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I'm a Louisville local, and because I'm an "enthusiast" friends/coworkers always feel necessary to bestow their experiences/opinions/reactions about parks on me.

In regards of KK... nothing I've heard has been extremely negative, but nothing glowing either... as I expected.

Comments include:

Waterpark is great

Lightning Run is lots of fun

Not enough to do

"Rough" clientele

Observations of at least two workers walking off the job

Slow loading on the coasters

Oddly enough, the very day the park made the news with the "Attendance is through the roof!" press release, I had two friends that were at the park. They said it was fairly empty. Not sure who to believe. LOL

KK is, as I expected, going to suffer the same fate as SFKK. Business was drummed up by lots of media attention... but those that are attending are walking away with a "meh" reaction.

As far as the incident with the Speedo guy... that whole situation was concocted by his seeking attention. Although Europeans find such attire acceptable and commonplace, in the the US it's not. That's not judgment on my part, rather, fact. When you wear a skimpy bathing suit you draw attention... and you know it. The "victim" in this case wore it out to be looked at. When the cops approached him, it was no doubt based on complaints, and they handled it poorly and called him inappropriate names. I doubt the victim was standing idly by with doe eyes through the whole situation. The mere fact that this made the news feed, with a "sexed up' picture of the fellow on the beach, proves there was an agenda behind it. Someone wanted attention, of all sorts, and they got it. Remember, it's all about press...

KK has a long haul... a long rough haul. I'm neither rooting against it, or for it at this point. Selfishly, I wish it would stay open and attendance shrink so I can go back and marathon on Lightning Run in future seasons. That coaster, IMO, is the redeeming thing about this whole re-opening. Who knew?!

Shaggy

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I read some of the comments on Facebook last night about breast feeding. Kentucky Kingdom just cannot get a break.

I breast fed my daughter when she was a baby in public (including Kentucky Kingdom) and I never had an issue with anyone ever saying anything. I always tried to be modest.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some would say that you make your own breaks or your own luck...

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^Beware - Off Topic:

I feel like you were about to go into a Top Gear rant,

"Some say....."

On Topic:

I really do hope to get to visit KK sometime this summer, but I am with Shaggy in the fact that I hope when I go it's not busy. I want to marathon Lightening Run as well.

Edited for mistakes.

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^Beware - Off Topic:

I feel like you were about to go into a Top Gear rant,

"Some say....."

On Topic:

I really do hope to get to visit KK sometime this summer, but I am with Shaggy in the fact that I hope when I go it's not busy. I want to marathon Lightening Run as well.

Edited for mistakes.

Some say this park does not let mothers feed their children, and doesnt allow wheel chair bound guests onto rides. All we know is its called Kentucky Kingdom....

Now the park is walking back its breast feeding policy.

They would want me to link to their press release.

Instead I will just say the presser got coverage on WTOP Newsradio, Washington, DC. Coverage that could hardly be called complimentary.

(Please dont yes this question....)

So can this be chalked up to a new park going through growing pains and changing policy as the right thing or was this done purposely and only being changed due to severe negative reactions by park goers?

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^ I certainly think that a park like this WILL have growing pains. Whether or not recent events can be placed in that category, time will tell. I really want this park to succeed. I see SO much potential here waiting to be tapped into. Lightning Run is stellar, and is honestly in my top 5 coasters. And I've ridden a lot of them. I like it almost as much as Phantom's Revenge. Anyone who knows me well knows that I place that ride on an enormous pedestal, so for me to place a small coaster at a young park in its league, believe me, it's saying a lot. Thunder Run is running like a brand new coaster (though the fact that it runs one train KILLS me... WHY? It is plenty long enough for two, and it has 3 block sections... But no transfer track, so a second train can't and won't be happening). I'll be at Kentucky Kingdom again tomorrow, without the rose-tinted glasses that come with being at a new park for the first time. I'll see if my positive thoughts hold up the second time around. And since this trip was much less impromptu, I have my swim trunks and will have a chance to take a look at the water park. And as for the clientele, I really didn't even get the feeling that they were "rough" as some have described. In fact, I met some very nice people in line last time who noticed that I was a single rider and ASKED me if I wanted to ride with them, and in my years of going to Kings Island, I have not had that happen ONE time. I only have one serious complaint, and that is with the operators on their Himalaya ride. During the ride, riders were encouraged BY THE OPERATORS to put their hands up. Um, how about no. I realize everyone does it anyway, but if the posted sign says "keep hands down and inside vehicle", then my hands are staying down and inside the vehicle. Not sure about Kentucky, but in Ohio, that's the law under ORC 1711.551. Maybe I'm just a Debbie-downer, but when it comes to rides, my thoughts are, "As with any driving stunt, safety first, so STAY SEATED. Keep your head against the headrest and your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times." (Oh, wait. I've heard that somewhere else before...)

