mudvayneimn

Definitely pleased with LR; I originally dreaded hearing Morgan hyperlite (promo layout from their video didn't look too intense). For a smaller coaster this one still manages to have quite a variety of elements. The waterpark additions are looking solid as well, it is going to be really interesting seeing a waterslide standing 20 feet taller than a looping steel coaster right next to it. I thought that the Schlitterbahn slide was way taller than 120ft though, does anyone know the stats for it? I know I'll be helping the attendance figures next year, nothing beats a 5 minute drive to an amusement park! The reopening linup is quite a bit better than I'd hoped so no complaints here, and for the coaster....it's not a standard model Skyloop so I'm happy. Edit: Are those FLYING SCOOTERS? I'm so down for that. Edit #2: Then there's this little nugget: Aqua Theater - Rescued Sea Lion Show ....I thought the old Looney Tunes Theatre looked a little wet.

Yeah, it looks like a loop, it's gonna feel like a loop. Its width is just minutiae. If it looks like a loop, rides like a loop, inverts like a loop, and quacks like a loop it probably is a loop. Woah, woah, WOAH....if you ride a loop when it quacks and also when it's silent, does that count as two seperate credits? Even so, I'm pretty sure if I ever heard a loop quack, I'd find a way to steal it. The rest of the ride can scream like a Banshee for all I care; that loop is mine!

The newer S&S Freefly train concept maybe? Nah.....I've settled back on launched Eurofighter, or Skyloop. Either way, not knowing is beginning to drive me crazy. Just make the announcement already!

I wouldn't be opposed either, a coaster similar to Skyrocket would at least carry some substance. If this turns out to be a Premier creation I fear it'd be akin to a Skyrocket II ala S:UF. Not saying that a clone or tweaked version is a bad thing (any steel coaster beats no coaster/used vekoma), but I'd much prefer a vertically shorter coaster with a well rounded layout.

I seriously hope that ride is going to EG. I still wouldn't be surprised if KK added a Skyloop of some sort; maybe the launch variation that no park has installed yet. If not a Skyloop, my money is on a launched Eurofighter. Deep down I really want to see a Mega-lite, but that's a pipe dream unfortunately.

^^I thought things ended differently. Slingshot was added at SFKK in 2002 (came from SFGAdv). It had to be removed a couple years later; the gossip was that the height that the ball launched to was over SFKK's 200 ft height limit and the airport made a fuss. It was sent to SFNE to open for the 2005 season but the park was not granted approval to build it because of it's height. It was refurbished and sent to Elitch Gardens where it opened in 2006. When permission was given to SFNE to build up 200ft without needing approval in 2008, the Slingshot at SFStL was removed from that park, refurbished, and reopened in 2009 at SFNE.....I could be wrong though. Back to the NKK, does anyone else feel that this new coaster might actually turn out to be the Magic Springs Skyloop? I know the price tag is $7mil but I haven't been able to shake that notion over the last week or so....

I don't believe I've seen that either. It is neat to see though! BTW, I posted a question on the KK Facebook page to try and confirm if the announcements would be made this week like the news articles stated during the Thunder Run Media Event. I can't pull the quote right now since I'm at work but they stated the announcement will not be made this week, but in the coming weeks. From some of their other responses they say everything will be announced before the holidays so that leaves us with two more weeks to hurry up and wait.

Does anyone know how much the Storm at Etnaland cost to build? I forgot about Mack and their mega-lite.

Skycoasters are just about the only rides that still scare the crap out of me. I regret it every single time I ride one when the different motors kick in and cause the wobble. We had a crazy summer storm pop up one day while I was working RRE. We had to go into that little shed the exit ramp passed through, and lightning hit the skycoaster a few times....we couldn't hear properly for a while after that. Hellivator's computers got zapped during that storm and was down for a few weeks, which sucked as I was supposed to be trained on it the next day; never got a chance to ride it again. I really hope this attempt to restore and revive the park turns out successful. It might not have been the biggest park around but it definitely gave my friends and I something to look forward to back then. Every year was the same, Thunder over Louisville at the end of April, and the next weekend KK would open and we'd try out the newest prototype at the park and hope it didn't strand us in an awkward position for a couple hours!

We've almost reached the end of rides to speculate on, land expansion is the next logical step! It was a lease and went back to S&S iirc. The Slingshot and wild mouse both were supposed to both go to SFNE...but the Slingshot didn't get approval and was moved to Elitch Gardens. SFNE almost had a shake n' bake, shove and brake, and launch and stop all from KK (still ended up with two of the three).

Yupp, Skycoaster and RRE were removed in June of 2010. I must say I absolutely loved that ride. Multiple rides on that bad boy at night after we closed the park was full of so much WIN.

