Lots to Enjoy for New and Regular Visitors to Kings Dominion
When I was in high school and college, my school would hold annual field trips to Kings Dominion. I hadn’t visited the park since 2005, and I was amazed at how much the park had changed since my last visit. My family and I took a trip to the back in June and the kids loved it. We hadn’t seen everything the park had to offer so when I was asked about visiting again I figured it would be a great trip for the older kids and their cousin.
“Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company in conjunction with Blog Meets Brand, and I have been compensated for my participation. All opinions are my own.”
So much has changed about the park since my visit back in 2005 that I wanted to share a list of things the park has added since then. There’s lots for new and regular visitors to Kings Dominion to enjoy and if you haven’t visited recently, I would say a visit is in order because you may actually be a Kings Dominion first timer again.
Photo Credit: Kings Dominion
In 2006 Kings Dominion added a new coaster, now Backlot Stunt Coaster, this ride is a favorite of teens, and lasts about two minutes. Thunder Raceway Go-Karts was also added that year.
The park hosts quite a few special events throughout the year, in 2007 they added Halloween Haunt, a new addition to the events line up. We attended Spring Bloom and ended up catching a free Sabrina Carpenter concert while there. There are some great events coming up in the next couple of weeks at Kings Dominion including Kids Fest that starts on July 16th, BBQ and Brew Fest held during the first three weekends in August, Coaster Campout (August 19-20) where you can spend the night in the park and enjoy extra ride hours, and Oktoberfest (September 24-25).
Photo Credit: Kings Dominion – Dominator Roller Coaster
Kings Dominion has some great roller coaster rides, I will never forget my first time riding Rebel Yell and Grizzly. Both of these wooden roller coaster scared me to death. I’m not a big fan of big coasters and I still don’t like wooden ones. In 2008 Dominator was added to the park’s roster of coasters.
In 2009 two new rides were added one of which is the beautiful Americana Ferris Wheel. That same year they updated the track for Grizzly, to provide guests with a much smoother ride. Maybe I should try it again since they improved on the ride experience.
Photo Credit: Kings Dominion – Intimidator 305
Intimidator 305 was named the biggest and fastest roller coaster on the east coaster when the park introduced it in 2010. We saw this ride when we were in the park and it looked killer. My sister would ride it all day long but I couldn’t. In 2011 a new light show was added starring PEANUTS characters. When we were leaving out they had already started with the lights and music. We stopped and danced for a bit with the kids.
My nephew is a huge fan of dinosaurs, and in 2012 Kings Dominion added Dinosaurs Alive, with over 40 life sized dinosaurs this is a must for all ages.
When we visited recently we started in the water section of the park since it was so hot outside. We ended up making our way around to Planet Snoopy on our way out of the park that night.
We had loads of fun when we visited back in May, it’s a great section of the park for families with younger children. Most of the rides in this section my older kids can ride on their own, there are a few family rides as well so parents can enjoy the ride with the kids as well.
The park began celebrating it’s 40th anniversary in 2014 by bringing back some classics from the past, that included the return of Candy Apple Grove which is right in front of the water park section. In 2015 the park re-branded the water park, naming it Soak City. If you haven’t been since the new expansion of the water park, I suggest you get some tickets and visit now. We enjoyed our time in the water section, keeping cool. They have added so many cool slides, a splash park area for families, and the lazy river is the perfect way to relax and enjoy the water.
Brand new for 2016 is Delirium, if you haven’t been to the park this year you have to check out this ride. It’s a fun ride for older kids, mines were too short to ride it but it looks really great.
Overall we had a great time at Kings Dominion experiencing some great first time moments, I can’t wait to head back to the park again and have fun with my family. If you live close to the park or plan to visit a few times I suggest trying the season pass that will get you into the park all year, even for shoulder events. Kings Dominion is open all summer long for hours of family fun and entertainment. Visit the website for special offers, events, park times, and more.
