Kentucky Kingdom

Greetings from Kentucky y’all. Well, actually Kentucky is a memory. I’m blogcasting live from Tell City, Indiana. We pulled up to the Days Inn to find that we had reservations in what amounted to a bomb shelter with running water. Wonder of wonders, this meager hotel was a WiFi hot spot. My bombshelter with running water has internet access! I will consider this a saving grace at least until I attempt to slumber on the semi-soft slab of concrete they call a bed.

Today we visited Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. It’s an odd-looking park plopped down in the middle of town right next to an airport. Part carnival, part water park, part corporate mega-park, it possesses a conflicted heart. The people were nice and the mullets were plentiful. It somehow amazes me how thick the accents get as we travel south and west.

Coaster-wise Kentucky Kingdom isn’t all that bad. Chang is a record breaking stand-up coaster that was a sheer joy to ride. Smooth and acrobatic, it isn’t the pain induced blur that is Cedar Point’s Mantis. We rode it twice and counted ourselves lucky for getting to experience its grandeur.

On a more traditional note, Thunder Run, a wooden coaster, looked very average but proved its mettle with a fast and mostly smooth ride. All of the other coasters (three more) were mediocre to downright painful.

This is probably our first and last trip to Kentucky Kingdom, but it’s not for a lack of quality or the result of a bad experience. While it has some solid rides, it doesn’t have the firepower to command repeated visits.

Tomorrow it is off to Holiday World located in the bustling metropolis of Santa Claus, Indiana. It is Christmas every day (Santa is always there), and the soft drinks are free with admission. Hopefully, I’ll ride a brand new coaster called the Voyage. It is supposed to be the bee’s knees. They also have the Raven* and Legend which are both regarded very highly. If nothing else we will have three world class coasters to experience.

*Someone fell off and died last year. They stood up on the train as it careened downhill. In the inner coaster circles we call acts like that… stupid.