Pick which one you would go to

5/22/2013 6:08:56 PM

Busch Gardens

5/22/2013 6:09:33 PM

^ seconded. but if i *had* to pick between those two...kings dominion.

5/22/2013 6:10:28 PM

I haven't been to one of these places in over 10 years.

I def want to go get a bit intoxicated and ride the rollercoasters

5/22/2013 6:14:22 PM

Which one had that rickety old Rebel Yell? KD?

5/22/2013 6:18:34 PM

yep

5/22/2013 6:19:28 PM

never understood why people in the triangle go to kings dominion when its the same as carowinds but as far as busch gardens.

Their market should only be nova folks. Even DC people should be going to six flags.

5/22/2013 6:20:38 PM

ok so where's the best amusement park within 5 hours of raleigh then?

5/22/2013 6:21:40 PM

busch gardens hands down.

carowinds kd and six flags america are all about the same suck but i guess kd is about 1 ride better maybe 2.

[Edited on May 22, 2013 at 6:29 PM. Reason : carowinds is only closer if you know the back route]

5/22/2013 6:28:22 PM

KD all the way. the launch coasters are much more fun than the stuff at carowinds.

5/22/2013 6:31:25 PM

any good camping spots up by williamsburg?

5/22/2013 6:38:06 PM

it must be nice to ride a rollercoaster as an adult without the fear of decapitation

5/22/2013 6:57:20 PM

^^tons of neat parks nearby. plum tree island is special to my heart but is really nothing special than just a wildlife reserve on the chesapeake. no big deal.

5/22/2013 7:00:56 PM

aren't Carowinds and King's Dominion basically the same park? or is there a lot of variety between the various Paramount parks? i don't know

5/22/2013 7:03:15 PM

Quote :

"Even DC people should be going to six flags."

hahaha fuck no.

KD was great last summer. wish I had a chance to ride the intimidator before the brakes were put on the first turn.

5/22/2013 7:07:21 PM

isn't this a no-brainer? i've never been to carowinds, but was under the impression it was just a smaller/waterered-down version of KD.

but, i do second the claim that busch gardens is the best. KD does have a lot more roller coasters, but the ones at busch gardens are better and the park is much cleaner. i remember KD being pretty dingy last time i was there.

5/22/2013 7:35:07 PM

the Intimidator at KD was worth going by itself but I went before any changes were made. First roller coaster I have ever been on that people actually complaining of blacking out on. But the speeds were amazing

5/22/2013 7:52:20 PM

Kings Dominion and Carowinds are completely different. They have one coaster that is identical (Hurler) and one that is similar (Thunder Road and Rebel Yell). The rest are completely different. Intimidator at Carowinds is my favorite coaster between the two parks, but Kings Dominion is definitely a better park IMO.

As has been pointed out, though, Busch Gardens is far superior to both. It's one of the best parks in the world.

5/22/2013 8:13:28 PM

^ Agree with everything here.

5/22/2013 8:33:39 PM

^,^^ +1

5/22/2013 8:40:52 PM

bush gardens is the fucking shit

carowinds sucks

never been to KD

5/22/2013 8:45:45 PM

Kings Dominion beats Carowinds all day, every day...and busch gardens is just a totally different experience, also great.

While KD and Caro both have the Intimidator, the one at Kings Dominion is bigger, higher, and faster.

On that first turn after the huge drop, I had hardcore tunnel vision, and serious mental disorientation, very close to blacking out. Senses had faded out so much I felt like I was watching myself first person on a tv set, and wasn't actually on the coaster anymore. I remember being very confused for what felt like some time but what was really just a few moments. (FWIW I was tensing my legs and abs, and breathing hard through that g-turn not to lose it)

The GF wasn't so lucky, as the ride ended I looked over and she was pale with her head back and mouth open, still OUT. She came back before we got off, but the blackout rumors were true.

Really just incredibly fast and the highest I've ever been on a coaster, but like has been said here, I read that they did put some braking on that first bit due to the complaints of the weak.

5/22/2013 10:32:48 PM

Kings Dominion

5/22/2013 10:39:10 PM

does KD have the Sky Coaster?

that shit is crazy on gold caps and bat hits

5/22/2013 10:45:05 PM

Emerald Pointe

5/22/2013 10:45:15 PM

silver lake

5/22/2013 11:02:19 PM

Busch gardens. If you want your legs cut off

Kd is great though. But if you're looking for a place to drive to have fun and come home Carowinds is your place. There is nothing wrong with the park.

5/22/2013 11:13:37 PM

Cedar Point

5/22/2013 11:19:38 PM

Going to Cedar Point this weekend

(Busch Gardens is much better though)

5/22/2013 11:39:11 PM

Ah fuck, I worked at Carowinds one summer operating the Vortex (they changed their names after Paramount sold it). Just the thought of going back their reminds me of the lovely smell of hot asphalt mixed with puke.

