Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia in Hanover County, 23 miles (37 km) north of Richmond and 83 miles (134 km) south of Washington, DC on Interstate 95.
The 400-acre (1.6 km2) park is currently owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and was part of the former Paramount Parks chain that Cedar Fair acquired from CBS Corporation on June 30, 2006. The park was named after its sister park, Kings Island in Kings Mills, Ohio, which opened in 1972. Both parks were originally built and owned by Kings Entertainment Company aka KECO. While Kings Island was named as a combination of Kings Mills (its location) and Coney Island (the theme park that it was built to replace), Kings Dominion's name was more than likely a reference to Virginia's nickname as the "Old Dominion".
Kings Dominion officially opened in 1975 with 15 rides. However, in 1974, the park had a "soft" (partial, low key) opening only for the now-defunct Lion Country Safari attraction and a junior roller coaster, now called Ghoster Coaster. Also in 1974, the park had completed the Rebel Yell racing roller coaster (designed by John Allen of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company); however, it would not open until 1975 with the rest of the park. When the park debuted in the spring of 1975, it also included a log flume; antique cars; steam train; and a collection of flat rides. Another roller coaster, Galaxie, was located in the Grove next to the man-made Lake Charles, which took up 10 acres (40,000 m2) of the park's property. In addition, Kings Dominion's 1/3-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, which features an observation deck from which visitors could see the entire park, was open by the park's first full operating season. In addition to the Lion Country Safari, the original themed areas of the park were called The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera, Old Virginia, and Coney Island (renamed Candy Apple Grove prior to the next season).
Kings Dominion added their fourth roller coaster, a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop known as the King Kobra, in 1977. The King Kobra featured a 50-ton counter weight drop launch and was the park's first launched roller coaster. It was in the park for nine seasons before being relocated to Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Ocean City, Maryland. After several more relocations, it continues to operate today as Katapul at Hopi Hari in Brazil. Also in 1977, Kings Dominion was one of several amusement parks used as sets for the film Rollercoaster.
In addition to the King Kobra, Kings Dominion opened a campground and its well-known Lost World mountain before the end of the 1970s. Originally, the Lost World featured three rides: a flume ride called Journey to Atlantis, a children's attraction known as Land of the Dooz, and a rotor called Time Shaft. Journey to Atlantis was replaced by the Haunted River themed flume ride in 1980. Kings Dominion would add their second wooden roller coaster, the Grizzly, in the forests of the Old Virginia section of the park in 1982. Kings Dominion opened its rapids ride, White Water Canyon, in Old Virginia in 1983. Also in 1983, a 13 year old boy died while riding on the Galaxie roller coaster. A swinging, inverting pirate ship known as the Berserker was added on International Street the following year. In 1984, a Smurf ride, Smurf Mountain would replace the mine ride in the Lost World. From then on, the Lost World was known as Smurf Mountain. The mountain was rebuilt in 1997, and has been occupied solely by since 1998.
After three seasons without a new roller coaster, Kings Dominion unveiled its TOGO stand-up roller coaster, Shockwave, in 1986, the same year that the park removed King Kobra. Shockwave, like King Cobra, has one loop but also has a helix. (The similarly-named King Cobra roller coaster at Kings Island, which was a stand-up coaster similar to Shockwave, closed in 2002.) The third and last roller coaster that Kings Dominion added during the 1980s was Avalanche, which remains the only Mack bobsled roller coaster in the United States. The trains of Avalanche are themed after the United States', France's, Germany's, Canada's and Switzerland's bobsleds, so that riders in different trains can simulate being in a bobsled race in the Winter Olympics.
Although the Lion Country Safari attraction was the first portion of the park to open, it was phased out after Paramount bought the park. Much of the Lion Country Safari occupied the land behind the Anaconda roller coaster; Kings Dominion still owns the land but has used most of it primarily for storage rather than opening new attractions. Diamond Falls, another flume ride, premiered in 1985 until closing in 2002. Three sets of Racing Rivers slides water slides premiered in 1987 and stayed open through the early 1990s.
Kings Dominion continued adding new areas to its park in the early- to mid-1990s. In 1990, they expanded Hanna-Barbera Land to include more rides for children. The 1991 season saw the addition of their next large roller coaster, the Arrow looper Anaconda, which was also the world's first coaster to feature an underwater tunnel. (Its tunnel went under part of Lake Charles.) Anaconda was also originally billed as having six loops and continues to be billed that way. However, unlike Drachen Fire, a six-inversion Arrow looper which was opened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg the following year, the Anaconda actually has only four inversions: a vertical loop, a sidewinder, and two consecutive corkscrews.
