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Don't count on that. As I understand, Hart is taking a back seat and will be a financial partner only. I have heard he will no longer be involved in daily operations or management of the park. Well... you asked... ;-) Let me qualify... what follows is my general perception. I don't have any formal insight or first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the park. That being said... Kentucky Kingdom continues to be viewed by locals in much the same way it was under the Six Flags leadership. There still exists a negative connotation among many in Louisville. Some perceive it as a troublesome park where unruly teens, and lower-class individuals go to hang out and cause trouble. (Not my opinion necessarily - just look at all the comments on the WHAS11 news announcement of the sale.) Louisville has always had an established culture clash - East end vs West end. Families and persons that live and work on the Eastern side of the city are - generally speaking - of a higher economic scale and prosperity. KK is widely considered to attract many lower economic class individuals from the West end of town - mostly because it has traditionally served as a draw for teens and those of a lower working class. This is due, because of its low admission and season pass rates coupled with the fact that it is on a convenient, direct, bus line from the West end. Add-in the fact that historically, there have been some really serious, and seriously public, issues at KK. Under SF, the park had crime - including incidents of rape, drug use, theft, gangs and fights. The "accident" that occurred so many years ago was the straw that broke the back for many. Obviously those things are well within the past, but they dealt a devastating blow to the reputation of the park. It was during this time that Holiday World seized the opportunity to build its reputation as the safe, family friendly option for the Louisville market. The Kochs family oriented commercials, ads and billboards were a declaration of being the "good-clean" option. Among locals, Kings Island has always been, and will always be perceived as a destination, top tier park. Its considered a "BIG" park with the "BIG" rides and attractions. It also is perceived as an expensive park. A lot of locals consider it to be the park at which you take a vacation - multiple days - with your family or a group of friends. Its an excursion, whereas KK is seen as a much smaller "half-day" park. (Side note - Both Kings Island and Holiday World strongly advertise in the Louisville Metro area. Commercials, and billboards, as well as discounts through fast-food and grocery stores.) I believe Hart entered into the most recent "new" Management agreement with the state for two reasons: (1.) He again saw the investment potential and (2.) He cared about the park itself. However, I also believe his intention was ALWAYS to re-sell the park... again. He is a businessman first and foremost. Its no secret that when he sold the park originally to Premier Parks (later Six Flags) he had leveraged the installation of major rides and costly infrastructure to the tune of a great deal of outstanding debt. Premier was gobbling up parks left and right, and seeing the skyrocketing attendance rates at KK (AFAIK, KK's highest attendance was the year they installed Chang) they jumped at the chance to buy - assuming a lot of that debt. When Premier became Six Flags, the company initially invested heavily in branding KK and spent years paying off debt. But then, little by little, any revenue the park began making was thrown into the big Six Flags bucket... and the overall quality suffered and re-investment was virtually non existent. By its final years, SFKK was making a profit - but never got to keep it - and had no real way of "growing" its bottom line. As mentioned before, there was no need for SF to heavily re-invest in SFKK when it was pulling the vast amount of business from local, regular attendees with season passes. When Six Flags pulled out of KK, they took the high-ticket rides with them infuriating the state that was left with basically a junkyard of rides and run-down buildings. In the new agreement with Hart, the state became the "owner" of the rides, land and structures. They required Hart to re-invest at least $4 Million in the park each season. This was done, as a reaction to lessons learned with the Six Flags pullout. Couple all these challenges together - and the result was that the current Kentucky Kingdom was operating season-to-season. Hart did re-invest heavily and breathed a new life in the park over the past several years, however never to the tune of success he originally had pre-Premier. With the onset of Covid - that obviously crippled the parks ability to further operate. As I understand, he furloughed all full-time staff (with the exception of essential people) back in the fall. Herschend became interested in the property (it remains to be seen who approached whom.) Further staff was permanently reduced in January - likely in preparation for the deal. However, it appears there was a great deal of back-and forth before the deal was finalized... even as recent as last week. I personally believe that had the deal not gone through, KK likely would not have had the ability to reopen this season. It will be interesting to see what Herschend has in store for the park. As you said - the landscape of the parks in this region has changed. Even Holiday World's grasp on the Louisville market is not what it once was (it is my opinion, the park completely lost their footing and direction with the passing of Will and then the family ouster that followed.) They still pull heavily from Louisville, however the "word on the street" about HW is not nearly as glowing as it once was. I think HW could be in a venerable place should KK be converted to a much more well-received, and perceived park. My hope for KK is that Herschend builds it into a "niche" park. Its never going to be a park on the scale of Kings Island, it simply doesn't have the logistical ability to. However, they can easily fill a gap - the need for a safe, fun and entertaining place for locals or those traveling up from Nashville, Down from Indy or Cincy or west from Lexington. I perceive it more on the lines of a modern-day Opryland (minus the Opry.) I expect the re-investment stipulation by the state still exists - so they will definitely sink money into the park (but not necessarily in the form of large rides.) I suspect (hope) that they were smart enough to not incur any outstanding debt in the way Premier did, that way they can begin operations with a nice clean slate. As far as the extended seasons and the potential for Holiday themed events - that is likely key. Louisville has nothing of the sort - with the exception of a Christmas Mega-Cavern drive through event (which is so popular it causes major traffic back-ups on the Watterson Expressway) and the Halloween event at the Zoo (which ALSO causes major traffic back-ups on the Watterson.) Remember, this is being spearheaded by Craig Ross, a VERY smart man with a great deal of experience. When he was GM of Kings Island - he led the park into the expansion/addition of Nick Central and the achievement of the first "Best Kids Area" Golden Ticket Award for the park. That, in itself, tells me his focus will be on changing the reputation, and the focus. It could get very interesting, but boy o boy a big challenge lies ahead. I personally feel this is very good, exciting news for the park.

