So a co-worker is going up to Kings Dominion this weekend and it got me and another co-worker into a reminiscent mood about that old amusement park just north of Richmond, Virgina. I’ve been going to Kings Dominion since the late 80’s/early 90’s, when I lived in Maryland, Virgina and then North Carolina. I even had season passes for multiple seasons.

Kings Dominion has gone through so many changes, expansions, etc. When I first started going, it had Hannah Barbara tie-ins. Then, it was bought by Paramount and we got ride tie- ins to all their movies and characters from those films – guys in race jump suits from “Days of Thunder” and Vulcans and Klingons from “Star Trek.” Now Paramount has sold off its parks to Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., owner of the Sandusky, Ohio Cedar Point – site of my first roller coaster ride.

Man I could go on and on about memories of how the park has changed. I remember when Volcano: The Blast Coaster was Smurf Mountain, and when the Anaconda had a 3-hour wait time when it first opened. There actually used to be a steamboat in the lake prior to Anaconda and the water park’s construction.

Anyway, we were telling our co-worker about the different coasters and I realized their web page was missing the 80 MPH launch pneumatic tire Hypersonic XLC. I perused the Kings Dominion Wikipedia and it’s sadly gone this season. Hypersonic was awesome, but I understand them selling it. It was less than reliable and I think it wasn’t very cost effective to maintain, despite the rush of riding it when it was in operating condition.

Rides disappearing though is common. Off the top of my head, I can think of several rides that have come and gone over the years going to the park – Hypersonic XLC, Diamond Falls, Sky Pilot, Days of Thunder, James Bond Action Theater, etc.

I’m hoping we can get some friends up there for a fall trip once all the kids are back in school and the lines have dwindled down some. We haven’t been back over two years, meaning the Dominator and Back Lot Stunt Coaster will be fresh roller coasters on that trip.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 1:54 pm and is filed under General Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Related Posts: