Kentucky Kingdom facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kentucky Kingdom

Previously known as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (1998–2010)
Location	Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Coordinates	38°11′44″N 85°44′50″W / 38.195427°N 85.747245°W / 38.195427; -85.747245
Status	Operating
Opened	May 23, 1987; 38 years ago (1987-05-23)
Owner	Kentucky State Fair Board
Operated by	Kentucky Kingdom, LLLP
Slogan	All That Matters Is The Thrill
Operating season	April–October
Area	65 acres (26 ha)
Attractions
Total	51
Roller coasters	6
Water rides	2

Kentucky Kingdom is a super fun amusement park located in Louisville, Kentucky. It used to be called Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. This awesome park is about 65 acres big and has tons of exciting amusement rides. It also has a cool water park called Hurricane Bay. You can find Kentucky Kingdom right where two big highways, Interstate 65 and Interstate 264, meet. It even shares a parking lot with the Kentucky Exposition Center.

Kentucky Kingdom first opened its gates on May 23, 1987. After a tough start, a smart businessman named Ed Hart reopened the park in 1990. It became very popular! In 1998, the park was sold to Six Flags, a big theme park company. Six Flags ran the park until 2009. But don't worry, Ed Hart came back and reopened Kentucky Kingdom on May 24, 2014. Today, the Kentucky State Fair Board owns the park, and Kentucky Kingdom, LLLP, operates it.

The park has six thrilling roller coasters: Kentucky Flyer, Lightning Run, Roller Skater, Storm Chaser, T3, and Thunder Run. Some of these coasters were the first of their kind! For example, T3 was the first Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster in North America. Lightning Run is the only Chance Rides Hyper GT-X Coaster in the whole world. And Storm Chaser was the first roller coaster in the United States to have a special "barrel roll drop."

Park History

How it Started (1987)

Freedom Hall is a big arena near the park.

In 1977, the Kentucky State Fair Board had a big idea. They wanted to build a theme park at the Kentucky Exposition Center. They imagined a park with different areas, like an old-time village and a section about Kentucky's mining history.

Years later, in 1985, they found a company called Kentucky Entertainment Limited to help build and run the park. On December 13, 1985, they announced plans for Kentucky Kingdom. It would be a 13-acre park showing off Kentucky's history and culture. Construction started on March 28, 1986.

Before the official opening, over 6,000 Girl Scouts got a sneak peek. Many visitors felt the park was too small. They also complained about long lines and not enough rides for older kids.

Opening Day and Early Challenges

Kentucky Kingdom officially opened on May 23, 1987. It had four themed areas: "Carousel Plaza," "Old Louisville," "Kentucky Frontier," and "The Enchanted Forest." The Enchanted Forest was a kids' area that later became "King Louie's Playland."

Many people thought the park was too small with not enough rides. One visitor said the park seemed mostly for younger kids. Because of low attendance and bad weather, the park closed after just one season. It even went bankrupt. Most of its rides were sold off in 1989.

A New Beginning (1990-1997)

Thunder Run was one of the first new rides in 1990.

In 1989, a local businessman named Ed Hart and some friends bought the rights to run Kentucky Kingdom. Ed Hart had a great plan to make the park better. First, he made sure all the people who weren't paid before were finally paid. Then, he decided to make the park bigger, adding another 13 acres.

Kentucky Kingdom reopened on June 13, 1990. Even though most of the old rides were sold, Ed Hart bought back the Starchaser indoor roller coaster. New rides were added too, like Bluebeard's Bounty, The Enterprise, and The Vampire roller coaster. The park also brought back the Tin Lizzies antique car ride. In 1991, they added the Flying Dutchman, a fun swing ride.

Adding a Water Park and More Thrills

In 1990, Kentucky Kingdom announced plans for a water park. It was first called Ocean Avenue, then Ocean Paradise, and finally Hurricane Bay. Hurricane Bay opened in 1992. The best part was that you didn't need a separate ticket to enter the water park!

