I just got back from Paramount's Kings Dominion a weekend ago..........had to get my mind off something after all the terrorist stuff going on. The park was suprisingly not very full....probably running at about 1/3 capcity. Overall, I had a great time, riding all the major coasters plus a couple water rides to cool off.
THE PARK: 9/10
This is the best park in Paramount's chain. It is large, clean, and is packed full of good rides. PKD's staff are all very friendly and helpful...I never ran into any mean ride operators. The park was very clean overall, and the entrance area was very pretty, with the Eiffel Tower looming above a large pool of fountains. The food was good if not great, and the rides were all operated very well. ?This is an excellent park, and I highly recommend it for any coaster enthusiast.
THE RIDES:
HYPERSONIC XLC: 9/10
This ride is awesome!!!!!!! I waited for around 35 minutes because I hit this one first, figuring that it would be the one with the longest lines. I grabbed the very back seat in an attempt to feel all the speed the best. The launch can only be described as incredible. You do not seem to accelerate, but in fact you are accelerating so fast that you do not even realize that you are accelerating. The G-forces are unbelievable, especially going vertical upwards. The downward vertical section is great too. After that, there is not much to it, just a few turns, a bunnyhop, and the brakes. The only reason that it didn't get a 10 is because it is really short...only 19 seconds. Overall, a great coaster.
SHOCKWAVE: 2/10
It should be renamed the Suckwave. It is horrible!!!!! The restraints on this TOGO standup are very complex and hard to get into. The first drop is fun, and the loop is quite intense. After that, the ride is horrible. You get slung through a helix, over 2 bunnyhops, and through a VERY rough turn and the ride is over. My head banged against the restraints numerous times, giving me a splitting headache. I hope they tear it down....
REBEL YELL: 7/10
This was a fun woodie. I rode both backwards (rear seat) and forwards (front seat). It is a simple out-and-backer, but it is still fun and lengthy. All the hills gave nice airtime. This PTC classic is enjoyable for both enthusiasts and the general masses. My only complaints were about the low capacity-they were only running one train per side-, the slight roughness at the turnaround, and the fact that the trains didn't truly race...they were rather staggered. Fun woodie though.
GRIZZLY: 9/10
This is the best of PKD's three woodies, and far better than the PGA version. This coaster was a virtual walk-on, probably due in part to it's inconspicuous placement waaaay back in the woods. The trees create a nice effect. It was a little slow on the big turnaround hill before the second drop, but that is my only complaint. It really felt out of control the whole way though. I love this coaster, and I make sure to ride it every time I go to PKD.
FLIGHT OF FEAR: 9/10
OH YEAH!!!!!! This ride may very well be the best coaster here. First of all, the theming is great. I had to wait in line a little while, but the videos shown in the line were nice and very funny at times. The alien conspiracy theme is great. FOF is really improved now that PKD dumped the OTSRs. It is very smooth-riding, if a bit jerky, but that does not bother me. The lapbars are heavy and feature uncomfortable foot restrains, but I wormed my feat out of them and was still okay. It is not totally dark in the main room where the ride is located...several strobe lights are going off and you acan make out the track. This ride was wildly intense...maybe the most intense coaster at PKD. It does some pretty unexpected things. Now if only SFA would remove the OTSRs on Joker's Jinx......
ANACONDA: 8/10
This was a very enjoyable Arrow multilooper. I had heard mixed things about this ride, including the fact that it was very rough. However, I kept my head back and never once banged it against the OTSRs. The first drop into an underwater tunnel on this ride is sweet, and the speed through the first 2 inversions is very high. The ride slows down after the midcourse brakes and can be a little jerky through the "butterfly" turns, a series of tight twists and turns. The twin corkscrews are great because you float through them. And oh yeah, this ride has great capacity, moving even very long lines very quickly. A must-ride at PKD.
AVALANCHE: 6/10
This is a fun ride for all ages. It is a Mack bobsled coaster, the only one in the USA I think. The reclined seating is pretty cool. The first part of the ride is slow and rather dull, but it quickly picks up and ends in a tight helix that piles on the lateral Gs. It is pretty smooth and rarely has long lines. Avalanche is an enjoyable, if not dramatically intense ride.
VOLCANO: THE BLAST COASTER: 9/10
This is an awesome coaster, right of there with Hypersonic and FOF as PKD's top rides. This Intramin invert is set around a tropical volcano. Fire blows out the top and heats up your face. I tried to ride this one before FOF (all my ride reviews are in order of when I rode the coasters), but it kept braking down all day. I finally got to ride it and ended up standing in line for over an hour. This is a rather low-capacity ride. However, the way-cool Pacific islander theming kept me somewhat entertained. The trains are nice, but the OTSRs are huge and really obstruct your view. This wild inverted coaster has not one but two launches: a 0-67mph blast after a turn out from the station and a vertical blast out the top of the volcano. The train corkscrews out the top and flies around the volcano, throwing in three Zero-G rolls. An 80-foot drop ends the ride. This was an awesome ride, with incredible speed throughout and great smoothness. My only complaints besides those listed above were that the ride was very short and Intramin threw in too many support poles into the structure, which obscure your view. Other than thoseminor details, this is an outstanding coaster.
HURLER: 7/10
This coaster was closed for repair until the very end of the day. When it finally opened, nobody was going on it so I got several free rides without any sort of wait. The Hurler has a great drop and an airtime-filled layout. However, it goes REALLY hard though the turns, giving a rough ride.After several consecutive rides, I had a headache.Overall it is a fun coaster, if short and rough, and it is filled with good airtime.
NON-COASTER RIDES:
Log Flume: 6/10
Whitewater Canyon: 7/10

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Romans 13:10

I'm really glad you had a good time. It makes me feel like I did a good job. Which weekend did you go?

I went last weekend, but I just went again yesterday. My friend, a fellow coaster nut who is new to Virginia asked me if I wanted to go with him, and I of course said yes. It was great because it was nice and cool and there was basically nobody there. Most rides were walk-ons. All my ride ratings are the same. However, I was impressed by Flight of Fear and Rebel Yell, which were running better than last weekend, while I was bummed out by Grizzly, which was giving BRUTALLY rough rides yesterday.

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Romans 13:10

Hmmmm....I would have to disagree with you when you say PKD is the best Paramount Park...I've been to PKD, but I still think that PKI is the better of the two.

no one cares. this thread is about PKD and PKD only. Keep your opinions in the right category

Peckernuts, what do you mean by saying that you're happy they had a good job "that you did a good job" Do you work at the park?

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I want to go to John's Park.

Why yes. I work in the most evil of all park departments, F&B. I manage one of the stands (no telling), so technically I'm a "Manager". Whoo... thats really a reality, now that I think about it. Huh. Just got back from work today, all day shift 13hrs (10/14) and I'm pumped! I dunno why but you get full of energy when it gets super busy and you drink 7 bottles of coke... m'kay. Hope I answered your question.

Have a nice day!

well i must be the only one that loves shockwave, maybe im prone to headbanging or something, but i never feel like any coaster actually hurts all that much, except on kumba on the cork.

and i never really cared for avalanche, ive been to pkd about like 50 times so far, and i have only rode it once, i love volcano, but i ride anaconda the most everytime im there, and grizly too, there my two favorite classic rides, with volcano being my favorite of the newer rides

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I hate these Signature things..
I can never think of any thing good to say