Quite honestly, one of my worst fears is a new coaster in Old Virginia, and I do worry that Old Virginia will be the next hamlet to get a coaster. Old Virginia, one of the park's best-themed areas, is in dire need of some love and sprucing-up to greatly improve the area's experience. However, looking at how the area is laid out, something would have to give in order to build a new attraction in Old Virginia. Things that could likely be removed for a new coaster include:
- Grizzly. I love Grizzly, and I would hate to see it go. However, with the addition of Dinosaurs Alive, I wonder if it has been removed from the "endangered" list because of the impact on Dinosaurs Alive. While it could be argued that coaster construction would not be impacted by an upcharge walkthrough attraction, thinking of the tight corner a new coaster would be painted in between the Kings Dominion Theater, Dinosaurs Alive, Hurler (removing more than one coaster for a new one is extremely unlikely), and the Dino Store, Grizzly does not seem to be on valuable land for a new ride. There is some room behind Grizzly, but still, it does not seem practical to use.
- Blue Ridge Tollway. I would actually hate to see this go even more than I would hate to see Grizzly leave. I do doubt that this ride would be removed for reasons that I will get to, but it is a possibility. For one thing, Blue Ridge Tollway is an increasingly unique ride as rides like this continue to go out of style, and it is an extremely popular family ride. Also, the ride's proximity to Center Street would completely ruin the treeline on the right-hand sign going from International Street to Candy Apple Grove. Starlight Spectacular would not work. Really, the only benefit to plopping a ride where Blue Ridge is is the fact that it's a decent-sized chunk of land. However, replacing a heavily forested family ride with a coaster does nothing more than make the park look like a parking-lot coaster collector.
- Hurler. Not in Old Virginia, so if a new coaster were to go anywhere I would certainly want it to replace Hurler. I am sure most would agree with me on this. Hurler is horribly unpopular and takes up valuable real estate. It would not be terribly missed, removing it would not involve removing many trees, etc. etc. Honestly, the only thing that would make me sad would be the fact that Hurler is a very picturesque coaster. I love how it looks nestled between the Rock Shop and the woods, with the Juke Box Diner in the foreground. The only thing that confuses me is why the park keeps pouring money into "improving" the ride, when I see such "improvements" garnering few more riders. Maybe this is their last-ditch effort to see if they should just scrap the ride. I would not be heartbroken. A few weeks ago the park did a survey of what people liked more: Hurler or Grizzly. After scrolling through the comments, about 200 people preferred grizzly. Abut 10 preferred Hurler. If Grizzly goes before Hurler, I will be livid.
There were rumors of White Water Canyon or even Shenandoah Lumber Company getting the boot, but as popular water rides in a park with an already small water ride lineup, I do not see either of them leaving. I really would like to see Old Virginia get some love, but maybe more thematic and cosmetic improvements would be better than a new attraction, for the preservation of such a beautiful hamlet. The trees in Old Virginia are the most plentiful in the park; to see them removed would make me sad.
The park did say that the Spring Bloom Festival would be expanded beyond International Street in future seasons. There actually were some Spring Bloom dining options in Old Virginia this season, and I think given Old Virginia's scope and scale, it would be the perfect area to expand the festival into. The festival was still pretty subtle this year (which was for the better since International Street is pretty enough on its own; don't mess with perfection). Maybe with an increased special events budget, the park could go near-overboard decorating the area for the festival. I guess time will tell.
