KI vs KD

[harveyhaddixfan]

I possibly have an opportunity to get to Kings Dominion this year. I have my KI pass for the second year, but not platinum. Should I take advantage and go to KD for a day? Note: it would be the first Friday of June. Not sure if kids are still in school there or not.

[SonofBaconator]

I mean if I had the opportunity to go I would. 

"When in Rome"

[rcwizard13]

Absolutely. I loved KD when I went last year. A few days after leaving; even having also been to Carowinds, CP, and KI; I couldn't help but want to go back to Kings Dominion more than any of the other three parks. I felt there was just such a special charm to it.

[jcgoble3]

You're asking this question on an amusement park enthusiast site. Of course our answer is yes!

[Creed Bratton]

Just know, your gold pass will not allow you to enter KD....you would either have to upgrade to Platinum or purchase a daily ticket. 

I would definitely go if you're able to. I've been dying to get back to that park since my one and only visit in 2011. I didn't spend enough time in park (just one day) and I would love to really explore, check out some of the differences (I've seen a lot of them, but really investigate) and of course ride Dominator as many times as possible.

[jdf21972]

So many different coasters ; Avalanche, Volcano, Dominator, and i305. I went last year and had a blast. It was walking into an alternative KI when walking down International Street


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[Sythe]

KD is my home Cedar Fair park, and it's definitely worth a visit. If you go just make sure to get there at opening and ride Volcano first. The lines on that thing can get atrocious and they move soooo slooowwwlllyyyyyy. (also I'm​ recommend riding Grizzly back row at night. and Dominator back row is great too as long as you keep your head out during the corkscrews)

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[harveyhaddixfan]

KD is my home Cedar Fair park, and it's definitely worth a visit. If you go just make sure to get there at opening and ride Volcano first. The lines on that thing can get atrocious and they move soooo slooowwwlllyyyyyy. (also I'm​ recommend riding Grizzly back row at night. and Dominator back row is great too as long as you keep your head out during the corkscrews)

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What do you think lines would be like on Friday 6/2? Are schools out yet?

[CoastersRZ]

Lines on a Friday will be lighter than on a Saturday or Sunday.  So much also depends on weather, and if there are any special events planned there.  I visited KD back in 2013 end of March, on a weekend, and lines were not terrible. The park is a nice park.  Definitely ride Intimidator, and be sure to ride their Drop Tower.  Definitely a nice park.  It will be interesting to see what becomes of Hurler.

[Creed Bratton]

If you're used to going to KI know that the layout of KD is quite different compared to our park. It's kind of weird to not branch off to the right of I-Street to go to Planet Snoopy and if you branch off to the left, you've got Dominator. 

[freaks76]

I'll be heading to KD (and down to Carowinds) on what will be KI's opening weekend. Out of the parks I will be going to this year, it's the one I am most looking forward to. 

It is not a huge park compared to some of the others, but it's a great park. Can't wait. 

[SonofBaconator]

37 minutes ago, CoastersRZ said:

Lines on a Friday will be lighter than on a Saturday or Sunday.  So much also depends on weather, and if there are any special events planned there.  I visited KD back in 2013 end of March, on a weekend, and lines were not terrible. The park is a nice park.  Definitely ride Intimidator, and be sure to ride their Drop Tower.  Definitely a nice park.  It will be interesting to see what becomes of Hurler.

I'm thinking they'll go the RMC route if Mean Streak meets company expectations. 

[freaks76]

Have the removed track, or anything, from Hurler??

[Creed Bratton]

There has already been evidence that RMC is on site. 

At this point, it's been from illegal photos, so I will not be sharing those here. But they are there....no need to wait to see if RMC M.S. meets company expectations. Piggy backing on them being on site, some may say they are just teasing, but they wouldn't go out of there way to bring a truck across the country to tease Coaster Enthusiasts. 

It's very safe to say it'll be an RMC creation.

1 minute ago, freaks76 said:

Have the removed track, or anything, from Hurler??

Yes, I've seen Drone Video that shows track has been removed. It's questionable on whether or not the video should have been taken as they said they've been asked to not fly over the park, but they were awfully close to the park when filming.