They do look pretty epic; I don't really care for waterparks but if they added those slides, I would have to go at least once! So I whipped up a quick outline to show what I was speaking about earlier when it comes to possible expansion. The parking lot right next to the park entrance (1A) is the one I was talking about in the previous post (It's the one used for the KSF thrill way). The building that's floating in the sea of asphalt (1B) is the old Cardinal Stadium that is going to be torn down; then we have the very interesting tracts C and D. While trying to find a resource that showed the actual property line of the KEC, I stumbled upon the 2011-2012 RFP sent out by the KSFB for development of a new hotel on the property. Tract C is listed as one of the potential areas for development. It was incredibly hard to make out the border but it appears that 1A is included in it. Tract D is also listed as a potential option for the hotel and it seems to be the one they were more in favor of being used. If the developer chose to use tract C however, the KSFB could use D for the animal shelter/staging areas instead of tract C. One more thing to note, Cardinal Stadium's locale was not mentioned as an option for that hotel development. If I recall correctly, late 2011/early 2012 was around the time the future of KK was really up in the air and the KSFB was looking for another revenue option. And If I read/viewed that RFP correctly, KK expanding into areas 1A and C then becomes incredibly plausible.

^^^^ I'm pretty sure the park was making a pretty good profit before he sold it. I believe he made mention of that during the KKRC campaign. The pictures of the slides Screamscape posted where from that original KKRC submission (the one with the family wooden coaster in GL's spot and the B&M in the go carts/first half of Chang's spot) so those are definitely outdated. I never knew the second and third proposals were made public, I thought only the first RFP submission was; the more you know! Lol On the land issue, KK does have available land they own that has not been developed yet on the back side of the park. There's always the possibility of ripping up some of the parking lot on the front side of the park and using the soon to be available space where Cardinal Stadium is to compensate. Just speculating of course.

The height of the swing ride is right around the listed height of a HUSS Giant Frisbee....Not too much longer until the cat's out of the bag.

Yep, that's where the speculation arose that RMC will be doing the "complete" makeover of Twisted Twins Ed Hart mentioned a while back.

Thunder Run never had a second train, it doesn't have a transfer track. And the first week of November will be here before we know it!

[youtu_be]http://youtu.be/DQUTurfx0UE[/youtu_be] Thunder Run has always only had one train operation. I was hoping they'd finally remove/relocate the gift/photo shop that's in the way. With that shop right next to the brake run, there's no room for a transfer track/storage shed. Thunder Run is looking pretty good though, and the new logo isn't bad either. According to the WDRB story, the new ride announcements will take place during the first week of November. Iconic Kentucky Kingdom Coaster Opens for First Time in Five Years "...Officials said more announcements are coming the first week in November. At that point they will allow the public to see the new layout of the park..."

According to Mr. Hart, this will be a "brand new steel coaster". He doesn't seem to be the type of guy to mince words so I doubt the new coaster will be refurbished. Only a few more weeks until they announce the new coaster and rides though. I'm changing my guess again; put me down for the first launching inverted Maurer Söhne Skyloop.

It's always been like that on the Crittenden Drive boundary of the park; the property goes right up to the road. They have the wooden fence over where the attractions run right up to the edge, but once the boundary gets away from being right on the road it's just that barbwire.

It was the only SLC I've ridden I was able to enjoy; riding it right was key. It was so strange the last two cars where the smoothest on that ride. I agree the ride was more shuffle than headbang (unless you sat in the front), and if you knew where the bad spots were you could prepare and avoid severe pain. The worse jolt was the exit out of the roll over but if you firmly held your head back and on the right headrest you could make it. There was a funky shuffle in the not-so overbanked floaty hill and the sidewinder. If I kept my head a bit outside of headrest range I was good for all of it. Through the carousel and rolls I kept my head on the right headrest and that was it, I might just be a glutton for punishment. T2 became a guilty pleasure of sorts, I've not been able to enjoy any other SLC I've ridden. At this point though that ride needs a date with the scrap yard. It is a shame that to get to Twisted Twins we will have to wait for the T2 refurb; although that is still better than not having the park at all.

My post made absolutely no sense.......I didn't realize it until just now lol. The article on Chang, just like every other article/press release/etc, mentions the full price tag; it just goes more in depth in how it all actually came to be. On the speculation side of things, sky loop was my initial thought when they changed the price tag. I was really hoping not as they seem to be a bit of a maintenance headache and gimmicky but I forgot there can be room for customization à la Abismo. I want the park to make it to 2016 so we can see what the overhaul of Twisted Twins will be. At least this would last about 45 seconds!

