Kentucky Kingdom Passholder Survey Names Potential Themed Areas (+ Water Park Reimagining)

[cookie]

According to the survey itself, these new areas would include:

Farm, Fun & Family:
- Incorporates Lightning Run
- 4 new family rides including a family coaster
- Possible S&S Screamin' Swing
- 6 refurbished rides

Celebration Downs:
- New "Steeplechase" family coaster
- Interactive "Derby" ride
- 3 refurbished rides
- Refurbished amphitheatre with new shows

Fireman's Landing:
- Incorporates Storm Chaser
- New thrill ride, possibly a Chance Rides Aviator
- 5 refurbished rides

Kentucky Grove:
- Incorporates Thunder Run
- 3 refurbished rides
- New children's caurosel and character meet & greets

Source:

https://www.reddit.com/r/rollercoasters/comments/18vc77e

 

[CrashCoaster]

Wait Kentucky Kingdom is about to become a Dollywood/SDC level park??

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Something to note, the road dividing the park will be disappearing imminently as per State Fair plans. Future expansions WILL be built with this in mind.

 

[CanobieFan]

I wonder with the inevitable downsizing at Wild Adventures will see the refurbished rides appearing at Kentucky Kingdom, be those actually from WA (like said Chance Aviator, my favorite WA flat.... that's also been SBNO.....)

 

[Hyde]

- New "Steeplechase" family coaster

Hark, is that the S&S concept I hear!?

 

[Natti_Amusements]

is that the S&S concept I hear!?

That’s the impression I got. Could be very exciting for the park!

 

[cookie]

Hark, is that the S&S concept I hear!?

Worth pointing out that the example image they use is of Pony Express at Knott’s Berry Farm:

So I’d hold my horses for a bit. (pun intended)

 

[Hyde]

Worth pointing out that the example image they use is of Pony Express at Knott’s Berry Farm:

So I’d hold my horses for a bit. (pun intended)

Yeahhh, so I'll just go ahead and write-in "S&S Steeplechase" then.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Some kind of announcement set for March 7, 1:30 PM EST. They haven't seen a new ride of any kind since Kentucky Flyer opened, wonder if this could be the year or if we're still waiting on the survey developments;

https://twitter.com/x/status/1759956079587295569

 

[Justin2000]

Some kind of announcement set for March 7, 1:30 PM EST. They haven't seen a new ride of any kind since Kentucky Flyer opened, wonder if this could be the year or if we're still waiting on the survey developments;

https://twitter.com/x/status/1759956079587295569

Online they said I was warm with my waterpark expansion idea.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Announcement is tomorrow and there's a lot that could be happening. Here's a solid idea of what we could expect;

The other week they rolled out some new branding. Herschend is pushing them as Kentucky Kingdom Theme & Water Park. With this in mind I would not expect a full rebrand of the park, but the door is open to them leaving behind the Hurricane Bay name. As suggested above, Lake Life Kentucky?


Taking a deep dive into local affairs; there were multiple fatal pool accidents in the late 2000's, which were attributed to strong drainpipe suction. Over the next decade Louisville cracked down on pools, which sparked a trend of multiple public pools closing and often never reopening due to the increased maintenance requirements. Last year after another pool went down, the city handed out a slew of free memberships to Kentucky Kingdom, assuring that families wouldn't be left stranded in the heat. Given the government subsidizing and even further increased demand, a waterpark expansion can only be inevitable. Both T3 and the former Deluge water coaster are free real estate; I'd expect both to be reused eventually.


Also once again, the current road running through the park would be eliminated, suddenly freeing up a big strip of land on multiple fronts. So sit back and enjoy, we could get one new reveal for this year or it could be a wave of things;

https://twitter.com/x/status/1765063751894753335

 

[cookie]

Seems like the big announcement was a new Christmas event.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1765814877409468910

 

[lom.lom.lom]

Who tf knows why Holiday World doesn't do anything during the Christmas season, but this actually makes sense, spend little money to make some money without much nearby competition aside from KI Winterfest but that's 2 hours away.

 

[Rob Coasters]

Saw the live announcement of this event on Facebook and heard some rather shocking words.

we are spending $5 million on the park over the next four years

Plus a guy from Herschend saying "the [expansion] plans were shrunk last week" before laughing it off like some supervillain who wants the park gone.
No Christmas event ride lineup confirmations (other than the antique cars).
No Q&A.
Most of the stream is just Herschend patting themselves on the back.
Mixed to negative reactions from people watching the stream.
$5 MILLION being spent on park investments over the next FOUR YEARS.
Spending literal months hyping this up.

Herschend is doing a horrible job. Guess nothing of note will be happening to this park anytime soon. Devastating.

 

[Natti_Amusements]

$5 MILLION being spent on park investments over the next FOUR YEARS.

I believe the statement made about $5 million park investments was when Herschend was referring to work they have done on the park since they acquired it 4 years ago which we can all agree has been minimal.

The general manager of Kentucky Kingdom did have this to say about the future of the park during the live which I found very interesting.

“This is only the beginning. We’ve also been planning for the future of Kentucky Kingdom beyond 2024. We have a master plan that’s built on guest feedback that will take us through to 2028. Christmas at Kentucky Kingdom is apart of that next phase of this project. We have big ideas for the future and we look forward to sharing more about what is to come this fall.”

Idk about y’all but this sounds to me like the park is definitely going to be transformed soon and will be getting atleast an iteration of what we saw in those survey’s in very near future!

 

[Rob Coasters]

Kentucky Kingdom is looking to add a 129ft tower ride for the 2025 season.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1800239583759643003

 

[CanobieFan]

Well, they've got both an ARM Vertigo swing tower and ARM Supershot drop tower, maybe they're moving on of those within the park. The Swing Tower, in particular...is in an awkward spot. So maybe that's gonna be on the move.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Two things line up here.

The location of Skycatcher (swing tower) is where the park was talking about adding a dedicated waterpark entrance once, can't remember if this was under Ed Hart or Herschend. The location indicated in the permits meanwhile is a pad near Roller Skater that's been disused for a long time now.

Soooo... they're playing chess right now?

 

[MLDesigns]

Another set of coordinates indicated this pad, back near Storm Chaser:



Anything they can do to undo the mind-numbingly stupid placement of some of their rides, the better.

 

[Hyde]

Look, just do the right thing. Build the Steeplechase.