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Photo TR: Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom


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I visited SFKK in '04 and from the sounds of it, it has only gotten worse. You aren't missing anything at all with Twisted Twins, it was one of the most boring "dueling" coasters I have been on. This is definitely the worst park I've ever been to.

 

 

Twisted Sisters sued Six Flags........

 

-Tatum

If that was true, couldn't they just change the name and keep it open while they go to court?

 

I guess it's good to at least get the credits out of the way and it probably will make Holiday World seem even better.

 

^I don't think you understood... Twisted Twins used to be called Twisted Sisters. In 2002, the band Twisted Sister threatened to sue SFKK because of copyright issues, so the park changed the name to Twisted Twins.

 

The ride's status has absolutely nothing to due with the name change. After the STOP tragedy in 2007, a law was implemented in the state of Kentucky that requires all ride operators to be at least 18 years old. Because SFKK had always relied on teenagers to run the rides, they were very understaffed when the 2008 season rolled around. To compensate for the loss of employees, they closed off the Northwest Territory, because it was the least-visited area of the park.

 

They are supposedly rehabbing Mile High Falls, but have released no information regarding the status of Twisted Twins, other than stating that "it is not in the budget for the 2009 season." I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that we can kiss the Twins goodbye.

 

 

 

Doesn't the city of Denver, Colorado own the copyright to the words "Mile High"? If they do ( which I doubt but hey that is what I heard over the years anyway ) I wonder if Denver could have gone after SFKK for having a ride called "Mile High Falls".

 

Years ago I heard about some town in West Virginia who was calling themselves "the mile high city of the east" only to get a C&D from Denver, Colorado telling them they could no longer use the words "mile High". Even though I remember hearing this on the radio, me thinks it was an urban legend.

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Twisted Twins was the first dueling coaster ever made, so its not going to be as good as newer dueling coasters.

 

So, Gemini came after Twisted Twins??

 

-Tatum

 

Gemini is a racing coaster, not a dueling coaster. It does look like the park is shaping up, it takes a while to fix up a park that was, well ignored by management.

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I've been there twice, both times during the State Fair. Decent enough, but I don't think I'd make a special trip there otherwise.

 

The State Fair, however, is phenomenal.....maybe the best I've ever been to. Air-conditioned exhibit buildings in August are a great plus.

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It seems like a lot of people hate this park. I visited in 2006, and I thought the employees were overall very good. The rides aren't world-class, but it's not a destination park. Rather it's a very good local park IMO. However, there was a bit more to do when I went (Hellevator, Twisted Twins, Mile High Fall). I think a lot of TPR trippers agreed about the park staff and the general good atmosphere of the place in 2007.

 

I think a lot of more local enthusiasts compare it to KI, HW, and other places in the midwest, and just find the ride line-up to be pitiful. IMO, they have a good Schwarzkopf, one of the best stand-ups, and a good wooden coaster (Thunder Run). I don't know, I can still appreciate a place like SFKK.

 

I think because it is owned by Six Flags, people expect it to have a mega coaster, a crazy launch coaster, and like a dozen other coasters. If it wasn't owned by Six Flags, I think people would like it more

 

And about the rapids: I actually thought they were the WORST ride in the park due to the "drainage problem" you pointed out!

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"I had no idea this park even had a car ride. It was good, too. There were cows."

 

The very random last sentence in that caption made my day!

 

I have not been to SFKK, but to me, it seems like this is one park that Six Flags could unload should they take that route to try and reorganize under their bankruptcy.

 

But it looks like you had fun, and that's what it's all about.

 

Eric

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Some of the ride ops are slow, some are rude. Some are slow and rude. A few are okay. The best part of the park is the water park. Deluge is the best ride in the park, hands down. Sorry, to me Chang does not compare to Mantis, it's much better than Mantis. It's their best coaster and the best stand-up I've been on. The wild mouse is AWFUL, the most painful mouse I've ever been on. And to my knowledge ever since I've been going to the park the bridge has always been there.

 

The only things in the closed section of the park were Mile High Falls and Twisted Twins. You also missed the Break Dance which is the best flat ride in the park now. They have some shows too which are HORRIBLE. The last time I went one of the shows was a group of 9 year old girls singing Grease songs. It's very disconcerting to hear little girls singing Grease Lightning.

 

And it really ticked me off that they took out the Rainbow, it was the best flat ride in the park.

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The coaster Twisted Sisters and the rock band Twisted Sister....

 

My next door neighbor is a lawyer and I showed him some of threads on here about the band Twisted Sister going after Six Flags, claiming copyright violation thus making the park change the coaster's name to Twisted Twins.

 

Ah..he thinks there is a little "more" to this that just that. According to him since the band is.was named "Twisted SISTER" and not Twisted SISTERS"...he says it is very doubtful the band could play the copyright angle..unless the band of course just happens to own the words "Twisted SISTERS".

