SFKK posts hint for 2005...

Does the state of Kentucky prevent more than a single file bridge from crossing over the road? I think most of the problems in Louisville can be blamed on Patino.

I think a Tornado would be a nice addition to SFKK, but honestly, I don't think it would be that new to most people in Louisville. Many people in Louisville visit Holiday World. I'm guessing that a large chunk of Holiday World's attendance is from Louisville, if not most of it. The past few summers I saw commericals every single day in Louisville for Holiday World, so if anything, people have seen Zinga on those.

I sort of think it's going to be something different than a Pro-Slide Tornado, either way, I won't be here to see it!

Well, I guess we'll all have to wait until Jan 25th...that's the date the park has listed for the announcement day.

A question to you Louisville locals out there.

Does that road that runs down the middle of SFKK really need to be there? Is it an artery for traffic or can it easily be removed and not cause problems for commuters?

If anything, with the road being there, it would have been nice to construct a passenger tunnel under the road.

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Fatguy619 said:
Everyone on here is saying how bad our guest service is, how about SAFTEY, we are the safest SF park around, it's been proven.

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LOL!! I mean seriously, LOL! I counted so many serious safety violations on my last visit it made me sick. SFKK is a hole. I can't overlook the poor landscaping, the trash, the faded paint on nearly everything, and the blatent safety violations and ignorance of guest experience when I visit. Maybe that's my issue.

-Nate

I think there's bigger issues with the "road" than meets the eye. Perhaps I am talking out of turn, but my perception is that the fairgrounds may use the road as a sort of leverage with the park. The fairgrounds is not about to swallow the expense of re-configuring the loop around the fairgrounds for the park... rather they'd probably make the park pay for it.

None-the-less, there really is no other place for the road to go. The land behind the rear of the park is not all owned by the State. Also, moving the road to run in front of the park would cause terrible congestion and interfere with the area used for the midway during the state fair.

Bottom line, the road is not going anywhere.

In regards to the SFKK experience... Nobody ever questioned the safety record. That goes without saying... and any park that maintains a good safety record should be commended.

However, I totally disagree with the mindset that "no one lower than Full-Time people can change... (the guest experience)." that is a perfect example of the attitude of SF employees. It's the idea that "It doesn't matter how hard I work or how much I try to make things better because it's all up to the full time folks."

That is totally backward, yet typical, thinking.

It is also a bunch of crap. Yes, it is up to full time management to oversee and lead. They need to give seasonal employees the tools they need to make the guest experience a good one. Incentive programs, rewards, bonuses, and over all "pep" makes employees more at ease and more apt to assist a guest when they need it. But seasonal staff are key, because they are the ones that are the "face" of the park.

The way I see it, most seasonal staff members are working their very first job. Without being properly trained or managed, they are not developing the essential tools crucial to a successful employment experience. Teens who work at many of today's parks often have nothing to gage their work ethic off of... and thus they scrape by doing bare minimum.

However, parks that have extensive training and management tools tend to develop and maintain a much better seasonal staff. Disney, Paramount and even Cedar Fair routinely evaluate their staffs, and concentrate on giving their employees the tools they need to grow and learn, as well as improve the park experience. Ultimately, the full time Management oversees the seasonal staff, but they understand that the seasonal staff represents their park.

I speak from the heart. I was a seasonal employee at SFKK for part of a season. I did not have a bad time there at all. But I went out of my way to go above and beyond the call of duty. I knew, having been a guest, that little things like speaking and joking with the customers and paying attention to cleanliness, safety and overall satisfaction were key. I hate to say it, I was one of the few that "got it." Selfishly, those tools I brought to the position were learned by working at PKI seasons before. The idea was to make the job fun for yourself... while adhering to the appropriate guidelines, and the guests would recognize that.

Now that is not meant as bragging, rather it is a comment about the needs that seasonal staff have. They need a breakroom... not an outdoor fenced off food stand. They need substantial locker rooms not small "closets" with broken lockers. They need routine guest service seminars not a single initial orientation video. They need seperate bathrooms away from guests.

