Trip Report: KD 4/10, BGW 4/11, SFGAdv 4/12, and BGT 4/15

[zacc1993]

Before I get into the parks I just wanted to give a big shout out to Mother Nature. We had wonderful weather on our trip for the most part, you really can't ask for more than what we got. Only rained one time on the trip and that was in the final hour at Kings Dominion. Hope the weather holds up this well on my trips to Kings Island as well.

This was my first visit to all four of these parks. Each park was a brand new adventure with new credits and experiences. Words can't express how thankful I am to have gone on a trip like this.

Oh and one more thing. I'm not a professional photographer so don't expect too many great pictures.Some turned out ok but others won't be that great. I don't always pick a great angle to shoot from. All the pics were taken on my phone as well because I forgot to pack my little digital camera. Ok now on to the trip report.

Our first stop was Kings Dominion. It was the Friday of Spring Break so we really weren't sure what kind of crowds we were going to see. Turns out the crowd saw the initial weather forecast and made other plans as there was hardly anyone in the park. Weatherman called for rain starting at noon and going all night. That didn't happen as the rain held off until 7pm (park closed at 8). When we arrived though it was a little gloomy.

Just a little fog mixed with slightly chilly temperatures. It did warm up later in the day to about 78 actually. You can hardly see Volcano in this picture. It's all the way to the left behind the interlocking corkscrews of Batman... I mean uh Dominator.

We arrived right at opening and since Dominator was the only coaster open this early in the day that's where we went naturally. This was my first time on this ride at either location and it was pretty amazing. The loop is stunning in person. The high speed banking curves between the loop and cobra roll are a really nice element of the ride and should be put to use in more layouts in my opinion. After a couple spins on the only B&M in the park, we decided to head to the next area as the rope was dropping.

That meant it was time for Volcano! The Blast Coaster. I've heard all kinds of reviews of this ride but now I would be able to decide for myself. After waiting in the longest line of the day (about 25min) I can say that I loved Volcano. The launches were strong and forceful and the rolls were smooth and lots of fun. Just a solid ride with horrible capacity. The crew here was working fast though. Best crew of the whole park.

Normally you would ride Avalanche at this time since it's neighbors with Volcano but Avalanche was closed for the first couple hours for maintenance reasons. So we decided to head for the looper on the lake.

I'm already biased to Arrow loopers as some of you know, and Anaconda actually surprised me in a good way. It was way smoother than expected but it is still your average Arrow looper. The tunnel under the water is pretty cool along with the water effect they use on it. I rode this a total of 5 times actually. If I had more time I would have gone more. Only once did I feel the effects of Arrow on my body. My two friends weren't so lucky as one of them only rode Anaconda once and the other twice (and I think the second time was him just being nice and riding with me again).

After Anaconda we decided to give one of the two clones a ride, Flight of Fear. Fun fact about the Flight of Fear here, they still use the MCBR. It slows you down to almost a dead stop which was actually nice for the second half of the ride. I think the one at KI jerks you around too much on the way down. Also, FOF at KD has lighting effects inside the building and you can somewhat see where you are going. I was pleasantly surprised by the different atmosphere this FOF had. However, their buildup is nothing like KI. All the queue is out side the building and as soon as you enter the building you walk through the UFO and into the station. No time to take everything in. Especially when the wait was only 5 minutes.

After FOF we moved on to the big one. You know, that giga of a monster in the back.Yup, it's Intimidator time! Hard to believe this ride is already 5 years old. They were only running 1 train today on it but the line was virtually non existent anyway so a second train was definitely not needed.

I went in not knowing what to expect other than it will be intense. While we were watching it run, some of the curves and transitions looked a little tight and rough, but we couldn't wait to get on anyway. We got off the ride and basically couldn't speak for a little while. This ride was AWESOME! This ride kicks so much butt it's not even funny. I was never a huge MF fan before this day but now I will look down upon it even more. Seriously how is MF still the number 1 steel coaster? There's not enough good things to say about this ride. This ride is worth the trip to KD alone. Later in the day we went back and rode it in the front row and pretty much lost our minds (in a good way). I grayed out from the bottom of the first hill until the top of the airtime hill below the lift hill. If you are not into super intense rides, this is not for you. Moving on...

