@@sunnhyi @korean dog hey I know some people who's home park is there least favorite park.... But for instance there is a TH-camr roller coaster enthusiasts who has a decent amount of subscribers I won't name any names but he is completely biased of his home park.. He will do videos talking about a new roller coaster coming to other parks and criticizing the new roller coaster but if his home park was getting a roller coaster even though there was valid criticism for his home parks roller coaster she would be like all this is amazing perfect blah blah blah.... and it's fine people should be biased so they're home parts you know they grew up there they love them that's fine but if you're a TH-camr you should at least attempts to be unbiased.. and not make it so obviously clear that you are biased.. But yeah man I'm biased towards my home park so "duh" to me.😉😂
Both parks will probably get some exciting additions over the next several years. Kings Dominion has so much potential with the amount of land they have.
When quarantine ends the first thing I’m going to do is spend a whole day at kings island, wait in line for hours for Orion, then too it off with a night ride on The Beast.
medicalmetsfan I got a platinum pass for a cedar fair trip this summer, so I was excited to go to carowinds. Unfortunately, I don’t know if this is going to happen anymore.
I want to ride roller coasters soooo bad lol. Definitely the worst part of coronavirus is no roller coasters. Also, Kings Island is at the top of my bucket list only behind Cedar Point.
Folks in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are NOT making the drive to KD. They easily choose Carowinds, where the drive is around 2.5 hours. Also, the Greensboro/Winston-Salem region is just an hour away and has close to one million people, not too mention Columbia and Greenville, SC being less than two hours away to the south. There are PLENTY of large metro areas you’re discounting for Carowinds.
Yeah, and a lot of these areas have seen massive growth in population and private investment... Throw in a lack of competition in the area and it's a no brainer to dump money into Carowinds.
Came here to make the same comment (and did anyway). The Triangle always gets completely left out of discussions about the growth of Carowinds, and I think it’s a mistake.
@@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102 I live in Southern MD and the drive to King's Dominion and Six Flags is almost the same amount of time so most people I know pick KD over Six Flags.
Crazy to think that in a 10 year span. Carowinds went from a second tier park to a powerhouse park, and all because the city saw the potential in it and encouraged cedar fair to go for it.
Nothing can make up for the loss of my beloved Thunder Road. Yeah it was old and shaky, but it was iconic. It was my mother's favorite coaster when she was younger, and it was mine too. I'd take Thunder Road over a Carolina Harbor expansion any day of the week.
I live in Durham,NC. Carowinds has been 1st choice for quite a while. Copperhead Strike is phenomenal! If I'm making the trip to VA, id rather go to Busch Gardens. Just a better park all the way around. Imo
I feel like Kings Dominion is probably going to rip out Anaconda do to its lack of popularity, and then add the free spin to lessen the blow. Then I think they should add a B&M like a flyer (since BGW doesn't have one), since B&M's are always a safe investment. King's Dominion has already done a good job catering to the enthusiasts with Twisted Timbers, and now a B&M flyer will really help create appeal for the general public! (Plus, B&M's really started mastering their flyers, so having a new one in this hemisphere would be really cool!)
@@thequackenscoasterchannel2927 I like it personally, and would hate to see it go. When I went there in 2014~ there was a decent line, probably 20-30 minutes long. Now it's a walk on. Kinda sad, but I understand why it would be removed
Why not just get a true 4d coaster like X2 from S&S? Having those 2 coasters feels kind of redundant and while a B&M would be a good coaster it probably won't be able to compete with something like Pantheon. If Kings Dominion want to get ahead of Busch Gardens, they need to put in something that is a true showstopper, and a 4D coaster would probably be better in the long run
Airtime Thrills No problem! It was a fantastic video, nonetheless! Love your content and always know I’m in for a treat when I get a notification that you posted!
Intimidator at Carowinds is a much better ride experience when it warms up. I had a friend who said she preferred Intimidator than Fury 325, and I thought she was crazy, but after giving it a couple more rides before leaving the park, I can understand why.
Carowinds is my home park, and my sister and Dad both prefer Intimidator too. That might be nostalgia, from it being the first major coaster they’ve ridden, but I think people don’t realize how good that ride is (and how locals love it). I think they’re crazy putting it over Fury tho :)
same i worked there and the intimidator was what made me like rollercoasters so much and i also prefer it more than the fury even though both are really fun (:
Incredibly well researched. You, Expedition Theme Park, and ElToroRyan are pretty much responsible for all of the obscure coaster knowledge I have today and I appreciate the hell out of it, Chris!
As much as I love Lost Gravity, I think a Mack rides Big Dipper would have some major capacity issues. Ideally I'd want King's Dominion to be the first American park with a new Vekoma, like their STC or Launched Flying Coaster.
God I remember riding The Intimidator at Carowinds opening year. I was ten years old at the time, there for my older brother's middle school band competition. I'm almost twenty now. It has been half my life since my first ride on the coaster.
@@totallynotandrewstudios1515 He posted on his Instagram a couple days ago that he has a presumptive case of COVID-19, as his family has gotten sick and he has experienced the symptoms himself.
I think Carowinds without the competition, the growing Charlotte market, and the tax brakes all contribute to why Cedar Fair has stated this is one of their top parks, while Kings Dominion is more in the middle of the pack. I think Cedar Point, Kings Island, Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Knott's, and California Great America will be the parks going forward that will get the bigger investments, although CGA still needs to prove it. I think Kings Dominion falls below those parks in the pecking order but is much higher than the Worlds of Fun, Dorney's, or Valley Fairs.
CGA is in California. That alone puts it ahead with tourism and population in general being high there. It's been a much visited park for a very long time - small park or not.
CF gives the parks what they need to maintain their status in their markets, even The Point and KI. Carowinds is the exception as it is a growing area and it was a weak park. The tax breaks were a plus but I doubt there was any question. KD had plenty of coasters but needed an improvement of quality and I305 was a bold statement they were still king of coasters in the region. The need to replace coasters was not there yet. Unfortunately they miscalculated on Volcano so TTimbers didn't give them a year or 2 with a super lineup. BGW will be coming up even with KD if they open this year and pull ahead if they get Spire but then will fall back when they close Loch Ness and KD replaces Volcano.
