The Next Coaster

[Youhow2]

I'm not saying that the next coaster need be something crazier or bigger, more intense than i305.

Infact thats part of my argument. I don't believe the next coaster will resemble i305 at all, and it is much needed. Why compete with your own inner park offerings? There is opportunity for expansion beyond what is already offered in the market, and lately KD and CF seem to be taking that into account with their latest park improvement efforts and ride additions.

I may not have my "thumb on all the public's thoughts" but I know enough to know they don't know what makes a hyper a hyper. It is a classification used by enthusiast. To them, a hyper is just a roller coaster with no loops. They are going to look towards defining elements and features to classify and compare the ride. The thing that literally defines a hyper is it's height. It would be underwhelming to the market to build a 200ft + tall coaster with no other real defining features after solidifying yourself as the only park with the big bad 300+ ft coaster in the surrounding area. It's height is in the rides name for Christ sake... and it is excellent marketing strategy. That is why I'm arguing so strongly against a hyper.

I don't think we'll be seeing another family coaster just yet, as all the additions the past few years have focused on attracting families. I do expect the next coaster will be significantly less extreme than i305. It's literally one of the most intense coasters on the planet.

I do however, anticipate an offering out of left field, because as much as I know a majority of the parkfans network groan and sighed over the years when I believed in KD getting it's shit together and saying things like this... It is one of the most balanced parks as far as ride offerings go. It is one thing they've been able to maintain across several ownerships, and I totally expect them to continue this trend.

I think a hyper is out of the question. I think another i305 is out of the question... but I'm not gonna write out another reasonably intense offering just yet, because such an addition would give them edge. Out of all the offerings they have to choose from, going for a standard hyper really just seems kind of silly.

 

[b.mac]

I'm not saying that the next coaster need be something crazier or bigger, more intense than i305.

Infact thats part of my argument. I don't believe the next coaster will resemble i305 at all, and it is much needed. Why compete with your own inner park offerings? There is opportunity for expansion beyond what is already offered in the market, and lately KD and CF seem to be taking that into account with their latest park improvement efforts and ride additions.

I may not have my "thumb on all the public's thoughts" but I know enough to know they don't know what makes a hyper a hyper. It is a classification used by enthusiast. To them, a hyper is just a roller coaster with no loops. They are going to look towards defining elements and features to classify and compare the ride. The thing that literally defines a hyper is it's height. It would be underwhelming to the market to build a 200ft + tall coaster with no other real defining features after solidifying yourself as the only park with the big bad 300+ ft coaster in the surrounding area. It's height is in the rides name for Christ sake...  and it is excellent marketing strategy. That is why I'm arguing so strongly against a hyper.

I don't think we'll be seeing another family coaster just yet, as all the additions the past few years have focused on attracting families. I do expect the next coaster will be significantly less extreme than i305. It's literally one of the most intense coasters on the planet.

I do however, anticipate an offering out of left field, because as much as I know a majority of the parkfans network groan and sighed over the years when I believed in KD getting it's shit together and saying things like this... It is one of the most balanced parks as far as ride offerings go. It is one thing they've been able to maintain across several ownerships, and I totally expect them to continue this trend.  

I think a hyper is out of the question. I think another i305 is out of the question... but I'm not gonna write out another reasonably intense offering just yet, because such an addition would give them edge. Out of all the offerings they have to choose from, going for a standard hyper really just seems kind of silly.

This is the sort of post I was looking for. Exactly what I believe the park should be looking into. Do they need to go out of the way to make world's firsts? No they do not, in fact they should play it safe and go for the middle ground. They need a solid addition that will win crowds, but not be a softball built for everyone. That's what a hyper is. Even though they do have Intimidator 305 in the park, a hyper provides that solid middle ground between the biggest, baddest coaster in the park and everything else Kings Dominion offers. Hypers are not intense, they are graceful and suspenseful. Their impact comes from spending close to a minute climbing 200 feet in the air, and gracefully floating over those big drawn out hills. It's that perfect stepping stone to the "Oh my this ride wants to kill me and might succeed" that Intimidator offers.

I've exhausted all my argument for a hyper, but I'd like to bring in the other options you and other users brought up that KD could go for.

