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I might be the only one who tends to comment sometimes. . but trust me, many read your reports. and I LOVE them. y'all are freaking hilarious, and I loved spending some time with you both. great pics. -
And so at last we come to the final update of the longest trip report I've ever written, about the longest vacation I've ever taken, to the farthest place I've ever gone, to experience the worst roller coaster I've ever ridden. (Tornado at Bakken.) But let us not dwell on the negative, but rather focus our attentions on the very best things we encountered on this amazing trip.... 28: Big Finnish Up with the sunrise to catch our flight. And this is Helsinki, so sunrise is probably earlier than you think. And back home to the little strip of land we share with 750,000 other people near the Pacific Ocean. Time to reflect. Sometimes Smisty and I agreed as to what was the best of a particular thing, and sometimes we didn't. For example: Erik's Park of the Trip - Gröna Lund I really struggled with this one. Yes, I rate Gröna Lund as my second favorite park (with Europa being #1) but Liseberg was just so good on this trip. What I ultimately decided was this: If I can count the Grand Curiousa Hotel as part of Liseberg, then Liseberg wins--and if I can't, then Gröna Lund wins. And since it seems weird to me to count a hotel as part of an amusement park for this purpose, well...Gröna Lund wins. Smisty's Park of the Trip - Power Park I get it. I rated this one quite highly as well, and I skipped the crazy flat rides that Smisty cited as being particular highlights of Power Park. She also mentioned the Devil's Mine Hotel dark ride that gave you a limited number of shots. Best Wooden Coaster - Rutschebanen at Tivoli Gardens According to RCDB, Rutschebanen's elements are: Tunnel, Cable Lift Hill, Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel. But I think that's selling it a bit short. There are a few drops. And, of course, a brakeman. Normally, I don't distinguish between wood and steel for purposes of judging rides against one another, but doing it this way kept Misty and I in agreement. Otherwise, my favorite coaster overall would be her second favorite, and vice versa. Which, come to think of it, wouldn't really have changed very much in terms of presentation here. Best Steel Coaster - Fønix at Fårup Sommerland For me, it's not even close. I have Lech as my #1, and this now at #3, with Mako sandwiched in-between them, but probably just because I subconsciously don't want two such similar rides right next to each other at the top of my list. It's like someone took an MRI of my effed-up body, sent it to Vekoma, and challenged them to design a ride that specifically I would enjoy. And they did it twice (at least). Oh yeah, and Smisty likes it also. Best Coaster Collection - Liseberg Is this here just to make me feel better about choosing Gröna Lund over Liseberg? Yeah, probably. But there's not a bad coaster in this park, even if Balder is a bit overrated. Best Dark Ride - The Flying Trunk A weird multi-level dark ride that travels through narrated Hans Christina Andersen stories? Yes, please. I wouldn't say that there were a lot of dark rides on this trip, but many of the ones that did exist were relatively strong. Best Dark Ride Collection - Linnanmäki Witches and clowns, man. Erik's Favorite Water Ride of the Trip - Ragnarok at Tusenfryd On a trip without a lot of good log flumes, a rapids ride sneaks in and pillages my watery heart! (Or something.) Smisty's Favorite Water Ride of the Trip - The Three Hour Buffet Ferry Ride from Denmark to Norway Smisty, I don't think you're taking this very seriously. I was thinking more like an actual ride at a park. Maybe the log flume at Liseberg? No? *sigh* Fine. Erik's Favorite Walk-Through: Lustiga Huset at Gröna Lund I may be old and overweight, but I'm pretty sure-footed, and I love a good fun house. And this is the goodest. Smisty's Favorite Walk-Through: Gasten Ghost Hotel at Liseberg I'd love to show you a picture of it, especially the awesome flooded room--but photos are not allowed