RailRider

Did anyone else notice in the park sponsored article, on the perfect management escorted day at the park that the writer experienced, it is mentioned that the new trains on T3 are by Kumbak? I thought all along these were to be new Vekoma trains. Kumbak is the cheaper version of Vekoma, not the product but the cost of having them do it instead of Vekoma. After all Kumbak was formed by former Vekoma employees. Makes sense. Have the trains arrived yet?

With as bad as cash flow appears to be they may be lucky to make it through the season. Don't worry though Hart will be sure to lay blame on the lack of support and excitement from locals and negative online opinions. He has no fault in the matter.

From what I can recall over the past 149 pages, there have been no posts that have been inflammatory or scandalous regarding Kentucky Kingdom. Nothing more than a concerned group over the viability of said Kingdom of the Commonwealth. Concerns have been raised and the Kingdom has sent under cover "PR" people to ridicule and scoff at the opinions and insight offered in this thread. Honestly they should be thankful the park has received this kind of attention and used it to benefit attendance. Instead since it isn't controlled by Hart it is not a viable resource to market the park. This thread is no different than any of the other park threads that raised concerns about floundering parks. See the threads on Hard Rock Park and Freestyle Music Park. Hope with a steady dose of realism.

^ They could have used your nickels. This would also be why rides are just now being unloaded from their trailers.

The past few years we have arrived in Pigeon Forge Thanksgiving Evening. Black Friday shopped at the outlets and then hit up the Christmas festivities at Dollywood. Makes for a great long weekend and the Smokey Mountain Christmas is an amazing event. From the lights, attractions and shows. Truly unlike anything offered in the tri state. Crowds are fairly light in November.

Have there been any reports of the new trains being on site yet? Pictures, anything?

Lots of excellent posts and tips already. I would echo the praise of the Qbots. If the park is crowded go get one, highly worth the additional cost. Besides all the great rides the Craftsmen Valley is well worth the time it takes to visit every shop and talk to the artisans. Also do not, I repeat do not miss the warm cinnamon bread at the Old Mill. One of the best things to eat at any amusement/theme parks around. If you are looking for a great steak while in the area hit up Calhoun's and get the Ale Steak. The Park Grill is a fabulous choice in Gatlinburg as well.

Should be interesting to watch how Kennywood responds to this potential ongoing issue. Could an entry time cutoff be in the future? Then again I am not sure who wants to be leaving a park in that neighborhood around 10pm anyways?

As a kid I was never apprehensive about ridding your average family coaster. Most Summers we would make a trip to Opryland and I rode everything I was able to and once I was finally tall enough to ride the Wabash Cannonball I became very nervous. I remember standing outside the que watching my Dad and Uncle ride as they got stuck on the lift (which just added to the anticipation) once they got their ride it was my turn. Best Ride Ever! I didn't feel this level of anticipation again until my first trip to Cedar Point in 1992 and walking in to the park from Sandcastle Suites only to walk by the Magnum. That thing absolutely terrified me. But I was hooked on coasters that day forward.

How dare you post such a well thought out response regarding Kentucky Kingdom. Where is your rage and disbelief over the events of the weekend? Still amazed how this park received taxpayer funding with little to no commotion from the people of the Commonwealth. Politics at its finest. I firmly believe that the original intentions of Hart and his cronies was to open the park for a few years on the taxpayer's dime make a lot of nickles and cut their ties all while spending as little money as possible. The park suffers from serious cash flow issues and I don't need to see a balance sheet to know that. Hart and his cronies are not using their private funding but whatever they receive from the Commonwealth to cash flow the park and hopefully enough ticket sales to get rides assembled and opened at some point. I still question if T3 will even open this year. No trains on site as far as we know and no testing of said new trains. This should all happen in less than a month for a ride that has been shuttered for a few years? Good luck and how much cash will they and can they sink in to this ride? Oh the terror. My mantra for this park has always been Location, Location, Location. Which is why so many parks have failed. I know will add Cash Flow, Cash Flow, Cash Flow as well.

One thing that stands out to me is that Kentucky Kingdom knew exactly what event Logan was asking about on Facebook. Out of the roughly 2,000 reported people that visited the park that day this single transaction was enough to stick out and be reported to those that answer said questions on Facebook? That I find very interesting. Maybe someone should ask them on Facebook why there is still no handicap access to Swampwater Jacks?

