Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread

[Wes]

This accident just proves how you're never sure of what a ride malfunction could do!

 

Except turn everyone into an armchair engineer.

[steel]

I regret to say that I was at Kentucky Kingdom on the day of the accident. We stopped there for credits on the way to Holiday World during CoasterCon.

Fortunately, we left the park about an hour before the actual occurence, but that doesn't change the fact that I probably saw this young girl walking around the park just hours before her feet were severed. I may even have ridden something with her. Who knows.

It really is a gut-wrenching feeling, and I hope that none of you ever need to experience it. My bones still quiver when I remember Will Koch's words: "There was an accident at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom today. A girl lost her feet on their 'Superman: Tower of Power' ride."

Unsurprisingly, Giant Drop was closed all day yesterday at SFGAm.

I know for I fact that I was not the only attendee of CoasterCon at KK that day. I also know that I rode S:TOP about four hours before the accident. That's what really gets me. I missed it by four small hours.

The ride itself was a lot of fun, but (and please do not take this wrong) I am not at all surprised that this happened. One side of the ride was closed prior to the event, the park was ugly and uncared for, and many rides looked badly in need of a good inspection. Superman was among these rides.

 

Once again, I hope none of you ever go through this. It really put a damper on the rest of my week, and I was not even there for the actual accident.

[Drumline99]

This is awful! I would almost bet that she will not want to return to the park, and she has every reason not to want to. This is a really crappy thing that happened.

 

Just a question...did Acrophobia at SFOG close also? (I had just read qbout the 5 drop rides closed at the Six Flags parks and was just wonderin if they closed theres too)

[steel]

No, I'm positive she won't ever return to the park. Heck, I have no plans to ever attend SFKK again if I can help it. That was probably the worst park I've ever been to. The staff is even worse than at Mt. Olympus.

[jamesdillaman]

^ I've also experienced bad employees at SFKK, rude and the only word for it is "dim". I'm sure they're not all like that, but the majority of them on my visit last year convinced me to not go back to the park again, unless of course they put in some unique coaster I have to ride

 

-James Dillaman

[spaceace12]

Some different employees for sure. I was in que for the other side of twisted sis...twins and the ride op at the controls decided to start singing. Then instead of loading that side, they loaded the opposite side from the side of hte que I wanted to ride. I jsut left.

[steel]

You'll probably hear my saga when I post my TR. It's the worst I've ever seen anyone move at a park. Not only are they idiotic and rude, they are lazier than the day is long.

[coasterfan200692]

I regret to say that I was at Kentucky Kingdom on the day of the accident. We stopped there for credits on the way to Holiday World during CoasterCon.

Fortunately, we left the park about an hour before the actual occurence, but that doesn't change the fact that I probably saw this young girl walking around the park just hours before her feet were severed. I may even have ridden something with her. Who knows.

It really is a gut-wrenching feeling, and I hope that none of you ever need to experience it. My bones still quiver when I remember Will Koch's words: "There was an accident at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom today. A girl lost her feet on their 'Superman: Tower of Power' ride."

Unsurprisingly, Giant Drop was closed all day yesterday at SFGAm.

I know for I fact that I was not the only attendee of CoasterCon at KK that day. I also know that I rode S:TOP about four hours before the accident. That's what really gets me. I missed it by four small hours.

The ride itself was a lot of fun, but (and please do not take this wrong) I am not at all surprised that this happened. One side of the ride was closed prior to the event, the park was ugly and uncared for, and many rides looked badly in need of a good inspection. Superman was among these rides.

 

Once again, I hope none of you ever go through this. It really put a damper on the rest of my week, and I was not even there for the actual accident.

I was also there the day it happened and I left 15 min. before it happened. Honestly I don't think this is that big a deal, things happen, people die every day, she was lucky, she just lost her feet. Not saying that I don't feel sorry for her.

The park is not ugly and unkept, they have a strict policy for cleaning and service. the entire park is hosed down before opening. (My brother works there I know.) I don't really think stuff like this should change people opinion of the park, its still a good park.

I don't really appreciate the dogging on this park either, These people, don't forget, have to deal with rude, idiotic, dim, and slow, customers all day long, you try dealing with that kind of stuff and be happy and cherry. It's also hot and humid. An average of at least 90 in the summer. (that would be kinda mild.) So think twice before you complain. Not to mention boring. Watching people ride rides in the hot and pressing buttons Im sure is just amazing. Who cares of they sing, it's funny. They are people and have sense of humors too.

