Kentucky Kingdom Saved... But Geauga Lake Curse Still Present?

Fair Board announces new operator of Ky. Kingdom
Posted: May 27, 2010 1:48 PM EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB Fox 41) -- Fox 41 reporter Rachel Collier is at a Kentucky State Fair Board meeting where she says they have just announced that Ed Hart, the operator of the park from 1989 to 1997, will become the new operator.

The reason for the decision? Board members say Hart has a proven track record -- and that he took over the park before during a difficult time and turned it around. Hart's supporters say they believe he can do it again.

Stay with Fox 41 News. We'll have more information in our 4:00 newscast.

The Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company (KKRC), a Kentucky limited liability company under the leadership of majority member and sole investor, Edward J. Hart, has entered into an exclusive agreement with the Kentucky State Fair Board for the purpose of creating a redevelopment plan and negotiating a lease to operate a theme park on the former Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom property.

A successful redevelopment of the Kentucky Kingdom property as family entertainment is important to the region for jobs and economic development. It directly and indirectly benefits local contractors and vendors, and for twenty years has been a significant part of Louisville’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Kentucky Kingdom adds to the quality of life of the region and its closing has cost both city and state government substantial tax dollars as Kentucky families travel out of state to visit major theme or water parks and regional tourists fail to choose Louisville as a travel destination. According to Louisville Convention & Visitor Bureau President Jim Wood, more than 10,000 room nights per year will go unsold due to the park’s closure. In addition, nearly 100 full time jobs and nearly 1,000 seasonal jobs have been lost.

The KKRC has recruited a proven redevelopment and operations team which has succeeded in turning around two previously failed theme parks: Magic Springs in Hot Springs, Arkansas and the original Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky. After operating for 17 years, the Magic Springs theme park closed in 1995. Mr. Hart and his development team reopened it in 2000 and it remains open today. The original Kentucky Kingdom closed in 1987 after only one season of operation and Mr. Hart’s team reopened that facility in 1990 and successfully operated it until it was sold in 1997.

As part of its due diligence, the KKRC has conducted a thorough review of the Kentucky Kingdom property and amenities toward determining a strategic plan for positioning the park so that it is compatible with current market trends and local community needs.

Preliminary plans call for a reconfiguration of the property’s use including consolidation of existing and new rides as well as an expansion of the existing water park.

The KKRC will continue to develop its plan to provide an exciting, safe, well managed and well funded family oriented attraction complimentary to the activities and events that routinely occupy the Kentucky Exposition Center. A reasonable timetable and estimated costs will be determined as the plan is finalized.

KKRC has agreed to provide up to $3 million for the exclusive right to finalize a lease agreement satisfactory to both KKRC and the Kentucky State Fair Board.

In addition, KKRC’s redevelopment plans are contingent upon the creation of a public-private partnership with local and/or state agencies in order to provide the investment dollars necessary to substantially renew and improve the park to achieve the positive economic impact that the park is capable of providing for the region.

The KKRC looks forward to pursuing a successful redevelopment plan with the Fair Board and, assuming the Fair Board finds it acceptable, to finalizing the terms and conditions of a lease agreement. Recognizing that a reasonable timetable is important, the KKRC is prepared to devote its full attention and energy to the successful redevelopment of the Kentucky Kingdom property.

This does seem to be good news. But this quote from DOCTOR DOOM!!! at TPR kinda scares me:

I don't think KK will be getting a coster. The paper Friday stated that the new park will be smaller wit STILL a focus on water rides! They also had a small diagram map that showed the former front side and Twisted Twins area is marked, AREA NOT TO BE USED!

Maybe this won't be as good as I thought! I think we're back to square 1 (What we were thinking in OCT 2009)

Doctor "Geagua'd" Doom

Twisted Twins will still sit there?! Not a good sign. The good news is that the water park expansion might come back from the dead (possibly take over Chang).

If KK adds more rides next year, then it may not be in danger. If KK continues to focus on the water park, then "square 1" welcome back (sarcasm)!

So there's some good news for those who want the park safe.

What's Going On at SWO?