Continued lack of investment is what's keeping KDs attendance levels down and the continued removal of attractions at the park only further strengthens the public's perception that cedar fair is abandoning this park.
if you're still looking for video ideas to fill the quarantine, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the best (and worst?) of the major coaster models. E.g. best hyper, best giga, best Arrow looper, best Arrow suspended, best launched, best inverted, best racer, best wooden, etc.
I rode I305 in 2010 when it had that trim on the first drop with my dad. He blacked out anyway and didn't come to until the brake run. He doesn't remember a single thing. He hasn't ridden a roller coaster ever since.
We definitely won't be getting a 7 year drought with Kings Dominion for their next coaster... we may actually get two coasters very quickly with the rumors of an S&S Free Spin in Crypt's plot of land and hopefully a B&M Wing in Volcano's old plot. I think KD will need to keep up to make them relevant, not to fall so far behind like Dorney Park
Wait they tore down the Crypt! fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffuck. Whenever me and my friends were there, *that* was always the ballbuster I dared them to ride. I'll miss it.
If the free spin coaster is what is replacing the crypt then we can forget about ever seeing a wing coaster coming to this park because the vehicle design is essentially the same.
@@cube_control right now only the unreliable fan site known as KDfans is claiming that a free spin is replacing the crypt.....remember this is the same website that claimed with a high degree of certainty that a wing coaster was ABSOLUTELY replacing volcano when in reality they DON'T have a clue as to what is really replacing the crypt other than zoning documents marking the crypt site as a future ride area.
What lmao?? Cedar fair can do what they want with the parks... they own both of them lol. It doesn’t have one owner ask it’s own park who is making all the decisions it’s apart of a chain.
Nice analysis! Back in 2009, I got a quote (for CoasterCritic) from a PR rep at Carowinds stating that Cedar Fair was going to focus on the parks in its two "growth markets": Charlotte and Toronto. So that strategy has held true over the years. KD does have that BG competition and a large market/region to pull from but Carowinds is clearly the park with more growth potential. I miss KD sometimes but I'm glad I moved to CLT. Also, I agree with the conclusion. Locally there was a lot of interest in growing Carowinds. Both governors sent videos that were shown at the Fury media day. Another great video. Keep it up!
Kings Dominion may be alright. I think it is focusing more on families than "coaster enthusiasts" which is doing fine. They also want to keep the park beautiful like it was in the 70's and 80's til Paramount messed it up. Carowinds is a different story. Since it never had a true point of view since it had many owners over the years (remember, Taft acquired the park, not open it), they went ahead to make it the Cedar Point of the south. There was no way to make it like it was in the 70's and 80's because of the ever changing atmosphere. Intimidator at Carowinds is AWESOME. It may be big, but it's smooth and has airtime. Both parks will be fine, and I think Kings Dominion will invest in a big new ride soon.
I seriously don't think that the city that a park is in dictates how busy a park is. Cedar Point is in podunk Santucky ( Yes, Santucky ). The closest " big " city is over an hour away.
King's Dominion is my home park. Honestly, all we want is Volcano back, whether that means rebuilding and scaling up the mountain and ride itself, replacing and updating the original layout (which was epic to begin with). My family and I stopped going to KD after having season passes for years because it didn't make financial sense when we can go to Busch Gardens to get more coasters. KD was removing all the rides we liked, Shockwave, Volcano, and Hurler (though we LOVE her new makeover - thanks RMC!!!). They also took out the Crypt, so really the only rides in the area of the Volcano is a standard flat ride and a family coaster, Avalanche. KD/Cedarfair was taking out more than it was putting in, and now with all the filler rides and the expanding planet snoopy and waterworks, it's not really worth it to go if you love coasters. If KD wanted to remove problematic rides, begin with Anaconda. Volcano was always down and I know being a prototype, parts were hard to find, but it was a popular coaster. Replace Anaconda with something awesome enough to fill the space and keep people interested in it long enough for KD/Cedarfair to make a complete plan for Volcano/Volcano's replacement. It's quite depressing to walk through the park without it there. ):
My favorite channel, thanks for keeping me busy during this time! I’m hoping Kings Dominion gets a dive or wing or something entirely unexpected to replace Volcano. The singing mushrooms scare the F out of me though lol.
Ever since I was a kid i though those mushrooms looked like dicks, as an adult they put them back..... They still look like dicks and basically all of the locals think it's some inside joke or something more than just fiberglass mushrooms 🤣
tbh if Kings Dominion got a hyper I’d hope for a Mack hyper. Considering they have a massive hole in their lineup and their parent company worked with Mack, KD is probably the most likely park in the US to get anything like DC Rivals. still unlikely tho. :(
I think the fact that Dale Earnhardt was from the roundabout area close to carowinds and his family still lives there is a huge reason the one at Carowinds took off so fast. That's a household name around here. I remember when he passed it was insane, the whole state was thrown into chaos
That's funny because BG for the longest time lacked in the amount of Thrill rides. I always liked BG coasters more but KD always had the quantity. Now BG is expanding rapidly with their coster lineup.
Hey, just want to say that I love your videos, this one included. They're always thoughtful, well-produced, and very entertaining. A real bright spot during the current pandemic. Do you have a patreon or something? I'd love to support your work. Anyways, hope you're feeling OK, and fingers crossed that both of these parks open again this summer!!
Honestly I’d argue that BGW is a destination park when combined with Water Country. When I was like 8, my family took a trip there, and none of us were really even there for the coasters, but we still had a great time.
GENTLEMAN... START YOUR ENGINES!!!. Awesome video, Intimadator at Carowinds look fun, but the new trims on the ride look eh, Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion looks really intense though. Good Video though, and I can't wait to ride coasters again but with the corona virus going on, I don't know how long that will be sadly
When I was in my transition period between being a GP and enthusiast in May of last year, I thought Intimidator at Carowinds was a clone of Intimidator 305. True story.
