Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread

[mikeykaise]

12 hours ago, Alex26841 said:

Overall impressions - We had fun. The park was absolutely slammed and the layout is odd for sure. It truly does feel like a water park with some rides randomly sprinkled about... the general layout and ride placements felt like a poorly planned out Planet Coaster creation haha. The operations weren't great but I've seen worse. I do love how every single major coaster here has the same standard operating procedure... first drop followed by a stupidly powerful airtime hill that tries it's best to yeet you off of the ride. I'm here for it. I'd be shocked if we ever went again, but it's hard to beat that out-of-state 2-day deal for $40 and I'm intrigued to see what Herschend does with the park. We were glad we stopped by. 

You're definitely right about the weird layout. I'd like to see them add another crossing at the other end down by Lightning Run instead of just having the bridge and road cross walk up by the Enterprise ride area. My biggest thing with the park is the ops are always moving slowly no matter when you go. I agree about the area of Storm Chaser, it needs more developed b/c to me it's kind of a dead area considering it has one of the best coasters at the park. I'm really excited to see what Herschend will do. I think they will greatly improve everything as long as they can get along with the Fairboard. 

[sdcfan88]

Man its so jarring to see Cinnamon Bread at a park that isn't SDC or previously held the name of SDC. lol

[prozach626]

Any thoughts on how crowds will be on Saturday? What's the best way to go about securing a chair in the water park?

[Hilltopper39]

9 hours ago, prozach626 said:

Any thoughts on how crowds will be on Saturday? What's the best way to go about securing a chair in the water park?

A chain and a combination lock should work well if you can get it through security, but if not a nice wide base and sound defensive technique should be sufficient..... 

[prozach626]

My wife and I went to KK yesterday (Saturday). If you don't care about the storyline, skip to the asterisks, where I wrote more about general observations.

It was our first visit since Storm Chaser opened, and our second visit total. We intentionally made a relaxing day out of it, with no intent to marathon... which we haven't really done for years. Louisville is a short 4 hour job from our STL area home. We got there Friday night, and left Sunday morning, giving ourselves a full day at the park and time to enjoy a couple nights out.

We hit rope drop and immediately went on Lightning Run (front), Thunder Run (mid/non-wheel), and Storm Chaser (walk-on mid, intentional due to intensity), which we rode once each. We also hit up Kentucky Flyer, and got a walk-on double front row ride without getting off. What a blast of a little coaster. It was also my first time on Timber Liners, and I really appreciate their comfort.

We hit the water park around 1130, which we rarely do, but we thought it looked pretty cool on our first visit. I recommend getting chairs near the far side lazy river and Kentucky Flyer area. It's much more quiet. We rode three slides, hit the lazy rivers up several times, and I got a lot of sun/passed out in my chair quite a bit, which is exactly what I wanted to do. (burned AF, though)

After scouting out food locations for a while, the only place we could find somewhat healthy, outside of generic salads, was the taco place. The make-your-own rice bowl was decently healthy. It wasn't as good as Qdoba or Chipotle, but it was good enough.

Around 5:00 we changed back to our dry clothes. We grabbed a couple Yuenglings at the open-air water park bar, which I really like. The beer was fresh and cold. We relaxed with our beers until the water park and bar closed. I wanted to ride Kentucky Flyer again, but it wasn't worth the 30+ minute one train operation wait, probably due to the water park clearing out.

We hit Wind Chaser, which is very fast. The cycle length was perfect, since we can't tolerate too much spinning. This was our first ARM type of swing ride, and we really liked it.

We waited about 30 minutes for Lightning Run, our longest wait of the day by about 15 minutes (low waits due to timing/planning). It could have been a ten minute wait, but the operations sucked. We'd ridden in the front our first ride, but the back was the way to go, with two beers in us. 

We closed out the trip with Storm Chaser. Still barely feeling our beers, we chose the back, which I didn't think I would ever do again after our first trip. It was violent AF, but it was the best ride I'd had on it, out of our 5 total (ever). We had dubbed it as 'a little too much' on our last trip, liking LR much better, but this trip I was really digging it.

We could have ridden more, but we got the exact kind of stress-free experience from the park we wanted. We left at 6, to give us time to get cleaned up and get dinner somewhere nice.

******************** HERE ARE THE THINGS WE NOTED ABOUT KK and LV***************

*The park was incredibly clean, outside of the water park changing rooms, and nothing looked like it needed immediate attention.

*Food options were limited and very generic. Although, we didn't get the pretzels, which looked of higher quality, or the cinnamon bread. We're hitting the beach next week and we didn't want to let ourselves go.

