@2:11 “We’re more themed entertainment people here at ReviewTyme rather than coaster enthusiasts” is what I really appreciate about your channel. While I definitely enjoy coasters (especially airtime!), some with high positive Gs (like 305) can be too intense for me and I value fun factor, theming and experience most.
It's actually a backhanded compliment for KD. Like, "They actually have pretty intense, remarkable coasters, but frankly their theming isn't that bad."
I live in Maryland. This is one of my favorite parks to visit. Glad you were able to come and visit the park. It’s was better back in the day as Paramount’s Kings Dominion. Project 305 is my favorite coaster there. Then Flight of Fear.
Glad you all had a great time! It really is an under-rated park (with a free water park, too!). The chaperone policy is a welcome addition. I've always preferred Busch Gardens Williamsburg vs. Kings Dominion in the summer mainly because I knew I wouldn't have to deal with hordes of teenagers at KD.
I loved Kings Dominion. I got to go on the volcano coaster, which blasted you straight out the volcano 🌋 and then looped backwards. It's gone now sadly.
Had to stop and rewind I was laughing so hard after '... and of course Apple Zapple!' I failed in the battle for consciousness on 305, never ever again!
My daughter went on it with me in the first season, opening weekend.and tried it again several times over the summer. It wasn't until they put on brakes to slow it down that that she stayed conscious throughout the ride.
My home park! Haven’t been in years unfortunately, this video is why I will have to make a triumphant return very soon. I miss Volcano. Great content guys. Keep up the good work.
The price here seriously astounds me. $65 for entrance to a water park, free parking, free dining, & one of the biggest theme/amusement parks in the world is ABSURD
This is my home park. Its cheap partly because they dont have a lot of top tier rides to offer. 305 is a monster and Twisted Timbers is a mid-high level RMC and once you get beyond that, there really isn't much worth going there for. Families with kids have tons of options and its a great park to bring the kiddos to for sure.
@@SaVaGeGmYbEaRthis comment here. I guess I’ve been to much in the past years but it isn’t exciting like it used to be. And when you look at others state’s amusement park they make kings dominion look like a baby park
Parking is not free unless you have a season pass. Free dining? what? Granted, we havn't been since 2019, but since we live in the same county (Hanover, VA) we had season passes from about 2004 to 2019. Never free dining. Free drink refills if you have the proper cup. We havn't been since our youngest kid turned 18.
I grew up going to Kings Dominion, through the Hanna-Barbera era, Paramount, and current. Its really interesting watching this theme park evolve throughout the years. The Berserker was always the first thing you saw from the road and the parking lot, and it was mandatory that that was the first and last ride of the day. Going as an adult, the park seems somehow, less, than it was, but that might just be a kids eyes vs an adults. I remember building up the courage to ride the Anaconda, always riding the Rebel Yell backwards, being terrified that the Grizzly was going to fall apart, and being a big fan of the Days of Thunder experience/ride.
I've never seen your channel before, but you've got a brand new fan!! I love these types of videos, and I thought you were very comprehensive and thorough. Love it!
Just a note, the Jungle Expedition area, while it has been refreshed recently in terms of theming, has been jungle themed for decades now. The centerpiece used to be a giant mountain right behind where Tumbili now sits, which had a handful of rides in it, before being turned into Volcano: The Blast Coaster, which was demolished not so long ago. The theming is now more uniform, since all the rides in that area have been themed as "Temple of the Crocodile", "Temple of the Arachnid", "Temple of the Monkey" etc., and gotten a fresh coat of paint.
Lived in Virginia and went when it was just a safari. Kept going back as it grew up until I moved away from VA in 1982. I have great feeling for Kings Dominion. If I could build a theme park or amusement park I would absolutely demand lots of great trees and lots of great architecture. I've never been to a six flags park that was even half as nice an atmosphere. And I've spent a good bit of time at some six flags parks as a teen. They do not come close to measuring up for what I want in a park, despite the teen fun way they were for me.
Local here. I’ve been to KD once since they took out volcano. The park hasnt felt the same since. Very empty. This is mostly a park of clone rides you can find at other cedar fair parks before dominator, (which was shipped to KD from another park) Intimidator 305, and twisted timbers. I suppose if you’ve never been you’ll have fun but if you want more coasters, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a just a little more down the Road. Hoping the next 10 years will see a lot more original additions to compete with BGW.
One of the best things about Kings Dominion is how much traffic the water park siphons off, especially on hot days. You'll be sweating through your clothes in the summer, but you can also walk on every coaster but Flight of Fear (air conditioned) repeatedly.
One of the points made in news coverage of the Cedar Fair/Six Flags merger is that because season or annual passes had already been sold for the year, major changes in those and other policies will probably take until 2025 to be fully implemented.
