Kentucky Kingdom 09/04/21 (Storm the Kingdom)

TR: Kentucky Kingdom

Date: 09/04/21
Weather: Sunny and mild for most of the day with rain in the evening
Crowds: Medium

Last weekend I attended an event sponsored by the Midwest chapter of ACE. This is only the second time I have gone to an amusement park independently and I did not know what to expect. Rather than give an account of everything, I am going to simply review each ride I did. The other enthusiasts were great to hang out with and I was hanging out with someone all day, whether it was the regional rep and his family or several others that let me tag along with them. I left about two hours before closing owing to rain. Uber got me to the park entrance with no trouble; it was weird walking through the disused metal detectors with nobody around but I was found eventually. Here are my individual ride reviews.

Kentucky Flyer: This was the first ride of the morning ERT. It was my first Gravity Group coaster that uses Timberliner trains. I loved these trains. I found them comfortable to ride in and I thought they tracked well on the course. Having ridden the Voyage earlier this year (HoliWood Nights tr coming soon) I don't think that Voyage would run as well with these trains. Surprisingly a lot of people agreed with me. I got to ride this four times; the firrst ride was in the back and the last three were in the middle of the train without getting off. There was some good airtime in the back. The lapbar design on these is pure genius. Overall a fun little ride.

Storm Chaser: This was my first time on an RMC coaster and the second ride of our ERT session. Oh! My! God! Now I get why RMC is loved so much by enthusiasts. I got on this thinking that RMC was overhyped and that it was going to be disappointing. My first ride was in the back and it honestly scared me owing to the airtime and other forces. I'm not a swearing person but I was during that ride. I loved how you could literally feel the train inverting and the ejector air on the hills was fantastic. When we got back to the station I was allowed to move to a middle seat and got to ride 4 more times. That was probably too much because my legs were killing me after those rides. The airtime was consistent throughout all my rides even in the middle of the train. I do wish the lapbars had more padding owing to that insane airtime. It is almost like RMC didn't anticipate how intense this would be. I also wish someone had told me what to hold on to. I literally couldn't find a handle or something to grab on to so I held the back of the seat in front of me. This led to an incident on my third ride where a woman with long hair was riding in front of me and I unintentionally pulled her hair that was dangling over the back. Thankfully she understood and everybody had a good laugh. I got off so we could do the midway games tournament but I could have ridden a few more times although my legs would not have forgiven me.

Professor John's Flying Machines: This was my first real Flying Scooters ride. Even after one of the people I was with told me how to snap a tub I couldn't do it. I know these are Larson scooters so that might have been why but I couldn't get anything to happen except for mild direction changes.

Breakdance: Just your average Breakdance. What can I say?

Flying Dutchman: I'm a sucker for rare flat rides so I convinced the people I was with to let me take a spin. One of them joined me although we got separate tubs. What a great and relaxing ride. The cycle was a good long one too.

T3: And now for the controversial review. Brace yourselves. I loved this. This was my first slc and I was told all kinds of things about it. "You'll lose circulation in your legs. The restraints will hurt you. We'll ride this so that you can experience it. Be nervous." I loved the Kumbak train. I found it comfortable, well-padded, and open. Could the ride have been smoother? Absolutely. There was noticeable shuffling especially between the elements and there were some jerky transitions. However, for what it is I thought it was a good ride. I loved the restraint design and how you pushed the buttons to lock your own restraint. A lot of people told me that for many it is a "one and done" ride but I rode it twice, both times in the back on the right. It was a comfortable ride for me. The restraints did push down on certain, uh, areas but it wasn't hard enough to detract from the ride experience. When I told people I liked it they were speechless. Someone told me that this isn't representative of these coasters. I know that but I really liked this one and wonder why it gets such a bad wrap.

Skycatcher: This was my second ARM tower swing ride; my first was at the State Fair of Texas in 2019. The ARM verssion is a good one and this one was running a long cycle.

Thunder Run: This woodie was fantastic. Great ejector airtime in the back and smooth tracking. I feel that the turns could have been a little more intense though. This was my last ride.

I did not get to ride Lightning Run or Roller Skater owing to incoming rain and my concern about getting caught in it while waiting for an Uber. The regional rep walked me to the front gate and waited with me until my Uber got there and I made it back to my apartment before the rain really came. There were many closed flats; two I had hoped to ride, the pirate ship and FearFall, were closed as well as several others. Overall, I loved this park. The ffood that I had at Swampwater Jack's was good for park food and was filling. I wantedd to try the cinnamon bread but couldn't get over there. It smelled absolutely heavenly. I do think that this park needs more rides and I hope they add more.

Thanks for reading.

I've not ridden Storm Chaser yet, so this is all 2nd hand, but the common consensus is that it's at the bottom of the list for RMC's. This isn't to pee in your cornflakes, but rather to tell you that you'll be even more pleasantly surprised when you ride more! Most aren't nearly as painful as you describe. Even the absolute insanity of Steel Vengeance is not painful in the least.

I very much want to get back to KK, as I haven't been since the early 2000's.

Tommy- Funny, I’ve heard Storm Chaser is one of the better “smaller” RMC conversions.

Tommytheduck said:

Most aren't nearly as painful as you describe. Even the absolute insanity of Steel Vengeance is not painful in the least.

Ha... You must not be tall.

At 6'6", Steel Vengeance is brutal for my legs/shins... After a ride or two, it just gets to be too painful to ride any more. I can't stand the restraint design on these things.

The more milder RMC's aren't as bad, which is probably why I like them more (Goliath, Wicked Cyclone, Joker...).

But at KK at least, I will say I actually found Lightning Run to be one of the worst for comfort, in terms of it feeling like my shin would be snapped in two due to the forces/train design. One ride was all I needed, with no desire to ever ride again (it was walk-on, too...).

If you are comfortable in RMC trains, consider yourself "lucky" I suppose. I still think the best trains today are the new Intamin ones used on Taron/Velocioaster/Pantheon when paired with a crazy, super-intense layout. Doesn't get much better outside of the B&M Hyper/Giga trains.

T3: And now for the controversial review. Brace yourselves. I loved this.

I've also never had a problem with this ride, nor the similar Kong at SFDK. Maybe it's because I'm smaller framed, but I can dangle my head forward to avoid the OTSRs, and thus can have a pain-free ride.

At 6'6", Steel Vengeance is brutal for my legs/shins... After a ride or two, it just gets to be too painful to ride any more. I can't stand the restraint design on these things.

My partner is 6'6" and he has the exact same complaint about SV. The ride itself is OK but sitting on the brake run with his legs jammed in the restraint absolutely kills his shins.