More exciting rides came in 1992, including The Quake and a huge 150-foot-tall ferris wheel called the Giant Wheel. In 1994, the park opened Mile High Falls, which was the world's tallest "shoot-the-chute" water ride at the time. The fun children's roller coaster, Roller Skater, also opened that year.

In 1995, the park added T3 (originally called T2). This was a very special roller coaster because it was the first of its kind in North America! It's 101 feet tall, has five loops, and goes up to 49 miles per hour. That same year, Hellevator, a 177-foot-tall drop tower, opened.

The park made its biggest investment yet in 1997 with Chang. This $12 million stand-up roller coaster broke world records for its height, drop, length, speed, and number of loops. It even had a 121-foot-tall loop, the tallest in the world!

Thanks to all these new attractions, Kentucky Kingdom became one of the fastest-growing amusement parks in North America. The number of visitors grew from 130,000 in 1990 to 1.2 million in 1997!

The Six Flags Years (1998–2010)

Twisted Twins was a wooden roller coaster.

In 1997, the company Premier Parks bought the rights to operate Kentucky Kingdom. Then, in 1998, Premier Parks bought the famous Six Flags company. So, on June 21, 1998, Kentucky Kingdom officially became Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.

That same day, Twisted Twins (originally called Twisted Sisters) opened. This was a wooden roller coaster with two tracks that raced each other! Hurricane Bay also got a new interactive water play area called Hook's Lagoon. Six Flags also changed King Louie's Playground into Looney Tunes Movie Town, adding characters like Bugs Bunny.

Greezed Lightnin' was moved to the park in 2003.

In 1999, The Penguin's Blizzard River, a rapids ride, opened. The Vampire roller coaster was removed that year due to problems. In 2000, the park added Road Runner Express, a fun wild mouse coaster. In 2002, the Twisted Sisters roller coaster had to change its name to Twisted Twins. In 2003, Greezed Lightnin', a fast shuttle loop roller coaster, was added.

In 2007, Hurricane Bay was renamed Six Flags Splashwater Kingdom. They also added Deluge, a cool water coaster, and Buccaneer Beach, a water play area for little kids. The Hellevator drop tower was renamed Superman: Tower of Power.

Park Closure

On June 21, 2007, a serious incident happened on the Superman: Tower of Power ride. The ride was removed in 2008. Six Flags added a new water slide called Mega Wedgie in 2008.

Because Six Flags was having financial problems, they closed a large part of the park. This included popular rides like Twisted Twins and Mile High Falls. On September 21, 2009, Six Flags announced that Chang, the park's biggest roller coaster, would be removed.

Finally, on February 4, 2010, Six Flags announced that Kentucky Kingdom would close for good. This left the future of the park uncertain. Six Flags removed all the Looney Tunes and DC Comics/Batman themed items. They also took some parts from rides to use at their other parks. Greezed Lightnin' stayed until 2013, but it was too expensive to fix.

Bringing the Park Back (2012–Present)

After the park closed, many people tried to reopen it. In May 2010, Ed Hart, who had reopened the park before, formed a new company to try and bring it back. After a lot of effort, his plans didn't work out at first.

The owners of Holiday World & Splashin' Safari almost reopened the park.

In 2012, the family who owns Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Indiana considered reopening Kentucky Kingdom. They even formed a new company called Bluegrass Boardwalk. They planned to reopen the park in May 2013. However, they later decided not to, saying there were too many rules and challenges.

Ed Hart's Grand Return

On August 15, 2012, the great news came: Ed Hart and his company would try again to reopen Kentucky Kingdom in 2014! Ed Hart said they planned to invest $120 million to bring the park back to life and add new attractions. All the old rides would reopen, except for Greezed Lightnin', which was too costly to fix. They also planned a new $15 million roller coaster and would double the size of Hurricane Bay water park. This would be the biggest expansion in the park's history!

In January 2013, the plans were approved. The park was set to reopen on May 24, 2014. Ed Hart secured the money needed to rebuild and expand the park.

Lightning Run was a big new ride when the park reopened in 2014.

