Paramount's Kings Dominion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Location | Doswell, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Website | Paramount's Kings Dominion |
| Owner | Cedar Fair, L.P. |
| Opened | 1975 |
| Previous names | King's Dominion - 1975 to 1993 |
| Operating season | April through October |
| Area | 400 acres (? km²) |
| Rides | 27 total
|
| Slogan | "The Best of Hollywood Entertainment, Now Playing." |
Paramount's Kings Dominion is a 400 acre amusement park located in Doswell in Hanover County 23 miles (37 km) north of Richmond, Virginia and 83 miles (134 km) south of Washington, DC on Interstate 95. The park is owned by Cedar Fair, L.P., and was part of the former Paramount Parks chain that Cedar Fair acquired from CBS Corporation on June 30, 2006.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] As Kings Dominion
Kings Dominion officially opened in 1975 with 15 rides. However, in 1974, the park had a "soft" (partial, low key) opening only for the Lion Country Safari attraction and a junior roller coaster, now called Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster. By 1975, the park had added the Rebel Yell, a racing roller coaster designed by John Allen; a log flume; antique cars; steam train; and a collection of flat rides. Another roller coaster, Galaxie, was next to the man-made Lake Charles, which took up 10 acres of the park's property. In addition, Kings Dominion's 1/3-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, which featured an observation deck where people could go in order to see the whole park, was open by the park's first full operating season. In addition to the Lion Country Safari, the original themed areas of the park were called The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera, Old Virginia, and the Candy Apple Grove.
Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, the park expanded. Kings Dominion added their fourth roller coaster, a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop known as the King Kobra, in 1977. The King Kobra featured a flywheel launch and was the park's first launched roller coaster. It was in the park for nine seasons before being relocated to Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Ocean City, Maryland. After several more relocations, it continues to operate today as Katapul at Hopi Hari in Brazil. [1] Also in 1977, Kings Dominion was featured in the film Rollercoaster.
In addition to the King Kobra, Kings Dominion opened a campground and its well-known Lost World mountain before the end of the 1970s. Originally, the Lost World featured three rides: a flume ride called Journey to Atlantis, a runaway mine train known as Land of the Dooz, and a rotor called Time Shaft. Within one year of its 1979 opening, the Lost World lost one of its rides, Journey to Atlantis, which was replaced by the Haunted River themed flume ride in 1980. The Lost World mountain remains in the park as of 2006 and has been occupied by Volcano: The Blast Coaster since 1998. Kings Dominion would add their second wooden roller coaster, the Grizzly, in the forests of the Old Virginia section of the park in 1982. Kings Dominion opened its rapids ride, White Water Canyon, in Old Virginia in 1983, and a swinging, inverting pirate ship known as the Berserker on International Street the following year.
After three seasons without a new roller coaster, Kings Dominion unveiled its TOGO stand-up roller coaster, Shockwave, in 1986, the same year that the park removed King Kobra. Shockwave, like King Kobra, has one loop but also has a helix. (The similarly-named King Cobra roller coaster at Paramount's King's Island, which was a stand-up coaster similar to Shockwave, closed in 2002.) The third and last roller coaster that Kings Dominion added during the 1980s was Avalanche, which remains the only Mack bobsled roller coaster in the United States. [2] The trains of Avalanche are themed after the United States', France's, Germany's, and Switzerland's bobsleds, so that riders in different trains can simulate being in a bobsled race in the Winter Olympics. [3]
Although the Lion Country Safari attraction was the first portion of the park to open, it was phased out by the late 1980s. Much of the Lion Country Safari occupied the land behind the Anaconda roller coaster; Paramount's Kings Dominion still owns the land but has used most of it primarily for storage since the safari closed, rather than opening new attractions on it.
[edit] Early 1990s / Transition to Paramount ownership
Kings Dominion continued adding new areas to its park in the early- to mid-1990s. In 1990, they expanded Hanna-Barbera Land to include more rides for children. The 1991 season saw the addition of their next large roller coaster, the Arrow looper Anaconda, which was also the world's first coaster to feature an underwater tunnel. (Its tunnel went under part of Lake Charles.) Anaconda was also originally billed as having six loops and continues to be billed that way. [4] However, unlike Drachen Fire, a six-inversion Arrow looper which was opened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg the following year, the Anaconda actually has only four inversions: a vertical loop, a sidewinder, and two consecutive corkscrews. [5]
Kings Dominion opened its water park as Hurricane Reef in 1992. In its opening season, it first featured the Monsoon Chutes (two pairs of free-fall body slides, at 70 and 50 feet high, respectively), the Torrential Twist (two enclosed body slides which wrapped around each other), the Pipeline (four open body slides), Cyclone (three enclosed body slides, the center of which was a free-fall), Tidal Wave (two open slides, which riders rode on inner tubes, Splash Island (an area for children with five water slides), and a lazy river. [6] To build the water park, Kings Dominion filled in the two thirds of Lake Charles nearest the Candy Apple Grove region of the park; the Anaconda continued to pass over the remainder of the lake.
