OT: Kings Dominion

[sndfan]

Hi! I'm looking at a daytrip to Kings Dominion from Baltimore this summer...has anyone been in recent years?? How's the park? Is it family-friendly?

We're not HUGE roller coaster fans yet...can handle the smaller ones. Any must-do's?


thanks so much!

Judy

 

[MickeyMouse'sBFF]

It has a great kids section. We love it!

 

[locolala]

KD does have a good kids area, and I think they have some water slides too. We don't get down there much, but we go to 6 Flags ALL the time.. we get season passes each year, and we've been known to go just for the water park

 

[jesseiann]

How tall are your kids. Most of their rides have a 48" height requirement or are for little kids. If you have kids less than 48", I would suggest driving the extra hour and going to Busch gardens. We just went this weekend and had a blast. They have a neat little bird area where you can feed the birds this liquid stuff and the birds will sit on your shoulder (or your head) and drink out of the cup. If you have little kids, they added a new Sesame street area that has a few little rides and a really nice water play area. I would also recommend the Sesame street character breakfast. We went on Sunday and there were only about 10 families. We got to spend an hour with the characters (Elmo, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, and Cookie Monster). Each character did some songs on stage. Between songs, the characters would go out and dance and play with the kids.

We did do Kings Dominion early last year, and there were only 3 or 4 rides we could go on with DS. We spent most of the day watching him ride the kiddie rides that he really didn't enjoy very much. We decided that we would wait until he hit 48" to try again. If everyone in your party is 48" and you are looking for roller coasters, then I think Kings Dominion would be the better park.

 

[sndfan]

Ah! I realized I never said how old my DS is! He's 10...but not a daredevil...when we were in Disney he could do Splash Mountain, BTMR, Goofy rollercoaster...that's about his "thrill" tolerance.

Thanks so much for the responses...

Judy

 

[I'mNoPrince]

I would think giving the Age , Hershey might be a better pick , But KD has plenty to do for the young ones as well.

 

[matthew&haleysmom]

How tall are your kids. Most of their rides have a 48" height requirement or are for little kids. If you have kids less than 48", I would suggest driving the extra hour and going to Busch gardens. We just went this weekend and had a blast. They have a neat little bird area where you can feed the birds this liquid stuff and the birds will sit on your shoulder (or your head) and drink out of the cup. If you have little kids, they added a new Sesame street area that has a few little rides and a really nice water play area. I would also recommend the Sesame street character breakfast. We went on Sunday and there were only about 10 families. We got to spend an hour with the characters (Elmo, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, and Cookie Monster). Each character did some songs on stage. Between songs, the characters would go out and dance and play with the kids.

We did do Kings Dominion early last year, and there were only 3 or 4 rides we could go on with DS. We spent most of the day watching him ride the kiddie rides that he really didn't enjoy very much. We decided that we would wait until he hit 48" to try again. If everyone in your party is 48" and you are looking for roller coasters, then I think Kings Dominion would be the better park.

I agree with everything you said! DS was 3 last time we went and was upset that there wasn't much for him to do. DD was 7 and tall. She is a daredevil and had a blast! We will be waiting a couple of years before we go back.

We got to Busch Gardens at least twice a month. Both of the kids love it there!

 

[DisneyBrat]

KD is 20 min from my house my kids LOVE it there,granted they are older teens. My cousin came in to visit last summer with her little ones and had a ball! Scooby Doo is similar to buzz light year and we all enjoed that one ALOT!!! They have a smaller rollercoaster for kiddies too

 

[jlstwinmommy]

I have an 11 year old DS who is definitely not a thrill seeker (will ride BTTMR, but will NOT ride Splash). We went to Kings Dominion last year for my company picnic and there was not a lot of rides he would ride there. We go to Hershey every year. He LOVES it there and there is a lot he will ride there (and plenty of thrill rides for my twins who can't go fast enough ). Now Hershey has that new water park section. It's my kids second favorite park, next to Disney (of course)

 

[luapgib]

I went this past Sunday with my son and had a blast. He is tall for his age over 40inchs so he could do a lot of the rides. Some of his favorites were the scooby doo, the avalanche, the log flume, and the iron eagle (Might not be right name but it is a swing type ride by the log flume). I would say each of these rides are about on par with BTMRR or Barnstormer. They also have a 3D type ride Spongebob which might be a big hit for kids. We did not make it over to the water park but there is a big water/splash area in the middle of the kids section that we used as a cool off. There was no line and you just go through it as much as you like. It also offers some sunny sitting spots so after you are done you can grab a snack and dry off a bit. You should have a good day just don't expect Disney and you will be ok.

 

[dyna]

We went to KD several years ago drove from Louisville Ky had Kings Island passes that was also good at KD we did not care for KD at all. DD was 9 at the time none of us into thrill rides we soon got bored an moved on didn't even spend a whole day in the park had planned on being there 2 full days. We was really disappointed in KD.

 

[Ashlander]

We have a lot of fun at KD...especially the water park in the summer. My kids really like the wave pool and there is a kids pool with a water slide. They all have a great time. Luckily we live maybe 10 min away so we go a lot, but mostly to take advantage of the water park.