Could they go with an Intamin Mega-Lite? A Chance GTX? By all means yes they can, and they would certainly be excellent additions to any park but KD will not benefit from their addition anywhere near the same way a park like Kentucky Kingdom or even Quassy would. KD is already a large and very well established park, they can afford to spend more than what a Mega-Lite and a GTX, even a Gravity Group Timberliner mini-woodie, currently cost. Kings Dominion pushes above 1.5 million guests a year, maybe above 2 million but the PDF for AECOM 2013 is broken and 2014 hasn't been published yet. Kentucky Kingdom and Quassy barely scrape 1/3rd of that, and cannot afford to spend on a ride like Batman, Bizarro, Mantis, let alone Intimidator 305. KK, Quassy, and those other parks purchased those rides BECAUSE they offer the same as the larger coasters but for less than half the price. It's a safe stepping stone development that they need in order to expand and be more successful, it just wouldn't fit right with the current state that Kings Dominion is in. Those rides would be more fit for a Cedar Fair park like Valleyfair, World's of Fun, or Michigan's Adventure. Parks that do not have that financial standing that Kings Dominion does and want to make a safe addition fit for their budget and grow from it. Building one of these types of coasters would be too much of a safe move for the park, sorta like what is being added only a few hours down I-64. It just would not fit what the park is capable of, and it arguably would be a better move to not add that style of ride at all.

I'm not snuffing those type of rides, I really am not. It's just that they do not fit Kings Dominion's already established limits. They would be excellent additions for something like a themed area expansion with more than one extra ride added to bolster that new/retouched/expanded area, but not so much on their own outright. Kings Dominion has the capability to make a single year addition twice the value of what a coaster like Tempesto, Greezed Lightning, White Lightning, and Piraten cost, maybe a little more. They could certainly add a Wing Coaster, an Invert, or even a coaster like Maverick. They have that capability, and they would all be excellent additions to like what was said, "One of the best coaster line-ups in the country."

I certainly believe that they should play it safe, but not too safe like what BGW is doing with their current situation. Could they push the envelope a little? Yes, but not like what was done with rides at their brother parks. They likely will not go with something like Gatekeeper ($25 mil), Thunderbird ($22 mil), or Banshee ($24 mil), especially considering their secondary status to Carowinds, who will very likely be getting the same focus that Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Canada's Wonderland is getting. Will they build something similar, however? Yes, but nowhere near the same scale. Their additions will be on the level of X-Flight ($15 mil), Patriot ($14 million), and something slightly smaller than Goliath (SFoG, $20 mil). They do however, have the potential to add an Intamin Blitz Coaster, which all three currently built have cost less than $20.5 million.

Can they build an RMC? No they can not. Rocky Mountain Construction confirmed in a Facebook AMA that their recent additions were discounted as a "Technology Demo" and all their future additions will cost much, much more than what we have seen built so far. Combine this with the heavy demand for one that they have been recieving, and it should be easy to show that if Cedar Fair chooses to make this sort of addition it will likely go to their 4 larger parks instead. There are a few posts in that thread (especially one at the top of Page 3) that highlight just how insanely popular RMC is internationally. I would not be surprised if there is some sort of waiting list due to how huge the demand has been for one of their attractions.

How about a retracking you say? Unfortunately this is also a no. It's not just the price for a brand new woodie that has gone up, it's also I-Box conversion. What is a good note though? RMC confirmed that Six Flags did not have an exclusive contract with them, they were just very good business partners (so you can fire up the RMC Mean Streak speculation!).

So yeah, if you don't want to be bothered to read all of that. Kings Dominion can invest somewhere in the neighborhood of $15-20 million (likely closer to 15) range, which fits squarely in the "average but still able to kick ass" range for coasters. They can pull something excellent off, but it likely won't be a notable record breaker or a unique addition. They could also expand or rehab other areas of the park and add smaller coasters to help sell that area with a selection of other rides to compliment them. Due to Cedar Fair's future focus on Carowinds it is very likely Kings Dominion will never get a coaster north of the range that I have stated above for the forseeable future, but will still be able to have solid additions to keep the crowds coming in.

