Grizzly is a wooden roller coaster at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. The grounds of the ride are densely forested, with the intended thrills heightened from the illusion of inadequate clearance between the track and trees. The attraction opened in 1982, and the double-figure-eight layout is based closely on the defunct Coney Island Wildcat.[1] A similar version of this ride operates at Canada's Wonderland as Wilde Beast.
History
The announcement by Kings Dominion that Grizzly would be ready to open for the 1982 season was made in a press release on March 15, 1982.[2] The new coaster was intended to be the top thriller in the park, billed as "Taller than the park's most popular ride (Racer 75)" and "heaven for the real thrillseeker". Grizzly was designed by Curtis D. Summers, and is very similar to Wilde Beast at Canada's Wonderland, which he designed a year earlier.[3]