Though the closing of Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom is a very sad event, one park may be poised to reap the benefits of this unfortunate closure.
SANTA CLAUS, Ind. — Word that Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville is closing brought a mixed reaction from Will Koch, president of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari here.
“It’s tough, always sad when another park closes,” Koch said Friday morning. “We know the people (employees) over there.”
But he said Holiday World also sees it as an opportunity to draw even more customers from the Louisville area.
“We would love to offer our park to their fans and we think we have the capacity,” said Koch.
He said while Holiday World’s attendance — just over 1 million annually — has remained fairly flat since 2006, the family-owned park has continued to open new rides and make other improvements and expects corporate picnic business to rebound this year.
In May, the park’s 64th season, the world’s largest water coaster, the Wildebeest, opens.
Also, the park’s largest wooden coaster, the Voyage, has new cars that will make the ride faster and smoother, lessening waiting time in line.
And there have been expansions in the water park area, including last year’s debut of the world’s tallest water ride, Pilgrims Plunge.
Holiday World draws more customers from the Indianapolis area than anywhere else, followed by Louisville and Evansville, Koch said.
Six Flags, which has owned Kentucky Kingdom since 1997 and is undergoing a bankruptcy restructuring, announced Thursday that it has rejected a lease from the Kentucky State Fair Board and will close the amusement park, which employs about 1,000 people each summer and has 40 rides and a water park.
Although attendance numbers aren’t available for Kentucky Kingdom, Koch said he doesn’t believe the Louisville park drew as many customers as Holiday World, although it was bigger at one time.
Kentucky Kingdom opened in the mid 1980s. Holiday World’s attendance in the early 1990s was only 300,000. Holiday World is only about an hour drive from Louisville, Kentucky. Six Flags said its 13 other U.S. parks are not affected by the move.
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