Just before 2 PM today a surprise earthquake shook the East coast. The quake’s epicenter was in Central Virginia near the town of Mineral. That’s only about 30 miles from Kings Dominion and about 100 miles from Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The 5.8 magnitude rumbler was felt at both parks and as a safety precaution rides have been temporarily closed.
Mosts are praising the ride closings, but as you might expect some are angry and looking for rain checks or refunds. Visit Kings Dominion’s Facebook page and Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Facebook page to follow the reactions.
Apparently, guests riding the Hurler were unaware of the quake. 
Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.
I work about 15 minutes from Carowinds and while I didn’t feel anything, I did notice my monitor shaking. No one else noticed anything. So, most people at Carowinds might not have noticed. No word on ride closings on their Facebook page.
No injuries have been reported. More on this story as it develops.
Read about other unusual natural and thought to be super natural occurrences at theme parks:
Volcano Causes UFO Over Kings Dominion
Hurrcicane Ike Blasts Kemah Boardwalk
Six Flags Over Georgia Under Water
Alton Towers Seeks to Control the Weather
Creepy Images & Video of Post-Katrina Six Flags New Orleans
What’s Your Take?
Have you ever been at a theme park during an earthquake? Leave a comment below.
August 23, 2011 at 13:19
Thank God no one was hurt at either of the parks.
August 23, 2011 at 13:48
I actually felt the quake all the way up in New York. I do feel bad for the people who spent their money at the parks only to have the rides close, but at least nobody was hurt.
August 24, 2011 at 03:27
I'm up in New york too, but I didn't feel anything. Some people I know said that they felt it. Probably just me being completely oblivious to my surroundings, as usual. I don't think anyone up here was hurt, and hopefuly the same goes for the people down in D.C. and the surrounding areas.
Sadly I cannot think of a joke that would be an equivilent of The Hurler joke you made. LoL.
August 23, 2011 at 13:59
King's Dominion guest services workers told us we could use our tickets for entry on any day between now and September 10. That's the good news. No refund on parking ($12) or lockers ($12-20). Of course if everyone contacted their credit card company and stopped payment on those charges… hey, it's worth a try.
August 23, 2011 at 14:34
Wow I didnt feel it either. As for the parks I am glad everyone was safe and no one was injured(I think). Kings Dominion is doing the right thing by letting guests who were there today come back anytime until september 10 for free. Of course, some ungrateful people are still mad and demanding refunds. They have to realize that it is not kings dominions or busch gardens fault that the quake happened, although their money was perhaps wasted.
August 23, 2011 at 17:53
Is it just me, or is Tragedy one of the most written about news topics? I have family in MInot, ND that were affected by the flood a couple of weeks ago and the story was mentioned on every other news program.
August 23, 2011 at 23:22
LMAO @ your Hurler comment. Grizzy might have qualified as well, although wasn't there some work done over last winter?
August 24, 2011 at 05:08
I heard she was re-tracked. It is a great ride. I love that little tunnel. It's very violent, extremely loud, and you can't read the track in the dark.
August 24, 2011 at 05:03
I felt it in Alexandria VA, about 80 miles from epicenter. It started very mellow then it got very intense for about 10 seconds. I thought i was buggin out at first, because it was just my TV swaying, then the walls started swaying pretty bad and I ran out of the house. It was incredible! My daughter and I talked about KD closing right away, and wondered what were the odds that the Griffen at BGW was poised to drop when the quake hit? What an extra scary moment that would have been.
August 24, 2011 at 06:14
I was actually at Six Flags Great Adventure yesterday and my friends and I didn't feel a thing. My relatives in New York and Connecticut easily felt it, which is weird, but I guess it depended on whether you were in a building. We were waiting in line for Kingda Ka at the time and the usual "Kingda Ka is experiencing minor technical difficulties" came over the PA system. I can't tell you how many times I have heard that in the years I've been going there so I didn't think much of it. I checked Facebook on my phone to pass the time and there were a bunch of statuses about an earthquake. About a minute later, an announcement came over the PA again stating that the park had just experienced a minor earthquake and would be shutting down operations. My friends and I were like "really?", because living on the east coast, we're obviously not used to that. Everything was shut down as they had to re-test all the rides. We saw two workers go up Kingda Ka's tower and check all of bolt connections from the tower to the track on each of the catwalks. As time went on, rides continued to re-open in batches with Nitro and El Toro both testing about a half hour after the announcement while Ka took about 2 hours to reopen. Unless I make it out to the amusement parks out west, I doubt I'll ever hear that announcement again, but I'm glad the park re-checked everything to make sure they were safe to ride.
August 25, 2011 at 12:53
I was actually waiting for kingda ka at tht same time too, i have to say after the near 2 and a half hour wait, it was so worth it :p, it was also pretty bizzare seing the guys actually take the elevator to the top and start inspecting it!
August 25, 2011 at 18:01
It was pretty bizarre. I've been to Great Adventure a lot and I've never seen anyone go up the tower. I mean, it's one thing to be in the train and go over, it's a whole other thing if you're just walking on the catwalks. If it was me I would be a bit freaked out.
August 26, 2011 at 18:54
it was crazy, then it got annoying when they had to stop at each platform on their way down :p
August 24, 2011 at 06:43
In pittsburgh I felt it, but I don't believe they closed anything at kennywood.
August 24, 2011 at 07:50
I live in South Jersey and my whole house was shaking!
August 24, 2011 at 09:02
Aren't all earthquakes a surprise?
August 26, 2011 at 03:24
I thought that word, 'surprise', would get a comment.
Obviously an earthquake in the East is much more of a surprise, but you're right all earthquakes are a surprise.
August 24, 2011 at 13:08
we were at KD during the earthquake yesterday but we did not notice anything! We may have been on a water slide at the time though.
August 26, 2011 at 15:39
I have never experienced a earthquake before but I have always dreaded the fact that not one, but TWO theme parks could possibly be caught in one. But you cheered saying no one was hurt and I cracked when you made the Hurler joke – THAT, my friend, is very funny.
2coastercrazy