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Kings Dominion history
Kings Dominion company history timeline
Opened in 1975, Kings Dominion has offered millions of guests a wide variety of rides, attractions, shows, and menu options.
Attractions for the season in 1975 included Rebel Yell roller coaster, Lion Country Safari Monorail, Log Flume, a Steam Train, Sky Ride, Galaxie roller coaster, and the park's signature attraction, the Eiffel Tower.
In 1977, Kings Dominion added a fourth roller coaster in King Kobra.
Taft Broadcasting Company sold its theme park division in late 1983 for $167.5 million to Kings Entertainment Company (KECO), a new company formed by senior executives and general managers of Taft's Amusement Park Group.
One of the first additions under the new management group was Berserker – a looping starship ride added to International Street in 1984.
In 1986, Shockwave, a standup roller coaster, was added.
Racing Rivers, a water slide complex, opened in 1987.
American Financial Group later purchased KECO in 1987 but allowed KECO to continue to manage operations at the amusement parks.
Avalanche, which remains the only Mack Bobsled roller coaster in the United States, opened in 1988.
The decade of the 90's began with the expansion of Hanna-Barbera Land in 1990.
A thrilling new ride was introduced in 1991, Anaconda, which was the first roller coaster in the world the feature an underwater tunnel.
A new 20-acre (81,000 m) water park addition called Hurricane Reef opened in 1992.
Kings Dominion continued its growth when it became part of Paramount Parks in 1993 and switched its name to Paramount's Kings Dominion.
The 1994 season saw the addition of a new themed area of the park called Wayne's World, which featured a wooden roller coaster , The Hurler.
1996 Kings Dominion Guide & Map ©Frank Forrester
In 1996, Kings Dominion introduced its second launched roller coaster, and first LIM-launched roller coaster, The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear.
1997 featured the debut of KidZville, a re-theming of the Hanna-Barbera section.
Volcano was themed to the 1997 film Volcano; the other Paramount Parks added inverted or suspended roller coasters themed to Top Gun around the same time.
The trend of adding launch coasters continued in 1998 when the park opened Volcano, The Blast Coaster.
Expansion continued in the waterpark area with a re-theme to WaterWorks in 1999.
In 2000, Nick Central opened, replacing Nick Splat City and part of Kidzville.
Hypersonic XLC, a Thrust Air 2000 air-launched coaster made by S&S Power, launched riders from 0 to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) in 1.5 seconds, taking them up an 87-degree incline and down an 87-degree drop.
The park added its third launched roller coaster, Hypersonic XLC, in 2001.
In 2002, the park opened its new wild mouse roller coaster, Ricochet (Now known as Apple Zapple), Carowinds also installed its Ricochet in 2002.
The 2003 season saw Kings Dominion become the final of several of the Paramount Parks to open a Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, now Drop Tower: Scream Zone.
In 2004, Kings Dominion added Scooby-Doo! And the Haunted Mansion; similar Scooby-Doo-themed dark rides had opened at three other Paramount Parks during the three previous seasons.
The following year, in 2005, Tomb Raider: The Ride (now The Crypt) was added.
In the next season, Kings Dominion added a Huss Top Spin called Tomb Raider: Firefall, and was named The Crypt, which was a standard size and outdoor version of a similar, but larger, ride named Tomb Raider: The Ride, also now The Crypt, at Kings Island. It is similar to the Backlot Stunt Coaster rides at Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland, which both opened in 2005.
On May 22, 2006, Cedar Fair announced the purchase of all five Paramount Parks.
The sale was finalized on June 30, 2006 for $1.24 billion.
In the 2006 season, Kings Dominion opened the Italian Job Turbo Coaster, its fourth launched roller coaster.
On October 23, 2007, Kings Dominion announced that Dominator, a floorless roller coaster, would be moved to Kings Dominion and located in the International Street section.
The park continued to operate as Paramount's Kings Dominion until the beginning of the 2007 season when Paramount was dropped from the title.
Control of Paramount Parks had been transferred from Viacom to CBS Corporation in 2007.
