in and I can honestly say this is not a problem I have EVER had. LOL and I live in Orlando and have ridden Dragons (both dueling and challenge) many times.
I rode Colossus on its last day. I agree on the sentimentality, while also agreeing that Twisted Colossus is absolutely a proper replacement. One of the best parts is that you essentially get to ride it twice, building the dueling feature into the circuit. This also means the dueling feature will never be "turned off", as happens with so many classic dueling layouts.
I was so disappointed when I went to kings dominion one summer to find volcano the blast missing. I loved that ride so much and was a big reason as to why I loved going to that park when traveling on vacation. Gwazi is definitely a missed ride for me, it was depressing to see it rot away in the background never to run again. That being said I have high hopes for the new rmc coaster to take its place, it will be my first hybrid coaster experience when it opens I can't wait for it to open. Big Bad Wolf was an awesome ride. I haven't been there since its successor took its place it likely is a good ride but there was something to the suspended swinging coaster that was so much fun that the new ride might not be able replicate. Disaster Transport, I dunno what to say about it. I definitely had no idea what it was when I saw the building, it was an attention grabber as much as it was an eyesore and went to go see what it was. Got on the ride and was able to notice the bobsled cars to figure out it was a bobsled coaster. I love bobsleds, they are pretty fun but had only ever rode one other bobsled at kings dominion once before. Though when I rode it, it was so dark I couldn't see any of the props and decor so I was still a bit confused as to what was going on during the ride, I imagine it was a lot better when it was more recently converted.
R.I.P these amazing coasters... 😞 They are gone forever but they won’t be forgotten. On the positive note, keep up the good work Peter! 😎👍 What’s your guys most missed coaster. Mines is Ragin Cajun.
I can personally vouch for the accuracy of the description of GWAZI. Towards the end, the ride was REALLY rough and when I got off, I was seriously nauseated - and I love thrill rides. I didn’ t feel like that again until I did the Orange Mission on “Mission to Mars” at Epcot.
I take pride in the fact that I was on the last ever ride for Disaster Transport in Cedar Point. I went on the last day it was open for a school trip and while on the ride, it broke down and we got stuck. Seeing as it was scheduled for demolition the next day, the operators didn't bother trying to fix the issue. We finished the ride and they closed it immediately after.
If 20 year old discontinued coasters are hard/expensive to maintain, then how the hell does a small park like Lakemont keep a hundred something year old coaster (Leap the Dips) up and running despite it's maker (FCC) not even showing up in a Google search?
The answer is, they don't. I went there 3 days ago and it was closed. I look online and it hasn't ran in 2 years. Their other coaster, Skyliner, which is 40 years newer, was the roughest coaster I've ever ridden. Besides, a wooden coaster is simpler to maintain than an inverted launch prototype inside a mountain facade
While I do miss the original Colossus, I'm more than happy with how Twisted Colossus turned out (probably my favorite coaster as of now) so it's not a huge loss for me. Still it would be nice to keep some traditional woodies like Ghost Rider at least for diversity's sake, they don't all have to be RMCs.
I love that Magic Mountain had a moose hold the sign for Colossus closing in reference to the Lampoon's Vacation. Was a great ride to ride backwards during Halloween. One time my dad and I rode it first thing when the park opened and WOW it was incredibly slow with just the two of us on it. Literally at one point it was going about 2-3 mph around one of the turns. Pretty amazing how much of a difference the weight of riders makes.
Great video, i rode several of these like BBW, Volcano, Dueling Dragons, Disaster Transport, Firehawk, but the one I miss is Colossus. When I first started getting into coasters, this was my favorite. Thank you for not putting Son of Beast on here, that ride SUCKED
The sadly removed Volcano from Kings Dominion Virginia was one of my favorites, though I have never been able to ride it. In 2018 when I was 9 years old, I was in line of the ride but it was to long and the rides would barely move such as the lines. I can’t wait to see the new replacement roller coaster!!
I got stuck on Twisted Colosus back in December 2017 due to electrical issues Also I only got to ride Disaster Transport once back in 2011 but I really miss it :(
