Roller Coasters in Virginia

Next in our series, we have Roller Coasters in Virginia! There are two big, lovely parks in the Old Dominion state, plus a couple of smaller coasters to consider. Let’s take a look around. As always, check hours and prices before you visit!

Click on each coaster’s name below for a video of the ride! Ride all the roller coasters in Virginia from your house!

King’s Dominion

The park in Virginia with the most roller coasters is Kings Dominion with 13 total. A sister park to Kings Island in Ohio, they have a very similar layout and themes. You can find it about 30 minutes north of Richmond. At this park, we have over-the-water Anaconda, floorless Dominator, indoor Flight of Fear, super-tall Project 305 ( which until recently was the Intimidator 305.) Twisted Timbers is a hybrid steel-topped wooden coaster and Tumbili is a vertical wing coaster. Grizzly and Racer 75 are the park’s wooden coasters. The wild mouse Apple Zapple, movie-themed Backlot Stunt Coaster, and the bobsled Reptilian are some tamer options. And the Charlie Brown-themed Great Pumpkin Coaster and Woodstock Express are the kiddie options.

Other thrill rides include a big swinging (upside down!) pirate ship, a pendulum ride, a big drop tower, a high swings, plus log flume and river rapids water rides. On the tamer side, we have bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, scrambler, troika, antique cars, a carousel, a tall double-wing spinner, a shorter single-wing spinner, a wave swinger, and a laser-blaster dark ride. A replica Eiffel Tower serves as an observation deck over the park. And 17 rides just for kids include kiddie bumper cars, antique cars, train, monorail, teacups and other things that mainly go in a circle. A Soak City waterpark is attached to the back of the park.

Admission

Currently, tickets for Kings Dominion can be as high as $80 at the gate or as low as $45 online, depending on the day. Soak City waterpark is included in daily admission. They offer 2-day tickets (that do NOT have to be used on consecutive days – just any two days during the season) for $160 at the gate or as low as $70 online. They also offer an after-4 ticket for $38, which is unusual. Parking is an extra $30. Right now, they are selling a “funday bundle” for $65 which includes admission, parking, and all-day dining.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

The other big park in Virginia is Busch Gardens Williamsburg, near Colonial Williamsburg. I love both Busch Gardens parks – they’re so lush and always have animals. In Williamsburg (which used to be called the “Europe” park) we’ve got 10 roller coasters to look at. Alpengeist is a ski-themed inverted coaster, Apollo’s Chariot is a tall, out-and-back hyper coaster, Griffon is a floorless dive coaster, the classic Loch Ness Monster has two interlocking loops over the water, Pantheon is a multi-launch coaster with a unique spike element, Tempesto is a small coaster in a loop, and Verbolten is mostly an indoor dark ride. On the tamer side is woodie InvadR, indoor DarKoaster, and the kiddie Grover’s Alpine Express.

Other rides include a screamin’ swing, a sky ride, bumper cars, troika, wave swinger, swinging ship, scrambler, teacups, himalaya, a carousel, a train, the Escape from Pompeii boat chute, log flume, and river rapids rides, plus a scenic waterway boat cruise. Eleven attractions are just for little kids.

There’s a long-standing and award-winning Irish dancing & music show (kinda Riverdance-lite) and usually smaller-scale live entertainment around the park. Right now, it’s all geared toward St. Patrick’s Day, so it’s all Irish singers and dancers. Food & shopping are unusually good at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. And there are animals scattered around the park, like wolves, birds of prey, foxes, sheep, and even shaggy highland cows.

Admission

Daily tickets aren’t cheap, however. A ticket at the gate and for any non-specific day costs $112. Choosing a specific day online ahead of time brings it down to $92 for adults. There are 2- and 3-day tickets available (up to $147) and all manner of combo tickets with the nearby water park and Colonial Williamsburg. Parking costs an extra $32-37.

