For its 15th coaster, Kings Dominion is looking up for inspiration. Way up. 305 feet up, to be exact. That's the incredible height that the "Giga-Coaster" will soar when it debuts in April 2010. Kings Dominion is also looking up to the heavens to Dale Earnhardt, the racing car legend, whose nickname, the Intimidator, will grace the ride.
Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion Stats
- Type of coaster: Giga-Coaster
- Height: 305 feet
- First drop angle: 85 degrees (just shy of straight down)
- First drop: 300 feet
- Top speed: 90+ mph
- Track length: 5100 feet
- Ride time: 3:00
See Kings Dominion's Intimidator 305
- Kings Dominion Intimidator 305 Preview Photo Gallery
- Kings Dominion Intimidator 305 Aerial Perspective Preview Video
- Kings Dominion Intimidator 305 Off-Ride Perspective Preview Video
- Kings Dominion Intimidator 305 POV Preview Video
The Intimidator 305 "Giga-Coaster" Will Have Riders Going Gaga
Like the original Giga-Coaster, Millennium Force at sister park, Cedar Point, Intimidator 305 will be all about crazy speed and intense G-forces. It will not include any inversions, nor will it incorporate any gimmicky features such as an hydraulic launch or rider-controlled onboard audio. But it will go insanely fast and should rattle riders with enough positive Gs to, well, intimidate the heck out of them.To reinforce its stock car racing theme, Intimidator 305 will send its passengers racing, navigate some highly banked turns, and, for the most part, stay relatively close to the ground. Most other high and mighty coasters, such as the wonderful Diamondback that debuted in 2009 at Kings Island, use their massive pent-up energy to scale a series of huge hills that deliver huge doses of airtime. After its blood-curdling, 300-foot first drop, Intimidator 305 will instead race through a series of ground-level, high-speed turns.
That's not to say that Intimidator 305 won't include some airtime. In between the turns, the coaster will offer some modest hills that, according to Kings Dominion, will deliver six moments of out-of-your-seat weightlessness. Without huge hills or, apparently, any trim brakes to slow the trains down, Intimidator 305 should really tear through its course at breakneck speed until it heads back to the ride station.
Kings Dominion says the ride will set them back $25 million. Other than the name, and trains designed to resemble Earnhardt's black Chevy, it doesn't appear that Intimidator 305 will have much in the way of themeing. In these austere times, that's a carload of bucks being spent on pure thrills. The new ride won't break any records. In fact, it will be slightly smaller, shorter, and slower than Millennium Force. But it will still rank among the world's fastest and tallest coasters.