Discovery Cove Expansion:

Work on an expansion of the Discovery Cove park has begun a few weeks ago. It is unknown what it will be, but it is said to open in 2011.

Clydesdale Hamlet:

A couple of months ago, Behind the Thrills found a crane behind the old Clydesdale Hamlet at SeaWorld. Later on, the crane was reported to be gone.

As of April 12th, another update was posted showing a new bird show in the old Hamlet. But as of last week, the show seemed to be closed, and the Hamlet was completely shut down.

There is also this quote from Yaytez at Behind the Thrills:

The rumor that is strong is that this is going to simply be a new path to where the new attraction will be, however.....with that much area and that much of a drop, it's foolish to think that it's simply going to be a path and shops. BGW hasn't announced anything, possibly because of the fact of they were just getting ready to be sold when the announcement came that Wolf was closing. In the event of something like that, projects tend to get pushed back. In the case of Blackstone, it seems like they want nothing but growth and those plans, as well as the coaster in Tampa have been approved...as well as something coming to SWO in 2012...yes, there is something coming.

This should be pretty interesting to look at. What is happening in this area? It seems unknown right now, but popular rumors are stating that a new dark ride may go up in that area. IMO, a dark ride would be great for SeaWorld.

Here's basically what this rumored dark ride will take over (and what I think they should do):

Old Manta Rumors and What Was Before Manta

I'm just curious on how all the rumors of the Manta coaster at SeaWorld started (the ones before the April 2nd semi-announcement). I know these old Screamscape rumors (found on IOACentral):

"(5/4/07) Ever since SeaWorld entered the world of big steel in 2000 with Kraken, the coaster community has been waiting to see when this sea life park would bite the bullet once again and add yet another new coaster to the mix. A few years back I predicted hat when it was time, SeaWorld would pony up with a B&M Flying coaster experience and today we received just such a rumor, but I don’t know how solid this is yet. The movements within Busch are hard to predict, but the 2009 window does seem ideal for such a project since they have focused only on adding new shows and kiddie rides for the last few years and will devote all of 2008 to Aquatica across the street. By 2009 Busch Gardens Tampa should still be finishing up whatever Sesame Street, animal exhibits and Congo playland additions for the kiddies they’ve been working on, so the time is certainly right for a coaster at SeaWorld. It would also be something that could compete with the rumored Harry Potter attraction going into Islands of Adventure in 2009. Anyone know more?"

"(7/17/07) I’ve been told we may be seeing some interesting work taking place in the SeaWorld parking lot starting this fall where they will be moving the Bus and Taxi lot to a new location and preparing to build a new office building across the street in or near the employee / overflow lot. The current Bus / Taxi lot will then be used to create a new construction access route into the park for the new 2009 coaster."

"(7/17/07) Yesterday’s small update about a new coaster coming to SeaWorld sure got the juices flowing it seems as several other messages were sent in to confirm it… the only problem is not everyone could agree on what type of coaster it will be. The most common story claims that it will open in 2009 and actually be the B&M Flyer that I previously had rumored, going in just behind the entrance of the park where an old aquarium was demolished, allowing it to fill in the essentially empty area from there back towards the Atlantis / Pengiun area of the park and between Key West and the Waterfront. One source even tells us that they’ve seen a model of this very design in one of the park’s back areas. From the sound of things and the size of the construction site, they may actually close off access to this side of the park during construction and force all of the guests to take the path through the Waterfront area from the main gate area for several months. Yes… they will force everyone to not only walk past the main gate gift shops on the way in and out, but past all the Waterfront shops. All those gift shops all in a row… the merchandise department must be drooling with anticipation. The other ideas are a little more far fetched in my opinion, ranging from an Apollo’s Chariot style 200 foot hypercoaster to an indoor ride that sounds more like Revenge of the Mummy. Anything is possible, but I’ve always said that SeaWorld would be the perfect home for a B&M Flyer in Orlando."

And of course, a popular one...

