Kentucky Kingdom is about halfway between Six Flags St. Louis and Kings Island. It’s a small park that is making a big name for itself in the industry, and I was there on June 29 and 30 when they finally reopened for the 2020 season.

Theme park and attraction news, rumors and videos.
By Attractions Magazine Staff Leave a Comment
Kentucky Kingdom is about halfway between Six Flags St. Louis and Kings Island. It’s a small park that is making a big name for itself in the industry, and I was there on June 29 and 30 when they finally reopened for the 2020 season.
By Attractions Magazine Staff Leave a Comment
Kentucky Kingdom has announced its reopening date, along with lower admission prices for its upcoming season.
By Andy Guinigundo Leave a Comment
Kentucky Kingdom is located on the fairgrounds of Louisville, Ky., very close to the airport and just a stone’s throw from the University of Louisville Cardinal Football Stadium and downtown Louisville. According to park president and CEO, Ed Hart, it was only decided in July that HalloScream would even happen.
By Brittani Tuttle Leave a Comment
A new Halloween event is coming to Kentucky Kingdom every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night this October.
Hosts Elisa Rodriguez and Quinn Roseboom bring you this week’s theme park and attraction news. On this week’s episode of The Attractions Show:
[Read more…]By Brittani Tuttle Leave a Comment
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Kentucky Kingdom has announced that a new roller coaster, called the Kentucky Flyer, will be ready for guests to ride in 2019.
By 1 Comment
An all-new “Scream Xtreme” thrill ride, the “Rock ‘n’ Roller” family ride, and two new 5D films are among the new additions announced for Kentucky Kingdom’s upcoming 2018 season. [Read more…]
Kentucky Kingdom has announced its new attractions and additions for 2017, led by the new Eye of the Storm looping thrill ride, along with upgrades to its Thunder Run roller coaster.
Kentucky Kingdom’s Eye of the Storm will be 24-passenger, high-speed thrill ride with a roller coaster train that circles a seven-story loop, featuring continuous rotations, inversions, and both forward and backward motions. With the addition of Eye of the Storm, Kentucky Kingdom will have more than 80 rides and attractions, including five roller coasters, 20 water attractions, and one of the largest selections of children’s rides in the region, with two additional children’s rides to be introduced in 2017.
The park is also upgrading its classic wooden coaster, Thunder Run, which will receive a new train and track modifications at a cost of more than half a million dollars. Bill Hargrave, the park’s Vice President of Construction, remarked, “This new train replaces the original Thunder Run train first put into service in 1990. With its advanced technology, the new train, together with the track improvements, will give coaster enthusiasts a smoother and faster ride.”
Other improvements include the installation of more shade structures in the water park and at ride queue lines; additional lockers; a greater number of tables, chairs, and benches throughout the park; more lounge chairs for the water park; beefed-up air conditioning in restrooms and dining areas; upgraded technology to expedite season pass processing and in-park purchases; three additional ticket windows to speed entry into the park; and, for convenience, an additional entrance to the Hurricane Bay water park.
Ed Hart, President and CEO of Kentucky Kingdom, commented, “Last year, we completed our initial three-year development plan and attendance rose to approximately 800,000, representing a 60% increase over attendance at the time the previous park closed (in 2009). With tremendous support from my partners (Ed Glasscock, Bruce Lunsford, and the Al J. Schneider Company), we’ve spent a total of $54 million over the past three years. That’s $10 million more than the amount we committed to spend. Now we are ready for round two – a second three-year development plan, with the goal of achieving at least one million visits. Our approach has always been the same: to add new attractions for every age and thrill level, provide outstanding guest service in a safe and friendly environment, and offer prices the average family can afford.”
Hart went on to add, “We take our role as a leader in the Commonwealth’s tourism industry very seriously. With the hundreds of thousands of out-of-state visitors now coming to Kentucky Kingdom each year, the park not only helps fill local hotel rooms, but also helps boost attendance at other attractions, both locally and throughout the state.”
“In addition,” Hart said, “for many of our more than 1,000 seasonal team members, a summer job at Kentucky Kingdom is their first real job. We are dedicated to providing them the best possible training and mentoring. This not only helps them perform well in their duties here at the park, but also gives them a solid foundation for whatever career path they may ultimately choose.”
In 2017, Kentucky Kingdom’s general admission price will be $49.95. For more information, visit kentuckykingdom.com, and watch this POV video of Storm Chaser, the park’s 2016 addition:
Thrill ride fans will be unleashed in Louisville this weekend as Kentucky Kingdom premieres Storm Chaser, a unique steel roller coaster from Rocky Mountain Construction. [Read more…]
By 1 Comment
By Andy Guinigundo
Louisville, Ky. – Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom located in Louisville, Ky., will not reopen for the 2010 season.
In a statement, Six Flags states they were unable to come to an agreement with the Kentucky Fair Board for the lease of the land where the park was located. Six Flags felt that changes to the lease would have made the park more viable in the market. Six Flags also stressed that all other Six Flags parks are located on company-owned property and are thus unaffected.
Industry insiders have speculated that stiff competition from Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind. and Kings Island just north of Cincinnati, Ohio forced the park out – expensive lease or not.
Kentucky Kingdom passholders are being encouraged to enjoy the nearby Six Flags parks in St. Louis and Chicago (or any Six Flags parks), but full refunds are available as well.
• Andy Guinigundo is the author of the Out of The Loop column in “Orlando Attractions Magazine”. Out of the Loop keeps you up-to-date with attraction news outside of Central Florida. Andy lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and three daughters. He grew up frequenting theme parks around Ohio and making trips to Orlando with his family. While for most of the year, he’s out of the Orlando loop, he tries to visit Florida at least once a year.