Where is our favorite minion to respond to this thread or the Trip Report thread and tell us all how silly and ignorant we are. Then again successful parks typically don't turn away paying customers who are willing to pay full price at the gate when they are in desperate need of cash flow and out of state visitors. But some might say I'm ignorant for using the words successful in a thread discussing Kentucky Kingdom. The place is a joke, will continue to be a joke, and will close its doors once again in the not to distant future. Harts ego will continue to grow over the fact that out of the goodness of his heart he took taxpayers money and tried to reopen the Kingdom, but ultimately the people let him down. We must not consider the facts that Hart has no real stake in the success of the park only profit to gain and the taxpayers have everything to loose. I hope the residents of the Commonwealth are smart enough to see this and vote out those responsible for allowing this deal to ever happen.

Loved every second of this trip report and I hope for a follow up report on your next visit. I highly doubt things get much better if at all.

Just a few notes. I imagine the reason some rides are gone and some new ones have appeared this year is that KK is leasing or renting said flat rides. Most of the ride installations have been carnival style rides that are not permanent. Also KK attracted somewhere between 500,000 and 599,999 guests last year or almost 600,000 per reports. Their goal this year is only 650,000 in attendance. Also to meet requirements with the Commonwealth KK must have a certain percentage of its guest from out of state. I believe it was a third or something like that. Also remember original attendance projections for the first year were over a million. How expectations have fallen, then again KK doesn't want to miss their attendance goal again during a political year. Hours and days of operation will make it a great challenge for KK to draw the numbers and type of crowd they want. Location, Location, Location.

The DVC's are some of the best ways to stay on property. Thankful I have lots of friends I can buy points off of and stay.

I think I like the all red of T(whatever) better than the new site.

Emphasis added

And Kentucky Kingdom is not even remotely close to the same league as Carowinds. They should be pricing themselves similar to parks/competition like Indiana Beach and Beech Bend. Both priced at $31.95 and $31.99 respectively. Kentucky Kingdom has priced themselves at $49.95 at the gate or $39.95 advanced online purchase. Holiday World is $44.99 ($40.99 online) and that does not include early season discounts where tickets are almost half. Compare to the fact that Kings Island at the gate is $62 but online is $44. Yes for $5 extra dollar you can visit Kings Island instead of Kentucky Kingdom or for virtually the same cost you can visit Holiday World instead of Kentucky Kingdom. Pricing matters.

Nice trip reports. Great memories. The only advice I can give about DVC and the reason we haven't bought in is because of the expiration date and the annual service fees are pretty high. Do the math for yourself and compare with DVC. I sometimes think renting points is a better way to go.

They have set themselves up for failure once again with their pricing structure. Seriously they have priced themselves on par with Holiday World. Holiday World which is only a short drive away, that attracts millions annually from all over the country and is opening a first of a kind B&M. That and their ticket and pass pricing is confusing for the average guest because of the involvement of the Kentucky Fair. Honestly they aren't even trying at this point. Ticket prices should be $35 at the gate with a discount admission around $27 and season passes around $75. Seriously know your product, your competition and set your pricing accordingly.

Correction per Kentucky Kingdom sources the correction pronunciation is Magic Mountains

I loved the "Magic Mountains" part as well as the male anchor coughing up a lung like he just doesn't care. "Hey this segment is already crap, let me clear my throat." Just an awesome overall news segment.

Just another tower ride at a park that has a horrible history with tower rides and zero concern for acting in bad taste.

The whole free parking thing for season pass holders is a bit late. Honestly this close to the season starting this seems to be a last minute incentive to spur additional season pass sales. Maybe they should have announced this when season passes went on sale initially for the 2015 season. Then again like most things at KK this was probably an afterthought. I highly doubt this will incentivize many new season pass purchases this late in the game. Therefore the park and fairboard have just blown a revenue stream that would have been coming in. Remember they had already sold the majority of their season passes to folks who intended to pay for parking. Now they will not need to pay for parking and it is a mighty risky chance hoping they spend those dollars in the park. Once again well played KK.

Sea World has missed the boat. Attack the "facts" in the book, not the individual writting the book. This makes it seem that you have no response to the "facts" in the book because they are true so the best secondary option is to attack an individuals character. Well played Sea World, Ed Hart would be proud.