After our intense rides on Intimidator, we decided to get something to eat and take a break from rides. It was still only 12:30 pm at this time in the day. We got pizza in Candy Apple Grove which was actually pretty good. I couldn't help but notice we were right by Bad Apple and it reminded me about Shake, Rattle, and Roll and its nice new paint job and light package.

My friends weren't up for riding TOGO Stand Up Coaster 1 yet so we headed for Ricochet and the woodies. But I would get them on Shockwave eventually.

So Ricochet was a really cool wild mouse. If KI gets a wild mouse I hope they get a custom model like Ricochet is. It looks cooler and has a better feel to it than just your standard wild mouse.

Before we could get on Rebel Yell it went down for mechanical reasons so that was postponed until later. However we were able to get on Hurler and Grizzly. Grizzly actually ended up being my favorite of the wooden coasters here. I thought it was great ride. My other two friends ended up like Rebel Yell the best out of the woodies. Rebel Yell was nice but it just wasn't Racer. We were all in agreement that Hurler was the worst. It wasn't terribly rough but the trims killed all the speed on it. There was exactly 0.0 seconds of airtime on it and the turnarounds were no longer forceful. It was just a really boring ride.

After our tour through the Old Virginia section of the Park, complete with the Blue Ridge Tollway and the Flyers, we headed back toward Avalanche where we were greeted with what we were told was a 45 min wait because they were only running one train. We decided to make the wait for the credit and were surprised the line was only about 20 minutes so not a bad deal. Cute little ride, fun turns and transitions. Kind of makes you wish Disaster transport was still around.

Finally after much waiting, I was finally able to ride a TOGO stand up. I was so excited and it did not disappoint. It was quick but it was fun, forceful, and to me personally it was smooth. Now the restraints are a little whacky and take forever and day to load but nonetheless it was fun. If my friends weren't so leery about it we probably would have rode again. Oh well, at least I got it once.

By this time of the day, the weather had cleared up and the temperature was on the rise. So we took a trip up the Eiffel Tower to take a look around. There was only Kings Dominion and trees as far as the eye could see in all directions. Richmond was a tiny blip on the horizon. Very pretty to look at and provided some of the better photo opportunities of the day. You could also see the super crowded parking lot from up here.

After we made our way down the tower we decided that you only live once so why not go on the log flume. Loved Shenandoah! Great log flume and scenery along the way. We were not brave enough to take on the rapids though.

We had 3 credits left to grab so we proceeded to Rebel Yell and hopped on, even though they were only running one train on one side. Took a short walk over to BLSC and wished we were on the one at KI. Believe it or not KI's has more effects on it still going. Then our final credit was the little woodie next to Dominator, Woodstock. I love Woodstock at KI so naturally had to ride Woodstock at KD right? Right. Plus their's doesn't have that silly little trim brake like ours does. Always a good little ride though.

After conquering all the credits available, we were able to re-ride anything we wanted to. Which included multiple return visits to Volcano, Intimidator, Anaconda, Flight of Fear, Grizzly, and Dominator. Plus rides on Drop Tower and WindSeeker. I still like both of KI's better. The rain set in at 7pm while we were waiting for Intimidator forcing the ride closed for lightning. That's when we jumped on FOF again and then waited for the rain to slow down enough to walk to the front.

I bought several souvenirs from KD including magnets and pins. I actually got a pretty cool King Kobra pin that was available at one of the gift shops. So as time ticked away at the park we were taking in the last views we had which was a beautiful sunset as the rain was clearing again. Just as we were about to leave we heard a familiar roar. Now, it wasn't loud like Raptor but we knew exactly what it was. Dominator was cycling with 5 minutes left in the park. So being a good enthusiast I had to investigate this. Quickly of course. There she was in all her beauty. So we ran to the entrance and were met with an employee waving us in as she closed the chain behind us. Two final rides on the beautiful B&M to end the night. Hard to beat that.

Final Thoughts:

1. Operations are a lot slower here on average but the crowd was so small it wasn't too noticeable.

2. The park is super clean and employees were very friendly.

3. A return visit needs to happen.

I fully enjoyed my day here and anyone else would as well. It's a great park with a great selection of rides and a surprisingly good Planet Snoopy area. Seriously KD could give KI a run for its money if it were to show commitment to this area like we do. Can't wait to come back and visit! Hopefully something new makes its way there before then.

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Sorry for the long post, hope I didn't lose anyone along the way. I'll be posting BGW as soon as I can along with more pictures from KD. Thanks for reading!