I think they will increase prices, but over the long term. You are not going to see an overnight 20-30$ increase, especially in a deep economic recession and global pandemic. Two cons that would already give people reasons not to visit the park. Kentucky Kingdom has always been a niche favorite park for me. I love Dollywood. I love Holiday World and Kings Island(which, after working there from 2017-early 2020 will always be my #1 in my heart). There's something about Kentucky Kingdom that is so interesting. The amount of changes, the fact that it was one of the last theme parks built from the ground up. It has a history for a 30 year old park that would put a number of 50-60 year old parks to shame in how much and how dynamic the ups and downs were. The location of the park. The uniqueness. How much they care for some of their rides. Thunder Run, an underrated woodie in my opinion, has seen more TLC than almost any other park I know of with their wooden rollercoasters. Yes, Kings Island loves of their woodies, but they do not retrack every year or two a large portion of the ride like Kentucky Kingdom did, or even purchase a brand new spanking PTC train for them like Kentucky Kingdom did for Thunder Run in 2017. Their social media presence is what I would describe as a perfect set. I personally know the team behind their social media(Jefferson, Kaley), and they are amongst the nicest people I know. Ed Hart may be a businessman, and may have gotten out at the right time, but I do think he truly cared for the park. I still remember the talk in January 2013, right when the Kochs pulled out and before Ed Hart made another bid. NOBODY saw it reopening. Yet he came in here. Yes they never reached the 1 million attendance by 2018 goal. They got to around 850,000 iirc. There were weekends in late Summer 2019 were I know they broke attendance records not seen since the late 1990s. (18,000 in a Saturday in early August 2019) But almost always Kentucky Kingdom had something unique in the second Ed Hart era. They had branding that stuck out. Their Kingdom radio station, cheesy as it may be, set it apart from other parts that just play music without branding interlaid. The Big Kahuna is still the BEST wave pool I have ever been in. Hurricane Bay to me as a whole is on par with Splashin' Safari and a million times better than Soak City. Herschend will be a great operator. Some of the uniqueness may go away. But the park is set for a great future. I do think Herschend will not Wild Adventures this park. Wild Adventures is located far away from major metropolitan areas. The placement of Craig Ross as interim GM is also a bold move that shows they are serious about their efforts. They are not gonna add the every 4 year 20 million dollar attraction like Kings Island. But I think this could allow Kentucky Kingdom to be a serious competitor against Holiday World, which has already been facing a few difficult years since 2014. Kings Island will probably look at this with an occasional glance over, but I dont think this is quite the late 1998 Six Flags about to invest 75 million dollars into Kentucky Kingdom situation. Yes you see the Facebook comments and such. But I can genuinely tell you I have never had a bad experience or witness something vandalizing or criminal at Kentucky Kingdom since I had been there in 2017. I do genuinely think they have rehabilitated their image compared to how it was in 2009. Not to where it was in the late 1990s, but getting there. Herschend will I think complete this image rehabilitation.

For clarity - my "not yet" was in regards to the post saying it was official. I posted that because, as I understand, the Herschend deal has stalled several times. So until it was formally announced to the media, and by the state, it wasn't official. :-) As far as admission rates, I would suspect they will increase naturally over time as investments and offerings increase. Right now, they have to remain sensitive to the market and not rock any boats.

You should have showed them a pic of the ground now, and told them the wet ground from the snow sank it like quicksand, I bet they would have bit.

