Sfkk 08/07/04

[italianchef]

I've lived in Kentucky for 9 years and this time I've visited Coney Island, The Beach, Guntown Mountain (near Mamouth Cave, KY), Lotte World in Korea, Tokyo Disney and 6 other theme parks in Japan, Disneyland, California Adventure, & Universal Studios in California, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Studios, & Animal Kingdom in Florida, and PKI enough times to write a book about it (and I did)....but never my own state's major park, Kentucky Kingdom, until today.

My friend Junko had a company picnic there and took me with her. The park is much smaller than PKI, which is advantageous for walking. The lines are shorter at SFKK, but they are managed very poorly and all of the coasters seemingly have only one train. Also, a lack of signs makes it very hard to find the entrance to many of the rides.

First we rode Greazed Lighting, a looping coaster. The ride was short and sweet. I would've liked it better if it lasted longer.

Next was Road Runner Express. It is cute to look at, but not themed all that well. And the quality of the ride itself is quite mediocre at best.

Third was Chang, a 154 foot tall, stand-up coaster. Chang is the Chinese word for long and at 4,000 feet long, this coaster is properly named. Chang is the smoothest and most enjoyable ride at SFKK.

Next was T2, a suspended looping coaster. It is a longer ride than Face/Off and not nearly as smooth and fun. The ride hurt my head and was very shaky.

Then we went to Penguin's Blizzard River, which was down for repairs - though it was fine after we left!

So we rode Thunder Run next. This wooden roller coaster is very shaky and at times painful.

The next coaster was Roller Skater, a junior steel coaster which was fun, but not thrilling.

Thereafter, we rode the two roller coasters named Twisted Twins. They are a pair of wooden roller coasters that SFKK counts as 2, even though PKI counts The Racer as 1. Twisted Twins were a pair of smooth, enjoyable wooden coasters. Together they were my second favorite ride.

After riding all 8 of SFKK's coasters we went on The Giant Wheel, a ferris wheel that allowed me to take many great pictures of the park.

Thereafter we ate a late lunch - burgers, hot dogs, beans, French fries, and soda. Usual amusement park picnic food.

After that we went shopping for souvenirs. I wanted to stay longer and ride more rides, but Junko had to return home because today is her daughter's birthday.

After we exited the park and headed for the highway we saw a large billboard which advertised "PARAMOUNT's Kings Island". I reckon the PKI people strategically placed it there to appeal to SFKK guests - and it's a brilliant idea.

I had a very good impression of SFKK and its guests are very polite people. However, the lines are poorly managed and there is a definite lack of signs. Additionally, the park doesn't use its Looney Tunes and DC Comics theming nearly enough, so it lacks the magic that PKI gets from Nickelodeon, H-B, and Paramount.

Overall, it's a great park to visit and I recommend it. However, it's not as well managed as PKI.

Have a great weekend!

Italian Chef

:chef:

[BoddaH1994]

How croded was it? How long were the waits?

[italianchef]

Great question Ryan. It was a Saturday and there were 2 company picnics that day, so I got there when the park opened at 10 AM. From 10 AM until a little after 12:20 PM I never waited more than 5 minutes for any ride!!!! That's how I managed to ride all of the roller coasters so fast.

However, when I got on line for the ferris wheel, the crowd swelled and I waited more than 40 minutes on line. After lunch the lines looked pretty long, but no longer than PKI's. If the coasters at SFKK had more than one train like PKI does, I imagine the lines would be shorter.

Have a great day!

Italian Chef

:chef:

[PKIDelirium]

Is SFKK worth the visit? I've been thinking about ihtting it for a few months now.

FYI: the ferris wheel there is a Chance Giant Wheel, permanent model. The same type of wheel, in a portable model, runs at the Ohio State Fair

Am I a nerd or what?

[coasterbilly]

nice trip report, very nice and detailed, i enjoyed it, thanks! SFKK looks pretty cool, Chang looks like a very good standup, and sounds like it is from your report, might decide to go there sometime in the future.

[Mr. Christopher]

Am I a nerd or what?

Yes.

[italianchef]

Is SFKK worth the visit? I've been thinking about ihtting it for a few months now.

FYI: the ferris wheel there is a Chance Giant Wheel, permanent model. The same type of wheel, in a portable model, runs at the Ohio State Fair

Am I a nerd or what?

By all means SFKK is worth visiting. It isn't as large as PKI, so you can do much more in the same timeframe. Though PKI has more and better rides and theming, I will certainly visit SFKK again. It was a nice change of scenery and a very nice park.

Have a great day!

Italian Chef

:chef:

[BoddaH1994]

I was going to finally go ride their big B&M standup thing Friday, but I have come to find out that the KY state fair is that day. The last thing I want to do is have to battle the 4H club for a seat on a coaster.