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  • 2 weeks later...

Drove by the Graveyard this evening. Time to sell the salvageable rides before they are no longer salvageable.

Which begs the question.....Is anything there WORTH saving? I haven't been inside the place since Thunder Run debuted.

My stomach just tied itself in a knot thinking about what poor Greezed Lightnin looks like, and any fate it might suffer.. :( please someone take it away from there and make it better so we can ride it again </3

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Indeed. It was such an incredible ride. I know that if it was still Viper at Six Flags over Georgia, one old little boy would have spent much, much more time there last summer. What a great ride it was, and what nice theming it had in Georgia. I still can't believe it's been gone from down here for more than 10 years!

Before it was in Georgia, it was Tidal Wave at Chicago's SFGAm. And that's been more than 20 years ago. Splendid it was there, too.

A Schwarzkopf deserves a better fate than to slowly, forlornly rust away in solitude.

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The park is, by all accounts, not for sale. The Fair Board, a creature of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is seeking an operator who would presumably lease the land. Ed Hart and the Board could not reach an agreement. Holiday World is reportedly in the initial stages of a look-see. I doubt they will see a potential that the savvy Ed Hart missed. There is a reason Messrs Hart and Lunsford took their boots and walked.

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Drove by the Graveyard this evening. Time to sell the salvageable rides before they are no longer salvageable.

Which begs the question.....Is anything there WORTH saving? I haven't been inside the place since Thunder Run debuted.

My stomach just tied itself in a knot thinking about what poor Greezed Lightnin looks like, and any fate it might suffer.. :( please someone take it away from there and make it better so we can ride it again </3

Took this pic last Feb. will grab some new ones next month.

100_1603-1.jpg

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Before it was in Georgia, it was Tidal Wave at Chicago's SFGAm. And that's been more than 20 years ago. Splendid it was there, too.

The last time I rode it, it was at Marriott's Great America (which is also the last time I visited that park). I think I'm overdue for a return trip to Gurnee.

A Schwarzkopf deserves a better fate than to slowly, forlornly rust away in solitude.

Amen!

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A. Fair Board looks for $8.5 million more in state support, due in part to Kentucky Kingdom closure.

B. Note the effort to downplay/ lower expectations as to the Kochs reopening Kentucky Kingdom.

C. Note reopening is now slated, at best, for 2013.

D. Note the Fair Board is uncertain it can get even $8.5 million more in state support, much less the $20 million or more projected earlier to be needed for a public/private partnership to reopen the park.

http://m.wdrb.com/default.aspx?pid=2705&wnfeedurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wdrb.com%2fstory%2f16610624%2ffair-board-looking-for-state-help%3fclienttype%3drssstory

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Maybe it is a clue...

In a topic about a company from Indiana with a repeat MVP (coaster or quarterback), it is described as possibly unwise to invest in the other park from another state.

The link mentions the quarterback that will have a neck that is no longer injured. Holiday World is bringing adjusting Voyage so to make it run at full potential.

The link given discusses possibly bringing in a quarterback from another state, similar to HW expanding beyond Indiana.

The same link was posted in another topic about football, and depending on which order one might read the posts, it could take you for a loop one way or the other.

I think we are being told that Greezed Lightnin' will be brought to Holiday World, and anything else would be foolish.

Unless my amateur detective skills are failing me (which they often do), I believe this mystery is solved. He would have gotten away with it too, if not for you meddling kids.

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There's so much more to this story than the press will ever reveal.

First, Al J. Schneider inc owns and operates both the Crowne Plaza suites and Galt House hotel located here in Louisville. The Crowne Plaza used to be the Executive Inn... and is the large hotel right next to the park. Seems *correct* that the hotel would want to invest in an attraction to help boost their revenue.

However, its no secret among business folk in downtown Louisville that Schneider has reduced staff consecutively for years now. Employees of both hotels have seen drastic layoffs, paycuts, and severly reduced hours all with explanations that the company's reduced revenue has restricted their ability to re-invest in their staff. Now, that's not unique to the travel industry, and understandable in hard economic times.

Maybe I am naive, but IMO, it might be more prudent for Ms Moseley to make monetary ammends within the confines of her own company's infrastructure before she goes promising monies to outside sources.

Because of the close proximity and interest in the Fairgrounds success, one would have to assume that Mosely and her company have a very "vested interest" in the ammenities of the KFEC. That means they have to keep close ties to Workman.

As a layman, It would seem Harold Workman is working every angle he can to try and re-open the park as a self-serving move. He's probably feeling lots of pressure to get the park re-opened by his board, financial advisors, and probably political advisors. I understand that pressure, however I think resulted in Workman relaying something that now seems "false." When SF first walked away, didn't he say several other operators were interested in taking over KK and they had their pick of companies to run KK? Or am I making that up in my own head?

If so, I'm not so sure that was true. Within months Hart, a former "partner" with Workman and the KFEC, was on the scene and announced as the possible lead operator. It took time, but one would have to assume that the state eventually saw the potential "partnership" between Workman and Hart as concerning. Ultimately choosing to decline Hart's push to take the reigns.

The State, Workman and Hart have now parted ways (apparently not so amicably), and ultimately the situation is no different than it was when SF backed out. However, now the public is hearing that the Koch family is being persued to oversee operations. If this is true, then why is the Farigrounds/State pursuing someone? What about all those other interested operators of which Workman said they had a pick?

Ultimately, it's all too messy at this point. It's all coming from what appears to be a desperate place... do or die time. It's my opinion that if the state wants KK back open (and at this point, I don't think they do) then Workman and the KFEC should be pulled from the scenario and Franfort alone should strike the deals. However, I don't see the park ever re-opening at this point, and they'd be better served salvaging and auctioning what remanants are still viable for sale. The state has too many other, more pressing, issues than re-opening an amusement park that has a checkered operational past.

Shaggy

*Disclaimer* The above is stated only as opinion from a 12 year Louisville resident's personal observations.

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Pardon my French, but they really need to poop or get off the pot. Kentucky Kingdom is dead and I don't see it rising from the grave anytime soon or ever. Sell off the rides, bring in a little revenue for the state and throw the last shovel full of dirt on this zombie of an amusement park and be done with it.

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I agree with the statements above, and very well said by the way. I think that everyone all over the country is trying to push for revenue generating projects. Some may be good some not so good, KK has proven time and again that it is not worth the effort. If the state is going to approve money for the other family destination with an ARCH then how can they see putting anything into KK. Louisville is a strange place for business and if you can't make it work in over 10 years then you must realize nothing will change in the next ten.

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