Not only did I geow up near Kings Dominion (about 1 1/2 hours away) This park at one point (and may still) had a "math and science day" in Spring, where high schools had the option to do a field trip to the park. So, as a teenager, I went with school, in addition to going with youth group and boy scouts. As such, KD will always be my first real coaster ride experiences (not counting Thunder Mountain Railroad as a kid). But, as the years went on, I found myself more attracted to our other native theme park, Busch Gardens. With the loss of Volcano, KD still has more coasters, but overall they aren't as fun as the ones at BG. And if nature over concrete is important to you, then BG has KD beat by a mile. They have greenery everywhere and have been named "most beautiful theme park in the world" by one industry association and many theme park fans would rank it pretty high, even if its not their top pick. Oh, and one quick fun fact: Racer 75 has seen two big changes since the 90s when I started going. First, they renamed it from "Rebel Yell" (which of course upsets a certain political group) and they used to run the blue side in reverse, but made it the original configuration, where bith trains go foward, which made me upset. Because the only fun thing about an out-and-back coaster from the mid 70s was getting to sit backwards on one.
Man, I still miss Volcano: The Blast Coaster… R.I.P. I really hope they haven’t canned the thought of adding a wing coaster in its space either. And 305 is pretty intense but that’s why I love it so much! 10 years from now I may have to start considering if it’ll be safe for my health though! 😆
They fixed all the effects on Flight of Fear, and most of the effects work on Backlot, it's just they don't always seem to turn them on. The only thing that was removed was the moving helicopter. Also, in the early days of Kings Dominion, the park was more of a Themepark over thrill park. We had a whole lost world mountain that had 3 indoor dark rides and even a train and monorail. Sadly, paramount removed lake charles, the train, the monorail, the removed the dark rides in the mountain to add volcano. Glad you had a good visit though!
I brought my friends from nyc to this park and we loved it from the quality of the rides, the water park, and the large amount of trees for shade. It’s very reasonable in price and as expected, concession stands are not cheap but what do you expect.
Decent park…but I hated Intimidator 305…I was so disappointed because I thought I would love it. Greying out on coasters and getting headaches isn’t fun. As for S&S free spins…I agree with you. I rode the original at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and got the living snot beaten out of me. I came off with shoulder cuts that stayed with me for weeks. These are NOT for taller people.
I live about 20 minutes away from the park. Absolutely loved going and often took my niece there when she was little. The Halloween and Holiday events they have towards the end of the year were always great if not busy. Honestly I think their Holiday one is better then Busch Garden's. The only issue is getting out of the park when the Illuminate Light Show is going on just a few miles down the road between people visiting that and people getting off the interstate to go home. Be prepared to sit there for a while. Also, I still find it unforgivable that they took out Volcano for that new coaster.
So many trees. My home park outside chicago had such sparce landscaping compared to these east coast parks and their deep green forests. Kings dominion, great adventure, busch gardens for example
Yeah and the trees really sell the "fair games and bumper cars" alley which has fewer trees, as a seperate and unique space. The Old Dominion section of the park (they were themed in the paramount days) is great like you're in a forest with gas lamps and Georgian architecture. It's the perfect place to tuck Grizzly and the rapids ride into AND it's one of the more fun and effective rapids rides out there. My favorite thing about the landscaping is this one tunnel made out of vines where they blast mist inside.
I love the fact that KD is one of my home parks. It has my favourite ride of all time, Intimidator, as well as many other amazing coasters, along with spectacular vibes. And going there for $80 incl. taxes for admissions to both coaster and water parks, as well as parking and all day dining just makes the deal even sweeter. It's a deal only I-95 traffic can make worse.
The "action" theatre used to have iWerks motion seats with a cool proprietary James Bond film (Pierce Brosnan). Twisted Timbers used to be themed after Wayne's World 2 and the restaurant next to it was Stan Mikita's doughnuts. They had a mock up of the "Murthmobile" limo park out front.
The Hurler was my favourite! Next to Stan Mikita's was The Rock Shop, where I remember getting lots of patches for my backpack. And the motion seat ride...I remember when it first opened as Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise. That was so fun.
@@jeanschwartz7552 Oh, never rode Days of Thunder, awesome! Though License to Thrill was pretty cool. Yeah, Stan Mikita's, the Wayne's World III we never got. Can't believe they had a real murth mobile.
@@ZM-jb6gc Yeah! The had the car from the first movie, then switched it out for the limo version from the second movie. I remember always going there to cool off, as it had 'crashed' into a fire hydrant and sprayed water. Was great on a mid-July afternoon :)
I love kings dominion ! I have lived about 30 minutes away my whole life so I’ve been there countless times. The Halloween stuff they do is actually pretty good.
I'm proud to be able to call KD my home park. No offense here, but I'm glad P305 scares most people away. It's always a walk on, and that's great as it's currently my favorite ride.
I haven't been back to Kings Dominion for over a decade, and that was my 1st job (back when Paramount had all the branding there, & the kids section was themed on Nickelodeon & Hanna-Barbara cartoons. Boy, that was a time)! I'm surprised I haven't been back there, despite being so close by & very affordable, but lately... I've been a BGW fan, yet I kinda want to see how much KD has changed since my high school days.
