Kings Dominion has announced the imminent departure of Volcano:The Blast Coaster. The link to the official statement from the park is as follows:https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/2019/park-update
Although this is unfortunate, it’s perfectly understandable. Volcano was plagued with mechanical problems and experienced extended downtime over the past year or so. I was lucky enough to be at Kings Dominion last Spring when it was operating normally. However, it struck me as being somewhat rougher than on my previous visit, particularly during the 155-foot rollout.
Volcano will be missed, as it was truly unique and highly entertaining as well as being a record-breaker. Until Gatekeeper at Cedar Point came along, the 155- foot rollout on Volcano was the tallest inversion on a coaster. As I said in my showdown of Volcano vs. Maverick on this site, finding myself flat on my back 155 feet in the air was one of the more memorable coaster experiences I can recall. Plus the 2nd launch always took me by surprise. Among the Intamin multi-launch coasters I’ve ridden – the two which immediately come to mind are Maverick and Cheetah Hunt – Volcano stands out as the least predictable. On Maverick the train enters a tunnel and comes to a halt, so you know that you’re about to be launched.. On Cheetah Hunt you know as soon as you see a hill up ahead that you’re going to be launched. The 2nd launch on Volcano was a different story. My reaction was always whoa, where did that come from?
21 years is not a long lifespan for a coaster but it was a good 21 years. I’ve glad that I got to experience Volcano during my several visits to Kings Dominion.