A. People in the Midwest are more polite, laid back and friendly.

B. The pace of life is much slower.

C. Prices are far, far lower.

D. Suburbia is much closer to town.

E. There is much less traffic.

And depending on the oversight regarding the accurate reporting of attendance figures. Sorry if I'm a taxpayer I will not trust Mr. Hart to accurately report attendance especially when his tax breaks rely on it.

Are you trying to imply that a man such as Hart would be so unscrupulous that he would fudge numbers to ensure he makes money? I dont know about you, but when I look at a crowd of park goers, I can totally tell that about 1/4-1/3 are from another state maybe even planet.

If you can tell a Louisvillian from someone from New Albany by looking at them, you have a most useful skill. Or a resident of Madisonville from Findlay!

To answer your question Shark, yes. Ed Hart is that unscrupulous.

And he will ride that Donkey till the end.

Hey, I have been riding that donkey for a while, but politically speaking, I have to ride an Elephant.

I feel changing winds if Kentucky Kingdom cannot draw the Kentucky crowd, it cannot rely on word of mouth. It has to expand, even if it means going into foggy mountains (Hopefully it will break down), add more events, add more things to bring in more crowds. Otherwise it's hitting the toilet soon, if it cannot change and produce revenue for the state and the area, the elephants are coming, the Republic is coming!

A. People in the Midwest are more polite, laid back and friendly.

B. The pace of life is much slower.

C. Prices are far, far lower.

D. Suburbia is much closer to town.

D. There is much less traffic.

Wow, it sounds like we have a good deal here in the heartland for the most part. I wouldn't want the pace of life to be faster honestly. I admit I do get a little annoyed at the very slow pace of service I've noticed in my brief visits to the South, but the friendliness in service is impeccable. People from the coasts must feel the same way about us.

I just noticed that Kentucky Kingdom updated their website a bit with animations or pictures of the 2015 additions to the park on the bottom of the page as well as links that goes to their rides page. Check it out here: http://www.kentuckykingdom.com/

They may as well spend their advertising budget for this year. The whole "going out with a bang" thought process.

I even saw a Dollywood billboard around here recently, and they're 6 hours away in an area whose main industry is tourism. If they're advertising here, there's no reason why Kentucky Kingdom shouldn't be. Sure, they can try to get Southern Indiana, but advertising a major urban park in more rural areas isn't going to get you a lot of visitors - especially with Holiday World being closer and cheaper.

Is HW really cheaper? How much is admission to to KK? (I realize parking, drinks, etc. also plays into this.)

Also, Kentucky Kingdom, before and during its Six Flags' tenure, has advertised in the Cincinnati area before. I distinctly remember advertisements when they introduced Chang, Twisted Twins/Sisters, and Greezed Lightning.

For 2014, admission was $44.95. Parking is $8. Holiday World is $44.99 but you save $5 if you buy online.

You ain't seen nothing yet.

Sources say the Fair investigation is wrapping up and that its findings and conclusions will be very interesting and perhaps even will have dramatic political implications. The pols they are a scrambling.

Kentucky Kingdom had a rocky first year, I have a feeling they ain't seen nothing yet. Sorry for the poor grammar, but I have Bachman Turner Overdrive song in the head this morning. B-b-b-baby

25% out of state visitors? Considering its location, I would think obtaining 25% of their daily draw just from Indiana residents would be expected, throw in people from Ohio or Illinois that would have a "short drive" and I would think they could make that number pretty easy. I also think that would be an easy thing to forge. Attendant asks for your zip code, doesn't "hear you" and just enters 90210 for your zip, and voila, they've got a good chunk of people visiting from So Cal.

anyhoo, things that made me go "hmm..." this morning. Driving into work, caught a commercial on 700WLW for Louisville basketball, no make that Louisville Women's basketball. Something to do with Women in athletics day, honoring past legends of Cardinal Lady Hoops and a tie in with a discount for Kentuckiana (Kentucky-Indiana reference) girl scouts. I'll assume Cardinal Women's basketball is not a major draw, so to pay for advertising at a Cincy based radio company (that obviously feeds into a lot of homes in Kentucky) is stretching their advertising limits. I don't recall a single spot for Kentucky Kingdom last year on the same channel (or network of channels based out of the same station). One would think they'd have more potential customers for a day at KK at any point in the summer than a single Women's college basketball game.

The majority of the people in that area live in Kentucky. According to 2010 census numbers, of the approximately 1.3 million people living in the Louisville metro area at the time, 741,000 of those were in Jefferson County, KY alone. From what I understand, they barely advertised outside of their home market last year, even though KI was opening Banshee.

Now they've got an even closer competitor opening a shiny new B&M.

They also have to work hard to clean up the park's reputation. They don't seem to care to address the issues with attracting a rougher crowd, and last year there were numerous PR disasters, plus the stupid decision to add a drop ride.