[KBNA777]

I was also there the day it happened and I left 15 min. before it happened. Honestly I don't think this is that big a deal, things happen, people die every day, she was lucky, she just lost her feet. Not saying that I don't feel sorry for her.

The park is not ugly and unkept, they have a strict policy for cleaning and service. the entire park is hosed down before opening. (My brother works there I know.) I don't really think stuff like this should change people opinion of the park, its still a good park.

I don't really appreciate the dogging on this park either, These people, don't forget, have to deal with rude, idiotic, dim, and slow, customers all day long, you try dealing with that kind of stuff and be happy and cherry. It's also hot and humid. An average of at least 90 in the summer. (that would be kinda mild.) So think twice before you complain. Not to mention boring. Watching people ride rides in the hot and pressing buttons Im sure is just amazing. Who cares of they sing, it's funny. They are people and have sense of humors too.

 

You make a great point that most people here forget. It absolutely sucks having to deal with the general public. Work in fast food or retail has to be just as annoying if not less than what they have to go through all day. No one has ever had a job where they are happy all the time, if you say you have you are full of crap. It's just people on here looking for a way to bash the Six Flags parks.

 

Having been to Cedar Point, Worlds of Fun, Kings Island, SFStL, and Dollywood this year, only Dollywood had truly happy looking people. The worst park was either Cedar Point or Kings Island. But I won’t go and bash Cedar Fair for this; it's a crappy job that someone has to do for us to have fun.

 

This was an accident that was terrible in the way that she lost both ankles, but it happens. If these things where truly safe all the time you would not have that "not responsible for injury" crap on the tickets.

 

I know it sounds harsh but the mood of most of the threads deteriorates into hate and it kind of drags the discussion down.

[waterviper]

I don't really appreciate the dogging on this park either, These people, don't forget, have to deal with rude, idiotic, dim, and slow, customers all day long, you try dealing with that kind of stuff and be happy and cherry. It's also hot and humid. An average of at least 90 in the summer. (that would be kinda mild.) So think twice before you complain. Not to mention boring. Watching people ride rides in the hot and pressing buttons Im sure is just amazing. Who cares of they sing, it's funny. They are people and have sense of humors too.

 

They should get another job if they are miserable there. All of that isn't an excuse for their behavior and attitude toward the GP at the park! Working for an amusement park is a people pleasing business! They aren't just there to press a button all day and look miserable callin on their cell phones! They are there to cater to the GP. Look at Disney. They hold the highest standards of people pleasing. Everything is kept up and pleasing to the eye and you are cared for by the employees when you are there. You see it is business like that is what keeps people coming back!

 

Anyways hope that girls operation was a success. Anyone heard about her yet?

[steel]

I was also there the day it happened and I left 15 min. before it happened. Honestly I don't think this is that big a deal, things happen, people die every day, she was lucky, she just lost her feet. Not saying that I don't feel sorry for her.

The park is not ugly and unkept, they have a strict policy for cleaning and service. the entire park is hosed down before opening. (My brother works there I know.) I don't really think stuff like this should change people opinion of the park, its still a good park.

I don't really appreciate the dogging on this park either, These people, don't forget, have to deal with rude, idiotic, dim, and slow, customers all day long, you try dealing with that kind of stuff and be happy and cherry. It's also hot and humid. An average of at least 90 in the summer. (that would be kinda mild.) So think twice before you complain. Not to mention boring. Watching people ride rides in the hot and pressing buttons Im sure is just amazing. Who cares of they sing, it's funny. They are people and have sense of humors too.

I hate to disagree with you, but Kentucky Kindom really is the worst park I've ever been to.

First of all, a simple hose-down of the park doesn't do the trick. Paint was peeling in a lot of places. Rooves needed to be replaced. Many of the rides looked old and faded.

And I'm really sorry about this, and I don't mean your brother personally, but the staff SUCKS overall. You say that it's funny when they sing. That may be true for some people, but it's also, it's annoying, inefficient, and unprofessional when a job needs to be done.

Chang was releasing trains so slow that we were stacked longer than we were riding. Same story with T2, which was the most painful coaster I have ever had the displeasure to ride.

