Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread

[mudvayneimn]

I definitely looks like it needs more that just a pick-me up but that could just be the aesthetics. I don't see it opening within the next month, but you never know.

[prozach626]

From KK Facebook on LR.

Regarding the questions we've received about the movement of one of the columns supporting Lightning Run, we've contacted Chance Rides, the manufacturer of the coaster, and spoke with the president of the company, Mr. Mike Chance, who had this to say:

 

"This structure has to move, that's the way it was designed. This kind of movement (or deflection) is perfectly normal for this type of roller coaster. The coaster has been thoroughly analyzed and tested and is 100% safe to ride."

 

Yeah, well they said Texas Giant was safe to ride and look what happened!

 

(joking)

[Midgetman82]

Maybe Deluge is in the same situation as the River Ride, as they said that would open sometime in early July (or late June, I can't remember). I didn't see any rafts, but they were moving the conveyor belt and walking the flume when I was there.

[Gnome]

From KK Facebook on LR.

Regarding the questions we've received about the movement of one of the columns supporting Lightning Run, we've contacted Chance Rides, the manufacturer of the coaster, and spoke with the president of the company, Mr. Mike Chance, who had this to say:

 

"This structure has to move, that's the way it was designed. This kind of movement (or deflection) is perfectly normal for this type of roller coaster. The coaster has been thoroughly analyzed and tested and is 100% safe to ride."

 

Yeah, well they said Texas Giant was safe to ride and look what happened!

 

(joking)

 

I laughed! Then I felt ashamed of myself and took a shower.

[CoasterCard]

Does anyone know what crowds have been like during the week at all? I'll be there on Monday the 2nd and was wondering what to expect.

 

I went during my lunch break today, and have a few items of note.

 

1.) Crowds are very light on weekdays when school is in session. You won't necessarily feel like you have the park to yourself, but it was much more manageable than this past weekend.

 

2.) You will have to wait for Lightning Run. Even though the crowds are light, the park is only planning to run 1 train during the weekdays, it appears. Probably good from a longevity of the trains point of view, but it can be a little frustrating when you walk right into the station only to have to wait 5 cycles of unloading and reloading before riding. It is only a minor item for such a small crowd, but an item nonetheless.

 

3.) Try to get to the waterpark. As numerous people have said, as of now, the waterpark is going to be what butters Kentucky Kingdom's bread. I was able to ride Lightning Run and Thunder Run in under 40 minutes today. I do suggest riding Lightning Run multiple times as a ride in the back seat qualifies as one of my favorite coaster experiences, but the waterpark deserves some time visiting as well to feel like you got your entire money's worth.

 

4.) Be ready for the Middle/High School crowd. This is the time of year that schools start taking "End of the Year" Field Trips. Generally the crowd is more behaved when they are with the school, but there is still a little bit of "run-a-muckery".

 

5.) Lightning Run is quite unfriendly to heavier guests. I only saw 1 person turned away today, but from my impression, he wasn't extremely overweight. If you have any concern of not being able to fit, make sure to try the test seat by the entrance before waiting.

[RailBlazer]

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.

[jynx242]

You know - I remember being much younger and waiting for Ninja at SFoG. If you have never seen it in action, you should see how the entire break run moves from side to side as the train approaches it. It was kind of freaky to me - but didn't stop me from riding it.

 

20 years later - it is still banging and bruising people safely and securely.

 

What I'm getting at is that it must have been a slow news week in Kentucky - this too shall pass

 

I remember Deluge as being an absolute blast and know that it will still be a huge hit with the water park when it opens.

[GrapesLie]

5.) Lightning Run is quite unfriendly to heavier guests. I only saw 1 person turned away today, but from my impression, he wasn't extremely overweight. If you have any concern of not being able to fit, make sure to try the test seat by the entrance before waiting.

 

I'm definitely not the world's biggest guy so I'm not really worried. But how would you compare it to say Outlaw Run?

[CoasterCard]

What I'm getting at is that it must have been a slow news week in Kentucky - this too shall pass

 

Not necessarily a slow news week. Public perception of the park is that it is extremely unsafe. I was searching Twitter just to get a few opinions on what the GP thought of the park during opening weekend, and if I had a dollar for every time I read "I'm not going, I want to keep my feet" I would be able to open my own park. Anytime Kentucky Kingdom can be reported on, it will. A toddler could trip over a crack in the pavement and the people would come out of the woodwork saying "This is why I will never take my family to Kentucky Kingdom again." It's sad a sad but true reality that Ed Hart is having to overcome.

