Vonni Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Anything new going on in the old dragster area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Golden Ticket Awards BEST NEW RIDE FOR 2016 (Amusement Park)1. Lightning Rod Dollywood 20% 2. Storm Chaser Kentucky Kingdom 13% 3. Mako SeaWorld Orlando 11% 4. Valravn Cedar Point 9% 5. Switchback ZDTs 8% Not too shabby. Still gotta go out and do Lightning Rod, hopefully before the year's over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Dropped by the park today for a potentially final visit for the season, and renewed my season pass while I was there. After paying and signing the receipt, I was about two seconds away from asking when the new pass would be mailed in before she immediately handed me the fresh 2017 card... I guess that's one perk of being able to upload your own season pass photo! Aside from that, the park had a fair crowd today, not too long of waits, even for the water park! Anything new going on in the old dragster area? Nothing had changed in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWKIN_coaster38 Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Made it out to the park yesterday with my new friend who also loves coasters. It was both of our first time. Not only was it a new park credit for me, but a new state credit as well. Good ol' Kentucky Highway Patrol decided to give me a warm welcome on my way to Kentucky Kingdom. Not a great start to the day, but oh it gets better. Stupid me forgot to zip her pocket for one ride on her new favorite RMC... however, skilled new best friend somehow caught my phone with his feet and held on for the duration of the ride. I was so amazed with his skills that it took me a few hours—right around the time I wanted to go to my car and eat the pizza I brought—to realize I had lost my keys. NOT the best situation when I was supposed to drive back to Ohio that night and my friend was heading off to St. Louis. Also, guess which state the spares are in? Not Kentucky! We waited an hour after park closing to learn they didn't find them and failed to call me. They're supposedly checking again this morning but I haven't gotten a call. We had to call a locksmith which took a long time, so we were literally hanging out in my friend's car in the KK parking lot for 3 or so hours after the park closed and everyone drove off. It wasn't too bad, I had a great person to um.... kill time with, and it wasn't the worst park parking lot we could have been stuck in. Both negative situations yesterday were entirely my fault, which would have irked me more if it wasn't for how AWESOME of a day we had! No more than a one train wait for anything all day. I got in 16 rides on Storm Chaser, 5 on LR, 1 each on the other 3 coasters, and pretty much all the flats I wanted. First of all...Storm Chaser. WOW. When I first saw the videos, it looked pretty slow and disappointing at the end. NOT the case now! My thighs are so so sore from how strong the airtime on that thing is, especially in the latter half. It kicked a$$!! We were blown away every time, could NOT get enough of it! Those 4 hops at the end...completely insane. And the inverting drop is just stellar. Killer ride. I also loved Lightning Run, but the awesomeness that is Storm Chaser overshadowed it for me. Nothing wrong with Lightning Run, it's a really stellar ride and the perfect mix of great drop, floater, awesome transitions, and some great ejector toward the end. It did hurt my shins a bit more than Storm Chaser, but still a killer ride. T3...OMFG BEST RIDE EVER!!! Um, no. It was of the worst coasters I've ever been on, and I'm usually pretty forgiving. I can't imagine how much worse it would be if it weren't for the vests. It was so awful. T3 makes every other rough coaster look butter smooth. The restraints are way better than the older SLC style...but T3, just no. I usually try to post pics but we really didn't take any because we were just having fun and enjoying the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 ^ Sorry your first experience with Kentucky was a bit rough. I agree with you, though, on Storm Chaser, Lightning Run, and T3. Storm Chaser I'd actually rank just one slot up from the bottom for RMC's, right above Goliath, but all the RMC's are very high on my list, and it's one of the best rides anywhere. Now that you're in the Midwest, there are several of them not too far from you, including the very best one, Outlaw Run, in Branson, Missouri, and I hear Lightning Rod at Dollywood is pretty awesome too. If you haven't experienced cinnamon bread, go do it. Right now if possible. Lightning Run was great, and I think I liked it better than Storm Chaser actually, but both have some insane, thigh-crushing airtime. T3 is possibly the worst coaster I've ever ridden. They can replace it with anything--a Boomerang, a wild mouse, a Pinfari, a volleyball court, a hole in the ground--and it would be an improvement. I hate for any park to spend the kind of money they did on T3 and have it not improve the ride experience, but to be honest, that's what happened here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tykunkel1031 Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Storm Chaser took the edge over Lightning Run, for me personally. I loved them both, however. I rode with the "medium" wheels. Not the new crazy ones, but it was faster than that original POV. I just felt that SC was a more complete ride than LR. It had inversions, twisting airtime, and out of this world ejector. LR, however was just a bit much for me. It felt like riding a bull, just flinging you forwards, not riding a coaster with airtime. T3 needs to just burn to the ground. I didn't have any because I had longer shorts, but my sisters got off with marks on their thighs exactly imprinted in the shape of the restraint. Yeah no thanks. I can't even imagine the crazy headbanging on other SLCs. Thank God, this was the only one I've ridden, and yet I'm still scarred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWKIN_coaster38 Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 ^I've ridden 3 and this one was definitely the worst! ^^I'm definitely hoping to make it out to Dollywood this year! I'm not sure if a lot of the coasters are still running around December...but that might be the earliest I could make it out. Is the weather bad around then/do they close a lot of the rides? SDC is also high on my list, but most likely that'll be next year as well as other parks further than 4 or 5 hours drive. Which RMCs have you been on that you rank Storm Chaser so low? