Kentucky Kingdom

[brenthodge]

lol. I love that I’m a standard to now be met! 

[Shaggy]

As a Louisville resident, I hope Christmas at the Kingdom grows into a nice local/regional event and finds its niche.

I am glad others have had a good time attending, and I hope those planning to attend enjoy themselves. 

That having been said, I had an overwhelmingly disappointing experience.  I would grade it a "D+." 

I'll keep things semi-short by saying there's a great deal of room for improvement in many areas.  The most noteworthy being a terrible layout and confusing flow through the park.  Oddly closed off paths, dead ends, very dark unlit paths, a lack of directional signs etc.   

Obviously being the first attempt, it can't necessarily be a home run.  So I'm sure those in charge will spend a great deal of time reviewing what worked, and what didn't. 

(Here's a couple starter tips KK:  Move Santa to the front of the park - no one can find him and he literally has no one waiting to see him.  Staff some security in your gift shops so that your revenue stream isn't getting stuffed into the pockets and purses of thieving guests.  Also, send some security to those confusing and dark paths to curb pot smoking.)

 

[BeeastFarmer]

Louisville theme park donates thousands to Norton Children's Hospital | whas11.com

[Winterfestguy]

New Land coming to KK in 2025 and major park improvements announced today!

[Vortex1987]

2 hours ago, Winterfestguy said:

New Land coming to KK in 2025 and major park improvements announced today!

Woo!!!!!! Finally!!!! Here we go Herschend!!!

 

This is what KK needed!! I'm hyped. I know they're family rides but I'm  happy KK is finally getting some love from Herschend. I was getting worried that it was going to be like Wild Adventures and get neglected. 

 

Now bring on the Herschend magic! (Also, the cinnamon bread is incredible.)

[WoodVengeance]

Of those rethemed attractions, I'm wondering if Thunder Run and/or Storm Chaser are going to be included in that as well. Their themes would feel a bit out-of-place if this new area isn't going to be weather-themed.

[BeeastFarmer]

55 minutes ago, WoodVengeance said:

Of those rethemed attractions, I'm wondering if Thunder Run and/or Storm Chaser are going to be included in that as well. Their themes would feel a bit out-of-place if this new area isn't going to be weather-themed.

Is the new Kentucky of and going to be in that area?  With 11 rethemed rides, I thought it would be King Louie's Playground.

[WoodVengeance]

22 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Is the new Kentucky of and going to be in that area?  With 11 rethemed rides, I thought it would be King Louie's Playground.

It's not 100% confirmed, but it's likely going to be the area around Thunder Run and Storm Chaser. It's hard to tell because of the blur, but you can make out Storm Chaser on the top of this image. I believe this is concept art for the new area that they're going to reveal at a later time.

[BeeastFarmer]

Good observation!  The area from the carousel/ Flying Dutchman to Storm Chaser is the prettiest area of the park, but it's also the most dead area of the park. It would make sense to beef it up.  There's also space in this area for a playground, not so much in King Louie's Playground.

I thought this area was supposed to become a Fireman's Landing type of area from the survey that was sent out, with the Drop Tower being moved there.  

Nonetheless, I'm happy to be a passholder again and looking forward to the next couple of seasons!

[Oldiesmann]

It's good to see Herschend jumping in and working hard to revitalize the park. First the Christmas event, now this. It sounds like the fair board finally found the right people to run the park

[OverlandTaxis30]

Has anyone noticed that one of the three new family rides announced is a train ride? 

 

I am not getting my hopes up for a train the size of Dollywood's or even KI's; but, considering the fact that Kentucky Kingdom has never had a train ride before, I am going to wait and see what kind of train ride they went with, where it is going, and what it's layout will be. 

[Oldiesmann]

The other two rides are from Zamperla, so maybe one of these? https://www.zamperla.com/product/train-rio-grande

[KIghostguy]

I attended Christmas at Kentucky Kingdom tonight. I really enjoyed the sledding hill, and especially enjoyed that their Larson Drop Tower was open! As has been pointed it, there definitely is room to grow the event's footprint in the combing years, but the buildings that were covered in lights looked very nice.

