On Friday morning, July 16, 2021, Kaylee and I made a four hour journey from Baltimore down to Kings Dominion. Yes, four hours! What normally should take just over two, took us twice as long. We came to a dead stop on Interstate 95, just south of Washington, D.C., where several major highways merge together. Eventually we learned that a stolen van, being chased by police, hit a tanker truck and smashed into a Jersey wall about 30 minutes prior. Due to this incident, the entirety of the southbound side of the highway was detoured onto a small side street.
Kaylee and I ended up arriving 90 minutes late instead of the 30 minutes early the GPS had us arriving when we left. Since we were meeting up with fellow crew members, Chris D. and Carrie, we told them to just go have fun and we’d let them know when we parked. We weren’t the only ones running a bit behind, however.
Steven and Rocco from the YouTube channel, Thrill Maxx, were also set to join us for the day. It was their second day at Kings Dominion, and the final stop of their multi-park trip that also saw them visit Silver Dollar City, Carowinds, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW). As a matter of fact, Chris and Carrie had already met up with the two of them on Tuesday at BGW. With such a long trip coming to a close, they elected to get an extra hour of sleep. Of course, they were also treated to some of Virginia’s amazing traffic, but theirs came on northbound side of I-95. I’m not surprised!
First, a Little Bit of Backstory
For the last couple of months I have been in regular contact with Steven, assisting him with an event he was planning for his friend, Caitlin. Caitlyn has battled Leukemia for the last four years and Steven wanted to send her and her son out for a day of fun at Six Flags Great America (SFGAm). So many other coaster enthusiasts helped make that day a reality, which you can see in June 16, 2021 video, “Random Act of Kindness.” Steven details Caitlin’s backstory in the video’s description as well, so be sure to read through that before viewing the video.
Through all our interactions leading up to Caitlin’s special day, and Steven’s kindness to all those who helped making it happen, he was someone I hoped to eventually meet in person. Little did I know that I’d get the chance so soon. Be sure to show Thrill Maxx some love by checking them out on the following:
- YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdPGAv4Ih8VMLwX09WnS5vA
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/thrillmaxxgroup
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thrill_maxx/
- Spreadshirt – https://shop.spreadshirt.com/thrill-maxx/
Lots of Rides, but Differing Ride Counts
With Chris and Carrie arriving 90 minutes before the rest of us, the two of them managed to get in a few rides on Twisted Timbers and Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. Once we met up, the group managed to ride Twisted Timbers, Apple Zapple, Racer 75, and Intimidator 305 as a group. More on Intimidator in a bit.
The only other ride the entire group was present for, but did not see all six of us ride together, was Grizzly. Only Kaylee, Chris, and I braved the 39 year old woodie. Steven and Rocco had enough of it the day before and said, nope! Carrie didn’t appear to be a fan of the ride, although she did pick up a ride pin in its gift shop. What else should I expect from someone who wears Crocs to an amusement park? Ha! Did you think I wasn’t going to rag on your Crocs in this blog, Carrie?
Twisted Timbers
The first coaster we rode as a group was Twisted Timbers. I wanted to make sure Kaylee got to experience it since it would be her first-ever Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) coaster. She was eager to give it a go. Not surprisingly, she came off loving it.
Kaylee thought the airtime was crazy and that it is the smoothest coaster she’s ever ridden. I remember feeling the same way when I rode New Texas Giant for the first time. I’m sure it was the same for many other enthusiasts out there too.
Racer 75
One of the coasters that Steven and Rocco did not ride on Thursday was Racer 75. We made the long walk over the bridge to the north station since the south side was once again closed. That has been the case for all three of my visits this year. Has anyone visited here in 2021 and seen the south side running? Let me know.
Going onto this ride I told the group that the airtime on the coaster has been pretty good this year. It also runs smoother than I remember, but since the park was closed for all of 2020 (minus their winter holiday event), my last rides came in 2019. I just remember getting some jack hammering on the ride years ago. That certainly isn’t the case anymore.
