The Grizzly first opened at Kings Dominion in 1982. The more refined of the park’s the three big wooden coasters (the others being Hurler and Racer 75, formerly called Rebel Yell). This beast has a classic layout with a few proven, time-tested elements. Its forest-bound layout adds to the surprise and mystery, though it had no qualms about shaking riders to the bone.
The Grizzly closed Labor Day weekend 2022 for much needed extensive retracking and renovations and recently reopened at Kings Dominion on May 13!
The Grizzly is now longer at 3162ft, steeper at 55 degrees and reaches 51mph on the first drop. Kings Dominion has announced that “Grizzly received 1,040 feet of industry veteran Gravity Group’s engineered precut track, making the ride smoother and overall a more enjoyable experience while maintaining the classic look and feel of a true wooden roller coaster.”
Well, according to Screamscape a report was sent to them which shows a very mixed review. Whilst the new sections of track are wonderfully smooth and a pleasure to ride, the old track is quite unbearable. We knew that only parts of the track would be replaced, 1,040 out of the 3162 feet which works out at approximately a third. The problem is exacerbated by the switching from the old to new, essentially meaning riders go from wonderful new smooth track to the painful and jolty old track a number of times during the ride.
There is something very special about a classic wooden coaster and we are really hoping that Kings Dominion can find a way to smooth out the current issues there appears to be when transitioning between the old and newly replaced track as it would be a real shame, with all the work that has been done on The Grizzly, for this classic coaster to be deemed too uncomfortable to ride when we were all hoping it would have been restored to its former glory.
We guess the only way to completely solve this problem would be to replace the other two thirds of track which would be a massive outlay and something we can’t see Cedar Fair doing anytime soon.
We are hoping fans will still enjoy riding the newly renovated Grizzly at Kings Dominion. We would love to hear your thoughts so let us know by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page. We will keep you updated on further developments from The Grizzly and Kings Dominion here at Theme Park Tourist.