inside. So, instead, here's a picture of Smisty's favorite dessert of trip, Strawberry Shortcake Cake at Power Park's Road House. Erik's Favorite Flat Ride - Lake Carousel at Särkänniemi Yes, it's a Schwarzkopf. Yes, it's also very much a family ride. But it's just so gentle and fun! They don't make them like this anymore, but they should. Smisty's Favorite Flat Ride - Aquila at Tivoli Gardens A nicely themed Zamperla Air Race on top of a building. What more could a Smisty want? Transportation/Observation Ride of the Trip - Safari at Kolmården Zoo When I told Smisty first draft nominee for this category, her response was, "That's it?" So then I threw in Särkänniemi's observation tower and Linnanmäki 's monorail to pad it out. But, really, what other possibility could there by besides this? Erik's Best Park Food/Restaurant - Spökbaren Gasten at Liseberg While food was perhaps not on balance as good as on our two previous European trips, there were some highlights. Such as the Danish Smørrebrød, or Liseberg's haunted pub. Of course, part of this choice is the atmosphere. After all, everyone knows that food tastes better when you're scared. Smisty's Best Park Food/Restaurant - The Disgusting Food Museum in Malmö, Sweden Smisty, you're making a mockery of this whole idea. This isn't even at a park and the whole point of the place is that the food is bad. Why do you hate me?? Erik's Best Non-Park Thing - The Paternoster Elevator What more can I say? Except that Smisty knew full well this was a category when she named a place that serves "three penis wine" as her favorite restaurant, and a buffet as her favorite water ride! Smisty's Best Non-Park Thing - Tropicario (or, as we call it, the Snake Zoo) Oh, I get it. By calling the Disgusting Food Museum your favorite restaurant, you got to mention both that and this. Cheater! Fine! I'm changing my favorite wooden roller coaster to the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum! How do you like those apples?! She likes those apples fine. I'd like to thank the following weirdos: Myself, for writing this trip report and taking most of the photos. Smisty, for proofreading it and being the B-camera. Bert, for being the only one who reads it. Goodballs, for being our pal. Elissa, for organizing the trip and herding the cats. Robb, for hating mango lassi. Peter Ellis, for inventing the Paternoster Elevator. And Hans Christian Andersen, without whom, we would be left with a dark ride themed to Mads Mikkelsen. Actually, that sounds kind of awesome. Goodbye forever! -
The park has many weaknesses. #1: Its competitors (such as Holiday World and Kings Island) have more room to expand, while Kentucky Kingdom's size if it uses all the land for expansion, would be around 80 acres, far smaller than those two other parks. #2: Height restrictions, given its proximity to the airport, restrict KK from ever building attractions taller than 150 feet (which, as far as I'm aware, is the max height they're allowed to build), which limits the park if they ever plan/want to compete by building new thrill rides as they did during the 1990s. #3: (This is a minor one, but no one I've seen really talks about it as a negative) The park layout is terrible. The road cutting the park in half, King Louies Playland being in the middle of the front half of the park, and Hurricane Bay being in the middle of the second half of the park make KK unnecessarily difficult to navigate (especially when compared to Kings Island, for example). The back half specifically feels dead in most places, such as the area between Thunder Run and Taco Tequila, which is connected by a long, narrow path, with only one attraction (Raging River Rapids Ride) and almost nothing going on back there. #4: KK, despite its best efforts, has so far struggled to make a profit. When Hart reopened the park in 2014, he believed that KK in the 2010s could have 1.2 million visitors in a season, which were the same attendance numbers from the '97 season. These days, Kentucky Kingdom gets around 700k visitors per season, which is not terrible, but far less than its competitors who average over 1 million guests per year. The