*Several restaurants and stalls, including the bourbon whatever bar in the water park, were closed.

***OUR ONLY REAL CRITICISM***The staff SUUUUUUUUUCKED, and I mean almost all of them. The majority were not friendly. One Kentucky Flyer control panel operator was laying his head down and closing his eyes after dispatching. The Sky Catcher operator didn't even say the safety spiel. Many of the service staff and ride operators would say absolutely nothing to you, when attending to you, taking your order, or giving you your purchased merchandise. There were only a couple times where we heard something similar to either, "Enjoy your ride," or "How was your ride?"

                 -One the soda stations had three kids working in the area handing out cups, and I still had to reach around and grab my own cup. Later, we saw 5 gathered at the same station. They were blocking the line, referring to each other in racial slurs, and using the worst kinds of profanity. WTF Not exaggerating. We saw this multiple times per day. "Short staffed...?" The kids at the taco place looked irritated we were interrupting them to order food.

                  -I can honestly say they were the worst staff we've ever encountered and I hope it was an off-day. I always felt like an inconvenience. I always felt like I worked harder to be polite (please/thank you) to the staff than they did not. Despite no reciprocation, I still maintained my usual politeness.

                   -Midway through, we just accepted the staff for what it was, and lowered our expectations. I only saw one manager. I thought about pulling a Karen on the kids being completely inappropriate and obnoxious by the drink stand, but I'm sure she's heard enough of it. She's having to deal with the sort of work force climate where anyone with a pulse will have to do.

*The offering for families and kids was the most appealing, personally,  I've ever seen. It matters way more for us to pay attention to that now, than it did in the past, so that may factor into it. It wasn't just the selection of rides that made it really appealing, but it was the way they were distributed throughout the park. Because of this and the short drive, Kentucky Kingdom will probably be our first family trip when our daughter is old enough, and that will include driving past the Holiday World exit. (sorry HW fanboys)

*Patrons weren't smart enough to listen, or use the logic of "seatbelts first; lapbars second." This was crazy on LR, leading to 5 minute dispatches.

*There are interesting types at this park. I don't mean to offend anyone, but on both this trip and the last, we've found people from Louisville to be generally rude and less socially inclined. The rudeness is typically not what we've experienced from a lot of traveling in the south. We're usually really friendly and social during our trips, but we stopped making attempts to do so. 

*2 out of the 3 beer locations open didn't have anyone old enough to serve. Put a cup over the tapper or something to let people know they aren't serving. Common sense.

*Did I mention the staff sucked?

*There are a ton of trees and foliage.

*A lot of the pathways and cut-thru's are really narrow, making you think they're not paths but queues. However, this is because the park seems very immersive and the paths seem to really wrap around all of the attractions nicely, putting all of the rides on display. Everything seemed to be placed very naturally, and until we figured this out, the layout seemed kind of weird. What I mean is don't expect that you have to stay on the main loop or pathways. You can generally just kind of point yourself in the direction you want to go and easily wind yourself around the pathways when you get the formula down.

*Herschend seems to have made no distinct impression on the theming, and I don't think they should.

*Nothing seemed run down. All of the colors were bright, but they might need to be thinking about refreshing the paint on the ferris wheel in a year or two. It's still on the acceptable side, but it's a prominent visual centerpiece I hope they don't neglect.

*Most food options are generic

*The out-of-state ticket option is a phenomenal deal.

*About half of the rides opened after 12. (staffing, due to 3-5 people on one drink station not doing anything but being obnoxious.)

*The lazy river near Kentucky Flyer had no rafts, despite it being awesome. Why?

*The area near Storm Chaser still feels incomplete, and the combination of gravel and weeds in plain view under the layout is straight out of the Six Flags playbook.

*The parking can be confusing AF during an event, or at least it was with the massive classic car event.

*The quirkiness of the crosswalk and pedestrian bridge add to the personality.

*The placement of the waterpark in the middle of the park also seems unique, and it blends in so well. It's so enticing in this way we vowed during our first abbreviated trip to hit the water park next time (this time) we visited. 

*Massive jets landing and taking off, feeling almost close enough to touch, adds even more to the memorable uniqueness, in addition to the already mentioned.

 

Overall, Kentucky Kingdom is somewhere in between a small - midsize park and it does it soooo well. It's clean, quaint, and aside from the Storm Chaser area, extremely cohesive. The small scale flats will always keep me from feeling like I'm in a larger park, but they're blended so well into the environment and there are so many of them.

Kentucky Kingdom feels like what a corporate park would feel like, if it were trying not to feel corporate. I'm torn between thinking the park needs one large standout coaster or another family coaster. I think the former would really balance out the park, but the latter would even strengthen the family market, which Kentucky Kingdom's offerings already hit right on the head. 