Twisted timbers slapped. The only two launch coasters in the park always had incredibly long lines tho. Flight of fear would literally trick you by hiding the indoor queue. It you could see the line from outside you were in for a loooong wait.
The Intimidator used to be even more intense the first season that they opened it. Guests (me sometimes included) would constantly black out at the bottom of the first drop. I always had a great time but I understand why they slowed it down.
This park is a staple for people who live here! As a resident here Bush Gardens Williamsburg is still better no matter how expansive Kings Dominion is.
Busch Gardens is just an overall better experience because of all the shows and little things they have to do. It’s such a great park especially for Christmas Town and Howllowscream.
The scariest ride in that park is the Woodstock Express (known as the Scooby Doo coaster when I was a kid). Not because it was especially thrilling but because you can see and feel the entire structure shaking whenever cars make a turn and I don't know how much I trust 50 year old wooden beams
I love this place so much. I try to go at least once or twice year. I haven’t gone during Christmas which I’m hoping I can change this year & would love to go back during Halloween Haunt this year.
Personally it had more soul when Paramount was still a part of the picture. I've gone to this park my whole life. And I am still glad it's there. Did they tear down the "Rebel Yell" or is it still in operation under a new name?
i used to ride intimidator over and over and bet my one friend that he couldn’t stay awake on it. i always could but he never did. made for some GREAT pictures 😂
Kings Dominion is my local park. 305 is almost always a walk-on, which is great. My personal favorite is Racer 75. Tumbili is a tumble dryer, very much not for me. It feels like a very old park, and it could use more shade. At the height of summer it is downright unbearable, but that's what the water park is for too I suppose.
We were here this year and the whole park just feels so ran down. Though twisted timbers is freaking awesome at night. Unfortunately night is where you see just how in desreoair so many themeing elements are all over the park
Ive went to kings island a bunch throughout my life. Seems like theres a lot of similarities with some differences. I recently went to cedar point again but always have a soft spot for kings island, idk maybe its nostalgia cause like this park, there's still stuff there that takes me back to years when paramount owned it.
Carowinds gets a lot more positive buzz, but Kings Dominion is really in the same tier of park. It has a fairly well rounded lineup and has excellent food options. The two things holding the park back are: (A) The park is rather disjointed. Some parts are peak Cedar Fair quality. While others feel abandoned. This is made very apparent with half the park's coasters being located in one section of the park, despite the park's massive size. (B) It lives in the shadow of other parks. It's made in the image of Kings Island, but never really matched it. Worse, is its regional rival. Put simply, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the better park in the region. It's award winning for its beauty and shows, and has a more balanced coaster lineup. This handicaps KD attendance in the region, which limits its investment budget from Cedar Fair.
KD is much more convenient to DC than BG, but the I-95 traffic is more atrocious than ever. Though the traffic out to Williamsburg is pretty bad too. I know people that refuse to go to Six Flags America anymore.
We live in Hanover, VA, so have had season passes from about 2004 to 2019. Nearly every body I know has worked there. Havn't been since covid and, coincidently, our youngest turned 18. Great park for families. Be prepared to walk. There are no trains, or any other people movers around the park. The reviewer said that you can buy 4 Pm night tickets. Don't do that expecting to go to the water park. It closes earlier than the park. When Intimidator 305 opened, many people blacked out until the ride ended. So the ride has been slowed. If I was to get a season pass anywhere, I'd just go further east to Busch Gardens. That seems like a park for grownups. Although, I am glad to hear that KD has implemented a chaperone policy. Too many 12 year olds were just dumped at the park for the day. Not fun with mobs of kids running around unsupervised. 21 seems extreme, though. I would say 16. Especially since many park staff are 16.
Born and raised in Ashland and grew up going to KD in the 80s. I miss the older park but it's still a great park. Yeah we used to have the Candy Apple Grove Sky Ride that used to go from one side of the park to the other but that's long gone along with my earliest memory of the park the tram ride through Jungle Safari with all the animals.