Kings Dominion opened its water park as Hurricane Reef in 1992. In its opening season, it first featured the Monsoon Chutes (two pairs of free-fall body slides, at 70 and 50 feet (15 m) high, respectively), the Torrential Twist (two enclosed body slides which wrapped around each other), the Pipeline (four open body slides), Cyclone (three enclosed body slides, the center of which was a free-fall), Tidal Wave (two open slides, which riders rode on inner tubes, Splash Island (an area for children with five water slides), and a lazy river. To build the water park, Kings Dominion filled in the two thirds of Lake Charles nearest the Candy Apple Grove region of the park; the Anaconda continued to pass over the remainder of the lake.
Kings Dominion continued its growth when it became part of Paramount Parks in 1993 and switched its name to Paramount's Kings Dominion. New attractions and areas of the park themed to Paramount's television shows and movies appeared at Paramount's Kings Dominion almost every season that they were under Paramount's ownership. In 1993, they added a motion simulator attraction, originally featuring the Days of Thunder movie, and Lion County Safari was removed at the end of the season. The 1994 season saw the addition of a new area of the park themed to the 1992 Paramount motion picture Wayne's World, which featured their third full-size wooden roller coaster, The Hurler, a shop called the Rock Shop, and a Stan Mikita's restaurant similar to the one featured in Wayne's World. Since then, the Wayne's World section has been merged into the Candy Apple Grove (since renamed the Grove); the Stan Mikita's was converted to the Happy Days Cafe, and the Hurler no longer has Wayne's World theming, except for a few spray painted "Wayne's World" logos near the exit of the ride. In the next year, another children's area, known as Nickelodeon Splat City, opened near the Shockwave roller coaster. This was later converted into Nick Central. Also Smurf Mountain was removed in 1995, leaving a dormant fiberglass mountain in the back of the park.
In 1996, Paramount's Kings Dominion introduced its second launched roller coaster, and first LIM-launched roller coaster, . The Outer Limits had a 56 miles (90 km) per hour launch, four inversions, and an identical "spaghetti bowl" layout to the ride of the same name at Kings Island. Almost as notable as the launch of The Outer Limits was the fact that the entire ride was in semi-darkness; the riders could not see where they were going. (Six Flags America, a nearby park in Maryland, features another "spaghetti bowl" roller coaster with the same layout as Flight of Fear, known as Joker's Jinx. Joker's Jinx, however, is an outdoor coaster.) Five years after The Outer Limits opened, Paramount Parks' licensing agreement to use theming from the television show after which the ride was named expired; the Outer Limits-related theming in the ride and its queue was removed, and the ride was renamed Flight of Fear.
1997 featured the debut of Kidzville, a re-theming of the Hanna-Barbera section. Added was the new Taxi Jam roller coaster, and Scooby's Playpark became a construction themed playpen called Kidz Construction Company. Yogi's Cave was rethemed to Treasure Cave and filled with scrappy theming from other rides. Many rides in Kidzville, such as Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster, George Jetson's Spaceport, and Huck's Hot Rods, continued to bear the names of Hanna-Barbera characters.
Paramount's Kings Dominion continued what became a trend of adding launched roller coasters in 1998, when they opened Volcano, The Blast Coaster in the former Lost World mountain. The mountain's previous rides had all been removed several years prior, and Volcano gave the mountain a major transformation. Volcano, which was manufactured by Intamin AG, was the world's first LIM-launched inverted roller coaster. The ride featured two separate launch sections, an Immelman style loop out of the top of the mountain, and three heartline rolls on the way back down. (Huge explosions of fire are shot out the top of the mountain for added effect.) Volcano was themed to Paramount's 1997 film Volcano; the other Paramount Parks added inverted or suspended roller coasters themed to Top Gun around the same time. During the next two seasons, Paramount's Kings Dominion expanded Hurricane Reef behind the Rebel Yell and renamed it Waterworks. (Most of the original Hurricane Reef remains open as of 2006; the two areas are joined by a path under the Rebel Yell.) The new portion of Waterworks includes Pipeline Peak, a set of four enclosed water slides, one of which (the Night Slider) is the world's tallest dark free-fall slide. In 2000, Nick Central opened on what was Nick Splat City and part of Kidzville.
The park added its third launched roller coaster, Hypersonic XLC, in 2001. Hypersonic XLC, a Thrust Air 2000 air-launched coaster made by S&S Power, launched riders from 0 to 80 miles (130 km) per hour in 1.5 seconds, taking them up a 87-degree incline and down a 87-degree drop. The entire ride takes about 25 seconds. Hypersonic XLC broke down frequently and was closed for the first three months of its second season; no other Paramount Parks installed a similar ride. Nevertheless, Hypersonic XLC helped establish Paramount's Kings Dominion's reputation as "the launched coaster capital of the world". Hypersonic XLC was removed after the 2007 season.
