ratdogg68

Swing Ship's do provide a good Family experience and fits in Perfect in " Thanksgiving"

I spent my Summer's at Beech Bend and was happy to see your report. The trip back to my childhood was great, here is 2 of my Favorite ride's that Beech Bend had at that time. The 1 unusual ride, that I wish they could bring back was the Duck. It was a "Duck" Mobile, it could ride on land and float in the water. It started out in the Park, in front of the Dragon Coaster now and drove around the pathway in the park past the Dodgem, Pirate Ship, King O' Slides, Voyage A'La Lune, Jet Star, Matterhorn, Mr. Ed's riding Stables and onto the main road. It then drove down the road to the Campground, once in the Campground it drove down to the Barren River. At the river it turned on the Propellers and drove into the River, I was freaked out as _ell, the first time I rode it and we just " drove into the River". it floated down the river a bit then drove out and back up to the Park. It was a Great, Unique Ride, that could never exist now. Sorry, I posted on you report, but it brought back memories I had to share. The Matterhorn was my Favorite ride at Beech Bend. They ran the ride full speed, you was really swinging up on those hill's. The back of the Postcard read- One of the Unusual German Ride's located along the Midway, enjoyed by young and old. Voyage-A'La-Lune, it was a fun Dark Ride. The little dip in the ride was fun and then the hill back back down to level 1 was scary as heck.

I'm sure it will be some Waterslide's, over by Hyena Fall's, to fill that area out some more.

I've rode Voyage several times, over 4 visit's, this Summer. It is Better than it has been in year's, but the last 1/4 of the ride is a little Rough. I'm going again in Oct., will see how it rides than.

VooDoo Trail was Great, the whole park had Great Rides. Beech Bend was a Fun place to camp in the 70's til the early 80's. My Parent's camped there every weekend in the Summer from the time I can remember til I was 16 and it closed. I Loved going to Beech Bend then and I still enjoy it now, going in a couple week's.

I had that same Brochure for years, as for the ride to the far Right in that one pic it was a Roto-Jet.

^^ I would love to see the Brochure.

Great report, I grew up going to Beech Bend Park til it closed in 84. The Magnolia Shelter used to house a Super Tilt til the late 70's than they Put a Scrambler in the Building and enclosed it. The Wild Mouse was where the Dragon Coaster is, where the Scat is used to be a Tumble Bug til the mid 70's than they put a Bayren Kurve in it's spot. The Cuddle Up was up close to where the Go Karts are located.

^ That sounds like a great idea. Blast through a tunnel under the road to that wooded area.

Glad to see it finally come forth, now to see where it goes. I most likely will buy a Season Pass to visit the Waterpark several times a summer, I only live 10 miles away.

^^ You Should Be Fine, once Splashin' Safari opens the Park thins out quickly. Have a Great Day, make sure and visit Splashin' Safari it has some great Slides and Rides.

Anyone know why Giraffica's Splash down Pool is drained, I noticed it on the Web Cam a few minutes ago.

Look forward to riding this in July, haven't been to Cedar Point since 2009.

That is too Cool

I agree with Robb, go where the Public is! RhinoBlaster is a much needed attraction/slide complex, to help with the massive crowds Splashin' Safari can get in a day. A BIG part of the reason I go to Holiday World, is Splashin' Safari for the Wet N' Wild side of things. I love the Holiday World side don't get me wrong, but I also love the thrills Water Rides can give me. My Heart belongs to Coasters, but I still LOVE a great Water Attraction that Soaks me! It's good their adding something for the smaller ones also. It's all good anyways because it will help with the Massive Crowds, my Little Get-a-way in the country receives.

Could be renaming The Legend since it's not open anymore this year?

The Kentucky State Fair Board has decided to find a new use for the Land, sounds like they are doing away with The Kingdom all together. I think that is the best Idea, as everything is falling apart more and more each day. No one wants to put the Millions of Dollars it will take to get it operational again and not own the Park, can't say I blame them.