So I know they changed the names of most of the rides back then, what did the Intimidator used to be? Was that Top Gun?

5/23/2013 10:25:02 AM

Intimidator is a new ride. Top Gun is called Afterburn now.

5/23/2013 10:30:26 AM

I'm going to carowinds in a couple weeks for the first time since I was like 16. Can you buy beer at these shits or do I have to be irresponsible?

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

5/23/2013 2:10:15 PM

Quote :

""I mean, she has kids in her school that say, 'Don't worry, you can always get a job at IHOP. I hear it's expensive to go to Six Flags. It costs you an arm and a leg. The Hellevator's not really much of a ride. It only drops two feet,'" said Franklin."

http://www.wdrb.com/global/story.asp?s=9396402&ClientType=Printable

5/23/2013 2:17:28 PM

Special thanks to all those that helped me decide to go to Busch Gardens this past Saturday! There was a food lion online promo code so it was only $56 per person for a day ticket. I had an awesome time and I won't spoil it for anyone, but the new Verbolten coaster was incredible!!! I waited an hour for that ride, 30 minutes for the front row of the Griffon and the Curse of Darkastle, and surprisingly not more than 20 minutes for any other ride. I thought there were far fewer animals but better rides in Williamsburg compared to BG in Tampa. A really, really fun time was had.

5/28/2013 12:11:03 AM

I didn't know there were any animals in Williamsburg BG.

Maybe some Clydesdales

5/28/2013 12:14:37 AM

Should have gone on a week day with a chance of rain. Wouldn't have waited in line as long and if it did rain you would have had a rain check to go again

5/28/2013 12:29:58 AM

Kings Dominion was my first real theme park. First ride was the Intimidator.....it was one of the coolest coasters I've ever ridden...and it was hard to explain...but it's not quite blacking out..."graying out" was the term...I absolutely loved it.

The rest of the rides there sucked.

5/28/2013 12:46:45 AM

Volcano? Grizzly? Dominator? Flight of Fear? All excellent rides.

5/28/2013 12:57:28 AM

I haven't been to Kings Dominion in probably 12 years or so, do all the rides still bang your head around? not really fun to ride roller coasters and feel like you're getting punched in the head

5/28/2013 10:04:59 AM

Anaconda and Shockwave definitely do and are not very fun. The rest are fine. Flight of Fear was the most guilty of bashing heads around, but they removed the shoulder restraints and replaced them with lap bars so it's a million times better.

5/28/2013 10:12:09 AM

It's crazy how much better Flight of Fear is with the lap bars. Also, the KD one is a million times better than the KI one since it doesn't come to a screeching halt in the mid course brakes.

5/28/2013 10:20:08 AM

Busch Gardens

5/28/2013 10:26:58 AM

Last time I was at Kings Dominion (admittedly 3 years ago) they were definitely bringing it to a stop on the mid-course. I would love to ride that coaster trimless; I bet it would be insane.

5/28/2013 10:27:01 AM

busch gardens

i prefer the tampa bay one to williamsburg, but it's been some time since i've been to TB

[Edited on May 28, 2013 at 10:40 AM. Reason : .]

5/28/2013 10:39:46 AM

The last time I went to Carowinds(many years ago) they had just lost their naming rights with Paramount and most of the rides had changed names. The whole feel of the park at that point was really "run down" and it's discouraged me from making an effort to go back anytime soon.

Busch Gardens FTW though.

5/28/2013 11:26:55 AM

the scariest roller coaster i've ever been on was the WEDway PeopleMover

5/28/2013 11:31:11 AM

^yes there was a dark period between ownership changes. It's much better now

5/28/2013 11:31:44 AM

Quote :

"Last time I was at Kings Dominion (admittedly 3 years ago) they were definitely bringing it to a stop on the mid-course. I would love to ride that coaster trimless; I bet it would be insane."

According to Wikipedia they removed the brakes after modifying the track itself to make the turn more gradual:

Quote :

"During the following off-season, Kings Dominion replaced three sections of the roller coaster's track, widening the radius of the first high-speed turn to reduce friction and impact on riders. With this improvement, the trim brakes on the ride's first drop were removed, returning the ride to its original speed."

5/28/2013 11:42:11 AM

^ The wikipidia article is referring to Intimidator 305. We were talking about Flight of Fear, which is the indoor launch coaster at both Kings Island and Kings Dominion.

Quote :

"Last time I was at Kings Dominion (admittedly 3 years ago) they were definitely bringing it to a stop on the mid-course. I would love to ride that coaster trimless; I bet it would be insane."

It's been a few years for me as well, but I rode both within a week of each other and I remember there being a distinct difference in the amount of breaking. Both cut speed, but KI practically stopped. I could just be misremembering though.

[Edited on May 28, 2013 at 12:00 PM. Reason : ']

5/28/2013 11:59:57 AM

--------->

5/28/2013 12:02:38 PM