Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread

[jonskinny12]

In my opinion, their lineup would be improved if they replaced T3 with picnic tables. But people seem to enjoy it and it gets a lot of riders so I doubt it's going anywhere anytime soon.

[dankeykang]

T3 probably isn't going anywhere IMO.  The general public likes it well enough, and the park's social media presence has embraced the fact that it's pretty much become a meme among the coaster community, which makes it super marketable for the park overall.  Although we'll see if this changes at all under Herschend (hopefully not).

[grsupercity]

Some trackwork and the second gen Vekoma vest trains would make it a great coaster. Those Kumbak trains do not do it any favors 

[mary.pesik]

Alas, we will never see another Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Unpopular opinion, but I kinda liked it when it was under the Six Flags name. I know it was dirty as heck, but they had a solid lineup, especially Chang. If that godforsaken ride op didn't MUTILATE that girl's foot on Superman... (my foot just hurts READING about that.)

[sdcfan88]

2 hours ago, mary.pesik said:

I know it was dirty as heck, but they had a solid lineup, especially Chang.

Yeah it makes me sad when any park loses a B&M. That's why I made my original statement above. Herschend has the money to give the park one once again if they wanted to even if it's a small compact invert or some other type.

[tndank]

With Banshee and Orion an hour away I'd say there is a chance B&M can't work with KK any time soon due to contracts. 

[HWLover]

1 hour ago, tndank said:

With Banshee and Orion an hour away I'd say there is a chance B&M can't work with KK any time soon due to contracts. 

You can add Thunderbird to that list as well. For the money both parks spent on their B&Ms, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a clause like that 

[sdcfan88]

28 minutes ago, HWLover said:

You can add Thunderbird to that list as well. For the money both parks spent on their B&Ms, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a clause like that 

I've heard of that clause but I had recalled it's for the same coaster type, not the manufacturer in general. That leaves us with a Floorless, Dive, or maybe even an Invert if they built it around 2023 at the soonest. I wouldn't expect an immediate investment on that scale until at least that year anyways.

[HWLover]

5 hours ago, sdcfan88 said:

I've heard of that clause but I had recalled it's for the same coaster type, not the manufacturer in general. That leaves us with a Floorless, Dive, or maybe even an Invert if they built it around 2023 at the soonest. I wouldn't expect an immediate investment on that scale until at least that year anyways.

I agree. Holiday World is my home park and the waiting game gets... painful... but at least it pays off when they do invest in a major attraction. I doubt we’ll see any 15+ mil rollercoaster for a long time, but I definitely could see them adding a small steel coaster, even if it is just something like an S&S free spin or a bigger one like a raptor. Hey, I’d take another Chance ride like Lightning Run down the road! I wouldn’t mind lightning striking twice 

[grsupercity]

7 hours ago, HWLover said:

I agree. Holiday World is my home park and the waiting game gets... painful... but at least it pays off when they do invest in a major attraction. I doubt we’ll see any 15+ mil rollercoaster for a long time, but I definitely could see them adding a small steel coaster, even if it is just something like an S&S free spin or a bigger one like a raptor. Hey, I’d take another Chance ride like Lightning Run down the road! I wouldn’t mind lightning striking twice 

My Dream scenario would be a chance hyper with a 160ish lift hill into a tunnel. I believe there are only a couple spots on the property that can have a ride that tall so they would have to get creative 

[prozach626]

I think a terrain focused Raptor would be a good fit for HW.

As for KK, it's coaster line-up is pretty solid. I don't see the immediate need for a new addition, until Herschend introduces its own flavor. I suspect they'll diversify their entertainment first, as indicated by their announcement.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ Agreed. I'm really just hoping for a discount to KK with SDC passes. I would be very happy with some HFE-quality shows added.

[mikeykaise]

On 2/27/2021 at 8:42 AM, grsupercity said:

My Dream scenario would be a chance hyper with a 160ish lift hill into a tunnel. I believe there are only a couple spots on the property that can have a ride that tall so they would have to get creative 

What would be awesome is a 100 ft tall lift hill to make the FAA happy and then a 200 ft drop with a 100ft of it below ground, might need a chain or launch lift coming back up  but that would be awesome, not many coasters if any go 100 ft underground.

[prozach626]

It's neither cheap, easy, or practical to dig a 100 foot deep tunnel. Apparently Roller Coaster Tycoon is catching on again.

[boldikus]

I see the KK thread got that good crack again.

[Hilltopper39]

On 3/3/2021 at 3:29 PM, prozach626 said:

It's neither cheap, easy, or practical to dig a 100 foot deep tunnel. Apparently Roller Coaster Tycoon is catching on again.

Eh, there's caves all over that region, might not be a hard as you think.........

[mikeykaise]

14 minutes ago, Hilltopper39 said:

Eh, there's caves all over that region, might not be a hard as you think.........

He's right you know.... there's a cave that runs under the zoo, i264, and it's huge. It's a year around storage facility that has zip lines, dirt bikes, yearly christmas lights, and is huge!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

On 2/28/2021 at 12:55 PM, mikeykaise said:

What would be awesome is a 100 ft tall lift hill to make the FAA happy and then a 200 ft drop with a 100ft of it below ground, might need a chain or launch lift coming back up  but that would be awesome, not many coasters if any go 100 ft underground.

Wouldn't require any sort of lift to get back up, any more than Magnum requires a lift after its first drop. The energy in the train depends on the height of the drop, not whether it's above or below ground. I suppose there could be some differences in air resistance, but unless that tunnel the train's going through is a wind tunnel, I doubt it'd be significant enough to prevent the train from coming back up 100 feet. The main problem with a tunnel that deep is economic, not physical. 

[bill_s]

^^-- unless the rest of the coaster is also mostly underground, everything after the first drop would be rather lackluster.

[thepoint4life23]

I am about 95% sure that I will be making my first trip to the park this summer. Any good food places and or breweries near the park. What hotel would people say is worth staying at.

 

Thanks

[grsupercity]

We stayed at the Rodeway Inn on Phillips Ln. It was a no frills hotel but was right next to the park and had some good views of the park from the parking lot 

[jconsolmagno]

Highly recommend - Tru by Hilton Louisville Airport 

It's across the street.

For food, last time I was there it was August, 31 2020. What is not being covered by the mainstream news is the protesting continuing in the city well after the peak across the country. A lot of the restaurants were closing at 9 PM due to it and some of them had not been repaired yet (Eddie V's). You may want to look into that if things pick up again and perhaps eat at the park before it closes.

[mikeykaise]

The protesting has pretty much died down, and restaurants are able to open with more capacity, the 9pm closing was related to the governor's restrictions more than the protests but restaurant service is pretty much back to normal operations. There are quite a few good hotels around the park and downtown has some great food places. My fav is Old Spaghetti Factory. 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Or if you want something local, not a chain, Spinelli's downtown is great pizza, and I like Highland Morning on Bardstown Rd for breakfast. Their grits menu is insane. Bourbon is of course the thing here, and several bars have whiskey flights. For atmosphere, the best bar downtown is Troll Pub Under the Bridge. It's actually next to the bridge, not strictly under it, but we'll let that go.

 

All this is pre-pandemic info, so I hope these places have all survived. They're wonderful and deserve to stay around.

[thepoint4life23]

Quote

How far is downtown from the park? 

Thanks everyone