Seems Ed Hart is being a real *ick about The Kochs pulling out, article from WHAS 11 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- One day after Bluegrass Boardwalk CEO Natalie Koch dismissed as "absurd" the suggestion that Holiday World's owners were involved in a bid to operate a shuttered Louisville amusement park to stem competition to its Indiana property, the suggestion surfaced again on Sunday night. Former Kentucky Kingdom owner Ed Hart, whose effort to reopen the park was unilaterally ended by the Kentucky State Fair Board in September, 2011, repeated his assertion of "Holiday World's delaying tactics," in a statement to WHAS11 News. "These delaying tactics have resulted in our community having to wait until at least 2014 for the 1,000 jobs and other economic benefits associated with an open and vibrant Kentucky Kingdom," Hart said. "The owners of Holiday World would seem to have two objectives: 1) to either reduce Kentucky Kingdom to a small water park to reduce its effectiveness in competing with Holiday World or 2) at least delay the opening of Kentucky Kingdom so Holiday World does not have to compete with it for some time to come. It would seem that the owners of Holiday World have achieved these objectives," the statement reads. "The only comment I would have is those people don't know us," Koch said on Saturday. "They don't know how many hours we've spent on this project and how deeply involved we were." Koch said her family was deep into planning when it pulled the plug on the deal, including maps of where rides, "Pepsi stations" and employee parking would be located. "And for anyone to think that we meant ill or we were intending to cause harm, it's just absurd," Koch said. "It's just absurd. Our family is not that way. We try to do the best for the community here and we would have done the same in Louisville. And I can tell you the countless hours that we spent we wouldn't have done if that was the case." The Koch family, owners of the Holiday World amusement park in Santa Claus, Indiana, entered into conversations with the Kentucky State Fair Board regarding the former Six Flags property in October, 2011, one month after the Kentucky State Fair Board cut ties with the ownership group led by Hart. Six Flags announced it was closing the amusement and "Hurricane Bay" water park in February, 2010. As late as Wednesday, after Kentucky approved $3.9 million in tax incentives for Bluegrass Boardwalk to operate the park, the Koch group indicated no reservations about their plan. “Right now there are no major obstacles we can foresee”, Mike Kamp, General Manager of Holiday World, said Wednesday. But at a meeting Friday, Natalie Koch told WHAS11 that she and three other board members decided that there was too much uncertainty surrounding re-opening Kentucky Kingdom because the company would be leasing rather than owning the property. Koch said the board felt the process of getting the financial incentives and accessing the park property had been slower than they were accustomed to as independent operators. “The longer it took, the more concerned we got that this might be an indication of what's going on in the future," Koch said. Hart is also repeating his criticism of the Kentucky State Fair Board, which he has also sued after it ended his working agreement to operate Kentucky Kingdom. "Regarding the Fair Board, it is interesting that they have never explained why they stopped negotiating with us, yet were ready to sign a less favorable deal with Holiday World which then made the Fair Board victim to Holiday World's delaying tactics," Hart said in the statement. "These delaying tactics have resulted in our community having to wait until at least 2014 for the 1,000 jobs and other economic benefits associated with an open and vibrant Kentucky Kingdom." Koch was asked - regardless of intent or lack of intent - whether she believes that any delay to reopening Kentucky Kingdom helps Holiday World by lessening regional competition. "I don't know," Koch replied. "There's a new park coming into Nashville, theres a park in Kentucky, there's plenty of parks in Ohio. I really dont feel like that creates any greater or less competition for us. I think even with a thriving park in Louisville, we would continue to thrive (at Holiday World). We have plenty of markets that we still have not tapped. We have not gone too far West ." "I hope the park in Louisville opens," Koch continued. Koch said she does not anticipate a backlash from disappointed Louisville customers. "I feel bad for the people of Louisville and I think we could have done a great job, but I think people who have been here and know our family and how we treat our guests and our community will understand," Koch said. "I dont thnk it will leave a bad impression. I really dont. We negotiated in great faith. We were very hopeful. I had every confidence that it was going to work for us." Hart also lashed out at Kentucky tourism officials. "Also to consider is the fact that the state's tourism cabinet has recently approved two tourism tax credit applications -- one for the Ark Park and one for Bluegrass Boardwalk -- neither of which has broken ground. Yet, the tourism cabinet would not approve our application even though we had committed the substantial sum of more than $29 million to the park. Had our offer been accepted Kentucky Kingdom would be open today." Asked on Friday if he was still interested in operating the amusement park, Hart had no comment.

They pretty much gave you all the good pointers . Both the Trains on the Voyage are the same color, One is newer than the other, but they are both Blue. Hitting Splashin Safari when it opens is a great idea, it does get BUSY about One and a half hours after opening, sometimes close to a hour and a half wait for for a couple of slides. By then the Amusement Park is dying down and waits aren't bad at all. Ride the Freedom Train, it is the only Original Ride left from the year the Park first Opened, it's a cute Miniature train ride with Nursery Rhymes display's along the way. But Most of all , Make sure and have a Blue Ice Cream, located by the Carousel and Have a great time, you will enjoy the charm, hospitality and cleanliness of the Both Parks.

You shouldn't have any problem, Cedar Point as lost some of it's attendance this year from what I've seen. People must be realizing there are other GREAT Parks out there that don't cost a fortune to visit and you don't spend half you day in a slow moving line ( they even took the DJs out of the lines). I think I've made my last trip to the Point for a few Years, the bigger and better doesn't always mean Fun and the last 3 years I've visited it hasn't been as much fun. They have gotten crazy on their prices and the food still stinks. They keep taking out rides that I can ride with my children and putting upcharge attractions, that I see at my local zoo without being charged extra, and just plain boring rides, Windseeker and that rapids ride are total waste of money and space, and to take out the Wildcat for that stupid Luminosity or whatever they call it, I call it BORING and a waste of money. The singers sound awful and there really wasn't that much excitement to it. Cedar Point is getting to be old news to me, I would much rater spend the day at Holiday World. I am sure you CP fanboys will crush me, but it's just MY THOUGHTS on what Cedar Point has become, a waste of MONEY for my family. let the knives start flying at me now,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I " Liked" the page and left a little note. Hope everything turns out OK for them.

I live in Jeffersonville, IN that's right across the river from Louisville. I worked at Ky Kingdom for five seasons, 2000-05 and I can tell you back than the Waterpark was more popular than the Amusement part. Holiday World is only 1 hour way and I can tell the past few summers that since Ky. Kingdom closed their attendance has increased, same thing their. Splashin Safari is packed. People in this area seem to like Water attractions. Once again this is only my thoughts and ideas.

Their biggest draw will be the Waterpark. They need to add some more slides where Chang was, get rid of T2 and add another Wave Pool and make Penguins Blizzard like Pilgrims Plunge. Enter from the Waterpark or the Amusement Park. Get rid of Mile High Falls and place a Giant Frisbee there. That's some of my thoughts on what to do.

I did better than I thought I would, 13 out of 20.

I grew up riding the Haunted House at Beech Bend before it closed. They also had a Walk-through named Voo Doo Trail and another ride through named Voyage A'la Lune. Love the reports Larry