Regardless, I can't wait until our daughter is old enough to participate in a couple years. We'll be back.

 

[AmyUD06]

Great report man.  I hope to one day get to this park.

[adamico2]

It's sad to hear the caliber of employees has deteriorated so much. On my visits in previous years, Lightning Run was the only ride with poor operations. Everything else was reasonably efficient. While the employees were not always the most professional, they were usually quite friendly.

[Rai Fox]

Sadly I have to agree on the staff.  I was there on Thursday and it was just...not good in that regard.  For the most park the staff really did not seem like they wanted to be there at all.  I know it's a rough year for everyone, but out of all the parks I did, KK's staffing was...well, maybe not quite as bad as Six Flags St Louis, but close.

[thepoint4life23]

Hearing about the staff kind of scares me from going, Just not wanting to deal with people. I am still going to go and enjoy myself

What I understand is hit the big coaster first then go to water park if you plan to.?

How does the line for deep water dive get? 

[Taylor Finn]

We were actually at the park on Saturday as well. Only stayed from 10-12:30 to get on the coasters (two rides on Storm Runner). It was starting to get much hotter and more crowded and there really wasn't a ton else we wanted to do (water park was going to be too busy).

Staff was certainly a low spot. I'm not expecting a ton of enthusiasm but we went to Kennywood yesterday and felt a little bit more life due to the staff. Otherwise, had a decent day, though I doubt I'll have much reason to return in the near future.

[Rai Fox]

1 hour ago, thepoint4life23 said:

Hearing about the staff kind of scares me from going, Just not wanting to deal with people. I am still going to go and enjoy myself

What I understand is hit the big coaster first then go to water park if you plan to.?

How does the line for deep water dive get? 

Nah, don't let it keep you from going.  If you're going for the rides, you'll still have a good time.  The staff is just lifeless; they're not going to do anything to add to the day, but they're not going to ruin it either.

 

[Midgetman82]

Made a last minute decision to stop at fair yesterday after having not been to any park in over a month. Things are a little finnicky with getting to either the fair or the park, but you can tell they're trying hard to make getting to Kentucky Kingdom more streamlined without having to deal with fair crowds and parking.

To get to Kentucky Kingdom, you HAVE to use Gate 2 off of Crittenden Drive (road along Storm Chaser). It's about the only time you'll really deal with cars trying to get to the fair. Once inside, the 4-lane road is split with two right lanes leading to specific parking lots for KY Kingdom, and the left 2-lanes leading to the rest of the Expo Center with parking for the fair. There was a bit of confusion on my part, because I (trying to park for the fair) managed to park in what I believe was 100% dedicated as KK employee lot (lot L). I got all the way into the park before looking at a map on my phone and realized it wasn't listed as parking for either the park OR the fair. I left and relocated out of fear I'd get towed...

Getting to KY Kingdom: there's a path leading from KK's dedicated parking lots, and there's a fence erected keeping fair attendees and park visitors physically separated, unless you can show proof of fair admission to a fair personnel at an opening between the park entrance and the Expo center. When I left KK less than an hour prior to park closing, this gap between the Fair and the park had closed. It took groups of people split off from one-another to signal to fair security to reopen the gap and let them and myself thru, again with proof of Fair admission. If you hope to do both attractions, I DO NOT recommend parking in Kentucky Kingdom's lot since you might have difficulty accessing their parking lots afterwards.

I parked in lot C (Fair parking) and walked thru Thrillville and arrived at KK at 4pm. The park was very easy-going compared to the last few times I've gone. Very light crowd making for decently short waits for almost anything and really easy distancing between folks. There were a few notable rides that weren't operating when I arrived, but I don't know if it was because they closed early, required shifting around staff, or had been closed all day. T3, Eye of the Storm, 5D Cinema, and Big Wheel were the ones I saw closed.

And a side note, I got a hold of a cinnamon bread loaf, but the breads I saw didn't quite look like the soft cinnamon bread I first saw a month ago. It also mostly tasted like regular bread with a small hint of cinnamon sugar flavor. Could've been an odd batch, or could be a different recipe used. Wasn't quite sure, but wasn't quite on par with what I was expecting.

Still, if anyone was looking for quick ways to get their credits, I'd certainly recommend coming to the park during the fair as it's pretty easy to get around the park plus water park at this time.

I left the park roughly 30 minutes prior to closing and managed to get back to the fair side.

