Twisted Timbers

In 2016, Kings Dominion began to tease that Hurler, a roller coaster which had been closed since 2015, would reopen in 2018. The park also alluded to an upcoming renovation and conversion by Rocky Mountain Construction with the message, "There's really more coming.".[1] On August 16, 2017, Kings Dominion confirmed Hurler would reemerge as Twisted Timbers and open to the public in 2018.[2][3] The official announcement came in a press release that featured promotional artwork for the ride as well as ride specifications.[4]

The park scheduled a soft opening on March 22, 2018, for media and members of the enthusiast group American Coaster Enthusiasts,[5] with a second soft opening scheduled the following day for season ticket holders. However, due to inclement weather on March 21, both planned soft openings were held on March 23.[6] The grand opening to the public was held on March 24, 2018.[7]

For the 2019 season, metal detectors were added to the queue. The trains also received zipper pouches.[8]

When Hurler closed in fall 2015, no signs of renovation were detected. However, on March 25, 2017, Rocky Mountain Construction track was spotted in a storage yard at the park.[9] Amateur drone footage taken four days later revealed that track removal on the old structure had begun.[10] On May 20, new wood and steel supports appeared on the old structure for the first time.[11] Exactly one month later, the park tweeted the first in a series of teasers which set the ride's announcement date for August 16.[12] On August 8, slightly over a week before the formal announcement and three days before ride details leaked onto social media,[13] the ride's lift hill, its highest point, was topped off.[14]

After a winter hiatus, the final track pieces and two custom trains were installed on February 17, 2018, with the signatures of the park's full-time employees placed on the final piece as an "Easter egg".[15] Kings Dominion tested the completed attraction for the first time on February 21.[16] On March 20, four days before the ride's scheduled grand opening, its two trains, one with a blue paint scheme and the other green, tested together.[17]

The ride takes place in the fictional Hanover Hill Orchard, a rustic apple orchard named after Hanover County, Virginia, where Kings Dominion is located. The coaster's backstory explains that, in 1950, a mysterious force destroyed the orchard and froze it in time, and in the present day a local businessman has ignored legends surrounding the orchard to reopen it to the public, as it appeared in the 1950s.[18]

Guests are meant to be touring the abandoned orchard, with the queue line weaving through the orchard as mangled trees, flipped vehicles, and other theming evidence the orchard's destruction. The station itself is themed to an apple shipping warehouse which has been partially destroyed, and the trains themselves embody 1937 Ford pickup trucks, which riders board to continue their tour.

The surrounding area of the Candy Apple Grove section of the park was also rethemed to carry Twisted Timbers' 1950s orchard theme.[19]

Twisted Timbers, previously known as Hurler, is located in the Candy Apple Grove section of Kings Dominion. The roller coaster takes riders to a height of 111 feet (34 m) before entering a barrel roll inversion and dropping them 109 feet (33 m) down the first hill. It reaches a maximum speed of 54 mph (87 km/h), features twenty airtime moments with three overbanked turns, and takes riders through two additional inversions including a cutback and zero-g roll.[20][21]

In its debut year, Twisted Timbers placed third in the category of "Best New Ride for 2018" in the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from Amusement Today, a trade newspaper that focuses on the amusement park industry.[24] In the same publication, it also ranked 38th in the top 50 steel roller coasters,[25] with Amusement Today complimenting the characteristics of the newly-revamped coaster, saying it "features dramatic maneuvers, an abundance of airtime, inversions and a remarkable smoothness compared to its former life".[24]

In June 2018, a woman was hit in the forehead by a mobile phone while riding Twisted Timbers. She was later taken to the hospital and received three stitches.[27]

• Hurler – a roller coaster at sister park Carowinds that shared the same former name
• Steel Vengeance – a roller coaster at Cedar Point that underwent a similar conversion