The early 2000s saw Paramount's Kings Dominion opening new rides similar to existing rides at other Paramount Parks. In 2002, the park opened its new wild mouse roller coaster, Ricochet. Carowinds also installed their Ricochet in 2002. Diamond Falls, the giant flume ride at Paramount's Kings Dominion, also closed that season, leading to several seasons of speculation from park visitors over which ride would take its place. The 2003 season saw Kings Dominion become the final of several of the Paramount Parks to open a Drop Zone Stunt Tower. The Drop Zone at Paramount's Kings Dominion, at 305 feet (93 m) high, was the tallest freefall ride in the world at the time it opened. In 2004, Paramount's Kings Dominion added Scooby-Doo! and the Haunted Mansion; similar Scooby Doo-themed dark rides had opened at three other Paramount Parks during the three previous seasons. In the next season, Paramount's Kings Dominion added an inverted top spin called Tomb Raider: Firefall, which was an outdoor version of a similar ride named at Paramount's Kings Island. The differences between the two were that at Kings Dominion riders' feet dangle freely and at Kings Island there is a floor. In the 2006 season, Paramount's Kings Dominion opened the Italian Job Turbo Coaster, its fourth launched roller coaster. Unlike the previously-built launched coasters at Paramount's Kings Dominion, each of which was faster than its predecessor, the Italian Job Turbo Coaster is designed more as a family ride and features several launches at 40 miles (64 km) per hour. Renamed the Backlot Stunt Coaster in 2008, the ride is similar to the Backlot Stunt Coaster rides at Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland, which both opened in 2005.
Control of the Paramount Parks had been transferred from Viacom to CBS Corporation at the start of the 2006 season; the parks had themselves been up for sale since the previous off season. CBS made several controversial moves with Paramount's Kings Dominion during the 2006 season. First, a roller coaster based on The Italian Job had been advertised on television as being open at the start of the park's 2006 season, whereas it did not actually open until late May, almost two months into the season. The placement of the ride was rather dubious; some enthusiasts ridiculed the park management for placing the entrance of The Italian Job, which was themed to a street chase, in the middle of the park's African-themed Congo section near the Anaconda roller coaster. Second, visitors to the park during the 2006 season found that the trees in the queue of the Grizzly were cut down to make room for a new upcharge go-kart attraction called Thunder Raceway. Third, Paramount's Kings Dominion closed Flight of Fear. Paramount's Kings Dominion gave no indication in the previous season that Flight of Fear would be closed for 2006. Rumors had suggested that it would be relocated to another former Paramount Park; since Cedar Fair acquired Paramount's Kings Dominion, the park worked to get the ride operable again. Flight of Fear reopened on August 18, ending speculation of the ride's relocation and/or sale.
On May 22, 2006, Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. announced that they were purchasing all five Paramount Parks. The sale was finalized on June 30, 2006. The park retained its Paramount's Kings Dominion name through the end of the 2006 season and reverted to its original Kings Dominion name beginning in the 2007 season. For the 2007 season, the park lowered its single-day admission by $5 to $44.95, one year after Cedar Point had made the same change to their ticket prices. This was the first time that Kings Dominion has ever lowered their ticket prices for a full season. In addition, they brought back their Starlight discount, which allows admission to the park for $29.99 after 4pm. Kings Dominion expanded WaterWorks for the 2007 season, adding a second wave pool called Tidal Wave Bay, a four-person family raft slide called Zoom Flume, and a ProSlide Tornado.
In December 2006, Kings Dominion also put Hypersonic XLC up for sale. The park announced plans to keep it running until a buyer was found. As of the end of the 2009 season, it has not been sold. It remained in operation during the 2007 season and was closed and dismantled several weeks before the 2008 season started. Also during the 2007-2008 offseason, Cedar Fair renamed the park's last two rides to open with Paramount theming. The Italian Job: Turbo Coaster became Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Tomb Raider: Firefall received the name The Crypt. The Paramount Theater also changed its name to Kings Dominion Theater.
The 2008 and 2009 seasons saw Kings Dominion receive three rides which had operated at Geauga Lake during its dry amusement park's final season. On October 23, 2007, Kings Dominion announced that Dominator, a floorless roller coaster, would be moved to Kings Dominion and located in the International Street section. Dominator opened on May 24, 2008, becoming Kings Dominion's first roller coaster with five inversions. For the 2009 season, two flat rides once located at Geauga Lake, like Dominator, opened in 2009. Located near Rebel Yell, Americana became Kings Dominion's first Ferris wheel. El Dorado, a pendulum ride, opened in the former site of Hypersonic XLC next to the Xtreme Skyflyer.
