COVID-19 Impacts on Kings Dominion

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Joe said:
The big difference I'd like to point out between BGW and KD is that BGW has the fortune of being located in a populated, suburban area. They can easily fill the park with 1000 guests who live within a 10 minute drive of the park. The value proposition of their 4-hour morning/evening "event" makes sense, since it's mostly for locals who want to swing by the park to fill an evening.

KD, on the other hand, is located in the middle of nowhere. The park is in an unincorporated town in Hanover County and is surrounded by farmland, not homes and neighborhoods; pretty much everyone visitng KD has a sizable drive up or down I95 to make. I live about 25 minutes from KD, and I'd bet that I am relatively close to the park compared to most of its guests, even its regulars and passholders. Considering the hassle and planning needed to travel to KD, I don't see enough people being able to justify the trip in order to fill the park with 1000 guests each day.

Every year on my last visit of the season to KD, I always pause for a second in front of the entrance to soak it all in one last time - the fountains, the Eiffel Tower, the lights, the music. It always makes me a little sad to say goodbye, but I always know I'll be back in a few months. Little did I know in December 2019 then that it might be more than a year before I'd be able to take in that view of my beloved home park again.
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Maybe it's just me, but it always feels like I'm on a journey when heading out of town on 95; even though I could drive Route 1 most of the way in only slightly more time KD always seems of the way.
 
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Also when KD was built urban sprawl models showed growth going up along I95 not out to short pump. They thought they were building where growth was going.
 
warfelg said:
Also when KD was built urban sprawl models showed growth going up along I95 not out to short pump. They thought they were building where growth was going.
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I think that although they didn't build where growth occurred I'm happy it didn't get built in Short Pump or just further west in Goochland. I feel like by now the park would have become landlocked and possibly have had to sell off unused acreage they could have done something with or preserved to satisfy the appetite of developers cashing in on the massive sprawl. And it would have been that much more painful to see the park closed during the pandemic.

Side note - anyone have a bet as to when the farm across Broad Street from the mall will finally be redeveloped? Not saying it needs to be, just an interesting juxtaposition of the area's not too distant past with it's current reality and seeming future.
 
Ironically, during COVID seems to be the best time to brave I95. Coming from NOVA, the drive to KD can be a nightmare between the Beltway and the Occoquan. If there was ever a time that I wouldn't dread the traffic, it would be now.
 
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Well, at least they are giving 2020 Platinum and Gold Pass Holders, (as of August 4th 2020, today) a Pass Perks Reward of $50 to be used in 2021. I think the pass perks program was to have gone live this year for KD and most of the other parks in the chain. A pilot program was done in 2019 with 2-3 parks participating. 2020 Silver Pass Holders will get $35 Reward.

Course, I am not sure how this reward can be applied for next year or if there are restrictions. Just mentioned that the reward can be used for in-park purchases. TBD
 
I hate to know how much money they lost by cancelling this whole season. Such a shame. Also I noticed in the park update 2021 heavily mentions Coconut Shores (?) being a big new attraction but no teasers or anything about the Free Spin already on site. So that is interesting I really hope they don't delay the free spin to 2022 and we have to deal with the "Coconut Shores is new" year anyway.

Please ignore my obvious disdain for Coconut Shores ?.
 
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One thing I'm curious about is when they're going to announce the new 4D FreeSpin since there's now almost no public viewing of the area it's going into.
 
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mwhinva said:
Well, at least they are giving 2020 Platinum and Gold Pass Holders, (as of August 4th 2020, today) a Pass Perks Reward of $50 to be used in 2021. I think the pass perks program was to have gone live this year for KD and most of the other parks in the chain. A pilot program was done in 2019 with 2-3 parks participating. 2020 Silver Pass Holders will get $35 Reward.

Course, I am not sure how this reward can be applied for next year or if there are restrictions. Just mentioned that the reward can be used for in-park purchases. TBD
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$50 is almost half the cost of a gold pass, which makes it a rather generous rebate of sorts. I really have to give props to Cedar Fair for how they’ve treated pass holders through all this.
 
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madmax said:
KD is officially closed for the rest of the year.

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The news had busch gardens in a kings dominion segment...
 

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It's sometimes painful to understand how much non-enthusiasts don't give a crap about theme parks at all while we put so much passion into them. I mean for example Intimidator 305 is a 305 foot tall monster of a coaster, one of the largest in the world and unless you've been to the park several times the most common response I would get to mentioning it would be like "is that the big red one" or "Is that the one with the loops?" or "my favorite ride at KD is the Grizzly bear."
 
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CoasterAuditor said:
It's sometimes painful to understand how much non-enthusiasts don't give a crap about theme parks at all while we put so much passion into them. I mean for example Intimidator 305 is a 305 foot tall monster of a coaster, one of the largest in the world and unless you've been to the park several times the most common response I would get to mentioning it would be like "is that the big red one" or "Is that the one with the loops?" or "my favorite ride at KD is the Grizzly bear."
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IMO, this is due to KD not having a definable brand anymore since they've been under Cedar Fair. KD under Paramount had their IP to theme the park under, but now all they have is Peanuts, which is ok but isn't very rememberable. Cedar Point itself has a strong brand as building some of the best thrill rides in the world, but that doesn't carry down to KD. Compare that to BGW or Hershey's with their defined branding regionally, and KD easily gets lost in the shuffle despite being a nice park and having good rides.
 
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Maybe that should be a concept thread for branding KF as it's own park - the general perception I hear from people I know is it's kind of a dump... But that's based on the lower guest experience standards from over a decade ago.

However, it'd be really cool to see them respond to the advertising shots fired from BGW with something unique of their own.
 
Most of the people I meet mainly remember the Time Shaft. My dentist made it up on a crowded day last year and rode ... Grizzly and Racer.

KD, Virginia's best kept secret.
 
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