Kings Dominion

[Anonymous]

Haven't been there in years...DH would like to take the kids (ages 9 and 7) there next week. Anyone been there recently? Is there plenty to do with kids ages 9 and 7? About how long is the drive from Montgomery County?

[Anonymous]

I think that's a great age for KD. My suggestion is to go during the week and go early to avoid crowds and lines. Depending on where you are in MC and the traffic, the trip should be about 2 hrs.

[Anonymous]

We just went last weekend. My kids are 14, 7, and 4. They each had a blast, even though their interests vary greatly. There is definitely a lot for kids to do there. We didn't even go in the water park section - I think you could spend a whole day in there!

Once we got to Quantico, it was about 45 minutes, I think? It's 20 mi north of Richmond. Be warned about Sunday going north on I-95. It was a parking lot northbound as we drove south to KD around 3:00pm. It was a little better as we were leaving at 8:15pm, but it was still a slow crawl until I could get off 95.

[Anonymous]

yes i think that's a perfect age. i just went last weekend with a 5yo and while we couldn't ride some of the rides, there was still enough.

make sure to wear bathing suits and spend time in the water park too.

i actually think it might be a little over 2 hours from montgomery... and that's with no traffic.

[Anonymous]

What about that water park for 2.5 yo? Too early to drag her there?

[Anonymous]

No, she'll probably be fine in the little kiddie pool area where it's about shin deep, and there's a small play structure in the pool with a small slide. You could also try taking her to the wave pool and maybe the lazy river... but that's about it.

[Anonymous]

O.P. here. We ended visiting the park yesterday (Tuesday). We had two 9 y.o. girls and two 7 y.o. boys. The kids had a great time. There rides are all rated on a scale from 1 (think rides for ~2~5 year olds) to 5 (think the more crazy roller coasters). Visiting the park's website ahead of time helped familiarize us with the rides and helped us plan our day. You can get a brief description of each ride that includes the rating of the ride. If the kids enjoyed a ride that was a "3", we took them to other rides with the same rating. The ratings are clearly posted on signs in front of each park, but not indicated on the maps you receive when entering the park, so I definitely recommend printing this and bringing it with you to the park. If you can, visit on a weekday. The lines were minimal. The maximum wait time was ~20 minutes for the white water canyon. Many of the rides had no wait at all (ideal for kids and parents alike ). One final note...this place is expensive. Tickets are $55 each. Luckily, we received free tickets from a friend. Lunch in the park for 5 people cost us $70 and change. We each had a burger and a drink. We opted not to eat dinner at the park. Instead, we drove about 10 miles up 95 and found a great little Italian restaurant.