Kentucky Kingdom hosted some media representatives today and Mike Dearmond, a Louisville native kindly represented News Plus Notes at the event. Once he found out that Thunder Run would be open, he very quickly agreed to attend.
Walking through the park the signs of activity are plentiful. The Dutch Shoes have been repainted and are merely waiting for some cables.
The Giant Wheel is getting some new color, on every spoke and tub. Next year it will again entice guests from I-65 as they pass through Louisville.
The Roller Skater is staying, and it looks great amongst the trees that have grown up around the roller coaster.
It has been completely repainted and looks wonderful. This is wonderful family coaster is great ride to introduce budding coaster enthusiasts to the fun. It's a lot easier when mom or dad are sitting right next to them.
When you undertake a massive project like reopening a shuttered park as Ed Hart has, you deserve to get the front seat for the first ride. Look at how nice the station turned out.
Looking through the valley of wood, you can see where the track crosses through the structure. According to Mike, this is the smoothest rides he has ever had on Thunder Run.
You can see a few arms extended as Thunder Run climbs towards the sun. With that bright blue sky, it was a wonderful day to skip work to ride a coaster. Wish we were there.
Mile High Falls is looking good, and it will reopen for the 2014 season. It required a major rehabilitation because it was shuttered before the rest of the park.
The Lazy River will be actively floating relaxing guests come next summer. The way this fall is going, if you filled it with water it would be warm enough to splash around in today.
The wave pool is actually mostly smooth, the textured appearance is due to the spiffy new paint job. The water park will be the most complete area to open in the new Kentucky Kingdom's inaugural season. A big thumbs up for major progress the new operators are making towards the reopening Kentucky Kingdom. We can't wait for spring 2014!
Also a bigger thank you to John, Ed, and the rest of the team at Kentucky Kingdom for inviting News Plus Notes to the event. And don't forget Mike Dearmond, who kindly took time off from work to go ride Thunder Run on a beautiful fall day. We are so jealous.
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