Capacity, possibly reliability, and it won't get as rough as quickly. Hangtime is already rattly in all but the front rows (in my experience this past March).
Project 2025/Caldera: Rapterra (Launched B&M Wing Coaster)
- Thread starter horsesboy
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Iirc that was the first B&M launched coaster and that likely played into the cost.
A wing coaster is better for KD than an infinity because every coaster at KD right now is a sit down track under car. A wing offers a vastly different ride experience. Add on that would make 5 different sitting inverting coasters at LD (Dominator, FoF, Anaconda, TT).
KD, IMO, has a massive variety issue with coasters and need to get some different car types going.
KD needs a launched floater airtime machine, that's what would check the two main missing boxes. Regardless of who makes it, it needs the extended floater air of the best B&M hypercoasters, the ones that get flojectory in some rows so every row gets something. Beyond that, it doesn't matter that much if it's a wing, Infinity, flyer, invert, spinning, Axis, Surf or sitdown, or how it's themed or where it's located. The airtime should mostly be conventional but some can be inverted, or even push the family angle with a smooth experience that still delivers.
If I were to get my way:
Wing or flying coaster in Volcano’s spot.
B&M Airtime machine in Old Virginia.
And I would like to see some type of longer family multilaunched coaster somewhere.
Wing or flying coaster in Volcano’s spot.
B&M Airtime machine in Old Virginia.
And I would like to see some type of longer family multilaunched coaster somewhere.
I mean the general coaster holes I see as a regular at KD that travels are:
-Modern Launched coaster (Launched Wing satisfies this hole for me)
-anything in the 200 foot range not necessarily a hyper just seems weird how it’s like “Dominator and then 4 300 foot structures all seemingly equal height”
-anything with a vertical or beyond drop
-spinning coaster
-inverted coaster (Lift wing somewhat fills this void)
-modern wooden coaster like a GCI but I feel like doubling up of these with an RMC in the park is less common than you’d think. Parks may feel this hole filled by an RMC Hybrid. They also may not they also may get a deal with manufacturer randomly last minute sometimes.
-honestly one of the family boomerangs makes an insane amount of sense especially with the frequent complaints about BGWs average height requirements.
-some other B&M it just feels like the park should have another one from them with the depth of attractions. This or some kind of really fun re-ridable ride to echo the sentiments of KD lacking big smooth fun crowd pleasers.
This said I do like KDs overall current variety:
-I305 - the most insane roller coaster in the world arguably and 1 of 2 intamin gigas (I like this one more sorry CP)
- TT - RMC Hybrid, one of the better smaller hybrids and the only other 2 parks with a giga and RMC are Cedar Point and Nagashima Spa Land.
- B&M Floorless, I always forget Dominator has some bite to it and am pleasantly surprised
- Grizzly, if they finish the complete retrack this will be in my top 10 wooden coasters
- FOF remember was one of the first 2 coasters in the world to use LIMs and it’s fun just the line is pervasive and as a taller guest I don’t care for the trains.
- Tumbili is fun to switch things up with when the lines not bad
- the only Mack bobsled ever built in the US
- Backlot Stunt Coaster, yup Paramount knew the family the launch coaster craze was coming before anyone else did. KD did it before it was cool.
- Racer 75 is running both sides more routinely, id love for them to redo the queue and station for the 50th honestly, make it more like Kings Islands. Honestly dueling coasters in general are just really cool.
-Anaconda is not as terrible as people say it is and I really enjoy the shooting under the water aspect of it, the first half for me is a big highlight of a day at KD.
-they have 3 additional family coasters I don’t care to provide bullet points for.
One thing I was thinking maybe holding CF back is I think KD does have a lot of ride capacity for the volume of guests potentially.
-Modern Launched coaster (Launched Wing satisfies this hole for me)
-anything in the 200 foot range not necessarily a hyper just seems weird how it’s like “Dominator and then 4 300 foot structures all seemingly equal height”
-anything with a vertical or beyond drop
-spinning coaster
-inverted coaster (Lift wing somewhat fills this void)
-modern wooden coaster like a GCI but I feel like doubling up of these with an RMC in the park is less common than you’d think. Parks may feel this hole filled by an RMC Hybrid. They also may not they also may get a deal with manufacturer randomly last minute sometimes.
-honestly one of the family boomerangs makes an insane amount of sense especially with the frequent complaints about BGWs average height requirements.