issues with making a profit limited the park in the 2010s when it came to new additions (such as not being able to afford a dueling RMC, instead opting for a single-track Storm Chaser). The emergence of Holiday World may be a reason to blame their attendance struggles, as I know that park has taken a large bite out of out-of-state visitors who now go to Santa Claus and not Louisville, I should mention the park of course also has its strengths, its location in Louisville and friendly relations with the local and state governments definitely help it. But barring some serious investment from Herschend or some other operator, I don't understand how Kentucky Kingdom can stay open without heavily relying on the state and local governments to help bear the cost of keeping the place afloat. Although I wouldn't entirely blame Herschend's few investments for the current state of the park, because aside from the 1990s when Paramount was not expanding Kings Island as much and Holiday World was not much of a competitor, it seems that Kentucky Kingdom has struggled to really compete as a regional amusement park. -
By BitterOldHag · Posted
Rode TT2 for my first time this morning and all I can say is wow. Went in with low expectations, came off so pumped up I got right back in line for another lap. To me, it seems like more of a complete ride now. The backwards launch is unlike anything else I have been on and the trip up and over the top hat now is absolutely crazy. CP has a major hit on their hands and I am looking forward to riding again soon. -
By thepoint4life23 · Posted
What makes you say the future doesn't look bright for the park? -
By Mustangman55 · Posted
Hey there all! Apologize if this is posted in the wrong area of the forum but I saw another thread asking for trip advice and wanted to shoot my shot to the experts. Looks like health permitting I will finally be going to cedar point this summer! Yay! And to top it off I will get 3 full days at the park and a stay at the breakers(which I’m told is an awesome and very convenient experience). There is one factor I just can’t decide on and that’s what week I should go. Person I’m going with says first week of June would be good because the crowds will be lower. But there’s a caveat. The park closes at 8 that week and it isn’t until later in the month that it stays open until 11pm. I have also been told Ride Ops will be slower/worse the earlier you go. A local told me you run the risk of more stuff having downtime. The cons of going later in June(18-20)will certainly mean it is more crowded but by how much? Like would the crowds offset the increased hours because that means longer lines? Another local told me it would be way hotter and to definitely go early JUNE to skip the heat and people. I don’t do well in heat. So that’s two different opinions from locals haha! It also doesn’t help that I’m very indecisive because of my OCD and this is a dream trip for me. I want to “get it right” so to speak. A few things to note I know fast lane will be expensive but I have prepared to buy it either dates so that is a non issue. Unless the park was a ghost town I have read enough good things about FL here and other places. I am the kind of person who wants to ride every coaster in the park and ride multiple times based on how much I like the ride. If I wanna ride Maverick 20 times I will do it lol. And night rides might be really neat. But if early June is really less crowded and much cooler I think I would probably prefer that. As long as the ops aren’t bad (I know nobody can guarantee me anything here). But those elusive night rides sound fun! Anyway I would really appreciate any thoughts you all can add to this discussion. Carowinds is my home park but I’ve never ventured out further because of health issues. I’m really hoping this will work out. -
T3 has now been taken down. I also feel the future of this park doesn't look all that bright. -
Thanks for the TR! The new stuff looks cool. I've only been to this park once (in 2022), but I enjoyed it. Maybe not the most thrilling coaster collection, but certainly a unique park with some fun attractions.
