Project 2019

[phurst]

I'd be so, SO happy if Project 2019 for KD was nothing more than a complete strip back and repainting of every queue railing, bench, bathroom, restaurant and any other random surface I must put my hands on in that sticky-ass park. Touching things there makes my skin crawl.

 

[madmax]

I love KD but yeah I gotta agree with BMac that it isn’t doing that well considering their rides it has. It’s not going to help that three of their biggest competitors are likely all getting coasters in 2020, driving attention away from KD.

I can’t say that they’ve been treated poorly though. They did get a giga and RMC this decade and have gotten needed improvements and rides. Unfortunately the former coaster wasn’t the hit with the GP that Griffon and Fury were for their respective parks and KD’s attendance hasn’t been boosted that much by Twisted Timbers.

I think KD has enough in the coaster department now that they got their airtime machine. They need to badly do work on Volcano to improve its reliability and capacity and restore their woodies to their glory years. Besides that they should focus on families by improving their food and maybe adding a dark ride.

 

[Gavin]

I know it's open during the day, but is it actually open during Haunt hours? I thought all of Planet Snoopy was closed after 7pm but I could've easily overlooked this, as I seldom ride rides during Haunt.

Yes, Boo Blasters is closed during Haunt itself.

I have a feeling that the most KD is going to get for next year is Volcano reopening and more ride lockers.

 

[mtorange]

Yes, Boo Blasters is closed during Haunt itself.

I have a feeling that the most KD is going to get for next year is Volcano reopening and more ride lockers.

I'm going to get a ton of hate for this, but I wouldn't be mad if KD removed Volcano altogether. The park can put a much better ride in its place and I think that it is not a smart idea for the park to throw a ton of money at it for parts when it constantly breaks down. Oh, and The Crypt can go, too, for the same reasons.

I do agree with the ride lockers, unfortunately. Expect them at Dominator and Volcano.

 

[Mushroom]

I want more than anything else for 2019 (or some other season in the near future) to be like 2014. Even though not a single major ride, show, or restaurant was added in 2014, I firmly believe that 2014 was the most important year for Kings Dominion since the Cedar Fair takeover. That year saw a tremendous array of smaller projects that mended many of the flaws in the park experiences and was a genuine effort to restore the park's charm. Additions like the apples in Candy Apple Grove, the Singing Mushrooms, the floral clock, and the new fountains facilitated the park's banishment of its cheap, trashy past and its transition into a beautiful theme park.

But since 2014, I feel like that transition has stalled somewhere up the hill. The only season since then to attempt improving the park's theming was 2018, with the updated 50's themed area around Twisted Timbers. While each year has seen more brick pavers, more landscaping, and more new paint than the year before, the park seems to have sagged into another slump of complacency. Oddball thematic outliers, cracking asphalt, and outdated infrastructure still abounds in the park. I thought for sure that 2014 was to set a trend to continue the eradication of the park's unfitting and unsightly remnants of its past mistakes and neglect would continue, but it didn't.

2019 is the perfect chance for the park to recommit itself to beautifying the park and reconnecting to the charming theme park that lies beneath the pop music and the generic, barren midways. This would be the perfect year to emphasize the individual themed areas whose distinctions many guests don't even realize exist. This would be the year to give Old Virginia and International Street the identifying signage they deserve, to add some more small props in Safari Village, to repaint Racer, to play themed music in Candy Apple Grove, and so forth. The additions don't have to be big, but they would contribute more to the improvement of the park than a new ride ever could.

I firmly believe Kings Dominion still has the potential to be a beautiful, well-rounded theme park that can rival Busch Gardens. I truly think a wonderful, quality park with charm, heart, and soul lies just below the surface. And it just needs some concentrated dedication to the park's history and character to bring the park's spirit back to life.

 

[SLC Headache]

I'm unsure what Cedar Point's plans are for Witches' Wheel now that it is being removed from the park, but I would be all for them relocating the ride to Kings Dominion and renaming it Apple Turnover (I hope these were the same type of ride, LOL).

Hmm, Witches' Wheel isn't in the best shape. Wasn't running as long a cycle as the other Enterprises I've ridden. Cedar Point is probably ditching it for the reasons you want to see The Crypt leave:

I'm going to get a ton of hate for this, but I wouldn't be mad if KD removed Volcano altogether. The park can put a much better ride in its place and I think that it is not a smart idea for the park to throw a ton of money at it for parts when it constantly breaks down. Oh, and The Crypt can go, too, for the same reasons.

I do agree with the ride lockers, unfortunately. Expect them at Dominator and Volcano.

If Volcano is toast, they'll need to announce it properly, then a dark ride in the vein of Wonder Mountain's Guardian is the best choice for a replacement. Much as a return of the Haunted River would be welcome, using water means it can't operate in winter.

 

[madmax]

I'm going to get a ton of hate for this, but I wouldn't be mad if KD removed Volcano altogether. The park can put a much better ride in its place and I think that it is not a smart idea for the park to throw a ton of money at it for parts when it constantly breaks down. Oh, and The Crypt can go, too, for the same reasons.

I agree about the Crypt. It just isn’t that good. But Volcano is an Icon for the park. Locals would riot if it went away. They better replace it with a coaster better than it if that were the case.

 

[SLC Headache]

I agree about the Crypt. It just isn’t that good. But Volcano is an Icon for the park. Locals would riot if it went away. They better replace it with a coaster better than it if that were the case.

At least when Dragon Challenge was scrapped, the Harry Potter themed replacement will be a coaster. And as much as I rag on Verbolten for being an unworthy replacement for the Big Bad Wolf, at least Verbolten is a coaster.