James Litwin That makes sense, because they were built during the recession. I wonder how Cedar Fair could afford them. Edit: Because clones are cheaper than custom designs.
I was lucky enough to visit Carowinds and ride The Fury 325 and Intimidator at least 5 times is a row loved it . I hoping one day I get to visit Cedar Point I just wish it wasn't so hard to get to.
Being in the DC area my default is KD. I would like to go to bush gardens one day and I’ve done Hershey park but it’s not good for my diet lol. I305 is everything I could ask for. So I’m happy KD since i like crazy coasters.
I last rode I-305 in 2013 when I rode it back to back and it gave me a massive headache for the rest of the day. I've been to KD a few times since then, but I skipped I-305 on each of these visits. I just bought a season pass for 2020 and 2021 and I plan on giving I-305 another shot once they reopen. I've had a season pass to Busch Gardens for a few years now I just gotta say that it is a better park. The coasters are better, the theming is better, the atmosphere is better, and the food is way better.
From VA, grew up on bush and Kings. As a family we always went to Bush instead as they have always been the superior park. Now this was during the 90s and early 00s. Things may have changed
I rode KD's Intimidator right after it opened and after 100s of coasters it was the only one, I could feel the blackout coming then the turn was over. I loved it and the surprise the 1st time was nice!
Great vid! One of your best ones yet. It's always nice to take a deep dive like this into the industry. I'm glad Carowinds seems to have been the big winner as that is the closest Cedar Fair park to where I live. I wonder how/if Kings Dominion had built a ride more similar to Millennium Force instead of i305. Maybe not at all with the information you shared. It always comes down to dollars. Those attendance numbers were also interesting. It looks like adding Fury did little to increase Carowind's numbers.
Honestly, these are both bucket list parks for me - more so Carowinds because of Fury. Even without Volcano, though, KD has several fun-looking coasters. I also want to ride Anaconda before it inevitably bites the dust within the next few years. The COVID closure was honestly a blessing in that regard, in that my platinum pass was extended to next year. I wouldn’t have been able to take a trip out there this year, but now it’s a possibility for next year.
The loss of Thunder Road at Carowinds is still painful. It was my first coaster as a child, and there was a lot of nostalgia associated with it. I got to ride it on its last day, and got a commemorative button.
Bro you keep pumping out these videos! Are you not sleeping or not working? Great work and great research. Holiwood nights looks like it's moving to August. Hope to see ya there.
I worked on this one for about a week but i have a stash of videos saved up. I actually have less time for YT now than before the quarantine, i may be the only person alive that can say that
Kings Dominion is supposed to be similar to our Ohio Kings Island, which is a GREAT PLACE. I was at Kings Dominion when the Grizzly was the new ride. It was a great place as well. Hope that park continues to get the treatment and attention it deserves, as obviously it has the potential. Great video too, btw!!
I have been on Intimidator at Carowinds and loved it. I was hoping to go to Kings Dominion this summer and go on Intimidator305 but of course we'll have to wait and see what happens. Great video, really enjoyed that one, although seeing these great coasters and not being able to go on any is making me nuts, Lol.
Carowinds is my home park and I went to Kings Dominion last year for a day and was underwhelmed. Volcano really made that 5 hour trip worth it and now that’s it gone, I’m not considering going back until more big coasters are put in. Love KD and hope it becomes as awesome as it use to be!
I was watching some of your older videos. I came a cross your Six Flags Over Georgia vlog from April 2019. I found it interesting that there was a bumble bee problem on the Joker Funhouse Coaster because I had a similar experience waiting in line for Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure. It really shows how well they keep their parks which is why I much prefer every other American theme park chain like SeaWorld, Universal, Disney, Herschel, and Cedar Fair. (Yes I prefer Disney to Six Flags even though I am a coaster enthusiast)
Carowinds is such a nice park. Living in michigan and going to cedar point hundreds of times in my life, something about going through the beautiful charlotte metro area to see fury and intimidator just over a massive hill on the freeway just seems as cool as first seeing the island cedar point is on. Definitely my second favorite park now that ive been there twice, and plan on going every year they get a new ride.
Even though I live in New York I use to love Kings Dominion but it is not fair that Cedar Fair keep neglecting this park. They are making people go to Busch Gardens who seem to have a lot more to offer. The same things goes with Dorney Park - if they have the adequate rides Dorney Park would be a huge hit. Somebody should take surveys on these two parks and find out what rides or attraction could be up their attendance.
I think since they removed volcano, they should add another launch coaster different than flight of fury. Maybe a multi launch, or something like stormrunner
great video! just a couple of points of minor disagreement / additional comments: - Kings Dominion is only about an hour and a half South of DC, not "2 and a half hours" (it is 2.5 from Baltimore, but there's not a ton of visitors from there). The area to the South of DC (Northern Virginia) is humongous -- about 3.5 million people all by itself, which is 50% larger than the Charlotte metro area -- and that's not counting DC, Maryland, Richmond, or the rest of Virginia. - These NoVA suburbs are also very affluent -- Northern Virginia is home to six of the ten richest counties in America. This huge, wealthy suburban area is only about an hour to hour and a half away from KD, and it's where most of the people at Kings Dominion on any given day are from. - Due to traffic and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Six Flags America takes almost as long to get to as Kings Dominion for most Northern Virginia residents, and anyone who's been to both parks would of course much rather go to KD. Most SFA visitors are from Maryland or DC. It can't be overstated what a huge pain it is to get to from, say, Fairfax in Virginia, and everyone knows SFA sucks compared to KD or BG. SFA's local reputation is abysmal. - The real differentiator in attendence potential between Carowinds and KD is Busch Gardens. Even though you have to literally drive past Kings Dominion (you can see the tower and coasters from the highway) and then keep driving for another hour to get to Busch, this is exactly what many, many families from Northern VA do. It's considered more "upscale" than KD, and i think the perception for parents is that they'd rather take their family to Williamsburg (picturing fancy restaurants, beautiful vistas, golf, colonial re-enactors, and so on) than to Doswell (picturing ... a seedy truck stop and a burger king). - The loss of Volcano is so, so sad. I don't think it was a part of Cedar Fair's bigger picture plans, otherwise there wouldn't have been that 7-year drought. I didn't even personally like Volcano that much as a ride (awesome launch and loop, a bunch of slow motion barrel rolls, and a hill that bizarrely slams immediately into a brake run -- that's the whole ride), but it certainly was unique, insanely popular, and a heck of an iconic thing towering over the park. I think Cedar Fair thought it, Dominator, i305, and Twisted Timbers would carry them for a while. With Volcano's loss, the park is suddenly in a hole it didn't expect to be in. I wonder if its untimely demise is ending up extending the life of Flight of Fear and/or Anaconda.
