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It's basically a retail outlet now. Shirts, Pajamas, other clothing articles.

Basically a Southern Comfort store that's outside of International Street.
 
It's basically a retail outlet now. Shirts, Pajamas, other clothing articles.

Basically a Southern Comfort store that's outside of International Street.

Not really accurate. There’s a ton of park-specific merch, including special country-themed KD merchandise you can’t get anywhere else. Also a good amount of new, exclusive Grizzly merchandise, as well as country-themed goods like geodes and plushes. To call it a retail outlet really doesn’t do justice to the theming and variety of this shop.

Also, I have it one good authority that a panning for gold activity will be opening outside the store very soon, possibly tomorrow.
 
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From what I understand it will be a new, larger one with more visual appeal. There was a concrete pad cleared for it where the t-rex statue used to be.
 
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The last time I went to ride the grizzly the ride operator let me have at least 5-6 inches of space between me and the lapbar.
My cousin on the other hand got stapled into the seat and complained about the discomfort the entire time.

Does anyone like being secure/stapled on rollercoasters?
 
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I like being secured, but not stapled. If the lap bar is pressed against my thighs, it isnt an invitation for the ride op to press it down farther. Which seems to happen at least once every trip to KD.
 
Not to mention if anything happens to you for doing something like that the ride operator(s) in question can get in a hell of a lot of trouble.
Not to mention having to live with it if something serious happened even though it might hAve not been their fault.
 
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Yeah... I have a big problem with this post.

Do I like being secure? Yes. Do I like being stapled? Hardly anybody does. Do I like a little room? Enough to breath, but I'd never go around telling people that a ride operator from a particular ride let you have at least 5 to 6 inches of space. YOU pulled down your lap bar for them to check, so you clearly did something intentional for your restraint to be that loose. You pulled it down and had the ability to pull it down further, yet you specifically state that a ride operator from a particular ride openly let you have at least 5-6 inches of space.

You intentionally sitting in a way to obstruct an entire 5-6+ inches of space from you and the restraint isn't just unsafe, but also bullshit to claim somebody else responsible for something you had full control over. These remarks on a forum read by park staff are not only dishonest, but highly inconsiderate to those that work the attraction. Putting somebody else's job on the line because of your actions is poignant.
Simmer down Beavis. Every once in a blue moon a ride op LETS YOU leave a bunch of room under the bar. Yes, deliberately and with full knowledge of what they’re doing, they participate materially in that decision. It’s not always just the rider finding some clever way to game the apparatus against the best efforts of an earnest but hurried op.

No arguments with you about it being unsafe, or possibly getting the op into hot water. Yes, that matters. But it’s wrong to suggest, as you have, that dezaster is somehow externalizing that decision uniquely to the ride op. S/he never said that, either explicitly or implicitly. And without finding out more about the situation, you can’t know what they’re really suggesting.

By the way, ops make decisions like that one all the time, despite their training and the prospect of allowing harm to befall a guest: they LET THE RIDER keep the bar high. Exactly as stated. This op may have been doing that; you don’t know until you find out more.

As for the suggestion of not mentioning it on the forum: what a great way to help an unsafe situation continue, possibly putting many more people in harm’s way. If safety is your concern, then not only should this be publicly reported, but you should also encourage dezaster to report it directly to the park. Hiding it is pointless; sunlight is the best disinfectant.
 
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No arguments with you about it being unsafe, or possibly getting the op into hot water. Yes, that matters. But it’s wrong to suggest, as you have, that dezaster is somehow externalizing that decision uniquely to the ride op. S/he never said that, either explicitly or implicitly. And without finding out more about the situation, you can’t know what they’re really suggesting.

By the way, ops make decisions like that one all the time, despite their training and the prospect of allowing harm to befall a guest: they LET THE RIDER keep the bar high. Exactly as stated. This op may have been doing that; you don’t know until you find out more.

As for the suggestion of not mentioning it on the forum: what a great way to help an unsafe situation continue, possibly putting many more people in harm’s way. If safety is your concern, then not only should this be publicly reported, but you should also encourage dezaster to report it directly to the park. Hiding it is pointless; sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Thank you so much. I was trying to create a constructive response without making the situation worse. I did not have malicious intent with the post nor was trying to give blame to the ride ops for it. I do admit I chose my words incorrectly.
The ride OP did let me have the bar high. Also to take into consideration, I am a small being (about 5' and less than 120 pounds) with small thighs so on a normal wooden rollercoaster I get about 3 inches of space just by default. I do not purposely obstruct my body to manipulate the ride op into making the lap bar higher. I do not intend on forcing myself into unsafe situations.
I personally prefer space between me and my lapbar. I had my seatbelt on tightly and the amount of space I had didnt appear to be a concern. If it was an actual safety concern then I wasnt aware about it until now.

Thank you guys for sharing your concerns, but I hope we can move on from this. I referred to my ride on Grizzly to ask a question about personal preference. It wasn't intended to be a post about ride safety.
 
Grizzly was pretty awesome with the buzz bars. Rebel Yell was, too.

My brother once accidentally punched himself in the face twice in Grizzly’s tunnel, when it had those old lap bars. He was on the smaller side at the time. And the bars’ locked position sat higher than the individual ratcheting bars do today. He tried to hold on as tightly as possible and pull himself tight to the bar as we entered the tunnel; his hand slipped; and because he was pulling so hard, he popped himself in the nose with his own closed fist. Then he tried to grab the bar again, but just as he got his grip locked in the train took that big lateral lurch in the tunnel... and since he was once again pulling hard, he once again smashed himself in the face.

I really miss old school King’s Dominion.
 
Soooo did Kings Dominion just release some sort of Grizzly backstory? This post claims it can be heard within Grizzly Gulch General Store somehow.

Kings Dominion said:
“Well hello there! Welcome to Grizzly Gulch, home of some of the finest prospecting this side of the Appalachians. I’m just hanging around waiting on Old Man Johnson; he’s the proprietor of this here fine establishment. People around these parts think he’s crazy, cause he claims there’s a grizzly bear in the woods behind his store. I know what you’re thinking; there aren’t any Grizzly Bears in Virginia. But Old Man Johnson swears he can hear it rattling around back there. He says he can even hear people screaming. No one around these parts believes a word he says. But if I were you, I wouldn’t go back there. And if you do, don’t let the Grizzly get you.”

I have a feeling "Old Man Johnson" is an Easter egg relating to Tony Johnson, the park's VP & GM.
 
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