The Grizzly is my absolute favorite ride. I don’t know what it is about it. My second favorite is Flight Of Fear. The dark mixed with the speed is just something else haha
Alright, I’m just going to say that I LOVE kingsdominion SO much! And not really because of the food or entertainment or even rides, but because I’ll go there with some of my cousins about twice a year, and it’s just such a family place for me AND it’s quite affordable too. Also I defend the intimidater and tumbili!!!!!!! What’s crazy is that those along with twisted timbers are like my favorite rides!!!!!! Anyway I’m just a huge fan of it and I think you had a good observation! ( I think I would be biased and give almost everything like a 10/10)
Though a really good and detailed review, it actually makes me a little sad to see the park these days. I grew up going to Kings Dominion, and I believe the best years were from 1975 thru 1991. When it still had the full Lake Charles, and more themed lands than today. You could easily see the Disneyland influence. International Street (Obviously inspired by Disney Main street, and the Eiffel Tower their kinda castle) Hanna Barbera (Yogi Bear's Cave was a near historical landmark) Candy Apple Grove (Styled after Coney Island) Safari Village (with a Monorail animal ride) Old Virginia (with three working Steam Trains, and regular shows in the theater) For me - What KD is today just feels a little cheap, and has lost its classy past. I wish you could have seen it then. I do suggest looking up Kings Dominion Historians, and searching for older maps from 1975 thru 1991. PS - LOVE You Channel!!!!! 🙂
We live closer to Kings Dominion than Busch Gardens but had gone to BG a few times because of vacationing to Williamsburg. Several years ago KD had a good sale on the next year season passes where you also got a free visit the current season so we figured it would be a good activity for our family so we bought 4 season passes. Well we went the one time and absolutely hated it. The employees were rude and the lowest quality, the other guests were fairly trashy, and the park was dirty and the rides just seemed old. We hated it so much we never went back, just throwing away all that money.
Helldivers 2 isn't 4th try, there's been no less than 10 videogame, boardgame and pinball adaptations of Starship Troopers. Including the game from last year that is still in early access!
When I first came here in 2008, my experience was not that great as it was extremely busy resulting in very long lines for almost every ride, including the rides in Soak City, and every single ride broke down at the end of the day. When I came back in 2013, I had a much better experience. We went on less busier day making every single ride and slide a walk on, and every single thing mentioned in this video from the rides and operations to the atmosphere and staff friendliness make it worth visiting. I do prefer Busch Gardens Williamsburg more, but you can't visit Virginia without visiting both parks.
I love Kings Dominion. In my opinion better rides than Busch Garden Williamsburg and a better park experience than Six Flags DC. A good sweet spot for a little of everything at a good price.
305 kicks the absolute shit out of everything else in the park. Its like a rollercoaster designed by insane people that just didn't give a shit about the limits of the human body.
This park use to be fun but it legit went downhill. Removing rides with no better replacements. Holding onto the same old rides. And you’ll be lucky if the ride is even operational when you get there. And they show no care towards the water park. Same set up since I was kid and I’m about to be 30
@2:11 “We’re more themed entertainment people here at ReviewTyme rather than coaster enthusiasts” is what I really appreciate about your channel. While I definitely enjoy coasters (especially airtime!), some with high positive Gs (like 305) can be too intense for me and I value fun factor, theming and experience most.
For fun factor, Twisted Timbers is the best coaster ever put in the park.
It's actually a backhanded compliment for KD. Like, "They actually have pretty intense, remarkable coasters, but frankly their theming isn't that bad."
I live in Maryland. This is one of my favorite parks to visit. Glad you were able to come and visit the park. It’s was better back in the day as Paramount’s Kings Dominion. Project 305 is my favorite coaster there. Then Flight of Fear.
Glad you all had a great time! It really is an under-rated park (with a free water park, too!). The chaperone policy is a welcome addition. I've always preferred Busch Gardens Williamsburg vs. Kings Dominion in the summer mainly because I knew I wouldn't have to deal with hordes of teenagers at KD.
I love how, although you didn’t like Project 305, you respected it for what it does.
I loved Kings Dominion. I got to go on the volcano coaster, which blasted you straight out the volcano 🌋 and then looped backwards. It's gone now sadly.
I am so jealous I always wanted to ride that
That was many years ago. I miss that roller coaster. It was my favorite in the park for years.
@@TyrellDunn I met some 80 year old lady on line who loved riding it too. She was a badass lady
@@astroguster5522 she sounds like a LEGEND
I miss Volcano 😢
KD is my home park and Backlot always has one of the biggest lines in the park. I attribute this to the small capacity per train.
Its also pretty fun
Had to stop and rewind I was laughing so hard after '... and of course Apple Zapple!' I failed in the battle for consciousness on 305, never ever again!
My daughter went on it with me in the first season, opening weekend.and tried it again several times over the summer. It wasn't until they put on brakes to slow it down that that she stayed conscious throughout the ride.
My husband and son (now 12) both love that the Intimidator, but even though I grew up going to KD I will never step foot on it lol.
My home park! Haven’t been in years unfortunately, this video is why I will have to make a triumphant return very soon. I miss Volcano. Great content guys. Keep up the good work.
Volcano was best right at sunset. The line was usually shorter and coming out of the Volcano, "Oo! Pretty!"
the first thrill you will enjoy is I-95. Hold on tight!
😭😭😭
The price here seriously astounds me. $65 for entrance to a water park, free parking, free dining, & one of the biggest theme/amusement parks in the world is ABSURD
Kings dominion is that park where everyone is welcome without killing your bank account
This is my home park. Its cheap partly because they dont have a lot of top tier rides to offer. 305 is a monster and Twisted Timbers is a mid-high level RMC and once you get beyond that, there really isn't much worth going there for. Families with kids have tons of options and its a great park to bring the kiddos to for sure.
