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Kings Dominion
Doswell, VA
Cedar Fair Entertainment
 Park News - (10/30/2024) Kings Dominion has announced that the new name for the former Intimidator 305 / Project 305 roller coaster will be Pantherian. So… I was close… it’s themed to a big cat, but not a tiger as I was expecting. It’s a fun name, but to be honest one of the biggest criticisms I’ve heard on social media was that the new name just sounded a little too close to Pantheon down at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. On a personal note, Pantherian sounds more like a name they might choose for a coaster built at Carowinds as a nod to the local NFL team, The Carolina Panthers, as the park named Fury 325 as a sort of reference to the park’s local basketball team, the Hornets.
(10/26/2024) A fun POV video (see below) short from Kings Dominion flys through the wilderness to creepy up on the former Project 305 / Intimidator 305 coaster while playing Guns & Roses “Welcome to the Jungle”. In place as text, they simply put a series of animal emojis that clearly represent the attractions within the Jungle X-Pedition land: a monkey for Tumbili, a gator for Reptilian, a spider for Arachnidia, a green snake for Anaconda, an eagle for the upcoming Rapterra wing-coaster and then a big red question mark.
Since they are painting the coaster Orange and Black… the logical answer to the riddle of what’s orange & black, big and powerful, and missing from this collection of jungle animals? My money is on this coaster taking on a new Tiger themed persona to be announced sometime after the Halloween season is over.
This does lead me back to thinking about an old rumor from during the pandemic sent in way back in July 2022. At the time, the rumor was that the ‘then’ new Jungle X-Pedition would be expanded upon with a future phase or two, eventually adding a new flat ride or two (rumor then was grabbing the Berserker (a Bayun Kurve) from California’s Great America as a way to bring back the park’s lost Mt. Kilimanjaro attraction, but we also had a rumor claiming that the Backlot Stunt Coaster would eventually get rethemed to have new “jungle” appropriate theming, some all new effects, and trains rethemed to look like off-road jeeps instead of the faux Mini Cooper cars we have now.
Clearly the loss of the ‘Intimidator’ brand IP made transforming the park’s top coaster a new high-level priority to take care of first, so while I’m hoping we may still see Backlot undergo a transformation of its own in the future, what is going to stick out a little more in the meantime is Flight of Fear, with it’s Area 51 style top-secret hanger theme tucked away in the middle of Jungle X-Pedition. I can’t help but think that some kind of transformation plan has to be locked away in a file cabinet somewhere for that attraction too. If you include Flight of Fear and Backlot Stunt Coaster as part of the Jungle X-Pedition area, it will soon be home to 50% of the park’s 14 different roller coasters that will be offered in 2025, which is a bit of an amazing feat and drives home the importance making everything perfect within this area.
(10/13/2024) More sections of the former Intimidator 305 / Project 305 roller coaster as being repainted Orange and Black ahead of the ride closing for the season on Nov. 3rd.
(10/5/2024) Kings Dominion has posted a picture of a tombstone on their social media for “Project 305”, that says “Project Completed” along with the dates Feb. 27, 2024 to Nov. 3, 2024. Along with the new colors being added, the park confirms that Nov. 3rd will be “your final day to ride 305 as you know it.”
So finally a new identity is definitely inbound for the 2025 season. But is the stylized “X’ at the top meant as a hint as to the ride’s new identity? We know they included a little “X” in the Project 305 logo inside the “0” all this time. One possible idea is that since Cedar Fair has now merged with Six Flags, I wonder if they might be thinking of sharing the “X” and now “X2” brand from Six Flags Magic Mountain with Kings Dominion, which could possibly make this “X305”? Or will it become something with a little tie into the Jungle X-Pedition theme of the nearby land? We’ll just have to wait and see… and keep an eye on the trademark filings database.
(9/29/2024) While we know all about the new Rapterra coaster coming to Kings Dominion, the park has been keeping everyone in the dark as to their future plans for the former Intimidator 305 coaster, which was renamed to the very temporary sounding “Project 305” ever since Cedar Fair opted to no renew their use of the Intimidator trademark name.
One line of thought that we’ve heard rumors for quite some time was that eventually both Project 305 and the nearby Backlot Stunt Coaster may be rethemed in a way to fit in as an expansion to the rapidly growing Jungle X-Pedition theme which started in 2022 with the addition of Tumbili and retheme of Avalanche into Reptilian and will be growing to include the new Rapterra.
Many have wondered how we might eventually see Flight of Fear and the Project 305 rethemed to fit into the area better and now we are seeing something new taking place at Project 305. According to a post on Facebook, crews have repainted a small section of the finale of the coaster just before the brake run to have deep black supports instead of yellow, and the former fading red track is being painted orange.
(9/28/2024) Kings Dominion has come up with something extra fun for Halloween this year, with the creation of a short film Cedar Faiir has made called “Tick. Tick. Tick” that will premiere on October 1st at 8pm EST as an extra promotion for this year’s Halloween Haunt. Check out the preview for “Tick. Tick. Tick.” below!
