Can you think of a more amusement park underdog story than Kentucky Kingdom’s? The park was abandoned by Six Flags in 2010, stripped of some of its most noteworthy attractions and left to rot.
But then along came the park’s original owner, Ed Hart, who — after a roller coaster ride in itself — managed to reopen the park in 2014.
To say Kentucky Kingdom has simply reopened would be an understatement. It’s exceeded expectations.
The 2016 season marks the end of Ed Hart’s three-year investment in Kentucky Kingdom. While initially committing $43.5 million, Ed Hart and his team have invested $53 million into the park, which now features five roller coasters, an impressive water park, a wide variety of flat rides, respectable food options and a top-notch staff.
This was my first official visit to the park, as the park was closed on Storm Chaser’s media day.
Needless to say, I had a lot of exploring to do.
Immediately inside the park, I was greeted by one of the park’s many unassumingly fun rides: FearFall.
The drop tower may only stand 13 stories tall, but the abrupt plunge packs a punch not found on taller towers.
But as fun as FearFall was, I was here for the coasters, especially Lightning Run.
Like the park itself, Lightning Run is an underdog. Its modest height won’t intimidate most thrill seekers. From afar, it doesn’t look too insane.
The ride stands a mere 100 feet tall, but don’t let that fool you.
Looks can be deceiving — very deceiving.
The coaster’s sleek trains offer a throwback of sorts to the earlier days of fiberglass coaster carriages. But you won’t have much time to admire the Lightning Rod unleashes.
The world’s first Chance Rides “Hyper GT-X,” Lightning Rod is unlike any 100-foot-tall coaster I’ve ever ridden.
For me, it redefines “ejector air.”
From the moment the 20-seat train leaves the lift hill, I was subjected to 40+ seconds of hair-raising (literally) airtime. And as you can see in the photo above, hair don’t lie. This is an airtime machine.
The coaster’s lift hill runs adjacent to the road that dissects the park. Motorists are treated to an incredible view of the ride’s bunny-hop finale.
Seen above is one of the few moments where you’re pushed into your seat rather than out of it.
I highly recommend riding in the front row for a ride you won’t soon forget.
Standing in the middle of Lightning Run’s twisted layout, Cyclos is an impressive take on the rotating pendulum ride, turning riders a full 360 degrees. It seems to be a crowd favorite as it held a sizable line throughout the day.
Aside from Storm Chaser (more on that later), another one of the park’s additions for the 2016 season is Angry Birds: The Ride, a 5D theater attraction. I didn’t have time to ride it during this visit, but I’m sure it’s fun if you’re a fan of the game (or need a reprieve from the heat).
The park has an array of classic flat rides in addition to the newer offerings like Cyclos.
The Giant Wheel gave a great view of the Hurricane Bay water park. I’m not much of a water park guy, but it seemed like a nice one (from above, at least).
Thunder Run, a product of the Dinn Corporation, originally opened in 1990 and reopened with the park in 2014.
Rocky Mountain Construction performed the coaster’s refurbishment before it reopened.
While it was far from the worst wooden coaster I’ve ridden, I had no desire to get back in line to ride again.
It’s a rough ride, but the layout makes up for it.
Yes, I rode (my surprisingly first) Roller Skater for the coaster credit…
…and yes, it was fun.
The former Penguin’s Blizzard River attraction, now known as Raging Rapids, kept a lengthy line throughout the day, so I wasn’t able to ride. But from what I know about the attraction, it seems like an exceptionally themed rapids ride. I look forward to trying it out next time I’m at the park.
The only ride that was closed for the entire day was the Deluge water coaster. Even though I’m not a typical water park goer, I would gladly make an exception for one of these. Hopefully it’s open when I return.
Most of Kentucky Kingdom has been revived to the point of not being able to tell the park was abandoned for three years. However, the area of the park between T3 and Storm Chaser needs a significant amount of work.
This dead area of the park stretches alongside the former Top Eliminator Dragsters racing attraction.
The area seems primed for a new attraction — hopefully another new coaster. And it looks like the park is working to bring this last piece of the park back to life. It will be interesting to see what happens here over the next year or two.
I was excited to ride Storm Chaser again after previewing the Rocky Mountain Construction coaster last month.
The coaster seemed to be running much faster than it was in April. However, I was surprised by how empty this area of the park was. I was expecting an hourlong wait, but managed to get four rides in under an hour.
The day was a hot one, so I figured the most efficient way to cool off without venturing to the water park would be a ride on Mile High Falls: a 90-foot-tall shoot-the-chutes water ride — one of the tallest of its kind.
Mission accomplished. I was dripping wet from top to bottom.
Now for the elephant in the room: T3.
I’ve only ridden two Vekoma SLCs in my life, and neither were fun. They were painful, which aligns with this Vekoma model’s reputation among coaster enthusiasts.
However, I hoped that the coaster’s new harness setup would provide a smoother ride. After all, with no heard over-the-should restraints for my head to bounce around between, how could it be that bad?
Unfortunately, the less restricted restraints didn’t do much to provide a smooth. The ride is still incredibly rough. I call it a “one and done.”
It’s easy to see why Six Flags left the coaster to rot.
The ride is very uncomfortable — from the time it leaves the lift hill until the time it hits the brake run.
It’s a shame more couldn’t be done to improve the ride experience.
However, I give kudos to the park for doing everything possible to enhance the coaster. And despite the rough ride, I still saw riders with smiles on their faces after riding. This may be the only suspended coaster they know.
Overall, despite the crowds (which are a good thing for a park returning from the dead), the day was a blast. Thanks to the very reasonably priced season pass, I look forward to making more trips to the park this season.
Over the past two years, this park has come a long way. And judging by the crowds, Ed and his team have plenty of momentum to build more attractions at Kentucky Kingdom.
Have you visited Kentucky Kingdom since it reopened? Share your thoughts about the park in the comments section below.
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