Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread

^^

It is just a waterslide and for the most part they are very safe. Take this rider here: That is an typical waterslide. No major risk of capsizing or shooting out of the slide. But that isnt exactly the great wall of china holding her in that ride if the rider broke from proper riding protcol.

 

I just fear in this day and age of kids and adults acting like little show-off jerks that any typical waterslide, that doesn't take extra precautions such as this new one with netting, is not that hard to get hurt on. If you stay seated or even if you fall out you will be fine 99% of the time. BUT if you get that one schmuck that doesn't follow the rules then you got a potential problem on your hand. I'm all for the netting they are adding to rides such at this one.

 

Anyway, I worry too much I guess.

 

And than when the tube flips or lands in the splash pool the wrong way ( flipping over), the rider is trapped because of the restraints...great idea...

^Already been covered in this thread, bro.

 

I was more implying to keep tubes more rounded so that they are harder to get out of or netted like the current one at SFNE.

 

When exactly did I ever say passengers had to be restrained to their innertube anyway? I was just making the argument for netting or something more than a 1 to 2 foot curved wall seperating a passenger from a plummet.

THATS AWSOME , I HEARD THAT THEY ALSO PAINTED HELLAVATOR AND THE OTHER WATER SLIDES

I have at ''The Beach Water Park " near Kings Island.

^ Yes, they repainted the slide tower multicolored (it use to be all cream colored) and the top of hellavator is now blue, but the rest is still red as of now.

how does it get up the hills when there dry. does it have wheels?

 

Mod Edit: Please read the TPR Forum Rules! Excessive smilies is considered annoying.

I so want to go on that Do you think we will get

Where are the Deluge construction pics? Come on surely someone has a few.

I drove by last Thursday and it's location is very difficult to see from any roads. I believe not much vertical construction has been done yet anyways; just footers, concrete, ground remodeling, and stuff. Perhaps someday this week after school I'll stop by and actualy get out of my car to get a closer view and pictures.

Does anybody know the status of Deluge? Last I heard it was suppose to open memorial day weekend, but I am having a hard time finding out if it did and if not when it will open.

I was at Kentucky Kingdom yesterday and the Deluge was open, operational and quite popular.

It opened last weekend. I got to ride it this morning before working there. It's very fun! The magnets don't really kick-in intill about half way up the hills. They propell you forward very fast and you even get a little pop of air at the top of almost every hill! However, I didn't like how you barely even get wet, just some mist in your face. It should almost be out in the regular park, and not the water park imo. I meant to bring my camera, but didn't want to deal with it all day at work. I'll be sure to get some pictures soon.

 

EDIT: I might add that the park is looking really nice this year! New paint jobs on buildings and rides, new signs, landscaping, improved music, and even enough trash cans to make Cedar Fair happy! They have really stepped it up and cleaned alot. Much better than previous years. Kudos Six Flags!

 

I'm afraid that I now won't be able to get some pictures untill next weekend. I work all week from opening to closing, and thus have no free time in the park. My apologes.

Great news guys!

I'm going there the 9th and was getting worried when nobody was talking about it. Would love to see those pictures. Thanks for the great news.

First, I want to dispel the myths a few members are leaving regarding SFKK. If you have not been to the park this year, you have not been to SFKK. We are working diligently to provide our guests with an exceptional experience here at our park. We are focused on families and have made vast strides to deliver an exceptional kids product with our two kids areas located in the theme park.

 

We have also listened to what our guests have had to say about our property over the past several years. We developed a long range plan with that in mind and delivered an amazing waterpark expansion and re-brand to Six Flags Splashwater Kingdom. The all new Deluge along with Buccaneer Beach have been huge hits for all of our guests.

 

Deluge is an amazing experience with 4 person rafts making their way through a serpentine series of high-bank turns in enclosed tunnels and up-hill climbs via the LIM technology really catches you buy surprise.

 

Anyone who visits our park and does not see the changes we are putting in place and the progress we are making to deliver on an exceptional experience just doesn’t get the bigger picture. I have been in the business for 20 years and I am more excited at this point in my career than any other thus far.