They offer some interesting “bounce” tickets for a little more than average admission that includes unlimited visits, parking, and Colonial Williamsburg only during a specific spring, summer, or fall time frame. The “summer bounce” costs the most and also includes the water park. It’s like a season pass for just a few weeks.

Go-Karts Plus

Also in Williamsburg, we have Go-Karts Plus, an “action park” with go-karts (obviously), a disc’o ride, mini-golf, bumper boats, bumper cars, the Python Pit kiddie coaster, plus a playground and gem mining. Indoors is a large arcade.

To just ride the coaster costs $7 per ride, or a $45 all-you-can-ride wristband. Smaller kids cost $2 per ride or a $25 wristband. Parking is free.

Fun Land of Fredericksburg

Fun Land of Fredericksburg is a similar place with a large arcade plus several attractions including the indoor Twist-N-Shout roller coaster. This is one of those spinning, figure-8 ones you can find at many arcades. They also have spinny bumper cars, laser tag, an XD theater, climbing wall, mini-bowling, frog hopper, go-karts, scrambler, a 360-degree pendulum ride, batting cages, mini-golf, ropes course, slide, and drop tower. (Phew!)

To ride, you can pay for each experience separately with a reloadable fun card – the more points you buy, the more you get for your money. The roller coaster is $8 alone. Or purchase a day pass for $42 online or $45 at the park. Other options include an after-7 pm pass for $36. Or for $40, enjoy all the rides plus video games and unlimited pizza & soda on Friday nights only, 4 pm-close.

Water Parks in Virginia

There are some nice options for water parks in Virginia, though not as many as you might think for a state with a fair amount of oceanfront property. We’ve got 3ish big parks, a couple of indoor options, and some smaller regional parks.

• Water Country USA is the park associated with Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg. Here, they have 18 slides, 2 kid’s areas, 2 lazy rivers, a wave pool, and an activity pool with a log walk. Admission can be as much as $83 at the gate or as low as $50 online. Parking is an extra $32-37, or there are a plethora of combination, bounce pass, and season pass options.
• Ocean Breeze Waterpark in Virginia Beach, has 16 slides, 5 kid’s areas (including a tiny lazy river!), a big lazy river, a wave pool, and an activity pool with a log roll. Weekend (Fri-Sun) admission is $52 for adults, while during the week it’s $47. Parking and tubes are free.
• Soak City at Kings Dominion features 10 slides, 4 kid’s areas, a lazy river, and a wave pool. All is included in your daily ticket price, $45-80 plus $30 in parking.

• Massanutten ski resort includes a year-round indoor water park with 5 slides, 2 kid’s areas, a lazy river, hot tubs, and an extra-fee FlowRider. An outside waterpark open in the summer adds 4 more slides, another kid’s area, and a wave pool. Day rates are as much as $75 and as little as $40 (for adults), depending on the day and whether you buy in advance. Discounts are available for kids, military, timeshare owners, and spectators.
• Maui Jack’s on Chincoteague Island features 5 slides, a kid’s splash area, and a lazy river. Passes cost $31 on the weekends and $27 on weekdays. It doesn’t say, but I imagine parking is free.
• There’s a Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg with 3 slides, 3 areas for kids, a lazy river, a wave pool, an activity pool, FlowRider, hot springs, and an outdoor activity pool. Full-day passes cost between $50-140, and half-day $45-126, depending on the day. Parking is free.

• The Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole is operated by Fairfax County, adjacent to Washington DC. They’ve got a highly-themed space with 3 slides, 2 kid’s areas, a lazy river, and an activity pool with a water crossing and water volleyball. Admission is $17.75 on weekends and holidays, $1 less during the week.
• Cobblestones Water Park in Glen Allen has 3 slides, a kid’s slide, and a big pool with a splash area at the shallow end. Tickets are $20 on weekends (Sat-Sun), and $18 during the week.

Did I miss anything? Have you been to any of these resorts? What are you looking forward to doing this year? Let me know in the comments below!