On December 31, 2021, New Year’s Eve, Sam and I found ourselves at Kings Dominion, joined by Kaylee and Bernard, to bring in the New Year. We were one train behind being out on the track of Twisted Timbers as the fireworks show began. Instead we were the first train dispatched in 2022. What an awesome coaster to start off the New Year.
A couple of weeks ago Sam pitched the idea of heading back to Kings Dominion for New Year’s Eve once again. The forecast called for a spell of warm weather, but sadly, New Year’s Eve was also calling for rain. We decided not to chance riding down to find rides, or the park itself, closing early. We decided to go on New Year’s Day instead. And yes, we made sure Twisted Timbers was the first coaster we rode this year too.
Kings Dominion Could Use Another Coaster for Winterfest
For some reason I was under the impression that Tumbili was on the ride list for 2023’s Winterfest. I was wrong. Like last year’s event the park ran just three coasters: Dominator, Twisted Timbers, and the Great Pumpkin Coaster for the kids. While the park was far from busy, I just feel like the park could use another offering.
Flight of Fear makes the most sense to run being indoors. Sadly, it’s also at the farthest end of the park. My feeling is that they don’t want to have to open, and thus decorate that entire area for just one ride. It makes sense if that is the reason why it does not run.
Right next to Twisted Timbers, Apple Zapple seems like a no-brainer. It would be a ride people of all ages can enjoy. I know the ride doesn’t take a large staff to run, so I don’t think staffing is the issue here. Maybe it has strict cold weather restrictions? That’s the only thing I could see being the issue with running this ride as it’s right in the middle of other rides that are open.
Back in 2020, if I remember correctly, the park was running Racer 75 for their shortened Winterfest offering. If Racer is capable of running, that would make for an amazing night ride with all the park lights. Unless you all want to do Grizzly after it’s re-tracked? I kid, I kid!
While not a coaster, Boo Blasters on Boo Hill would also make for a nice little addition. It’s an all ages ride, would let visitors get in from out of the cold for a few minutes, and is really close to the kids section of the park that is well-decorated. Not sure why this one is closed for the event?
Anyhow, enough about what they could add. Let me talk about the two thrill coasters they do offer in Twisted Timbers and Dominator – both of which we rode multiple times on Sunday.
Twisted Timbers
There was never any doubt that we’d be spending the majority of our night riding Twisted Timbers. The line wasn’t bad, with our longest wait coming for a front seat ride on our third or fourth ride of the night. We only waited due to a number of riders with ADA passes selecting the front seat multiple times. While that wouldn’t have been bad, every time they went to ride it seemed as if someone had phones, keys, etc. in their pockets, further delaying boarding.
While on this topic, the number of people who managed to get baseball caps, glasses without straps, and loose articles into the station Sunday was out of the norm for this ride. The ride ops in the station were on point catching so many people and then breaking their hearts when they made them leave to go to the lockers and wait in the line over again. What doesn’t make any sense is how so many people got past the staff at the lockers. It was so bad for a span of several rides I considered mentioning it to them when we walked through the detectors on our next ride. Alas, I did not, but I’m thinking someone on staff must have mentioned it. All the rides at the end of the night were free and clear of loose article issues.
As for the ride, Twisted Timbers was amazing as always. Even in the dead of winter this thing has an attitude. While the back is usually where it hits hardest, Sam and I noticed some forceful ejector in the first two rows. It was so good that we went back up to ride in the front a few times when we saw the lines were short.
All in all, we managed 10 rides and just missed out on being the final train of the night. I’m so glad Twisted Timbers is capable of running during this event. It’s my favorite coaster at the park and one of those ones I just have a ton of fun with every single ride. Sam is the same way.
Dominator
Just to break things up for a bit, Sam and I decided to head over to Dominator bout half-way through our evening. We found it to be a walk-on and went right up and into the back row as soon as we entered the station. On our second ride, we grabbed a front row ride and only had to wait for one train.
The back row bounced my head around a couple of times at the very end of the ride – one of which came heading into the final brake run. The front didn’t have any of that, although it was much colder without seats and riders in front of us.
I’ve always enjoyed Dominator, but as is the case with a few other B&M Floorless coasters lately, I’ve been noticing an increased rattle and extra head banging moment or two as the years go by. I’m wondering if floorless trains could get vest restraints similar to what is found on the newer dive coasters? Since floorless coasters focus mostly on inversions over airtime, they might even be better suited for the restraints than their dive counterparts.
Final Ride Counts
Dominator (2)
Twisted Timbers (10)
Another New Year at Kings Dominion
Years ago I never thought I’d be visiting amusement parks during New Year’s Eve/Day festivities, at least in this region. Although most parks operate limited attractions, I’m still happy that we have something we can enjoy this late/early into the year. Kings Dominion has looked beautiful all four times I’ve attended Winterfest. I find it to be one of the best looking parks when it comes to their lighting and the atmosphere as a whole. Between the lights hanging from all the trees, rides, and walkways, to the Eiffel Tower and ice skating rink at the park’s entrance, it is visually stunning. If you’ve been on the fence about visiting a park for their winter events, you can’t go wrong with Kings Dominion.
Be sure to check out some of my past blogs/vlogs to get even more insight on how much the crew has come to love Winterfest at Kings Dominion.
Kings Dominion Photo Gallery - January 1, 2023
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Admiral
New Credit(s): n/a
2 thoughts on “Kings Dominion – Getting it ‘Twisted’ on New Year’s… Again”
Nice post.
Thank you so much and for stopping by. What’s your favorite ride, past or present, at Kings Dominion?
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