Avalanche @ Kings Dominion | Coaster Reviews
The Avalanche at Kings Dominion is located in the Congo area (oddly enough) at Kings Dominion next to Volcano mountain. It’s a fun family coaster and one of the few bobsled roller coasters around. Bobsled coasters feature chutes or half pipes without fixed tracks like most roller coasters. This allows the bobsleigh-like cars to move freely as if they were sliding on ice like in a real bobsled course.
Unlike Disaster Transport at Cedar Point, Avalanche seats two riders per car with one person sitting in between the legs of the first rider. It can be a cozy or awkward ride depending on who you’re riding with. Often people ride alone for that reason. The cars are appropriately themed with Winter Olympics-like decals for countries like Sweden, Germany, France, & the U.S.
The ride begins with a climb next to Volcano mountain. The first drop is shallow, but just enough to give the train some speed as it traverses a wide downward helix that’s pretty high off the ground. After the wide helix, the train enters a brake run. Avalanche begins pretty tame, but after the long straight brake run, things get interesting. The train dips into a twisted side-to-side section that produces some pretty strong g-forces for a family coaster. Towards the middle of the section, the trains twist right over a waiting area allowing for a great photo op (see picture above). Also, in one of the last few transitions from left to right (or right to left, I don’t remember), there’s even a brief moment of airtime.
Considering bobsled coasters are pretty rare, and the ride’s theming, and fun g-forces, Avalanche is a solid family roller coaster not to missed if you’re ever at Kings Dominion in a group with guests who like tamer rides. If it were a little bit longer it may have earned a 7.0. See the rest of my rating scale. Final Rating – 6.0 (Above Average)
Avalanche is rated ‘TR’ for Traditional. It’s a 2 out of 5 on my Thrill Scale.
What’s Your Take?
Have you ridden Avalanche at Kings Dominion? What’d you think? Leave a comment below.