This year, the fair followed thru with getting Kissel Entertainment for their ride supplier instead of North American Midway Entertainment, which they were hoping to do last year before the fair had to be closed to the public. I got to see these folks earlier this year in June (as well as the past few years) at the Bluegrass fair in Lexington, and the lineup they had at the state fair was just about the same. It's a much better lineup than recent years with NAME, and I'm sooo happy they managed to get them to showcase at the state fair! A pinfari coaster, wacky worm, and dragon wagon for credits. Plus a KMG speed, KMG Inversion, small  ARM drop tower, Larson Fireball, classic rock-o-plane, a Chance swinging ship, a Matterhorn, and more thrill rides.

If you're looking to maybe go but avoid big and tight crowds, I'd recommend going much earlier in the day and leaving before 5 or 6pm when there's far less people on the midway and significantly shorter waits. I've had no hassle wearing a mask everywhere I went, but keep in mind you might be elbow-to-elbow on occasion.

Regardless, all in all was a fun night, and it was nice to get back to a park after a while without much personal trips! I shot a bunch of clips on my camera to hopefully finish the usual KY State Fair and KK video I try to do each year (when I can).

Edited August 22, 2021 by Midgetman82
Loads of typo's, whoops.

[Garet]

^What's an astro wheel? Is it a thrill ride where the cars spin or just a weird kind of Ferris Wheel, I tried looking it up but that POV is so jittery and blurry I can't even tell.

[Midgetman82]

Just dual ferris wheels.

[KBrylczyk]

1 hour ago, Midgetman82 said:

Just dual ferris wheels.

Those sure look like Zipper seats.  They also sure look quite flippy.

Edit - Nevermind, they're just regular seats that alternate directions (one facing in, one facing out).

[Midgetman82]

Here's a video of it running at the Bluegrass fair. Timestamp 1:04 mark.

[sdcfan88]

17 hours ago, Midgetman82 said:

And a side note, I got a hold of a cinnamon bread loaf, but the breads I saw didn't quite look like the soft cinnamon bread I first saw a month ago. It also mostly tasted like regular bread with a small hint of cinnamon sugar flavor. Could've been an odd batch, or could be a different recipe used. Wasn't quite sure, but wasn't quite on par with what I was expecting.

"When you order Cinnamon Bread on Wish.com." lol Yeah that definitely doesn't look like the trademark Hershend Cinnamon Bread. More like a cheap knockoff or something. Wonder whats up with that?

[Hilltopper39]

Way back in the day I always enjoyed checking out Kentucky Kingdom during the state fair. I'm not much of a fair ride guy but  the atmosphere was always fun and having a giant fair set up right next door to an open amusement park was always such an weird vibe that you can't help but enjoy it. Nothing like grabbing a few laps on a coaster then checking out the prize winning hogs and watermelons lol. Nice report.

[JT325]

21 hours ago, Garet said:

^What's an astro wheel? Is it a thrill ride where the cars spin or just a weird kind of Ferris Wheel, I tried looking it up but that POV is so jittery and blurry I can't even tell.

Same as a Skydiver (terrifying!) but with the upright, non-inverting seats you see.  Plug-N-Play parts.  There aren't many rides you can find that are more effective at being terrifying.

[Midgetman82]

9 hours ago, sdcfan88 said:

"When you order Cinnamon Bread on Wish.com." lol Yeah that definitely doesn't look like the trademark Hershend Cinnamon Bread. More like a cheap knockoff or something. Wonder whats up with that?

I'm banking on this just being an odd batch from this day. You can go back to the previous page and see what the bread was like when it was first introduced. I'm willing to give it another try whenever I go back to the park again this season, maybe getting it earlier in the day when they're probably freshly made too!

^From when I got a loaf in early July. So soft, so sweet!

[SharkTums]

I feel like Kentucky Kingdom is always weird during the fair, so maybe even the Cinnamon Bread was affected?!?!

[teacherkim]

Weird just during the fair...............? Hmmmmm. I feel like it's weird all the time, not that that's a bad thing, lol.

[PKI Jizzman]

Is the park gonna be open in October? With Kennywood closing Curtain, looking at KK as a back up weekend of the 15th.

[Hilltopper39]

20 minutes ago, PKI Jizzman said:

Is the park gonna be open in October? With Kennywood closing Curtain, looking at KK as a back up weekend of the 15th.

I don't think that it is this year, the calendar doesn't have any days listed and if they haven't announced a Halloween event by now pretty sure they aren't doing one. I'm going to be in that area first weekend in October, we're even staying in a hotel right next to KK for a night so being next door to a closed park is gonna be a real bummer, but oh well.

[PKI Jizzman]

I saw they didn't have October up yet and figured they would be open. I dm'd their Instagram so we'll see.