I305 2.0 review

[gigacoaster2k]

On Sunday, April 3, I visited Kings Dominion, and had the glory of riding Intimidator 305 seven times.. it was a walk on and progressed no farther than a station wait all day.

The new restraints are great. Last year they were identical to Maverick's restraints, and left a lot of riders in pain from their head being flung back and forth from the hard transitions in the layout. This year, they are soft straps that rest comfortably on your shoulders. They are a good change for this ride, and you focus more on having fun during the ride than worrying if your ear is going to get ripped off or if your glasses will get snapped in the next transition.

The reprofiling of the first turn did absolutely nothing to alter how amazing this coaster was the first time I rode it. It blew me away on its debut on opening day last year, and it blows me away now. It still proudly sits atop my steel coaster list as number one. It's going to take something really amazing to change that.

I'd like to point out that I grayed out harder than I did last year after the first drop. In fact, I grayed out every single time I rode it, but only for a few seconds. I have grayed out MUCH harder on Millennium Force, to be perfectly honest. Graying out doesn't bother me; it just shows me how intense the ride really is, and I'm cool with that. I have not heard of anyone completely blacking out yet, and I pray that they don't, because I'd rather not see another ridiculously botched experiment with excessive amounts of trim brakes.

However; the trim on the third hill (the second airtime hill) grabs a tad harder than I'd like, but once the track heats up, it seems to fly faster over the trim. I normally don't mention trim brakes, but some are so highly opposed that they let it ruin their day. I along with a couple others noticed that you don't feel the trim as much when you ride in the front of the train, as opposed to riding in the back of the train. The intensity of how hard the trim grabs seems to lessen during the course of the day (which seemed to ring true last year as well from those I spoke to who are regulars at KD). So if you really want a ride worth mentioning, ride toward the front of the train in the late afternoon or in the evening.

From observation: If you don't like Maverick at CP, you probably won't like I305 either.. just something I've noticed, people who dislike Maverick are the ones who believe that Millennium Force is a better ride.. it all comes down to the opinion of what you like. As much as I love Millie, the intensity of I305's layout gives me a mind blowing thrill that I can't describe. If you do enjoy Maverick like I do, then start planning your trip to Kings Dominion.. I305 alone is well worth your trip.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Thanks for sharing this detailed report Angie! I am getting my Platinum pass this year so I can go to CP, so I hope to also make it to KD as well!

[House]

This might be a stupid question, but how do you know of you grey out? I rode I 305 last year and I don't remember my head feeling wierd or anything. I've also ridden MF many many times and don't remember anything strange either.

[PhantomTheater]

From my experiences, a gray out is like going blind for a short period of time when experiencing a highly intense moment on a coaster.

[HTCO]

I always use to grey out on that big wooden thing in Action Zone.

Great detailed report Angie! Hopefully I can get down there this summer!

[UnrealNightmare]

When I grayed out it was more like a white out. I would see white for about a second then I would get tunnel vision. That's just my experience.

[Beast1979]

I greyed out on Backlot and Vortex last year a few times, which was kinda weird for me, since I never had much problem with them before. Basically you get tunnel vision, your sight goes grey, blurred, etc. Temporary lack of blood to the head is what causes it, I believe.

[UnrealNightmare]

I gray out on Backlot every time as well Jackson don't feel bad lol.

[74Gibson]

I agree with Angie's report. I got 22 laps in cuz it was walk on every time I went and... well it's just that awesome. It may knock Maverick out of my #1 spot.

Re-rideability seems to be the issue. I did six laps with no more than a station wait, got a drink, and did another 5... only stopping because the park closed. My friend (6'3 male) said 3 laps is about his limit. His girlfriend said the same.

I greyed out every time except when I clinched my butt and abdomen.

How I like to ride: As close to the back as possible; close your eyes in the pullout and let yourself enjoy the greyout; open your eyes as you start to catch airtime on the 2nd hill and you will have the most euphoric airtime ever. I wouldn't do this until you're familiar with the coaster because it is crazy intense. Definitely take your first laps clinching so you can get a feel for it and enjoy the experience.

It's an oddball coaster because of how they combined a Giga with a twister but... after I got over the weirdness I realized it is absolutely everything I've ever wanted from a coaster...except a launch:unsure:

I love the layout and pacing. My favorite section is the run from the spaghetti bowl to the second 180 degree turnaround. It goes through these banking curves and dips right by the ground before doing a barrel roll into the turnaround. The episode on Burt the Conqueror (on Netflix too) that has I305 has some awesome footage of this part.

[gigacoaster2k]

I have never grayed out in the helix on BLSC at KI. The one at KD made me gray out.. the helix felt faster and more intense.

I would have power lapped 305 all day, but I was there with 5 other people I wanted to spend time with, and I had to show love to Dominator, Hurler, FOF, Volcano, and Rebel Yell too. That and it was only my second visit ever to KD. I didn't get to do much on opening day last year because it was crazy packed, so I made sure that I got to ride everything I wanted before I left this weekend.

At one point, everyone went to ride Anaconda (a ride I'm not fond of), so I sat out. It suddenly dawned on me that 305's entrance was about a 2 minute walk to my left. I literally ran over there to see an empty queue and the gates open with a half empty train waiting to load. So I rode 305, and then ran back just as everyone was exiting Anaconda.

