Kings Dominion "Intimidator" - New Giga Coaster 2010

[BP317]

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=768106#768106
CF really seems to like the former Paramount Parks.

[monsterfan99]

I can not wait and will be there at some point next year. The ride track already looks amazing.

[FParker185]

9 years between Giga Coaster sales. Hate to be that sales rep

Honestly I didn't even know Intamin Transportation ltd was still in business, traditionally they made Monorails and people movers. Though Intamin consists of such a large group of companies it's impossible to keep track of who's doing what.

[Ilovthevu']

I think Kings Dominion, and Kings Island are the parks that have proved worthy before, and I think they are good to go with new rides even though I kind of don't agree with them getting new coasters after they just got two (One was at Kings Island called Firehawk (old GL coaster), and of course Dominator is at Kings Dominion. I think Carowinds is also getting a major ride after they just got a boomerang. I don't know why they should spend so much money so soon, but oh well. Yes, it's not AS costly as new rides for those 3, but still.

If I were Cedar Fair, I probably would spend money on the parks they want to close down (instead of just closing them down) which would be Valleyfair, and World's of Fun, but yet they are going to close them so what's the point. I think Dorney Park could use something else, but yet why invest so soon after they put in Voo-doo or whatever it's called now. They have much more land to the left of the front of the park though. I go back to dark rides, and what Cedar Fair parks have them. Well, the ones that have them are at least some of the former Paramount parks. What about Knott's, Dorney Park, Cedar Point, or Michigan's Adventure?

[monsterfan99]

^ With ValleyFair, the big invest this year was the wave pool, which was a great idea. They are moving in the right direction there as the water park there needs all it can get. Plus they just got Renegade in 2007. Don't forget World's of Fun got Prowler this year as well and Patriot in 2006.

While I would normally agree with the parks getting new rides, they need them. Kings Island needed Diamondback badly to help with lines and draw people in. Firehawk was down 2 out of the 3 days I was there in May. The one day it did work, the line was well over an hour due to how slow operations on it were.

Kings Dominion has gotten a grade total of 4 coasters since 1999, one of which is gone: a mack wild mouse, family style launch coaster and a used B&M. They also have to compete with BGE which just got a family land. This is there chance to draw in the thrill crowd away from BGE with the Giga.

Carowinds on the other hand has been even more left out. Out of the 5 coasters they have gotten since 2000, 1 is gone, 2 are used and the other 2 are family rides. It's about time they get a new thrill coaster, been a decade since their last one.

[Cryptkeeper]

Ahh shucks. Just when I thought CF had kicked the Intamin habit! I guess they will never learn.

Well, at least after all these years, there will be a Maintenance Force #2.

[Ilovthevu']

^^People say we got 4 major roller coasters at Great America since 1999. (They don't count Ragin Cajun or Dark Knight as thrilling roller coasters.) Make that 3 because they took one down.

Dominator isn't a small ride. If they weren't getting it from a half-defunct park, that would be a big chunk of change to put down. Kings Dominion just has so many coasters, and I just don't see the need after they got a big major one.

I guess quality counts more than quanity though. Cedar Point has so many roller coasters (the most), but yet they aren't the number 1 amusement park in the US. Is Hershey Park above them even? I think roller coasters are great in getting the thrill riders in these parks, but I think you have to compete with Disney also. How do you get people from not going to Disney? Well, have some of those rides in your park. I think the biggest thing that Disney does best is the dark ride aspect. They have the thing to get the family on a boat or ride vehicle, and go there a story.

Dark rides in my opinion are what these regional parks are missing so much. I don't think the toddlers need 4 kids areas, but rather add 2 or 3 dark rides per park. I think that is the key. You already have so many thrill rides at a lot of these parks that are great, but you need something to stop alluring the people to Disney. The other thing I always say the parks are missing are the thrilling flat rides. Stop taming them down, and get the people that ride roller coasters on some of these thrilling flat rides. That way the thrill riders go on more than just roller coasters, and they will stay longer at your park, and stay more times. It also helps stopping with the need to buy more and more coasters to impress the thrill riders.