However, I was very disappointed that Kentucky Flyer was closed our entire visit. I asked and was told that the minimum operating temperature is 32 degrees (it was 31 degrees when I asked). I assumed that it would be a lot lower than 32 degrees considering I have ridden Mystic Timbers in considerably lower temperatures. I understand it's a different manufacturer but...really? Roller coasters in Europe operate in the snow all the time; I find it very hard to believe that a wooden coaster would be unable to function just one degree colder than 32 degrees. 

I noticed that a ticket price at the gate was about $40. This seems unbelievably high to me. I got in for free with the Kings Island employee reciprocal agreement, but I could not imagine paying $40 to ride the sledding hill, ride some flat rides, see lights, and find out that the only coaster they run was closed with absolutely no warning outside the park. 

[Tr0y]

Was Kentucky Kingdom acquired by Six Flags? 
 

Eye of the Storm, Raging Rapids River Ride, and Cyclos have quietly been removed from their attractions lineup:

https://www.kentuckykingdom.com/explore-the-park/attractions/

[Vortex1987]

12 hours ago, Tr0y said:

Was Kentucky Kingdom acquired by Six Flags? 
 

Eye of the Storm, Raging Rapids River Ride, and Cyclos have quietly been removed from their attractions lineup:

https://www.kentuckykingdom.com/explore-the-park/attractions/

What the heck?! 

Cyclos and Eye of the storm are relatively new. This isnt good. I have a bad feeling Herschend is fixing to screw KK royally. 

 

Kentucky Kingdom cannot thrive without Ed Hart.

[WoodVengeance]

33 minutes ago, Tr0y said:

Was Kentucky Kingdom acquired by Six Flags? 
 

Eye of the Storm, Raging Rapids River Ride, and Cyclos have quietly been removed from their attractions lineup:

https://www.kentuckykingdom.com/explore-the-park/attractions/

The rapids makes sense for removal as that ride takes up a significant portion of land (about as much as T3) and I always felt Eye of the Storm was in a really weird spot. It's a shame to see rides like these get removed, but hopefully Herschend makes up for those removals with something well-themed, but we'll see.

[Oldiesmann]

Cyclos seemed pretty popular, as did the rapids ride, but I don't think Eye of the Storm ever saw much of a crowd and it was also in a really weird spot. It'll be interesting to see what they do with the vacant land (not that Eye of the Storm occupied much space to begin with, but it was in the middle of a large piece of otherwise vacant land so it opens up some more space now)

[Vortex1987]

Cyclos was actually really good. And I actually liked Eye Of The Storm. Lol. If those get replaced with family rides I'll cry inside. Lol. 

 

But if Storm Chaser gets touched, I'll never go back. That thing is amazing for how small it is.

 

I forsee this being the beginning of the end for Kentucky Kingdom. Herschend hasn't done anything but remove 4 rides, and Hart had the park growing exponentially during his ownership. 

 

I'm starting to think that Kentucky Kingdom can only thrive under Ed Hart. Nobody else can run the park like he can. 

[Winterfestguy]

Not too surprised to see Cyclos being removed as they needed more room in that area for the Halloween DJ dance parties, but was very popular and could easily be relocated to another area in the park. Eye of the Storm was all manually controlled by the operator and very labor intensive but in a weird place so had low ridership. Maybe Indiana Beach will buy Eye of the Storm as it was a good ride and still in excellent condition. Raging Rapids (a left over from the Batman Six Flags theming) was fun, but struggled as a cross over between water park vs park ride (many wanted to just be in swimwear which you couldn’t), so not too surprising to see removal as raft river rides are being removed in multiple parks. I am shocked they haven’t tried to add more flat rides in the path back to Storm Chaser like Six Flags used to have. The restaurant and games back by Storm Chaser have not been open in years, so maybe this expansion will bring them back to life. KK has also lost their water coaster and T3 coaster several years ago, and this new family expansion area and 4 smaller rides just don’t make up for the losses. It is interesting that the amphitheater remains standing in the back lot, but yet unused and still in good condition (let’s hope it gets some use before it falls apart too). It’s also sad the KK did away with King Louie Winter Walk Thru and doesn’t team up with coaster clubs anymore for special events. Overall agree the park is heading in the wrong direction with more losses than additions.

[BeeastFarmer]

@Vortex1987, how many parks or chains are you going to go away from with all these threats?

Ed Hart saved Kentucky Kingdom and did a great job until covid ruined it. I don't know for certainty, but I would conjecture he and his investment group could not absorb the loss and had he not sold or transferred the management contract to HFE, the park likely would have closed.