[edit] The Paramount Parks years (1993-2006)
Kings Dominion continued its growth when it became part of Paramount Parks in 1993 and switched its name to Paramount's Kings Dominion. New attractions and areas of the park themed to Paramount's television shows and movies appeared at Paramount's Kings Dominion almost every season that they were under Paramount's ownership. In 1993, they added a Days of Thunder movie into their motion simulator attraction. The 1994 season saw the addition of a new area of the park themed to the 1992 Paramount motion picture Wayne's World, which featured their third full-size wooden roller coaster, The Hurler, a shop called the Rock Shop, and a Stan Mikita's restaurant similar to the one featured in Wayne's World. Since then, the Wayne's World section has been merged into the Candy Apple Grove (since renamed the Grove); the Stan Mikita's was converted to the Happy Days Cafe, and the Hurler no longer has Wayne's World theming. In the next year, another children's area, known as Nickelodeon Splat City, opened near the Shockwave roller coaster.
In 1996, Paramount's Kings Dominion introduced its second launched roller coaster, and first LIM-launched roller coaster, The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear. The Outer Limits had a 56-mile-per-hour launch, four inversions, and a similar "spaghetti bowl" layout to the ride of the same name at Paramount's Kings Island. Almost as notable as the launch of The Outer Limits was the fact that the entire ride was in semi-darkness; the riders could not see where they were going. (Six Flags America, a nearby park in Maryland, features another similar roller coaster to Flight of Fear, known as Joker's Jinx. Joker's Jinx, however, is an outdoor coaster.) Five years after The Outer Limits opened, Paramount Parks' licensing agreement to use theming from the television show after which the ride was named expired; the Outer Limits-related theming in the ride and its queue was removed, and the ride was renamed Flight of Fear.
Paramount's Kings Dominion continued what became a trend of adding launched roller coasters in 1998, when they opened Volcano, The Blast Coaster in the former Lost World mountain. The mountain's previous rides had all been removed several years prior, and Volcano gave the mountain a major transformation. Volcano, which was manufactured by Intamin AG, was the world's first LIM-launched inverted roller coaster. The ride featured two separate launch sections, a vertical loop out of the top of the mountain (which is accompanied by fire being shot out of the mountain behind the riders), and three heartline rolls on the way back down. Volcano was themed to Paramount's 1997 film Volcano; the other Paramount Parks added inverted or suspended roller coasters themed to Top Gun around the same time. During the next two seasons, Paramount's Kings Dominion expanded Hurricane Reef behind the Rebel Yell and renamed it Waterworks. (Most of the original Hurricane Reef remains open as of 2006; the two areas are joined by a path under the Rebel Yell.) The new portion of Waterworks includes Pipeline Peak, a set of four enclosed water slides, one of which (the Night Slider) is the world's tallest dark free-fall slide. [7]
The park added its third launched roller coaster, Hypersonic XLC, in 2001. Hypersonic XLC, an air-launched coaster made by S&S Power, launched riders from 0 to 80 miles per hour in 1.8 seconds, taking them up a 90-degree incline and down a 90-degree drop. [8] The entire ride took about 25 seconds. Hypersonic XLC broke down frequently and was closed for the first three months of its second season; no other Paramount Parks installed a similar ride. [9] Nevertheless, Hypersonic XLC helped establish Paramount's Kings Dominion's new reputation as "the launched coaster capital of the world". [10]
