Intimidator 305

Intimidator 305
Intimidator 305 as seen from the Eiffel Tower
Kings Dominion
Park section	Safari Village
Coordinates	37°50′15″N 77°26′23″W / 37.83750°N 77.43972°W / 37.83750; -77.43972Coordinates: 37°50′15″N 77°26′23″W / 37.83750°N 77.43972°W / 37.83750; -77.43972
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 2, 2010[1]
Cost	$25,000,000[2]
Replaced	Safari Monorail
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Intamin
Designer	Intamin
Model	Giga Coaster
Lift/launch system	Cable lift hill
Height	305 ft (93 m)
Drop	300 ft (91 m)
Length	5,100 ft (1,600 m)
Speed	90 mph (140 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	3:00
Max vertical angle	85°
Capacity	1,350 riders per hour
G-force	5
Height restriction	54 in (137 cm)
Trains	2 trains with 8 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 32 riders per train.
Fast Lane Plus only available (front row access not available)[3]
Intimidator 305 at RCDB Pictures of Intimidator 305 at RCDB

Intimidator 305 is a steel roller coaster by Intamin at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, United States. Debuting on April 2, 2010^[1] as the park's fourteenth roller coaster, Intimidator 305 is located in the Safari Village section near Anaconda. Standing at 305 feet (93 m) tall and reaching speeds of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), it is the second Giga Coaster to be built in North America – the first was Millennium Force at Cedar Point. The $25 million investment was the largest of any ride in the park's history. It is named and themed after NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, the Intimidator.^[4]

Intimidator 305 has a first drop of 300 feet (91 m), with a maximum descent angle of 85 degrees.^[1] Intimidator 305 features yellow supports with red track. The lift hill structure for Intimidator 305 is unique in that the lift-hill and crest only have two main points of support.^[5] The overall height of Intimidator 305 is higher than the observation platform of the Eiffel Tower, making it one of the tallest rides at Kings Dominion.^[6]

History

Announcement

Intimidator 305, the first Giga Coaster built since Steel Dragon 2000 in 2000, was announced on Thursday, August 20, 2009. Local news media, then Cedar Fair CEO Dick Kinzel and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated CEO Jeff Steiner, and Dale Earnhardt's daughter Taylor Earnhardt were in attendance to the announcement. The official announcement, led by Kings Dominion Head Manager Ed Kuhlmann, was accompanied by animation videos of the ride and a working model. The roller coaster is themed to NASCAR racing legend Dale Earnhardt.^[6][7][8]

Construction

Intimidator 305 sits on the former land occupied by the Safari Monorail which closed in 1993.^[9] Kings Dominion broke ground on Intimidator 305 on June 1, 2009. The first pieces of track arrived a few days later. On August 19, the first pieces of steel were put into place.^[7] The 305-foot (93 m) lift hill was topped off in November 2009.^[5] Construction crews continued to construct the ride throughout the winter and the last piece of track was lifted into place on January 9, 2010.^[10] Intimidator 305's first test run was on Sunday, March 14, 2010.^[11]

Modifications

Some riders experienced problems due to the G-forces inherent in the ride's original design. Riders reported greying or blacking out after the first drop. Kings Dominion temporarily installed trim brakes on the first drop in order to reduce the speed while a long-term solution could be devised. The brakes were adjusted and positioned by late May 2010.^[12][13]

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.^[13][14]

Ride experience

Lift hill and sign

The silver train in the brake run, with the old restraints

Intimidator 305 has been described as a mix of both Millennium Force and Maverick, both located at Cedar Point. Intamin designed the ride to feature the high lift hill like Millennium Force. Following the lift hill are low-to-the-ground tight turns and hills, similar to Maverick.^[9][15] The ride features six air-time humps and three near-ground-level high-speed turns over 5,100 feet (1,600 m) of track.^[4] The most consecutive rides was set in 2011 by Arlington, VA resident Edward Meese, with 8 consecutive rides.

Layout

While the train is being loaded in the station, the catch car of the cable lift is latched onto the middle car of the train. Before the train leaves the station, a recording of Earnhardt's son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., shouting "GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!!!" is played, followed by a loud revving sound. Once the train is dispatched, the train ascends the 45-degree lift hill at 17 miles per hour (27 km/h) to a maximum height of 305 feet (93 m). Once the train crests the top of the lift, the train descends down the 300-foot (91 m), 85-degree drop, reaching speeds up to 90 miles per hour (140 km/h). The drop is steep enough and sudden enough that riders towards the back of the train are thrown out of their seats into the restraints, so that during the 300-foot near-vertical drop they feel as if they're about to fall out of the ride. The train turns right into a 270-degree turn, reaching about 5G's (nearly 6G's before modifications) before ascending the 150-foot (46 m) airtime hill. The train then descends into a high-speed bunny hop before entering another high-speed turn. The train then maneuvers 3 sharp twists before entering the final high-speed turn. The train then climbs another airtime hill, followed by another airtime hill before entering a final twist and then climbing a small, twisty bunny hop into the magnetic brakes.^[14][16][17] One cycle of the ride lasts about 3 minutes.^[1]

Trains and theme

Intimidator 305 features two trains themed as Dale Earnhardt's black number 3 car. The trains feature headlights at the front of each train as well as advertisement stickers that are found on NASCAR cars. One train is red with the other being silver. Each train has eight four-passenger cars, allowing thirty-two passengers per train. The trains are arranged in stadium-style seating with overhead lap bars fitted with soft, padded over-the-shoulder straps.^[15] In early July 2010, the ride received a unique new restraint design. The over-the-shoulder part of the harness now resembles a padded seat belt rather than the typical over-the-shoulder restraints used by Intamin.^[14] Some rides that use typical Intamin over-the-shoulder restraints include Maverick at Cedar Point, Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, and Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa.^[18][19]

Awards

• Intimidator 305 won the Golden Ticket Award for "Best New Roller Coaster in 2010" by Amusement Today.^[20]

Incidents

While performing a test run prior to the park opening on July 9, 2013, one of the roller coaster trains became stuck near the top of the lift hill. The train was eventually brought down a week later, and the ride remained closed indefinitely. Kings Dominion later explained the closure through a statement released on their official Facebook page on August 28, 2013, which stated that a problem with the weight distribution on the gearbox caused a part to warp and fail. The replacement part had to be custom-built in another country causing the extended closure. The ride eventually reopened on September 14, 2013.^[26][27]

See also

• Intimidator - a Bolliger & Mabillard hypercoaster at Carowinds, another Cedar Fair park

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Intimidator 305.

• Official page
• Intimidator 305 at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• Intimidator 305