I live three hours south of Kings Dominion and two hours north of Carowinds, I am a season ticket holder to Carowinds and still prefer Kings Dominion. Having been to both in the past year, Kings Dominion definitely has better theme and roller coasters. Kings Dominion is by far my favorite!
Forgot to mention that Carowinds is also 3 and a half hours from Atlanta as well which is also a very large and fast growing city. Yes SFOG is here but Carowinds is the closer CF park with an awesome ride collection which is a quick drive from home.
This was an interesting video to watch, thank you for making it. I had to laugh when you mentioned the hotel figure because over the weekend I went to KD and CW, and rented one of those 20,000 hotel rooms in Charlotte! But this was mostly because prices were much higher near KD. I think it is a real shame that Intimidator 305 seems to be the bane of KD. Both it and Fury 325 were hyped and while I found Fury better than Orion, it was sadly modern B&M: Boring & Monotonous. Intimidator 305 exceeded all my expectations and I rode it at least 10 times. A week later I305 is all I can think about and I made an unscheduled trip to CP for Maverick on Labor Day for the next best thing. I wonder how KD would fair if Cedar Fair swapped Intimidator 305 with Orion from KI?
I live 20 minutes from carowinds! I love it there! So many great rides. I really wish they would tap into the nostalgia factor by opening a couple of those old rides from the past. (Blackbeard's Revenge)
Kings Dominion was intimidated by Carowinds so they built a giga
OOF MODZZ you are right 😂😂😂😂
Carowinds is the best park imo it's my home park
@@sunnhyi Well someone who says they're home park is the best park... they Clearly are biased... but that's fine..lol
To each their own..
@@thtoneguy0321 duh lol
@@sunnhyi @korean dog hey I know some people who's home park is there least favorite park.... But for instance there is a TH-camr roller coaster enthusiasts who has a decent amount of subscribers I won't name any names but he is completely biased of his home park..
He will do videos talking about a new roller coaster coming to other parks and criticizing the new roller coaster but if his home park was getting a roller coaster even though there was valid criticism for his home parks roller coaster she would be like all this is amazing perfect blah blah blah.... and it's fine people should be biased so they're home parts you know they grew up there they love them that's fine but if you're a TH-camr you should at least attempts to be unbiased.. and not make it so obviously clear that you are biased..
But yeah man I'm biased towards my home park so "duh" to me.😉😂
Irony: The most underrated channel talks about the most underrated coasters
Eh, Intimidator at Carowinds is pretty underrated but not I305...
More like most adequately rated channel
@@Demon-POT it's overrated for a good reason tho at least
@@VeeTHis Don't get me started on millenium force
Airtime thrills is an awesome channel though, you got to agree
Both parks will probably get some exciting additions over the next several years. Kings Dominion has so much potential with the amount of land they have.
Money…
@@JesusLivesOfficialboth parks are owned by the same company…
When quarantine ends the first thing I’m going to do is spend a whole day at kings island, wait in line for hours for Orion, then too it off with a night ride on The Beast.
James Hanus sane here, but at Carowinds. Fury, Intimidator, Afterburn, and Copperhead Strike. Cedar Fair will lose money on me this year.
medicalmetsfan I got a platinum pass for a cedar fair trip this summer, so I was excited to go to carowinds. Unfortunately, I don’t know if this is going to happen anymore.
James Hanus I have the gold pass, but I think when they open, I’ll upgrade to platinum.
I want to ride roller coasters soooo bad lol. Definitely the worst part of coronavirus is no roller coasters. Also, Kings Island is at the top of my bucket list only behind Cedar Point.
Facts, I'll see you there
Folks in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are NOT making the drive to KD. They easily choose Carowinds, where the drive is around 2.5 hours.
Also, the Greensboro/Winston-Salem region is just an hour away and has close to one million people, not too mention Columbia and Greenville, SC being less than two hours away to the south. There are PLENTY of large metro areas you’re discounting for Carowinds.
Yeah, and a lot of these areas have seen massive growth in population and private investment... Throw in a lack of competition in the area and it's a no brainer to dump money into Carowinds.
Came here to make the same comment (and did anyway). The Triangle always gets completely left out of discussions about the growth of Carowinds, and I think it’s a mistake.
Dan Pro there are also people in Georgia choosing Carowinds over SFOG
@@jacobray8685 Kings Dominion gets the Washington DC crowd as well as Norfolk and Richmond crowds.
@@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102 I live in Southern MD and the drive to King's Dominion and Six Flags is almost the same amount of time so most people I know pick KD over Six Flags.
Crazy to think that in a 10 year span. Carowinds went from a second tier park to a powerhouse park, and all because the city saw the potential in it and encouraged cedar fair to go for it.
Nothing can make up for the loss of my beloved Thunder Road. Yeah it was old and shaky, but it was iconic. It was my mother's favorite coaster when she was younger, and it was mine too. I'd take Thunder Road over a Carolina Harbor expansion any day of the week.
Grew up in the Carolinas and loved the old school Carowinds rides.
I live in Durham,NC. Carowinds has been 1st choice for quite a while. Copperhead Strike is phenomenal! If I'm making the trip to VA, id rather go to Busch Gardens. Just a better park all the way around. Imo
I feel like Kings Dominion is probably going to rip out Anaconda do to its lack of popularity, and then add the free spin to lessen the blow. Then I think they should add a B&M like a flyer (since BGW doesn't have one), since B&M's are always a safe investment. King's Dominion has already done a good job catering to the enthusiasts with Twisted Timbers, and now a B&M flyer will really help create appeal for the general public! (Plus, B&M's really started mastering their flyers, so having a new one in this hemisphere would be really cool!)
