Dominator (roller coaster)

Batman: Knight Flight was announced at an event on December 9, 1999 as the only floorless roller coaster in the Midwest, and one of four floorless coasters built for the 2000 season, alongside Medusa at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Superman: Krypton Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Kraken at SeaWorld Orlando.[1][2] It opened on May 5, 2000. The ride was a part of the conversion and major expansion that occurred between the 1999 and 2000 season, transforming Geauga Lake into Six Flags Ohio. Dominator was built in the Gotham City section of the park, a common themed area in many Six Flags parks.

Dominator while it was at Geauga Lake

Six Flags Ohio subsequently became known as Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, and in March 2004, Six Flags sold the park to Cedar Fair for $145 million. All references to Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters had to be removed prior to opening day the same year, since Cedar Fair did not have licensing rights. As a result, Cedar Fair renamed Batman: Knight Flight to Dominator. The process included sanding the Batman symbol off every seatback, the removal of the Bruce Wayne Foundation text on the station, and the renaming of the Gotham City section to "Power City."[3][4]

In August 2007, rumors of Dominator being relocated to Kings Dominion surfaced.[5] On September 21, 2007, Cedar Fair announced that Geauga Lake would no longer operate as a traditional amusement park, and instead become solely a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom. As a result, September 16, 2007 was the last day the ride would operate at Geauga Lake. With that announcement, the rides from the amusement park side began to be relocated to other Cedar Fair properties. The new location of Dominator, however, was not released.[5][6]

On October 23, 2007, it was announced that Dominator would be moved to Kings Dominion.[7] It was rebuilt on the former site of the bus parking lot, behind Berserker, an Intamin Looping Starship. When it was relocated to Kings Dominion, it received a new paint job. The supports remained dark blue, but the track was repainted orange with the exception of the vertical loop, which remains painted yellow. It opened to the public on May 24, 2008.[8]

A train dropping from the mid-course brake run

After leaving the station, the train makes a small dip before making a 180 degree right turn to climb the 157-foot (48 m) tall lift hill. Once the train apexes the top of the lift, riders drop 148 feet (45 m) to the right at a 57 degree angle, reaching a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h), into a 135-foot (41 m) tall vertical loop.[8] Following the loop, riders go through an overbanked right turn (which at Geauga Lake passed over the ride entrance) and rise up into a turnaround above the station. After the turn, riders enter a cobra roll. The train then rises uphill, makes a left turn under the lift hill, and enters the mid-course brake run. After the brakes, there is a small drop into a pair of interlocking corkscrews. Following the corkscrews, the train completes a 135-degree curve to the left that dives into a 270-degree curve along the ground, entering the final brake run.[8][10][11] One cycle of the ride lasts about 2 minutes and 6 seconds.[12]

Dominator operates with three open-air steel-and-fiberglass trains. Each train has eight cars that have four seats in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.[8] Riders are secured by an over-the-shoulder restraint with a lap belt. In 2014, the seat color was changed from purple to black, and the restraint (previously all orange) added black to its color scheme.[13]

Dominator's Loop and Cobra Roll, viewed from the parking lot

The steel track is approximately 4,210 feet (1,280 m) in length, making it the longest Floorless Coaster in the world.[14] The height of the lift hill is approximately 161 feet (49 m). Dominator features one of the world's tallest vertical loops at 135 feet (41 m).[14] When the coaster first opened at Geauga Lake, it was painted with blue supports, yellow track and unpainted rails. When Dominator was relocated to Kings Dominion, the supports remained blue and the rails remained unpainted. The track was painted orange but the loop remained yellow.[10]

As Batman Knight Flight, the coaster was the star attraction of the Gotham City themed area and featured Batman theming.[10] When Cedar Fair bought the park in 2004 the name was changed and all the Batman theming had to be removed before opening day. There has been no theme for the ride while it has been owned by Cedar Fair.