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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-tr-rocky-mountain-cedar-point-kings-dominion-20161027-story.html|title = What new twists may be in store for looping wooden roller coasters| website=Los Angeles Times |date = October 27, 2016}} On August 16, 2017, Kings Dominion confirmed Hurler would reemerge as Twisted Timbers, and open to the public in 2018.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbc12.com/story/36150002/kings-dominion-plans-new-coaster-winter-event-for-2018|title=Kings Dominion plans new coaster, winter event for 2018|last=Hylton|first=David|access-date=August 16, 2017|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.kingsdominion.com/explore/twisted-timbers|title=Twisted Timbers {{!}} New Wooden Coaster {{!}} Kings Dominion|website=www.kingsdominion.com|language=en|access-date=August 16, 2017}} The official announcement came in a press release that featured promotional artwork for the ride, as well as ride specifications.{{cite web|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-hybrid-roller-coaster-and-winterfest-holiday-event-coming-to-kings-dominion-in-2018-300505179.html|title=New "Hybrid" Roller Coaster and Winterfest Holiday Event Coming to Kings Dominion in 2018|date=August 16, 2017|publisher=Cedar Fair|accessdate=February 22, 2018}} Just like Wind Chaser at Kentucky Kingdom, the ride would feature a barrel roll drop.{{cite web|last=Stilwell|first=Andrew|date=March 25, 2018|title=Twisted Timbers Opens at Kings Dominion|url=https://www.coaster101.com/2018/03/25/twisted-timbers-opens-at-kings-dominion/|access-date=August 27, 2021|publisher=Coaster101}}

The park scheduled a soft opening on March 22, 2018, for media and members of the enthusiast group American Coaster Enthusiasts,{{Cite web|url=https://www.kingsdominion.com/play/events/twisted-timbers-media-day-ace-registration|title=Twisted Timbers Media Day - ACE Registration Kings Dominion|website=www.kingsdominion.com|language=en|access-date=February 19, 2018}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/kingsdominionva/videos/10155212930036875/|title=Watch Twisted Timbers Opening Ceremony|website=Facebook|language=en|access-date=March 23, 2018}} The grand opening to the public was held on March 24, 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/events/2023209701256617/|title=Opening Day 2018|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=February 19, 2018}}

When Hurler closed in fall 2015, no signs of renovation were detected. However, on March 25, 2017, RMC I-Box track was spotted in a storage yard at the park.{{Cite web|url=http://coasterhub.com/archives/19809|title=Rocky Mountain Construction Track Spotted at Kings Dominion|last=Blanchard|first=Carter|date=March 25, 2017|website=Coaster Hub|access-date=August 16, 2017}} Amateur drone footage taken four days later revealed that track removal on the old structure had begun.{{Citation|last=John Kleindl|title=RMC Hurler Update #2|date=March 29, 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Reye2uqAs|accessdate=August 16, 2017}} On May 20, new wood and steel supports appeared on the old structure for the first time.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/kdfanscom/posts/1104233489678003|title=KDFans.com|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=August 16, 2017}} Exactly one month later, the park tweeted the first in a series of teasers which set the ride's announcement date for August 16.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/KingsDominionVA/status/877175810272235521|title=816. Just remember... things aren't always what they seem.pic.twitter.com/L3tne13Mf1|last=Dominion|first=Kings|date=June 20, 2017|website=@KingsDominionVA|access-date=August 16, 2017}} On August 8, slightly over a week before the formal announcement and three days before ride details leaked onto social media,{{Cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/rollercoasters/comments/6t2ehc/spoilers_possible_kings_dominion_2018_leak/|title=[SPOILERS] Possible Kings Dominion 2018 Leak • r/rollercoasters|website=reddit|date=August 11, 2017|language=en|access-date=August 16, 2017}} the ride's lift hill, its highest point, was topped off.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/kdconnoisseurs/permalink/685448441649766/|title=Hurler is now topped off|last=Schnizer|first=Chris|date=August 8, 2017|website=Facebook|access-date=August 16, 2017}}

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".{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/kingsdominionva/videos/10155124163211875/|title=Kings Dominion - It's official...|date=February 17, 2018|website=Facebook|access-date=February 19, 2018}} Kings Dominion tested the completed attraction for the first time on February 21.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/kingsdominionva/videos/10155134305481875/|title=Twisted Timbers Test Run|date=February 21, 2018|website=Facebook|access-date=February 21, 2018}} 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.{{Citation|last=John Kleindl|title=Multiple Test Runs on Kings Dominion's Twisted Timbers|date=March 20, 2018|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na1b54azXdk|accessdate=March 22, 2018}}

The ride takes place in the fictional Hanover Hill Orchard, a rustic apple orchard named after Hanover County, Virginia, where Kings Dominion is located. Signage throughout the queue provides the ride's backstory, stating that in 1950, a mysterious force destroyed the orchard and froze it in time. In the present day, a local businessman has ignored legends surrounding the orchard and reopened it to the public just as it appeared in the 1950s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kingsdominion.com/play/rides/twisted-timbers|title=Steel & Wooden Coaster | Twisted Timbers | Kings Dominion}}

Guests are supposed to be touring the abandoned orchard, with the queue line weaving past mangled trees, flipped farm vehicles, and other evidence of the orchard's destruction. The station is themed to a partially destroyed apple shipping warehouse, and the trains resemble weathered 1937 Ford pickup trucks.

Along with the ride's opening in 2018, the surrounding area of the park's Candy Apple Grove section was rethemed to continue the 1950s orchard theme.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/big-changes-coming-to-candy-apple-grove|title=February Construction Update: Big Changes Coming to Candy Apple Grove}}

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 {{convert|111|ft}} before entering a barrel roll inversion and dropping them {{convert|109|ft}} down the first hill. It reaches a maximum speed of {{convert|54|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, features twenty airtime moments with three overbanked turns, and takes riders through two additional inversions including a cutback and zero-g roll.{{cite RCDB|coaster_name=Twisted Timbers|location=Kings Dominion|rcdb_number=15028|accessdate=March 24, 2018}}{{cite AV media|date=August 17, 2017|title=Coming to Kings Dominion in 2018 -- Twisted Timbers|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgDbl0Esoh8|access-date=March 24, 2018|publisher=Kings Dominion}}

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. Twisted Timbers also ranked 38th on the same publication's list of top 50 steel roller coasters,{{r|GTA2018}} 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".{{cite journal |title=Golden Ticket Issue 2018 |date=September 2018 |volume=22 |issue=6.2 |pages=10, 34 |url=http://goldenticketawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AT-GoldenTickets-2018-LowRes.pdf |accessdate=September 11, 2019 |journal=Amusement Today}}

{{GTA table

| type = steel

| accessdate = September 11, 2019

| 2018 = 38

| 2019 = 37

| 2021 = 39

| 2022 = 40

}}

{{see also|Incidents at Six Flags parks}}

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.{{cite news|publisher=Kmov St. Louis|date=June 13, 2018|url=http://www.kmov.com/story/38419337/woman-injured-by-flying-cell-phone-on-roller-coaster|title=Woman injured by flying cell phone on roller coaster|accessdate=June 14, 2018}}

• 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

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Official website|https://www.kingsdominion.com/rides-experiences/twisted-timbers}}
• {{RCDB|15028}}
• [https://www.rockymtnconstruction.com/twisted-timbers/ Twisted Timbers] at Rocky Mountain Construction

{{Kings Dominion}}

Category:Hybrid roller coasters

Category:Roller coasters operated by Six Flags

Category:Roller coasters in Virginia