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Kings Dominion
Welcome back to Kerney-cation! Last week, we drove down to Doswell, Virginia for Kings Dominion‘s opening weekend, including the pass holder preview event. King’s Dominion was originally a Paramount Park that was purchased by Cedar Point’s parent company, Cedar Fair in 2006 along with five other theme parks.
We loved our visit to Kings Dominion and we can’t wait to go back this summer! In this video and post, we wanted to share what’s new for 2024 at Kings Dominion!
What’s New?
Project 305
Cedar Fair no longer has IP licensing for two of their Dale Earnhardt themed roller coasters, Intimidator at Carowinds and Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion. All refernces to Intimidator and Dale Earnhardt have been removed. Intimidator at Carowinds is now called Thunder Striker, and the gift shop is now called Earl’s Garage.
At Kings Dominion, Intimidator 305 is now called Project 305! The gift shop and photo location for Project 305 is now called 305 Photo. We are unsure if Project 305 is a permanent name or just a placeholder, but if a permanent sign replaces the temporary sign, that should seal the deal on the name.
The ride is still the same, and all decals referencing Intimidator have also been removed. We hope to see some decals added to the trains with the ride’s new name too.
New VIP lounge, Old Dominion Inn
Starting in 2024, pass holders can now upgrade to the prestige pass that was offered last year for similar Cedar Fair Parks. This “VIP” Season pass has many benefits, but one of them is access to the VIP lounge.
Of all the VIP lounges I have accessed at Cedar Fair Parks, this is by far the best. This is the only VIP lounge I have visited that is an actual building (Knott’s Berry Farm has a building too, but I haven’t accessed it yet!). King’s Island comes in third behind Knott’s with an outdoor structure that was built last season in the Mercado, and Carowinds and Cedar Point are tied for last, with a temporary outdoor tent at both parks.
This location really sets the bar for the VIP lounges across the brands. The indoor space has a pop machine, water fountain, and multiple TV/Couch lounge areas. In addition to the indoor space, there is a covered outdoor space with rocking chairs, TVs, multiple lounge spaces, and two propane fire pits.
We can’t wait to access it during a hot or rainy day to really take advantage of the space.
Victoria’s Pizza Update
During the offseason, Victoria’s Pizza was refreshed and updated! We did not experience Victoria’s Pizza prior to the update, but it looked great during our visit! My kids love Pizza, so we ate here twice during our visit! It’s on the meal plan too!
The front ordering area looked really fresh and the queue line barriers fit very well with the overall theming of the venue. There was themed art throughout the building that augmented the experience as a n Italian dining venue.
In addition to Pizza, they also offered the Piadina! We tried this at Carowinds this year and it was great. It’s nice to have another option besides Pizza for the adults. This is a must do for us since our kids love Pizza and we will definitely visit again!
Rumored Roller Coaster for 2025
Make sure to check out KDFans.com for their awesome article on this topic, but we saw some new construction walls and signage next to Tumbili and Reptilian (previously called Avalanche) where Volcano used to be. The Volcano blast coaster was removed years ago, and the Volcano was also torn down.
This area is rumored to be a future location of a new launched wing coaster. Kings Dominion has not confirmed this rumor as of the writing of this article. Kings Dominion will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary in 2025, so opening a brand new roller coaster for their anniversary really fits the bill in our opinion.
We will keep an eye on this location and on the lookout for any official media releases from Kings Dominion.
Taco Shack Closed
Similar to Victoria’s Pizza, we had not experienced Taco Shack, but the sign had been removed from the building and it was closed during opening weekend. It has also been removed from the theme park map.
Conclusion
Each year, Cedar Fair parks change a little, but we are really looking forward to Kings Dominion’s 50th anniversary next year in 2025. Hopefully there will be a new roller coaster!
This was our first video from our visit, so be sure to check us out on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram as we post the rest from our family adventure!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this real family vacation!
