The History and Rebirth Of The Classic Grizzly Coaster At Kings Dominion

Established in 1975, Kings Dominion, situated in close proximity to Richmond, Virginia, first opened its doors. The Grizzly, an imitation of The Wildcat from Cincinnati, Ohio’s Coney Island park, is a wooden roller coaster with a dual-eight design that was added to the amusement park’s attractions eight years afterwards. Standing at a height of 87 feet, this roller coaster, which commenced operations in 1981, attains speeds of up to 51 mph, taking riders on a thrilling journey through a dense woodland for a duration of two-and-a-half minutes along a track spanning over 3,000 feet.

A rural and timber structures heavily depend on a countryside appearance that the land possesses, inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains that traverse the western region of the state. The sole area in the park that preserves its authentic theming is the Old Virginia section of Kings Dominion, where The Grizzly is situated.

The Grizzly - Updated Track Curve - Kings Dominion
Credit: Kings Dominion

The Grizzly Gulch General Store is accompanied by a connected merchandise location, where the entrance and queue for the Grizzly ride are situated within a log cabin-style building. The Shenandoah Lumber Company showcases a log flume ride, while the Blue Ridge Tollway offers a nostalgic antique car ride. Furthermore, the area beyond the Grizzly includes various attractions.

Labor Day 2022 marked the completion of a significant renovation, resulting in the temporary closure of the Grizzly once again. Throughout its history, the Grizzly has experienced three renovations in 2009, 2011, and 2016. Originally constructed by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, which has a long-standing legacy in building over 100 roller coasters across the United States since 1904.

The Grizzly’s most recent revival showcases a fresh ride technology to assist in modernizing this classic roller coaster for the present era. Nevertheless, similar to many aging wooden coasters, it has necessitated regular upkeep. The majority of the track is hidden from view, providing an exhilarating journey with unforeseen descents and twists. The central theme of the ride revolves around its route through and proximity to the woodland.

Grizzly, Kings Dominion
Image: Kings Dominion

The roller coaster should be constructed using more resilient materials for the ride cars, structure, and to withstand wear-and-tear and maintenance requirements, resulting in reduced downtime. The Gravity Group, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, has not only modernized the Grizzly but also redesigned the track’s larger sections, incorporating their custom Precut Engineered Track technology to minimize wood plank deflection. Roller coasters built or updated by the Gravity Group can be found not only in Sweden, France, Ireland, and China but also across the United States.

The construction procedure and monitor layout of Gravity Groups guarantee a more uniform experience and a simpler installation process in contrast to previous times when carpenters frequently had to make on-site modifications at significant elevations.

The Group Gravity has made slight modifications to the track, increasing the descent angle from 45 degrees to 55 degrees in order to create a more overall comfortable experience. As a result, the track now runs closer to the ground, with several small drops, bumps, and slightly modified turns. The first drop has been altered, and riders will notice a noticeable change in their experience on Grizzly, even beyond the re-tracking.

The guests have reported that the best ride experience is not necessarily consistent, with sections of the older track creating an unpleasant alternation between discomfort and smoothness. However, the new sections of the track are reported to be extremely smooth. Reviews for the newly improved roller coaster, Grizzly, at Kings Dominion have been mixed so far, as it is now open.

We presume that the sole method to fully resolve this problem is by substituting the remaining portion of the path, however, this will ultimately be exceedingly expensive. We will simply need to wait and observe the outcome. Have you experienced the recently introduced Grizzly ride at Kings Dominion?