 

The ride is safe. It doesn't take an engineering degree (I have 2 of them) or years of experience in the industry to know that. All it takes is good business sense. If there were any doubt that the ride was unsafe: 1.) Would Chance allow the park to run the ride, risking their potential sales of Hyper GT-X Coasters (or whatever they are calling them today)? 2.) Would Ed Hart risk a public perception hit with a ride injuring people knowing another hit against public perception would be catastrophic for the park?

 

In order to reduce the need to replace hardware on the support structure, I wouldn't be surprised to see additional bracing members to be added under the guise: "In order to appease the public and remove their fears." Having to replace or tighten bolts daily can be costly and time consuming, and that would be the only reason I see them adding any kind of extra stability if indeed it does happen.

 

5.) Lightning Run is quite unfriendly to heavier guests. I only saw 1 person turned away today, but from my impression, he wasn't extremely overweight. If you have any concern of not being able to fit, make sure to try the test seat by the entrance before waiting.

 

I'm definitely not the world's biggest guy so I'm not really worried. But how would you compare it to say Outlaw Run?

 

Haven't made it to SDC yet, but from what I've heard from friends who have, it is very similar if not a hair more stringent with the waist restrictions. If you haven't ever had issues or rechecks in lapbars in the past, you should be okay. If a ride-op has had to throw themselves at a restraint to get you in before, there's a good chance you will have problems in Lightning Run.

[rcjp]

Since we are on the subject of swaying track, does anyone know how Kingda Ka's launch track moves so much? Given that is is quite low and, therefore, the supports are quite short I imagined they couldn't bend so much, or is it because of the way they are secured to the footers?

[mdwarn01]

I haven't spent a full day in the park yet. I visited for about an hour and a half one day to ride Lightning Run and Fearfall. However, I noticed that many of the rides didn't have enough turnstiles in the wait to hold the crowd. Lightning Run and Fearfall both had lines spilling out into the pathways. I hope they do something to fix this soon.

[Superbatboy]

↑ good to know the crowds are turning out

[mudvayneimn]

In Lightning Run's case, there really isn't much that can be done easily. The only way that line could be extended would be routing it in the direction of the lift hill, and have it connect to the midway by Prof John's s scooter ride. They'd have to do some modification to the station though; the last bunny hop/rise to the brake run is right next to the station.

 

I guess they could route it under the rise into the brake run but they'd have to have a funky bridge to go over the Tin Lizzie's track.

[Koasterking48]

I'd honestly just go the cheaper route and put a chained queue on the outside of the entrance and lining the edge of the path. Or a permanent fence like Vortex.

This is what I'm talking about.

[Vic]

When sfkk built greezed they had an extra concrete slab with gate built to the left they were gonna eventually use for extra que's but attendance was down so they never did it... Is that still there? You could probably add 4-5 rows there...

[mdwarn01]

I'm understanding about Lightning Run. There isn't a whole lot to work with. There's some room to the left right inside the sign that's landscaping for the Tin Lizzies. I'm not sure if they could utilize beneath the station like some coasters do. If so, that would keep most of the line in shade. As for Fearfall though, the area surrounding the entrance is wide open pavement and the ride has maybe one row. There really isn't an excuse to not have a more organized line.

[Diamondbacker27]

Thought it was cool

[Mater]

Was having a smoke next to Top Gun at PGA recently and noticed the zero-g roll sways an insane amount and pretty much stays in motion until the next train goes through it.

 

Made me face the other way during my cigarette, that's for damn sure.

[CoasterCard]

There are some definite issues with the queue for Lightning Run. I wouldn't be surprised to see the entire entrance and exit paths reworked to allow the entrance to have switchbacks by the main path and then lead to the station house.

 

Also, something a friend of mine pointed out, the rails for the ride, as well as the wheels of the trains are exposed above the wood decking. I'm not sure how atypical this is, but it definitely looks odd compared to many of the arrow loopers with similar track tie styles, and could be an easy pinch point for ride-ops or those entering and exiting the vehicles. I'm not sure how fixable this is without resurfacing and raising the deck in that area, but still something that was noticed.

