And Starchaser no longer runs.

That ride has had an interesting history, including originating at Beach Bend, of all places...

http://www.rcdb.com/id445.htm

Yeah I always thought the history of Starchaser was interesting.

Another defunct ride with an interesting history is The Vampire which the park removed after it stranded riders for hours twice in a few weeks.

The Vampire was originally located in China of all places

http://www.rcdb.com/id174.htm

Vampire got moved at least after (maybe not because) it valleyed at least one too many times. After it was moved, it got catwalks to make evacuations much easier...

Vampire got moved at least after (maybe not because) it valleyed at least one too many times. After it was moved, it got catwalks to make evacuations much easier...

Good point I guess I can't say that it was moved because it valleyed. I've noticed the catwalks on some other vecoma boomerangs...good feature

More on this:

http://www.wlwt.com/news/15427482/detail.html

An interesting video from a local news channel...does anyone else notice the Tivo menu?

http://www.whas11.com/video/index.html?nvid=222155

I've been slowly adding pictures of the demolition to a picture gallery. It looks like they are removing the last piece today. http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=neo8820&a...8600&Pres=Y

Ride's care not always by book, worker says:

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.d...002/1008/NEWS01

^ Well this seals the deal for me.

SFKK deserves to pay through the nose for this accident.

Kentucky Kingdom defends maintenance:

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.d...408/1008/NEWS01

Six Flags has, in my opinion, a fairly large problem on their hands right now. Not only was there this terrible accident at their park last year, but it now looks as if they were responsible by not carrying out the proper maintenance procedures on their rides. That will not be good for PR for the park! While nothing will be official until the State of Kentucky releases their report on the accident, things do not look good for the park`s reputation.

I think it will certainly deter a few people from visiting the park and riding its rides. Which is something that I`m sure the Six Flags executives are not happy about, considering their stock price is now trading around $1.50 a share.

Kentucky Kingdom defends maintenance:

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.d...408/1008/NEWS01

This is not a surprise.

I really didn't expect SFKK to come out and say that their ride manager of the past 9 years was accurate in his statement.

I mean, c'mon, I'm sure the PR department is quite confident that they know more about maintaining their rides more than him.

Kentucky Kingdom defends maintenance:

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.d...408/1008/NEWS01

This is not a surprise.

I really didn't expect SFKK to come out and say that their ride manager of the past 9 years was accurate in his statement.

I mean, c'mon, I'm sure the PR department is quite confident that they know more about maintaining their rides more than him.

Maureen Making Statements About SOB Accident... Cough, Cough.

Photos Released In Six Flags Investigation:

http://www.wlky.com/news/15898802/detail.html

Family Issues Six Flags Warning:

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008...s_warning/7942/

Family Issues Six Flags Warning:

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008...s_warning/7942/

With this surrounding situation, I am venturing to guess that SFKK will likely be the safest park in the country.

It's certainly not likely that they could afford a similar mishap.

^ Given the recently released evidence against them, I don't think they will be able to afford the current incident let alone another.

Time will tell.

In light of the alleged maintenance neglegence on behalf of the park, could this also be attributed to the fate of The Vampire?

It seemed like Vampire ran relatively fine for most of its life and then one season just went berserk.

Food for thought...Could The Vampire have been saved with proper maintenance?

The Vampire was saved. It is at Six Flags New England today as Flashback. In any event, this thread is for discussing the unfortunate incident on Superman: Tower or Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom....

The Vampire was saved. It is at Six Flags New England today as Flashback. In any event, this thread is for discussing the unfortunate incident on Superman: Tower or Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom....

I realize this, but thought about other possible examples of ride neglegence in Kentucky Kingdom's history. Besides, someone else mentioned Starchaser earlier in the thread, so I felt that maybe Vampire's fate tied into the park/Superman injury discussion as well...since it seemed to run fine for so long and then almost instantly was removed due to malfunctions.

My apologies for assuming wrong, I guess.

No apologies necessary! It is worth noting that after the Kentucky Kingdom incident, similar INTAMIN drop rides throughout the country were closed, and several did not reopen for quite some time afterwards, including the ones at Kings Island and Carowinds. At Carowinds, some fraying of cables was discovered. The Kings Island delay in reopening was unrelated, the park said.

The Vampire was saved. It is at Six Flags New England today as Flashback.

It's also interesting to note that Vampire/Flashback hasn't had major malfunctions (that we've heard of, of course) since it left Kentucky Kingdom's care. I'm not saying what happened to Vampire was SFKK's fault, but in light of the Superman incident, it's certainly possible, I think.

I'd hate to think that SFKK is lackluster in the area of ride/safety maintenance (being a Kentuckian myself and proud of the park) but if changes need to be implemented in their processes and procedures for the fun and safety of all, any and all faults should rightfully be made known.

But....one reason Vampire is no longer at Kentucky Kingdom is because when the train saddled (or valleyed), guests had to be evacuated with ladders. When the ride was relocated to Massachusetts, catwalks were installed. Invertigo, then known as Face/Off, got similar catwalks.

They are no catwalks on Invertigos boomerang?? I'm lost.

There are catwalks under where it valleyed fairly often, and originally there were not.

Teenager describes day girl's feet cut off on Six Flags ride:

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.d...841/1008/NEWS01

After the ride stopped, the teen said he and his friend were then kept on the ride for about 20 minutes -- with an adult present -- before being unbuckled from their seats and taken to give a statement.

This made me sick to my stomach.

This kid knew what happened, yet they forced him to sit on the ride while this girl was recieving medical attention?

I am surprised that SF still has not settled to quiet down all these stories. It can't be good for business.

After the ride stopped, the teen said he and his friend were then kept on the ride for about 20 minutes -- with an adult present -- before being unbuckled from their seats and taken to give a statement.

This made me sick to my stomach.

This kid knew what happened, yet they forced him to sit on the ride while this girl was recieving medical attention?

I am surprised that SF still has not settled to quiet down all these stories. It can't be good for business.

Much can be going on behind the scenes.

Much can be going on behind the scenes.

I don't doubt that at all.

It is just that everytime another story comes out, it is like tearing off a scab to an old wound.

SF may be trying to save as much money as possible by prolonging the investigation and settlement, but in my eyes they are also increasing a very bad light on an already delicate situation. The more the incident is mentioned, the more customers they can be losing.

They can try and save (hypothetically) $50 million in the settlement, but if they lose $50 million in customer spending, they gain nothing.

Much can be going on behind the scenes.

I don't doubt that at all.

It is just that everytime another story comes out, it is like tearing off a scab to an old wound.

SF may be trying to save as much money as possible by prolonging the investigation and settlement, but in my eyes they are also increasing a very bad light on an already delicate situation. The more the incident is mentioned, the more customers they can be losing.

They can try and save (hypothetically) $50 million in the settlement, but if they lose $50 million in customer spending, they gain nothing.

That is a common misperception in that the longer something takes to settle that it saves money.

1) The company (or rather their insurance company) already has the claim reserved at what they feel it is worth. - Generally, these estimates are very close to correct if not a little high.

2) Litigation expenses are very high.

3) No Company Wants To Prolong Settling if It is At All Possible.

Perhaps saving was not the correct term.

I should have said "lowball".

Instead of lowballing the family, give them what they want so the issue does not keep coming up and SF continues to lose customers.