 

[Youhow2]

You are arguing only in terms of the ride experience... Which I do disagree with as well. Hypers are rather intense when it comes to negative g's. It's the same thing with i305 just the opposite force. alot of people avoid/do not enjoy rides where they feel like they are coming out of their seat.

a hyper as far as im concerned will be shadowed by i305. It again makes no sense to build a height and speed marketed ride (which is what a hyper is) when you have the tallest fastest coaster in the state (not to mention it's in the top 10 all time world rankings if im not mistaken). There will be nothing to market the hyper with. Nothing, other than "new coaster", because i305 simply overshadows that style, and is the most recent major addition. You'd find the marketing team trying to explain the addition to the public. That's a major marketing no-no, you want what you do to be able to speak for itself and focus your efforts on making it look as good and attractive as possible.

This is why they need to build something that goes outside the box of a traditional coaster... They have the big, bad "traditional" design. They have plenty coasters that boast great airtime. I'm not gonna argue about what the new addition may be, I'm literally only arguing against a hyper, and I've made some good arguments I feel which have been ignored.


From my understading, CF is fed up with intamin. I think the next few CF coasters will be from alternate vendors. The imbalance which you are arguing for a hyper is not present in their line-up. It is to enthusiast (not me or netdvn apparently). It would be created with a regular hyper, Especially with one of the top rated ones in the world within reasonable visiting distance of the park in question they'd have to compete with, and even in the enthusiast community, will be compared to. They would never hear the end of it if apollo was the better ride, and half this board would be lining up to fire shots... Not that they care all too much what we think, but w/e.

 

[Mushroom]

Expanding on what Mwhinva said a few posts back, if for some reason KD doesn't get a new coaster in 2016, I'd put my money on a Triotech interactive dark ride, much like Voyage to the Iron Reef at Knott's Berry Farm.

For those who aren't aware, Cedar Fair has launched a partnership with Triotech, a leading manufacturer of motion simulators and dark rides. They have been built media-based, interactive attractions at two Cedar Fair parks already (Wonder Mountain's Guardian at Canada's Wonderland, and Voyage to the Iron Reef at Knott's Berry Farm [opens this Spring]). CEO Matt Oiumet has stated that the versatile and inexpensive technology is something he hopes to expand to nearly every Cedar Fair park in the future.

I can easily imagine a Triotech dark ride, in the style of Iron Reef, at KD in the near future. Voyage to the Iron Reef will employ Darkastle-like motion-simulator cars which travel along a flat track and react to various large video screens along the ride's path. The unique feature is the use of electronic ray guns that riders use to shoot at the screen, impacting the outcome of the story. The videos react to riders in real time, as opposed to being pre-rendered, so these major attractions could truly offer a different ride every time.

Another really cool thing about these "Interactive Dark Rides" (IDR) is that the media can supposedly be changed at the push of a button, completely changing the ride experience. For instance, Wonder Mountain's Guardian transforms into a zombie-themed dark ride during Halloween Haunt.

Here's a (somewhat cheesy) video of the attraction from Triotech. Have fun getting any useful information out of it.

The interesting thing as that Cedar Fair is squeezing these fairly elaborate rides into pre-existing, unused spaces. At Canada's Wonderland, they gutted their Wonder Mountain structure (a similar structure to Volcano at KD, at the end of their International Street) to enclose the ride. Knott's Berry Farm is constructing this attraction in a former arcade building. Why is this important? Because KD has a large, readily-available, hopelessly unpopular structure just waiting to house a dark ride: the Action Theater. The building would be absolutely perfect for enclosing an IDR.

One last thing about these IDRs. They're dirt cheap. Wonder Mountain's Guardian, which included many roller coaster-like elements and even a Verbolten-style drop track clocked in at less than $10 million, which is outstanding for such an elaborate attraction. Knott's attraction, with a more traditional dark ride layout/design, is supposedly costing much less.

So don't be surprised if Kings Dominion builds an interactive dark ride in the near future.

 

[netdvn]

So yeah, if you don't want to be bothered to read all of that. Kings Dominion can invest somewhere in the neighborhood of $15-20 million (likely closer to 15) range, which fits squarely in the "average but still able to kick ass" range for coasters.

Alright let's get this out of the way first. If KD really does score a hyper, it's pretty much out of your price range. Diamondback was $22M and I232 was $23M. Assuming they go with B&M again, their hyper will probably cost between those two numbers. Doing a little more digging, the smaller hypers are cheaper, but I think at that rate the park is far better off just going with a GTX or a Mega-lite.

Lightning Run cost $7M. Not too shabby for a small coaster that gets rave reviews with guests and enthusiasts alike.

