Family Day at King’s Dominion #KDPlanetSpooky #sp

Last weekend five of us headed down to Virginia to spend the day at King’s Dominion. Fred and Mboy were able to joined us, but Kgirl couldn’t go because she had a soccer game. We headed down a bit late in the morning, but that’s what happens when families try to go places, right?

Wonderful timing to get to King’s Dominion at noon because at the same time Keonté and her crew showed up! So fun to see them right off the bat! We also ended up meeting them at the gate as we all waited for our tickets. I had the boys…I just realized I was the only female in my brood…head in to the park while I got the rest of our tickets and information. Don’t forget parking is an extra cost of $15.

I had gone to King’s dominion probably 30 yrs prior so this was liking going here for the first time. I don’t even remember the first time I went. This was also the first time we’d gone to an amusement park together. I wasn’t sure what our experience was going to be like.

The guys started off with a couple of easy rides while Buddy and I hung out and watched them get their scary on! I’ll admit, I asked Fred to sit next to Doodle because they were going to go on the Berserker and it took them upside down. I asked Fred to make sure Doodle was safe. Yes, I’m that mom!

From there we headed to Planet Snoopy, happily being referred to as Planet Spooky. They have a pumpkin painting patch, petting zoo, foam pit, pedal tractors, a hay maze, live shows and more. I was really surprised at how fun this area was for all of us since the youngest one in the bunch is 10. I imagined that Planet Spooky would only be for toddlers and preschoolers. I was in my element.

The boys went on the Woodstock Express and immediately wanted to go back on. Fred and I said fine as we sat in the air conditioned Sweet Frogs. I got hungry and we walked over to Chick-fil-A so I could have a sandwich. That bad boy was $6!

Then the boys and I went on the Linus Launcher. Mboy was the good child, (HA!) and said he’d go with me all the while my boys argued that they were going with Mboy! We agreed that it was a fun and comfortable ride. It was actually relaxing and could’ve put me to sleep, but in a good way. lol What I really appreciated about the rides in Planet Spooky was that we could all ride the rides. Ok, there were a couple where we obviously couldn’t ride, but Planet Spooky is meant for the entire family!

Next the guys all went on the Flying Ace. It made me so happy to see the 4 of them having such a good time together. This ride was probably one of the longest waits we had all day. It was really surprising. And actually, this was a precursor to how the rest of the rides were going to go. Getting there earlier in the day probably would’ve been a better idea and we could’ve ridden more rides. By later in the afternoon, the park was packed! Of course, we were there on a Saturday!

While we were at Planet Spooky, the boys did various activities that allowed them to get some treats and have fun. I have to admit, it was hard getting Doodle out of a the foam pit. He could’ve stayed there all day and not batted an eye. While he was getting his foam on, the rest of us were steps away at the petting zoo. From there we all went through the Boo Blaster on Boo Hill and then headed back out to the parking lot to drop off the goodie bags and grab some grub.

We headed back in to do some of the bigger rides. I wanted to get water rides out of the way before the sun went down so we’d have time to dry. That meant we hit the Shenandoah Lumber Company log ride. That again was another long ride and they only had one side open. Buddy doesn’t care for this ride so he just waited for us. While we were in line, they started removing some of the logs and replacing them so that made the wait even longer!

The boys hit the Flying Eagles. That was another extremely long line because you can’t get a lot of people on the ride at one time, but the boys really liked it! I knew we had to get to the Dinosaurs Alive area soon for the boys to do some Trick or Treating. We had done the Dinosaurs when we went to Minnesota Zoo’s Dinosaurs! exhibit a couple of years ago. It was so fun seeing the dinosaurs dressed up in costumes and for the boys to get candy at various points along the path!


Next Fred told me I was going on the Grizzly. I was a little nervous looking at the map because it shows it going straight up in the air. Oh man, it was a wooden roller coaster and I think I’m just not wooden roller coaster material. Doodle didn’t want to go so he just waited for us. The ride operator was absolutely hysterical and entertained all of the people who were in line the entire time. Seriously, this guy needs a raise!

After the ride was over Fred wanted us to race roller coasters so we went to the Rebel Yell. Unfortunately, only one side was operating so I told him to take Mboy to Volcano the Blast Coaster while we did that one. I knew those two really wanted to get on that ride. I told him after that my boys and I would do the Ricochet. Here we encountered a new problem. Fred had left and when he got to the ride, said it was a 2 hr wait and that his battery was dying. That was the last I heard from him. The boys and I did our roller coaster and then the Ricochet.


Now, I’ll admit, for the record, that I may have said a swear word as we went down the first hill. What I hated (thrill factor for most) was that there were no guards or barriers to give me the sense of safety that the other rides give. Earth to Mimi, it’s a thrill ride. Oh my gosh, will NOT be going back on that ride. If you like to feel like you’re going off the edge of your ride, this one is for you! hahaha

I took the boys up to the Go-Karts because they’d been asking to do them and was bummed to find out there was a charge to go on. The website does state that there’s an extra charge, but not how much. We decided that we’d head over to Volcano.

Well, by this point it’s night time, dark out, and it’s time for the Haunt to happen. People are dressed in costume scaring the nonsense out of passersby. I was so glad I noticed the little person dressed up to look like an evil clown hiding behind the trash can. If I hadn’t I would’ve screamed and that’s what they’re looking for. It wasn’t as bad as I had expected, but was highly amusing sometimes!

We got to Volcano and I sent the boys in to one of the restaurants to eat. We were probably there for half an hour when I finally saw Fred and Mboy emerge from Volcano. Neither looked happy. Right as they had gotten to the front of the line, the ride shut down and they just weren’t going to wait any more. I was so disappointed for them. We went over to eat with the boys. I think by the end of the day people that work at the park are tired and ready to go home because the one we ate at was a mess. Trash cans were filled to overflowing, the condiments were empty or sloppy. We went to get a refill on one of our pops at a kiosk and the guy at the register didn’t seem like he wanted to help anyone. He just sat against the wall looking at the customer ahead of us. She finally asked him for help and he leaned in her direction to see what she wanted. When she turned around her face said that what I thought was happening was definitely happening, just really bad service.

Since Mboy didn’t get to ride Volcano, he and Fred went over to do the Backlot Stunt Coaster. That ride went rather smoothly. From there they wanted to do a haunted house. Another crazy long line, but they were getting people through it. There were just a ton of people going through. Last my boys wanted to go back on the Flying Eagle one more time and from there we headed home. We had been there for almost 12 hours in the blazing heat and boy were we tired!

Altogether it was a really good day. I had a little bit of a melt down when I thought we were going to be late to experience Dinosaurs Alive, but Fred did his best to keep me calm! He is my rock here on Earth! The amount of time it took to ride the rides was waaaay too long and didn’t give us enough time to do as many as we had hoped. Would we go back again? In a heartbeat. There are still a lot of rides I want to go on and take in. I’d probably try to go on a school day and go earlier than we went this time. I’d also have a plan in place for where to meet if phone batteries die or we get separated. Suggestion to the park, have a place where parents can go to recharge their cell phones. lol In this technical day and age, it would be awesome. Plus, we like our air conditioned buildings!

We had an amazing time at King’s Dominion and I can’t wait to go back!

*We were provided tickets to King’s Dominion. Opinions expressed are my own.