Due to members requests, you may have noticed by now that we have added a new Kings Island History forum. I have went back through the Kings Island Forum to the start of 2014 and moved any thread that was about KI history. I hope this helps keep all of the awesome history of our favorite park a little more organized.

My speculation would be that, like the deal with Hart, they will be required by the state to re-invest a fair amount of the profits back into the physical park.

Do you think this will truly influence more offerings on any sort of scale? My fear is that being a small market with a weird ownership situation may make it more of their Michigan’s Adventure, as in they’re content making little money but also investing very little. I’m just speculating, but I’d love to hear your opinion.

https://www.hfecorp.com/whats-new/ The deal is done and has been formally announced by Herschend. Craig Ross the former GM of Dollywood is taking over as interim GM of Kentucky Kingdom. Personally I am expecting more shows, live entertainment, festivals, and likely a new indoor theater. They are already talking about extending the season so a fall harvest festival and maybe even a Christmas event seem likely.

@IBEW_Sparky - All good

I hope Winter Walkthru and Keys to the Kingdom stick around!

Thanks for sharing those wonderful insights. It was very interesting to read.

It will be interesting to see how things go at KK this year. Also, for those that don`t know, Craig Ross is a former KI GM as well.

I'm very interested to hear @Shaggy's take on this, but in the meantime here are my thoughts... Culture, industry, geopolitics, economics, and entertainment trends have changed A LOT since the "heyday" of Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom—an era when SIX was truly invested in that park and its potential. A time back when there were talks of big-budget investments that forced then-Paramount's Kings Island to respond in kind (i.e. SFKK's plans for a "Gotham City" that allegedly led to the creation of "Action Zone" up north). Since then, KI flourished and SFKK, well, we know how SIX treated that park. One of the reasons that I've always heard from industry folks about why SIX backed off so much from KK was that the park always had a strong season pass base. Essentially, even if the new additions were paltry compared to other similarly sized parks, the season pass holders kept coming. A strategy that might work for a short time, but certainly doesn't work in the long term (especially if you keep cutting and are under the corporate umbrella of a debt-ridden Six Flags corporation). At the same time, (P)KI has also always relied on a very strong season pass base, but also attracted (and presumably still does) a good amount of travelers, particularly regional travelers. So, all that being said, is there a "threat" (not implying that this is Baconator's word, but I mean this from a competition standpoint) from a rejuvenated Kentucky Kingdom? That depends on how many people in the Louisville metro/market/region currently make a trip or two to KI and spend money at that park. Will they now be wooed away by Herschend's (or previously Ed Hart 2.0's) Kentucky Kingdom? Hard to say and even if they are... does that even make a difference to KI? Back in 2006 (so, yeah, this is an old example and a one-off interaction), I had a conversation with a family from Louisville who was visiting Kings Island for the day. This trip was one of their vacations that summer. They had a great time, but were disappointed that Kings Island's Action Theatre was showing the same Spongebob movie Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom was showing (they had waited in line for a decent amount of time). They wanted to make the most of their day because this trip was a real treat for them. My point in mentioning this is that family, despite being from Louisville and having Six Flags in their "backyard," viewed (Paramount's) Kings Island as a superior experience or at least a destination worth going to even with a theme park of their own. I'm not sure how much, if at all, Kings Island advertises in the Louisville market, but I do think it's interesting that Kentucky Kingdom (ever since its rebirth) has advertised in the Cincinnati market. When I paid a visit in 2017, they even had a great deal specifically for "out of state" visitors that was clearly geared at this market (billboards all over Cincy had advertised the deal). I don't think the two parks will ever compete for season pass bases (their bread and butter), aside from maybe a handful of guests that live somewhere in the middle. But they may (especially depending on how Herschend develops the park) compete for regional tourism dollars. But to that point, the industry (and entertainment in general (and entertainment post-covid)) has changed a great deal and the two parks themselves are very different from the PKI and SFKK movie theme park days. Kings Island is certainly a much bigger heavy hitter compared to the two, but the distance doesn't make this a PKI vs Americana situation. Herschend is probably more concerned (I assume) with establishing and growing a loyal season pass base and if they do feel competition, it's from a park in Santa Claus. No doubt both KI and KK currently do (and will continue to) keep an eye on each other's movements, but I'd say until (or if) KK becomes some sort of true destination, there's going to be peaceful coexistence. In regards to Herschend becoming a "heavy hitter," I'm very excited to see what they do with the park. I've never personally been to Dollywood, but that park's reputation certainly speaks for itself. It's an industry darling and its attractions, events, and staff are well regarded. Louisville is an interesting market (a large metro, even if it's not a "major league" city) and the park has great potential to be a true crown jewel of the area's tourism/local pride. The first time I ever visited Kentucky Kingdom, it was shortly after Six Flags had abandoned the property. Ed Hart's group was pushing for a new plan (before Bluegrass Boardwalk was a thing) and I was able to tour the property. I assumed there was absolutely no way that park was ever going to reopen given the state it was in (some sections had been closed even longer), the ridiculous land and lease situation, and trying to find a viable group. After the Boardwalk fell through, I just assumed the park was done. I was certain of it. Lo and behold—I finally got to visit it in 2017. I was so happy to have been so wrong. What a great park that's really doing some great things these last few seasons.

