- Location: Doswell, VA (near Richmond, VA and Washington, D.C.)
- Phone: (804) 876-5561
- Includes admission to the adjacent Water Works. The waterpark is relatively small and can get quite crowded on sweltering days.
- Unlike other parks, King's Dominion does not have a ride reservation system. On busy days, the lines can get quite long.
- Food: Typical park fare, as in mediocre, few choices, and high prices.
- Hotel Info: Compare rates for Kings Dominion-area hotels at About.com's booking partner, Kayak.
- NOTE: Formerly known as "Paramount's Kings Dominion," Paramount sold the park in 2006. It is now known simply as "Kings Dominion."
- Volcano, The Blast Coaster inverted magnetic launch coaster
- Flight of Fear indoor magnetic launch coaster
- The Italian Job Stunt Coaster
- The Hurler wood coaster
- Drop Zone Stunt Tower freefall ride
- SpongeBob SquarePants 3D motion simulator ride
- New for 2008: Dominator floorless coaster. This is a transplanted coaster from Ohio's defunct Geauga Lake, where it was also known as Dominator.
- Halloween event info: Halloween Haunt
The park has an impressive collection of four launched coasters. Volcano, The Blast Coaster uses magnetic induction to snake riders in and out of a belching molten mountain. Suspended from the track, the inverted coaster features two launches and reaches bone-crunching speeds of 70 mph. Speaking of bone-crunching speeds, how does going from 0 to 80 mph in less than 2 seconds sound? That's the incredible launch that HyperSonic XLC delivers as it uses compressed air to catapult riders 165 feet straight up and down. There's not much to the ride beyond the launch, but what a launch.
The third launched coaster is the indoor Flight of Fear. The queue, which winds through a flying saucer, has some interesting themeing. The ride itself, however, doesn't do much to tell any kind of story. Like Disney's Rock and Roller Coaster, it does have a pulse-quickening launch into darkness that is a wild rush. But after accelerating to 54 mph, the short ride peters out. in 2006, the park welcomes The Italian Job Stunt Coaster, a family launched coaster themed to the popular film.
Among Kings Dominion's other nine coasters are Hurler, a great woodie themed to Wayne's World of Saturday Night Live fame, Rebel Yell, a twin racing woodie with one train facing forward and the other backward (and both screeching trains in desperate need of lubricating oil), and Grizzly, a double out-and-back coaster nestled among a thick forest of trees. It's so hidden, I had a hard time finding its entrance. While the natural setting for Grizzly is great, I found its ride lackluster. With delirious airtime, strong lateral Gs and some aggressive roughness (but good wood coaster roughness, as opposed to Rebel Yell's creaky, semi-painful roughness), Hurler is the park's standout woodie.
PKD's Action F/X Theater, showing the 3D SpongeBob ridefilm starting in 2003, does not have elaborate bells and whistles like Star Tours, Back to the Future, or other simulator rides at the more high-end theme parks. But the attraction is fun, and the goofy SpongeBob has broad appeal. Plus, the lines move fairly quickly, and the theater is a great respite from the sun on a hot day.
Long lines and hot days do not make great bedfellows, and the popular Kings Dominion can get very crowded. The park used to offer a virtual line program like Disney's Fastpass, but later dropped it. You may want to consider visiting on weekdays, during overcast weather, or in the off-season to avoid tedious waits. While the Water Works water park is free and sounds like it might be a great place to chill out on a hot day, it does not boast a large number of attractions and tends to get very crowded when the mercury rises.