25% out of state visitors? Considering its location, I would think obtaining 25% of their daily draw just from Indiana residents would be expected, throw in people from Ohio or Illinois that would have a "short drive" and I would think they could make that number pretty easy. I also think that would be an easy thing to forge. Attendant asks for your zip code, doesn't "hear you" and just enters 90210 for your zip, and voila, they've got a good chunk of people visiting from So Cal.

anyhoo, things that made me go "hmm..." this morning. Driving into work, caught a commercial on 700WLW for Louisville basketball, no make that Louisville Women's basketball. Something to do with Women in athletics day, honoring past legends of Cardinal Lady Hoops and a tie in with a discount for Kentuckiana (Kentucky-Indiana reference) girl scouts. I'll assume Cardinal Women's basketball is not a major draw, so to pay for advertising at a Cincy based radio company (that obviously feeds into a lot of homes in Kentucky) is stretching their advertising limits. I don't recall a single spot for Kentucky Kingdom last year on the same channel (or network of channels based out of the same station). One would think they'd have more potential customers for a day at KK at any point in the summer than a single Women's college basketball game.

Dont forget that the sister station of 700 WLW (1530) is the home of the U of L radio network. Not a stretch to buy a station wide commercial, or it may have been part of the deal that X number of U of L commercials are broadcast over sister stations...

The park has added an operating schedule to their website.

http://www.kentuckykingdom.com/park-info/calendar/

What I find intriguing is that on their "opening day", the park is closed for a private event. Which is fine. But unless there's some legal reason why they would need to disclose that, I'm not sure I get why they'd even put that on the calendar at all... It just invites comments on social networking sites complaining about the park being closed, just like what happens to Kings Island every year when they close for a day during one of the first weekends of the year. It seems to me that the better approach would be to just pretend nothing is happening at all that day.

On a lighter note, we're all 87 days away from being struck with Terror to the third power after experiencing The Runs!

I'll be interested in seeing how many times I feel inclined to go to KK this year considering that I'll be able to ride a set of Larson Scooters without making the two hour drive...

I find it interesting that they list certain days as, "check website (www.kentuckykingdom.com) for operating days and hours."

2 Reasons:

1) I think it's just extremely bizarre to list it that way because I'm already on the website looking at the hours and to be told to check the website and be given the address to the website that I'm currently on is just absurd to me.

2) The fact that the last 2 weekends are listed as that just screams to me: "We'll see how things go this summer before committing to being open those weekends." I may be reading too much into it, but I find it very foreboding and wouldn't be surprised to see those days disappear off the calendar without notice.

"Please check website OFTEN for periodic updates".

That says a lot right there.

That's that promise they made on Facebook that they'd always stick to the posted hours coming back to bite them.

At least on their Facebook page, they indeed state that opening day is April 25th. I think this business about their operating schedule is a testament to how much they're relying on social media.

https://www.facebook.com/kentuckykingdom/photos/a.599973010036875.1073741827.150584424975738/906938196007020/?type=1&theater

Which, if it were ANYONE else, would probably be OK... But given their history of blunders on social media, that seems like a truly awful idea...

What is truly amazing is that Kentucky Kingdom ceases weekly operation after the first full week of August and the cost of opening for a measly 5 hours a day during the majority of the fair is digging a big hole to over come with discounted Kroger Admission tickets.

My head hurts.

Also note that park tickets don't go on sale until April 1st - just 3 1/2 weeks before the park opens. KI and Holiday World already allow you to buy tickets online for the upcoming season...

I assume single day ticket prices will be set dependent on the number of season passes that are sold.

Direct from KK FB

Kentucky Kingdom Day ticket prices will be released closer to opening. Season passes are currently $69.95 plus tax and fees.

Like · January 13 at 8:14pm

How do you not go in to the season with a set single day ticket price?

Wow.

Just took a look at the number of followers that @KentuckyKingdom has on Twitter.....

What an incredible amount of Hart being shown.....

2,263 followers....??.....

Something's just not right.

.......And due to that, Hart's probably due to Chang things up a little bit......Oh Wait?....

As said by other members of this site, in this very thread, visit Kentucky Kingdom this season.

Time is of the essence.

Word on the street is, KY is now in the running for the location of Volvo's first Automobile Plant in the USA. One of two possible locations in the state is next door to where I work.

Kentucky LOVES the automobile industry. We have plants for FORD, GM and TOYOTA already, plus about 450 other manufacturing facilities related to the industry.

One of the biggest political issues in the state? JOBS. This is a chance to bring lots of them in.

I foresee some major belt tightening to land this big opportunity. We got beat out by Alabama for a Hyundai years ago and folks are still upset about it.

Word on the street is, KY is now in the running for the location of Volvo's first Automobile Plant in the USA. One of two possible locations in the state is next door to where I work.

Kentucky LOVES the automobile industry. We have plants for FORD, GM and TOYOTA already, plus about 450 other manufacturing facilities related to the industry.

One of the biggest political issues in the state? JOBS. This is a chance to bring lots of them in.

I foresee some major belt tightening to land this big opportunity. We got beat out by Alabama for a Hyundai years ago and folks are still upset about it.

Sadly, those auto plants can close at anytime if the market for cars goes down, or the companies lose money.

Georgetown, Kentucky. Toyota. Truly transformational.

Yet people in the hinterlands forget GM's long presence in Bowling Green or Ford's even longer in Louisville.

Look at what SIA has done to Lafayette, Indiana. Or Toyota in Indiana. Honda in Marysville, Ohio. Jeep in Toledo.

Amusement parks can close, too. Hard Rock Park, Wild West World, etc.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.