 

There are a few infrastructure changes to be made around the park in the coming years, for example, the park needs to do something about how people move when coming off the bridge to the southern side of the park. But, everyday, I drive past the park and am amazed at what they were able to pull off in the time period they had. I never really had a chance to visit the park when it was owned by Ed Hart v1.0, but I look forward to seeing how he makes it all come together in the following years.

[mikeykaise]

There are some definite issues with the queue for Lightning Run. I wouldn't be surprised to see the entire entrance and exit paths reworked to allow the entrance to have switchbacks by the main path and then lead to the station house.

 

Also, something a friend of mine pointed out, the rails for the ride, as well as the wheels of the trains are exposed above the wood decking. I'm not sure how atypical this is, but it definitely looks odd compared to many of the arrow loopers with similar track tie styles, and could be an easy pinch point for ride-ops or those entering and exiting the vehicles. I'm not sure how fixable this is without resurfacing and raising the deck in that area, but still something that was noticed.

 

There are a few infrastructure changes to be made around the park in the coming years, for example, the park needs to do something about how people move when coming off the bridge to the southern side of the park. But, everyday, I drive past the park and am amazed at what they were able to pull off in the time period they had. I never really had a chance to visit the park when it was owned by Ed Hart v1.0, but I look forward to seeing how he makes it all come together in the following years.

 

Lets hope he doesn't decide to sell it again this time.

[Kafka]

5.) Lightning Run is quite unfriendly to heavier guests. I only saw 1 person turned away today, but from my impression, he wasn't extremely overweight. If you have any concern of not being able to fit, make sure to try the test seat by the entrance before waiting.

 

I'm definitely not the world's biggest guy so I'm not really worried. But how would you compare it to say Outlaw Run?

 

I dont think its too unreasonably unfriendly. When I was there I saw quite a few guest that would likely be considered large riding it. I think that due to the restraint style its likely that body shape will matter more than size. I would say that if one fits onto Outlaw Run, they will likely fit onto Lightning Run.

-Kafka-

[Koasterking48]

I know it's really early to be judging crowd sizes, but does anyone have a reasonable estimate for Sunday's crowds?

[mdwarn01]

I know it's really early to be judging crowd sizes, but does anyone have a reasonable estimate for Sunday's crowds?

I visited briefly on Memorial Day. The crowds weren't that bad, at least in the front of the park. Waited less than an hour for Lightning Run and that was with it breaking down for about 10-15 minutes. Don't expect to get a season pass processed quickly though.

[RailBlazer]

 

I have been looking at this photo and wondering why the park doesn't have fences up around the low sections of track to have another barrier between people and the track. I may be more aware of this than some due to my home park, Worlds of Fun, having an accident in the 70's where a child got in front of Screamroller and was hit by a train. Now, all the coasters have fences up around the low areas of track. This ride looks like it could use some of them as well.

[mudvayneimn]

I know it's really early to be judging crowd sizes, but does anyone have a reasonable estimate for Sunday's crowds?

 

Going by opening weekend it will be busy but planning should make it tolerable. I would absolutely run to Thunder Run and ride it first; then double back and hit Fear Fall. The wait last Sunday for Thunder Run was an hour around 5-7pm, even with very very quick dispatch times. Lightning Run's wait was only around 30 min when the line was stretching out past to BBQ resturant. It was not too bad at all; I can't vouch for the other rides wait times. If you are trying to do Deep Water Dive prepare to wait, it'll probably busy.

 

I have been looking at this photo and wondering why the park doesn't have fences up around the low sections of track to have another barrier between people and the track. I may be more aware of this than some due to my home park, Worlds of Fun, having an accident in the 70's where a child got in front of Screamroller and was hit by a train. Now, all the coasters have fences up around the low areas of track. This ride looks like it could use some of them as well.

 

I'm waiting to see how long it takes before the Darwin Fences do get installed. I noticed that the first time we entered the park. Personally I like the unobstructed views but I know at some point, an idiot will hop one of those fences, or a kid will get out of his Tin Lizzy and cause chaos and possibly tragedy.....this is 21st Century America afterall.