DOSWELL--Roller coaster enthusiast Bill Galvin drove all the way from Baltimore to Kings Dominion yesterday for the theme park's unveiling of its new ride for 2010.

He wasn't disappointed.

Intimidator 305, named after NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt and the height of its highest point, will scale a 305-foot-tall hill, plunge 300 feet at an 85-degree angle, and hit a maximum speed in excess of 90 mph as it thunders along a nearly mile-long track. The ride will take three minutes.

"There's never been anything here even close to that," said Galvin, who wore his American Coaster Enthusiasts T-shirt for yesterday's press conference. "It's breaking new ground. I'm not sure if Kings Dominion has a mega-coaster, and they're jumping into a giga-coaster. There aren't that many in the world."

Giga-coasters are ultra-high coasters with a first drop of 300 feet or more, which results in top speeds hovering above 90 mph. Their layouts are characterized by steep hills and drops, high-speed horizontal turns at, or very close to, ground level and various over-banked curves.

When finished next spring in the park's Congo section, the $25 million Intimidator 305 will be the second giga-coaster built in North America and the tallest and fastest of its type on the East Coast, according to Kings Dominion.

Besides its 305-foot-high lift hill, which is about the same height as Kings Dominion's landmark Eiffel Tower, the bright red and yellow coaster will feature three high-speed turns and six airtime bumps, which will produce negative G-forces, or airtime lifting the riders out of their seats.

"That first drop, that's a thrill right there," Galvin said. "Then it will turn on its side with the ground rushing by on your right side. It's going to be exciting. I'll be here to ride it opening day--and more than that."

Intimidator 305 is expected to re-establish Kings Dominion as the "King of Thrills," said Pat Jones, the theme park's vice president and general manager. She said the park hasn't added a new roller coaster in about seven years and wanted the next one to be a long, signature ride.

"This one will be just a little shy of a mile, and it will be an over-two-minute ride," Jones said. "For a roller coaster, that's pretty long."
Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., owner of Kings Dominion, teamed up with Dale Earnhardt Inc. to create the ride's look and theme.

"You always want to be able to convey easily what a ride is like," Jones said. "Dale Earnhardt was known for being thrilling, aggressive and fun. That's what we wanted this ride to be."

Jeff Steiner, executive vice president and general manager of Dale Earnhardt Inc., said he was skeptical when approached about the project a year ago but came to like the company's philosophy and felt the plans deserved the Dale Earnhardt seal of approval.

"Dale always said, 'Either you go big or you go home,'" Steiner said.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. will provide Kings Dominion with a replica of the late racing legend's No. 3 car for display in front of the ride and video of his racing career that will be shown on screens inside the waiting area.

"You'll definitely know it's a Dale Earnhardt experience," Steiner said.

Alyssa Bailey, president of the Virginia Tourism Corp., said the ride's debut next spring will help draw more people to the state and will be just in time to take advantage of a projected rebound in consumer confidence.

"We think Intimidator 305 is a huge deal," she said. "Places like Kings Dominion are the anchor stores of our tourism mall. This will give people a reason to come here, and people who have come here a new reason to come back."

Kings Dominion also is exploring relationships with two nearby attractions: the State Fair of Virginia, which opens next month at the Meadow Event Center in Caroline County; and the Richmond International Raceway, where Earnhardt won several races.

"We've been in constant discussion with the State Fair to ease their transition," Jones said. "We won't have a direct tie-in, but we may have promotions where our guests can visit there, and their guests can visit here."

Construction began Wednesday on Intimidator 305, which was designed by Intiman AG of Wollerau, Switzerland, an industry leader in roller-coaster development. When completed, the project will cost $25 million, making it the largest capital investment in Kings Dominion's history.

The bright red tracks and yellow supports are currently stored in a fenced-in area near the theme park's parking lot, and computerized versions of what the ride will be like are available at intimidator305.com.