Kings Dominion expanded WaterWorks for the 2007 season, adding a second wave pool called Tidal Wave Bay, a four-person family raft slide called Zoom Flume, and a ProSlide Tornado.
Dominator opened on May 24, 2008, becoming Kings Dominion's first roller coaster with five inversions.
The ride features a cable lift hill, an 85° first drop and a maximum speed of 90 mph (140 km/h). The ride, which is themed to NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, was announced on August 20, 2009, and represents the park's largest-ever capital investment.
The park added its first Ferris Wheel in 2009 with Americana, as well as El Dorado, a family flat ride.
The ride features a cable lift hill, an 85° first drop and a maximum speed of 90 mph (140 km/h). The ride, which is themed to NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, was announced on August 20, 2009, and represents the park's largest-ever capital investment. It was opened to the public in May 2010.
Also for the 2010 season, the Kidzville and Nickelodeon Universe areas of the park began being re-themed to Planet Snoopy, as were the children's areas at Canada's Wonderland and Kings Island.
2011 Kings Dominion Park Map
A new light show, Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular, was added in 2011.
2012 Kings Dominion Park Map
For the 2012 season, Kings Dominion installed WindSeeker in the Grove section of the park next to the Juke Box Diner.
2013 Kings Dominion Park Map
For the 2013 season, Planet Snoopy merged with KidZville during a 7-acre (2.8 ha) expansion to form the largest Planet Snoopy in the Cedar Fair chain.
2014 Kings Dominion Park Map & Guide
For the 2014 season, Kings Dominion commemorated the 40th anniversary of Lion Country Safari and the preview-opening of Kings Dominion by returning park icons from past eras.
On May 3rd, 2015 Kings Dominion celebrated it OFFICIAL 40th Birthday with a huge party at the park that included a plaque dedication for the front gate, live entertainment in all areas of the park, special birthday prizes for guests and much more.
On August 9, 2015, Shockwave closed in Candy Apple Grove permanently, and a swinging pendulum ride titled "Delirium" was built in its place.
Hurler closed permanently at the end of the season on November 1, 2015.
2015 Kings Dominion Park Map
In 2015 Kings Dominion rebranded its Waterpark to Soak City and added a new Mega Slide Complex, Hurricane Heights and family splash zone, Splash Island.
For the 2015 season, Kings Dominion continued in celebration of its 40th anniversary with a major expansion to WaterWorks.
On October 15, 2016, Kings Dominion announced that the Hurler wooden coaster would be permanently closed.
2016 Kings Dominion Park Map
In 2016 Kings Dominion introduces the all new gravity defying thrill ride, DELIRIUM!
2017 Kings Dominion Park Map
In 2017 we're making room for more fun, more laughs and more thrills will our Planet Snoopy expansion that includes 3 new thrill rides- Kite Eating Tree, Sally's Sea Plane, and Peanuts 500.
For the 2018 season, Kings Dominion opened Twisted Timbers on March 24, 2018, three years after Hurler operated for the last time, converting the track from wood to steel.
Tornado, Dinosaurs Alive, and Volcano: The Blast Coaster were all removed before the 2019 season.
In January 2020, the park also announced the removal of The Crypt to make room for future development in the Safari Village section of the park.
Kings Dominion did not open for its normal operating schedule in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Kings Dominion competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carowinds | 1973 | $23.0M | 506 | 64 |
| Worlds of Fun | 1973 | $44.0M | 3,000 | 10 |
| Lake Compounce | - | $3.7M | 152 | - |
| Cedar Fair | 1983 | $1.8B | 2,200 | 21 |
| Paramount's Kings Island | - | $4.3M | 50 | - |
| Elitch Gardens | 1890 | $6.0M | 50 | 5 |
| Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom | 1884 | $32.0M | 331 | 6 |
| California's Great America | 1976 | $90.0M | 3,000 | 17 |
| Universal Studios Hollywood | 1964 | $4.2B | 30,000 | 25 |
| SeaWorld | 1959 | $1.7B | 22,100 | - |
Kings Dominion history FAQs
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