Well, a quick note on my visit to KD both this past Friday evening and Saturday late afternoon / early evening. What a difference in crowds! :shocked:
Friday, I did 9 of the 10 mazes (did not do Blue Ridge Bloodbath) within 2 hours.
Had something to eat and did the scare-zones and caught parts of the the 2 outdoor shows. I arrived at the park at 6:20 and left a little after 10:00 pm. Waited 20-25 minutes to get a coffee at Starbucks. I was able to park in the 2nd row of the season pass lot. I would guess that 3 1/2 rows on either side of the center divider in the main lot was full; on the south side of the lot closest to the main gate (where the main road bisects the parking lot).
Got to the park Saturday around 3:40 pm. The south half of the main parking lot was full and a few cars were spilling over to the north side of the lot in the 1st couple center rows. What surprised me was that KD had security folks parking cars on the gravel lots on the east side of the main parking lot (nearest the train tracks). The first time I've seen that happen in a LOOOOOONNNNNNGGG time! I was having BGW flashbacks!
I also noticed the park has put up a white fence along the perimeter of the parking lot from the motel all the way to the front parking booths. They must have done this in the last couple of weeks.
I did a few rides and strolled around the park getting my last fill before the park shuts down for the season. I went through the kid's area where things were busy with all the Planet Spooky activities going on: pumpkin painting, petting zoo, foam pit, straw bale maze, pedal tractors (using part of the Joe Kool's driving school roadway), and a treasure hunt where the kid's can find the locations to receive "prizes" to put in their "booty sack".
Saturdays visit to Starbucks turned into a 1 hour 15 minute wait to get my cup of Joe. :dodgy: (It was not for the lack of staffing. They had 2 barrista's making the hot drinks; one person making the cold/frozen concoctions, one person manning the case with the sweets, one person manning one register and another person swinging between the 2nd register and re-stocking. Yet another person was cleaning utensils as they were being used and also restocking supplies as needed).
I then did one maze that opened at 6:00 pm (Club Blood) and saw the Overlord's Resurrection where the whole entrance plaza was wall to wall people. It took 10-15 minutes for the plaza to clear out enough to where you could see 3-4 feet of ground in front of you. My guess is that most mazes were a 1 and 1/2 hour wait on average. Example, Zombie High's line started about where the folks put on the outfits for the Sky-flyer pay-per attraction; past the front of it into the Wind-Seeker's queue line; you then came out of the queue line and continued in front of Wind-Seeker to the Zombie High facade entrance. :s
I left the park around 9:00 pm. When I surveyed the main parking lot, The WHOLE lot was full from route 30 all the way to the main gate! I think King's Dominion's maximum capacity is 36,000 and I am pretty sure the attendance yesterday was 30,000 plus!
I am glad I am a season pass holder and not the poor souls who bought a ticket and had to endure Saturday night!
Friday, I did 9 of the 10 mazes (did not do Blue Ridge Bloodbath) within 2 hours.
Had something to eat and did the scare-zones and caught parts of the the 2 outdoor shows. I arrived at the park at 6:20 and left a little after 10:00 pm. Waited 20-25 minutes to get a coffee at Starbucks. I was able to park in the 2nd row of the season pass lot. I would guess that 3 1/2 rows on either side of the center divider in the main lot was full; on the south side of the lot closest to the main gate (where the main road bisects the parking lot).Got to the park Saturday around 3:40 pm. The south half of the main parking lot was full and a few cars were spilling over to the north side of the lot in the 1st couple center rows. What surprised me was that KD had security folks parking cars on the gravel lots on the east side of the main parking lot (nearest the train tracks). The first time I've seen that happen in a LOOOOOONNNNNNGGG time! I was having BGW flashbacks!
I also noticed the park has put up a white fence along the perimeter of the parking lot from the motel all the way to the front parking booths. They must have done this in the last couple of weeks.
I did a few rides and strolled around the park getting my last fill before the park shuts down for the season. I went through the kid's area where things were busy with all the Planet Spooky activities going on: pumpkin painting, petting zoo, foam pit, straw bale maze, pedal tractors (using part of the Joe Kool's driving school roadway), and a treasure hunt where the kid's can find the locations to receive "prizes" to put in their "booty sack".
Saturdays visit to Starbucks turned into a 1 hour 15 minute wait to get my cup of Joe. :dodgy: (It was not for the lack of staffing. They had 2 barrista's making the hot drinks; one person making the cold/frozen concoctions, one person manning the case with the sweets, one person manning one register and another person swinging between the 2nd register and re-stocking. Yet another person was cleaning utensils as they were being used and also restocking supplies as needed).
I then did one maze that opened at 6:00 pm (Club Blood) and saw the Overlord's Resurrection where the whole entrance plaza was wall to wall people.
It took 10-15 minutes for the plaza to clear out enough to where you could see 3-4 feet of ground in front of you. My guess is that most mazes were a 1 and 1/2 hour wait on average. Example, Zombie High's line started about where the folks put on the outfits for the Sky-flyer pay-per attraction; past the front of it into the Wind-Seeker's queue line; you then came out of the queue line and continued in front of Wind-Seeker to the Zombie High facade entrance. :sI left the park around 9:00 pm. When I surveyed the main parking lot, The WHOLE lot was full from route 30 all the way to the main gate! I think King's Dominion's maximum capacity is 36,000 and I am pretty sure the attendance yesterday was 30,000 plus!
I am glad I am a season pass holder and not the poor souls who bought a ticket and had to endure Saturday night!
