BeeastFarmer

I'm not familiar enough with rural western Kentucky, but see people from many parts of rural eastern and central Kentucky in my line of work. Many people have commented that when they go to an amusement park it is either KI or KK, and most say the I-64 route is much quicker than a trip "out of state." I think the "hate" you espouse is more for the UofL basketball team. There is actual distrust of Frankfort that hate for Louisville or Lexington. In my reading, it seemed that Gov. Steve "Chikn Biskit" Beshear and Mr. Lunsford are more rivals than pals. Gov. Beshear was wanting casino gambling but the public thwarted those dreams. I think the KK land would have been an important piece of that scheme. The fair board, however, is a different animal. In all the wrangling over the closing of SFKK and the attempts to reopen it, my interpretation was the board was seen as inept, inflexible and incompetent. That seemed to wain now that the park is reopened and appears to be sucessful.

It was my understanding that his coaster was designed and ready to go, but the sale was from Paramount Parks to Cedar Fair and they put the brakes on the project, most likely because of the level of debt the new chain shouldered. Fast forward two years and we have Diamondback announced. I'd really like to see this coaster that was lost to history get revived.

I'd like to see BLSC moved to the area between the giant metal box and The Beast, rethemed to a Rivertown motif, and the area where Les Taxis/Flying Eagles were restored to a more classic look with some flats and new antique cars. Not that this will ever happen; CF seems to be about de-theming rather that maintaining/enhancing themes in the parks (except for Planet Snoopy and what they are doing at KD.)

I appreciate your logic here. But, what comes to my mind is this: 1. Would RMC sign a contract (and it appears this has been in the works for a while; RMC posted surveyor job positions in May, and work on TT deconstruction started in June) and risk not getting paid as well as thier reputation on something so risky if they did not have reasonable assurance of the viability of the park? 2. As I stated in a previous post, in reference to Bluegrass Boardwalk and the Ed Hart groups having about the same terms of contract: I think the political aspect is so far removed. In other words, it is not substantial to the life of Kentukcy Kingdom if a Democrat or Republican is elected governor; the funding portion is already granted as allowed by law. A Republican Governor can not rescind a contract. The Republican party would not want to be cast in the light as the party that closed KK anyway. The mortgage on the property is perfectly legal and the tax incentives are legal and used by other tourist attractions. 3. Maybe the promotional budget is tiny, or maybe they are attempting to underwhelm and over deliver on Storm Chaser. To the readers of this board, I know I probably come across as a fan-man. (I hate the word fanboy!). And to some extent, I am a fan of KK. It has 4 coasters I enjoy, a small park feel, is clean, and I enjoy the plant IDs througout the park. I desperatly want the park to thrive and grow. Not as a replacement for Kings Island, but as an alternative. It also generates significant revenue to the Commonwealth and metro government. Mr. Hart may be a great man, or he may be a scoundrel, but what he has created there is nice for me, my friends and family and many enthusiasts I have talked to. It will never replace KI (I'm on visit 16 for the year, I think I have been to KK 4 times this year) and rightly so. My childhood memories are of KI. KK has a LONG way to go, but I firmly believe it will make it. I hope is does not get sold back to SIX, that would suck.

I agree...but from experience, you have to decide where to trim costs. I accepted the challenge of turning around a small company that consistently lost 400-500k/year over a 5 year stretch. I made decisions on what to cut, what to expand and what to maintain. First year on this plan, we were positive 5k, Next year 50k. Cash flow is key and you have to know where to cut. KI evidently has cut budget money from restroom and food service buckets because they both stink pretty bad this year!

I never rode T2, but I will say for me, it is an enjoyable ride. The only rough part of my experience was the turn around to the station.

On a Kings Island based enthusiast website, yes. KK's very poor handling of the SC announcement garnered plenty of attention on other enthusiast sites. I do agree, however. Mr Mulcahy needs to be more unfettered. I do not know his professional credentials, but he seems to have some passion for KK and I assume the industry. He was involved with the "saveourpark" campaign.

