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I took off from work early this afternoon just to go and ride Intimidator. And the coaster did not disappoint - just as fast, and furious, and fun as ever.

On a side note. I was actually surprised how crowded the park was for a Friday, which was due to the dozens of buses in the lot. So though not great for getting in a lot of rides, but very good to see for the park itself.
 
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I honestly think i305 is aging like a fine wine. Year after year it becomes more clear that we're unlikely to see anything like i305 ever built again. Pair the uniqueness of the coaster with the consistency of the ride experience and you have a real gem.
 
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Did anyone else see the ridiculously bright floodlights in the Racer 75 turnaround and at the entrance of Jungle X? The former seriously inhibits any true night rides on I-305 (debatably the best night ride in Virginia); much of I-305 is now illuminated at night due to these lights on this neighboring coaster. The latter (the lights at the Jungle X entrance) are blinding as you walk down the Candy Apple Grove midway from the Singing Mushrooms to the 3 Point Challenge. It almost feels like you're walking through a weird parking lot. I'm not sure if this is an increased security measure (lights aren't this bright anywhere else), but I do know that this decreases the guest experience (ESPECIALLY the new lights on Racer 75).
 
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It started raining while I was sitting in the train waiting for dispatch today. I didn’t know what it felt like to feel 9 small needles hitting my eyeball per second but now I do, because that happened every-time I opened my eyes at all in the rain. Today was definitely a day for rain rides at the park they kept the coasters up pretty much all day.

I will also note, I305s red train appeared to get yanked off for some kind of maintenance issue and they had 4 members of maintenance trying to figure out something underneath the back half of the train. The red train did not return to the ride for the remainder of my visit. They opened with one train on I305 which wasn’t an issue. The rain absolutely killed the crowd today.
 
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The last two times that I have ridden I have noticed a light spray of water hitting the under side of the train at least on the back cars while it was parked in the station for loading. Is this for cooling breaks of wheels or is there some other reason for this?
 
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I believe it’s for the cooling the bearings. It’s always had them, just never as noticeable. They burn through wheels fast on that ride, so anything to make them last longer, they’ll do.
 
Yes, it's for cooling the wheels. The water sprayers only turn on when the train is in the station. Once the train is dispatched, the sprayers turn off. Also, they usually arn't turned on until it gets a bit warmer outside and will get turned off again when the temperatures dip down.
 
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CoasterSkinny said:
Did anyone else see the ridiculously bright floodlights in the Racer 75 turnaround and at the entrance of Jungle X? The former seriously inhibits any true night rides on I-305 (debatably the best night ride in Virginia); much of I-305 is now illuminated at night due to these lights on this neighboring coaster. The latter (the lights at the Jungle X entrance) are blinding as you walk down the Candy Apple Grove midway from the Singing Mushrooms to the 3 Point Challenge. It almost feels like you're walking through a weird parking lot. I'm not sure if this is an increased security measure (lights aren't this bright anywhere else), but I do know that this decreases the guest experience (ESPECIALLY the new lights on Racer 75).
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Racer 75 / Rebel Yell had the back turn-a-rounds lit up in the early 80's when I worked there. They were part of the original lighting package when KD opened in 1975. Sometime during the Paramount years, the lights were not used. Not sure if the lights burned out or they had electrical issues or management forgot about them. In any case, they were out for years. Unil now.
 
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Moving this from the Timbers thread:

horsesboy said:
305 keeps moving up my list in a way that I can't fully understand as the rest of my favorite list seems to stay fairly consistent with the exception of adding Skyrush after my first ride. TT keeps falling it almost seems like 305 improves with age and TT starts to grow stell as it ages.
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I, too, have experienced the i305 slide. When it opened, I hated it. The original restraints beat my neck to death (literal bruises). When they switched to the straps, it shot up in my rankings, but it was still only like a low top ten for me.

That said, over the years, as I've ridden more and more coasters and many other previous top 10s have fallen, Intimidator 305 keeps climbing. I think I have it pined all the way up at #3 in my rankings now. WILD.

I'm pretty confident the explanation for this is novelty. The more coasters I ride the more I recognize that the forces and experience offered on i305 are unobtainable literally anywhere else in the world. That slowly makes i305 more and more impressive to me and, truthfully, even improves my perception of the rides I get on it.
 
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  1. Millie
  2. SteVe
  3. Maverick
  4. i305
  5. Lightning Rod
For the top 3, I'm one of those Millennium purists and have been since riding it opening year. I don't have the Forida credits so Steel Vengeance is #2 for being the coaster that just keeps on giving. Maverick has long been my favorite Intamin but I haven't had a ride on it since 2019 as it seems to always be down when I'm there.

i305 may actually be better than all three of those. It's a complete unicorn and makes you feel its power like few others ever have (RIP TTD). It also remains reasonably comfortable while doing so too, which is a feat on its own. There's also the huge perk of only having station-length waits too.

I expect this list to change after this summer's CP trip and something gets demoted.
 
Zachary said:
the forces and experience offered on i305 is unobtainable literally anywhere else in the world.
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This x100. It's my #3 as well, but it's been inside my top 3 since it opened for that exact reason. The level of pure power it delivers is genuinely unrivaled and I still find it unbelievable that the thing exists.
 
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I don't like to make lists - I just can't make mind up about where things land in the list - but if I did certainly i305 would be near the top. That even though I don't find it that re-rideable. There is nothing else like it. It's just the high g-forces in that first turn mean I can ride maybe twice in a row and then I need a break. And usually only once in a row.
 
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