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 ^I've ridden 3 and this one was definitely the worst! ^^I'm definitely hoping to make it out to Dollywood this year! I'm not sure if a lot of the coasters are still running around December...but that might be the earliest I could make it out. Is the weather bad around then/do they close a lot of the rides? SDC is also high on my list, but most likely that'll be next year as well as other parks further than 4 or 5 hours drive. Which RMCs have you been on that you rank Storm Chaser so low? In order of preference : 1. Outlaw Run 2. Twisted Colossus 3. Storm Chaser 4. Goliath I wouldn't say that's "so low" though, as all 4 of those are awesome. I have yet to ride an RMC that I didn't find totally incredible. Dollywood should have all the coasters open if it hits 40 degrees. The HFE parks are really great about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 ^Yeah it's really hard to rank these RMCs, not much separates them in terms of quality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brosen78 Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 Now that the season is over, what do you think will be new for next season? I was watching a Facebook livestream from a group that went on a tour of the park with Rob House a while ago and he mentioned that they were building a tallest of its type attraction in the old amphitheater. I can't for my life figure out what type of attraction that could be. I would assume that area Superloop from park staff but there is no way they would build one that large. Right? Also, I have a feeling the waterpark will be expanding this season. They were seeing 6 or 7,000 a weekday resulting in some pretty long lines. I went one day and Mt. Slide Hai was closed for about the first hour. I asked a supervisor why and they responded that they were preforming some work in the area around Mt. Slide Hai. I took a spin on Castaway Creek and saw a survey crew moving around the structure. They were having people flip out of their tubes all season on this and I even heard there were holes in the green slide that maintenance had to patch up every few weeks. Sounds like they may be planning an extensive renovation or expansion in this area. Anyone have any ideas? Another thing, is the area heading to Storm Chaser (both the one by Mile High Falls and the old dragsters) is pretty bare. I could see them adding something in both of those areas. Maybe not a new ride but definitely something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollercoaster Rider Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 My only idea is a Premier Rides Tempesto like coaster just 160-170ft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Peck Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 Park got a great attendance increase this year: http://www.wtvq.com/2016/09/28/attendance-increasing-kentucky-kingdom/ Attendance increasing at Kentucky Kingdom LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Officials at Kentucky Kingdom say attendance at the amusement park keeps increasing. Operators of the park in Louisville say an estimated 800,000 people visited during the 2016 season, beating last year’s attendance by more than 200,000. Officials credit much of the increase to out-of-state visitors and park upgrades that included the addition of a fifth roller coaster. Kentucky Kingdom CEO Ed Hart told The Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/2cT61Kc) that Kentucky Kingdom is established now as a regional attraction and he hopes to reach 1 million visitors as early as next year. The park just finished its third season under the leadership of Hart and his partners. The previous operator, Six Flags, filed for bankruptcy and closed the facility in 2009. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBrylczyk Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Great to hear they had a 1/3rd attendance boost! That's insane for a regional park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Farmer Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Well deserved, and very glad I have this place within a reasonable drive. It used to just kind of be a side-stop on the way to other places, and now it's one of those destinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whodey Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Out of state attendance was up because they offered two day tickets for $30 plus free soft drinks. I took my family for that reason. (Not the soft drinks). I love parks that do buy one day get second day free or preview night before tickets. My two year old got her first credit on Roller Skater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Peck Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Hart was very aggressive in the 90's to get people from out of state to go to the park. In 1997, we got free tickets because we were Ohio residents. That was about the time they had the largest rides going in as Chang opened that year. I know he wants a new B&M to get more out of state people, hopefully, this will be closer to his goal. As for Storm Chasers cost, I don't know the exact amount, but I would think maybe around the $10 million mark. Does that sound right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Aren't their tickets like $45 and season passes even more? 200,000 people is like a $9M increase in revenue. Plus all those people spent more money in the park! Unfortunately, that is not how it works. It is unlikely that every additional rotation of the turnstiles was the result of a single ticket purchased at $45. Season pass holders making return visits likely accounted for the vast majority of the attendance increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 ^True. Regardless, 200k more "guests" still means a huge bump in revenue. Good for them! This park is really coming together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicked_twister Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Love this park and was happy to hear they had a successful year. Good for them indeed. Look forward to many successful seasons for them in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossed Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Glad to see this park doing so well. I'm thinking about making my first trip to the park next year after the awesome additions they've made over the last few seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbeeler Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 inside source saying another coaster is coming! no further details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidecat Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Any word on how many season passes were sold? I recall in 2014 the park sold over 100,000. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestreak Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 inside source saying another coaster is coming! no further details. As much as I want to believe you, I'm sure you know that saying you have "inside sources" doesn't really go over well here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbeeler Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 inside source saying another coaster is coming! no further details. As much as I want to believe you, I'm sure you know that saying you have "inside sources" doesn't really go over well here. trust me my inside source always comes through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestreak Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 inside source saying another coaster is coming! no further details. As much as I want to believe you, I'm sure you know that saying you have "inside sources" doesn't really go over well here. trust me my inside source always comes through! I'm cautiously optimistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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