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Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread


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There is also 2 $1 drink stands, one in the front of the park and one in the water park where you get a giant cup for the fountain that have coke products. They have the usual plus Cherry, powerade, and vitamin water, sadly no Freestyle yet.

Amazing deal for an amusement park

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Yeah it is a great deal.

 

I did go to the park for an hour today after hitting up the flea market for a bit. It was busy once again so I decided to just wait in line to get my first front seat ride on Lightning Run. The front is great with a slightly bit different type of airtime than the back. I like the back the best especially over the first half of the ride and the front for the s curves and the bunny hops. It is a great ride that packs a punch.

 

With some schools being in session for the next two weeks I plan on hitting up the park to try every seat when it is not that busy and I can marathon it.

 

One thing they need to do is take down the 1 hour wait from this point sign from Greezed Lightnin'. From that point it is about 15 mins and even with the line stretching out past the entrance to the left it is still only a 45 minute wait.

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Anyone that still believes it's unsafe is a lost cause....Logical explanations don't work for them; I've tried.

 

Took another trip to the park on Sunday, Took a few photos, you can find the rest in my photo trip report here.

 

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Hairtime greets us on an overcast 2nd day of seasonal operation.

 

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The queue offers nice views of the coaster and Tin Lizzies. Gorgeous landscaping work has been done here.

 

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Floater airtime through the tree!

 

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Drastically different from the front half and vibrant waterpark.

 

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Nice view of Thunder Run from Hurricane Bay.

 

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SPLASH!

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^ Great idea! Just don't know if GP will start saying that KK is finding an excuse for an unsafe ride though.

Probably, the mind of the GP is an interesting thing...

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Doesn't SROS at Darien Lake and SFA on the "S-turn" before the final two hops flex quite a bit as well? I think I remember that when I rode it years ago. It looked very similar to that video and no modifications have been required.

 

Although, don't always trust the engineers (especially Intamin ones)... Look at the years of talk over the Superman and Wicked Twister spikes flexing on the impulse coasters saying "Ohhhh they are SUPPOSED to flex, or they will break!"... Yet they did break, although even though they did not completely fall off or anything. They had many issues that required a lot of repair welding and the additional supports added on both (Add Xcelerator in there as another example).

 

Rides will move/flex, but too much as not a good thing. Fatigue over time from the "cycling" can reduce the yield strength of the material and cause failure. It may not happen in a year or two, but it can happen. I remember studying this a bit with my machine design and material analysis courses when in school. Generally, materials will reduce in strength up to about 10E6 cycles to where it would no longer reduce in yield strengths. As long as the engineers had the right material and deflection data, there should be no problem. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_limit

 

If I remember correctly, as long as they know the weight of the train, lateral g-force (to calculate the moment and deflection of that section of track) and figure out the stress, they can see based on material if they get close to the limits of the material beyond the 10E6 cycles.

 

Time will tell to see if it is later reinforced or holds up just fine!

Edited by Invertalon
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I might be making a run down to Louisville next month to make my first visit to Kentucky Kingdom. How large people-friendly are Lightning Run's restraints? I'm assuming Thunder Run has standard PTC trains with standard restraints, I was more concerned about Lightning Run.I fit into Millennium Force a few weeks ago but it was a tight squeeze, will I be fine on Lightning Run?

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IMO it will need to be reinforced a little bit. Yes, it is normal for the track to sway back and forth or vibrate. But I have never seen a coaster rock back and forth that much. Just my 2 cents.

 

Yet again, does your opinion come with an engineering degree?

 

This is getting insane. Anybody without a structural engineering degree can pretty much step away from this discussion, because without an actual understanding of what makes a structure work and why they need to move there's really no reason to speak up.

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Yet again, does your opinion come with an engineering degree?

 

This is getting insane. Anybody without a structural engineering degree can pretty much step away from this discussion, because without an actual understanding of what makes a structure work and why they need to move there's really no reason to speak up.

 

Agreed this is not a opinion situation. This is a physics and structural engineering situation. Science does not care what you think.

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I'm studying mechanical engineering and my parents are both industrial engineers, so I know a considerable amount about why this happens.

 

The reason it does that is because allowing it to be flexible helps it absorb the forces a bit more. Ever notice how tall trees sway in the wind without falling over or how palm trees bend in hurricanes? This is sort of nature's way of demonstrating this. Skyscrapers sway in the wind similarly. Even wooden coasters can visibly be seen deflecting sometimes. It's about absorbing the force instead of withstanding it.

 

If I'm correct, this is what killed Kings Island's original Bat. It was built too rigidly and the structure couldn't move with the train and it caused structural problems. I might be wrong but that's what I thought caused it. Some B&M track connectors are visibly made to be able to accommodate deflecting track, Mantis's are a good example.

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I might be making a run down to Louisville next month to make my first visit to Kentucky Kingdom. How large people-friendly are Lightning Run's restraints? I'm assuming Thunder Run has standard PTC trains with standard restraints, I was more concerned about Lightning Run.I fit into Millennium Force a few weeks ago but it was a tight squeeze, will I be fine on Lightning Run?

They practically staple everybody, so it might be a guaranteed squeeze. There's test seats outside of the entrance to try out as well, just in case.

 

I came back home from a flight today, so I will most likely hit the park for the second time tomorrow.

Edited by Midgetman82
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If I'm correct, this is what killed Kings Island's original Bat. It was built too rigidly and the structure couldn't move with the train and it caused structural problems. I might be wrong but that's what I thought caused it. Some B&M track connectors are visibly made to be able to accommodate deflecting track, Mantis's are a good example.

 

 

The Bat's flaw was the lack of banking in the track. This put excessive forces on the vehicles and I'm certain caused huge structural issues from torsion. Big Bad Wolf solved both issues simply by banking the track.

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This was the diamondback footage that I was talking about, where you can see the drop swaying. Yet again, I'm sure this is just one of the many examples. Looks pretty cool though

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