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i was 48 when the ride opened. i did not blackout until i rode it 3 times in a row with no line. i will be there this summer to see the difference.
I just it this past weekend (7/10). I'm a healthy young 25 year old guy and definitely a thrill seeker in pretty much everything i do. I've always loved bigger better faster rides, but this thing was borderline too much for me. I grayed out going up and over that hill after the first turn and looked over at my girlfriend and she was passed out. eyes rolled back neck limp. I was freaked out and kept asking her if she was ok the rest of the ride. she came to and responded in the first twisty but i was pretty shocked and couldn't really experience the rest of the ride. I left with a headache and a strange reality check feeling as opposed to fun. I may still give it another go, but I'm not sure... Pretty intense.
i just rode the 305 on 6/4 and experienced just a 1-second blackout each time right when it went into the turn after the first drop. i've been on millenium force (same height) and the 120mph 400ft top thrill dragster - never blacked out on either of those two. I think they should remove the trim brakes so the hill is still fast but take out that turn at the end of the hill - the turn is what seems to be the problem.
hope to include a very big looping and a longer layout with more thrill elements, cobra rolls, 360° Twists etc.
or change Intimidator 305 into a Terra Coaster?
i hope for just the opposite. the elements about millenium force, magnum xl 205, etc. are that they are more about a series of hills than the twists and turns and crap - it allows for a faster ride, more air time and stomach feeling, and without being banged around a lot. take out the turn at the bottom of the first him and put another smaller hill, and you probably would have better stomach feeling and less blackouts.
$25 million on a giga coaster from Intamin really should buy 3+ hour waits, worldwide recognition, and stories of happy ride experiences. Outside of the initial rush you'd struggle to find a 10 minute wait for Intimidator 305, and people talk more about the blackouts and changes to the ride as opposed to what they liked best about it. KD has to do something to enhance opinion about the ride and to get the general public more interested in riding. They really have no choice. KD has to make modifications or Intimidator 305 will meet the same fate as Drachen Fire.
I can say that I loved riding Millenium Force early one weekend morning after a 2 hour wait. I was in the front row, got plastered with gnats during the ride, loved the overbanked turns, and enjoyed the speed. A conversation about Intimidator 305 would immediately bring up the terrible blackout sensation from that first turn and the annoying high-speed "twisties" I had to be ready for so as to not bang my head into to over-the-shoulder restraints (apparently they're gone now). I enjoyed Millenium Force but had to fight against Intimidator 305 even after the trims were installed. One coaster (MF) left me with a smile as I wiped gnats off my shirt and anticipated riding it again in the future while the other coaster (I305) left me with a headache and zero desire to ever ride it again.
I really think Intimidator 305 needs to meet the same fate as Drachen Fire. It's in way too compact a plot, it's in an awkward out-of-the-way location, and I don't think simply widening that first turn is going to help. I'm sorry I don't agree with the thrill seekers out there as I'm just a "general public" regular person that travels in packs filled with friends and family. When Hershey Park built Storm Runner I was happy to get a season pass and make multiple trips with all sorts of friends and family. For Kings Dominion I refuse to even ride Intimidator 305 again so there's no chance of me coming back for a few years. Seat belts and trim brakes aren't enough.
Thanks for the comment, appreciate you returning to the site to share your views.
To be fair to Kings Dominion, I305 has had many positive reviews as well as some negative ones. I don't think the balance of the overall response points to this being a Drachen Fire-level disaster for the park.
However, your point on the level of return on investment for the $25 million outlay is very valid. It'll be interesting to see how the park has performed this summer in terms of attendance.
I think I'll be more curious about next year's attendance. This year I305 was something new a lot of people would be driven to at least try once like I did. Next year that newness will have worn off.
I made the comparison to Drachen Fire based on a couple of points. The first is the low ridership. The second is the out-of-the-way location. The third is the way the ride treats its riders. The blackout sensation is something most people don't tend to like. I'd imagine that as the ride ages it will become rougher further turning people off to re-rides. A fourth point is that I305 is a departure from what Intamin normally does. Vekoma got stuck in this same situation. The structure of the track is different, that height and speed hasn't been crammed in such a small place before, and the design features much more aggressive g-forces and track elements than normal. While I applaud Intamin and Cedar Fair for crafting unique coaster experiences instead of carbon copying things like Paramount and Six Flags, I do think this time they may have pushed things a bit too far. Not every experiment is going to pan out. Finally, I recall reading that the coaster had much higher than expected maintenance costs.
I see a lot of parallels to Drachen Fire. I recall Hypersonic XLC nearly always had a longer line than I305 back when it was around. Intamin and Kings Dominion came up big with Volcano, but I think they fumbled I305. Even Shockwave had a longer line throughout the day when I visited. Hopefully the park's next build will go better. However, I'm kind of hoping they'll spend some money on The Grove and do something about the park's dead zones.
Thanks for the comments, guys.
Looks like 2-0 to the "no" argument at the moment!
Not tried it without the trims but it's still a great ride. It's about more than the first drop...the rest of the ride is awesome.
Surprised they didn't pick up on the blackouts during testing. Must have decided it wasn't a big deal?
People have totally overreacted to the blackouts. It happens on loads of other coasters without anything like this level of hype...it's not like you actually go unconscious or anything. Remove the trims and let people experience the ride as it was supposed to be!
I rode it 22 times before trims and it was truly the greatest coaster ever. I still blackout just now the ride is slower. Its still a great ride but I live near the park and have seen that the trims did nothing to increase "ridership"