Anaconda needs a renovation.
Mystic Timbers Fanboy Anaconda should get scrapped. It's a pointless ride
@@thequackenscoasterchannel2927 I like it personally, and would hate to see it go. When I went there in 2014~ there was a decent line, probably 20-30 minutes long. Now it's a walk on. Kinda sad, but I understand why it would be removed
Why not just get a true 4d coaster like X2 from S&S? Having those 2 coasters feels kind of redundant and while a B&M would be a good coaster it probably won't be able to compete with something like Pantheon. If Kings Dominion want to get ahead of Busch Gardens, they need to put in something that is a true showstopper, and a 4D coaster would probably be better in the long run
Anaconda needs to be replaced with something better. It’s awful these days
3:10 I didn’t know Carowinds had a Sally Corp Dark Ride and a Zamperla Giga Discovery! You’d think I would, given that it’s my home park! 😂
You can tell i used the magic mountain template and forgot to change the descriptions 🤦♂️
Airtime Thrills No problem! It was a fantastic video, nonetheless! Love your content and always know I’m in for a treat when I get a notification that you posted!
But a Zamperla Giant Discovery is badly at Carowinds. Their thrill flats are sorely lacking.
Intimidator at Carowinds is a much better ride experience when it warms up. I had a friend who said she preferred Intimidator than Fury 325, and I thought she was crazy, but after giving it a couple more rides before leaving the park, I can understand why.
Carowinds is my home park, and my sister and Dad both prefer Intimidator too. That might be nostalgia, from it being the first major coaster they’ve ridden, but I think people don’t realize how good that ride is (and how locals love it). I think they’re crazy putting it over Fury tho :)
The intimidators drops are slower and give better air time.
same i worked there and the intimidator was what made me like rollercoasters so much and i also prefer it more than the fury even though both are really fun (:
I like Intimidator better than Fury because you get more airtime.
Nope, she's crazy. :)
You should
Review rollercoasters at any park in 10 words or less.
Definitely! Could do the same thing for manufacturers or parks.
I mean when people do this they tend to make jokes about the thing in question so......
Incredibly well researched. You, Expedition Theme Park, and ElToroRyan are pretty much responsible for all of the obscure coaster knowledge I have today and I appreciate the hell out of it, Chris!
As much as I love Lost Gravity, I think a Mack rides Big Dipper would have some major capacity issues.
Ideally I'd want King's Dominion to be the first American park with a new Vekoma, like their STC or Launched Flying Coaster.
Thats a good path to think down, personally I kinds want to see a new launched wing, like Thunderbird but make it bigger
I305 is just Maverick with a big boi lift hill
More like ride of steel without the straightaways
Well I mean your not wrong
Negative. Maverick is a great ride but I305 is on a whole different level.
God I remember riding The Intimidator at Carowinds opening year. I was ten years old at the time, there for my older brother's middle school band competition. I'm almost twenty now. It has been half my life since my first ride on the coaster.
Just like a Coaster Theory! I LOVE IT!!
Hope you’re feeling better (or at least not any worse).
Definitely not worse
Airtime Thrills Great. That works. That was my attitude when I was sick: “As long as it’s not getting worse, I’ll just wait this out.”
Airtime Thrills wait what happened did you get the corona
@@totallynotandrewstudios1515 He posted on his Instagram a couple days ago that he has a presumptive case of COVID-19, as his family has gotten sick and he has experienced the symptoms himself.
I think Carowinds without the competition, the growing Charlotte market, and the tax brakes all contribute to why Cedar Fair has stated this is one of their top parks, while Kings Dominion is more in the middle of the pack. I think Cedar Point, Kings Island, Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Knott's, and California Great America will be the parks going forward that will get the bigger investments, although CGA still needs to prove it. I think Kings Dominion falls below those parks in the pecking order but is much higher than the Worlds of Fun, Dorney's, or Valley Fairs.
CGA is in California. That alone puts it ahead with tourism and population in general being high there. It's been a much visited park for a very long time - small park or not.
@@nellingwood2
And if I'm not mistaken, CGA is located right next to Levi's Stadium. I'm sure it's entertained 49ers fans before and after games.
CF gives the parks what they need to maintain their status in their markets, even The Point and KI. Carowinds is the exception as it is a growing area and it was a weak park. The tax breaks were a plus but I doubt there was any question.
KD had plenty of coasters but needed an improvement of quality and I305 was a bold statement they were still king of coasters in the region. The need to replace coasters was not there yet. Unfortunately they miscalculated on Volcano so TTimbers didn't give them a year or 2 with a super lineup. BGW will be coming up even with KD if they open this year and pull ahead if they get Spire but then will fall back when they close Loch Ness and KD replaces Volcano.
Continued lack of investment is what's keeping KDs attendance levels down and the continued removal of attractions at the park only further strengthens the public's perception that cedar fair is abandoning this park.
Yeah carowinds needs some competition
I305 brought back the Giga Coaster craze.
Ridiculous statement
if you're still looking for video ideas to fill the quarantine, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the best (and worst?) of the major coaster models. E.g. best hyper, best giga, best Arrow looper, best Arrow suspended, best launched, best inverted, best racer, best wooden, etc.
START YOUR ENGINES!!!
GENTLEMENNNN!!!!!!!!!
(we were saying this the whole ride home after our last visit to King's Dominion :P)
Wow, an upload from both Airtime Thrills and ElToroRyan in the same day. And both over 15 minutes. :)
I305? YES.
Intimidator? Ehh...
Also, I love how you’re uploading more frequently now than you used to! I like it!
Coaster Fusion B&M hypers get too much hate 🥺
A Unfortunate Being That Exists the good hypers do lol like Goliath SFOG, the bad ones don’t (intrimadator)
I love B&M hypers, Nitro is my favorite rollercoaster
Mathew’s Coaster Vids very nice to see Nitro getting love! ❤️
and SKYRUSH!
