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Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread


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Here's the thing about Kentucky Kingdom, it's hard for the park not to seem like the skeleton of a Six Flags park; they had such little time to do so much work. I really would want to root for Kentucky Kingdom, but here's my honest review (water park, beside needing some TLC in some places, is heading in a great direction):

 

For starters, the park was plagued with breakdowns all day. Lighting Run had six break downs yesterday, Fearfall got stuck twice in two hours, Ferris Wheel got stuck, and this was all within the span of two hours (when put in context, there aren't many rides in the park to begin with). I felt like they're working out the kinks for the park, but the Louisville crowd was getting pretty frustrating and giving harsher reviews than me. The 5D theater was a positive addition to the park and the water park was spectacular, but the rest of the park felt like the Conneaut Lake of Six Flags (there were signs like these shown below all over the park). And the operations made SFMM feel like Holiday World. It would be different if that park was not about the coasters and their was an atmosphere to enjoy, but the classic Louisville crowd were unruly teens dropped off, running free around the park and the cracked paths with closed down food stations, etc. destroyed much of the atmosphere. The employees were a plus though because they seemed really excited to work there/have the park back. Lighting Run is definitely a top 10 steel coaster, but I wouldn't pay $44.95 just to ride Lighting Run though.

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IMG_2792.thumb.jpg.d7002093d08299c6092aea8f0fd303c3.jpg

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^Point taken. Next trip to Kentucky Kingdom will be scheduled when the kids aren't in school.

 

One more thing, the park could use a scrambler ride, but I'm sure that might come whenever they open up more sections of the park, get some other coasters running again, and fill that area up with stores, gaming booths, restaurants, and a flat ride. I see a lot of open area waiting to be rebuilt and used again.

 

I'd be happier if the park would just work on the landscaping and plant a few more trees ::YASSSS, TREESS!!!!:: Parks have run successfully with less attractions than Kentucky Kingdom because they are enjoyable to stay at. Hurricane Bay was enjoyable, Kentucky Kingdom was not.

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Honestly, I would give Kentucky Kingdom a break for now. They just started out and are haven't "gelled" as a team yet. For the loose ends, I would give them a month and all of them would probably be fixed. I am just glad the park is open again. If you want to rant about a bad experience in a year, I would go for it, but just give them a break now as they opened a few weeks ago.

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Honestly, I would give Kentucky Kingdom a break for now. They just started out and are haven't "gelled" as a team yet. For the loose ends, I would give them a month and all of them would probably be fixed. I am just glad the park is open again. If you want to rant about a bad experience in a year, I would go for it, but just give them a break now as they opened a few weeks ago.

I nitpick about some stuff I'd hope to see worked on sometimes, but I'm still very, very happy to see that the park is on its feet again, and I do congratulate on the team getting it back up and running. The people of Louisville actually have a local park to go to! And concerning high schools being out, operations could probably get a boost now that there are more hands on deck in controlling rides and other staffers being in more places. Maybe rides like Deep Water Dive will have more lifeguards to get possible faster dispatch times?

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^Agreed! People are so quick to rip a park apaet, just appreciate the fact that this place is finally up and running

 

Double agree, considering the shape of the park and that the coasters had trees growing up through the tracks and water slides not being winterized, I'm amazed at all the things Ed Hart & KK have accomplished in just 2 yrs time. The park is really nice and once they finish putting the final touches on everything and get things smoothed out, its going to be an awesome park and the not having to drive a hour in either direction is a very very big bonus!

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I agree rides sway, but count me on the side of that hill is swaying too much. Usually coaster structure will sway a bit and then stop, but this section continues to rock back and forth for about ten seconds (maybe more) and you can clearly see it in the video. My guess is this hill will need better support and/or bracing.

 

Does your guess come with an engineering degree?

 

No, my guess doesn't come with an engineering degree and it doesn't need one. I have been riding roller coasters long enough to have seen plenty of structural modifications done to rides to have a good idea what works and what doesn't. I won't be surprised if something is added or changed with the supports for the hill in question.

 

A piece of steel was added between the two supports in question, just under the hill that passes through them. You can see it in some photos of Lightning Run on the Photo TR: Tour of Kentucky Kingdom thread.

