Kentucky Kingdom - 2009
Posted by Nathan
On May 28th, Nathan and I headed out on our second big trip of the year. Five days of nothing but coasters
and having fun! Be warned, this trip report is long and includes details about the parks and experiences- not
just the rides.
Our first stop was Kentucky Kingdom. This was the first time we had visited a Six Flags park. To be honest, I
was not sure what to expect. I had read horror stories about how terrible the park was and that it should be
avoided at all costs. To say the least, we went in with low expectations Happily, we were surprised with what
we found.
Our first stop was to process our season passes as we planned to check out Six Flags over Georgia in June. In
less then two minutes, we had our passes processed and were on our way into the park. The park is really pretty!
There are lots of flowers and trees throughout. I had flashbacks to King’s Dominion in some places. The smoke
trees were in full bloom (or whatever they do) and were breathtaking. We spent some time just walking around
and taking in the scenery.
In addition, it was really clean. I didn’t see very much litter on the ground. One thing that I really found
interesting was all the posters and advertisement for green technology in the park. Compact Fluorescent bulbs
(the curly energy efficient ones) were in the light sockets. Trash containers to recycle pop bottles were
plentiful. Newer driers were installed and hand towels were not available to cut down on trash and waste. Signs
pointed out where recycled materials were used (and there were more than a few).
Walking through the park, we stopped at the Secret of the Lost Temple which is a 4-D movie theater. This was a
new show for the year. It wasn’t in 3-D and the storyline was a little corny, but cute enough to take kids to
and neat for adults to watch a time or two.
We then headed over to Chang- the B and M standup coaster. The coaster was a walk on and pretty good. The head
“cushion” were comfortable and I didn’t experience any head banging while Nathan had a couple incidents. The
ride was smooth and definitely re-ridable.
T2 was next. I admit, I have a history of hating inverted coasters. They scare me and I habitually refuse to
ride them. This year, I promised myself I would step outside my comfort zone and ride them. Like Chang, it was
a walk on. This ride is fast! We flew threw the five inversions in no time. While I won’t say it’s my favorite,
the ride is smooth and not violent. This would be a good coaster for people like me who are nervous about riding
this type of coaster and need baby steps to work up to more intense coasters.
From there, we walked around to Thunder Run- a large wooden coaster in the back of the park. This was a fun
ride. We rode in the very front, second row, and in the middle. Not too rough, but enough to let you know you
were still on a wooden coaster. I wacked my ear on Nathan’s shoulder (but not as bad as I did on KD’s Hurler
when I was certain I had lost it!). Cresting the first hill, we could look over and see the Twisted Twins hanging
out in the back. I have my fingers crossed that they will be running sometime in the future.
Roller Skater was one of those rides Nathan said was a grin and bear it as it was a “kiddie coaster.” I thought
it looked adorable because you set in big roller skates. We each got our own skate and took off. There was a
little girl in the front seat who turned around to tell me how fun the ride was and that she was riding it over
and over. She went on to show me how she could ride it with no hands. An enthusiast from the get go! While the
ride overall was pretty tame, there was a good drop on the first hill that made my tummy bouce unexpectedly. When
we hopped off (and waved goodbye to our little friend) Nathan declared that while that was a kid’s coaster, it
has “a little spice.”
We crossed the road and headed back to the other side of the park. Road Runner Express was the next coaster and
is a wild mouse. It is decorated to look like the desert southwest. I really liked the imprints in the concrete.
This ride had a small wait. We got a car to ourselves and were on our way. It was a typical wild mouse with
turns that felt like you were on two wheels as you zoomed around the track. Fun, but nothing I would wait for.
The final coaster to hit up that day was Greezed Lightning. It is a Shuttle Loop Coaster that shoots forward
through a loop and then goes backward through the loop and up an incline before coming to a stop again in the
station. This coaster was alot of fun. The launch, while not Dragster, was fun. The backwards route flipped my
stomach more than once. While it is more than 30 years old, it is still fun!
After that, we took a break and browsed through the gift shops. The prices were pretty steep. We bought a magnet
for $6.00. Then, we went out to the car and grabbed the camera. We rode the Giant Wheel and snapped some
pictures and walked around the park taking pictures of rides and all the flowers and trees.
To show how nice the employees were, I was snapping some photos of the carousel. The gentleman running it opened
the gate for me and told me to go on in and take as many pictures as I wanted. That was really nice and I got
some close up shots that would have been obstructed with the bars otherwise.
This is a nice park for a day or an afternoon- depending on what your interest is. We enjoyed talking to the
employees and people watching. The Looney Toons characters were plentiful and spent alot of time entertaining
the guests.
Thanks for reading our report. Here is a link to our photos.