I'm a late Banshee rider,but they have great operations.Granted, I try to go on low attendance days to minimize wait times, but I have always have been able to walk on or wait maybe 2-3 cycles, (That was a great thing the first ride last month; had it been a long wait, I probably would have chickened out!) I saw where Banshee recently gave her 3 millionth ride; but with the TV and radio spots and no wait times, I wonder if the ride is not meeting attendance and driving gate admissions numbers this year. I just wish they would have better commercials with actual ride footage instead of computer generated graphics.

On season pass preview night, the brake shed run of the Blue Racer was full of goose feces. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Animals in the park: last week, during fireworks, a skunk family was amusing the que line. Three weeks ago, while ascending the 2nd The Beast lift hill, there was a yearling deer in the grassy helix area. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

The stage is no more. #stagegate Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

How would they enforce no sharing? For example, if I take my niece to the park and decide to give her my coney dog that's on my meal plan, how would they know? These plans are generous in portion size and would they rather the coney dog go in the trash?Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Spent the day in the park yesterday. Observations: 1. Not a crowded day; ride ops were great. 2. Food service is still terrible, even at this point in the season. We went to Skyline in the former Coney Mall area-There was one person in front of us waiting for food, our 2 orders and one person behind us. The food prep people still took over 15 minutes to prepare our (2) Three ways and one coney. Two were resting their elbows on the prep table. No sense of urgency at all. 3. Every mens room I went to was terrible. International Street, Planet Snoopy by Diamondback, Backlot Stunt Coaster, WindSeeker and the former Coney Mall near the Coney Confection stand. Each one was disgusting and smelled worse than an unemptied latrine at a Boy Scout camp at the end of the summer. (If you are wondering why I visited so many restrooms, I was looking for a clean one to use.) 4. I saw several people smoking while walking through the crowds. Maybe it happens alot, but I had never seen it before. 5. The Blue Racer was running VERY well. Adventure Express was not. 6. At the entrance to The Beast que, the phone still has a Paramout's Kings Island sticker on the inside. (I am such a geek for noticing this!) 7. Landscape is looking awesome. The flowers were so nicely tended. 8. Staff are great--even in the heat and humidty, they smile and say, "Have a fun day!" 9. Some staff, even after seeing seeing thousands of people, have an excellent memory. For instance, a particular ride operator, I would see when riding The Beast. I was in Planet Snoopy with my niece, he was working a ride there, and spoke to me. Kind of impressed that some people take the time to remember that. Makes a big place seem smaller. 10. Finally, in spite of the food serrvice wait times and nasty restrooms, we had a blast. Kings Island has really upped its' game in the guest experience arena and it shows.

I am not an attorney, or a finance guru. I am sure I wil be corrected if I am Interpretting these sources incorrectly. 1. Page One, paragraph seven: Bluegrass Boardwalk's starting rent of the KK property was to be $400,000.00 and increasing each year the park is open. 2. Page Two, paragraphs two and three: Bluegrass Boardwalk WAS offered this option to finance improvements. Source: http://finance.ky.gov/services/ofm/Documents/4-27-12_SPBC_Min.pdf The statute that allows using of the KK land to be used in this way: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=22653 This statement is, of course, from the perspective of the current operator of KK, when BB withdrew and a proposal was in the process of being resubmitted: "The new partners said they are asking the board for essentially the same lease terms the state approved for the Koch family. Their new offer is to invest $10 million in upfront equity, with the other $30 million in money that would be provided by an unidentified lender. The Koch family had offered to invest about $16.5 million." Source: http://www.frostbrowntodd.com/newsroom-172.html To protect the Fair Board and by extension, the taxpayer, all improvements made by the operator become the property of the fair board, including leased rides once the lease is paid off: Update 2:35 p.m. Here’s the Fair Board’s Summary of the Terms 1. Kentucky Kingdom LLLP to invest $45 million to improve amusement park with opening in spring 2014. $20 million in equity investment and a $25 million loan. All improvements become property of Kentucky State Fair Board (KSFB). " 7. All rides/improvements purchased with $45 million will become the property of the state. Kentucky Kingdom may lease future rides with other development funds in order to leverage more new rides to increase attendance. When the leased rides are paid off, they also become the property of the KSFB (Interesting side thought: If improvements are leased but not purchased (ie: a flat like Cyclos is leased for five years to bolster attendance, what happens if the operator fails during that five year lease and the park closes?) Source: http://wfpl.org/kentucky-kingdom-lease-plan-hart-led-group-gets-approval-re-opening-targeted-2014/ My opinions: The controlling poiltical party will have little influence over the future of the park after th election. The current governor was pulling out all stops for casino gambling and was repeatedly rebuffed by the public. I would conjecture that this property would have been an important piece of that puzzle and hence his lack of support in the earlier part of his terms. One of Mr. Hart's partners is a political rival of Gov. Beshear so that did not help. If conservatives win the governorship, it would not behoove them to interfere; they would not want to be seen as the party that closed the park. I am really not sure how they could circumvent signed leases anyway. KK will never be a KI. Never. But it is a good option that it closer to home (for me!)

