Kentucky Kingdom 2026 addition

[Shaggy]

Flying Fox Coaster

[KIghostguy]

Looks like a cute addition to the park. The Vekoma family inverts are a far superior product than the ones from B&M (imagine saying that even a few years ago!). 

[DonHelbig]

Nice addition. I like the theme. 

[FoF96"]

The video also said it was the first piece of a large expansion including multiple phases.  Perhaps they will eventually connect both sides.

[Orion-XL200]

I like it! Dragonflyer at Dollywood is a lot of fun...this seems like the layout is expanded a bit which would be great! 

[Shaggy]

1 hour ago, KIghostguy said:

Looks like a cute addition to the park. The Vekoma family inverts are a far superior product than the ones from B&M (imagine saying that even a few years ago!). 

The Dollywood version packs a surprisingly good little punch.  I'm hoping the same for this.  Love that they are tunneling under the walkway.

[WoodVengeance]

The park also announced they are doing a multi-year plan for the next decade. It's going to be interesting to see how much the park is going to change within that time period. Kentucky Kingdom put out a survey not too long ago that focused on some sort of indoor family coaster, so maybe that's going to be next?

[SonofBaconator]

on a somewhat related note, I’m curious if Kings Island Louisville/Lexington grip has eroded since the reopening of Kentucky Kingdom and if so, by how much. 

[Swiftdrawer]

1 hour ago, FoF96" said:

The video also said it was the first piece of a large expansion including multiple phases.  Perhaps they will eventually connect both sides.

Its exciting, they have quite a lot of space to work with still from what was once the area home to T3 and such. I got a birdseye view of that area 3 months ago via some of the water park’s slides. The whole area has a lots of dirt obviously but they havent cleared everything out just yet surprisingly. Theres also a clear view of some building behind it and I want to know whats in there. Probably storage for the park. I dont know. But the fact that this is going to be a multi year project means they have a LOT planned. I can see them adding new water slides somewhere eventually for sure. I also wonder if theyll be moving around anymore flat rides for whatever else is coming and what else may come down to make room. The park has been awesome at putting in great things in small spaces so there is that to consider too. Kentucky Flyer really packs a punch for its size for example.

[Diamondback_Is_King]

Very cool design! I love the barn/flight theme and like how it goes over the pathways and everything!

[beastfan11]

Got to visit KK this summer for the first time. Cool little park. Some parts need some TLC and it certainly looks like they’re addressing that. Excited to head back soon! 

[FoF96"]

Also, looked closely at the announcement video.  At the part they say “this is just the beginning” notice what all is actually on the screen.  I see a Zamperla Barnyard, a Disc-o, some unknown ride close to the front right.  And more notably, a water park expansion.  

[IndyGuy4KI]

This looks to be a great addition to the park. 

[Shaggy]

56 minutes ago, FoF96" said:

Also, looked closely at the announcement video.  At the part they say “this is just the beginning” notice what all is actually on the screen.  I see a Zamperla Barnyard, a Disc-o, some unknown ride close to the front right.  And more notably, a water park expansion.  

 

I noticed that Tin Lizzies seem to be missing (although there's a small bit of what could be it's track showing - but no full circuit.)   There's some sort of a farm themed car-ride, also a rotational-type ride inside one of the coaster's turns.  Another smaller thing I noticed - there's a horse-racing themed statue in the fountain of the main entrance... I don't recall there being one there currently.  Annnnnd.... The circuit of the new coaster doesn't make sense (incomplete) and there's no main drop shown.  The layout doesn't match Flying Fox's layout in its rendering, 

Concept art is just that... a concept.  So I don't put much merit in them.   I'm not saying those rides will not be added down the road - but it was probably just a rendering of potential ideas provided by one of the manufacturers, an outside theming company, or the park's development/planning team.

We'll see.  I actually hope those things will come.  I hope Kentucky Kingdom will finally shed its poor past, and rise to its future potential.  These are good indications the people in charge know precisely what the park can be.

[WoodVengeance]

14 minutes ago, FoF96" said:

Also, looked closely at the announcement video.  At the part they say “this is just the beginning” notice what all is actually on the screen.  I see a Zamperla Barnyard, a Disc-o, some unknown ride close to the front right.  And more notably, a water park expansion.  

I have the full version of that image here. I might miss some things, but here's some of the new additions I've been able to find in counter-clockwise order:

• Looks either like a Junior Whip ride or a relocation of the bumper cars in the bottom left corner
• Zamperla Disc-O and Barnyard near Lightning Run
• Looks like a Flying Carousel ride similar to Dumbo at Disneyland. It's hard to tell specifically, but it seems to resemble flying pigs. Located to the left of the entrance
• A Zierer Wave Swinger and Zamperla Nebulaz to the right of the entrance
• An attraction with white track. (Himalaya appears to be removed or relocated somewhere else in the park)
• Some sort of red-tracked addition to the left of the showstage. This also could just be decorations.
• Tin Lizzies seems to be rethemed with tractors
• A blue coaster in the plaza area of Discovery Meadow. This might actually just be Hollyhock and Roll, as some attractions don't appear to be in the right areas in this rendering.
• Some sort of new pool area in the waterpark. This also looks to be some sort of show stage as well.

[ReedObsessor]

Funny thing is that when I saw the name of this, I thought first of The Bat species known as the Flying Fox, rather than crop-duster Jeb Fox (I'm not familiar with the pilot this is named after).  It made me think of my trip to Columbus Zoo a couple of years ago.  I saw some of those flying foxes yawning, and it kind of looked like a puppy yawn.

Anyway, I looked at this coaster and see it (and Dragonflier at Dollywood) more as a kiddy coaster than a family coaster.  This is because of the SFC at KI (the original SFC) being part of the Snoopy area (Woodstock's Air Rail, which began as a Rugrats ride).  I don't see B&M Family Inverts the same way though; to me, they are closer in nature to Arrow Suspended Coasters (the Big Bad Wolf is a factor here).

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Do you think Busch Gardens should have gone with a Vekoma SFC instead of a B&M Family Invert? I keep wondering about if Kings Island were to make a third Bat, should they go with the B&M Family Invert (like BGW with Big Bad Wolf 2) or the Vekoma SFC?

 

This feels like it will be a good second step forward for Kentucky Kingdom! I think it does add to the trend of Herschend making KK a super family-friendly park, but that might be a good thing in the long run.

[Oldiesmann]

Great to see Herschend going headstrong into improving Kentucky Kingdom. I never made it down there this year, but will definitely find my way down there at some point next season. The fair board seems to have finally picked the right folks to run the park, and I hope they get a good return on their investment for this. KK has been a bit of a mess since Six Flags left and needs stuff like this to revive it.

[DJSkyFoxx]

This Foxx approves of the name 

Also, for it being a family coaster, after watching some of the POVs of the other newer gen SFCs, this thing looks like it will really have some whip to it. Not too crazy but not too tame either. 

[Dieseltech20]

Looks like a fun little coaster. We go up to Louisville every fall for Louder than Life and this year the festival included KK admission. Got to visit the park for the first time in 35 years and enjoyed it. The festival signed a 10 year contract with the park and it looks like the money is being put to good use.