Dominator (roller coaster)

Dominator is a floorless roller coaster located at Kings Dominion amusement park in Doswell, Virginia. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard, it originally opened in 2000 as Batman: Knight Flight at Six Flags Ohio (later renamed to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in 2001), in Aurora, Ohio. It was given its current name when Cedar Fair purchased the Ohio park in 2004. However, following Six Flags Ohio (renamed back to Geauga Lake by Cedar Fair)’s eventual permanent closure in 2007, the coaster was relocated to Kings Dominion, where it reopened on May 24, 2008. Dominator is located fairly close to the park's main entry plaza, in the area known as International Street.

Dominator is the world's longest floorless coaster, at 4210 ft, and it has one of the tallest vertical loops in the world at 135 ft.

History

Geauga Lake era (2000–2007)

Batman: Knight Flight was unveiled at a media event held on December 9, 1999, described as the only floorless roller coaster in the Midwest and one of five like it in the world.[1][2]

Ride experience

Layout

After leaving the station, the train makes a small dip before making a 180-degree right turn to climb the 157 ft tall lift hill. Once the train apexes the top of the lift, riders drop 148 ft to the right at a 57-degree angle, reaching a maximum speed of 65 mph, into a 135 ft tall vertical loop.[9] Following the loop, riders go through an overbanked right turn (which at Geauga Lake passed over the ride entrance) and rise up into a turnaround above the station. After the turn, riders enter a cobra roll. The train then rises uphill, makes a left turn under the lift hill, and enters the mid-course brake run. After the brakes, there is a small drop into a pair of interlocking corkscrews. Following the corkscrews, the train completes a 135-degree curve to the left that dives into a 270-degree curve along the ground, entering the final brake run.[9][10][11] One cycle of the ride lasts about 2 minutes and 6 seconds.[12]

Trains

Dominator operates with three open-air steel-and-fiberglass trains. Each train has eight cars that have four seats in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.[9] Riders are secured by an over-the-shoulder restraint with a lap belt. In 2014, the seat color was changed from purple to black, and the restraint (previously all orange) added black to its color scheme.[13]

Track

The steel track is approximately 4210 ft in length, making it the longest Floorless Coaster in the world.[14] The height of the lift hill is approximately 161 ft. Dominator features one of the world's tallest vertical loops at 135 ft.[14] When the coaster first opened at Geauga Lake in 2000, it was painted with blue supports, yellow track and unpainted rails. When Dominator was relocated to Kings Dominion, the supports remained blue and the rails remained unpainted. The track was painted orange but the loop remained yellow.[10]

Theme

As Batman: Knight Flight, the coaster was the star attraction of the Gotham City themed area and featured Batman theming.[10] When Cedar Fair bought the park in 2004 the name was changed and all Batman theming had to be removed before opening day. There has been no theme for the ride while it has been owned by Cedar Fair (which has since merged with Six Flags).

previousnames	Batman: Knight Flight at Six Flags Ohio/Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (2000-2003)
imagedimensions	250px
location	Kings Dominion
section	International Street
coordinates	37.84083°N, -77.44333°W
status	Operating
opened	May 24, 2008
year	2008
type	Steel
type2	Floorless Coaster
manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
designer	Werner Stengel
model	Floorless roller coaster
lift	Chain lift hill
height ft	157
drop ft	148
length ft	4210
speed mph	65
inversions	5
duration	2:06
angle	57
capacity	1600
gforce	3.8
restriction in	54
trains	3
carspertrain	8
rowspercar	1
ridersperrow	4
virtual queue name	Fast Lane
virtual queue image	Cedar Fair Fast Lane availibility.svg
virtual queue status	available
rcdb number	4079

Dominator (roller coaster)

History

Geauga Lake era (2000–2007)

Kings Dominion era (2008–present)

Ride experience

Layout

Trains

Track

Theme

Incidents

External links

References