I'm on the heavier side, but have no problem with the ride. Granted, it takes the ride op to push (I have a bad shoulder, so I can only push so far) and they look concerned and ask "Is this OK?" but it doesn't seem to slow down operations too much.

Those who know, dont tell, and those who dont know, tell. This employee was likely just promoted from the Dippin' Dots stand. That's why I said it will be interesting to see what the announcement will bring. [emoji3] Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk Edit to correct the typo "Brin" to "bring."

Also the food at Taco Tequila is great!Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

At Kentucky Kingdom today...small crowds r/t the threat of rain. Great rides of Thunder Run and Lightning Run. T3 was a fun ride! The only rough part was on the turn around heading back into the station and that was more abrupt than rough. The green buttons on the joystick handles are seat belt releases. A park employee joined a conversation I was having with another enthusiast...he said that TT is being removed and KK will get two new coasters next year. Will be interesting to see what the announcement will be! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

JCGoble, at least you some form of response. I have stopped by guest services at Kings Island almost every visit in '14 and '15 to compliment park employees. They have me fill out a form, saying that they would like to follow up and I have never gotten follow up communication. Not that I want it per se, but if they want your information and tell you they want to follow up with you, it would be nice to get that communication so in some way I could know that the manager of these people knows how great the employees are. Yes, I do my best to remember names. I have not had any negative employee interactions in '14 and '15, someone is doing a great job training in customer service. Food and beverage...still issues, but that is another discussion, haha.

Some people have to work to support the thrill habit. But I'll let you know how much better than Banshee it is in the next couple of weeks. (Kidding although Banshee was so so for me)Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

I've done some reading on this. I'll reread and cite my references and if I'm wrong (which happens), I'll own up to it. But for now I'm off to bed. 2 12 hour shifts are ahead of me this weekend. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Both of which were part of the Bluegrass Boardwalk deal. The fair board, I would hope, would recognize that a tenant that brings in at least $500,000.00 plus a percentage of revenue, both of which increase incrementally each sucessive year of the lease is better than zero dollars. The collateral-very legal. This option would be available to any operator such as the Koch family, CF, SIX and even Ed Hart. After the Bluegrass Boardwalk venture collapsed, Mr. Hart was the sole bidder, (that we know of).

Leaves the impression, yes. But this tourism tax credit is available to any entity that brings in people from outside of the Commonwealth. Bluegrass Boardwalk would have been able to use the program had they become the operator of the facility. As far as Kentuckians subsidizing by paying increased prices--$59.95 season passes were available in Louisville and Lexington Kroger markets (whose reach is very deep into most areas of the Commonwealth) from last season up until late Spring 2016, Granted, Louisville prices were increased to $79.95, but still very affordable to many citizens. I'm just glad someone advised me to visit this year. Two great coasters and now I am actually going to try T3 next trip.

On the KK FB page, someone created a meme that has a picture of Mr Hart. The text days something to the effect of "all superheroes don't wear a cape." I thought the folks on here might get a kick out of that. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

I haven't tried Taco Tequila yet. I went in to the Italian place (can't remember the name) and left because the food in the warmers looked terrible. Swamp Water Jack's was not much better, but I asked them to make "new" food and they did and it was actually decent. Junior's was good for me! I liked the pretzel roll bun.