Get that season pass fellas, you save so much money. Go for Halloween
@@SaVaGeGmYbEaRthis comment here. I guess I’ve been to much in the past years but it isn’t exciting like it used to be. And when you look at others state’s amusement park they make kings dominion look like a baby park
Parking is not free unless you have a season pass. Free dining? what? Granted, we havn't been since 2019, but since we live in the same county (Hanover, VA) we had season passes from about 2004 to 2019. Never free dining. Free drink refills if you have the proper cup. We havn't been since our youngest kid turned 18.
One of my favorite parks I visited in my childhood!
I grew up going to Kings Dominion, through the Hanna-Barbera era, Paramount, and current. Its really interesting watching this theme park evolve throughout the years. The Berserker was always the first thing you saw from the road and the parking lot, and it was mandatory that that was the first and last ride of the day. Going as an adult, the park seems somehow, less, than it was, but that might just be a kids eyes vs an adults. I remember building up the courage to ride the Anaconda, always riding the Rebel Yell backwards, being terrified that the Grizzly was going to fall apart, and being a big fan of the Days of Thunder experience/ride.
I've never seen your channel before, but you've got a brand new fan!! I love these types of videos, and I thought you were very comprehensive and thorough. Love it!
I will never call it Twisted Timbers...it is the damn Hurler! LOL
Good Call!
Just a note, the Jungle Expedition area, while it has been refreshed recently in terms of theming, has been jungle themed for decades now. The centerpiece used to be a giant mountain right behind where Tumbili now sits, which had a handful of rides in it, before being turned into Volcano: The Blast Coaster, which was demolished not so long ago. The theming is now more uniform, since all the rides in that area have been themed as "Temple of the Crocodile", "Temple of the Arachnid", "Temple of the Monkey" etc., and gotten a fresh coat of paint.
This is the park I grew up going to, so I’m a little biased, but I absolutely love Kings Dominion! Love how intense I305 & Tumbili are too
Also just saying.. I was here about a month ago and spent over $50 on 2 chicken tender meals and the tenders sucked lol
Tumbili isn’t intense. It’s just jank whiplash. Horrible ride
Lived in Virginia and went when it was just a safari. Kept going back as it grew up until I moved away from VA in 1982. I have great feeling for Kings Dominion. If I could build a theme park or amusement park I would absolutely demand lots of great trees and lots of great architecture. I've never been to a six flags park that was even half as nice an atmosphere. And I've spent a good bit of time at some six flags parks as a teen. They do not come close to measuring up for what I want in a park, despite the teen fun way they were for me.
Local here. I’ve been to KD once since they took out volcano. The park hasnt felt the same since. Very empty. This is mostly a park of clone rides you can find at other cedar fair parks before dominator, (which was shipped to KD from another park) Intimidator 305, and twisted timbers. I suppose if you’ve never been you’ll have fun but if you want more coasters, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a just a little more down the Road. Hoping the next 10 years will see a lot more original additions to compete with BGW.
One of the best things about Kings Dominion is how much traffic the water park siphons off, especially on hot days. You'll be sweating through your clothes in the summer, but you can also walk on every coaster but Flight of Fear (air conditioned) repeatedly.
One of the points made in news coverage of the Cedar Fair/Six Flags merger is that because season or annual passes had already been sold for the year, major changes in those and other policies will probably take until 2025 to be fully implemented.
Not only did I geow up near Kings Dominion (about 1 1/2 hours away) This park at one point (and may still) had a "math and science day" in Spring, where high schools had the option to do a field trip to the park. So, as a teenager, I went with school, in addition to going with youth group and boy scouts. As such, KD will always be my first real coaster ride experiences (not counting Thunder Mountain Railroad as a kid). But, as the years went on, I found myself more attracted to our other native theme park, Busch Gardens. With the loss of Volcano, KD still has more coasters, but overall they aren't as fun as the ones at BG. And if nature over concrete is important to you, then BG has KD beat by a mile. They have greenery everywhere and have been named "most beautiful theme park in the world" by one industry association and many theme park fans would rank it pretty high, even if its not their top pick.
Oh, and one quick fun fact: Racer 75 has seen two big changes since the 90s when I started going. First, they renamed it from "Rebel Yell" (which of course upsets a certain political group) and they used to run the blue side in reverse, but made it the original configuration, where bith trains go foward, which made me upset. Because the only fun thing about an out-and-back coaster from the mid 70s was getting to sit backwards on one.
Man, I still miss Volcano: The Blast Coaster… R.I.P. I really hope they haven’t canned the thought of adding a wing coaster in its space either. And 305 is pretty intense but that’s why I love it so much! 10 years from now I may have to start considering if it’ll be safe for my health though! 😆
Glad to see a local park on the channel! It’s a favorite among Virginians and as you said is still cheap enough families can afford to go
I worked there for 2 summers. Much of the park's best years are decades behind it.
