Twisted Timbers Hybrid Coaster + Winterfest Opening at Kings Dominion in 2018

Taking over the Candy Apple Grove section of Kings Dominion in 2018 is Twisted Timbers, a reincarnation of the Hurler wooden coaster that features track elements, including inversions, unlike anything the previous ride could provide.

Designed by Rocky Mountain Construction, this will be the second hybrid roller coaster opening at a Cedar Fair park in 2018.  Twisted Timbers will utilize some of Hurler's former wooden supports, but all new steel running rails will create a most twisted ride experience.

© Kings Dominion

The coaster is themed around an abandoned apple orchard that was closed years ago when a mysterious force ruined most of the season's harvest.  The ride explores those forces as passengers enter the orchard on a daring and thrilling journey.

Twisted Timbers will start with a climb up the lift, followed by a turn into a 109 foot barrel roll first drop which completely inverts riders on the way down.  From there the layout will be action packed and feature 3,351 feet of track with a top speed of 54 miles per hour.

© Kings Dominion

With much of the ride's layout remaining close to the ground, Twisted Timbers will feature a large amount of air-time hills.  From the start of the ride to the finish, there will be 20 different moments of air-time for riders to encounter.  The steel track will also allow the ride's turns to feature extreme banking, and three of them will actually be overbanked turns at more than 90 degrees.

© Kings Dominion

Including the first barrel roll drop, the ride will have three full inversions in all.  There will be a inverted stall element at the far end of the course, and also a heartline roll as well.  The above image also shows that the coaster's trains will made to look like an antique truck, a part of the deserted orchard theme.

This animated preview of the ride was released as a part of today's big announcement, giving a preview of what's to come on Twisted Timbers.  The ride will generally follow the same path as Hurler did, though all the elements are new and take full advantage of what the steel track offers.

Kings Dominion had one more surprise announcement today, and that was that Winterfest will begin at the park starting at the end of 2018.

© Kings Dominion

Kings Dominion will be decked out in its holiday finest for Winterfest, "an immersive holiday experience in which the park will be transformed into a winter wonderland complete with uniquely themed areas, multitudes of Christmas trees, millions of lights, ice-skating, entertainment, food, crafts and hands-on activities."  Features of Winterfest will include a nightly tree lighting ceremony, the transformation of the park’s fountain on International Street into Snowflake Lake, an area where guests can enjoy ice skating in the shadow of the iconic Eiffel Tower and the tower itself will be converted into a 300-foot Christmas tree complete with a state-of-the-art light show as snow falls over the midway.

Visitors will also find special holiday themed live entertainment in more than a dozen shows, special holiday shopping areas and specially themed food treats.  Best of all, weather permitting, many of the park's rides and attractions will be open.

“2018 is going to be an amazing year for our guests,” said Gary Chadwick, vice president and general manager, Kings Dominion. “Twisted Timbers raises the bar for Kings Dominion’s high thrill level, and adrenaline junkies everywhere will crave experiencing its astonishing twists and revolutions over and over again. This, added to the immersive Winterfest seasonal event, will let our guests experience the park in an entirely different way, creating new family traditions. These investments demonstrate our continued commitment to position Kings Dominion as a dynamic world class destination.”