I wouldn't say it could completely be ruled out; you never know. When Ed Hart went to B&M to build Chang, he did not pay it in full before it was built. He made an initial payment, and over the course of the following two seasons paid off the rest. It is possible something like that could be in the works again. Although I'm still sticking to a launched euro-fighter. Unfortunately I no longer have the local news story that explained the origins of Chang; it was unprecedented for such a small park to get a high quality coaster, especially a B&M.

^ I agree with you there. From the reviews it doesn't sound like it'd be a major loss. To my knowledge it wasn't a one off thing, but a few injuries within a week or two of each other. Since they couldn't determine the source they stopped the dueling, although I don't see any other outcome regardless of the UFOs origins. It had been posted on screamscape but can't find it anymore. EDIT: here's a snippet from the site one should never use as a valid source: Wikipedia "During the summer of 2011, there were two accidents (one serious) caused by what is believed to be loose objects hitting riders while riding the roller coaster. The most serious accident was when a man got struck with an object and had to get his eye removed due to the amount of damage. On the same day that the man got hit, Universal Studios announced that the coasters would not duel until an investigation was completed. For two months the coasters were dispatched separately and in mid-October 2011, Universal made the decision to remove the dueling aspect of the ride permanently without any explanation to what caused the injuries.[12][13] No injuries have been reported since." I also found a thread relating to the timing of the incidents: Dragon Challenge Incidents "A few weeks ago a man was struck in the face with a random object on Dueling Dragons. The man unfortunately is going to lose the use of his eye due to it. Universal took action and temporarily shut down the ride to see where the object came from, which didn't yield anything. About a week after that a man got struck in his foot where the two coasters loop next to each other. The man had a nasty bruise to his foot but he is okay other than that. Again, Universal shut the ride down to find the cause again coming up with nothing but the idea of someone throwing an object at the trains."

^ Well of course. I'd be surprised if he said it was rough and boring with no airtime lol. Its a shame that so far every picture of the wheel makes the orange look so subdued. The last two days on my way to the lower portion of the wheel has popped! In the sun, that orange commands your attention; the neon yellow/green on the outer ring with the restoration work on the gondolas force you to take note if you are on I-65. When the paint job is completed it will look stunning (and I'm really not a fan of the color orange). I'm sensing high energy from the wheel......which leads me to believe the coaster will be a launched euro-fighter, don't ask me to explain how I arrived at that conclusion. EDIT: There is another local story that provides a few more details on how many new rides will be added. www.wave3.com/story/23542900/kentucky-kingdom-to-feature-more-than-10-new-attractions Kentucky Kingdom to feature more than 10 new Attractions Posted: Sep 26, 2013 7:25 PM EDT Updated: Sep 26, 2013 7:55 PM EDT By Sherrell Hubbard "LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Kentucky Kingdom is getting a facelift. Crews have been hard at work refurbishing buildings and getting some painting done before the winter. Developer Ed Hart said many of the rides are already operational, "Thunder Run, we ran that the other day and it is phenomenal." The ride will take guests 55 miles per hour for about 3,000 feet. As Hart led media and members of the Fair Board on the tour Fair Board President Mark Lynn said he is quizzed daily about the status of the park. After taking the tour, Lynn said he has no doubt that the new Kentucky Kingdom will thrive, "The progress they're making, the hours they're working, the effort they are putting into it, it's going to be a success." The park was abandoned by Six Flags four years ago. Officials said at the time the park had 34 to 35 rides. Developers tout 48 rides when the park reopens including three new theme park rides and three new rides for children. Workers are doing preparations for a brand new $7 million steel coaster. The water park will also add eight new attractions that will double the size of the water park. Kentucky Kingdom officials said they plan to start hiring for positions at the park in January. Hart said the gates will open in May 2014 and he is confident they will open on schedule, "There's no doubt in our mind that we'll be ready, no doubt whatsoever." A few pictures of the Giant Wheel Repaint from WAVE 3's tour of the park. A few pictures of the Giant Wheel Repaint from WAVE 3's tour of the park. A few pictures of the Giant Wheel Repaint from WAVE 3's tour of the park.

Going from the design it seems like it will be new B&M floaty through at least the first portion. The bottom of the batwing looks like it will pack some force, and if there is no trim between the pull out and the second loop the rest might actually carry it's own. I'm not convinced there won't be a trim between the large elements and the second half just based on the animation (Intimidator Carrowinds anyone?); that second loop looks really tight, and the not so heartlined twist and small helix just scream "trim me" lol. It'll be a fun ride regardless, and at least I won't have to drive more than an hour and 15 min to get on a B&M inverted coaster, but I'd be surprised immensely if this packs the kind of punch found on the older inverts. And there's my pointless $.02