[IndyGuy4KI]

Sounds like you had a great time! I am hoping to hit this park for the first time this year!

[JubJester]

Great TR! Really liked the photos you took!

[zacc1993]

Few more pictures from Kings Dominion. That sunset though. That was beautiful!

[The Interpreter]

Great trip report! A wonderful day. You were lucky to get the low crowd!

I can hardly wait to see NJFTP through new eyes!

[Steph88]

LOVE the trip report and the pictures! Now I REALLY wanna go to Kings Dominion!

Can't wait to read about the other parks!

[Hoeter]

Thank you for sharing.

I agree that I-305 is worth the trip alone. Favorite steel coaster by far.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[APE]

Oo man this trip report has got me pumped for my trip to KD in June. I will weep tears of joy while riding I305.

[NoChickens]

 We'll also be at KD in June, Saturday the 20th to be precise. Can't wait to ride I-305 again, and to get MrsNC on it. Any chance to see you there? 

[APE]

I'll be there for Coasting for Kids June 7th

[zacc1993]

I do apologize for the very (very) lengthy delay but in between my extended trip and processing in to Cedar Point I have had absolutely zero time for anything, except 2 trips to Kings Island of course. Once again, very sorry for that.

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Day 2 was my favorite day of the trip. I will start by saying that there is a reason this park wins most beautiful amusement park every year. It is absolutely gorgeous! Stunning in every way: sparkling midways, awesome architecture, lovely landscaping, all the good stuff. This park should truly be done in AT LEAST 2 days instead of the one we had planned. So much to do and see. The shows are second to none and all the rides are world class in my opinion. 

 

 

We started our day early in the morning at the park. We arrived at 8am for our roller coaster insider tour, which was amazing. Our tour guide was Sarah. She was very knowledgeable about the park and provided us with an excellent morning/early afternoon. With our tour we received:

-The closest possible parking spot to the front gate, literally

-Tours of Loch Ness Monster and Alpengeist maintenance bays

-Ride the evacuation gondola up to the top of Griffon and walk around on the platform

-Sneak peek inside the Verbolten building

-2 rides on all the roller coasters

-Quick Queue to ride all the coasters again after the tour was over

-And pictures they took for us on the tour

 

We started at Loch Ness Monster in the maintenance bay. Sarah explained to us there how chain dogs and anti rollbacks function and how they keep you safe on the ride. Nothing entirely new to me but still very interesting.

 

 

As you can see, this maintenance area is so clean you could eat off the floor. That is not something you can say about a lot of ride areas. These areas definitely get some special attention. We did not ride Nessie yet as the park wasn't ready to open. We moved on over to Griffon for the crown jewel of the tour.

 

 

The view up top was breathtakingly awesome. Just over 200ft off the ground and we were free to walk about the platform with only a few restrictions. From up there it looks a lot higher than 200ft. For those of you who have never been on a dive coaster, these trains are bigger in person. There's something about a train that's wider than it is long moving around the track that just looks so graceful. We wrapped things up at the top and headed towards the maintenance bay for a quick look around in there. 

 

 

Look at the size of those road wheels! We got to hold one and it's bigger than my torso. I'm the one on the right in this photo in case anyone did not know that. These wheel assemblies are intriguing in that they can drive around the track, so to speak. The whole assembly can rotate with the curves of the track as well as rock back and forth when going up and down hills. Beautiful piece of engineering by B&M.

 

And after much waiting, we finally got on a coaster. Griffon was our first ride of the day. As part of the tour, we were guaranteed first ride of the day on this bad boy. Once we left the maintenance area, they transferred the train we were standing under onto the run track and began its morning cycling. They cycle each train 6 times each for morning procedures and then test ride each one for a total of 7 laps each. Griffon was my first dive coaster and it delivered. The beauty of this was that we did not have to stand up to ride again. We stayed right where we were and rode a second time. Great start to the day.

 

 

After Griffon we left Scotland and headed towards Germany for a quick run down the slopes, but not without a quick detour through the lodge (maintenance bay). Another very clean area with a quick demonstration on how magnetic brakes work. These brakes are very powerful. Now I see why Beast uses these as trims.

 

 

Now Banshee is my favorite coaster of all time. This is one monster of an invert that is for sure. I was almost scared to ride this in fear of it beating her out for the top spot. The whole slow and loud climb up to the top my mind was racing. Then we dropped off the pre drop and were on our way. Six inversions later my mind was calmed, Banshee was still number one. Alpie was very good though: very smooth and forceful, just like an old school B&M should be. 

