Kings Dominion and The Grizzly

Now THIS was some of the best coaster news I've gotten this year.

Kings Dominion announced on November 7th that they would be doing a retrack of their wooden coaster The Grizzly.

If you've never had the chance to ride this beast I'll paint you a picture now.

In the back of the park, through a giftshop themed for the coaster, and in a heavily wooded area lies the Grizzly. Walking up to the queue area feels almost like walking up to a cabin, when you get up to the queue there will be the ride operators and maybe three other guests. Once you get on the ride and dispatch you really have some time to take in the beautiful scenery. Back here you can't really see the towering form of Intimidator 305, just the beautiful Virginia woodlands. Then as you go down the first drop you feel your first inkiling of regret as the train starts shaking a bit. The turn around throws you into the sides of the trains and you go down the second hill. Now you REALLY start to regret getting on this death machine. Jackhammering APLENTY. You go into a covered portion, the shaking calming a little and you try to convince yourself you haven't just broken your pelvis. As you go back for the second, and thankfully, last turnaround located about a story under the first you are thrown VIOLENTLY into your ride partner before the final hill. More jackhammering, and finally, Freedom.

I wont lie I'm VERY hard on this ride, I've only ridden it maybe twice in my life and in my opinion? That was two times too many.

My first ride on this was back in the 2010s, before I was brave enough to be able to ride the really intense coasters and even back then every local you asked about this ride could tell you, this ride was rotting, falling apart, and you could even see bits of it fall off as you road it.

The ride has had other retracks, one in 2009, another in 2011, and once again in 2016. I can say my first ride whenever it was, certainly didnt feel like it had gotten a retrack. This retrack promises to be the most extensive that the ride has gone through, and the pictures look like it too!

I'm very interested to see what Kings Dominion does with this retrack! I'm hoping it can improve my opinion becuase as it stands this is THE worst coaster I've ever ridden. I'd love to give this coaster another chance, but until I'm proven wrong I think this thing either needs the RMC treatment or they just need to tear the thing down.

November 14,2022

Today Kings Dominion put out a new article about The Grizzly as part of their "Restore the Roar" project, and they released some of my FAVORITE things to get about coasters. Old promotional material!

The article generally talks about the rides history a few highlights include calling it "...one of the most popular, long-standing rides at Kings Dominion." (long-standing? Yes. Popular? *looks around at the deserted queue* I dunno about that one.) and they also give us an exact open date for the ride, March 27,1987. (An Aries!)

The article goes on to talk about the designers and builders of the ride, Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. who had previously constructed Racer 75 (aka the Rebel Yell) and the Woodstock Express (aka The Ghoster Coaster). They also taked about the designer of the ride, Curtis Summers, who not only designed Rebel Yell but also The Beast at Kings Island!

Kings Dominion also provided a sketch and a promotional brochure, which is personally the thing that got me most excited.

An old brochure for the Grizzly, the borders are red and the center features a cartoon of people excitedly riding down a hill in the coaster's train.

A concept sketch of The Grizzly, drawn in blue on a white background

This next brochure is extra interesting, as it talks about the other attractions that could be found in the park at the time! Today only about two of these attractions are still in the park. The Grizzly, and Racer 75. The last bit near the end of this brochure really caught my eye as it mentions the "Lost World Mountain" and the "Haunted River" attractions which were not only housed in the same structure but that structure would later go on to house the now defunct Volcano:The Blast Coaster.

And the last thing that Kings Dominion shares with us today is this, an old commercial advertising the coaster!

Next year I think I'll be ready to take on the bear again, and maybe this time it won't try to maul me (at least too badly).

If you'd like to read Kings Dominion's articles for yourself you can find them Here! and Here!