 

My lawyer neighbor seems to think that since so many people didn't like the coaster to begin with ( from the reading the threads it sure seems that way ) and chances are SFKK knew that, perhaps ( his thoughts ), the park got had got together with the band in private to create the story ( band vs. coaster ) just for PR . In other words, re-name the coaster, bring up the "story" as the cause which equals more people would talk about the coaster and story and perhaps give the coaster a second spin.

 

Of course if that was really the case, since the coaster is now SBNO...well.......chances are we will never really know if that was the case or not.

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It seems like everything that went wrong with Mantis, they fixed on Chang (Even I think Chang is better).

 

Also how does the park run during the state fair? Is it a pay per ride system and does Six Flags still run the place?

It goes to pay per-ride. I only know this because I called about going there during the fair with my season pass. I was told Chang cost around $5.00.

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It seems like everything that went wrong with Mantis, they fixed on Chang (Even I think Chang is better).

 

Also how does the park run during the state fair? Is it a pay per ride system and does Six Flags still run the place?

It goes to pay per-ride. I only know this because I called about going there during the fair with my season pass. I was told Chang cost around $5.00.

 

Anyone know when the fair is this year?

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My lawyer neighbor seems to think that since so many people didn't like the coaster to begin with ( from the reading the threads it sure seems that way ) and chances are SFKK knew that, perhaps ( his thoughts ), the park got had got together with the band in private to create the story ( band vs. coaster ) just for PR . In other words, re-name the coaster, bring up the "story" as the cause which equals more people would talk about the coaster and story and perhaps give the coaster a second spin.

The rides re-naming and closing are completely unrelated. It was renamed to Twisted Twins way before the ride was eventually closed (and it was renamed because the band threatened to sue Six Flags). It operated as Twisted Twins for years before it got the budget shaft like other SF parks did that same year (Great Adventure closed a section of the park also).

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Park admission is free during the State Fair if you purchase an All-Day wristband...they only have them on certain days, I believe, and cost around $25. Well worth it, IMO!

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Hey Eric- great overview of your first SFKK experience. Three quick points that I thought you might find of interest...

 

1)"T2" originally stood for "Terror to the Second Power". This was the first Vekoma SLC to debut in North America when it debuted just about the same weekend that the Raven opened 75 miles to the west in May of 1995. Four other SLCs also debuted in North America that year (Canada's Wonderland, Morey's Piers, Opryland, and Six Flags America- then Adventure World). T2 has a few kinks in its layout that only it and El Condor at Walibi World have- a more gradual first drop, sharper transitions (i.e. more pain), and a straight camelback leading to the brakes as opposed to the zig zag run that other standard SLCs have (look at photos on rcdb for comparison).

 

2)Many of the rides installed under the pre-Six Flags ownership were actually leased. When this practice is observed, it is typically most favorable to install "base frame" rides if at all possible as more of the money goes into the actual equipment and not as much the in ground/foundation- hence the unusual foundations for the park's Vekoma 50 meter Giant Wheel.

 

3)Until 1990, the ride park was limited to the "gate" side of the road. Thunder Road debuted in August of 1990 just in time for the Kentucky State Fair. The following years would bring other additions such as the Giant Wheel, several flat rides (like the Wood Design Carousel). The Vekoma Skater was North America's first and that Intamin Flying Dutchman Flat actually came from Kings Island where it operated in Oktoberfest near the entrance to Adventure Express (which debuted there in 1991 so you can see the timing played out perfectly on that one). Either way, the '90s were a huge decade for the park. Not only did they expand across the road, but the waterpark, T2, and the entire Twisted Twins wing all debuted within a 10 year span. On the gate side of the road, the Vekoma Boomerang was removed and sent to SFNE in exchange for a 180 ft Single Skycoaster. The Wet/Dry waterslides (called "The Squid") were removed and replaced by the Maurer Mouse (and later the Schwarzkopf Counter Weight Shuttle Loop). Did you find it odd how the Huss Pirat just kind of sat all on its own? It used to sit at the exit to "Vampire"- the Boomerang coaster. Obviously ridership has hardly existed since that was removed.

 

Mark

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^ Thanks, Mark. Interesting stuff. Like I said, this is a park that really starts my brain going about how I could fix it. It has potential. It's just not quite there, at the moment. I'm glad we went, though, for sure.

 

"I had no idea this park even had a car ride. It was good, too. There were cows."

 

The very random last sentence in that caption made my day!

1452964063_CowRide.jpg.190c10b42ad1221e05c3ca979bc23e89.jpg

Yes, indeed, there were cows. And cows make everything fun.

