Volcano: The Blast Coaster

Defunct roller coaster at Kings Dominion

Volcano: The Blast Coaster, or simply Volcano, was an inverted roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, United States. Designed by Werner Stengel, it was the first launched roller coaster manufactured by Intamin and the first of its kind in the world to be inverted. Its launch mechanism utilized linear induction motor (LIM) technology. After a series of delays, Volcano opened to the public on August 3, 1998. A portion of the ride was enclosed inside an artificial mountain, constructed in 1979, which previously housed other attractions. Following nearly two decades of operation, Volcano abruptly closed a few weeks into the 2018 season, and the closure became permanent during the following offseason.

An artificial mountain, originally called The Lost World, was constructed at Kings Dominion in 1979. It was located in the Safari Village section of the park and featured three rides inside – a dark ride named Land of the Dooz, a flume ride named Voyage to Atlantis, and a Rotor flat ride from Chance Rides named Time Shaft. Voyage to Atlantis was renamed Haunted River for the 1980 season. In 1984, Land of the Dooz was refurbished and rethemed to The Smurfs franchise, becoming known as Smurf Mountain. As popularity declined over the years, Smurf Mountain eventually closed permanently in 1993. The other two attractions were closed after the 1994 season, and the mountain's entrance was sealed off, casting uncertainty on the enclosed area's future. In 1996, the park moved in another direction hiring Intamin to design a new roller coaster. The ride manufacturer set out to develop a launch coaster, the company's first, that would be powered by a linear induction motor (LIM). Another ride manufacturer, Premier Rides, had pioneered the concept two years earlier with the design of Flight of Fear at Kings Island. A second concept for the theme was then proposed by Shane's Amusement Attic. On July 22, 1997, Kings Dominion unveiled the name of the new ride, Volcano: The Blast Coaster, along with several ride specifications in a press release announcement. At a cost of $20 million, the new ride would become the first launched roller coaster in the world to be inverted. Upon completion, Volcano would also become the park's tenth roller coaster and Kings Dominion began marketing its collection of coasters as the largest on the East Coast. Intamin based the prototype design on their Suspended Catapult Coaster model. Kings Dominion understood the challenge, having faced similar obstacles with the nearby Flight of Fear. Originally, Volcano only featured one LIM launch at the beginning of the ride. Volcano: The Blast Coaster officially opened to the public two days later on August 3, 1998. During its first year of operation, the park opted to run the trains at half capacity as a temporary solution, reducing the weight and the number of rollbacks. For the 1999 season, a second set of LIMs were added further along the launch track. This supplied the added boost needed to crest the 155 feet (47 m) roll out inversion on a consistent basis. Volcano featured a roll out at 155 feet (47 m), making it the tallest inversion on any roller coaster.

In 2014, the queue line was upgraded with a new loading station to help increase the riders per hour. Guests would now climb down the former Fast Lane entrance staircase to access the new station. The new Fast Lane entrance was located in the Expedition Gear gift shop, where guests exited the ride. Several wooden logs were attached to a black gate in the switchback area to separate the entrance and exit paths. This area received some new television screens as well. Plus, the unloading side of the station had fake rockwork. During the 2018 season, Volcano operated for the first few weeks before closing. Nearly a year later on February 8, 2019, Kings Dominion quietly announced intentions to remove Volcano from the park, citing issues with reliability, rider capacity, and overall customer satisfaction. By May of the same year, the entire attraction was demolished, including the volcano structure. A section of track, a ride vehicle, and signage from the retired attraction were later donated to the National Roller Coaster Museum in Plainview, Texas.

Volcano's layout simulated the path of a volcanic eruption. Upon boarding one of three trains at the base of the mountain, riders made a slow turn left out of the station. The train then moved into its first of two launch tracks, which accelerated the train to During the first launch, the on ride camera took photos of the riders. After making a sweeping 200 degree turn behind the mountain, the train entered the second launch tunnel, followed by a vertical section ending in a "roll out" element. The "roll out", similar to a sidewinder, was a vertical section of track followed by a quarter loop to bring the train completely upside down, then a loose half corkscrew. According to Roller Coaster DataBase, the roll out element was unique to Volcano. The highest point of the roll out is 155 feet (47 m) above ground level, which made it the highest inversion at Kings Dominion, taller than Dominator's 135 feet (41 m) vertical loop. After the roll out, the train made a sweeping turn around the mountain followed by a heartline roll in midair. The train made another turnaround and passed through a second heartline roll, which was embedded into the side of the mountain. After another turnaround and a third heartline roll, the train made a turning 80 feet (24 m) drop into the final brake run. After a left turn, the train returned to the station.

On June 23, 2006, the roller coaster experienced a launch failure when a train carrying 15 passengers stalled and rolled back slightly. Some were stranded for more than two hours. One rider reported hearing a loud pop and getting hit in the chin with flying debris.

When it opened in 1998, Volcano: The Blast Coaster set a world record for having the highest inversion on a roller coaster at 155 feet (47 m). The record was held until GateKeeper opened at Cedar Point in 2013, featuring an inversion at a height of 170 feet (52 m). Volcano also opened as the fastest inverted coaster in the world, reaching a maximum speed of Wicked Twister broke the record when it opened at Cedar Point in 2002, featuring a top speed of .