"2009 - New Coaster - Rumor - (10/22/07) A Screamscape source says that they were asked to take part in a guest focus group at SeaWorld Florida where they were showing off various different ideas for a new Flying Coaster in development for the park. One possible idea was to use shorter trains, only 3 or 4 rows long, but each would be themed as a different species of Ray: Manta Ray, Sting Ray, Bat Ray, etc. While no specific layout was given, the ideas being tossed around seemed a involve quite a bit of ground hugging which may imply a layout more like AIR and less like the Six Flags’ Superman versions. They did discuss with a bit of detail a very special element they want to feature hower, which would be a kind of water splashdown effect similar to what we’ve seen on SheiKra and Griffon, but in this case they want the coaster trains to swoop down over rolling waves, skimming the surface of the water. In fact, the tips of the Ray’s wings sticking out to the sides would dip into the water itself, tossing up big rooster-tails of water. I’ve got to say that I like this idea myself… especially if they had a nice prolonged skim over the water, allowing riders time to really reach out to try and touch it. I’m not sure about the short train design, but I suppose they could use a double loading station to fix the capacity issues."

I've also heard that the Tropical Reef aquarium was where Manta sits today.

In Bing Maps, you see three promos. The first one shows the aquarium, and some construction around it (initially I thought it was Manta land clearing, but I think I'm wrong now). The second one shows the aquarium gone, with a field sitting in its place. In the third one, it shows Manta under construction.

I know the Tropical Reef aquarium was there in 2003 (I looked at an old park map, showing the Waterfront area as a new attraction). I think by late 2006/early 2007, the aquarium was gone. Does anyone know when the aquarium was demolished? And does anyone know any other old Manta rumors? I'm just curious.

UPDATED 7/9/2010: Just found this one...

"(10/19/07) Those rumors for a B&M Flyer coming to SeaWorld in time for the 2009 season are still holding out, and today we’ve heard that the ride may be themed to either a Flying Fish or a Dolphin. I’m not sure I’m buying that last bit however as Busch has always been about naming their coasters after fierce monster and iconic animals like Kraken, Steel Eel, Great White, Alpengeist, Montu, etc. A Flying Fish or Dolphin themed ride sounds more like a kiddie coaster… though there is the Thunder Dolphin coaster in Japan. Naaa…still sounds kind of silly."

Pfft... Flying fish? Dolphin? XD

List of Arrow Suspended Coasters (Operating and Demolished)

OPERATING:

1. Iron Dragon (Cedar Point, Ohio) 1987
2. Ninja (Six Flags Magic Mountain, California) May 21, 1988
3. Vampire (Chessington World of Adventures, England) 1990
4. Vortex (Canada's Wonderland) 1991
5. Flight Deck (Kings Island) April 9, 1993

DEMOLISHED:

1. Bat (Kings Island, Ohio) April 21, 1981 - 1984
2. Hayabusa (Tokyo SummerLand, Japan) July 1992 - August 24, 2005
3. XLR-8 (Six Flags Astroworld, Texas) May 12, 1984 - October 30, 2005
4. Big Bad Wolf (Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia) June 15, 1984 - September 7, 2009
5. Eagle's Fortress (Everland, South Korea) September 8, 1992 - April 17, 2010 (I went by announcement of removal, because I don't know exactly when it closed. I know it was in 2009)

As for what I think may be next...

Well, Iron Dragon is at Cedar Point, so I don't think they'd remove it. After all, Cedar Point is the "coaster capital of the world." =)

As for Ninja... well Jay Thomas, Neal Thurman, and Tim Burkhart are claiming that Ninja's staying. But you never know.

Vampire got floorless trains a few years back. It's probably safe.

Now for Vortex... it's probably the next to go. Let's face it, there's already survey markers around it (I understand that survey markers could be for anything, but again I say you never know), and it is reported that it's sounding squeaky like Big Bad Wolf did before it was removed.

Flight Deck... well, someone claims that the final season for this one is 2011.

Anywho... stay tuned for new updates!

