I am curious what this new coaster could be. The park has stated that it will be steel and cost $7 million. Anyone have any ideas of current steel coasters that had the same price tag? I am thinking a launched Eurofighter.

It could be an Intamin impulse coaster like Wicked Twister at Cedar Point. Wicked Twister cost $9 million according to Wikipedia. So that puts an impulse coaster in the price range for Kentucky Kingdom.

Steel has gone up markedly in the eleven years since Wicked Twister was installed.

I'm betting on a wild mouse.

What ever the coaster is, it will have the same thrilling significant as Greezed Lighting or most likely an even better significance.

I'm quite sure it will divert many guests who would otherwise go visit Kings Island's New for 2014 attraction.

Yeah. Sure.

So I've been thinking about this for awhile now. Mr. Hart has been building up this $7 million dollar coaster, which most of us know that $7 million won't buy a big steel coaster, but what if its a used coaster. I read somewhere a while back that FPI US LLC who owns Freestyle Music Park (formally Hard Rock Park) were discussing on liquidating the parks rides and attractions. So does anyone else think that maybe Hart struck a deal to purchase one of their coasters? Or are there any other steel coasters out there that are SBNO and still in a good salvageable condition? Just a thought......

Paramount Parks claimed it only saved half a million in relocating Stealth as Borg. Cedar Fair had been talking quite a bit about ride rotation, and of course moved Dominator and other rides from Geauga Lake, but for the most part, the talk of ride rotation has quieted.

Six Flags of course moved Chang and the Batman type ride from SFNO, among other relocations.

Moving and reinstalling one of the Freestyle coasters might well cost more than $7 million.

To a great ride for 2014 at KK, but remember HW has not announced yet and Ki has major something coming!!!!

So three great parks plus Cedar Point and Coney island all in one area, a coaster, family rides, water slides paradise:

Also remember, it's not May 2014 yet. Opening a major park that's been closed so long in so little time with so comparatively little money is a very tall order. It may happen, it may not, it may partially happen or be late, perhaps very late.

Meanwhile, who will operate and manage Holiday World next year is very much unknown right now.

Well, I read the Late 2012 version of the Ed Hart proposal (PDF format) to the state last night...I am no longer thinking this will be an Intamin Impulse, because on one of the "new ride location" diagrams, there was a map drawing of GL's old location and one of those "red lines that show layout" for the new ride...it didn't take much room, but it appeared to at the very least be a full-circuit coaster of some sort, apparently with a helix. So, unless plans have changed, this appears to not be some shuttle coaster of any kind...though I could be wrong.

Also, there were pictures of Ed Hart's proposed waterpark expansion's slides that will be going in Chang's old spot along with the Action River- I did a quick search and was able to find a picture of them on google:

I have to say, based on the slides I have been on at Holiday World...these look awesome, save the fact I may be forced to haul an inner tube up 75+ feet of stairs. As for Kings Island's new-for-2014 coaster being superior to KK's...I'd say there's a 90% chance it will be, since the Kings Island ride is probably going to be massive and cost over $20,000,000+ and this will either be some small/used attraction...unless Ed Hart has somehow gotten this coaster used for $7 million...

In which case, I will already be buying one of those $60 Kentucky Kingdom season passes when the park opens . But even though this ride could fit in KK, I don't see it selling for under $10 million at the cheapest...so I doubt it. Ed Hart has also said this ride would be "new", and since he didn't call GL new when it was added in 2003, I don't think this is a re-location, but some form of relatively cheap new coaster.

And, as Terpy did just bring up (I was taking forever making this post BTW and this topic got fairly active)...yeah, there is still a chance KK won't be able to re-open at all, or will fail horribly and only last a few seasons at most. Then you have the whole Holiday World fiasco, will Lori Koch be willing to build onto and add to a park she might not even own depending the outcome of the court battle (possibly hurting the park)? Meanwhile, Kings Island is about to add a new monster roller coaster, and for now is under stable management...so many possible outcomes from this scenario...head hurts now...