The early 2000s have seen Paramount's Kings Dominion opening new rides similar to existing rides at other Paramount Parks. In 2002, the park opened its new wild mouse roller coaster, Ricochet, as well as a HUSS Maschinenfabrik Troika called Triple Spin. Both rides were the same models as rides at other Paramount Parks; another Ricochet was installed at Paramount's Carowinds in 2002, and another Huss Troika opened at Paramount's Kings Island under the name Shake Rattle and Roll. Diamond Falls, the giant flume ride at Paramount's Kings Dominion, also closed that season, leading to several seasons of speculation from park visitors over which ride would take its place. The 2003 season saw several of the Paramount Parks opening a Drop Zone Stunt Tower. The Drop Zone at Paramount's Kings Dominion, at 305 feet high, was the tallest freefall ride in the world at the time it opened. In 2004, Paramount's Kings Dominion added Scooby Doo and the Haunted Mansion; similar Scooby Doo-themed dark rides had opened at three other Paramount Parks during the three previous seasons. In the next season, Paramount's Kings Dominion added an inverted top spin called Tomb Raider: Firefall, which was an outdoor version of a similar ride named Tomb Raider: The Ride at Paramount's Kings Island. The differences between the two were that at King's Dominion riders' feet dangle freely and at King's Island there is a floor. In the 2006 season, Paramount's Kings Dominion opened the Italian Job Turbo Coaster, its fourth launched roller coaster. Unlike the previously-built launched coasters at Paramount's Kings Dominion, each of which was faster than its predecessor, the Italian Job Turbo Coaster is designed more as a family ride and features several launches at 40 miles per hour. The Italian Job Turbo Coaster is similar to the Italian Job Stunt Tracks at Paramount's Kings Island and Paramount Canada's Wonderland, which both opened in 2005.
[edit] Transition to the Cedar Fair era (2006-present)
Control of the Paramount Parks had been transferred from Viacom to CBS Corporation at the start of the 2006 season; the parks had themselves been up for sale since the previous offseason. CBS made several controversial moves with Paramount's Kings Dominion during the 2006 season. First, the Italian Job roller coaster had been advertised on television as being open at the start of the park's 2006 season, whereas it did not actually open until late May, almost two months into the season. The placement of the ride was rather dubious; some enthusiasts ridiculed the park management for placing the entrance of Italian Job, which was themed to a street chase, in the middle of the park's African-themed Congo section near the Anaconda. [11] Second, visitors to the park during the 2006 season found that the trees in the queue of the Grizzly were cut down to make room for a new upcharge go-kart attraction called Thunder Raceway. [12] Third, Paramount's Kings Dominion closed Flight of Fear. Paramount's Kings Dominion gave no indication in the previous season that Flight of Fear would be closed for 2006. [13] Rumors had suggested that it would be relocated to another former Paramount Park; since Cedar Fair acquired Paramount's Kings Dominion, the park worked to get the ride operable again. Flight of Fear reopened on August 18, ending speculation of the ride's relocation and/or sale. [14]
On May 22, 2006, Cedar Fair, L.P. announced that they were purchasing all five Paramount Parks. [15] The sale was finalized on June 30, 2006. [16]
[edit] PKD's Eiffel Tower
Like Kings Island, the centerpiece of Kings Dominion is its 1/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, located just across the International Street fountain from the main entrance gate. This Tower was built by the late company, Bristol Steel, which was located in Richmond, Virginia. An elevator regularly takes patrons up to the lookout tower, which provides a chance to see the entire park. The observation deck offered the best view of the nightly fireworks show (which no longer runs), and the Fourth of July fireworks, which are set off from behind the Anaconda roller coaster.
[edit] Ownership
The theme park was originally built and owned by Family Leisure Centers, a joint venture between Top Value Enterprises and Taft Broadcasting Company, both of Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1993 Paramount purchased Kings Dominion and changed its name to Paramount's Kings Dominion.
