Project 2025/305: Pantherian (Intimidator 305 Retheme)
- Thread starter Kings Gardens
- Start date
- Status
Going Friday. Will make sure to ride Racer and see what's up with the spool. Hoping and praying, but I doubt it'll be open by then.
It's good to hear you're praying man. Keep praying, it'll do the ride and especially you a boatload of good.
Yeah, let us know if you see anything. I'm hoping to go to the Park again this August.
I am planning a trip for probably August 12th. My buddy who I’m going with missed it during his HWN trip, and this is redemption lol.
Didn’t have a chance to ride racer so don’t know about the spool today but it looks like some progress is being made, they took the wood away from the footer for the center panther pillar thing, so maybe that will be installed soon.
A tip, make sure to ride Racer north because the spool is behind the trees so it’s near impossible to see on the south track, also it’s easiest to see from the right side of the train
It’s right about there.
I will say I saw a little something from rapterra that looked blue around the spool? Not sure what that was and everything closed for weather right after that so I didn’t get a chance to check. Possibly just the spool was covered by a tarp or something.
The fact that AlpenFury is now MOST LIKELY going to open before this (Saturday) is absolutely hilarious.
It’s depressing, wish they just pay whatever it takes to get Intamin on site and treat Pantherian with the respect it deserves.
It’s just a lift hill, far less complicated than a launch coaster.
I genuinely don't get what's taking so long. We are a third of the way through the summer season, and still radio silence from the park.
Is there ANY credible reason to believe the delay is because KD isn’t paying Intamin enough, and not because it’s a complex part that needs to be custom manufactured overseas and then shipped to the park?
Pantherian is also one of the only coasters on the planet with a cable lift of this style and magnitude. It’s not some run of the mill chain lift that they can just source parts for off the shelf. If anything, Pantherian’s lift hill almost certainly has parts that are far less common than what’s used on most modern launch coasters.
Reports of unapproved maintenance performed on this ride that was not to the liking of Intamin has been reported. I’d call that credible. The length of time and public updates are also evidence that something is up.
This is correct.
If you want to compare Pantherian's lift to a launch, you have to compare it with a hydraulic cable launch a la Dragster's or Ka's.
Pantherian features a very "boutique" lift system and it takes that system to an extreme. It has long had issues and there's no reason to believe such issues won't persist throughout the rest of the attraction's life.
Kings Dominion is a mid-tier park in a chain that hates uniquely problematic attractions. I'd endure these large blocks of downtime over losing Pantherian any day. So far, Kings Dominion has agreed and the park has consistently strived to get the ride through its history of long-term closures. Eventually Six Flags will decide to pull the plug though and, when that happens, we will pine for the days of these semi-regular, multi-month closures.
I wish Pantherian didn't have these issues, but it does. I wish Kings Dominion were part of a chain that takes a more proactive approach to upkeep and downtime prevention, but it doesn't. I wish Pantherian were open right now, but it isn't.
Given the array of reasonably predictable potential outcomes here though, this is the best we could realistically hope for. Be patient with Kings Dominion as they fix it and enjoy Pantherian to the fullest extent of your ability when it eventually comes back online because each time this happens, we're closer and closer to the end.
Last edited:
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if 2026 is its last year if it happens to have another issue.
Reported where? By whom? Random unspecified rumors aren’t “credible.”
Regardless, that has nothing to do with what I asked. My question was in regard to your initial statement — that KD ought to be paying Intamin to come on site and fix the ride. Sounds like the answer to my question is “no”.
This forum is built for checks notes. Park Fans.
We are allowed to whine, complain, gossip.
This is how the park can also gain valuable customer insights.
Millennium Force part of the same chain uses the same lift. Let’s not act like this ride is made of unobtanium. With the lack of park approved updates we speculate.
My speculation is the park still cutting corners to cut some costs, for the right price anything can be done. I would like to see more effort or at least more communication.
We are allowed to whine, complain, gossip.
This is how the park can also gain valuable customer insights.
Millennium Force part of the same chain uses the same lift. Let’s not act like this ride is made of unobtanium. With the lack of park approved updates we speculate.
My speculation is the park still cutting corners to cut some costs, for the right price anything can be done. I would like to see more effort or at least more communication.
I talked with an important looking team member last month and I got concerned when her response was “This year for sure”
Damn, that might be the most transparent statement I've ever heard! /S
Volcano wasn’t actively undergoing a massive effort to retheme when it closed. Regardless of whether it opens this year or not, we’ve seen theming being added as recently as yesterday. While the coaster likely won’t last forever, there’s no reason to believe it’s never reopening from this.
- Status