What is everyone's opinion on what Holiday World is thinking right about now with the KK news.

The same as it was before. Does wild adventures have cinnamon bread?

@Shaggy I realized later as I was dozing off (yes Ive got one of those binary minds that just doesnt shut off so I think of things at odd times) that I left that statement more broad than I meant to, I do apologize for mis-speaking in that manner. I own my screwups, unlike fanbois/girls, and thank you for calling me on it. I also admit that, while I was nearly sure it was Herschend, I did have a wild off the wall thought of another player possibly in it in the shadows who does have that $100+ price point on passes, but when I read the group operates 9 parks I realized that thought was invalid because the one in my mind only operates one park.

To be fair, we don't actually know that answer anymore. It might be sinking in whatever scrapyard it's in. Or maybe someone dropped their track slice in some quicksand, so a little bit of it is sinking.

Key words being: "to me."

Bump: Had a person ask me the other day if Vortex is sinking.

But they have an RMC that has just as much downtime as an Intamin.

Cinema 180 (also referred to as Cinema 180 Theatre) opened in 1986 and had a different film every year. It appears to have last played a film in 1995, and was briefly re-purposed as an upcharge laser tag game in the early 2000s. It was then storage through its removal before the 2009 season. Here's a (I think) complete listing of its movies with brief descriptions, pulled or re-worded from old park guides, newspapers, etc. 1986 - Flight 747 - airline pilot landing a Boeing 747 when chaos ensues 1987 - Block-buster - clips from a helicopter ride around Seattle’s Space Needle, a motorcycle pursuit through downtown Atlanta, Georgia, a ride through the Kamakazi curve of the Orient Express roller coaster at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri, and a speeding bobsled at Lake Placid 1988 - Fantastic Flights - POV from a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird stunt plane and a roller coaster POV 1989 - Impact - galactic star field and other adventures 1990 - Flight 747 - I assume the same as 1986's. Additional description included "unforgettable flight featuring Rio de Janeiro, Copacabana Beach, and Iguacu Falls" 1991 - Horizons - Unknown 1992 - Colossus - cliff diving, careening through the narrow streets of Mexican village, and flying in a jet fighter 1993 - Galaxy of Thrills - careening up the street, down the surface at Waikiki Beach and through an entire Galaxy of Thrills... the building was also used for a traveling Star Trek exhibit through June 1994 - Wild Wild West - dynamic chase scenes at breakneck speeds. Included a high-speed chase with the California Highway Patrol, flights over dizzying vistas, a corkscrewing roller coaster, and snow skiing trhough western states 1995 - Crazy Wheels - high-speed action For what it's worth, Cinema 180 was an attraction at other parks too, like Hersheypark and Kennywood. There's a brief history of it over at The Amusement Parkives here - https://amusementparkives.com/2019/03/28/omnivision-inc/ Edit - Here's a picture of it its last year, 2008.

They probably don't see a need to innovative. They've manufactured so many coasters using the same restraints, track type, etc that they've pretty much perfected their own design. "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Why spend thousands of dollars in R&D when people are already spending millions of dollars on your current products? The smallest risk with the biggest reward for B&M is altering train designs on the same styled track. Companies like Intamin have built their legacy on innovation and ride diversity because that's what made them unique. Unfortunately this can have draw backs like ride malfunctions leading to downtime and high operating costs. B&M's might be considered formulaic, repetitive, and unoriginal but that's also what's made them successful. Their rides are reliable and have an overall good ROI. Enthusiasts might not like them but B&M has a tried and true business plan.

I dont know what the deal is with the confused look, the player in the game has park season passes at $100+. so it should be me that shows confusion as to why you don't think they will do the same with this park..... and Im not speaking specifically of Herschend. Like Shaggy said, not yet, there are others at that price point as well.

Id suggest buying a 2021 pass now, before it goes up to $100+ after the buy.