Construction started in July 2013. The park added a brand new $7 million roller coaster called Lightning Run. They also added three new kids' rides in King Louie's Playland, a new drop tower called FearFall (replacing the old Superman: Tower of Power), and a fun ride called Professor John's Flying Machines. Hurricane Bay Water Park also got many new attractions.

Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay successfully reopened on May 24, 2014. The reopening was a huge success! The park sold over 100,000 season passes in the first month. By the end of the season, 600,000 people visited the park.

For 2015, Kentucky Kingdom announced more new rides, including Cyclos and Skycatcher. They also fixed up three older rides: Enterprise, Raging Rapids River Ride, and T3. The park added three more rides, calling the total group of eight new rides the "Kingdom Eight." These included Up Up and Away, Flutterfly, and The Wizard of Oz.

MSN Travel even named Kentucky Kingdom one of the ten best amusement parks in America for 2015!

Storm Chaser opened in 2016.

On July 20, 2015, Kentucky Kingdom announced their fifth roller coaster, Storm Chaser, for the 2016 season. Storm Chaser was built using parts of the old Twisted Twins roller coaster. It opened on April 30, 2016.

For the 2017 season, the park added Eye of the Storm, a fast thrill ride with a seven-story loop. Thunder Run, a classic wooden coaster, got a new train for a smoother and faster ride. The park also added more shade, better air conditioning, and more seating.

The park had a record-breaking 2017 season. For 2018, Scream Xtreme, a new thrill ride, replaced the Enterprise. They also added Rock'n'Roller, a family ride, and a 5D Cinema.

Kentucky Flyer is a family wooden coaster.

To celebrate the park's 5th anniversary in 2019, they added the Kentucky Flyer, a family wooden coaster. This ride takes you through twists and turns at 35 miles per hour.

In June 2019, Ed Hart announced that HalloScream, a popular Halloween event from the 1990s, would return in October 2019. This was to celebrate Kentucky Kingdom's 30th anniversary.

In 2020, the park's opening was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kentucky Kingdom eventually reopened on June 29, 2020, with new safety rules and lower ticket prices. Hurricane Bay also opened on the same day with limited attractions.

Rides and Attractions

Roller Coasters

Coaster	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Description
Thunder Run		1990	Dinn Corporation	A classic wooden roller coaster with lots of drops and turns.
Roller Skater		1994	Vekoma	A fun junior roller coaster perfect for younger riders, with cars shaped like roller skates.
T3		1995	Vekoma	A thrilling suspended looping coaster with five inversions. It was the first of its kind in North America!
Lightning Run		2014	Chance Rides	A fast steel roller coaster. It's the only Chance Rides Hyper GT-X Coaster in the world!
Storm Chaser		2016	Rocky Mountain Construction	A steel roller coaster built on the old Twisted Twins structure. It has exciting twists and drops.
Kentucky Flyer		2019	The Gravity Group	A family-friendly wooden roller coaster with airtime hills and twists.

Other Rides and Attractions

King Louie's Playland

Hurricane Bay Water Park

Park Gardens

Kentucky Kingdom has its own special gardening team called Kentucky Kingdom Gardens. They have a greenhouse that grows over 20 types of annual flowers and more than 100 different kinds of perennial plants and grasses. They also grow various trees. In 2016, the park started adding labels to plants with QR codes. You can scan these codes with your phone to learn more about the plants! The gardening team has over 12 members and is led by Jason Anderson.

Parking

Kentucky Kingdom shares a big parking lot with the Kentucky Exposition Center. Parking usually costs $10 for cars. When the park reopened in 2014, season pass holders had to pay for parking. But in 2015, Kentucky Kingdom made a deal with the Kentucky State Fair Board. Now, season pass holders can park for free, except during the Kentucky State Fair.

Food and Drinks

Shiver Me Chicken Tenders is a food stand in Hurricane Bay.

Kentucky Kingdom has over 30 different restaurants and food stands where you can grab a bite to eat. If you have a season pass, you get a 20% discount on all food purchases! In 2006, Papa John's Pizza opened several restaurants inside the park. The park also prepares over 50,000 catered meals every season for groups and events.

Images for kids

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  Superman: Tower of Power, a former drop tower ride.