[Rustbucket]

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I grew up going to KD. This park has a special place in my heart. Somewhat smaller than KI but has many more traditional rides such as Antique and Flying Eagle. 

My first coaster in the US was Grizzly on the opening day. Rebel Yell is what The Racer used to be before the removal of the last hill for Flight of Fear. Dominator is probably the best floorless coaster I have been on. Also, give a Avalanche s spin. There are not many bobsled coasters left. The best coaster in the park is Intimidator 305 for me. This is arguably the most intense coaster in the world even after the second hill was tamed down. Just think of Maverick on steroid.  

As someone said, go to Volcano first. This is the slowest loading even after they reconfigured queue. I love the back seat on this.  This is the most unique inverted coaster out there. I wish Intamin makes more of these full circuit inverts. 

 

Enjoy your trip. Most of kids in VA and MD still go to school during the first week of June so the park should not be busy. 

[Sythe]

 

What do you think lines would be like on Friday 6/2? Are schools out yet?

Oh you should be fine. Probably a little longer lines because it's a Friday. Schools probably won't be out yet, and you can just look up Richmond public school schedule if you want to be sure.

 

 

Yes, I've seen Drone Video that shows track has been removed. It's questionable on whether or not the video should have been taken as they said they've been asked to not fly over the park, but they were awfully close to the park when filming.

 

The drone footage was taken from outside of the park borders. The border fence is right across the road from the ride graveyard.

 

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[Tien Shinhan]

I thought this would be comparing KI and KD

I've never been to KD, but I have seen videos and heard different peoples opinions so I could get an idea of what it was like

KI overall has better roller coasters (Outside I305, Volcano, and Rebel Yell, KD doesn't have too much to offer outside its top 3 other than Grizzly, and Flight of Fear. KI on the other hand outside of their top 3 still has The Bat, Firehawk, The Racer, and Flight of Fear)

KD has better flat rides outside Planet Snoopy (Or at least KD has more flat rides so there's more choice when it comes to KD)

Though KD has more rides in their Planet Snoopy it seems KI might have more quality over quantity as KI's Planet Snoopy always wins the Golden Ticket Award for Best Kids Area (Honestly I think it could go either way as I'm not really an expert on what makes a kids area great. They both seem pretty good)

Water Parks are about the same when it comes to quality (Haven't seen too much footage of KD's water park so I can't say for sure)

KD is better looking than KI (Especially after KD's 40th Anniversary Birthday they've really done well to make it look absolutley gorgeaus while KI has the look of a typical Cedar Fair park. Which isn't bad, but KD is just above average compared to the looks of other Cedar Fair parks)

[CoastersRZ]

Well, it is hard to compare the beauty of both parks if you have not been to Kings Dominion.  Kings Dominion doesn`t have quite the same commercialization outside of its borders that KI has.  It seems more rural than Kings Island.

I much prefer KI`s Internaitonal Street over Kings Dominions.  Kings Dominions is a lot shorter and more compact than KI`s.

And I wouldn`t say that KI has the typical look of a Cedar Fair park.  As I have mentioned elsewhere, Dorney Park certainly feels in certain places like a mini Cedar Point. (And Worlds of Fun even has a Coasters restaurant that looks near identical to the one found at Cedar Point).

[Sythe]

I thought this would be comparing KI and KD I've never been to KD, but I have seen videos and heard different peoples opinions so I could get an idea of what it was like

KI overall has better roller coasters (Outside I305, Volcano, and Rebel Yell, KD doesn't have too much to offer outside its top 3 other than Grizzly, and Flight of Fear. KI on the other hand outside of their top 3 still has The Bat, Firehawk, The Racer, and Flight of Fear)

KD has better flat rides outside Planet Snoopy (Or at least KD has more flat rides so there's more choice when it comes to KD)

Though KD has more rides in their Planet Snoopy it seems KI might have more quality over quantity as KI's Planet Snoopy always wins the Golden Ticket Award for Best Kids Area (Honestly I think it could go either way as I'm not really an expert on what makes a kids area great. They both seem pretty good)

Water Parks are about the same when it comes to quality (Haven't seen too much footage of KD's water park so I can't say for sure)

KD is better looking than KI (Especially after KD's 40th Anniversary Birthday they've really done well to make it look absolutley gorgeaus while KI has the look of a typical Cedar Fair park. Which isn't bad, but KD is just above average compared to the looks of ot

 

I might as well give my opinion as I've been to both parks and I go to KD so often. First of all, I do think Kings Island is a better park, but not by large amount. Yes, Kings Island definitely has an advantage with coasters, but you can't forget about Dominator, it's such a great ride in my opinion. And RMC Hurler will definitely boost KD in that department.