 

There are those whom may disagree and that is certainly their right… however, I hope they have truly made their visit to the park. I have given multiple tours this year to show everyone what we have to offer and where we are going in the future. I extend an invitation to anyone who is interested spending time learning more about what our great park has to offer… just contact me via my cell phone 972 922-9986 to schedule a tour of SFKK.

 

I have been at this property for 18 months now and I assure you SFKK is a different park heading in the right direction!

 

Jay

 

Jay Thomas

Park President

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Hi there Jay!

 

Much appreciated on your posting to the site. It's great to hear from park management and know they are listening to our compliments and even our criticisms.

 

I have certainly witnessed some positive changes throughout all the Six Flags parks we have visited so far this year (Magic Mountain, Great Adventure, and Six Flags America) and we are looking forward to our visit to Kentucky Kingdom in August.

 

Hopefully we'll see you there and get a chance to meet up and see the improvements first hand!

 

--Robb

Thanks for the info. It's nice to get some park managers here on TPR. (I don't know of any others)

So...... are you guys getting a dark ride any time soon?

^ One note for responding to a park official....it's awesome that they have posted and made it known that they read and want to interact with the group, BUT....please try not to bombard them with "What attraction are you getting next...." questions.

 

While I too would love to see them get a dark ride, remember that they just opened a really kick-ass looking water ride! Enjoy that for this season, and then maybe towards the end of the year we might get some 'hints' as to what might be in the parks future....

 

--Robb

Now is SFMM's manager made an account and posted here on TPR, that would be great.

I'm looking forward to my first SFKK visit this coming Wednesday. We're taking a break from Coaster Con and spending the day in Louisville.

 

Several people have told me not to waste my time but I've never let that stop me before.

Hey Jay! Thanks for posting! I am looking forward to visiting SFKK over the summer. The park looks great and it's good to hear about the park's turn around.

 

-Zach

Now is SFMM's manager made an account and posted here on TPR, that would be great.

Well we did have a Entertainment Supervisor post here. He does what he can to make sure people follow the rules.

 

I think the biggest problem at any park is the staff. When the supervisors are there, the staff does everything by the book. When the Supervisors leave, they show their true colors. Because of this, the supervisors doesn't really know unless it was pointed out to them. When I work at SFMM, I try to do my best and follow all the rules.

 

I hope to visit this park someday.

 

Sincerly

Andrew

Hello Jay!

 

First of all, let me say that you've got every right to be proud of what you're doing at Kentucky Kingdom. I was at the park less than 2 weeks ago from the UK, and I was very impressed with what I saw.

 

The main things I noticed were how polite the staff were, they really looked like they were making the effort for their guests. It was very clean, with almost no litter on the pathways. And unlike Six Flags Great America two days ago, they actually had their own restaurants open, not just the corporate partner chains e.g. Papa Johns.

 

The operations really surprised me. I certainly didn't expect the see both sides of Twisted Twins running and duelling, and I didn't expect for Chang to have two trains running even though the queueline never left the station. In fact they put another train on after just having one on in the morning. The only grumble I had was the time between dispatches on Thunder Run, but apart from that everything else was very well done.

 

The inverstment in the waterpark is a good direction to be going with, as they are much more inclusive to everyone than a bunch of big rollerocasters ever will be, and really fit the bill of what the Six Flags properties are aiming to become.

 

I actually thought Kentucky Kingdom was much better than Great America, which has always supposed to be have been one of the better parks.

 

So keep up the good work Jay, and if I get the chance to come back and you're still there, I'll certainly be getting in touch!

 

-Tom Hardwick

Jay: thank you very much for posting on TPR!

 

I am fully aware of the strides you and your managerial staff have made this year so far (as witnessed and reported by various TPR forum members) and the biggest expansion in park history (Splashwater Kingdom and Deluge, in particular) should definitely bring added guests and revenue to Kentucky Kingdom – it surely was the best water park I had ever seen.