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For a small country like Belgium, we kinda have a lot of theme parks. Eight to be exact. From those I only frequent two of them: Plopsaland De Panne & Walibi Belgium. And sometimes Bobbejaanland. A park that's kinda big but misses my boat is Bellewaerde... Now that the park opened a new zone with new rides, it was time to go back to Ypres and hit the park up again. We arrived shortly for opening at the Mexican entrance gate which locates at the back of the park. The weather predictions weren't very good, it would be a clouded day with lots of wind. Not a day to visit a theme park for the general public but us theme park fans know it's an ideal day to go because empty queues! The parking lot was quite empty so we were expecting a calm day. My last visit to the park was 4 years ago when they opened their last big new ride. And now they got some new ride and a new zone to show off, so a good moment to get back to this park. The new zone called Mundo Amazonia was not far from the entrance so we decided to go there straight away. Of course we went first for the biggest new ride of the park: Amazonia. It's a Spinning Rapids from Intamin but it doesn't compare at all to the classic Rapid Rivers we know and are used to like Radja River (Walibi Belgium) & Piranha (Efteling). This resemblances more the old Bobby Drop (Bobbejaanland) and Oxygenarium (Parc Asterix), though it has the classic rapid river boats and not those rubber boats. The whole park seemed to have sprinted towards Amazonia because we still had to queue 30 minutes despite being there quick after opening. And the queue got bigger after us. Before we could enter our boat we also had to be weighed, for the moment they only allow a maximum of 400 kilograms per boat. They had some troubles during testing and from what I understand this measurement would be temporary. Well the term spinning certainly delivers! Those boats spin more than some spinning coasters do in a whole year (looking at you Naga Bay [Bobbejaanland]). The spinning and the edges of the ride being so low, kinda makes it thrilling for me. I have to admit I'm a chicken when it comes to slides and in water parks I even skip those. The fear of going over the edge is always present and that feeling I also got on Amazonia. After the first part, full of turns and spinning, you splash down at the bottom only to be taken back up again by a vertical lift. Now comes the grand final: a big half pipe! It is the star of the show and the best part of the ride for me. It is quite good. It however is not the very last element though you would think you'd float to the station and get out. No, there is a little free fall element right before the station that drops you to an emerald mine. Quite a unique element to have on a water ride. Conclusion: a good added asset for the park. Personally not so into it but that's more because of my dislike/fear of slides. I really can see the general public liking this a lot. They love water rides over here, it's quite something else that other theme parks around here don't have and it looks impressive. And despite the impressive look, it still is accessible for young & old, just like this park likes it. The theming was also great. Loved how the queue meanders beneath the ride. There is plenty of fitting foliage planted that certainly will be gorgeous after some years when it has grown a bit. The whole zone feels slick and fresh too, a nice and needed refurbishment from the old Wild West zone that used to be located here. The park really needed this. Some points of critique however: it is all a bit cliché and cartoonesk sometimes. The Brazilians know more colors than green & yellow and it was weird how they wanted to include the theme of football in the restrooms... The new zone has more new rides, there's also a new mini log flume for little kids but that ride is still unfinished. They got some troubles with late deliveries. The other new ride in this zone is finished and open for us, luckily. Brazilian Buggies is nothing more than a single helix kiddiecoaster from Zamperla. But of course an extra credit is an extra credit! +1 on the counter. As a horizontally-big man I got in there without any problems, bars were no issues. Great! We skipped the log flume, because it wasn't quite warm enough. We deciced to get some food in the nearby Texas Grill restaurant. I always feel ripped off when I get food in Plopsaland De Panne but holy moly, Bellewaerde thought to go one step further. More than 20 euros for fries and a burger with a drink... criminal. I have to admit that the size of the portion was big and it tasted really good. But next time I'll bring my own sandwiches. The logical next stop was Huracan, an indoor coaster from Zierer with some darkride elements. Since it was some time I rode this, I kinda forgot that the first darkride part was quite good and had some nice effects. But it all goes to mediocracy when you go up that lift. It brings you on the roof of the building which I still keep finding it weird. You dive back into the building for the rollercoaster part of this... rollercoaster. But it's mainly in a big black hall without effects. A missed opportunity. The effect in the end brakes are quite good and make for a strong ending however. The guys went to ride El Volador next. I passed, I don't really like the feeling of hanging there slowly in all kind of angles. This ride is known for being prone to technical issues, one of the reasons this ride type doesn't really exist anymore anywhere else. I know the