Both Steven and Rocco claimed the ride to be smoother than their last rides on Kings Island’s Racer. Chris also commented that it was riding pretty good as well.
Anaconda
While walking up the long pathway to Anaconda, Kaylee realized that the coaster was about to become her 75th credit. She joked that we should have made it Racer 75, but it was already too late for that. Oh well!
I’ve been saying all season that Anaconda gets too much hate. It doesn’t ride as nearly as bad as people claim. While it’s by no means perfect, or a top of the line ride, I still enjoy getting in a ride or two every visit to Kings Dominion. That being said, I’d still love to see the ride get similar trains to what runs on some of Vekoma’s Boomerangs like Sea Serpent at Morey’s Piers and Sidewinder at Hersheypark. It’s also worked wonders for Blue Hawk at Six Flags Over Georgia (SFOG).
Kaylee and I were the only two who rode Anaconda. Chris and Carrie took a few minutes to cool off from the vicious 95 degree heat and sadly, Steven and Rocco were with the park’s medical staff. That leads me to Intimidator 305.
Plans to Marathon i305 End After 1st Ride
After leaving Racer 75 the group made plans to head to Intimidator 305. Steven and Rocco wanted to marathon the coaster, getting in at least 10 rides. The rest of us were going to ride it for a few laps and then ride some other coasters while the two of them continued lapping i305. After all, I did want to make sure Kaylee got in all the available credits at the park, along with the flat rides she really wanted to experience.
Well, we got in one ride and one ride only. Why? Well, someone lost a loose article that hit Steven just below his right eye. It caused him a lot of pain, with swelling and a red mark going right up to his bottom eye lid. Thankfully what hit him wasn’t an inch or two higher as it could easily blinded him, or caused him to lose an eye. It’s happened on other coasters in the past, so that was a real possibility.
Originally my plan was to go into some more details on this event, but I don’t want the seriousness of what happened lost within the rest of this trip report. Instead I will be tackling the topic of loose articles in its own blog.
Final Ride Counts
Anaconda (1: P, K)
Apple Zapple (1)
Backlot Stunt Coaster (1: P, K)
Berserker (1: P, K)
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill (1: Ch, Ca)
Dominator (1: P, K, Ch, Ca)
Eiffel Tower (1: P, K, Ch, Ca)
Flight of Fear (1: P, K, Ch, Ca)
Grizzly (1: P, K, Ch)
Intimidator 305 (1)
Racer 75: North (1)
Twisted Timbers (3: Ch, Ca, 1: P, K, S, R)
Windseeker (1: K)
Woodstock Express (1: P, K)
Ca – Carrie | Ch – Chris | K – Kaylee | P – Patrick | R – Rocco | S – Steven
New Friends & Ones I Barely Knew Not Too Long Ago
Between the heat, traffic, and the incident on i305, you might think that I could just delete this day from memory. While I can’t speak for Steven, who experienced the worst of the worst, I’m still grateful for this day regardless. Last year when I launched We Were Inverted, my aim was to meet other enthusiasts and hopefully, make new friends. That keeps happening and yesterday’s group is literally a perfect example of that in action.
I met both Chris and Carrie I met through Coaster Appreciation Society (CAS), only a couple years ago. It wasn’t until last year, however, that we truly began visiting parks together on a regular basis. Kaylee I met when Sam and I visited Six Flags America (SFA), where she works, on a rainy day earlier this year. We’ve since met up several times to visit a number parks, including a few, like Kings Dominion, she had never visited prior. And now I can add Steven and Rocco to the mix. I can’t wait until I can meet up with those guys again.
Kings Dominion Photo Gallery - July 16, 2021
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Lieutenant
New Credit(s): Anaconda, Apple Zapple, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Dominator, Flight of Fear, Grizzly, Intimidator 305, Racer 75: North, Twisted Timbers, Woodstock Express
Chris D.
Ensign
New Credit(s): n/a
Carrie
Ensign
New Credit(s): n/a
