Anaconda is a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

located at

Kings Dominion Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia, north of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 ri ...

, in the Jungle X-Pedition section of the park. Built by

Arrow Dynamics Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (194 ...

and designed by

Ron Toomer Ronald Valentine Toomer (May 31, 1930 – September 26, 2011) was an American roller coaster designer credited for designing 93 roller coasters around the world. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1961 with a degree in mechani ...

, Anaconda opened in 1991 as the first looping roller coaster to feature an underwater tunnel and the first at Kings Dominion with more than one inversion.

History

Details about a new roller coaster called Anaconda, set to debut in 1991, were reported in September 1990. The park's Lake Charles was chosen as the site for Anaconda. Arrow Dynamics would design the coaster to incorporate an underwater tunnel as well as keeping the majority of the ride over water. Construction began towards the end of the 1990 park season with elements of the lift hill constructed over the former site of

King Kobra King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice after his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984. History For their first two albums, the band consisted of four relatively unknown musicians: vocalist Marcie F ...

, a weight drop

Anton Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf (8 July 1924 – 30 July 2001) was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs ...

Shuttle Loop Shuttle Loop is a type of steel launched shuttle roller coaster designed by Reinhold Spieldiener of Intamin and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf. A total of 12 installations were produced between 1977 and 1982. These 12 installations have bee ...

removed in 1987. Anaconda opened to the public on March 23, 1991.

Ride experience

The train leaves the station climbing the lift hill. From there riders plunge twisting to the right passing an

on-ride camera An on-ride camera is a camera mounted alongside the track of a roller coaster, log flume or other thrill ride that automatically photographs all of the riders on each passing vehicle. They are often mounted at the most intense or fastest part of th ...

, which has been removed, and entering a underwater tunnel. The train exits the tunnel, entering a

vertical loop The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted. History The vertical ...

followed by a sidewinder inversion (a half loop that uses a corkscrew at the top to change direction). After a small hill, the train enters the first brake run nearly slowing to a complete stop. The second part of the ride begins with a butterfly figure-eight element consisting of sharp twists and turns. The last turn to the right transitions the train into a double corkscrew above the water. Immediately following is a small bunny hill with a short dive under the lift hill that turns to the left into the final brake run. After a U-turn, the train returns to the station.

References

External links

Official ''Anaconda'' page
{{PKD Coasters Roller coasters in Virginia Roller coasters introduced in 1991 Kings Dominion Roller coasters operated by Cedar Fair 1991 establishments in Virginia