Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
Shaggy's Day 4 of URCII@PKI 06/04/00
Shaggy, Reids and Eric G do the Kingdom - SFKK TR
Well thanks to the Reids generosity in driving, Eric G. and I were able to tag along to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. I live about 1 ½ hours away, so obviously I had attended several times before. Now I have not always been the biggest fan of the park, but I can have fun there. This trip would prove just that.
We arrived with the plan to stay only a partial day and then attend Holiday World. We arrived still fairly early and were admitted using our various SF passes. We all entered with no issues, quite a remarkable difference from SFO a few days before. We entered the virtually empty park and I was able to assume that the crowds would begin to grow after local churches let out. That proved true, especially in the water park which was absolutely packed, but in the meantime we had good walk-on rides.
The park was nice and tidy and the weather was great, albeit hot. I have learned how to traverse the park to avoid the crowds. As with many parks, most attendees tend to work their way from front to back. If you go to the back and work forward, it allows good ride time. Before heading to the back, we made a quick stop at the front of the park for one specific ride. The new Wild Mouse.
Roadrunner Express (x1)– the wild mouse addition by Maurer Sohne just opened Memorial Day weekend. I was curious to see what difference this version made from others manufacturers. It was your typical Wild Mouse. Although not as large as others I have ridden, it was fun. The brakes were on, but nothing like BGW’s. The slower speed and slightly larger cars cause the hairpin turns to loose their thrill somewhat. I guess I was spoiled since Hersheypark’s outstanding version was the first I had ever ridden. That is always going to be a tough act to follow. The themeing on the ride is good. Looney Toones suits the attraction well. However I am not so sure the park was thinking properly when they decided to use pavers surrounded by gravel for the queue/station entrance. Children were finding it quite amusing to throw or kick the rocks, which were being scattered throughout the area. This will also prove to be hard to keep clean. All in all, I think the ride suits SFKK very well, and is a perfect fit to the site it occupies. Kudos to SFKK for adding it to the front of the park, which without Vampire, was absent a coaster until now. Pay attention to the vacant area directly next to it. A little birdie said it would be filled next year.
Thunder Run (x4) – What can I say? I despised it last year. I despised it the year before. This year? I am a changed man! The airtime is absolutely phenomenal and the re-tracking has made it (IMO) the best ride in the park. The single train operation is a bummer, but the fact that we rode over and over before the crowds escalated just increased my enjoyment. The ride ops were courteous and friendly and were the best crew in the park. The first drop has good hangtime, and the immediate fan turn following is not nearly as brutal as it once was. The three hops that follow create the charm of this ride with the third hop before the second fan turn being the most air-time filled, out of your feet part of the ride. The ride does tend to die after these hops, but is still fast and fun. I cannot wait to ride it again. It’s amazing how opinions can change.
Twisted Sisters (X3) – Ugh, once again one side operation. We rode pink (I believe. I forget which is which) and it has a higher concentration of hills. It is fun, but not nearly as fast as it should be. The ride was designed to duel, and without that sensation, it totally looses the feeling of speed. The air was almost non-existent, but mostly due to the early morning rides. Last time I rode this side, it was the last ride of the night and it was flying. That is what happens when a coaster is nice and warmed up. I must say, without being too blunt, that the ride ops on this ride lacked any form of personality. I hope that SFKK takes note and tries to improve their guest relational skills. They were efficient, just not personal. And refused to even acknowledge any question you asked.
T2 (x1) – The line is always long, due to single train operation. This time around it only took about a half an hour. But I do wish they would cover that queue, the sun is brutal there. The ride itself was as I have described before, rough. It does not headbang, it just throws you front to back in all of the elements. While there, maintenance was repairing the other train. Perhaps to operate again soon? One can hope.
Lunch – We ate a Swampwater Jacks. I had not eaten there, and remembered it as a buffet from past seasons. This year it is all chicken, but was really good. Nice and cool, and empty. I’ll let Kevin explain the restrooms to you.
Chang (x2) – This was only about a 5 – 10 minute wait. We were smart by waiting to ride until later. When SFKK opens the back half of the park, everyone runs to Chang. But if you wait until later, then the ride is not nearly as long of a wait. Kudos to SFKK who started the day with 2 train operation. Sadly, they do not do this enough. Perhaps it was due to it being a Sunday.
We opted not to try flat rides, or the Hellivator. Time was of the essence since we were headed to Holiday World. We left at about 3:45 after accomplishing all we had desired. We did return to Thunder Run for a final ride before we left, it was indeed everyone’s favorite part of the park.
SFKK is growing on me. Now we had an exceptionally good day, and I may have learned a trick or two about the park while there. But I am actually anxious to go back now, mostly due to Thunder Run. The Reids and Eric were pleasantly surprised, especially after I had forewarned them to not expect much.
I now recommend the park, but still remain concerned at it’s future. It seems each time I attend, SFKK appears more and more land-locked. I don’t feel that Premier is focusing any attention on the park, and has no real desire to sink a lot of money into it. But if they added multiple rides in one single season, that would completely abandon any hopes of future expansion. They would be out of space.
Shaggy
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