(9/24/2024) The local news reports that a fight broke out at Kings Dominion on Saturday night that may have involved upwards of 300 teens in the Candy Apple Grove section of the park. Kings Dominion however has downplayed the report, calling it a ‘minor physical altercation’ that was quickly stopped by the park’s security team, and those involved were removed from the park without further incident, or arrests.
Keep in mind that Kings Dominion does have a Chaperone Policy in place, that would prevent unaccompanied minors from being in the park without a guardian. That said, the current policy allowed for up to 10 teens to be with a single chaperone, which may be a few too many, so perhaps that number should be revised if this is really an issue still.
(9/5/2024) Kings Dominion will celebrate the park’s 50th Anniversary in 2025.
The park will be hosting a number of new entertainment options, enhanced decor on International Street and the Eiffel Tower, a new night-time show, the return of the Clown Band, and as a special surprise the park’s famous Singing Mushrooms will perform “an all-new set list”.
Plus the premier of Rapterra, the iconic new B&M launched wing coaster!
(8/3/2024) Kings Dominion to open Rapterra in 2025
(6/13/2024) 2025 Wing Coaster Project Begins
(3/24/2024) Kings Dominion has opened for the 2024 season and as previously mentioned… the former Intimidator 305 coaster is going by the name “Project: 305” for the season. All the old Intimidator theming has been removed, the trains have been stripped of all the old racing stickers, and a new logo has been added to the entrance sign that does offer some hints as to the ride’s future.
The overall “vehicle” theme seems to still be there in the design language, because the font used for the new name does still have a high tech racing kind of look to it. Also, if you look closely, the number “0” in “305” is sporting an “X” through the center of it, making it look very similar to the taillight design used on the Jeep Renegade. Mix in that the entire background of the sign perimeter now features a pattern of leopard spots, this all seems to indicate that the future theme will eventually tie into an expansion of the Jungle X-Pedition land’s overall theme.
Based on the plans leaked for the park’s next big coaster, which appears to be a launched B&W Wing Coaster that will replace the park’s former Volcano: The Blast Coaster, it too is expected to tie in nicely to the overall Jungle X-Pedition theme.
The only other question may be to ask, what exactly will become of the Flight of Fear’s current theme package, which is more Area 51 than anything else, but will be stuck smack-dab in the middle of Jungle X-Pedition.
Of course, what really sticks out more than anything else is the nearby Backlot Stunt Coaster. If you go way back to our post from 2022, where the first rumors about how the park was preparing to expand Jungle X-Pedition, the rumor at that time was to retheme Backlot Stunt Coaster with new jungle appropriate theming, some new effects and to completely retheme the little sports cars to look like off-road jeeps. While this would still work wonders, it almost sounds like Kings Dominion may be preparing to borrowing parts of this concept for Project: 305.
(2/28/2024) It seems that whatever licensing agreement Cedar Fair had with Dale Earnhart’s family has now expired, because the world famous INTIMIDATOR 305 roller coaster has now been rebranded as “PROJECT 305””. The description is a little vague, and says the coaster offers the same thrills that you rember but “the experience is something you’ve never, ever seen. And definately something you can’t unsee. Details are comig. But in the meantime, brace yourself. This ain’t your mama’s 305.” Based on this, I can only guess that Project 305 may be a temporary name until they are ready to release a final branding idenity.
(2/10/2024) I think I missed this over the last fall season, but apparently Kings Dominion attempted to turn their Halloween Haunt into a separate ticket event for the first time, closing down and clearing out the park of daytime guests for an hour or two, only to reopen for Haunt only operations. According to the official 2024 Halloween Haunt page, “In 2023, Halloween Haunt was a separately ticketed event. Not this year! We are returning to how things were before 2023.“ Two Experiences, One Ticket!
2024 - Nothing is known at this time...
2025 - Rapterra - (11/20/2024) B&M was showing off one of the new cars for Kings Dominion’s new RAPTERRA Wing Coaster at IAAPA this week. Check it out below, as shot by our friends at Orlando Experience.
(9/28/2024) Kings Dominion has posted a new construction update for Rapterra as they install the last piece of track. The video also takes us inside the Clermont Steel Fabricators facility for a behind the scenes look at just how they create all the classic B&M track used around the world! Based on the end of the video, the first section of a train has also arrived, so it wont be long before they can put them together and load them onto the track… probably just in time for the next construction update video from Kings Dominion.
(8/18/2024) An official construction report on Rapterra at Kings Dominion has been posted b y Kings Dominion. They say that about half of Rapterra’s track has already been installed.
(8/3/2024) Kings Dominion has finally confirmed their new for 2025 B&M Launched Wing Coaster will be named Rapterra. According to the story, Rapterra is themed after “the mighty Jungle Hawk”, where guests enter an ancient shrine once built to honor the beast. “People who entered the shrine became spiritually linked to—and temporarily possessed—the powers and abilities of the bird of prey.”
“Building the temple at the base of a volcano, Mt. Inferna, proved unfortunate. The ground surrounding the magma chamber collapsed, burying the Jungle Hawk temple under mounds of volcanic rock. The temple seemingly vanished from the earth.”