I have to give KI credit for having Diamondback though. It's my number 2 coaster under skyrush and over Fury 325 and I305. I don't exactly understand why I love it so much but I know that I definitely love it a lot.

The flat rides at KD are okay. I like delerium and drop zone better than the ones at KI, and the crypt is really awesome.

I don't really care about Planet Snoopy so I'm not gonna comment.

KI and KD both have similar waterparks. KD has lost many of the minor slides over the years that KI still has clones of, but we have pipeline peak so that makes up for it I think. KD waterpark is also more convenient since half of it is inside the actual park. (And omg some of the views of the coasters from those slide platforms are stunning.)

KD atmosphere is so much better. I'm sorry but it's just so obvious from the moment that you walk in that it's generally a lot nicer of a park than KI. And the music is generally themed to whichever section of the park you are in (African-ish creepy drum sounds in Safari Village [although only from some sections of it], absolutely amazing CUSTOM soundtrack for international Street, country music in Old Virginia [sometimes], and pop music in Candy Apple Grove.) And there are flowers and trees everywhere compared to KI. Oh and by the way, the BBQ pork sandwich from country kitchen is the best park food I've ever had.

Overall I would rate KD as the 3rd best Cedar Fair park. Cedar Point and Kings Island above is, but Carowinds and Canada's Wonderland below it. I keep hearing people say that Carowinds is better than Kings Dominion but I disagree, I don't think a park with three good coasters and literally nothing else is anywhere near better than KD. Although I do have to admit that Carowinds has a spectacular top three. Sorry, I'm getting off topic... I'm very passionate about this topic though XD. So yeah, that's about all I have to say.

 

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[matt112986]

I think one of the biggest differences between KI and KD in looks is how much more complete KD looks. Ki just has way too much empty space especially around Diamondback and BSC. KD has the better music for sure. But despite it having my # 1 and 3 coasters I think KI still has the better lineup. I don't think RMC Hurler will change that either thanks to Mystic Timbers. I'd say the #1 Cedar Fair park I've been to is a tie between KI and Cedar Point with KD in a solid 3rd. 

[Sythe]

I think one of the biggest differences between KI and KD in looks is how much more complete KD looks. Ki just has way too much empty space especially around Diamondback and BSC. KD has the better music for sure. But despite it having my # 1 and 3 coasters I think KI still has the better lineup. I don't think RMC Hurler will change that either thanks to Mystic Timbers. I'd say the #1 Cedar Fair park I've been to is a tie between KI and Cedar Point with KD in a solid 3rd. 

Wait KD has your #1 and #3? Which ones are they?

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[BeeastFarmer]

If "missing" a park indicates how much I like the park, I miss Kings Dominion!  I spent 2.5 days there last summer and it was awesome.  The level of customer care was outstanding.  KI is my home park and I love going there, but I can say that KD is my favorite park even though I like KI better.  Hard to put into words.

[Italian Job 2005]

I would do a lot just to have KD's International Street Music come to Kings Island


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[IndyGuy4KI]

It is almost hard to compare the two at this point. To me KD has a warmer charm to it. It seems more isolated. I realy fell in love with it last season. Now park layout, KI has KD won by a mile!

[MDMC01]

I only went to KD once in '01 and had a good time. Unfortuantely, I've never been back. While I only rode 4 rides when I was there, I did enjoy Anaconda, Volcano and Avalanche. If I get a chance to go back, I'd love to ride Dominator and The Crypt.

[matt112986]

19 hours ago, Sythe said:

Wait KD has your #1 and #3? Which ones are they?

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#1 Intimidator 305

#2 Maverick

#3 Volcano

 

Although it should be noted the difference between #1 and #9 (10 is Flight of Fear largely based on my history with it/nostalgia) is slight and my mood could make the difference as to which is on top which day. I just chose an order so that I do have a list.