Like I said, the park has potential. Most of the problems are fixable. Thunder Run is running with capacity about as good as you can get on a two minute ride with one train. Lightning Run is another story, but I'm confident that time and training can fix that. The PR situation is also a mess, but again, training or replacement of current staff can save them there. All of the problems I see are fixable, and I want so badly to see this park succeed, because they have a heck of a fun coaster that rides like greased lightning (or Greezed Lightnin' as it were...). I'm giving this park a chance, if only because I think they have a great Chance already. (Note the capitalization there, it's important).

As an added aside, to the nice young lady that I rode Thunder Run with two weeks ago, I wasn't kidding about being back at the park on July 12th. So if you are somehow reading this, I'll be at the entrance to Lightning Run at 1:00 PM ;)

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58 minutes at Kentucky Kingdom.

More than enough:

* Next to no one at opening. Slow walked to Lightning Run. Front seat of second train dispatched. The first left with maybe 10 passengers. Great, fun ride. The restraints are horrid, and painful.

* Rode their Flying Scooters. it was very windy. I almost snapped. Neither of the other two riders did.

* Thunder Run!

Thunder Run!!

Thunder Run!!!

Oh my. This thing hasn't run like this in YEARS.

Get here. Now. While you can. five front seat rides.

* Foid Service. Nearly Noon. 1158. Sunday. Nothing ready. At all. Really?

* Accessability. I am not going to lay out a map for litigants. This park is a mess. Absolute mess.

* Security: more than half the "security" I saw was playing with their cell phones.

Meh is right.

Thunder Run alone would keep me coming back from a short distance.

But that's all. And I haven't even mentioned the forty or so smokers all over the park, in full view of the phone intent security. Or the list of rides not working not being available until AFTER you pay. No refunds.

Good Luck, Mr. Hart and the taxpayers of Kentucky. You are going to need it.

Thunder Run!

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58 minutes at Kentucky Kingdom.

More than enough:

* Next to no one at opening. Slow walked to Lightning Run. Front seat of second train dispatched. The first left with maybe 10 passengers. Great, fun ride. The restraints are horrid, and painful.

* Rode their Flying Scooters. it was very windy. I almost snapped. Neither of the other two riders did.

* Thunder Run!

Thunder Run!!

Thunder Run!!!

Oh my. This thing hasn't run like this in YEARS.

Get here. Now. While you can. five front seat rides.

* Foid Service. Nearly Noon. 1158. Sunday. Nothing ready. At all. Really?

* Accessability. I am not going to lay out a map for litigants. This park is a mess. Absolute mess.

* Security: more than half the "security" I saw was playing with their cell phones.

Meh is right.

Thunder Run alone would keep me coming back from a short distance.

But that's all. And I haven't even mentioned the forty or so smokers all over the park, in full view of the phone intent security. Or the list of rides not working not being available until AFTER you pay. No refunds.

Good Luck, Mr. Hart and the taxpayers of Kentucky. You are going to need it.

Thunder Run!

I agree on most every point. I still enjoy the park after a second visit, but definitely not as much. Water park is good. Deluge was almost as much fun as Wildebeest. Almost, but not quite. Lightning Run is still amazing. I don't find the restraints to be that bad. But I'm very, very thin, so perhaps that is why. They do win for the most bizarre restraints I've seen, however, edging out my beloved Phantom just slightly. Phantom and Lightning Run's restraints could not possibly be more polar opposite. Phantom's always seemed... insufficient to me, but very very comfortable. Lightning Run's restraints are not the most comfortable I've seen, but I know that I'm not going anywhere. Funny that these come from two companies that are now very closely related (if not one and the same... I have no idea how that merger worked. Perhaps someone could shed some light on the Chance Rides/D.H. Morgan situation for me?). I ate late meals both times I went, and had no issue with availability. First time, I ate at the Italian place right in the front of the park. I got a very fresh slice of pizza, and it was the best pizza I'd ever had at an amusement park. The second time, I ate at Swamp Water Jack's. It was OK. I've had better and I've had worse. Nothing too special about it, in a good or a bad way. Thunder Run is still wonderful. Not sure yet if I see it as a front-of-train or back-of-train sort of coaster.