[coaster_junky]

sounds like you had a great time, angie!

From observation: If you don't like Maverick at CP, you probably won't like I305 either.. just something I've noticed, people who dislike Maverick are the ones who believe that Millennium Force is a better ride.. it all comes down to the opinion of what you like. As much as I love Millie, the intensity of I305's layout gives me a mind blowing thrill that I can't describe. If you do enjoy Maverick like I do, then start planning your trip to Kings Dominion.. I305 alone is well worth your trip.

if i ever make it down to kings dominion, i hope this statement isn't true. i've never found anything special with maverick, but i do not think of millennium of being all that great either, i'm more of a magnum/ dragster kind of guy. haha

i do, however, love forceful rides, great white (batman model) at sea world san antonio is my favorite invert i've been on, maybe i-305 will still have a chance.

[gigacoaster2k]

if i ever make it down to kings dominion, i hope this statement isn't true. i've never found anything special with maverick, but i do not think of millennium of being all that great either, i'm more of a magnum/ dragster kind of guy. haha

i do, however, love forceful rides, great white (batman model) at sea world san antonio is my favorite invert i've been on, maybe i-305 will still have a chance.

Don't let that stop you. To me, it's like they threw Cedar Point and Paramount's Kings Island into a blender and out came Kings Dominion. It's a terrific park with beautiful scenery and a lot of great and unique thrill rides.

Something tells me you're going to love Volcano. They also have a swinging ship called Berserker, it flips in a full 360. I rode the one at Carowinds (Southern Star) and it was definitely a new experience, to be in a swinging ship with OTSRs and hanging completely upside down for a few seconds.. that was whoa. lol. There are only 2 coasters at KD that I don't like, and those are Anaconda and Shockwave. I'll gladly ride everything else.

[The Interpreter]

I will chime in with this. I was not a fan of I-305 the week after it opened. To put it mildly.

I thought it was greatly improved with the trim brakes (sorry, folks, I call them as I experience them).

This year, the ride is drastically improved, again. I adore this ride. Better than Maverick? Not to me. But a very good ride, nonetheless. I rode it nearly two dozen times last weekend, and I haven't done that on any coaster for quite some time. There was a reason (lots of them, actually...). It's that good. UNLIKE Maverick, I find I-305 to be very much a back seat ride. Maverick I ride ONLY in the front seat...

And of course I also rode that big yellow and maroon thing in a mountain. It, too, is a splendid ride.

[DaveStroem]

I have to agree that I305v2 is a much improved ride then any of the versions I rode last year. IMO it is still only the 3 best coaster in the park and is no where close to my top 10. I guess the thing that I prefer about Millie is the since of going somewhere. I305 has a extremely small footprint for a coaster of its size. I think that adding some landscaping might help with this but only time will tell.

[d-lo775]

I had never experienced a gray out on any coaster until riding I-305 last year. Then probably the next 30 times I rode BLSC at both KD and KI I grayed ever single time on the helix. I can't explain how or why, but I know I never had this problem before riding I-305.

I'm glad to read that I'm not the only one that doesn't have 305 anywhere near their top 10. I can't even honestly say that it was one of the 10 best rides I rode on my 2 day trip last year to KD and SFA. I look forward to giving it another try soon because as far as I'm concerned it couldn't do anything except get better.

[Coney Islander]

I greyed out on Backlot and Vortex last year a few times, which was kinda weird for me, since I never had much problem with them before. Basically you get tunnel vision, your sight goes grey, blurred, etc. Temporary lack of blood to the head is what causes it, I believe.

Yes, I can affirm this. Gray-outs can happen in a variety of situations, but almost always can be attributed to the lack of blood flow into certain parts of the head.

People (like me) who have low blood pressure experience these gray- outs quite often. (Though, my gray- outs only rarely can be attributed to rides. In fact, I can only recall one such occasion... My gray- outs occur when I stand up too quickly, oftentimes succeeding a period of low energy.)

[TheSnapper]

If only I could have ridden version 1.0....

I will be riding 2.0 next month! I Can't wait!

I hope I like it better than maverick!

[gigacoaster2k]

I forgot to mention that one of my rides this past Sunday was in row 1. I suggest you spit somewhere obscure before you ride in that seat or in row 2, because any drop of saliva you have in your mouth is going to blow out your mouth and down the sides of your face. It's truly an experience beyond words to ride in the front seat of I305.

I realize that some of you prefer more theming, but I basically like coasters that kick my butt and make me feel like I'm going to fly off the track at any given second.. besides, you don't really have time to enjoy the scenery when you're twisting and turning at 94 mph.

[74Gibson]

Dave: I see what your saying but that actually kinda made the ride for me. I love that run to the back of the spaghetti bowl and the following turnaround. I didn't really like the thing till my third lap cuz it seemed like a hack job layout. WRONG! I like the oddball thing of combining a giga with a twisty. The pacing is solid and I couldn't care less about the scenery (it really seems weird to not hear crying about lack of theming)

It really reminds me of high performance RC cars for some reason. It's just fun whipping around so quickly