Building one of these types of coasters would be too much of a safe move for the park, sorta like what is being added only a few hours down I-64. It just would not fit what the park is capable of, and it arguably would be a better move to not add that style of ride at all.

The park isn't exactly making a risky move with a hyper either. Unless its a hyper with a gimmick like Griffon or Cannibal, building an established coaster type that pretty much exists in all your competitors is about the safest route you could take.

Yes, but nowhere near the same scale. Their additions will be on the level of X-Flight ($15 mil), Patriot ($14 million), and something slightly smaller than Goliath (SFoG, $20 mil). They do however, have the potential to add an Intamin Blitz Coaster, which all three currently built have cost less than $20.5 million.

I'd much rather see the park score something like X-Flight or a Blitz model over an invert or mega coaster any day. Give the park something unique that isn't found in a lot of area parks to make it stand out a little more.

As for a retracking, the only wood coaster in the park that could use RMC treatment is Hurler. Hell any kind of treatment is better than just letting the coaster sit there.

Due to Cedar Fair's future focus on Carowinds it is very likely Kings Dominion will never get a coaster north of the range that I have stated above for the forseeable future, but will still be able to have solid additions to keep the crowds coming in.

Not really sure if KD is ready to part with flagship park status just yet. I guess we'll have to wait and see how Fury and the hotel work out for Carowinds before making official judgement.

Hopefully after the 40th anniversary, the park starts keeps focusing on fixing aging areas that weren't touched before to bring some life back into those areas.

And lastly, the Triotech dark ride. I REALLY LIKE the idea of CF adding more family dark rides with thrill elements to the park. That being said, the Triotech dark rides are pretty much just screens with a coaster element here or there. Plus the capacity is abysmally low (for Guardian at least. Their capacity is about the same as Volcano's - Dunno about the Knotts model). I'd much rather see the park get something more akin to the SF dark rides.

- Isn't the Action Theater already in use for a movie? Even if its not very popular. I recall the park still has the station to Smurf Mountain/Haunted River still intact. Even if it means adding another major attraction to that corner of the park you could definitely add a dark ride in that spot and have it go underneath the volcano or something like that.

 

[Mushroom]

And lastly, the Triotech dark ride. I REALLY LIKE the idea of CF adding more family dark rides with thrill elements to the park. That being said, the Triotech dark rides are pretty much just screens with a coaster element here or there. Plus the capacity is abysmally low (for Guardian at least. Their capacity is about the same as Volcano's - Dunno about the Knotts model). I'd much rather see the park get something more akin to the SF dark rides.

Yeah, you're right. Guardian, as a prototype, received mixed reviews because many people criticized its lack of any physical sets, as well as its capacity. The President of Triotech actually said in an interview at IAAPA that Voyage to the Iron Reef will learn from those two mistakes. There won't be any animatronics at Knott's but there will be physical sets between scenes. And I don't know the exact numbers, but Knott's will also have higher capacity.

Also, for what it's worth, the new SF dark rides are almost exactly the same, except they will feature one or two Sally animatronics.

Isn't the Action Theater already in use for a movie? Even if its not very popular. I recall the park still has the station to Smurf Mountain/Haunted River still intact. Even if it means adding another major attraction to that corner of the park you could definitely add a dark ride in that spot and have it go underneath the volcano or something like that.

You kind of answered your first question with your second one. I have absolutely zero doubt when I say Lost World 3D is the least popular ride in the park. I've never seen more than a dozen people in the theater, even on busy days. There wouldn't be any loss in replacing it with a dark ride.

People have brought up adding a dark ride to Volcano before, but there's no way that's happening. The entire structure is punctured and cluttered with supports. Plus, the Smurf Mountain station was sealed off last summer. Going underneath- or even behind- Volcano can't happen either. Having been back there before, I can tell you that entire is a heavily-used maintenance area for Volcano, as well as Avalanche and Flight of Fear. Even if they could somehow figure out a way to squeeze an IDR around the mountain, it would take way more work, time, and money than just gutting the Action Theater. Plus, using the Action Theater would help balance out the major rides offerings on the other side of the park.

 

[b.mac]

I have absolutely zero doubt when I say Lost World 3D is the least popular ride in the park. I've never seen more than a dozen people in the theater, even on busy days. There wouldn't be any loss in replacing it with a dark ride.