The worst was Thunder Run (by far the best ride in the park). My friend was getting on as I exited. A young man in a wheelchair had to get on the ride as well. So the ride ops handled that normally. No problem, right? Well, it wouldn't be a problem if not for everything that happened next. After this young man was safely buckled in, one of the two ops plays around with his wheelchair for two full minutes before doing anything. Finally, they opened the gates and let my friend and the rest of the train in. One of the people who boarded was extremely overweight. She probably should never have gotten in line. One op tried to staple her by herself for around three minutes before asking the other op to come over and use her weight to help get her in safely. It took about five minutes just to get her in, and she looked like she could barely breathe. I propose that you should not be allowed to ride if it takes two people to buckle you in. That can't have been safe. After all this, they finally unlocked the lapbars and spent another three minutes checking. All in all, it took nearly fifteen minutes to release ONE train. If that's efficient, please give me an example of inefficient.

 

One more thing - if your excuse for this behavior is the heat, please take a look at Six Flags Over Texas, Beech Bend, or even Holiday World. All of those parks are as far south or further south than SFKK and I have had great experiences with the staffs at each one (HW in particular, of course).

 

EDIT: ^I don't think they were able to reattatch the feet, if that is what you are asking.

[jjeerr]

Are any of the Towers running again?

 

Drop Zone @ Great America was today (did it use different cables?)

IT LIVES!!!

[stormrider]

I heard that the girl is in stable condition from CNN yet no word on what that really means (in terms of success in reattachment or not).

[bulldogmom]

^ "Stable"... I guess that's good. Better than "critical". As for the feet, maybe they were damaged and not fit to be reattached. Think about how many bones, nerves, and muscles are in your feet... Funny, we take feet for granted, I guess. With the medical miracles today, though, maybe they'll be able to get her a set of prosthetic feet that she can function with somewhat. I'm sure this would take time, though. I don't see her coming out of the hospital with a new set of feet.

[ConleyKE]

I don't really think stuff like this should change people opinion of the park, its still a good park.

I don't really appreciate the dogging on this park either, These people, don't forget, have to deal with rude, idiotic, dim, and slow, customers all day long, you try dealing with that kind of stuff and be happy and cherry. It's also hot and humid. An average of at least 90 in the summer.

 

AMEN

 

And Thank you! I couldn't have said it any better myself.

[LOVE SFKK]

After this young man was safely buckled in, one of the two ops plays around with his wheelchair for two full minutes before doing anything

 

I actually had the same thing happen to me last year!

 

I think KK is definately the worst of the chain, but i mean its not completely terrible. The reason i enjoy it so much is b/c it barely has any waits, and its just a fun place to visit that you dont have rush through to get everything done.

 

Keep it a secret, but if i could change my display name it would be: LOVE BEECH BEND

 

 

Sbout the accident, i hope that she gets a large settlement and can try to live a normal life again. I think it was probably a freak accident that couldnt have been prevented. I hop they dont take STOP down though, b/c without it, SFKK really will be the worst park ever.

[USCoaster]

As far as I know, Kennywood reopened Pitfall the next day after they checked the ride and found everything to be in working order.

 

I think it is great that Great America has reopened Drop Zone. After checking the ride system out, the parks can't really do anything else until the official investigation in Kentucky either determines it was a freak accident or that there were signs that is was a preventable accident. The Intamin Giant Drops have been running without major problems for years now. The rest of the parks might as well keep running their rides as normal and maybe step up the maintenance checks each day just a bit till they find out what happened.

[mudvayneimn]

Just some quick comments to steel's posts, Thunder Run has the slowest load times at the park (mostly because of the seatbelt & lapbar check), but I can't believe supervisors weren't up there kicking butt. They pay special attention to dispatches on the coasters (well atleast on the front side).

 

T2 was a very bad decision on your part, period.

 

In the last two years the park has been doing drastic cosmetic work (i.e Chang, STOP, Entrance, etc). You can only spend so much a year on cosmetics.