Kings Dominion already stumbled when they replaced the coaster Shockwave with the not-a-coaster Delirium, as atrocious as Shockwave's reputation was. I might take back my "replace Volcano with a Wonder Mountain's Guardian if it's toast" comment.

 

[Mushroom]

So I get that 2018 was a huge season for the park, but if they truly are getting nothing new next year (which looks like a legitimate possibility at this point), 2019 will mark the first season since 1981 that Kings Dominion has not added any sort of attraction or event.

 

[b.mac]

inb4 major marketing event saying multi-million investment in Volcano for 2019.

A.K.A. "We're getting it running again"

 

[mtorange]

I just remembered something. So Kings Island didn’t really get a new headlining attraction this season after they got a new coaster and WinterFest in 2017. But they did reveal a new event, a PEANUTS Celebration. This was a two week parkwide event with character meetups, PEANUTS themed food, and PEANUTS special attractions that celebrated the comic strip. I wonder if we’ll get that? I could see it fitting into Kings Dominion perfectly. It had been at Knott’s the year before and was a huge success at both parks.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/events/peanuts-celebration

EDIT: Got my timeline wrong, the event debuted at both Knott’s and Kings Island this calendar year.

 

[Shane]

Yeah cause KI is getting the Antique Cars for 2019.

 

[SLC Headache]

I just want Coke Freestyle machines to use my drink pass at. Even Six Flags America has them from what I'm told.

 

[b.mac]

Yeah cause KI is getting the Antique Cars for 2019.

They're not the only ones, unfortunately some of the CF parks are still silent on their 2019 additions.

 

[ChilenoParkFan]

KD should worry about fixing the current problems before adding more things. As much as everyone loves new rides, a bad experience with the other rides can definitely hurt the park. Some things I would like to see done...
* Reopen the 3d theater with an updated movie and perhaps more fluid movements on the seats.
* Find a way to fix the horrible rattle that some rides have and make them more smooth. Grizzly is such a fun ride, but man it is such a brain shaker. Anaconda has some great twists, but the stupid overhead bar makes your head feel like you are in a pinball machine. Lately the Dominator has been doing the same as the Anaconda.
* Definitely fix Volcano for good. This is an iconic ride to the park. Also needs a paint job.
* Reorganize the theme of the park. Certain areas look really nice, but honestly the park as a whole has no theme.
* Turn the coke mist center back on. That place was always crowded with people trying to cool off.
* I would love to see the Racer 75 with lights all around the edge.

 

[b.mac]

KD should worry about fixing the current problems before adding more things. As much as everyone loves new rides, a bad experience with the other rides can definitely hurt the park. Some things I would like to see done...
* Reopen the 3d theater with an updated movie and perhaps more fluid movements on the seats.

Uh... About that. All the seats are gone now. You'll see during Winterfest when they have a show going on in there. I doubt the theater will be used for rides purposes in the near future since half of it is a Terror Trail and the other half is going to be fully devoted for Winterfest this year.

* Find a way to fix the horrible rattle that some rides have and make them more smooth. Grizzly is such a fun ride, but man it is such a brain shaker. Anaconda has some great twists, but the stupid overhead bar makes your head feel like you are in a pinball machine. Lately the Dominator has been doing the same as the Anaconda.

Answering for both in one go, I agree that Grizzly needs attention since it's rougher than it usually is this year. I have not experienced a rattle on Dominator at all this year outside of the tradition left shift the train takes going into the first loop. Anaconda on the other hand definitely needs some TLC, maybe that new track bending method Vekoma has been practicing could be of help?

* Definitely fix Volcano for good. This is an iconic ride to the park. Also needs a paint job.

Wait until next year, but don't bank on this thing becoming an uptime stalwart. They're also going through a multi-year refurbishment of the Volcano and it probably will get a paint job at some point in its future once all of its current issues are addressed. I myself would prefer them to redo the station one more time so it's not a total embarrassment in organization and ruins the ride's throughput.

* Reorganize the theme of the park. Certain areas look really nice, but honestly the park as a whole has no theme.

Give me 40th Anniversary, or give me death.

* Turn the coke mist center back on. That place was always crowded with people trying to cool off.
* I would love to see the Racer 75 with lights all around the edge.

I want to hug you.

 

[warfelg]

Nothing excites me more than tracer lights on a woodie. Racer with a red side and blue side tracer with white flood lights on the drop would be pure wooden roller coaster pornography.

 

[warfelg]

On a serious note. I’ve heard CF is making a chain wide push to refresh theme elements at all parks. I wouldn’t mind KDs 2019 work being a continuation of that and what they started back with TT and moving better paths and theme elements to other parts of the park.

 

[SLC Headache]

On a serious note. I’ve heard CF is making a chain wide push to refresh theme elements at all parks. I wouldn’t mind KDs 2019 work being a continuation of that and what they started back with TT and moving better paths and theme elements to other parts of the park.

Having returned from KI, I say restore FoF's queue. KD's FoF has the regular queue line TVs breaking the theme and a haunt maze taking up half of it. KI's FoF was easily one of the best queues I've been in, even having only seen a little of it since I used Fast Lane Plus.

I just want Coke Freestyle machines to use my drink pass at. Even Six Flags America has them from what I'm told.

Having returned from SFA to process my new membership, the place with the Coke Freestyle machines was closed. My first Six Flags Day in quite a while.

 

[Nicole]

Could we possibly stay on topic? I can't fathom what Coke Freestyle machines at SFA possibly have to do with KD Project 2019.