Two years since the permanent closure of Volcano: The Blast Coaster at Kings Dominion

[Bradley]

On February 8, 2019, Kings Dominion shocked the amusement industry by announcing the removal of Volcano: The Blast Coaster. Reactions to the announcement were negative, because it was not only a fan favorite, but also a unique one-of-a-kind roller coaster. It was the only Intamin Suspended Catapult Coaster and the only one to feature a roll out loop. Volcano: The Blast Coaster opened on August 3, 1998. Upon opening, it had wait times anywhere between 3 to 5 hours. It became the fastest inverted roller coaster in the world. It also featured the tallest inversion on a roller coaster at 155 feet. That record was previously held by Mr. Freeze at Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Over Texas. For a short time, Volcano was the fastest coaster in Virginia before the record was taken by Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The attraction ran trains at half capacity during its opening year. Only eight people got to ride a single train with four seats. However, a second launch was installed between the roll out and first turn for its second season. Volcano: The Blast Coaster launched riders from 0-70 mph in 3.7 seconds and featured an 80 ft drop at the end of the ride. There were also four inversions, which were a roll out and three heartline rolls. The ride was one of the park's two roller coasters built by Intamin, with the other one being Intimidator 305.

 

Volcano: The Blast Coaster operated for the last time in 2018. When the ride closed, Kings Dominion was planning to order some replacement parts. However, they confirmed that the attraction had reached the end of its service life. As this was a prototype, it was impossible to get repaired. The majority of the coaster's components were reportedly discontinued. For the only way to fix Volcano, Kings Dominion would have to give it The Incredible Hulk Coaster treatment. It would need new track, mountain, parts and other materials. This task was far beyond the resources and guests were not able to get a final ride due to the coaster being in disrepair. 

 

[Eugene Krabs]

I never went to kings dominion but i first heard the coaster in late 2019 I really started getting into coasters at that time, I saw a POV of it and i could already tell I would´ve loved this coaster. The things looks very visually appealing too, its a shame they removed it.

[The Master]

This topic probably better belongs in other park history rather than in news. I was lucky enough to have ridden Volcano a few times. Parts of the queue were pretty crappy, especially the one section inside the volcano that was just a narrow chicken wire cage tunnel that was always heavily littered. 

[jollyroger]

I would like to see the mountain rebuild with a package of dark rides inside like the old days (before my time) but we all know that is unlikely the park will ever see a mountain that large built in the park again.

I did like Volcano though, it wasn't my most ridden coaster in the park because it did have more downtime, and the line was usually longer when it was open anyways, but the loss of it really changed the looks of the park.

[Yoshi]

I never got to ride Volcano. It looked like it was a fun coaster but my only visit to Kings Dominion when it was operating was in 2003 before I was a coaster enthusiast and not going on more extreme coasters at the time. My first visit as an enthusiast was in June 2019 just after it closed.

 

 

[GAcoaster]

Volcano was one of my favorites. It was fast and smooth and just a lot of fun. I rode just after it opened (when they were running it with only half the seats) and it was just amazing to watch let alone ride. It was just so amazing to watch the trains creep out of the station then suddenly hit the propulsion fins and take off down the tunnel. Then to ride it and find out that after that launch it hit another to blast it out the top of the mountain. It was really well done. 

 

Even better, it was part of a whole made over area with a show and food all themed around the Volcano. 

[coastercouple]

This part of the park will be truly missed. It was unique in the chain and the Volcano coaster was fantastic. Kings Dominion falls down the ladder of Cedar Fair parks to second tier if there isn't a great replacement in store.