HFE came in and people were expecting Dollywood North. We got cinnamon bread. But it appears they wanted to learn the market to see where to make investments. 

No ride removals are confirmed that I know of. Perhaps they are going to keep Cyclos and Eye and move them to different locations.  It appears to me that they are changing the focus from amusement park to theme park, hence the name change.

It has long been rumored that the park really wants their own parking lot. Perhaps they or the fair board have been acquiring land on the water park side.  This could signal a new lot and entrance with an expanded waterpark there.  Lots of land where T3 was, plus the water coaster, plus the rapids ride plus the Batman theater over to storm chaser. 

I have a feeling the new nature land will be in the area between flying Dutchman and storm chaser. If they relocate rides from King Louies to this area that opens up the "front" of the park for a new land with new rides in 26.  There's also a high probability of the bisecting road to eventually go away as the fair board implements their new master plan. 

As much as "we" want thrills, the money is in families. Ed even banked on that ..he said he strived to run the park to keep Moms happy. 

Time will tell and I could be very wrong, but I'm very happy about the future of Kentucky Kingdom Theme and Water Park. HFE seems to evaluate and then implement with surgical precision. This is unlike the current FUN who seems to just wing it.  

Patience, grasshoppers. Crying and worry happens during the darkness, but joy comes in the morning. 

Edited 16 hours ago by BeeastFarmer
typos

[WoodVengeance]

New teaser from Kentucky Kingdom hinting at where the new expansion will take place. You can see that they deliberately covered up the rapids ride and Eye of the Storm from the map. However, you can still see Cyclos near Lightning Run.

[Vortex1987]

1 hour ago, WoodVengeance said:

New teaser from Kentucky Kingdom hinting at where the new expansion will take place. You can see that they deliberately covered up the rapids ride and Eye of the Storm from the map. However, you can still see Cyclos near Lightning Run.

Maybe in T3's plot? Zone 4?

 

I just hope its something good. Lol.

[Tr0y]

On 1/12/2025 at 10:46 AM, BeeastFarmer said:

 

Time will tell and I could be very wrong, but I'm very happy about the future of Kentucky Kingdom Theme and Water Park. HFE seems to evaluate and then implement with surgical precision. This is unlike the current FUN who seems to just wing it.  

Patience, grasshoppers. Crying and worry happens during the darkness, but joy comes in the morning. 

I disagree. Removing attractions quietly and not allowing people to get final rides in should not be normalized. Regardless of if it was done by Six Flags, Kentucky Kingdom or Disney. 

Hopefully this doesn't become the new normal, now that both Six Flags and HFE have done this...

 

[BeeastFarmer]

56 minutes ago, Tr0y said:

I disagree. Removing attractions quietly and not allowing people to get final rides in should not be normalized. Regardless of if it was done by Six Flags, Kentucky Kingdom or Disney. 

Hopefully this doesn't become the new normal, now that both Six Flags and HFE have done this...

 

Generally, I'd agree.  But in this specific case, there is no confirmation of ride removals.  What is the history of removals with HFE?  Does the specific park have any say?  

Besides the rapids ride, I did not ride or care for the rumored removals at KK.  So my skin in the game is limited vs someone who's favorite ride was Eye of the Storm, for example.  But, in the big picture, the rumored removals will pave the way for a much better Kentucky Kingdom.

And ride removals without notification is not a new thing.  Old people like myself often put Taft/KECO on a pedestal as model park operators, but Don Helbig has mentioned a few times on Tower Topics that back in the day, people would come to opening day and a beloved ride was gone.  He would have been tipped off and got a last ride a couple of times if my memory is correct.

[Winterfestguy]

Parks operate on a 5 and 10 year plan so they have a good idea of what’s going and coming. The year it was announced Herschland was purchasing the park during the Winter Walk through (which was the last one), it was said imagine cinnamon bread like Dollywood in the park (done), imagine new festivals in the park (done), imagine a new Halloween event (done), and imagine a new Christmas event at KK (done) - plans completed over several years. Let’s hope the current 5 year plan for the park (and ride removals/additions) only bring and further expansion and exciting new things to KK.

[johnjniehaus]

It would be a shame to remove the rapids ride because it was one of the best of it's kind in my opinion. Rode that more than some of the coasters during my visits. I understand rides must be removed for the future expansion of the park but announcements beforehand is always appreciated.