Chang Update #11

From Screamscape:

2011 - Chang / B&M Stand-Up Coaster - Semi-Confirmed - (5/22/10) According to the local Gurnee meeting hotline system the hearing issue from Six Flags taking place on May 26th is to approve the variance for a new roller coaster up to 150.17 feet tall that will be located in the “Space Port area”. Essentially this matches Chang, which was listed on RCDB as 154 feet tall, but may have been padded at that point in time for SFKK for marketing purposes as it was a follow-up to Mantis which is listed as being 145 ft. What is also interesting is the long in the tooth rumor claiming that Chang will be converted into a Floorless coaster, and hand over it’s old trains to run on Iron Wolf is still alive and kicking. Months ago a source of mine said it wasn’t going to happen… but it does still make more sense than putting two stand-up coasters into the same park. Plus if they went the Floorless route, I wouldn’t be surprised if they took some inspiration from the conversion of SFGAdv’s Medusa into Bizarro and got a train with an audio system this time around.

So Chang may still be converted to a floorless. And the trains may still be on Iron Wolf. That's nice to hear! They'll probably install them on Iron Wolf during reconstruction of Chang. Another quote from Screamscape:

Park News - (5/20/10) Signs have been posted around the park announcing that a public hearing involving a zoning variance request from the park for a future attraction is coming soon. No big surprise here, as every tall ride that goes into the park has to receive permission from Gurnee, so I guess this is just the final legal step for them to install Chang in the park next year.

It's close to an announcement!!!!

Two More New Coasters for 2011

CEDAR POINT:

http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Source=Find&Key=SDSKY/2010/05/16/1/Ar00100.xml&CollName=SDSKY_APD&DOCID=84169&Keyword=%28cedar~+and+boss~%29&skin=RegisterD&AppName=1&PageLabel=A1&ViewMode=HTML

SANDUSKY
Next year, the thrill is back.
Cedar Point’s new ride for 2011, which already has been ordered but not been announced publicly, will be aimed at thrill seekers, said Dick Kinzel, Cedar Fair’s CEO.
The amusement park’s long-term plans for new rides is closely veiled. But during an exclusive Register interview with Kinzel, he pulled the curtain aside a bit.
When asked if Cedar Point plans to maintain its status as the world’s leader for roller coasters and rides, he said: “Let me just put it this way. We went after the family market this year ... We’re going to go after the thrill seeker next year.”
Kinzel wouldn’t give more details. “There’s more thrill rides than roller coasters,” he said. “I can’t tell you what it is. It’s a very exciting ride.”
More details may not be forthcoming until Cedar Point makes its official announcement later this year about what’s new in 2011.
Robin Innes, Cedar Point’s spokesman, said that in recent years new attractions at Cedar Point have been announced in the late summer or early fall.
This year’s family ride, Shoot the Rapids, was announced Sept. 3. The announcement was preceded by a several-week media campaign of hints and official leaks.
Innes had no comment about when this year’s announcement will come.
“I’m not going to reveal any information about our plans next year,” he said.
Jeff Putz, webmaster for the Cedar Point fan site PointBuzz.com, said Cedar Point fans will welcome the news that a new ride is on the way.
“It keeps things fresh and it keeps people interested and engaged,” he said.
Usually before any new attraction, people spend months posting on the Internetaboutwhat’scoming next.
“There’s always speculation, and it’s usually wrong,” he said.
Indulging in a little speculation of his own, Putz said an announcement that would make the most sense would be “something that kind of fills a hole in their lineup.”
There aren’t many gaps at Cedar Point, but the park lacks a top spin ride, such as the one made by Huss Rides, Putz said.

Cedar Point is getting a new thrill ride in 2011! =D 'Bout time! Time to see some coolness with this addition! What will it be? A 500 ft. coaster? We'll find out soon.

CANADA'S WONDERLAND:

http://www.cwmania.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1900

Keep an eye on this thread. In 2011, CW may get a new coaster. It seems there are markers by the first drop of Skyrider (a TOGO stand-up), Vortex's (an Arrow Dynamics Suspended Coaster) supports, and the gravel way behind Timberwolf Falls. As of May 1, 2010, Vortex seemed to be squeaky, as it is currently rumored that its days are numbered. I haven't ridden it yet (or any coaster outside Florida, except the ones at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk), but it will be a shame to lose it. The popular rumors state that either a B&M Dive Machine (or any other B&M coasters) or a Maverick-style coaster will come to the park in 2011. Even Screamscape noticed:

2011 - Future Expansion - Rumor - (5/4/10) According to CWMania.com, guests have spotted possible survey markers and signs of construction at Canada’s Wonderland. Pictures showing off a group of yellow markers can be found here. There is also an assortment of red markers in the water under Vortex, the park’s Arrow Suspended coaster.