other parks that had one also had issues with them and they closed those. I do hope Bellewaerde does not close El Volador because it just looks so good and it's placed so great there. Maybe they should convert it to a mini free fall?! We could not skip out on a ride on the Boomerang. It's the very first Vekoma Boomerang that opened in the world and it has become such an icon for the park that the parks director said he simply just would order a new boomerang from Vekoma if this one goes to heaven. Understandable, but it's kinda sad how this is the only thrilling rollercoaster in the park and it is just a Vekoma Boomerang... Reride factor: zero. Someone from our group never rode Jungle Mission before. These boat rides aren't really built anymore and you can definitely tell it's an old ride. In these times of being woke and social justice, there are some questionable scenes that the park should reconsider imo. It would be a good excuse to revamp this whole ride or just maybe get rid of it and place something new here. When we passed the tiger- and lion enclose we noticed the park had built a new bridge over the enclosure. So now you can watch this big cats from above! That also kinda makes Bengal Express, the train that goes through these encloses, a bit redundant. I definitely prefer to walk over the bridge since I always felt a bit suffocated in those trains that also can get very hot in summer. Also redundant for me is Bellewaerde's terrain coaster on a flat terrain, aka Dawson Duel. They made some vague decisions here in Ypres but chosing a duelling alpine coaster on supports is without a doubt the dumbest idea they ever had. You even can't enter the vehicle at the bottom and use the lift to go up, no, you have to do a whole climb up there. Not worth it. A better choice was Wakala, a family coaster from Gerstlauer which is the parks latest new big ride before Amazonia opened. Not a bad investment though the park keeps lacking a real thrill coaster, something that really catches the mind and eye of the public. Wakala is however a fun family coaster, the type of family coaster that can also be enjoyed by the older kids and adults like us. It has a flowy layout through the woods, an acceleration on its lift and what they call the antenna here (the spike that makes you go backwards). For me, Wakala is the best coaster of the park. However not good enough to warrant a visit to the park each year. I passed for Screaming Eagle, their space shot tower. Free falls and such are not my cup of tea (vertigo). Nobody of the group was interested in a ride on Niagara, the parks spillwater. That ride can really soak you and it really wasn't warm enough. We were nearby the parks show location and their dive and stunt show would start soon, so we decided to go there. Bengali is new for this year, though the park already had a dive show for years here. The story is cliche and over the top, which is the case for most shows in theme parks. However I did enjoy the stunts and diving. No matter how many times I've seen that, I'm still impressed by it. Jumping from 25 meters into a small bassin is something I'd need a diaper for. The up-tempo Bhangra music also was a big surplus to the show. Time was running out before the park would close, so some of our group ended the day with a last ride on Amazonia. We had a fun day at the park though I don't think I'll be back soon. Bellewaerde is ideal for families with little children but there is just nothing there that appeals for teenagers or adults. There are rumours going around they would invest in a new rollercoaster with inversions but knowing previous investments there, I'm keeping my expectations low. They really could use a stand-out coaster because they are falling behind the other 3 big Belgian parks if they only keep focusing on the little children. ** sorry for any grammar mistakes and such, I'm Belgian and English isn't my first language. -
The seasonal events are nice additions, but I'm honestly skeptical about this park's future. Read an article from Louisville Business First where the park's general manager suggested that they plan to focus on "minor repairs" to the park instead of major additions, so it seems Herschend plans to treat Kentucky Kingdom more like Wild Adventures and not Dollywood/SDC. Also leaving T3 SBNO doesn't look like a sign that they're eager to invest in the property. Maybe their plan for Kentucky Kingdom will work, but for a park like this with many weaknesses in a competitive regional market, I don't see how they could ever break 1 million visitors in a season like they used to back in the 90s, or even turn out solid revenue (because as far as I've seen this park hasn't really made a profit since it reopened 10 years ago).
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Probably next year we will see the rides back in operation and most of the animals gone. -
By SoCalJasonland · Posted
I wish the front cargo pockets fit 375 ml bottles of Captain Morrgan as that would be awesome! I would need a bottle of clear on the left knee and dark on the right knee with a tactical backpack full of Dr Pepper and Coke bottles for mixers. I didn't know there was a last item bought thread or I would have listed it there. Thanks for the info. -
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By prozach626 · Posted
So their vertical construction of the ride itself looks nearly complete. Meanwhile, at our carousel.... -
^ Well, you certainly have a 'win' there, in the "Last Item Bought" thread, lol.
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