For the 2010 season, Kings Dominion has installed Intimidator 305, a 305 ft (92.464 m) tall gigacoaster by Intamin AG. The ride will feature a cable lift hill, an 85° first drop and a maximum speed of at least 92 mph (145 kph). The ride, which is themed to the late NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, was announced on August 20, 2009, and represents the park's largest-ever capital investment. It is scheduled to open at the start of the 2010 season. Also for the 2010 season, the Kidzville and Nickelodeon Universe areas of the park are being rethemed to Planet Snoopy, as are the children's areas at Canada's Wonderland and Kings Island. The park has renamed the Hanna-Barbera themed rides in Kidzville to match the Planet Snoopy theme, ending the park's 35-year run with Scooby Doo and other Hanna-Barbera characters.
floorless roller coaster formerly located at Geauga Lake, opened in 2008 along International Street.]]
International Street is the park's main street area, which greets guests when they enter the park. Both sides of the street are lined with shops, including two park-related souvenir shops just inside the park's front gate. International Street also has one flat ride, Berserker. Originally, only the street and its shops were considered part of the International Street area ; during the park's Paramount years, the boundaries of International Street expanded to include the Action Theater.
Like Kings Island, the centerpiece of Kings Dominion is its 1/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, located just across the International Street fountain from the main entrance gate. This Tower was built by the late company Bristol Steel, which was located in Richmond, Virginia. An elevator regularly takes patrons up to the lookout tower, which provides a chance to see the entire park. The observation deck offered the best view of the nightly fireworks show (which no longer runs), and the Fourth of July fireworks, which are set off from behind the Anaconda roller coaster.
Along with International Street, Old Virginia is the only original section of Kings Dominion that has kept its same name throughout the park's history; one of its current attractions, the Shenandoah Lumber Company (Log Flume), is one of the park's longest-running rides. In the 1970s, Old Virginia had an Intamin Flying Dutchman flat ride called Jamestown Landing; behind it, Old Virginia had a steam train ride, the Old Dominion Line, which ran through the woods in the back of the park. Jamestown Landing closed by 1980; the Old Dominion Line stayed in the park until it closed in the 1990s. White Water Canyon, the park's river rapids ride, opened in 1983. Since then, Old Virginia has added its current flat ride, Flying Eagles, which moved over from the park's former Wayne's World section.
The Grove, which opened with the park in 1975 as "Coney Island," was renamed Candy Apple Grove, and is currently Kings Dominion's largest section. The Candy Apple Grove first opened with an orchard theme, complete with singing mushrooms, and contained large candy apples and 3 apple-themed flat rides, an enterprise called Apple Turnover, a himalaya called Adam's Apple and a Monster model known as Bad Apple. It lost much of this theming during the 1990s and changed its name to the Grove by 2001.
Today, The Grove is the location of the park's main midway; the park's largest arcade, which opened in the 1970s, continues to operate there. The Grove has grown several times since the early 1990s. From the 1980s to 1995, the park had a small Shady Grove section in the present-day location of Shockwave and the Showplace theater. When Nickelodeon Splat City opened in 1995, most of the Shady Grove section was demolished and the Slime Zone rose up in its place; Shockwave has since been part of the Grove. The park also operated a Wayne's World-themed section for several years, beginning in 1994 with the opening of Hurler. Hurler (which travels over part of the former Old Dominion Line site in Old Virginia) are now part of The Grove. The Grove is also known for the Rebel Yell roller coaster, the park's first full-size roller coaster; Drop Tower Scream Zone, the world's tallest drop tower; and its carousel, which was first built in 1917. In 2009, El Dorado and Americana were added.
KidzVille is a children's area between International Street and Congo. It opened with the park in 1975 as Hanna-Barbera Land and became known as KidzVille beginning in the 1997 season. It, along with Nickelodeon Central, will be rethemed to Planet Snoopy in 2010.
Congo is Kings Dominion's westernmost and predominantly African-themed section. It was inspired by one of the park's original attractions, the Lion Country Safari. Containing a boat ride and a monorail train through a nature preserve, the section closed in the 1990s but the theme remains. The Congo section features some of the greatest rides like Volcano, Anaconda, Flight of Fear, or Intimidator 305
WaterWorks, Kings Dominion's water park, can be thought of in terms of its two sides, Northside which was formerly known as Hurricane Reef, and Southside which is the newer section of WaterWorks. The rides that WaterWorks had as Hurricane Reef in the mid-1990s are all located in front of the Rebel Yell roller coaster; the newer rides are behind the Rebel Yell and are accessible by walking under the Rebel Yell on a walkway between Baja Bends and Shoot the Curl. The original Hurricane Reef attractions received new names when Kings Dominion renamed the water park WaterWorks in 1999.