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Kings Dominion

Doswell, Virginia

On May 3, 1975, Kings Dominion opened to the public. Situated just north of Richmond, Virginia, it was operated by Family Leisure Centers, a joint venture between Top Value Enterprises and Taft Broadcasting Company, both of Cincinnati, Ohio. Visitors that year enjoyed five magical lands - International Street, Old Virginia, Coney Island, The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera, and Lion Country Safari. The centerpiece of the park was a 332-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower. In later years, the animal park was closed.

In 1983, executives with Taft Broadcasting purchased the theme park division of Taft and formed Kings Entertainment Company (KECO) consisting of Kings Dominion, Carowinds in Charlotte, Kings Island in Cincinnati, and Canada's Wonderland in Toronto. California's Great America was acquired two years later. Paramount purchased all five parks in 1993, and this park was renamed Paramount's Kings Dominion. In 2006, Cedar Fair purchased the five Paramount parks for $1.24 billion. Cedar Fair renamed this amusement park Kings Dominion and presently manages the 400-acre park. Two coasters have been built since my last visit: Rapterra is a Bolliger & Mabillard Wing Coaster with three inversions that opened in 2025. Tumbili is a 4D Free Spin coaster from S&S Worldwide that opened in 2022.

Six coasters have left Kings Dominion, and one wood coaster was heavily modified into a steel coaster:

  • Anaconda (1991-2024) was a Arrow coaster with four inversions. (See pictures below for details.)
  • Galaxi (1975-1983) was a SDC Zyklon model.
  • Hurler (1994-2015) was a wood coaster from the International Coaster Corporation.. In 2018, it was converted into the steel Twisted Timbers coaster by Rocky Mountain Construction. The new version has three inversions. (See pictures below for details.)
  • Hypersonic XLC (2001-2007) was an air-launched coaster built by S&. (See pictures below for details.)
  • King Kobra (1977-1986) was the first Schwarzkopf shuttle loop and had a Weight Drop Launch. From 1987 to 1989, it was King Kobra at Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Maryland. From 1990 to 1996, it was Thunderlooper at Alton Towers in England. Since 1999, it has been operating as Kataupl at the Hopi Hari amusement park in Vinhedo, São Paulo, Brazil. (See pictures below for details.)
  • Shockwave (1986-2015) was a stand-up coaster from Togo. It had one Vertical Loop. (See pictures below for details.)
  • Volcano The Blast Coaster (1998-2018) was a launched inverted coaster from Intamin. It had four inversions and went over and through a man-made mountain. (See pictures below for details.)

Anaconda

Apple Zapple

(formerly Ricochet)

Backlot Stunt Coaster

(formerly Italian Job Turbo Coaster)

Dominator

Fight of Fear

(formerly Outer Limits: Flight of Fear)

Great Pumpkin Coaster

Grizzly

Hurler

Hypersonic XLC

Pantherian

(formerly Project 305, Intimidator 305)

Racer 75

(formerly Rebel Yell)

Reptilian

(formerly Avalanche)

Shockwave

Volcano The Blast Coaster

Woodstock Express

(formerly Ghoster Coaster, Scooby-Doo's Ghoster Ghoster, Scooby Doo)