On January 27, 2006, the website of the Dayton Daily News reported that CBS Corporation would be selling Kings Dominion and other parks in its Paramount Parks division. [17]
On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair, L.P. acquired Kings Dominion along with the rest of the parks owned by Paramount for a price of $1.24 billion USD. [18]
[edit] Current Rides/Attractions
[edit] International Street
- Grande Bandstande
- Eiffel Tower
- Berserker
[edit] Old Virginia
- Paramount Theatre
- Flying Eagles
- The Log Flume
- Paramount Action F/X Theater
- White Water Canyon
- Xtreme Skyflyer
- Blue Ridge Tollway
- Grizzly
[edit] The Grove
- Carousel
- Ricochet
- Triple Spin
- Dodgem Bumper Cars
- Drop Zone: Stunt Tower
- Hurler
- Rebel Yell
- Shockwave
- Wave Swinger
- Hypersonic XLC
[edit] Nickelodeon Central
- Meet Blue
- Nickelodeon Meet & Greet
- Paramount Showplace
- Green Slime Zone
- Rugrats Toonpike
- Nickelodeon Space Surfer
[edit] Kidzville
- Treasure Cave
- Scooby-Doo! And the Haunted Mansion
- Kidz Construction Company
- Alleycat 500
- Boo Boo's Tree Swings
- Boulder Bumpers
- Dick Dastardly's Airfield
- George Jetson's Spaceport
- Huck's Hot Rods
- Ranger Smith's Jeep Tours
- Topcat's Turnpike
- Touche Turtle's Clipper
- Taxi Jam Coaster
- Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster
- KidZVille Gazebo
[edit] Congo
- Avalanche
- Scrambler
- Anaconda
- The Italian Job: Turbo Coaster
- Tomb Raider: Firefall
- Volcano
- Flight of Fear
[edit] WaterWorks
- Big Wave Bay
- Lil' Barefoot Beach
- Lazy Rider
- FreeStylin' (previously known as Tidal Wave)
- Baja Bends (previously known as Pipeline)
- Pipeline Peak
- Shoot the Curl (previously known as Cyclone)
- Spiral Chute (previously known as Torrential Twist)
- Surf City Splash House
[edit] Ride/Attraction Timeline
- 1975: Park opened. Rebel Yell (coaster).
- 1976: Apple Turnover.
- 1977: King Kobra (coaster)
- 1978: Campground opened.
- 1979: Lost World themed area, featuring Journey to Atlantis, Land of the Dooz, and Timeshaft.
- 1980: Haunted River replaced Journey to Atlantis.
- 1981: Widescreen movie theater.
- 1982: Grizzly (coaster); Showplace Amphitheatre.
- 1983: White Water Canyon.
- 1984: Smurf Mountain replaced Land of the Dooz; Berserker.
- 1985: Diamond Falls; Scooby's Play Park.
- 1986: Shockwave (coaster); King Kobra coaster removed.
- 1987: Racing Rivers.
- 1988: Avalanche (coaster).
- 1989: Sky Pilot.
- 1990: Hanna Barbera Land expansion
- 1991: Anaconda (coaster).
- 1992: Hurricane Reef water park.
- 1993: Days of Thunder.
- 1994: Hurler (coaster); Old Dominion Line steam train removed.
- 1995: Nickelodeon Splat City. Showplace Amphitheatre reopened as Kingswood Amphitheatre. Smurf Mountain is removed.
- 1996: Outer Limits; Extreme SkyFlyer.
- 1997: Taxi Jam (coaster); Hanna-Barbera Land renamed KidZville.
- 1998: Volcano, The Blast Coaster (coaster); Paramount Action FX Theater replaces Days of Thunder.
- 1999: Expansion of Hurricane Reef water park to Waterworks.
- 2000: Nickelodeon Central; Pipeline Peak added to Waterworks.
- 2001: HyperSonic XLC (coaster); 7th Portal. Outer Limits renamed to Flight of Fear.
- 2002: Ricochet (coaster); Triple Spin; Diamond Falls closes.
- 2003: Drop Zone Stunt Tower (freefall ride); SpongeBob SquarePants 3D.
- 2004: Scooby Doo and the Haunted Mansion.
- 2005: Tomb Raider Firefall (inverted top spin). Kids area of Waterworks is removed.
- 2006: Italian Job Turbo Coaster; Flight of Fear shut down until mid-August, when it reopened.
[edit] External links
- Official website of Paramount's Kings Dominion
- PkdPlace » Your Place for Paramount's Kings Dominion
- ThrillNerds
- Historical Kings Dominion Gallery
- Kings Dominion to open section featuring five water attractions - 1992 article from Travel Weekly announcing the opening of Hurricane Reef (requires subscription)
- COASTER-net.com page for Paramount's Kings Dominion
- ThrillNetwork.com Paramount's Kings Dominion information site
| Roller coasters at Paramount's Kings Dominion |
|---|
|
Anaconda - Avalanche - Flight of Fear - Grizzly - Hurler - HyperSonic XLC - Italian Job Turbo Coaster - Rebel Yell - Ricochet - Scooby-Doo's Ghoster Coaster - Shockwave - Taxi Jam - Volcano, The Blast Coaster |
