Kings Dominion Park, Part V: Kings Dominion for Everybody

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Slideshow  |  Lightbox (178) Tags: amusement-park   parks   virginia   washington-dc Posted: June 27, 2011 by Shekn

Previously, we mentioned that Kings Dominion has a lot to offer to kids. However, kids, especially, little ones, do not come to the park along. In this last part of our gallery we want to show that entire families with moms and dads and their children are very welcome in the park. True: some rides in Kinds Dominion are not meant for adults; they are simply to small. But many attractions can be experienced by the whole family.

What you need to keep in mind is that each and every ride in the park is rated according to the thrill it delivers.This rating ultimately translates into the height of visitors - the park does not use the kids' age as a requirement. Instead, the higher the thrill, the taller riders should be. On the other hand, almost all kid attractions have maximum height allowed.

Kings Dominion Theater was opened in 1975 as Mason Dixon Music Hall. It remains is the park's largest indoor theatre and has hosted many shows, including ice skating and musicals.

The Action Theater is a simulator ride (where the audience is shown a movie while their seats move to correspond to the action on screen). I think they still show Spongebob Squarepants 3-D movie. Action Theater is rated as "high thrill" ride (category 4); min height requirement for motion seats is 44 inches.

Flight of Fear (Kings Dominion park, opened 1996) is not very noticeable - it is an indoor coaster hidden in a hangar. But this does not make it less intense. In fact, it is rated as "aggressive thrill" ride (category 5) and requires 54-inch min height and for good reasons. With the length 2,705 feet (824 m), max speed 54 mph (87 km/h) and max G force of 4.5 Flight of Fear has a lot to offer during 2.5 min ride: 4 inversions with twist and turns in almost total darkness with the whole environment themed as an area 51 type of installation.

Shenandoah Lumber Company (Kings Dominion, category 4 ride with 36 inch height requirement) one of few water rides outside the Water Works. During the ride you float down the river in a log-shaped boat.

Since you do not ride Shenandoah Lumber Company ride in a swimsuit, in case you get wet, here is a Family Drier where for $5 you can get dry again.

Go-kart attraction called Thunder Raceway in Kings Dominion park. This is another pay-per-experience ride ($8 driver and $5 passenger). It is rated as "high thrill" (category 4).

Go-karts on Thunder Raceway in Kings Dominion park. The driver should be at least 58 inches tall and the passenger at least 40 inches.

Grizzly Arcade attraction located in the Old Virginia section of Kings Dominion park.

Inside Grizzly Arcade (Kings Dominion park) - just a bunch of game machines and coin operated arcade equipment.

Grizzly figure making the entrance to the part of Old Virginia section (Kings Dominion park) where Grizzly roller coaster is located.

Grizzly ride is hidden away in the backwoods of Old Virginia section in Kings Dominion park. Perhaps the idea was to create a setting that resembles the natural habitat of the grizzly bear. Anyway, it is the third large wooden coaster in the park - and pretty intense with its specifications: length 3,150 feet (960 m), max speed 51 mph (82 km/h) and max G force 5.5. The coaster is rated "high thrill" ride (category 4).

Here is the detail of Grizzly's wooden construction. As you can judge looking at the wood, the coaster is not new - indeed it was open in 1982.

Clearly, there is a number of coasters in Kings Dominion park offering much more thrill than Grizzly. For example, Grizzly has not inversions at all. However, riding through the woods intensifies the experience because of the perceived insufficient clearance between the track and trees.

El Dorado (opened 2009) is a swinging pendulum ride at Kings Dominion park themed to a 1950s style El Dorado convertible car which can carry a total amount of 40 riders up 85 feet in the air.

Surprisingly - because the pendulum moves very slowly and smoothly - El Dorado (Kings Dominion park) is rated rather high for this type of ride: "high thrill" (category 4) with the min height of 48 inches.

Kings Dominion park - the view on Hurler roller coaster and Juke box diner.

Ricochet (Kings Dominion park) belongs to the type of rides called sometimes wild mouse roller coasters. They are characterized by small cars for four (or less) people and ride on top of the track, taking tight, flat turns producing significant lateral G-forces. Ricochet was opened in 2002.

Ricochet (Kings Dominion park) is rather small roller coaster: 1,312 feet (400 m), max speed 35 mph (56 km/h), no inversions and max G force of 1.3. Nevertheless, Ricochet is rated as "high thrill" ride (category 4, min height 44 inches). Perhaps, one of the reasons for that is its 50 feet plunge at the beginning of the ride, significantly higher than what can have with most wild mouse coasters.

Americana (opened 2009) is Kings Dominion's first Ferris wheel. It is 110 feet tall, and has 24 six-person gondolas that the entire family can enjoy. Americana is rated as "mild thrill" ride (category 2) and does not have any height restrictions.

In the center of the photo is Baja Bends (opened in 1992 at Kings Dominion as Pipeline) - a set of four open water slides to end in a splashdown pool. Baja Bends is a "high thrill" ride (category 4). Min height requirements is 48 inches.