Intimidator 305 is a decade old. Wow
I rode I305 in 2010 when it had that trim on the first drop with my dad. He blacked out anyway and didn't come to until the brake run. He doesn't remember a single thing. He hasn't ridden a roller coaster ever since.
Intimidator 305 was always my favorite coaster visually for some reason, up there with millennium force
We definitely won't be getting a 7 year drought with Kings Dominion for their next coaster... we may actually get two coasters very quickly with the rumors of an S&S Free Spin in Crypt's plot of land and hopefully a B&M Wing in Volcano's old plot. I think KD will need to keep up to make them relevant, not to fall so far behind like Dorney Park
I think they need either a Gerstlauer Infinity, or a wing. But if they're getting a freespin, a wing might be too similar for the general public.
Wait they tore down the Crypt!
fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffuck.
Whenever me and my friends were there, *that* was always the ballbuster I dared them to ride. I'll miss it.
If the free spin coaster is what is replacing the crypt then we can forget about ever seeing a wing coaster coming to this park because the vehicle design is essentially the same.
@@cube_control right now only the unreliable fan site known as KDfans is claiming that a free spin is replacing the crypt.....remember this is the same website that claimed with a high degree of certainty that a wing coaster was ABSOLUTELY replacing volcano when in reality they DON'T have a clue as to what is really replacing the crypt other than zoning documents marking the crypt site as a future ride area.
What lmao?? Cedar fair can do what they want with the parks... they own both of them lol. It doesn’t have one owner ask it’s own park who is making all the decisions it’s apart of a chain.
Nice analysis! Back in 2009, I got a quote (for CoasterCritic) from a PR rep at Carowinds stating that Cedar Fair was going to focus on the parks in its two "growth markets": Charlotte and Toronto. So that strategy has held true over the years. KD does have that BG competition and a large market/region to pull from but Carowinds is clearly the park with more growth potential. I miss KD sometimes but I'm glad I moved to CLT.
Also, I agree with the conclusion. Locally there was a lot of interest in growing Carowinds. Both governors sent videos that were shown at the Fury media day.
Another great video. Keep it up!
Kings Dominion may be alright. I think it is focusing more on families than "coaster enthusiasts" which is doing fine. They also want to keep the park beautiful like it was in the 70's and 80's til Paramount messed it up. Carowinds is a different story. Since it never had a true point of view since it had many owners over the years (remember, Taft acquired the park, not open it), they went ahead to make it the Cedar Point of the south. There was no way to make it like it was in the 70's and 80's because of the ever changing atmosphere. Intimidator at Carowinds is AWESOME. It may be big, but it's smooth and has airtime. Both parks will be fine, and I think Kings Dominion will invest in a big new ride soon.
Dorney Park has a ACE International Landmark coaster with Thunderhawk. So it's profile is now higher than Kings Dominion.
I seriously don't think that the city that a park is in dictates how busy a park is. Cedar Point is in podunk Santucky ( Yes, Santucky ). The closest " big " city is over an hour away.
Jeremy H. Yes but cp doesn’t really have competition for the Cleveland areas where as kings dominion does
Both parks are great! I really hope they put in a lot of effort into Volcano’s replacement though. I went in 2018 and never got to ride it
Toot Toot same I went in 2018(like you) and it was closed
King's Dominion is my home park. Honestly, all we want is Volcano back, whether that means rebuilding and scaling up the mountain and ride itself, replacing and updating the original layout (which was epic to begin with). My family and I stopped going to KD after having season passes for years because it didn't make financial sense when we can go to Busch Gardens to get more coasters.
KD was removing all the rides we liked, Shockwave, Volcano, and Hurler (though we LOVE her new makeover - thanks RMC!!!). They also took out the Crypt, so really the only rides in the area of the Volcano is a standard flat ride and a family coaster, Avalanche. KD/Cedarfair was taking out more than it was putting in, and now with all the filler rides and the expanding planet snoopy and waterworks, it's not really worth it to go if you love coasters.
If KD wanted to remove problematic rides, begin with Anaconda. Volcano was always down and I know being a prototype, parts were hard to find, but it was a popular coaster. Replace Anaconda with something awesome enough to fill the space and keep people interested in it long enough for KD/Cedarfair to make a complete plan for Volcano/Volcano's replacement. It's quite depressing to walk through the park without it there. ):
My favorite channel, thanks for keeping me busy during this time! I’m hoping Kings Dominion gets a dive or wing or something entirely unexpected to replace Volcano. The singing mushrooms scare the F out of me though lol.
Ever since I was a kid i though those mushrooms looked like dicks, as an adult they put them back..... They still look like dicks and basically all of the locals think it's some inside joke or something more than just fiberglass mushrooms 🤣
Intimidator 305 is my favorite roller coaster. I was supposed to go to Carowinds 2 weeks ago but because of the Coronavirus we could not go.
tbh if Kings Dominion got a hyper I’d hope for a Mack hyper. Considering they have a massive hole in their lineup and their parent company worked with Mack, KD is probably the most likely park in the US to get anything like DC Rivals. still unlikely tho. :(
They can go cheap with vekoma hyper if they want to.
Mack hypers are lightyears better than B&M hypers B&M is honestly overrated
David Baker agree to disagree
I think the fact that Dale Earnhardt was from the roundabout area close to carowinds and his family still lives there is a huge reason the one at Carowinds took off so fast. That's a household name around here. I remember when he passed it was insane, the whole state was thrown into chaos
That intro was 🔥🔥
Great video! Very interesting! I enjoyed watching!
Dang Chris your intros are just getting more and more insane. First the X2 intro, now this... I wonder what's next
I can’t wait until I get the chance to visot Dorney or cedar point because their the closest to me really
You and Eltororyan have the best coaster enthusiast channels hands down... You have the slight edge as a fellow west coast enthusiast ;D
I would sure love to visit those 2 parks some point in my life.
Another great video! KD is my home park and I am hopeful we get something good in Volcano's spot.