Smoking is a problem. I noticed that more yesterday than two weeks ago. I saw someone flick a lit cigarette butt onto Thunder Run, and I cringed. I'm sure the embers are not likely to ignite a wooden coaster, but I'm very much a "what-if" person, and I do worry about that possibility. Another issue is that guests do not realize that FearFall is not the same ride as Superman: Tower of Power. I heard many people comment about remembering "the time when it cut that girl's legs off". I feared and suspected that would be the case, and I truly have NO IDEA why they would choose to install a drop ride of any sort. I saw their Sea Lion Splash show, and enjoyed it. I sat through some of the other live entertainment and... Let's say I'd rather sit through Graveyard Shift. And believe me, I NEVER thought I would utter that sentence, as I think Graveyard Shift is the single most cringe-inducing thing I've ever seen at Kings Island. The park's layout is just silly. The entrances for their pirate ship and FearFall are in a location that is frankly bizarre. Landscaping is bad. Really bad. Case in point, the Flying Scooters. They sit on what I can only assume to be the former footprint of a relatively large ride. The ride is surrounded by concrete for probably 30-50 feet on every side, except for the narrow strip of dirt directly surrounding the ride with small shrubs. The layout will only get stranger when T2 reopens as it will be the only major (dry) ride in its general area, which happens to be behind the water park. This isn't necessarily a huge problem, but it is is something that I noticed.

Overall, I still see a lot of potential, but there are definitely some glaring issues that need to be addresses ASAP. As Terpy said, get down there and ride Thunder Run (and I'll add Lightning Run to that statement) while you can. There is no denying that they are great rides, and you want to experience them. There's no telling how long the park will be around. I really, truly want them to get it all together and make this place work. But as it stands, I don't think Holiday World needs to be too worried about their Louisville market.

I have a few friends who want to go there, so I may be returning August 2nd with them. It's not a terribly long drive for me, and I want to get my money's worth out of my season pass. I may report back then if my findings are different. And I really, really hope they are. Perhaps that is where #jonathan is headed next. I think his noodly wisdom could be the very thing that park needs to get it all together.

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I actually considered going today, too. I hate that things aren't going so well. I've been itching to try Lightning Run and revisit Thunder Run.

Did you buy your ticket at the gate or are theirdiscounted tickets to be had?

At the gate, it was cheaper than online. The cashier offered me a $10 off discount. $34.99 plus tax. Avoided the processing fee on the net.

I am concerned at just how empty the park was.

And closing the entire park at 7 tells us something about the park's clientele.

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^ Was the waterpark empty as well? If that's the main draw, an empty dry park (currently featuring very few rides) might not be as big of a concern.

Is $34.99 the best price available (including, for example, at Kroger)? I would have expected steeper discounts on single day tickets, but I suppose they could be trying to protect their (apparently successful) season pass sales.

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No not all parks are in the media bullseye, especially when new or reopening. But once a park has some issues and the media sees there is interest in these stories, watch out. Hard Rock Park never faced the media scrutiny, they faced a general lack of interest all around. Locals and media knew it would fail before it ever opened. Once again a park that ignored to listen to the market and learn the local economy. HRP was doomed to fail before it opened and Mr. Hart and his actions from the beginning have shown different objectives than what have been publicly stated.

Things like hiring a true marketing/public relations team, making the park accessible for guests with disabilities, landscaping, and providing real security all cost a great deal of money and too many these business areas do not drive season pass or ticket sales.

Look at what they do, not what they say...

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I fail to see how anyone can be apologists for Mr. Hart. Given that he once ran this same park before he sold it to SIX, wouldn't it be reasonable to think he should know how to run things? It seems as if his upper management is composed of clowns and others who exist simply to draw a paycheck with no real world experience.

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Earlier stories made it sound as if it were a Louisville police officer acting in that capacity. This one sounds as if he was a contract Kentucky Kingdom moonlighter wearing a Louisville police uniform (or not).

Either way, it sounds as if the park may be responsible for his actions.

The PR response actually sounds as if it heightened tensions.

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Blame the employee in the breastfeeding incident?

Really, John?

The PR story here, like the park, is a mess.

http://www.whas11.com/news/Local-moms-react-to-Kentucky-Kingdom-breastfeeding-apology-266802801.html

Why just posted now? I'm in the upper Midwest. The local radio station just covered this, and said the employee has been discharged by the park.

Really?

Sad.

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Maybe it was really just an over reactive employee. But if that's the case, shame on KK for either 1) not preparing these young men and women for this type of thing or 2) use it as a teaching opportunity and not fire the employee.

2 steps forward two steps back....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I work with a lot of young people around the age of the person that has been terminated by KK. Just from my experience I don't see a young person taking the initiative of walking up to a mother in the process of breastfeeding and telling her to put it away or go to a bathroom. Now may a manager have promoted them to make such a confrontation? More than likely...

Still important business lesson this young person has learned. Poo flows down hill and management will rarely fall on the sword, instead they will sacrifice a random associate.

Well played New Kentucky Kingdom, no mater what you say or do you still cannot get out of your own way.

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