“Archaeologists recently discovered the volcanic site and unearthed the remains of the Jungle Hawk shrine. The bird’s ferocious spirit remains at the site, launching brave riders to exhilarating new heights. Rapterra: The world’s tallest and longest launched wing coaster.”
They’ve posted several different animated videos showing off their new creation which you can see below.
(7/27/2024) Construction on the new B&M Wing Coaster for 2025 is moving right along, and you can see a new batch of construction photos below that were posted to Facebook.
(7/19/2024) Kings Dominion has been posted a bunch of teaser about their upcoming new roller coaster project as of late, and now we also have an announcement date set of July 31st.
(7/11/2024) A construction video showing off the current progress of the yet-to-be-named launched wing coaster coming to Kings Dominion in 2025.
Another fun fact… according to a Tweet from KDFans, the internal project name for this new coaster was “Project Caldera”, which is a fun reference to the former Volcano: The Blast Coaster. For those wondering, a “Caldera” is the crater sometimes left behind after a large volcano erupts. Sometimes a large empty chamber is left under the volcano after all the magma has been ejected, which can then cause the structure of the now hollowed out volcano to collapse in upon itself, leaving behind a giant crater, or caldera. Over time, some of these calderas can fill up with water and turn into large lakes, such as the famous Crater Lake in Oregon.
While I doubt Kings Dominion has the budget, nor the space, to enclose their new roller coaster within a Caldera style crater of theming, it would be an interesting concept to see.
(6/30/2024) Construction on the B&M Wing Coaster at Kings Dominion is now under way. I believe the new launched coaster will be taking over some of the site formerly occupied by the former Volcano: The Blast Coaster and is expected to open for the 2025 season. No formal announcement regarding the name or theme of the new coaster has been made at this time.
(6/13/2024) The teaser walls have now gone up at Kings Dominion for 2025’s new launched B&M Wing Coaster. While the coaster has yet to be announced by the park, green track has already begun arriving at the park in storage lots, marked with the “WI” Wing Coaster design designation on the ends.
(3/29/2024) Site clearing is now under way at Kings Dominion for the park’s proposed 2025 new addition, which is rumored to be a launched B&M Wing Coaster. A picture of the site being cleared between the Flight of Fear and Reptile coasters, on the former Volcano: The Blast Coaster site, can be seen posted over at Reddit.
(12/24/2023) A new post at KDFans reveals a potential layout for what they believe could be a new B&M Launched Wing Coaster intended for Kings Dominion as early as 2025. Their analysis of the plans indicates it appears to have an enclosed launch track that may start off with a pre-launch scene of sorts, before launching out into a series of twists, turns and what looks like as many as five inversions, crossing over much of the Jungle X-Pedition land, taking up most of the space between Flight of Fear, Reptilian and Tumbili.
They’ve posted a whole bunch of artwork based on how they believe the layout might go, along with an animated video rendered in NoLimits that is worth checking out.
(7/11/22) While we know that eventually in the next couple of years the plan for Kings Dominion was to replace the former Volcano: The Blast Coaster with the park’s next major roller coaster, but we honestly don’t know when. The addition of Tumbili was sort of a Post-COVID stop-gap measure to buy a little more time for this project by adding a smaller coaster and by creating a little new theming in the form of the Jungle X-Pedition area.
To be honest, having just visited the park myself, the Jungle X-Pedition area actually looks pretty great. Nice theming all around the new Tumbili area, including the transformation of the former Avalanche coaster into Reptilian along with turning the Scrambler into Arachnidia. Along with the new light theming to the restaurants, food stands and the rest of the infrastructure in the area, this area of the park looks pretty good right now and even Anaconda fits the overall theme.
Around the one corner you do have the slight oddity that is the plaza that features both Flight of Fear and Intimidator 305, but I’ll let that one go for now. The one attraction that does sort of stick out like a sore-thumb is the Backlot Stunt Coaster (formerly The Italian Job: Stunt Track). While as a coaster, the ride still works great and is a lot of fun, but the theming has been better days. Currently most of the ride’s once highly-touted special effects are dead and broken.
But would you believe there may be a plan to change all that? According to a new rumor sent in, there may be a “Phase 2” of new theming and additions planned for Jungle X-Pedition to come before the next big coaster project. Our source claims that this could possibly include importing the Berserker (Bayun Kurve) from California’s Great America as a way to bring back Kings Dominion’s lost Mt. Kilimanjaro attraction. Even more exciting however may be a possible plan to revamp the Backlot Stunt Coaster to have new ‘jungle’ appropriate theming, new effects and to retheme the cars to look like off-road jeeps instead.
Just a rumor at this point, but I think it would be great to see more additions brought to fill out this section of the park if any of this ends up happening.
(2/28/20) No details known, but the next big coaster is expected to replace the park’s Volcano: The Blast Coaster site, but this wont happen until a couple of years after a smaller coaster is added in 2022 to replace The Crypt.
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