[monsterfan99]

^I agree 100% on the lack of Dark Rides. Scobby-Doo at SF STL is the perfect ride for any SF park. Even the one at Nick Universe, with little story to go on, is a fun ride.

With Disney, any park that tries to compete with them and is not by them will lose. People don't go for the rides, the go for the experience. The chance to get your picture with Goofy, have breakfast with in Cinderella's Castle, your kids first ride on the Haunted Mansion or even just eating a mickey bar watching the first works at night. The place is basically built around scrapbooking and memories, not so much the moment then.

I mean, the Magic Kingdom gets around 17 million visitors a year. There attraction additions in the last 10 years: Winnie the Pooh dark ride in 99 (replacement for another dark ride,) Magic Carpet ride in 01 (a Dumbo clone,) Mickey’s PhilharMagic in 2003 (3d show,) Stitch’s Great Escape in 04(retheme,) Pirates rehab in 06(added movie people,) and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor in 2007. With the crap they have thrown there (minus PhilharMagic) and only things this year are to refurbs, one of which may be 2 parts. It shows people we go no matter what.

[Ilovthevu']

^The thing is that Cindrella, Aladdin, Tarzan, Robin Hood, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sleeping Beauty, Brer Rabbit (Splash Mountain), Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Snow White, and some other characters are actually part of free licensing under public domain characters. Disney took those characters, and made movies out of them. They aren't really from Disney. Kiddieland has flying elephants for goodness sakes. Six Flags could compete with Disney by having a dog ride, a haunted ride, and an alien ride. Sure, you can't call these rides Lady and the Tramp, Haunted Mansion, or Stitch, but it will very much help.

Six Flags doesn't need to have to have every dark ride, or character that Disney has, but at least have some. Look at our train and antique cars. Having a story especially for the antique car ride would make it more enjoyable in my opinion. The Scooby-Doo story for the train was good even though it was only half the ride. The story for these rides though would be just plastic stuff, and speakers along the way. The plastic stuff could just look like the first Batman in the Dark Knight ride. That looks realistic enough to me. I don't think it would be a smart idea to put an animatronic outside. Disney has a couple, but I have a feeling if it's raining, they won't let them go out and about.

For the train, you really could have 2 stories. Let's say you take Pinocchio, and the other one would be Sleepy Beauty. One would be for each station, so if people want to get off at so and so station, they will at least get the whole story.

Even though not really Disney, I would say Wizard of Oz is a good story to use. There is a Universal Park that has Wizard of Oz stuff. I think it's Japan. Alice in Wonderland is at least at Great Escape (Six Flags park). I think it's a maze.

[onyxhotel08]

Lucky Kings Dominion goers....

[razor12]

Dang, a giga for Kings Dominion...I didn't see that one coming.

^^SF dark rides would only succeed if they were about popular characters. If they were about a new character that SF just came up with there wouldn't be any hype. Yes, Monster Mansion (sfog) is a pretty good dark ride, but there isn't "hype." In the end, dark rides won't attract attendance unless there is a good liscense there. It would be a great touch to the rides, but it wouldn't draw a lot of people.

[Goku1910]

^You just reminded me of TDK and I laughed a little...

Remember all that "hype" that died out so quickly?

[razor12]

^You just reminded me of TDK and I laughed a little...

Remember all that "hype" that died out so quickly?

You're completely right, so I guess excluding Dark Knight. But the "dark ride" would be great if they themed it up the right way. They went about the coaster all wrong. Even with TDK being a wild mouse, it would be great if it was actually well themed to Gotham City.

[onyxhotel08]

Pre-show video a BAD idea. Who wants to be forced to see it each time they go on TDK? Change it some way from each season or remove it playing old Batman videos or something like it. Will I go on TDK 3 years from now to watch that thing AGAIN? Don't think so.

[BP317]

Will I go on TDK 3 years from now to watch that thing AGAIN? Don't think so.

If you want to ride TDK again, then yes you will watch it AGAIN. Is it really that big of a deal? A lot of people would say its the best part.

[w00dland]

^You just reminded me of TDK and I laughed a little...