Great video, so glad I could help out mung
Love Kings Dominion, but regardless of them having a giga and an RMC, they’re playing catch up with BGW, and BGW is looking to widen that gap.
That's funny because BG for the longest time lacked in the amount of Thrill rides. I always liked BG coasters more but KD always had the quantity. Now BG is expanding rapidly with their coster lineup.
I wish I got to ride the original intimidator 305.. that first turn sounds fun
Hey, just want to say that I love your videos, this one included. They're always thoughtful, well-produced, and very entertaining. A real bright spot during the current pandemic. Do you have a patreon or something? I'd love to support your work. Anyways, hope you're feeling OK, and fingers crossed that both of these parks open again this summer!!
Thank you! I dont have a Patreon, people watching my videos is the support I need.
6:50 holy fuck
94 mph?! That send chills and shivers down my spine!!
I wish they *NERVER* had to modify it 😪😭
Honestly I’d argue that BGW is a destination park when combined with Water Country. When I was like 8, my family took a trip there, and none of us were really even there for the coasters, but we still had a great time.
Aaron Coasters just like my visit last May, I enjoyed it and rode nothing!
Dosware Pictures yeah, I hated coasters so the only one I would ride was Verbolten and I still really liked it
GENTLEMAN... START YOUR ENGINES!!!. Awesome video, Intimadator at Carowinds look fun, but the new trims on the ride look eh, Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion looks really intense though. Good Video though, and I can't wait to ride coasters again but with the corona virus going on, I don't know how long that will be sadly
When I was in my transition period between being a GP and enthusiast in May of last year, I thought Intimidator at Carowinds was a clone of Intimidator 305. True story.
I thought Behemoth, Diamondback, and Intimidator were all clones so you're not alone
James Litwin That makes sense, because they were built during the recession. I wonder how Cedar Fair could afford them.
Edit: Because clones are cheaper than custom designs.
Idk the difference either but I know Earnhardt is originally from NC. I've seen his house. ...on mtv cribs
I like carowinds old entrance that Was so beautiful to look at IMO
Keep on uploading. I always enjoy your videos as you analyze some fascinating coaster related topics. Hope you feel better!
Phenomenal video and content, Chris. Really hit it out of the park with this one.
I was lucky enough to visit Carowinds and ride The Fury 325 and Intimidator at least 5 times is a row loved it . I hoping one day I get to visit Cedar Point I just wish it wasn't so hard to get to.
My 1 visit to Carowinds was over 40 years ago, when it was a lame little park. It's nice to see it growing today.
Being in the DC area my default is KD. I would like to go to bush gardens one day and I’ve done Hershey park but it’s not good for my diet lol. I305 is everything I could ask for. So I’m happy KD since i like crazy coasters.
i hate corona virus !!! carowinds is my home park and it is the best theme park i have ever been to ! i really want to go :(
Kings dominion should get a Vekoma hypercoaster like Lech Coaster but larger. Then they could get an axis coaster. That would be epic.
I last rode I-305 in 2013 when I rode it back to back and it gave me a massive headache for the rest of the day. I've been to KD a few times since then, but I skipped I-305 on each of these visits. I just bought a season pass for 2020 and 2021 and I plan on giving I-305 another shot once they reopen.
I've had a season pass to Busch Gardens for a few years now I just gotta say that it is a better park. The coasters are better, the theming is better, the atmosphere is better, and the food is way better.
R.I.P my home park, kings dominion :C
Me as an Australian: “what global financial crisis”
From VA, grew up on bush and Kings. As a family we always went to Bush instead as they have always been the superior park. Now this was during the 90s and early 00s. Things may have changed
I rode KD's Intimidator right after it opened and after 100s of coasters it was the only one, I could feel the blackout coming then the turn was over. I loved it and the surprise the 1st time was nice!
As a local, Hanover County are a bunch of greedy folks, got worse once the state fair moved to the location a mile from kings dominion
Great vid! One of your best ones yet. It's always nice to take a deep dive like this into the industry. I'm glad Carowinds seems to have been the big winner as that is the closest Cedar Fair park to where I live. I wonder how/if Kings Dominion had built a ride more similar to Millennium Force instead of i305. Maybe not at all with the information you shared. It always comes down to dollars.
Those attendance numbers were also interesting. It looks like adding Fury did little to increase Carowind's numbers.
Honestly, these are both bucket list parks for me - more so Carowinds because of Fury. Even without Volcano, though, KD has several fun-looking coasters. I also want to ride Anaconda before it inevitably bites the dust within the next few years.
The COVID closure was honestly a blessing in that regard, in that my platinum pass was extended to next year. I wouldn’t have been able to take a trip out there this year, but now it’s a possibility for next year.
Please do a video of the top 25 coasters built before 2000! It would be cool to see which coasters are over 20 years old.
The loss of Thunder Road at Carowinds is still painful. It was my first coaster as a child, and there was a lot of nostalgia associated with it. I got to ride it on its last day, and got a commemorative button.
Bro you keep pumping out these videos! Are you not sleeping or not working? Great work and great research. Holiwood nights looks like it's moving to August. Hope to see ya there.
I worked on this one for about a week but i have a stash of videos saved up. I actually have less time for YT now than before the quarantine, i may be the only person alive that can say that
This just in Indiana Beach crossed off the word "permanently" on their website!
I blacked out on 305 in kd. It was the first coaster I had ever blacked out on.
Kings Dominion is supposed to be similar to our Ohio Kings Island, which is a GREAT PLACE. I was at Kings Dominion when the Grizzly was the new ride. It was a great place as well. Hope that park continues to get the treatment and attention it deserves, as obviously it has the potential. Great video too, btw!!
I have been on Intimidator at Carowinds and loved it. I was hoping to go to Kings Dominion this summer and go on Intimidator305 but of course we'll have to wait and see what happens. Great video, really enjoyed that one, although seeing these great coasters and not being able to go on any is making me nuts, Lol.
Carowinds is my home park and I went to Kings Dominion last year for a day and was underwhelmed. Volcano really made that 5 hour trip worth it and now that’s it gone, I’m not considering going back until more big coasters are put in. Love KD and hope it becomes as awesome as it use to be!
