Before starting my illustrious career at the paper, I put in over ten years working at theme parks across the country. The magic is gone for me, especially at Kings Dominion, where I (along with Dwayne) spent six of those ten years drawing caricatures. I’ve been away from the sweat and the crowds and the noise and the grease for a while, but there’s still no sense of wonder or suspense when I walk through those gates. That is until Team Brick was invited to attend Media Day for the test-run of the Dominator.

Not only did we get to escape from our cubes for the morning, but the weather turned from soupy to super on our drive up to Doswell. We got there early and only a few people were milling around in front of the Berserker on International Street, where a small stage had been erected for the event. We decided to go up the Eiffel Tower and get a bird’s eye view. Dwayne and I showed Mauricio and Isabel the cracked patch of pavement in front of the tower’s elevator doors where—rumor has it—a security guard fell 330 feet to his death.

“Nuh-uh” said Isabel.

“He must have been really skinny to get through the bars” said Mauricio once we were up top.

“This was before they put the top part on here. The fence only went up this high before.”

We had a great view of the Dominator, a twisting metal mass perched right on the edge of the parking lot. The train, 4 across and 8 deep, sped through the loops, and we could see people dangling their legs as they rode.

“It looks like it’s working better than the Volcano when they put that in” said Dwayne and we reminisced about how upon installation, the Volcano train would sometimes stop at the top of its loop and then hurtle backwards back to the station. “They gave away a lot of free passes that year.”

We met up with Jim, Mandy, Korey and Clay as the opening presentation was about to start. Pat Jones, Kings Dominion’s vice president and general manager, took the mic and described the ride. “This is our 14th coaster and the world’s longest, floorless coaster. It has a 157-foot drop that will plunge riders down at 165 miles per hour!”

There was an excited murmur in the crowd. I leaned over to Dwayne. “I don’t think that’s right. 165 miles per hour seems a little fast”

“65 miles an hour!” Pat corrected herself. “The record-breaking loop is 135 feet tall and the 4,210 foot circuit takes over two minutes to complete. Without further ado, please come in and enjoy the ride!”

We strolled down the path with a hundred or so other members of the media and queued in the turnstiles. “I’m nervous!” exclaimed Isabel. “I have to pee!”

“We should sit in the front!” suggested Dwayne, “so we can get a good picture!”

Isabel was not very excited by that recommendation, and we settled for seats in the middle. Two trains went before us and then it was our turn to board. When the floor dropped out from under us, leaving our feet free to dangle, Isabel let out a little squeal!

“Put your hands and feet out like this,” said Mauricio holding his arms and legs out in front of him. “It’s like flying!”

“NOOOO!” exclaimed Isabel and when the train lurched forward she screamed.

We made our slow ascent to the top of the 161 foot hill and fretted amongst ourselves the whole way. Clay and Korey and Mandy were in the seats behind us! “Don’t any of you puke on us back here!” shouted Korey. We rounded the corner at the top of the hill and were on our way, rocketing through the giant loop. It was awesome. Sixty-five miles an hour is plenty fast. A flashing strobe caught our picture as we raced up a hill and into the interlocking corkscrews. After a few more dips and a fantastic high-back turn at the end, we were heading back to the station, breathless and laughing.

“Let’s ride again!” shouted Isabel as we bounded down the exit ramp.

We checked out our ride photos and then got back in line. We sat in the very back.

We were a little wobbly after that run and wandered back up to International Street to chat up the caricature artists. We had Rob Green do an awesome drawing of the four of us, and Dwayne and I talked shop and cringed at the amount of time we once spent in this very spot leaning against our easels.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and were drawn back to the coaster. There was no line at all except for the front seats. We decided to wait it out. When the train pulled up, Clay was pumping his fist in the air and smiling from ear to ear. There was no one in line to get on, so he remained in his seat and went again. And again. And again.

“How many times have you been around?” we yelled as he buckled into an empty seat near the back.

“I think It’s been about 15 or 16 times! I lost count!”

It was finally our turn in front, and when the floor dropped out, we saw nothing but track. It was just us and the hill. As we dropped down 157 feet, there was an incredible sense of free fall. We wound through the inversions and pulled back into the station.

“The front is awesome!” shouted Mauricio, and I had to agree. It’s worth the wait.

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Kings Dominion | 16000 Theme Park Way ~ Doswell, Va. ~ 804.876.5561