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Great TR! And I totally agree that the Penguin's rapids ride is easily the best ride there. It ranks in my top 5 rapids ride because of it's theming and it's awesome course. I also agree that the park is very mediocre - not horrible, but nothing great. I will say that their water park is 10x better than the actual park and we ended up spending most of our day there.

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I went last year and this is by far the worst park ever. The staff was HORRIBLE, the grounds were HORRIBLE, the rides were HORRIBLE and Chang was the ONLY coaster there that had 2 trains on the track and the stacking was terrible. They might have as well had one train on. This park is in a horrible location. I dont care who might not have liked the twisted twins but still it should have been open. Heck everyone claims they hate the Texas Giant and when I always go to Dallas the line is out of the park for it. I give this park a 0 out of 10. I stayed 2 hrs and wanted my money back for parking. I stayed at the Rodeway Inn right on the premises and could see Chang right from my window and I never went back the 4 days I was there.

 

Also Chang wasnt great at all to me. It was forceless to me. The first drop isnt steep enough. The Georgia Schorcher is much better and it is NO WHERE NEAR as good as Riddler.

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The problem with Double Trouble/Twisted Sisters/Twisted Twins was that it should have clearly been marketed as the fun family coasters they are/were.

 

Both sides had excellent first drops with insane, ejector air in the back seats, and both sides had a couple of good pops of air here and there. The coaster was opened way late in the season, and was never properly marketed, and was dumped in a corner of the park, and wasn't very visible from the rest of the park. I think CCI delivered a pretty good product but overall the entire project was woefully mishandled by the management at the time.

 

SFKK doesn't deserve the sheer hatred it inspires in some people, but it's certainly one of the least-good parks in the chain. At least it doesn't suck at everything on the level that SFA does.

 

OP is correct about the rapids ride being great, by the way. Maybe my favorite in the chain.

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Yeah, in Twisted Twins' opening year ('98) they actually gave a pretty intense ride in the back seats. The first drop had some crazy ejector air and both of the helices were fairly intense too. I think the problem was that over the years, SF failed to properly maintain the rides and they fell into a poor condition. When Twisted Twins opened, it was during a transition time at KK and I think that contributed to the poor marketing. They actually changed to a Six Flags in the middle of a season and there was more hoopla about that than the new coaster opening.

 

I haven't been there in years now, but I've always thought Thunder Run gave a great ride and Chang wasn't too bad for a standup. Back years ago, Thunder Run was even going to have a tunnel put some where along the back stretch of the ride, but that never came to be.

 

Along about 1997 or 1998, the park was in a great position to expand and be a major competitor in the midwest. They were in line for about an additional 40 acres (behind Chang and the parking lot out in front of Chang) and there were rumors of actually relocating the entrance of the park to somewhere in the back of the park. Of course, after Premier bought them and then the SF transition happened, nothing ever really came about with the park. SF apparently even tried relocating the entire park to some area near the KY Speedway, but they're probably lucky that never happened or I'm sure it wouldn't have made it.

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I think the problem was that over the years, SF failed to properly maintain the rides and they fell into a poor condition.

 

I have no doubt they didn't do the job they should have, especially once they started running either one side or the other. That being said from what I've heard about the sort of construction CCI was doing by this time, coupled with the strong laterals in the design and the Gerst trains, I'd bet you anything after a couple of years keeping these things running was probably getting to be a massive pain in the ass. At least compared to the other woodie next door, and I'd bet all three had seen declining ridership around this time.

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I've not been to SFKK yet, but just from your pictures, it looks like it would just slightly rank below SFA for me (though I must admit that I only place SFA higher due to Superman: Ride of Steel. And maybe Wild One.)

 

Have you been to SFA? How would you rank the two?

 

Anyway, great TR!

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Have you been to SFA? How would you rank the two?

In my opinion, SFKK is better. SFA just sucks (no offense to anyone who does like the park). The rides SFKK has just seemed overall better than the ones at SFA. I also thought that the ride operations were slightly better at SFKK.

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Have you been to SFA?

 

I have not. Just as SFKK was too close to Holiday World for me to have gotten to it before now, SFA is too close to Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

 

Also, I'm inherently reluctant to visit Six Flags parks in general, which doesn't help much.

 

Still, I'm slowly convincing myself that it's possible for me to have a good time at a Six Flags, as long as I set my expectations low enough.

 

SWF looking for dorky overweight coaster enthusiast to sweep me off my feet.

 

Wow, the Title Fairy really wanged you good.

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Wow. The Rapids MIGHT be the best ride in the park. Bias aside, that's pretty funny.

 

Hope to get up to this one this summer and appreciate not only the Rapids pics, but the great preview. Glad to see Viper is still doing well.

 

Glad you all are having fun on your travels and the steam powered robot minions are toasting oil and green tea in your honor.

 

Many thanks!

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