The Busch Gardens – Kings Dominion Battle…..If The Other Had Only Known!

In the mid 70s, two major theme parks were being built just 60 miles apart in the state of Virginia. These parks were Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, and Kings Dominion in Doswell.? Both parks were being planned and constructed, with each knowing little about the content of the other.

In the early days of theme park development, much like today, it was common practice to not allow the competition to “snoop” around your developing project for fear of giving up secret information about coming attractions. Such was the case between Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion. John Roberts was the Vice President and General Manager of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and I was the Vice President and General Manager of Kings Dominion. John and I had known each other from our early days of (John)?AstroWorld?in Houston, and (me)?Coney Island in Cincinnati, parks in which we both worked as teenagers.

On a call one day between the two of us, I invited John to come up to Kings Dominion for a tour of the park. We were about 3 months out from opening in May 1975. In fairness, I can say today, I strategically and carefully planned his tour and my navigation of the park in a way to save our “BIG GUN” for his last surprise,?The Rebel Yell!? The Rebel Yell is a classic wooden roller coaster designed by the legendary John C. Allen.? This twin-racing coaster featured a traditional out-and-back layout, offering riders a nostalgic, yet thrilling, experience. The Rebel Yell's dual tracks run parallel, allowing two trains to race each other, adding an extra layer of excitement and competition for riders in the competing trains. We knew this coaster would be a largely embraced based on our success with “THE RACER” at Kings Island, a similar concept coaster.

The Rebel Yell's charm and excitement lie in its classic wooden structure, which provided a distinct rattling sensation that many coaster aficionados loved, but were missing on the steel coasters at that time in the industry. The ride's 85-foot, 55-degree drop, sharp turns, and series of airtime hills ensured that riders would experience moments of weightlessness and sheer exhilaration, the likes never before seen in Virginia.

John was a very fine gentleman, heaping lots of compliments on the park as we toured. I first took him through the International Street area, explaining the themes of the street featuring food, retail, and architecture from Europe. ?Then, on to Hanna Barbera land where he had his first glimpse of the famous character themed area, and “Yogi’s Cave”, with an animatronic figure of Yogi Bear out front and with the inside featuring “Tilt House” design features, with water running upward, items balancing that should not be standing, and balls rolling up hills – all definitely difficult illusions for the brain to understand! ?The Magic Theatre was next, then on to Old Virginia to see the Mason Dixon Theatre, an indoor, air-conditioned palace with 1,500 seats offering Broadway shows featuring live singers and dancers. ?And then, on to “OLD CONEY”, the heavily-oriented themed ride area based on Kings Island’s Coney Island Mall, and its predecessor “CONEY ISLAND AMUSEMENT PARK”, Cincinnati, Ohio. ?I circumnavigated the Coney area to be sure to bring into view John’s first?siting of the amazing “REBEL YELL” double wooden racing coaster! ?I was driving my construction Jeep with the top off, so he had full sight! The first view was shocking to John! ?He said, “What is that?!?” I then commenced to discuss the speed, dimensions etc., etc., etc., of the Rebel Yell. He did not speak for two minutes! He knew he had just seen the Kings Dominion Atomic Bomb!! ?The panorama of that looming gigantic coaster located on the south side of Lake Charles was truly majestic, a site to behold. The KD tour was about over, so we went back to the administration building where he was visibly still in shock from seeing the Rebel Yell. He was also amazed at the number of rides we were opening with for the first season of operation, but the Rebel Yell was what left him speechless.

The competition between Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Kings Dominion was and remains among the most fierce competition in the industry between two regional parks. What we did was take the markets of Washington D.C., Richmond, Virginia Beach, Tide Water, and Williamsburg, and literally cut them in half dividing the local and tourist traffic. I can tell you without hesitancy, had only one park been built in the Virginia market in 1975, that park would have generated over 4 million attendance in its first year and grown exponentially, making that park the largest attended regional park in the industry during that period.

There was no question that in 1975, Kings Dominion had the best rides portfolio when they opened. Kings Dominion’s attendance outdrew Busch Garden’s attendance by over 250 thousand per year for its first three years of operation. ??We (the KD team) were proud of our achievements. After all, we were located north of Richmond Virginia in Doswell , Virginia, a sleepy farm-based community. The Busch Park was located in the heart of Williamsburg, Virginia, a well-established tourist attraction of significant proportion, drawing over 500,000 people annually.

It was a great tour and trip that day, but the surprises were not over yet! ?The tables turned shortly thereafter, and I was about to be the one left speechless this time!? This time, the joke was on me!

More next as “UNTOLD STORIES OF THE THEME PARK INDUSTRY” continues!!!!!!

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dennis speigel