Remember all that "hype" that died out so quickly?

You're completely right, so I guess excluding Dark Knight. But the "dark ride" would be great if they themed it up the right way. They went about the coaster all wrong. Even with TDK being a wild mouse, it would be great if it was actually well themed to Gotham City.

You don't need to exclude the Dark Knight because its a perfect example proving his point. Dark Knight was a huge name to put on a dark themed ride, unfortunately Six Flags decided to market a indoor wild mouse as a thrill coaster, that was the problem. Theme the Dark Knight to an indoor shooting ride like Scooby Doo or Men in Black and THEN you've got a winner.

[BP317]

The ride has been announced: "The Intimidator" is going to be a 305 foot tall Intamin giga themed after Dale Earnhardt.

http://www.intimidator305.com/


The kicker, its going to have the Maverick/SR/Kingda Ka restraints. I know the t-bar restraints are not accomidating to large people, but in my opinion they shouldve came up with a lapbar that can be more accomidating than this (something like Bizarro's new trains). Without inversions this ride is really going to be brought down by the restraints, especially in a couple years when it starts to rattle.

[w00dland]

OTSR's on a non-looper? Lamesauce.

I know Intamin hates people flying out of their coasters, but this is sad.

[FParker185]

The really sad part is that there is a safe T-bar out there, and even worse. Intamin designed it. On ExGe in Germany, it had to be TUV approved which the design you see on all the ones in the states would never fly out there. So they extended the seat cushion basically right up to your knees, but a big kink in the lapbar to accomodate that and have it land on your thighs well behind the edge of the seat (big problems in people flying out is the lapbar not passing the front of the seat)(also, up to now I think they did all this on TTD). And finally on the floor between your feet there is a 8 or so inch tall metal box that is probably around also 8 inches wide, effectively forming 2 boxes on the floor one for each foot, so you cant extend your legs out in front of you or cross them which forces your knees to stay bent. It'd be almost nearly impossible for anyone to come out of those. And that seat is just as accommodating as any other Hyper seat out there, and a lot more comfortable than some other lapbar rides I've ridden (especially premeir lapbars).


And besides all that, looking at the layout, it doesn't look all that great. Awesome looking straight drop, then after that a bunch of pretty flat looking turns and it looks like a pretty limited amount of airtime.

Also 2 trains on a 3 minute ride is pretty bad, though people at PKD are used to absolutely horrible capacity, so they will probably view it as a people eater. The capacity says 1350 people an hour. It also says it's a 3 min ride, so that's 20 cycles an hour. For that to work, each train has to carry 68 passengers (for 1300 an hour). And that's if they dispatch a train exactly every 3 minutes.

[Goku1910]

Coaster looks boring.

[Coaster Justin]

Either it was Overhyped, Or I have too High of Expectations, This coaster looks Terrible. They didn't even try. OMG.

It looks like after the Drop, the Designer/Park said "screw it" and just quickly put the ride together. I've seen better K'nex Built Coasters.

This is just another Sad showing that "Height and Speed" are the only way to be good. BULL! I Went to Cedar Point and My Favorite coaster there was Maverick. Yeah I Said it.

[monsterfan99]

Come on OTSR being more fat friendly.

The problem with this ride is the fact it was not the first. M Force to me sucks, but I rode Top Thrill Dragster before it. It will suffer from what people thought the first time they rode M Force and not thing ride.

[Chitown]

I don't know why anyone is complaining.

A 90 mph coaster with a 305ft lifthill is going to be thrilling at least to some capacity.

Aside from that, I don't understand CF. They just put in Dominator and the company itself is in almost as much debt as SF yet they keep plopping down 20 million dollar + rides. Dick Kinzel really doesn't get it.

[Galvan]

SCOTT! How dare you question Cedar Fair..... SHAME ON YOU!

[rct2wizard360]

I'd ride it.

From the video I'm not impressed beyond belief, but I feel like I'm looking at a compact giga and if they were gonna go that route plus OTSR's why not add an inversion?

Then again, it may just be that I'm sick of red coasters from CF.