(Photos courtesy of Dale Matthews and the new Kentucky Kingdom)

(Group photo of the team that Mr. Hart assembled during the assessment period)

(Former Kentucky Kingdom good-will ambassador King Louie)

According to Kentucky Kingdom's Facebook page, Only time will tell if King Louie returns to his throne at the Kingdom.....

That Pavement will need a lot of work also..

Greezed Lighting Commercial--

Have to hand it to the marketing team there...they made that coaster actually sound high-tech and thrilling when in reality it was just an relocated old shuttle loop made from parts of two old shuttle loops.

Note that even with the then new coaster, the park was running a BOGO with a Coke can. Cheapest season pass prices in the chain. There were reasons. Reasons that don't bode well for The New Kentucky Kingdom.

SFKK did have some incredibly cheap tickets- Hart never mentioned in that document I read about how Six Flags gave out MASSIVE discounts for that park. If I remember correctly, in 2009 (last year they were open) I saw a TV ad for SFKK where you could visit the park SIX times in a year...the price? $26 (I seriously hope I am wrong on that). A mega-discounted Kings Island ticket good for ONE visit, from Kroger that same year? $29 (95% sure on that price). And Kentucky Kingdom still barely got 600,000 people in that year...Kings Island got 3,000,000+...

UPDATE: I'm not 100% certain what the price on the visit-6-times deal was, but doing some research, I did find this:
http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/18726589.html

$24.99 for tickets, undiscounted, is dirt cheap for an amusement park...

You paid for the company you kept.

Or sumthin'.

Terp, trying to be good (and who had a Great Adventure pass that year).

It was Greased Lightning....now it's greased poo.

Greezed

I stand corrected!!!

If he's going to be that persnickety, it was Lightnin', not Lightning.

What ever the coaster is, it will have the same thrilling significant as Greezed Lighting or most likely an even better significance.

Something about a pot and a kettle...

Greezed Lighting Commercial--

Wow......Worst part of the commercial is the ride that they used.....

A Vekoma Boomerang looks and feels nothing like a shuttle loop coaster.....It was even relocated! Couldn't some old footage of it been used?....

Never mind....That's just how the Kingdom was...One word to describe it in all.....Cheap.

As if 0.005 percent of their target market noticed, much less cared.

They didn't.

If KK did get a $7 millon dollar coaster. Its highly likely to be wood. The American Thunder wooden coaster looks awesome at Six Flags St.Louis. It cost $7 millon in 2008

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Thunder_(roller_coaster)

American Thunder is a great ride! Its one of my favorites at Six Flags St. Louis! I could ride it over and over, but I don't see a coaster like that in store for Kentucky Kingdom in 2014......

It has already been confirmed that the coaster will be a steel coaster

And $7 million five years ago wouldn't be $7 million now. Both wood and steel are far more expensive now.

I assume they will use the space that Greezed Lightnin', Roadrunner Express, and Skycoaster/Vampire/Waterslides were in for the new coaster. It is a decent size area for a ride, but the 7 million price tag seems to be kind of low for a steel coaster. Unless its a mouse.

It could be a mouse for sure, will it be brand new? Whom knows, I was thinking mouse like maybe something l at BEECH BEND:

I thought they already had a Mouse type coaster? But there was a drawing for there new coaster layout. If I find it i will post a URL. It didn't involve much steel.

Could a used Inverdgo type coaster cost about $7 million ?

Greezed Lighting Commercial--

Wow......Worst part of the commercial is the ride that they used.....

A Vekoma Boomerang looks and feels nothing like a shuttle loop coaster.....It was even relocated! Couldn't some old footage of it been used?....

Never mind....That's just how the Kingdom was...One word to describe it in all.....Cheap.

They used 2 coasters in that commercial -

1. The now defunct Greezed Lightnin as Six Flags Astroworld (which was an accurate portrayal)

2. A Boomerang (still working on which one... almost think Geauga Lake... err Six Flags Ohio... err. Six Flags Worlds of Adventure... due to the colors/train style and wooden coaster in background.) That actually would have represented the former Vampire at KK removed by Six Flags prior to the Greezed Lightnin install.

It's all so.... incestuous ;-) LOL!