![]() Just the next year, Voyage to Atlantis became the Haunted River, and a 180-degree theater was opened in 1981. Kings Dominion's skyline changed with the 1979 season's Lost World, a 170-foot artificial mountain with a complex of four rides located in and around its base: the Land of the Dooz mine train, Voyage to Atlantis flume, and two flat rides. The same year, overnight stays were encouraged when the Kings Quarters hotel opened adjacent to the parking lot, and the next year held the same focus when the Kings Dominion Campground was completed. Then, 1977 saw the coaster count grow to four when King Kobra was installed as one of Anton Schwarzkopf's original three weight-drop-launched shuttle-looping rides. The year after opening, Kings Dominion introduced a new flat ride in Candy Apple Grove, the Enterprise Apple Turnover. Guests could also hop aboard a monorail to see wild African animals up close and personal, a railroad through the woods, take in the park from the Eiffel Tower's observation decks, ride cable cars, a log flume, antique cars, or one of seven flat rides. ![]() Patrons could enjoy fifteen rides the first year including the twin 3,368-foot wooden tracks of John Allen's Rebel Yell beside the 10-acre man-made Lake Charles, S.D.C.'s steel twister Galaxie, and the junior wooden coaster Scooby Doo (later lengthened to Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster). At the tower, the midways would branch out into four well-spaced themed sections: the rustic Old Virginia, traditional Candy Apple Grove, animal park Lion Country Safari, and Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera for the little ones.Īfter soft opening several attractions while construction wrapped up in 1974, Kings Dominion was officially opened for business on May 3, 1975. Like its sister park, a 332-foot Eiffel Tower replica at the end of a themed International Street entry midway would greet guests and make the park visible for miles around. Family Leisure Centers, formed by Taft Broadcasting Company and Top Value Enterprises, had already successfully opened Kings Island outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Kings Dominion would debut above Richmond, Virginia to bring the major theme park experience to a new part of the country.įamily Leisure Centers had scouted out the perfect location for the new park and purchased 400 acres of land miles away from all major development, yet just off of I-95 where a steady flow of motorists would pass by every day. The vision, the product of several years of conception and planning, was for a major theme park for the entire family to bring new excitement to the mid-Atlantic region. In the summer of 1973, ground was broken in central Virginia, and a grand vision began to turn into reality. Both parks were originally built and owned by Kings Entertainment Company. The park was named after its sister park, Kings Island in Kings Mills, Ohio. ![]() The park is currently owned by Cedar Fair, and was part of the former Paramount Parks chain that Cedar Fair acquired from CBS Corporation on June 30, 2006. Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia.
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