Kentucky Kingdom is an interesting amusement park
in Louisville, Kentucky. This park is one of the best in the country for ejector airtime,
but it wasn’t always like that. Kentucky Kingdom has had a very turbulent history.
The park has had multiple owners and even closed at points, but today it’s a solid amusement park.
Find out everything you need to know about this park in this review.
Before delving into this park’s history, it’s important to consider where this park is located.
Kentucky Kingdom is located in downtown Louisville roughly 1 mile from the airport.
While it’s super cool seeing planes fly overhead, this has imposed strict height limits on the park.
Kentucky Kingdom can build taller rides, but only in specific spots.
This park was also built on the grounds of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. The initial
owners leased the land from the fairgrounds, which would cause problems down the road.
Kentucky Kingdom originally opened in 1987 as a small 13 acre park. The ride lineup consisted
mostly of kiddie and family rides, but the park struggled financially and filed for bankruptcy.
Ed Hart purchased Kentucky Kingdom in 1989 and reopened it a year later. Over the next few years,
Kentucky Kingdom was one of the fastest growing parks in the country.
Attendance increased 10 fold under his ownership. Hart exercised an option to lease an extra 13
acres to double the size of the park. Hart believed roller coasters drove attendance,
so five roller coasters. This included a classic wood coaster in Thunder Run, a Vekoma boomerang
in Vampire, one of the first Vekoma SLCs in T2, and the world’s largest stand-up coaster
at the time in Chang. The park also received several notable flat rides and a water park.
Premier Parks purchased the park after the 1997 season and renamed the property Six
Flags Kentucky Kingdom. The park continued to receive steady investment over the next decade,
but there were three issues that stunted the park’s growth and compromised its future.
First, there was a tragic accident on Superman: Tower of Power in 2007. One of
the cables broke on this Intamin drop tower and it became entangled around a young girl’s legs,
causing both her feet to be amputated. This understandably generated a lot of negative
publicity for the park and impacted attendance. Second, Six Flags tried to amend the lease with
the Kentucky State Fair board. They wanted more clarity on the long-term stability of the park,
but the fair board declined. This is one of the reasons Chang was ultimately
relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure. Third, Six Flags filed for bankruptcy in
early 2010 and immediately ceased operations of Kentucky Kingdom. Six Flags gutted the park,
taking a few rides, ride parts,
all DC and Looney Tunes theming, and some infrastructure items like shade structures.
Multiple proposals to revive the park failed over the next few years, including one from the owners
of the nearby Holiday World. But in 2012, Ed Hart returned to the park he saved 1.5 decades before.
And he did the same again. Hart’s proposal would invest $120 million into the park,
making it a premier amusement park destination once again. Kentucky Kingdom reopened in 2014
with new additions on both the amusement side and water park side. The park has received 3
new roller coasters since reopening, all of which excel at airtime. Lightning Run
came first in 2014. Storm Chaser came second in 2016. And then Kentucky Flyer came third in 2019.
While the latter didn’t offer the extreme ejector airtime like the predecessors,
it had about as much airtime as you could get on a family coaster.
In early 2021, Herschend purchased the park. Herschend has two of the best theme parks in the
country in Silver Dollar City and Dollywood, and these two parks have received heavy investment.
But some of their other properties like Wild Adventures have received much less attention.
Thus far, the only thing Kentucky Kingdom has received is the chain’s beloved cinnamon bread,
but time will tell if they get significant ride additions as well.
While the park’s long-term prospects finally seem stable,
Kentucky Kingdom still has a bizarre set-up. It starts with the parking lot. The roadway into the
amusement park is shared by the expo center, so it’s extremely easy to end up in the wrong
parking lot and get confused how to exit. Then the park layout is bizarre. A road cuts
through the center of the park, so the park is split into two sections. You get
between the two sections by either crossing over it via a bridge or by using the manned
crosswalk. It’s so weird having to watch for traffic in the middle of a theme park.
The ride placement is odd too. The Hurricane Bay water park is plopped down in the middle of the
amusement park. It’s impossible to access the coasters in the back of the park without cutting
through the water park. However, it thankfully doesn’t take too long to get between attractions.
Now let’s talk about the aesthetics. The front two thirds of the park look great. Rides and slides
sport vibrant color schemes. There really isn’t any theming, but the park looks clean and fresh.
However, I do not like the back section of the park. The area by Storm Chaser looks hideous.
And the pathways leading back there feel empty and desolate. While the front areas feel lively,
the back section feels like a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
I really hope this section gets aesthetic improvements under Herschend’s guidance.
This park also doesn’t have a lot of shade. Under Hart’s ownership,
they used to provide free sunscreen, but that perks seems to have been discontinued so plan
accordingly or you can get burned, literally. Another practice that seems to have been
discontinued was the free soft drinks. Now you need to purchase
either a souvenir cup or a season pass. I mentioned how Herschend brought their
cinnamon bread to Kentucky Kingdom, but my favorite food item in the park are the soft
pretzels by Lightning Run. These homemade pretzels are super doughy and buttery.
I can’t speak to the park’s other entrees since I always fill up on pretzels. They’re amazing.
Prices seem similar to the pre-Herschend days, as daily admission costs $50 as of 2022,
but you can cheaply add a second day for $5. Season passes are also very affordable at just
$65-$80 depending on the tier. Since these passes include parking and some additional discounts,
it may honestly be a better deal to get the season pass even if you visit for just one day.