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I agree rides sway, but count me on the side of that hill is swaying too much. Usually coaster structure will sway a bit and then stop, but this section continues to rock back and forth for about ten seconds (maybe more) and you can clearly see it in the video. My guess is this hill will need better support and/or bracing.

 

Does your guess come with an engineering degree?

 

No, my guess doesn't come with an engineering degree and it doesn't need one. I have been riding roller coasters long enough to have seen plenty of structural modifications done to rides to have a good idea what works and what doesn't. I won't be surprised if something is added or changed with the supports for the hill in question.

 

A piece of steel was added between the two supports in question, just under the hill that passes through them. You can see it in some photos of Lightning Run on the Photo TR: Tour of Kentucky Kingdom thread.

 

Great observation! Love to see arrogance put in check

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Wow, you're right:

 

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LR during construction (pic by Mark Brunner).

 

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The newly added beam, just underneath the train.

 

What can we conclude about that? Was it really "unsafe" or "too much"? Or KK did that to shut everyone mouth?

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Wow, you're right:

 

1799862_756366267715801_198653435_o.jpg

LR during construction (pic by Mark Brunner).

 

kentucky_kingdom_6_60.jpg

The newly added beam, just underneath the train.

 

What can we conclude about that? Was it really "unsafe" or "too much"? Or KK did that to shut everyone mouth?

I'd have to go with option #3.

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I'm totally not saying it was unsafe but maybe they realised it swayed just a bit more than they expected and so they added it. (or perhaps it really was just to shut them up)

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If you have the feeling that you will go to KK and nitpick everything from Landscaping to operations in its first year, why not just wait another year?

 

Some benefits:

More dispersed crowds

More attractions

More experienced operations

More established landscaping

 

After a lot of thinking, I've decided to let KK work out some kinks. The park is going to do nothing but get better throughout the coming years. I think some people have expectations set a little too high by for a park saved from disrepair in such little time.

 

 

As far as unruly crowds go, it sounds like it's due largely to ignorance of local teens. As long as security and local police continue to show these little pricks the door, they will learn how they can and can't act within a large scale amusement park. Security needs to be at zero tolerance and willing to prosecute for anything and everything within the next few years. Especially when it comes to theft and vandalism.

 

taser taser taser...

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^This, plus it's never a bad idea for parks to contract with their local enforcement agency to have 1 or 2 uniformed officers on property at any given time OR at least on days they expect higher attendance. PCOs (Plain Clothed Officers) are never a bad idea either.

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I was at the park yesterday (third time at the park since opening). They definitely cut down on LMPD presence (I saw two still roaming here and there), but have placed a larger amount of ambassadors and other staffers to keep an eye on certain specific areas of the park, like a person was to keep watch on Lightning Run's queue. Other than that I do think the park is doing great for itself and is still learning how to handle itself very quickly. The biggest issues I can see are the types of crowds the park receives, which is generally out of Kentucky Kingdom's control due to its location.

 

Smaller notes on the visit:

-With the new bar under Lightning Run's hill, swaying is now nonexistent. Letting people pull down their lap-bars does help with loading capacity. Line starting from under the entrance sign is roughly 30-35 minutes with one train operations.

-I do hope the park can get the Enterprise up and running soon! It'd definitely get more people to the east-side of the front-half of the park, which was pretty vacant apart from the sea lion show which is now going on (didn't get around to seeing it ).

-I spotted landscaping crews planting flowers around certain areas of the family/kids area, which I thought was nice.

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BIG TIME fan of Lightning Run here!! Went to KK with very low expectations, but was pleasantly "blown away" by the quality and performance of the new coaster. Nice to hear that they are working on capacity.

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Now that they added that bar, isn't it changing the original design and could somehow affect the original structural flexibility?

 

Maybe I'm just overthinking...

I'm sure they wouldn't just do it without checking if it would have any drawback (I mean, I guess)

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I will be going to Kentucky Kingdom Next week. Does anyone have a "plan of attack" for me so I can get in as many rides as possible? (Including the Waterpark.) Also, where are the best places to photograph Lightning Run? Thanks.

Edited by glouthan
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A girl in line for the Cinema began discussing how her mother was a pro****ute and how CPS was trying to take her away from her. Who talks about things like that so loudly?!?!

 

Daughters of prostitutes, mostly.

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