-some other B&M it just feels like the park should have another one from them with the depth of attractions. This or some kind of really fun re-ridable ride to echo the sentiments of KD lacking big smooth fun crowd pleasers.
This said I do like KDs overall current variety:
-I305 - the most insane roller coaster in the world arguably and 1 of 2 intamin gigas (I like this one more sorry CP)
- TT - RMC Hybrid, one of the better smaller hybrids and the only other 2 parks with a giga and RMC are Cedar Point and Nagashima Spa Land.
- B&M Floorless, I always forget Dominator has some bite to it and am pleasantly surprised
- Grizzly, if they finish the complete retrack this will be in my top 10 wooden coasters
- FOF remember was one of the first 2 coasters in the world to use LIMs and it’s fun just the line is pervasive and as a taller guest I don’t care for the trains.
- Tumbili is fun to switch things up with when the lines not bad
- the only Mack bobsled ever built in the US
- Backlot Stunt Coaster, yup Paramount knew the family the launch coaster craze was coming before anyone else did. KD did it before it was cool.
- Racer 75 is running both sides more routinely, id love for them to redo the queue and station for the 50th honestly, make it more like Kings Islands. Honestly dueling coasters in general are just really cool.
-Anaconda is not as terrible as people say it is and I really enjoy the shooting under the water aspect of it, the first half for me is a big highlight of a day at KD.
-they have 3 additional family coasters I don’t care to provide bullet points for.
One thing I was thinking maybe holding CF back is I think KD does have a lot of ride capacity for the volume of guests potentially.
Touché. But I’ve “Tempestoed” it in my mind to being a flat.
Confirmed: KD is full of tops.
I’m not against a wing coaster going in if it means more diversity for the park, let alone one coming to the park at all. I would prefer a launch wing over a standard wing. But how this would fit in the caldera seems complicated. North you have the LGW storage area parallel to Reptilian’s lift, which I don’t understand why KD would put it there and then move it to make way if they knew the plot will be used for a big addition. South there is an access road for FoF. Assuming the station is also next to the old queue house, where are the transfer track and service/safety brakes going to go? Especially with such wide trains (which could just be six cars long).
I guess they could clear out that patch of trees that the sweeping turn once surrounded to make more room, but personally I would keep them to preserve some jungle setting. Then there’s the matter of Jungle X needing a new flat ride for further area diversity, which I think could go behind the coke stands near FoF and behind Mt Kilimanjaro. But the wing coaster would need to steer clear of that.
I guess they could clear out that patch of trees that the sweeping turn once surrounded to make more room, but personally I would keep them to preserve some jungle setting. Then there’s the matter of Jungle X needing a new flat ride for further area diversity, which I think could go behind the coke stands near FoF and behind Mt Kilimanjaro. But the wing coaster would need to steer clear of that.
Personally KD shouldn’t go topless.
A wing coaster was originally designed for the area. It would have left a fair amount of unused space, as well. Here is our article on it:
kdfans.com
Leaked Draft Reveals Possible Plans for Kings Dominion's Next Major Roller Coaster - KDFans
? Musical Prelude ? Don’t call it a comeback, KDFans been here for years Rocking our peers and putting parks in fear Making plans rain down like a monsoon Listen to the minds go boom Explosion, overpowering Over the competition, we’re towering Wrecking shop, when I drop These posts that make...
kdfans.com
Well that layout goes over where Mt. Kilimanjaro and Arachnidia are, and those most certainly aren’t going anywhere because of what they got last year. And it also assumes that the station would be parallel to FoF, but the old Volcano queue house is still standing today, with railings intact. What would it be used for if this were the case? Would it even exist anymore? EDIT: I think another reason why it doesn’t use up as much space is because of how it’s positioned. If it was moved back to where Mt. Kilimanjaro and Arachnidia wouldn’t be in the way, then more of the space in the back would be used up. And again there’s still the backstage area for the show taking some room.A wing coaster was originally designed for the area. It would have left a fair amount of unused space, as well. Here is our article on it:
Leaked Draft Reveals Possible Plans for Kings Dominion's Next Major Roller Coaster - KDFans
? Musical Prelude ? Don’t call it a comeback, KDFans been here for years Rocking our peers and putting parks in fear Making plans rain down like a monsoon Listen to the minds go boom Explosion, overpowering Over the competition, we’re towering Wrecking shop, when I drop These posts that make...
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There's still ample room and that's with an off the shelf layout. Something custom could be designed to use the land far more efficiently.
