Coaster Catch-Up

In 2006, Viacom (owners of Paramount Pictures) underwent a corporate split, dividing into a new Viacom and renaming itself the CBS Corporation. In the divorce, the Paramount Parks division went to the latter. But in the ramp up to the Great Recession, CBS probably had little interest in the very large capital expense projects that theme parks require. That year, they announced that they intended to sell all five Paramount Parks as a package deal.

Only one was found. Cedar Fair – owners of Cedar Point, Valleyfair, Dorney Park, Knott’s Berry Farm, and the then-recently purchased Lost Legend: Geauga Lake – stepped forward with a $1.24 billion bid. In 2007, Kings Dominion opened with the Paramount’s prefix, but closed without it. By 2008, any lingering references to Paramount films had been removed (in what’s now remembered as one of the most blundering “de-themings” in the industry). The Italian Job Stunt Track became the Backlot Stunt Coaster; Drop Zone Stunt Tower was renamed Drop Tower; and like its Ohio sister (which suffered far greater than just a re-naming), Tomb Raider: Firefall was renamed The Crypt. 

But beyond merely removing references to Paramount’s films, Cedar Fair found itself with five parks quite unlike the midway-fueled amusement parks they were used to operating both in style and substance. It’s no surprise that Cedar Fair’s second initiative was to sweep through their newly-acquired parks and catch them up in their coaster counts.

Right off the bat, most received soaring, 200-foot steel hypercoasters by coaster manufacturer B&M. Instead, Kings Dominion got the B&M floorless coaster Dominator, relocated from Geauga Lake and – in classic Cedar Fair style – just kind of set down on some flat space. The theme-less bare steel coaster set down in a thematic no-man's-land was at least an indication of Cedar Fair's then-standard practice. 

Perhaps because it hadn’t gotten a sky-high hypercoaster, Kings Dominion was the first former Paramount Park to get an 300-foot tall gigacoaster (the third of just eight on Earth, and the only Intamin-made one after Cedar Point’s iconic Millennium Force). Named for NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and stylized as a high-speed race, Intimidator 305 looms over Kings Dominion… nevermind that it, too, was technically located in the Congo section, right next to Flight of Fear.

Though Cedar Fair has driven the former Paramount Parks forward in thrills, it’s arguably been a little more nostalgic elsewhere. For example, in 2014, the Congo name was officially dropped. Just in time for the park’s 40th anniversary (when several other lands reverted to their "classic," pre-Paramount names), the archway leading to Volcano gained a name more nostalgic than new: Safari Village. Even though the Safari was long gone, the park’s rainforest-themed land with its iconic Volcano and Tomb Rai– er, The Crypt – was restored to its retro-name.. And still retained a pretty enviable collection of thrills and theme. Until… 

Dormant 

After a summer celebrating its rickety wooden Hurler being “RMC’ed” into the spectacular Twisted Timbers, Kings Dominion closed for the 2018 as usual. But during the off-season, the park made an unexpected announcement. After years of being plagued by downtime (dating back to its much-delayed opening and including operating for only a few weeks in 2018), VOLCANO: The Blast Coaster would not re-open. (It’s a shame that Kings Dominion hadn’t announced the decision earlier, giving guests a chance for last rides, but given Volcano’s spotty operations, it’s possible that a sudden retirement was required.) 

By May of 2019, not just the coaster, but the entire mountain had disappeared. That left The Crypt as a lone remnant of Paramount’s cinematic ambitions for the Congo. Somehow, the loss of the 170-foot tall Volcano that served as its backdrop made The Crypt look more like the aging midway ride it was. A year later and in similar circumstances, the park announced that The Crypt would also be removed. 

(The removal makes sense. HUSS Top Spins like The Crypt spread through amusement parks like wildfire in the ‘90s and 2000s, but nearly all have been removed. The ride’s inherent extreme thrills make it a one-and-done for many visitors, and a difficult ride to maintain for parks. Most Top Spins have disappeared without much fanfare. It’s only because Kings Island and Kings Dominion’s were elevated to highly-themed E- and D-Tickets that their removal was noteworthy.)

Onward…

In some ways, it’s ironic that Kings Dominion returned the Safari Village name, because by 2020, the land looked almost exactly like it had in 1996. Both of Paramount’s blockbuster additions (Volcano and Tomb Raider: FireFall) were returned to expansion pads, leaving just the pre-Paramount anchors of Avalanche and Anaconda (plus, of course, non sequitors like Flight of Fear, the Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Intimidator 305, which kinda sorta fall into the Safari Village section). Wild, right? But not nearly as wild as what’s happened since…

For better or worse, Kings Dominion’s Congo / Safari Village was so close to a seasonal park’s ideal. Nearly everything had fallen into place. A vague Tomb Raider atmosphere overlying the whole land, with thatch-roofed jungle expedition facades and rockwork and waterfalls and dense foliage and flames… Avalanche and Anaconda and Volcano and The Crypt… Somehow, this seasonal, regional Cedar Fair park in Virginia was sitting on the ingredients of a perfectly thrill-theme balanced land… and they barely seemed to notice it, selling chicken fingers and ICEEs and generic Kings Dominion merch. What a shame.

And it seemed likely to remain a missed opportunity when the loss of Volcano and The Crypt signaled the end of the land’s iconic, cinematic duo. That, it seemed, would be that… And while it was assured that Volcano’s real estate would eventually be used as an expansion pad (and knowing Cedar Fair, probably for a bare, steel coaster), even the most lovely B&M or inventive Intamin or twisted Mack coaster wouldn’t fill the shoes of a 170-foot mountain.

But to our surprise, something spectacular has happened at Kings Dominion… and if we’re right, it just may signal a whole new path forward for “theming” at seasonal parks…