It seems to me that simple motion simulators are on the way out in North America, especially in major amusement parks. Before Great Adventure got rid of theirs it only got a notable line during the hottest of days, and spent the rest of the year as an awkward gray building you walked by on the way to Kingda Ka, Superman, and Great American Scream Machine. All of the films used in it were relatively unpopular besides the one Elvira film they used for Fright Fest until 2009.

I'm not sure how large the lost world building is, but Great Adventure also got their motion sim from Iwerks that takes up about 16,000 sq. ft of space. Voyage of the Iron Reef is stated to take up 18,000 sq. ft according to Wikipedia.

 

[Mushroom]

According to a rough calculation using Google Earth, the Action Theater is 150' x 120', or 18,000 square feet.

 

[b.mac]

Permission to tinfoil: granted.

 

[TrevorBondi]

I know this thread is pretty much dead, but I'd like to post my opinion. To those of you who think Kings Dominion has a balanced selection of coasters: WAT? Seriously, We have a group of oddballs: A giga, a launching invert, a floorless looper, an indoor launcher, and outdoor launching family ride, a racing wooden coaster, a freaking TOGO, a woodland wooden coaster, hurler (oh gosh),and a bobsled coaster. You know what's missing there???? A real invert like Alpengeist or Banshee and a Hyper coaster! Busch and Carowinds have a very well rounded selection that make logical sense. They have a ride at every level. At KD however it seems that Theres 5 awesome coasters (but all of them are oddballs when put together at the same park) and then the rest are pretty much garbage. If anything gets added I would love to see (NOT a launching coaster, unless its like helix) a B&M Hyper or Invert. Either would really round out the park (more so for the hyper, because Dominator pretty much fills the B&M looper gap). Please KD get a hyper or an invert like Banshee, pleaseeee.

 

[netdvn]

Oddball collection or not, KD has a really solid coaster collection outside of Shockwave, Anaconda, and Hurler and I think they should keep adding unique rides over rides you can pretty much find at your competition.

Outside of 305, FOF, and Dominator you've got Volcano which is unique, Avalanche also unique, Stunt Coaster which is an excellent family ride, and finally Grizzly and Rebel Yell which always run amazingly well.

That's a pretty solid collection right there. Just stuck with unique stuff.

 

[TrevorBondi]

I get that, really I do. I love Kings Dominion, but Volcano is mediocre at best after the launches. You just meander your way around the mountain with turn, roll, turn, roll, turn, roll, turn, brakes. I honestly might skip it entirely on my next trip to get to 305 faster.

Even though it is a solid collection, I would love to see something in the 200 foot range (holy S@*#: First hyper invert... I'm kidding) to balance out their collection, however that probably won't happen.

I realistically believe a terrain coaster like helix would work really well. From a marketing standpoint a terrain coaster with launches would be much more attracting because as it has been previously mentioned, you can't drive an hour from KD to get to one (and no Verbolten is not a terrain coaster...). KD would then be the launch capitol of the world, and that seems pretty marketable.

 

[Mushroom]

I don't think "unique" and "solid" are mutually exclusive aspects of a coaster. Past installations have proven that KD is easily capable of creating "unique" attractions, and Cedar Fair has been on a roll with adding "solid" coasters lately. That doesn't mean we can't get the best of both worlds. Thunderbird, anyone?

 

[dude205]

I agree with Joe because a launched flying coaster gives you two different experiences.  I have heard a lot about flying coasters on this thread and now launch coasters(that would be really cool for kd to have the title again).  So whatever they do they should make something unique that can have more than one way for advertisement.  Even though I love hyper coasters kd doesn't need one because you have ap an hour away and now fury which is huge and awesome(one of my favorite coasters) a little under 6 hours away.

Kings dominion also has the gap between dominator and intimidator which is pretty big(144 feet). Busch gardens two tallest are griffon and alpengeist(10 feet apart). And Carowinds is Fury and Intimidator(93 feet which isn't bad considering how tall fury is). Kings dominion needs an in between coaster badly.

 

[Washingtonian]

I agree with Joe because a launched flying coaster gives you two different experiences.  I have heard a lot about flying coasters on this thread and now launch coasters(that would be really cool for kd to have the title again).  So whatever they do they should make something unique that can have more than one way for advertisement.  Even though I love hyper coasters kd doesn't need one because you have ap an hour away and now fury which is huge and awesome(one of my favorite coasters) a little under 6 hours away.

