Waiting in the wings at Kings Dominion
New Rapterra coaster coming to Virginia park
When the beloved Volcano, The Blast Coaster closed in 2018 at Kings Dominion in Virgina, fans clamored for a worthy replacement. The park demolished the iconic mountain and, likely due at least partly to the pandemic, left the space vacant for a number of years. In 2025, however, Rapterra will finally spread its wings.
Alas, the replacement coaster will not be housed in a mountain (although its designers have concocted a fanciful backstory that acknowledges the volcanic ride that preceded it). Nor will it break ground in the way The Blast Coaster did. But Rapterra will bring a major new coaster to the Kings Dominion skyline, and it will lay claim as the the world’s tallest and longest launched wing coaster.
For the uninitiated, a wing coaster places cantilevered seats on either side (or the “wings”) of the track. Passengers’ legs therefore dangle in the air as the extra-wide trains maneuver through the course.
Instead of a lift hill, Rapterra will feature an electro magnetic LSM launch. Moments after leaving the station, its trains will round a bend and–wowsa!–accelerate to an attention-grabbing 65 mph. They will then soar up 145 feet for a dramatic “wingover” maneuver followed by a drop and a rise into a 119-foot dive loop that will invert passengers and reverse the train’s direction. That will be followed by a 90-foot S-turn that will pivot the train one way and then the other, followed by two more upside-down elements, a corkscrew and a heartline roll (which the park refers to as a “raptor roll”). About a minute after launching and racing along 3,086 feet of track, the trains will return to the station.
About that flighty backstory: It seems the Rapterra (which sounds like the Jurassic Park version of heavy metal band, Pantera) was a storied jungle hawk that inspired ancient tribes to build a temple in its honor. The shrine was destroyed and entombed by a volcano that once occupied the spot (paying homage to The Blast Coaster). But explorers in the park’s Jungle X-Pedition land have discovered the shrine and released the spirit of the legendary bird of prey. It’s a creative narrative, but will any story elements make their way into the queue or the pre-ride experience? That’s unclear at this point.
As for the world records, let’s put the claims in perspective. First of all, does every new coaster (and other thrill rides) have to break records? Apparently, it’s theme park marketing 101, but I’d argue it’s sometimes okay to hype an attraction based on its inherent merits and not how it bests existing rides. Anyhoo, there are 18 wing coasters, dating back to 2011, manufactured by the Swiss company, Bolliger & Mabillard. However, only two of them are launched models, the tallest of which, Thunderbird at Holiday World, rises 140 feet and spans 3,035 feet. So yeah, Rapterra is the tallest and longest launched wing coaster. But in order to make that claim, its qualifying parameters are quite narrow–to the point of being kinda silly. Selective comparisons like this allow parks to claim bragging rights–and potentially fool folks who have no frame of reference into thinking their hometown parks have the one and only tallest, fastest, longest, or some other superlative ride on the planet.
There are taller wing coasters, but they are not launched. For example, Gatekeeper at Cedar Point rises 170 feet. Falcon, a wing coaster in China, is 197 feet tall.
B&M is not the only company that builds wing coasters. Intamin created Furius Baco at Spain’s Port Aventura back in 2007. That unique launched ride hits a top speed of 84 mph. I believe the earliest wing coster is X2 (originally known as X), which was manufactured by Arrow Dynamics and opened in 2002 at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Tumbili at Kings Dominion is a wing coaster that is also known as a 4D Free Spin coaster. Built by S&S, it opened in 2022 in the then-new Jungle X-Pedition area, just around the corner from the site where Rapterra is now under construction.
Do you think Rapterra will live up the legacy of Volcano, The Blast Coaster? Have you been on a wing coaster?
Crazy fact - I have not yet been to Kings Dominion even though it's only 4 hours away. Just by circumstance, every time I've been up that way it has been either for an event at BGW or a planned visit with friends to BGW. This will definitely be an excellent excuse to get up there and finally get my KD creds.
As far as wing coasters, I've been on Gatekeeper at Cedar Point, Wild Eagle at Dollywood, and Thunderbird at Holiday World. I've greatly enjoyed all of them and I'm sure this will be no different.
Bonus props to Arthur for knowing who Pantera is. I used to wear out the album "Cowboys From Hell" in high school. :)
I was at Kings Dominion in 2018 (the year Twisted Timbers opened) but opted to skip Volcano because 1)There was a long line and 2)My kids weren't tall enough yet so I would have been in line by myself while they were exploring other things.
I kinda regret not riding it one last time...
I like winged coasters, but some people may complain they are not "intense" enough or whatever (what a terrible argument, by the way). If this ride is on par with Thunderbird, guests at Kings Dominion will be treated to a great, new attraction, and probably gives me another reason to get back to that park in the future.