 

However, with all due respects, I had visited SFKK within the past three weeks and was disappointed, to say the least, being a coaster/park (and not a water park) enthusiast. Having visited two other Six Flags parks prior (SFGAm and SFSL - I know, not a lot) and many other parks, the Kentucky Kingdom’s staff’s courtesy and overall effectiveness appeared to be a grave hindrance to the mission you and your staff are attempting to accomplish.

 

In addition to the issues I brought up in the trip report I submitted upon my return from your park (which I had delayed submitting because I didn’t want negative views to be the only views expressed {http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36304&highlight=kentucky+kingdom}), I made no mention of a Greezed Lightnin' ride operator on my initial short visit Friday, May 30. I understand that standing over the yellow line in the station and sitting or standing on the rails is potentially a liable situation for Six Flags but to have a ride operator delay operations and scream it over the loud speaker in a virtually empty queue is a bit over the top, in my opinion. It simply gives the guests that are obeying the rules the feeling that Kentucky Kingdom is not a fun & friendly place to visit.

 

Just two days ago, Six Flags Over Georgia ride operators addressed the same situation with a much more friendly (and effective) manner; they simply brought it up matter-of-factly (and sometimes humorously) over the load speaker and the innocent always scanned the crowd (us innocent humans do that naturally) until our eyes become fixated on the guilty parties until they realize that everyone is looking at them and quickly return to the ground. Problem solved without negative experiences being had by innocent guests.

 

Another issue I had experienced during my visit to SFKK was while waiting to be dispatched on Twisted Twins (the pink one – Lola {?!?}); the ride operators missed the synchronization intervals and we sat in the station for three (yes, three) green train circuits. Finally, the ride operators were able to get the timing correct but at that point I just wanted to ride – I couldn’t care less about dueling. To the staff’s credit, though, they allowed us to board the green train (Stella {?!?}) immediately without having to re-enter the line.

 

I’m sure that my observations at Kentucky Kingdom (in both my trip report and here) were isolated incidents. However, in a full day’s visit, one should not encounter this many instances.

 

Although I am about equidistant from both SFKK and SFOG, I would easily choose SFOG for the friendliness, experience and thrills (I, like stated earlier, am {like many members on TPR} a coaster/park fan) and rearranged my trip to go there one extra day. Until the good rides you do have (everything besides T2) can be rehabbed to their former glory and operations can run smoothly or, at least, you can avoid having riders hitting trees during their “best stand-up coaster” (as I have proclaimed and still agree with after riding Georgia Scorcher), unfortunately SFKK will not be my “home” park – I’d rather drive the extra 30 minutes to Atlanta. That’s not to say that people shouldn’t visit your park; there are great aspects to it – just not what I prefer in a park.

 

I understand that a coaster/park enthusiast’s opinion is not the only opinion that matters in your position even though you do have support among us. If Non-German Tom (Shockwave) visited just a little more recently than me and saw significant improvements and an upper hand over SFGAm (my former home park, which is pretty darn good), you and your staff seem to have a handle on things.

 

I am aware that you have to look at the big picture which is the majority, who are not coaster/park enthusiasts. I hope that there is a “bigger picture” and that the park is “heading in the right direction” that satisfies both coaster and water park enthusiasts as well as families looking for a nice getaway.

 

I would love to see what the future holds for Kentucky Kingdom and am looking forward to the continued progress! Your dedication should be commended! I wish you the best of luck in your challenge!

Wow, this is a first, usually park reps and higher ups usually lurk and read what enthusiasts whine about. Kudos to you for going the extra mile and wanting to interact with all of us!

 

Anyways, I have never been to your park, however I will be there in August when everybody on the Midwest Trip stops over for a half day of fun (and thank you in advance for the generous Extended Ride Time, especially for Deluge). I look forward to your park especially for some of its great rides and Deluge since that seems like an interesting slide.

 

Glad to hear your optimism of the park's future. Hopefully Kentucky Kingdom continues to cater to all audiences and not just the thrill seeking teenagers. Can't wait to see what happens, if you're optimistic about it, then I am glad to see SFKK will continue to improve under Shapiro's ownership.