They fixed all the effects on Flight of Fear, and most of the effects work on Backlot, it's just they don't always seem to turn them on. The only thing that was removed was the moving helicopter. Also, in the early days of Kings Dominion, the park was more of a Themepark over thrill park. We had a whole lost world mountain that had 3 indoor dark rides and even a train and monorail. Sadly, paramount removed lake charles, the train, the monorail, the removed the dark rides in the mountain to add volcano. Glad you had a good visit though!
Yeah, but the Volcano was awesome! RIP my favorite coaster.
Wait, we’re you guys actually able to go on the Eiffel Tower? Everytime I’ve gone it’s been closed 😭
14:41 THIS IS SO FUNNY LOL
I brought my friends from nyc to this park and we loved it from the quality of the rides, the water park, and the large amount of trees for shade. It’s very reasonable in price and as expected, concession stands are not cheap but what do you expect.
Kings Dominion is an amazing park and I-305 is my favorite coaster ever,
Actually it’s project 305 now but it’s my favorite too!
Decent park…but I hated Intimidator 305…I was so disappointed because I thought I would love it. Greying out on coasters and getting headaches isn’t fun.
As for S&S free spins…I agree with you. I rode the original at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and got the living snot beaten out of me. I came off with shoulder cuts that stayed with me for weeks. These are NOT for taller people.
Baby
@@DavidCastro-wf8cl guessing you’re either a kid or don’t grey out on coasters. If you don’t, you’re lucky.
I live about 20 minutes away from the park. Absolutely loved going and often took my niece there when she was little. The Halloween and Holiday events they have towards the end of the year were always great if not busy. Honestly I think their Holiday one is better then Busch Garden's. The only issue is getting out of the park when the Illuminate Light Show is going on just a few miles down the road between people visiting that and people getting off the interstate to go home. Be prepared to sit there for a while.
Also, I still find it unforgivable that they took out Volcano for that new coaster.
So many trees. My home park outside chicago had such sparce landscaping compared to these east coast parks and their deep green forests. Kings dominion, great adventure, busch gardens for example
Yeah and the trees really sell the "fair games and bumper cars" alley which has fewer trees, as a seperate and unique space. The Old Dominion section of the park (they were themed in the paramount days) is great like you're in a forest with gas lamps and Georgian architecture. It's the perfect place to tuck Grizzly and the rapids ride into AND it's one of the more fun and effective rapids rides out there. My favorite thing about the landscaping is this one tunnel made out of vines where they blast mist inside.
@@ZM-jb6gc beautiful
I love the fact that KD is one of my home parks. It has my favourite ride of all time, Intimidator, as well as many other amazing coasters, along with spectacular vibes. And going there for $80 incl. taxes for admissions to both coaster and water parks, as well as parking and all day dining just makes the deal even sweeter. It's a deal only I-95 traffic can make worse.
2:22 Project 305 is a really good value, right?
as a dc native i performed many a band recital at the kings dominion theater lmfao
I grew up on The Bush Beast and Beastie. RIP Australia's Wonderland.
The "action" theatre used to have iWerks motion seats with a cool proprietary James Bond film (Pierce Brosnan). Twisted Timbers used to be themed after Wayne's World 2 and the restaurant next to it was Stan Mikita's doughnuts. They had a mock up of the "Murthmobile" limo park out front.
The Hurler was my favourite! Next to Stan Mikita's was The Rock Shop, where I remember getting lots of patches for my backpack. And the motion seat ride...I remember when it first opened as Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise. That was so fun.
@@jeanschwartz7552 Oh, never rode Days of Thunder, awesome! Though License to Thrill was pretty cool.
Yeah, Stan Mikita's, the Wayne's World III we never got. Can't believe they had a real murth mobile.
@@ZM-jb6gc Yeah! The had the car from the first movie, then switched it out for the limo version from the second movie. I remember always going there to cool off, as it had 'crashed' into a fire hydrant and sprayed water. Was great on a mid-July afternoon :)
I love kings dominion ! I have lived about 30 minutes away my whole life so I’ve been there countless times. The Halloween stuff they do is actually pretty good.
I'm proud to be able to call KD my home park. No offense here, but I'm glad P305 scares most people away. It's always a walk on, and that's great as it's currently my favorite ride.
Looking forward to seeing more US park reviews that aren’t Disney, Universal or Sea World
I haven't been back to Kings Dominion for over a decade, and that was my 1st job (back when Paramount had all the branding there, & the kids section was themed on Nickelodeon & Hanna-Barbara cartoons. Boy, that was a time)! I'm surprised I haven't been back there, despite being so close by & very affordable, but lately... I've been a BGW fan, yet I kinda want to see how much KD has changed since my high school days.
