Kings Dominion is now a year away from turning 50 years old. So let us see what former coasters made this park famous.
THE START OF KINGS DOMINION:
You can’t start the history of the roller coasters in Kings Dominion without talking about the history of its former coasters in general. Before King Dominion, there was Kings Island which was a park in Mason, Ohio. That became so successful that the Taft Broadcasting Company, which had owned Kings Island, now wanted a second park. Even as far back as through the development of Kings Island, they had planned to make a second park near Richmond, VA, if Kings Island had made a profit. With the success of Kings Island, they would finally start the construction of the second park, called Kings Dominion, which Dominion refers to Virginia being nicknamed “The Old Dominion.” We can finally get started.
PAST COASTERS:
- Volcano: The Blast Coaster: It was opened in 1998 by Intamin, being a Steel-Inversed-Launched Coaster lasting from 1998-2018. Costing the park was $20 million. It had an 80 ft drop and a top speed of 70 mph. It was also the first launch coaster with inversions (Like Corkscrews/Loops), with it having four inversions, which gave guests an experience no other at the time and also included the thrill of shooting out of a volcano with a 70 mph and an 80 ft drop. Though with this, it became maintenance hell. It would lead to its demise.
- GALAXIE and KING COBRA: Galaxie (It’s called that) was one of the first coasters in the park. (The other one is Rebel Yell, Renamed to Racer 75 later) It would be replaced by Shockwave later, though King Cobra came in 1977 and would be close to being replaced by Anaconda.
- HURLER and SHOCKWAVE: Shockwave is a stand-up steel coaster that had replaced Galaxie and was mainly known for its tilted station so that it could use gravity to start the ride. However, it would become rough later, causing its closure in 2015. To be replaced by Delirium in 2016. Hurler came with a park expansion in 1994. A wooden coaster, it became rough quickly, which led to its demise in 2015, and was remade to become a Wooden Hybrid coaster (Steel and Wood) known as Twisted Timbers in 2018.
- HYPERSONIC XLC: It was a S&S Steel Launch Coaster debuting in the 2001 season and would send people from 0 to 80 mph in 1.8 seconds using a one-of-a-kind air-powered system that cost 15 Million Dollars. Though a prototype, would have many issues during its first year, it would open late for the 2002 season, and these issues would lead to its demise in 2007. It would not reopen for the 2008 season
RELATED STORIES:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Dominion
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersonic_XLC
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano:_The_Blast_Coaster
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurler_(roller_coaster)
- https://www.kingsdominion.com/media-center/park-history
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