If your primary focus are the roller coasters, you want to be one of the first people in the
park and immediately ride Lightning Run. This coaster often runs just one train
and tends to have slow dispatches due to the unaccommodating restraints. Shortly after opening,
this ride often has 30 minute wait. You then want to head towards the back
of the park. T3 is shaky, but if you want to ride it, head there next since it can
only run a single 14 person train. That coaster often has the longest line by midday. The other
coasters usually have minimal waits. Thunder Run and Roller Skater because of popularity.
Storm Chaser because of its isolated location in the back of the park. And Kentucky Flyer because
it has the fastest operations in the park and it’s the one coaster that routinely runs two trains.
The tube slides can get busy on hot summer days, so if these are a priority for you,
it is prudent to experience those early. As I mentioned earlier, Kentucky Kingdom is a
must for airtime lovers. There are six coasters in total with three being bonafide airtime machines.
Storm Chaser is the park’s best attraction. This Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid conversion of
the former Twisted Twins wood coaster is powerful. While this is one of the smallest RMCs, this one
typically runs shockingly fast, delivering some of the strongest ejector airtime of any coaster.
I love the sustained airtime on the first camelback and the final few hills violently pop
you out of your seat. My review on this coaster occurred after the 2020 season, but my rides in
and it rides like an RMC. The ride is glass smooth while offering strong ejector airtime. The
returning bunny hills are the standout moment for me. They occur in rapid-fire succession and the
ride tries to catapult you to the moon. It really is a shame Chance hasn’t built more of these.
Kentucky Flyer is the park’s best family coaster. It has a low height limit and every hill pops you
out of your seat. The ride isn’t too extreme, which makes it approachable for younger guests,
but the abundance of airtime makes it enjoyable for older guests as well.
And I also love how this ride looks like a classic wood coaster with its white supports
and placement on the park’s perimeter. Thunder Run may be the best Dinn coaster
out there. That outward leg delivers some nice airtime too. The second half fizzles out due to
all that straight-track, but thanks to recent trackwork, this wood coaster is pretty smooth.
But you know what ride isn’t smooth T3? This ride is so notoriously rough that even the
park’s own social media team insults this ride. No really! This was one of the prototype SLCs.
Being one of the oldest, it’s extremely shaky. The new trains from Kumbak do elimate headbanging,
but the restraints are super tight on your thighs and the ride shuffles you about mercilessly.
For younger guests, you have a Vekoma junior coaster in Roller Skater. It’s
smooth and comfortable for guests of all ages. The rest of the ride lineup is mixed. You have
a 5D theater, but no traditional dark rides. Most of the flat rides are towards the front of
the park. You have a solid collection of spinning rides and three newer flats worth checking out.
The best of the bunch is FearFall. This Larson drop tower offers a forceful drop with no warning.
You levitate the whole way down and get one heck of a stomach dropping sensation.
Cyclos is a Zamperla inverting frisbee that offers good positive Gs on the downswings
and great hangtime on the full revolutions.
Skycatcher is a ARM star flyer that offers a mildly forceful ride
plus some of the best views of the park. For kids, you have a sizable kiddie area
known as King Louie’s Playland. There aren’t too many rides for them in the back half of the park,
but this section has plenty of attractions to keep younger guests busy for a few hours.
There are two water rides on the dry side. Mile High Falls is one of the largest shoot
the chutes rides in the world. This Hopkins creation stands 90 feet or 27 meters tall,
so the resultant splash is soaking and ginormous. You also have an ok rapids ride in Raging Rapids.
It doesn’t get you too wet, but it has a long course.
For many years, this attraction was better known for a particular rock formation that looked like a
male body part, but it has since been removed. A moment of silence for our fallen comrade…
Hurricane Bay is a pretty good water park. There is a strong collection of tube slides
plus two standout attractions. First is Deep Water Dive. This is one of the tallest speed
slides in the world, standing 121 feet or 37 meter tall. This slide is an absolute rush between
the height and suspense from the trapdoor. Second, is Deluge. This is a great water coaster.
This one has a series of sizable drops giving some solid airtime;
however, it is extremely unreliable. This was the prototype ProSlide hydromagnetic water coaster
and I honestly don’t know the last time it ran. Beyond the rides and slides, you also have a sea
lion show. I have never seen it, but it seems quite popular with guests and it’s a pretty rare
offering for an amusement park like this. So do I recommend Kentucky Kingdom? Yes.
This park has a small but strong coaster lineup. Storm Chaser and Lightning Run are two of the best
coasters for ejector airtime. The park also has some solid supporting rides and most of the park
looks good. If you only do the amusement side, you may only need a half day at Kentucky Kingdom. I
often hit this park before or after HoliWood Nights since it’s just 1 hour from Holiday World.
If you plan to hit the water park, Kentucky Kingdom probably is a full-day park.
Whether I do the water park depends if Deluge is operating, which hasn’t happened since
my first visit to the park back in 2016. So those are my thoughts on Kentucky Kingdom
and Hurricane Bay. What are your thoughts on this amusement park? Do you think Herschend’s
ownership is a good thing for this park? Let me know what you think about this park,
whether it be the rides or this park’s convoluted history. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!