Kings Dominion

I have had the privilege to visit Kings Dominion several times over the years, specifically August 2018, June 2022, July 4th 2023, and most recently June 24th, 2025, during my Old Dominion trip. Kings Dominion was the first park I visited on my 4 day trip to Virginia/Maryland.

Having last visited this park in 2023, and the park since opening Rapterra, a new-for-2025 B&M wing coaster, I was very excited to return to Kings Dominion. I had one of, if not the most, successful days at a park I had ever had.

Taylor, Graham, and I woke up on the morning of June 24th to find it was already 75f outside. We knew this trip was going to be a hot one, with temps reaching 100f. We had breakfast, and drove the 20 minutes or so to the park. After getting there, we waited about 15 minutes for the gates to open, and when I stepped into the park for the day, I was struck with awe again over how beautiful the park is. If you aren't familiar with the park, Kings Dominion, and its sister park Kings Island in Mason Ohio, have very similar entrances, yet Kings Dominion's absolutely clears Kings Island's. The landscaping is more mature, the trees more full, and the music sets the right tone for the park. Taylor remarked how pretty International street was compared to her Kings Island's. I knew after this entrance that Kings Dominion was going to set a high bar.

We started our day at Domininator, the park's ex-Geauga Lake B&M floorless coaster. With Dominator being the longest Floorless, and also having one of the largest vertical loops on any coaster, it stands as a rather intimidating ride just off the main entrance. We rode it back row, and it was a really smooth ride. Following, we went and rode Tumbili, KD's S&S Freespin coaster, that opened in 2022. This particular model is the smaller variant, which only runs two trains. I found it to be ok, Taylor didn't like it, but we would go on to ride it again later that day. We then went over to Rapterra, only to find it was down. This led us to riding Reptilian, KD's Mack bobsled coaster. This was Taylor's first bobsled, and remarked on how interesting of an experience it was.

Following Reptillian, we took 2 laps on Flight of Fear, which is an exact clone of Kings Island's Flight of Fear. This ride is a reminder of how Paramount Parks managed the property in the 1990s and 2000s. It ran better than KI's and with the AC in the queue, it was a relief from the now 90f temps outside. We took a break for lunch at the Outpost Cafe. We had a very good lunch there, and we spent some time there cooling off from the heat, and discussing our plans for the day.

After lunch, we finally saw Rapterra open, so we hurried over and rode it. Taylor and I took the back, while Graham opted to wait for an additional train, and go for the front row. This would cost Graham, however, as Taylor and I would wind up with a surprise, more on that in a moment. Rapterra has a wonderful layout, that feels exciting and thrilling, and the launch has a nice kick to it. My only gripe is how rattly the outboard seats are, especially for a brand new ride that was only 3 months old. Now to the surprise, Taylor and I would have to get evacuated from Rapterra.

Rapterra had a fault, and the train in the station was having issues and couldn't dispatch properly. With us sitting in the heat that was 100f in the baking sun, they opted to evacuate the riders from the brake run rather quickly, as it was within 5 minutes. Graham got to watch us from the station get an evac while Taylor and I were excited to finally get evacuated from a ride, especially for me, as it was my second time this year getting evac'ed from a ride. The crew was very kind, and reassuring, which I understand why other people need it, but I knew I was perfectly safe. You can take a look at the picture down below.

After cooling off with some drinks, the 3 of us went over to Twisted Timbers, and took two laps on that. Twisted Timbers is KD's RMC hybrid, which opened in 2018. I always said Twisted Timbers felt like Steel Vengeance's second half, but as a stand alone coaster. After riding Twisted Timbers again in 2025, Taylor and I agreed that yes, it was like StVe, but more violent. I would argue it is the most violent RMC out there. We followed with Apple Zapple, a Mack Wild Mouse. It was a one and done for us, but it still is fun. Following was the Carousel, and Racer 75. Racer 75 is a clone of Carowinds' now defunct Thunder Road, and its a racing wooden coaster. We did not get to race though, as we were lift stopped as someone had their phone out on the ride and refused to put it away. After a few moments, they did, and we were able to ride the ride. Its a racing wooden coaster, nothing too crazy to report on. We followed up with Grizzly, which ran so well compared to my first ride in 2018. When I first rode Grizzly, it was a very rough coaster, and not worth it. KD retracked it with Gravity Group track in 2023, and it has been running great since. I thoroughly liked this ride. After, Graham went to take a longer break, and Taylor and I took a lap on the Antique Cars.

At this point it was 2:30-3, and Taylor and I took the afternoon to take it easy, going around to get rerides, and riding a few other rides, such as Great Pumpkin Coaster, Woodstock Express, and Boo Blasters. We took it easy as the heat was not kind to us, and even with drinks there was a lot to handle. We took lots of time to admire the plants, and the merchandise locations. Since it was a tuesday, we couldn't see any of the shows. By the end of the day, 6pm, we had a pretty solid ride list for rides we rode:

Dominator x4, Tumbili x2, Reptillian x3, FoF x4, Rapterra x3, Twisted Timbers x2, Apple Zapple, Carousel, Racer 75, Grizzly, Antique Cars, Great Pumpkin Coaster, Woodstock Express, Boo Blasters, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Windseaker. That's a total of 28 rides in one day

In terms of Coaster Rankings, its very hard to rank, especially when there isn't really a "bad" coaster at Kings Dominion. The rankings go as follows:

1: Twisted Timbers

2: Dominator

3: Flight of Fear

4: Grizzly

5: Rapterra

6: Tumbili

7: Reptillian

8: Apple Zapple

9: Racer 75

10: Backlot Stunt Coaster

11: Woodstock Express

12: Great Pumpkin Coaster

Kings Dominion is a beautiful park, in fact it might even be the most beautiful park in the entire Six Flags chain. The landscaping is amazing, the food is top notch, and the staff is incredibly friendly. Throughout the day, the 3 of us felt like we weren't supposed to be there, however. It wasn't the staff making us feel unwelcome, it was how deserted the park was. We walked on nearly every attraction, the longest wait was for Dominator. The reminder that played over the PA every 30 minutes reminding you to cool off playing in a deserted park felt erie. However, we did have a good day riding so much.

My second biggest complaint was the closure of Pantherian, AKA Intimidator 305, KD's Giga coaster. It was undergoing a refurbishment from Intamin, and it wouldn't open for the season until August of 2025. This would have been Taylor's 3rd giga, however with it down the entire day, we did not get to ride.

Kings Dominion is a park that I wish I could visit more than once every other year or so. I genuinely feel like it is one of the best parks in the Six Flags chain, and if it could get more attendance, it would be the best park in Virginia. I've attached some photos below, so feel free to take a look, and Taylor vloged throughout the day, click HERE to see their video.