Dominator (roller coaster)
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| Dominator | |
 Dominator at its new home in Kings Dominion |
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| Location | Kings Dominion |
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| Type | Steel - Floorless |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | May 5, 2000 + May 24, 2008 |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Floorless Coaster |
| Lift/launch system | chainlift |
| Height | 157 ft (48 m) |
| Drop | 148 ft (45 m) |
| Length | 4,210 ft (1,280 m) |
| Max speed | 65 mph (105 km/h) |
| Inversions | 5 |
| Duration | 2:06 |
| Max vertical angle | 57° |
| Max g-force | 3.8 |
| Dominator at RCDB Pictures of Dominator at RCDB |
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Dominator is a steel floorless roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard currently operating at King's Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. The ride originally operated at Geauga Lake before Cedar Fair announced the park wouldn't operate anymore as an amusement park.
Dominator is a notable floorless roller coaster, holding the records for world's largest vertical loop by diamater and the world's longest floorless coaster at 4,210 feet. Although Dominator contains the world's largest vertical loop, that loop is not the tallest roller coaster inversion in the world or even the tallest inversion on any of Kings Dominion's roller coasters. Volcano, The Blast Coaster has upside-down track at its highest point, 155 feet above ground; however, this inversion is a unique sidewinder-like element known as a roll out.[1][2]
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[edit] History
[edit] Six Flags era
Dominator (then known as Batman: Knight Flight) was originally installed at Geauga Lake while it was owned by Six Flags in 2000. The ride was a part of the Six Flags conversion that occurred between 1999 and 2000, transforming the park from Geauga Lake to Six Flags Ohio. This coaster was one of the four coasters built during the conversion (the other three being Steel Venom (then Superman: Ultimate Escape), The Villain, and Beaver Land Mine Ride (then Roadrunner Express)). The ride originally opened on May 5th, 2000.
During Six Flags' ownership, the ride was the star attraction of the Gotham City themed area and featured various Batman theming. The seats of the ride's trains had the Batman symbol engraved into the headrests and the station originally had text reading "Bruce Wayne Foundation." The ride was also notable for interacting with the lake numerous times throughout the course.
It is commonly believed that the song called Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry by Canton, Ohio's Christian pop-punk band Relient K; the line "and I lost my phone to the lake beneath the Batman ride" referenced the ride while it was Batman: Knight Flight.[citation needed]
[edit] Geauga Lake era
When Cedar Fair bought the park, Cedar Fair did not own the rights to D.C. Comics characters, which is why the ride was renamed to Dominator. The new name is shared with Dorney Park's (a sister park) S&S Tower ride of the same name. Themes featuring Batman were removed, which included; melting the Batman symbol off every seat, paving over the Bruce Wayne Foundation text on the station, and renaming the Gotham City section into "Power City." At the end of the 2004 season, Dominator received a brand new light up sign.
On September 21, 2007, Cedar Fair announced that Geauga Lake would no longer operate partially as a traditional amusement park, and instead become solely a waterpark, Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom. With that announcement, the rides from the amusement park side will be relocated to other amusement parks in the Cedar Fair chain.
[edit] King's Dominion era
As of October 23, 2007, the ride was officially announced to be relocated to sister park King's Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. Track pieces started to arrive at the park the weekend before the announcement. The ride will retain the Dominator name it was given at Geauga Lake.
Dominator is located behind the Berserker flat ride, in the former bus parking lot. The asphalt beneath the ride has been pulled up.
Dominator is currently open and running as of May 24, 2008.
[edit] Layout
Dominator starts off with a short, twisted U-turn toward the 161 foot tall lift hill. Once the train apexes the top of the lift, riders are then speeding and swooshing down a 157 foot drop eventually speeding into the tallest vertical loop, standing at 135 feet. Following the vertical loop, riders are then swooshing by the waiting area and eventually rise up into a turnaround. The turnaround swooshes around the ride's own station. After the turn, riders then head up the Cobra Roll, which contains 2 of the ride's 5 inversions. Following the Cobra Roll, the train heads for the mid course brake run. Slowing the train down, riders then head through the second half of the ride. After the brakes, riders twist through the interlocking corkscrew elements, the last two inversions of the ride. Following the corkscrews, the train encounters the final brake run and comes to a stop.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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