Dominator (roller coaster)

Dominator
Dominator's logo
Location	Kings Dominion
Coordinates	37°50′27″N 77°26′36″W / 37.84083°N 77.44333°W / 37.84083; -77.44333Coordinates: 37°50′27″N 77°26′36″W / 37.84083°N 77.44333°W / 37.84083; -77.44333
Status	Operating
Opened	May 5, 2000 (reopened May 24, 2008)
Type	Steel - Floorless
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Floorless Coaster
Lift/launch system	chainlift
Height	161 ft (49 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°
Capacity	1600 riders per hour
Max G force	3.8
Dominator at RCDB
Pictures of Dominator at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

Dominator is a steel floorless roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard currently operating at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. The ride originally operated at Geauga Lake before Cedar Fair announced the park would no longer operate as an amusement park.

Dominator is a notable floorless roller coaster, having the second largest vertical loop (by diameter) in the world at 135 ft (41 m) Only Superman: Krypton Coaster's loop is larger at 145 ft (44 m) It is also the world's longest floorless coaster at 4,210 feet (1,280 m).

History

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 5, 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 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]}

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 fellow Cedar Fair park Dorney Park's 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 illuminated 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 began to be relocated to other Cedar Fair properties.

Kings Dominion era

On October 23, 2007, it was announced that the Dominator would be relocated under the same name to sister park Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. Track pieces started to arrive at the park the weekend before the announcement.

Dominator is located behind the Berserker flat ride, in the former bus parking lot though with new landscaping. It opened on May 24, 2008 with a new paint job. The supports remained dark blue, but the track is now orange instead of the pale yellow. However, the record-breaking loop is still painted pale yellow.

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 speed down a 148-foot (45 m) drop into one of the world's tallest vertical loops, standing at 135 feet (41 m). Following the loop, riders fly by the waiting area and rise up into a turnaround around the ride's own station. After the turn, riders then head through a cobra roll, which contains two of the ride's five inversions, and then the mid-course brake run. After the brakes, there is a small drop followed by 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.

Gallery

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References

External links

• Dominator's Official Page