Kings dominion also has the gap between dominator and intimidator which is pretty big(144 feet).  Busch gardens two tallest are griffon and alpengeist(10 feet apart).  And Carowinds is Fury and Intimidator(93 feet which isn't bad considering how tall fury is).  Kings dominion needs an in between coaster badly.

They should add something like Batwing at Six Flags America has.

 

[dude205]

I agree with Joe because a launched flying coaster gives you two different experiences.  I have heard a lot about flying coasters on this thread and now launch coasters(that would be really cool for kd to have the title again).  So whatever they do they should make something unique that can have more than one way for advertisement.  Even though I love hyper coasters kd doesn't need one because you have ap an hour away and now fury which is huge and awesome(one of my favorite coasters) a little under 6 hours away.

Kings dominion also has the gap between dominator and intimidator which is pretty big(144 feet).  Busch gardens two tallest are griffon and alpengeist(10 feet apart).  And Carowinds is Fury and Intimidator(93 feet which isn't bad considering how tall fury is).  Kings dominion needs an in between coaster badly.

They should add something like Batwing at Six Flags America has.

It isn't launched and barely goes over 100 feet. Plus whenever I ride flying coasters I get dizzy on the loops.

 

[Hokie305]

Ever since Thunderbird was announced, I've had a feeling of something similar heading towards Kings Dominion's way. If 2016 is KD's year, expect construction to start in June/July this season. Remember, Intimidator 305's construction began June 1, 2009 - I cannot believe that was 6 years ago!

 

[Mushroom]

If KD does not receive a coaster in 2016, I feel it likely that they will get a major attraction of some sort.

I was talking with Zimmy while at KD and we realized that really, this past half-decade has been rather dull for KD in terms of hard-hitting additions. Sure, there have been tons of minor improvements, which together make a significant difference in the park experience, but overall no single major addition has been added since Intimidator 305 in 2010.

Let's look at what KD's recent additions look like on paper:

2011 - A light show
2012 - An upcharge attraction and a family-friendly flat ride
2013 - Expanded children's area
2014 - Animatronic mushrooms
2015 - New water slides

Now, I know this is a dramatic over-simplification of the park's additions, and let me make it clear that I appreciate each addition as well as the other small, non-headlining details added to the park. But it's time a major addition makes the headlines.

It seems like KD is due for a major attraction. Maybe not a coaster with the apparently fabulous Fury opening just down south, but a major attraction of some sort.

If we're placing bets, I honestly think a Trio-Tech dark ride is in Kings Dominion's near future.

 

[Zimmy]

When you melt away the marketing haze of a 40th anniversary (excellent marketing incidentally) Joe is right. That being said the many small things to make for a much needed total improvement. So if nothing else KD is doing a whole lot with very little.

While I would love to see a racing hyper with one backwards train, I frankly would settle for the park buying an old Shuttle Loop and placing it as close to the original King Kobra location as possible.

Now that I have returned from fantasy land, my expectation is that they will do something with Dino 4D (or whatever it is called) event house.

 

[Mushroom]

Welcome to today's showing of "Wild Speculation"! I am your host, Joe, and today, we will be wildly speculating on Kings Dominion's next roller coaster!

According to Kings Island fansite KICentral, Cedar Fair has filed a trademark for the name "Valravn."

According to Wikipedia, a "valravn" is a supernatural raven of dark folklore. The creature feeds on the dead and can take the form of a half-raven-half-wolf being.

Now, this trademark could be for any park in the Cedar Fair chain. But let's look at Kings Dominion for a second.

Kings Dominion's next coaster will more than likely be built on the Old Virginia side of the park.

The next coaster will, therefore, likely build on a theme from Old Virginia.

Old Virginia is based on the state of Virginia in the 1800's.

Edgar Allen Poe lived in Virginia in the 1800's.

"The Raven" is a famous, dark work of Edgar Allen Poe.

See where I'm going with this? Again, this is all wild speculation on my behalf, but everything adds up. A coaster themed to the sinister tales of Poe would fit perfectly in Old Virginia, and a supernatural raven just feels like the perfect theme for a coaster at Kings Dominion.

Oh, and just to raise the level of speculation up another notch, "valravn" totally feels like it should be the name of a B&M flyer.