An area in front of the Water Works (Kings Dominion park) with Low Tide Lou's Coolers selling icees, sodas and pretzels as well as lockers. The latter can be very convenient since park's dress code does no allow for floundering around in swimsuits (outside the Water Works section). Daily locker rental costs (2011) from $12 to $21 depending on the size of the locker.

In this court in the Grove section you can show off your basketball skills. As in real game, you shoot the ball through the hoop; however, in Kings Dominion park you will compete against time trying to get the highest score during 40-second tryout. To enter the competition you pay $10; you get prizes of different value depending on the number of points received (no points no prize!).

Backlot Stunt Coaster (Kings Dominion park) is rated as "aggressive thrill" ride (category 5, min height 48 "). With the height of 45 feet (14 m), length of 1,960 ft (600 m) and max speed 40 mph (64 km/h) it is a bit of a stretch. However, one area where this coaster wins is its theming.

The final drop of Backlot Stunt Coaster (Kings Dominion park) flying out of the "broken billboard" into an LA aqueduct. Despite the change in the name of the coaster, its theming after the 2003 film The Italian Job is obvious. In addition to the final scene, there are others, among them gunfire from a helicopter, chase through sewer tunnel and flying down subway stairs.

The entrance to The Crypt (Kings Dominion) ride opened in 2005.

The Crypt (called previously Tomb Raider: Firefall) is a suspended top spin (rotating as if rolling in the same direction as it is moving) ride originally themed to the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Despite the change in the name, all original theming elements remain the same.

Weighing about 80 tons, the Crypt (Kings Dominion park) ride is an impressive engineering construction rising nearly 60 feet above the ground. Not less impressive is its elaborate theming with special effects, music and tribal drums intensifying the overall experience. 

The Crypt (Kings Dominion park) is slow, and there are no sudden turns or strong G forces. But there is something diabolic in this unstoppable slowness involving five inversions. The photo - the top spin continues rotating forward and stops as the gondola locks in position at the top.

Photo illustrates Crypt's special effects. This ride in Kings Dominion park is rated "aggressive thrill" (category 5) and requires 54 inches of min height.

There are very few bobsled style rides in the world and Avalanche is one of them and the only one in North America.

Avalanche (Kings Dominion park) was opened in 1988 and themed to Olympic bobsleds. The ride is rated as "intermediate thrill" (category 3) with min height of only 40". It has seven cars per train; its height is 69 feet (21 m), length 3,200 feet (980 m), max speed 41 mph (66 km/h) and max G force 3.4.

One thing about Avalanche (Kings Dominion park) that all roller coaster aficionados agree is its smoothness throughout the whole ride which continues for 1.5 minutes. The feeling of sledding down a hill with many twists and turns is very real and pleasant and is helped by the unique in-line seating of the coaster.

Ghoster Coaster is one of the oldest attractions in Kings Dominion park - one of two opened during the park preview event in 1974.

Wooden Ghoster Coaster is rated "high thrill" (category 4) - I do not see any reason for that rating. Clearly, it is a junior coaster, and its official height requirement is only 40 inches. it is very good for any kid who wants to experience just a bit more than a little kiddie coaster and can be considered an excellent starter coaster. The ride is located in the KidZville® section of the park.

Entrance to the Berserker attraction at Kings Dominion park. To remind, Berserkers were Norse warriors who were known to have fought in a trance-like fury. The word "berserker" applies today to anyone who fights with disregard to their own life. For a themed park - an acceptable metaphor.

The Berserker (Kings Dominion) is a pendulum ride that swings up and down many times going higher and higher until finally pausing at the top upside down. It is rated as category 4 ("high thrill") and requires at least 48" of height. The Berserker was opened in 1984.

The Berserker (Kings Dominion), a giant Viking ship, freezes for a split second while upside down.

Shockwave at Kings Dominion park was opened in 1986; it is a stand-up roller coaster. It is not the biggest ride (height 95 feet, length 2,231 feet and max speed 50 mph) but nonetheless mean spirited and often regarded as rough and uncomfortable.

This photo illustrates a rather unique feature of Shockwave at Kings Dominion park - its stand-up design. The ride is rated as "aggressive thrill" (category 5) but does not have any numeric height requirement. Instead, riders are checked to make sure they can reliably straddle the seat with feet firmly on the floor.

Shockwave (Kings Dominion) roller coaster is known for its two loops. One of them is vertical (shown in the photo); the second is horizontal where riders fly parallel to the ground.

Shockwave (Kings Dominion) - inside the vertical loop.

     

Our Kings Dominion Park photo galleries consist of five parts. Make sure that you haven't missed any of them:

1. Arriving to Kings Dominion
2. Inside Kings Dominion Park
3. Kings Dominion Park - Paradise for Kids
4. Big Guns of Kings Dominion Park
5. Kings Dominion for Everybody (current page)

Pages:  1 2 3 4 5

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