 

 

Not much picture wise for the rest of the tour. We toured the inside of Verbolten building, went up to the hill of Verbolten after the building but before the water, took our rides on Apollo's Chariot, and finished up on Loch Ness Monster. We didn't get to ride Nessie earlier since the park was not open yet. After our rides on Nessie, Sarah handed us our quick queue for the rest of the day, said our goodbyes and thank yous, and headed for something to eat.

 

So by this time we had 10 rides under our belt and it was only 12:30 in the afternoon. We felt pretty good about that. Sadly Tempesto was not open yet, but was test cycling. We decided to eat lunch at the Festhaus and catch the showing of Roll Out The Barrel. This show replaced the old Oktoberfest show which was cancelled this past offseason. Very good show and very good food. All of us did the meal deal which gave us dinner and lunch for 25$. Terrific bargain. My meal normally cost 17$ which obviously cost me less with the deal. There was so much on that plate of food it could have fed two people. It was also the best food I have ever eaten at an amusement park. 

 

We took our day so easily from there on. We had ridden all the coasters so we were in no hurry to use our quick queue just yet. This came in handy because the park was super crowded that day. I mean anytime you get 75 and sunny on a Saturday in April, crowds are expected. We enjoyed the amazing river-dance show after lunch, Celtic Fyre. When we arrived at the theater my friend noticed that not all the tables down below were filled with guests, so he politely asked if we could sit there and we were surprised to get a yes. That totally made his day as Celtic Fyre is what he was looking forward to all day, even more so than the coasters. The tables are part of the show and the dancers dance right on there in front of you. Totally a unforgettable experience! Do not miss this show! 

 

After Celtic Fyre, our day mainly consisted of reriding the coasters. I got on Mach Tower by myself since the other two were wimps. All I can say about Mach Tower is ouch. Those seats/restraints are just the most uncomfortable things I have ever been on. Curse of Darkastle was amazing and i had no idea what to expect with it. I had no clue the whole care spun around and sped up. Awesome effects and theming all leading up to a great ride through the castle. 

 

We ended the day on Verbolten. After only getting the forest theme all day long, we finally got the theme that pays homage to the rides predecessor. We were being chased by wolves the whole time we were in the building. Don't worry we escaped them in our roadster over the Rhine River.

 

So all in all, not enough words can summarize the day here. This post could be 20x longer than it is. This park is on my tops to come back. If you are vacationing to Virginia and only have one day to do an amusement park, this is the one to do. Especially if you are looking for a great family experience. If you're a thrill junkie and want tons of rides, then Kings Dominion is for you. A+ for Busch Gardens Williamsburg for outstanding service and a wonderful atmosphere.

 

I'll end with a few more pictures from our day. Until next post! Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jcgoble3]

Great report!

*adds BGW's roller coaster insider tour to his bucket list*

[TombRaiderFTW]

Great read! Thanks so much for keeping up with this report!

 

It's so much fun seeing BGW through another newcomer's perspective. I made my first (and only, though that's definitely changing) visit to BGW last Labor Day, and I thought it was the better of the two big parks in Virginia, too. And that's coming from a guy that adores Kings Dominion.

 

What did you think of Verbolten? The times I rode it, I only got the wolf theme no matter what I tried. Regardless, I LOVE that ride! I too thought Curse of DarKastle was amazing--the way the car "pulls" away from the fireplace is probably one of my favorite dark ride moments ever.

[zacc1993]

I loved Verbolten! One of the most unique rides I've been on. The surprise in the building before the second launch was good. I won't ruin it for those who don't know what that surprise is. Definitely a win for BGW. Too bad I didn't ever get to ride BBW. The Arrow fanboy in me wants to so bad.

[Hoeter]

Seeing a LOT of people on here and on my Facebook visiting BGT and BGW.

I'm wanting to visit both parks BADLY, especially for the behind the scenes experience. Homestar92 posted a pic on his Facebook at the top of Griffon and I wouldn't mind taking part at some point.

Also, return visits to NJFTP and KD are on the radar.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[zacc1993]

Do the tour, it is so worth it! Walking around Griffon is something you won't forget!

[Dieseltech20]

Patiently waiting for the BGT part of this report

[marth555]

Great report and sweet jackets.