 

You cannot put SFKK and HW in the same sentence (oh and HW isn't south of SFKK, I know what you meant but I thought I'd make you aware). They have two completely different landscapes and working environments. Employees at HW for the most part, get to stay in some form of shade and/or AC during their shifts other than breaks. I had one ride (out of 4) that provided a very small amount of shade at SFKK, but my co-workers and I pushed as much as we could, so much so that some actually passed out from being in the 95*, 68% humidity trying to work as fast as we could. I'm not trying to make excuses for "special" group of employees that don't care about our guests at the park but most of the people working try their hardest to provide safe, efficient, and friendly service. I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience at the park that day, as I'm sure you are not the only one.

 

On another note, I heard the girl's name on the news last night. I really do not know how they could sucessfully reattach her feet. I hope they can but seriously, what about her achilles tendons? Is it even possible to have them reconnected and functioning properly? I just don't know, but shes still in my prayers.

 

I'm done.

[EagleFan344]

Giant Drop at SFGAm was closed all day today.

[mudvayneimn]

From the TR's it seems that DZ at KI is still closed too.

[Wes]

I don't really appreciate the dogging on this park either, These people, don't forget, have to deal with rude, idiotic, dim, and slow, customers all day long, you try dealing with that kind of stuff and be happy and cherry. It's also hot and humid. An average of at least 90 in the summer. (that would be kinda mild.) So think twice before you complain. Not to mention boring. Watching people ride rides in the hot and pressing buttons Im sure is just amazing.

 

Wow, the exact same thing happens to the employees at Disneyworld. But hardly anyone complains about them.

 

It is their job to be professional, they are being paid to provide the best possible guest experience to the people who spent money to get in the park.

[rollocoast]

Just an FYI - For those of you who haven't seen it, MythBusters cable snap episode will be on at 11pm.

[calcajun]

I have not seen the mythbuster in question but from statements others have made about the show, seems they are testing to see if a cable can "SLICE" through.

My common sence from the accident tells me here feet were most likely ripped off. Sure news reports say her feet were severed but i think when the final report comes out they may heve been dismembered by being pulled off.

 

I am so curious to see what the detailed info says in the final report. Of all the drop rides, this particular model is the one i like best. Certainly will feel odd riding one again.

[FlyingScooter]

I don't really appreciate the dogging on this park either, These people, don't forget, have to deal with rude, idiotic, dim, and slow, customers all day long, you try dealing with that kind of stuff and be happy and cherry. It's also hot and humid. An average of at least 90 in the summer. (that would be kinda mild.) So think twice before you complain. Not to mention boring. Watching people ride rides in the hot and pressing buttons Im sure is just amazing.

 

Wow, the exact same thing happens to the employees at Disneyworld. But hardly anyone complains about them.

 

It is their job to be professional, they are being paid to provide the best possible guest experience to the people who spent money to get in the park.

 

 

Thanks Wes, I couldn't have said it better myself. Where I work, if a boss or a site mgr pull a call and you're not professional, or you get rude with a customer, you get fired. There's no grey area about it. Just as 'The Tape' can prove you're not lying customers, it can surely hang you as fast.

[coasterfan200692]

I don't really appreciate the dogging on this park either, These people, don't forget, have to deal with rude, idiotic, dim, and slow, customers all day long, you try dealing with that kind of stuff and be happy and cherry. It's also hot and humid. An average of at least 90 in the summer. (that would be kinda mild.) So think twice before you complain. Not to mention boring. Watching people ride rides in the hot and pressing buttons Im sure is just amazing.

 

Wow, the exact same thing happens to the employees at Disneyworld. But hardly anyone complains about them.

 

It is their job to be professional, they are being paid to provide the best possible guest experience to the people who spent money to get in the park.

 

 

Thanks Wes, I couldn't have said it better myself. Where I work, if a boss or a site mgr pull a call and you're not professional, or you get rude with a customer, you get fired. There's no grey area about it. Just as 'The Tape' can prove you're not lying customers, it can surely hang you as fast.

These people are on a job, I understand, but SFKK is not Disney world, it is an average park that has younger employees. Just because they aren't very motivated doesn't make them the number of names they were called and it doesn't make the park bad. Also, in my brothers case, you cant just leave and find another job. money is money and if you can get with out be a fake Disney prep, who cares. I have never had an employee get rude with me and I go to the park at least 3 times a week. (the benefits of having a season pass and living 20 minutes away from the park.) and actually, I think it's the rides job to give the people the best experience, in a ride operators job application, it does not say you have to have any social skills becaise you are simply there to press a button.