Having never ridden this coaster before it was torn down, I have a few questions.

Just how powerful did the launch feel? 0 to 80 in 1.8 seconds is pretty fast!

Was it smooth, or did the brakes that seem to be throughout the ride cause some roughness?

How long did you have to wait?

And, what did you think of the ride as a whole?

It was fast and went over the top fast. I don't remember the brakes other than the end when it slammed into them. The first time I was there to ride it it was closed. I went back the next season and walked on at opening. The lines was long later in the day and moved slowly. The ride was too short for the wait.

I've been to KD one time in my life, and HS:XLC was only open for about 10 minutes that day...... But I managed to get on it! The launch was probably the most intense launch I've been on. VERY fast acceleration. I remember the brakes going up the hill, and the tophat was very cool. But the banked turns that followed the hill were pretty rough. As I said, it was only open for about 10 minutes, so I didn't wait long to get on.

I know a lot of people hated this ride, but I actually enjoyed it. If you don't mind being jostled a bit, it was pretty fun.

The first year, it was very enjoyable and perhaps the most intense airtime I have ever experienced at the top of the tophat. Patrons kept raising their arms and were presumably injured. The cars were greatly modified, and the glorious airtime became modest by comparison.

The ride became VERY rough over time, so much so I was neither surprised nor sorry to see it go. It also was a very low capacity, high demand ride.

My first impression is that I'm confused how a ride like Hypersonic ever ended up at a park like Kings Dominion. Eight riders per train? Really? I understand it's a short circuit, but come on. Especially since a year later, Knott's Berry Farm added the higher-capacity, taller, faster Xcelerator for less money. It's odd that such a low capacity ride ever made it off the drawing boards for such a metropolitan park.

The Paramount Parks CEO at the time was big into prototype rides. Hypersonic XLC was probably one of many reasons she was ousted in what later would be seen as a palace coup. Her replacement would later suffer a similar, though more monetarily pleasing, fate under the tutelage of one Dick Kinzel.

I've also heard rumors that Hypersonic was originally going to (then) Paramount's Great America, where I assume, based off my outsider's impression of the park, that it would have had less demand. I don't know how true it is, but it seems more logical to me. There's fewer customers to disappoint while still (presumably) getting the same data for the manufacturer related to what to change and what to keep in the design.

Regardless, I still think this commercial for HXLC is pretty cool:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eNlf4FEtjIE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Where the magic of the movies meets the thrills of a lifetime.

Those were the days, my friend

We thought they'd never end.....