Twisted timbers slapped. The only two launch coasters in the park always had incredibly long lines tho. Flight of fear would literally trick you by hiding the indoor queue. It you could see the line from outside you were in for a loooong wait.
The Intimidator used to be even more intense the first season that they opened it. Guests (me sometimes included) would constantly black out at the bottom of the first drop. I always had a great time but I understand why they slowed it down.
This park is a staple for people who live here! As a resident here Bush Gardens Williamsburg is still better no matter how expansive Kings Dominion is.
Busch Gardens is just an overall better experience because of all the shows and little things they have to do. It’s such a great park especially for Christmas Town and Howllowscream.
That was a hilarious RCT Joke! Nice nostalgia touch
Luke´s dance 😂😂😂
The scariest ride in that park is the Woodstock Express (known as the Scooby Doo coaster when I was a kid). Not because it was especially thrilling but because you can see and feel the entire structure shaking whenever cars make a turn and I don't know how much I trust 50 year old wooden beams
I love this place so much. I try to go at least once or twice year. I haven’t gone during Christmas which I’m hoping I can change this year & would love to go back during Halloween Haunt this year.
I went during Christmas for the first time last year! It was the best! Get the unlimited hot cocoa - so worth it :)
@@jeanschwartz7552 I can’t wait! Will definitely get the unlimited hot cocoa. thanks!
Personally it had more soul when Paramount was still a part of the picture. I've gone to this park my whole life. And I am still glad it's there.
Did they tear down the "Rebel Yell" or is it still in operation under a new name?
I am hoping to visit next week! You are making it sound like a great time
i used to ride intimidator over and over and bet my one friend that he couldn’t stay awake on it. i always could but he never did. made for some GREAT pictures 😂
Let’s go Merchandise!!
Oh my god so loved Bush Beast back in the day …hope it lived up the the memory
Kings Dominion is my local park. 305 is almost always a walk-on, which is great. My personal favorite is Racer 75. Tumbili is a tumble dryer, very much not for me. It feels like a very old park, and it could use more shade. At the height of summer it is downright unbearable, but that's what the water park is for too I suppose.
We were here this year and the whole park just feels so ran down. Though twisted timbers is freaking awesome at night. Unfortunately night is where you see just how in desreoair so many themeing elements are all over the park
Ive went to kings island a bunch throughout my life. Seems like theres a lot of similarities with some differences. I recently went to cedar point again but always have a soft spot for kings island, idk maybe its nostalgia cause like this park, there's still stuff there that takes me back to years when paramount owned it.
And my grandfather still calls the Woodstock express “the scooby doo”
Carowinds gets a lot more positive buzz, but Kings Dominion is really in the same tier of park. It has a fairly well rounded lineup and has excellent food options.
The two things holding the park back are:
(A) The park is rather disjointed. Some parts are peak Cedar Fair quality. While others feel abandoned. This is made very apparent with half the park's coasters being located in one section of the park, despite the park's massive size.
(B) It lives in the shadow of other parks. It's made in the image of Kings Island, but never really matched it. Worse, is its regional rival. Put simply, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the better park in the region. It's award winning for its beauty and shows, and has a more balanced coaster lineup. This handicaps KD attendance in the region, which limits its investment budget from Cedar Fair.
KD is much more convenient to DC than BG, but the I-95 traffic is more atrocious than ever. Though the traffic out to Williamsburg is pretty bad too. I know people that refuse to go to Six Flags America anymore.
We live in Hanover, VA, so have had season passes from about 2004 to 2019. Nearly every body I know has worked there. Havn't been since covid and, coincidently, our youngest turned 18. Great park for families. Be prepared to walk. There are no trains, or any other people movers around the park.
The reviewer said that you can buy 4 Pm night tickets. Don't do that expecting to go to the water park. It closes earlier than the park.
When Intimidator 305 opened, many people blacked out until the ride ended. So the ride has been slowed.
If I was to get a season pass anywhere, I'd just go further east to Busch Gardens. That seems like a park for grownups.
Although, I am glad to hear that KD has implemented a chaperone policy. Too many 12 year olds were just dumped at the park for the day. Not fun with mobs of kids running around unsupervised. 21 seems extreme, though. I would say 16. Especially since many park staff are 16.
Born and raised in Ashland and grew up going to KD in the 80s. I miss the older park but it's still a great park. Yeah we used to have the Candy Apple Grove Sky Ride that used to go from one side of the park to the other but that's long gone along with my earliest memory of the park the tram ride through Jungle Safari with all the animals.
The Grizzly is my absolute favorite ride. I don’t know what it is about it. My second favorite is Flight Of Fear. The dark mixed with the speed is just something else haha
I live in DC and love visiting Kings Dominion!
I went there yesterday and my fav is apple zapple and i went to the water park it was so fun and bad apple is my fav!
2:50 first time I rode it, I went on 3 times, in the middle, back, and front! My hair was ruined.
I live near this Kings Dominion theme park in Virginia, but I do not go there often as I should. I have this uncanny fear of heights.