There are also rumors spreading around of Timberwolf Falls and Vortex getting removed soon. There is also some land clearing occurring behind Planet Snoopy and Wild Beast (as of May 8th), but I doubt it's for the coaster.

And a quote from kunpc1 at CWMania:

Based on what everyone is throwing out, I believe the top thoughts on the site right now are:

B&M Floorless
B&M Dive Machine
Intamin Terra Coaster (a coaster like Maverick at Cedar Point)

What would you want? Personally, I want a B&M Dive Machine. I just love SheiKra! The Canadians really need a great Dive Machine like SheiKra! =D I have an idea... if the rumors of Timberwolf Falls' removal are true, then they can reuse the pond for a splashdown! =D

The Clydesdale Hamlet and Old Monorail Building

Just thought I'd show you some pics of the area at Busch Gardens Tampa we will probably be saying "Hasta la vista baby!" to by the end of this month (all pics courtesy of BGTGuide):








The old monorail building from the Crown Colony restaurant.








The courtyard in front of the Crown Colony and the old monorail building and Skyride entrance.








The old Clydesdale Hamlet. And a quote from BGTGuide:

Finally we have some shots of the new temporary guest path and old Clydesdale area. As we know from some of the deconstruction plans we found a while back, this area will be changing. The temporary path is near completion and soon it will connect Egypt to the rest of the park to bypass construction. Within the last few days the Animal Connections exhibit has closed and in less than 3 weeks the Skyride will go down for at least six months. There is already some heavy machinery on site behind the old barn, look for deconstruction to start soon. Since this area could be completely different in a year from now, I snapped some panoramic pictures to remember how it looks before the change..

Temporary path work.

















Animal Connections has closed.

















Backhoes are on site behind the old Hamlet, waiting for demolition of this area.

















Another pic of the backhoe.

Cheetaka (?) Construction in Full Swing

The new coaster at BGT is really progressing. A pile driver has been reported in the trench area, and land clearing is happening in the area of the new path from Edge of Africa to Nairobi. They already took down some fake rockwork for one of the bridges. Animal Connections, a temporary attraction in the Clydesdale Hamlet, is now closed, and soon the Clydesdale Hamlet will be gone. The temporary pathway to Egypt (behind the Clydesdale Hamlet) is already under construction. The Skyride will close June 14th to the end of the year for construction.

Now, another thing... sadly it has come... Rhino Rally's wet portion is removed from the ride as of May 2nd. Here is the link:

http://www.bgtguide.com/bgt/photoupdates/rhinorallywater

Now a video made by JsnCarter87:

Chopping Block Update #3

Rumors are spreading that T2 might be removed for a clone of the Transformers ride (a month ago). When I first heard this rumor, I thought "Nope! T2 isn't going anywhere!" But I found some news on Screamscape in USJ.

After reading the news, it seems to me like T2's removal may be more real than I initially thought. Here's the news:

2013 - Rumor - Transformers - (5/7/10) Is Univesal Studios Japan looking to get in on the Transformers ride action? According to a mystery e-mail I got today, the park may be looking into closing their Terminator 2/3-D attraction in the future to may way for a Transformers ride as early as 2013. After all, we know the Japanese love giant robots. My only concern however is that the Transformers ride is supposed to be fairly similar, technology wise, to the Spiderman ride, and at Universal Studios Japan, Spiderman is virtually next door to T2/3D.

Well, if this comes true, then Transformers is probably bound to go to USF soon replacing T2. But I said it once, and I'll say it again... if we can have two 3D film attractions in the same park/resort, and if WDW can have 3 omni-mover dark rides... we can get Transformers, Spider-Man or not.