Anaconda Review We're here at Kings Dominion. Today's ride we'll be reviewing for you is Anaconda. Now this ride may not seem like anything special. And....it's not. It's fairly mediocre. However, a couple things about this ride are worth noting. First off, it's an Arrow Mega-Looper. True, it's one of the smaller ones. But at the same time.....it's still a fun ride. Nothing spectacular or amazing, but still fun. And the other thing noteworthy of this coaster. It's in danger. No, I don't mean you're in danger on this ride. I mean, this ride is in danger of being torn down. Probably this ride moreso than any other coaster that I can think of. First off, Arrow Mega-Loopers are becoming really rare. They're dropping like flies. Not many are left. Aside from this, I think....it's just Viper. Combine that with Cedar Fair's eagerness to demolish old rides. They just recently demolished Firehawk and Vortex (Another Arrow Mega-Looper, and a sister ride to Anaconda) over at Kings Island. And right here at Kings Dominion, they just demolished Volcano (Still annoyed that I just barely missed it) and Crypt (Which I actually did get to ride. Fun ride). Between all that, Cedar Fair seems really eager to demolish old rides, and Arrow Loopers are old rides. Plus, Anaconda isn't that great or that big of a crowd-pleaser. So get on Anaconda while you still can. Luckily, we're here in time. Get in the cars, pull down the OTSRs, and we're off! Dip out the station and begin climbing the lifthill. There's actually a decent view to get. Mainly of Kings Dominion, specifically Racer 75, Intimidator 305, the layout of Anaconda that we're about to go through, the pond that Anaconda sits on, and the trees all around the park. We eventually reach the top and head down the first drop. It's....all right. You basically go down a curved drop. Except it's a little awkward. And not steep at all. It's kind of like the Arrow version of the first drop on Silver Bullet. And then we head into a tunnel. Except this tunnel is different. Yep. It's another underwater tunnel. Yeah. This one isn't nearly as cool as the one on Vanish in Japan. But that's because there's no special effects with this tunnel. Anyways, we then pop out of the underwater tunnel, rise up to the sky until we reach the vertical loop. I'm always amused at the old-school Arrow loopers, where they have to have their loops in the sky because Arrow only knew how to make one size of loops right til the end of their career. But anyways, it's pretty cool. Just a standard loop. We roll through that and head into a sidewinder. Oh boy. Brace for impact. Nah, turns out that it's not that bad. Though there is a mild smack right here. Some vest restraints would be nice. Head up a tiny hill, and right into a banked turn. Yeah. There's a smack here. Thank god it's a banked turn. And then we glide into the midcourse brakes? Seems a little early for that. Don't you think? Well, buckle up. Because this ride is about to get weird. So yeah. The mid course brakes are HARSH!!! Damn near stopping us. We go down a small curved drop, which really doesn't give us much speed. We then head into.....what can only be described as a tiny tight coathanger turnaround. This thing looks incredibly painful off-ride. It spares you the pain due to your slow speed. But at the same time, this is incredibly awkward. And then....you get to go through another one of those awkward coathanger turns. Seriously! This ride might possibly take the award for most coat-hangerish layout of any coaster! Cause....I don't really get this ride. Even by Arrow standards, this is pretty wonky. Go around another turn, and....tumble through some corkscrews. Oh finally. Some rembelence of sanity on the ride. And they're slow Arrow Corkscrews. Those are always fun. Go through another tiny awkwardly banked hill, Dip down under the lifthill. Awkward banked turn and into the brake run. Yeah. This ride is....while not as terrible as some people make it out to be, it is fairly slow, kind of sluggish, and so incredibly awkward. But it's still a little fun. And it's a dying breed. So I'd definately give Anaconda a ride at Kings Dominion. Hurry! Before it's too late! 6/10 Location: Kings Dominion Opened: 1991 Built by: Arrow Last Ridden: July 28, 2019 Anaconda Photos Home