OMG, lol. I grayed out a little on intimidator 305 too! LOL
Alright, I’m just going to say that I LOVE kingsdominion SO much! And not really because of the food or entertainment or even rides, but because I’ll go there with some of my cousins about twice a year, and it’s just such a family place for me AND it’s quite affordable too. Also I defend the intimidater and tumbili!!!!!!! What’s crazy is that those along with twisted timbers are like my favorite rides!!!!!! Anyway I’m just a huge fan of it and I think you had a good observation! ( I think I would be biased and give almost everything like a 10/10)
Though a really good and detailed review, it actually makes me a little sad to see the park these days. I grew up going to Kings Dominion, and I believe the best years were from 1975 thru 1991. When it still had the full Lake Charles, and more themed lands than today. You could easily see the Disneyland influence.
International Street (Obviously inspired by Disney Main street, and the Eiffel Tower their kinda castle)
Hanna Barbera (Yogi Bear's Cave was a near historical landmark)
Candy Apple Grove (Styled after Coney Island)
Safari Village (with a Monorail animal ride)
Old Virginia (with three working Steam Trains, and regular shows in the theater)
For me - What KD is today just feels a little cheap, and has lost its classy past. I wish you could have seen it then.
I do suggest looking up Kings Dominion Historians, and searching for older maps from 1975 thru 1991.
PS - LOVE You Channel!!!!! 🙂
Great theme park. Made lots and lots of trips here in my day
You should do a video on lagoon amusement park!
305 used to be even more intense when it first opened if you can believe it.
I literally live 30 minutes from here and I’ve never been… but I’ve always been willing to drive like 2 hours to get to Busch gardens Williamsburg.
I fucking love this channel
Project 305 always has to be the last ride of the day. It is too intense to allow people to enjoy the rest of the day.
i did it multiple times when i went and was fine afterwards, seems i’m one of the few judging by the comments and other riders I saw.
We live closer to Kings Dominion than Busch Gardens but had gone to BG a few times because of vacationing to Williamsburg. Several years ago KD had a good sale on the next year season passes where you also got a free visit the current season so we figured it would be a good activity for our family so we bought 4 season passes. Well we went the one time and absolutely hated it. The employees were rude and the lowest quality, the other guests were fairly trashy, and the park was dirty and the rides just seemed old. We hated it so much we never went back, just throwing away all that money.
9:16 Okay, 5/10 for entertainment? You clearly missed that package.
It was called the hurler
Helldivers 2 isn't 4th try, there's been no less than 10 videogame, boardgame and pinball adaptations of Starship Troopers. Including the game from last year that is still in early access!
Oh and all the weird Mormon movie sequels
When I first came here in 2008, my experience was not that great as it was extremely busy resulting in very long lines for almost every ride, including the rides in Soak City, and every single ride broke down at the end of the day. When I came back in 2013, I had a much better experience. We went on less busier day making every single ride and slide a walk on, and every single thing mentioned in this video from the rides and operations to the atmosphere and staff friendliness make it worth visiting. I do prefer Busch Gardens Williamsburg more, but you can't visit Virginia without visiting both parks.
Kings Dominion is a top 3 park in the Cedar Fair chain.
Do Silver Dollar City next!!!
I want to go on something more thrilling than Giga Coaster 1!
People who LIKE kings dominions.....hi your MY people MY!
I love Kings Dominion. In my opinion better rides than Busch Garden Williamsburg and a better park experience than Six Flags DC. A good sweet spot for a little of everything at a good price.
YEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!
Carowinds is the park I grew up going to many many times as a kid.. carowinds has superior rides. But kings Dominion is beautiful and has better staff
I live about an hour away from the park and everything you said was SPOT ON….but I will say Tumbili isn’t THAT bad 😅
If you guys go to Magic Mountain can you please do X2?
I say I hope you were able to enjoy the delirium and other reads that aren't coasters
I do miss volcano ride
305 kicks the absolute shit out of everything else in the park. Its like a rollercoaster designed by insane people that just didn't give a shit about the limits of the human body.
I can't imagine what more kd could do for affordability lol
Definitely a 10 out of 10 in my book
Haven’t been in a while but Busch Gardens a little ways further down is a much nicer park.
305 is absolutely best in park
It soon will be called Six Flags Kings Dominion.
Twisted Timbers is the worst hybrid I've been on 😂 Wildcat's Revenge and Iron Gwazi are so much better.
This park use to be fun but it legit went downhill. Removing rides with no better replacements. Holding onto the same old rides. And you’ll be lucky if the ride is even operational when you get there. And they show no care towards the water park. Same set up since I was kid and I’m about to be 30
You look like Billy Corgan with hair
King's Dominion was a ton better back when it was still owned by Paramount. It's still good but it has fallen quite a bit.
It’s too cheap… the crowd is super ratchet
bruh
С их ст мч 😅с😅тсс