Kings Dominion is easily the most underrated park in North America
Me and all my friends went to Carowinds for our senior skip day and we rode the Intimidator 11 times in a day while also riding almost every coaster!
I was watching some of your older videos. I came a cross your Six Flags Over Georgia vlog from April 2019. I found it interesting that there was a bumble bee problem on the Joker Funhouse Coaster because I had a similar experience waiting in line for Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure. It really shows how well they keep their parks which is why I much prefer every other American theme park chain like SeaWorld, Universal, Disney, Herschel, and Cedar Fair. (Yes I prefer Disney to Six Flags even though I am a coaster enthusiast)
Kings Dominion is by far the best park i’ve been to
Great video! Really informative and very, very, VERY well-researched!
Carowinds is such a nice park. Living in michigan and going to cedar point hundreds of times in my life, something about going through the beautiful charlotte metro area to see fury and intimidator just over a massive hill on the freeway just seems as cool as first seeing the island cedar point is on. Definitely my second favorite park now that ive been there twice, and plan on going every year they get a new ride.
Going to kings dominion you can really feel something was coming when i went last season, and i definitely look forward to the future of the park.
Even though I live in New York I use to love Kings Dominion but it is not fair that Cedar Fair keep neglecting this park. They are making people go to Busch Gardens who seem to have a lot more to offer. The same things goes with Dorney Park - if they have the adequate rides Dorney Park would be a huge hit. Somebody should take surveys on these two parks and find out what rides or attraction could be up their attendance.
I would LOVE to ride both Intimidator & Intimidator 305 Considering that Dale Earnhardt is one of my all time favorite drivers
I think since they removed volcano, they should add another launch coaster different than flight of fury. Maybe a multi launch, or something like stormrunner
I love your videos my dude
great video! just a couple of points of minor disagreement / additional comments:
- Kings Dominion is only about an hour and a half South of DC, not "2 and a half hours" (it is 2.5 from Baltimore, but there's not a ton of visitors from there). The area to the South of DC (Northern Virginia) is humongous -- about 3.5 million people all by itself, which is 50% larger than the Charlotte metro area -- and that's not counting DC, Maryland, Richmond, or the rest of Virginia.
- These NoVA suburbs are also very affluent -- Northern Virginia is home to six of the ten richest counties in America. This huge, wealthy suburban area is only about an hour to hour and a half away from KD, and it's where most of the people at Kings Dominion on any given day are from.
- Due to traffic and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Six Flags America takes almost as long to get to as Kings Dominion for most Northern Virginia residents, and anyone who's been to both parks would of course much rather go to KD. Most SFA visitors are from Maryland or DC. It can't be overstated what a huge pain it is to get to from, say, Fairfax in Virginia, and everyone knows SFA sucks compared to KD or BG. SFA's local reputation is abysmal.
- The real differentiator in attendence potential between Carowinds and KD is Busch Gardens. Even though you have to literally drive past Kings Dominion (you can see the tower and coasters from the highway) and then keep driving for another hour to get to Busch, this is exactly what many, many families from Northern VA do. It's considered more "upscale" than KD, and i think the perception for parents is that they'd rather take their family to Williamsburg (picturing fancy restaurants, beautiful vistas, golf, colonial re-enactors, and so on) than to Doswell (picturing ... a seedy truck stop and a burger king).
- The loss of Volcano is so, so sad. I don't think it was a part of Cedar Fair's bigger picture plans, otherwise there wouldn't have been that 7-year drought. I didn't even personally like Volcano that much as a ride (awesome launch and loop, a bunch of slow motion barrel rolls, and a hill that bizarrely slams immediately into a brake run -- that's the whole ride), but it certainly was unique, insanely popular, and a heck of an iconic thing towering over the park. I think Cedar Fair thought it, Dominator, i305, and Twisted Timbers would carry them for a while. With Volcano's loss, the park is suddenly in a hole it didn't expect to be in. I wonder if its untimely demise is ending up extending the life of Flight of Fear and/or Anaconda.
If you include Maryland in the equation, you also have to add HersheyPark to King's Dominion's competition
Hersheypark is for kids.
You should do more of these theories these are awesome
I live three hours south of Kings Dominion and two hours north of Carowinds, I am a season ticket holder to Carowinds and still prefer Kings Dominion. Having been to both in the past year, Kings Dominion definitely has better theme and roller coasters. Kings Dominion is by far my favorite!
wheres tom? airtime thrills is lucky!
Forgot to mention that Carowinds is also 3 and a half hours from Atlanta as well which is also a very large and fast growing city. Yes SFOG is here but Carowinds is the closer CF park with an awesome ride collection which is a quick drive from home.
That intro was🔥🔥
This was an interesting video to watch, thank you for making it. I had to laugh when you mentioned the hotel figure because over the weekend I went to KD and CW, and rented one of those 20,000 hotel rooms in Charlotte! But this was mostly because prices were much higher near KD.
I think it is a real shame that Intimidator 305 seems to be the bane of KD. Both it and Fury 325 were hyped and while I found Fury better than Orion, it was sadly modern B&M: Boring & Monotonous. Intimidator 305 exceeded all my expectations and I rode it at least 10 times. A week later I305 is all I can think about and I made an unscheduled trip to CP for Maverick on Labor Day for the next best thing.
I wonder how KD would fair if Cedar Fair swapped Intimidator 305 with Orion from KI?
I can not believe it's been ten years since I've been to Carowinds!!
I live 20 minutes from carowinds! I love it there! So many great rides. I really wish they would tap into the nostalgia factor by opening a couple of those old rides from the past. (Blackbeard's Revenge)
Its nice to watch something that has nothing to do with CV. Please carry on with your regular content for everyone's sanity!!
You should describe all cedar fair parks in one word
Closed
@@AirtimeThrills lol
I want to see Kings Dominion to overtake Busch Gardens Williamsburg - until/unless BGW sees the light, tears down Verbolten, and brings back the Wolf.