There's PLENTY of room on the Volcano site and surrounding areas for any kind of coaster KD wants to build.
There's PLENTY of room on the Volcano site and surrounding areas for any kind of coaster KD wants to build.
I would most love a new Venoma flying coaster with lots of theming. I don't even care that it wouldn't match the launch of Volcano. That is just a coaster that sounds super fun and would certainly be unique for not only the area, but the country. Though it really would need tons of theming like F.L.Y. has. If it's a F.L.Y. without or with only minimal theming, that would certainly be a dud. So ... probably not going to happen.
Out of the manufacturers cedar has/is working with as of lately, Vekoma definitely intrigues me the most. Anyone of their thrill models would/should be a hit, and seem to be gp friendly. Personally I would like to see them put a launch on their STC but that’s just me.
The Vekoma flying coaster is my pipe dream to reuse the Volcano space. It would have great marketability being a flying launch coaster, the first one in the mid-Atlantic, and maybe even in the country or continent depending on when it opens. Could it actually be possible now that Cedar Fair is leaning towards Vekoma? Concerning reliability, the load/unload setup was designed to be more reliable and efficient. Both that and/or an STC would be a great fit for Kings Dominion personally, either as a Volcano successor or even another project. With an STC you get a smooth and whippy inverted layout filling that gap in the coaster lineup. Though I still wonder what F.LY.'s price tag was...
I've said it before, but the aspect that makes FLY so incredible is the world they've built around the ride. The physical ride itself is just "fun"; the scenery makes the package complete. I don't think those trains are capable of loops or pretzel loops like the B&M version, so I think the element options are basically limited to twists, turns, and corkscrews. PERFECT execution for what they did for FLY, but I think it'd look really out of place nearly anywhere else.
I'd personally much rather have a Wildcat model (Fonix, Farup Sommerland), but even then, I don't know how ideal of an investment a fairly standard looping coaster would be here.
Here's a quick mockup I did of how it'd fit in the area, plus (ideally) a flat ride or two, maybe a food shop, and bathrooms closer to I305.
I'd personally much rather have a Wildcat model (Fonix, Farup Sommerland), but even then, I don't know how ideal of an investment a fairly standard looping coaster would be here.
Here's a quick mockup I did of how it'd fit in the area, plus (ideally) a flat ride or two, maybe a food shop, and bathrooms closer to I305.
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Outlined in red are the parameters I expect they'll have for the replacement of Volcano. As I've mentioned before, it doesn't make sense to me for the park to put the backstage area for LGW where it is now if they know something is coming to this area later and then move the backstage elsewhere to make room.
You know maybe a B&M wing is more reliable, smooth, and higher capacity. I still remain firm that a Gerstlauer Infinity coaster is one of the greater possibilities for this project. I've seen other users on this forum believe this in the past as well. It can also be a GP pleaser just like a wing coaster. To the argument that there's too many coasters at KD with above the track seating...for one they can always do a wing or invert later on, maybe in the Dinos area to attract people to Old Virginia. But for another, an infinity seems like a very dynamic experience in comparison to Dominator, Anaconda, TT, and FoF. Potential for lots of hangtime and the option for a vertical lift and beyond vertical drop (throwing a launch in there makes it even better). If it's a longer ride experience than Hangtime or Monster, to where capacity becomes a concern, just make it four trains with four cars each, or maybe even five trains with three cars each. My real bet is that with $15M, a lot more can be done with an infinity coaster than a B&M wing.
You know maybe a B&M wing is more reliable, smooth, and higher capacity. I still remain firm that a Gerstlauer Infinity coaster is one of the greater possibilities for this project. I've seen other users on this forum believe this in the past as well. It can also be a GP pleaser just like a wing coaster. To the argument that there's too many coasters at KD with above the track seating...for one they can always do a wing or invert later on, maybe in the Dinos area to attract people to Old Virginia. But for another, an infinity seems like a very dynamic experience in comparison to Dominator, Anaconda, TT, and FoF. Potential for lots of hangtime and the option for a vertical lift and beyond vertical drop (throwing a launch in there makes it even better). If it's a longer ride experience than Hangtime or Monster, to where capacity becomes a concern, just make it four trains with four cars each, or maybe even five trains with three cars each. My real bet is that with $15M, a lot more can be done with an infinity coaster than a B&M wing.
Yeah, a vertical lift Infinity is way more appealing for me than a lift hill wing. Now if the wing is launched, that could be different.
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