I don't fault SFKK for most of this. I have met the general Manager and Marketing Staff at the park and they are good folks that work very hard. This is by no means a slap to anyone that runs a park... it's a terribly difficult job.

But I think their hands are tied so much with budget, that they really do not have the ability to focus on these basic infrastructure needs. That seems to be the general feel at most SF parks. The company would rather spend $30M on a single coaster at a park that is hardly crying out for another ride, than use the money to increase wages and develop appropriate training tools for staff.

Again, that is backward thinking and ultimately trickles down to the seasonal staff.

Using the theory of cause and effect... We, as paying guests, are treated to a day of mediocrity at best. It's unnaceptable.

Shaggy *** Edited 11/16/2004 3:16:02 PM UTC by Shaggy***

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Fatguy619 said:
The problem with you "coaster people" is you pick at stuff that no one lower than Full-Time people can change.

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Nah, the *problem* is that those same Full-Time people you refer to are too busy with their thumbs up their butts and aren't out there IMPROVING their parks! I'll tell ya, SFFT is one of the best-run parks I've been to in OR ouside of the chain, and they certainly don't have one of the so-called "pet parks". It's all about the middle- and upper-level management....if they're SMART, and work HARD, and *care* about their employees and their *guests*, then everything else works out JUST fine, regardless of corporate decisions, or cap-ex issues, or anything else....

Just my OPINION mind you, but it IS a well-considered opinion...;)

The really funny thing is that the first time I went to SFKK I came away with the impression that the employees were *very* friendly and eager to be helpful. Unfortunately they were also slow and mostly useless, but they *did* have that big smiling face.

I thought of them as well-meaning bumblers.
lata, jeremy
--who still ranks SFKK at the bottom of parks he would go out of his way to re-visit

Chitown, I think the road is necessary for Louisville football and basketball games, as well as other events on the fairgrounds. Traffic would be a nightmare without it.

Hehe, jeremy....I'll take a "well-meaning bumbler" over 20 SFAW employees ANY day...

Leaving that park in Houston, I heard a comment that went something like this: "NOW I understand why Rastus is so angry all the time"....RRCers....:)

RGW: But there was *yet another* place that I walked away from with 'warm&fuzzies'. For example, one of my buddies went to a shop to buy coffee but that shop didnt sell any. Instead, the worker went back into the employee break room and brought out a cup of that coffee....for free! Granted, it was very early in the season (May) but that is good C/S if I've ever seen it.

Maybe I'm just lucky...
lata, jeremy
--who got laughed at in IOA for asking where the toilet was...

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rollergator said:
Seems like the really WELL-RUN parks in the chain, like SFFT, seem to do QUITE well with *the cards they're dealt*, while other parks use that as a shameful crutch to try and explain away poor performance....

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*cough*Six Flags America*cough*

Seriously, I think that Proslide Tornadoes are cool, and I'm an idiot for not bringing my swimsuit to SFFT on my Texas trip. I just think that a massive roller coaster is what the park needs. I'd always want a coaster, but I think that in the case of SFKK a coaster would do the park more good than just a waterslide. Chang's been ruling the park since 1997. It's time for something new. The park looks like it is dire need of more steel anyway. I think a Premier Rides shuttle coaster would do the park some good. *** Edited 11/16/2004 4:59:15 PM UTC by sirloindude***

Believe it or not though, you can have fun at Kentucky Kingdom. I think a lot of people go into the park with thoughts that it's going to suck before they even go through the gates whether it's from them having few coasters or things to do, being in Kentucky, the comparisons on how it lacks to HW and PKI, people claiming they've had bad experiences before, etc. It's not a park I have to go to a lot, but it's not one I'll dread either. If you're dreading visiting a park, you probably shouldn't go. ;)

+Danny

I would like to visit Kentucky Kingdom as I would really like to ride Chang. I want to see if it outdoes its older brother Mantis. Also, and I swalow hard before I say this, but I would like to ride T2 to say I've been on the first American SLC. Call it a rite of passage, but I want to do it. I'd also like to see if Thunder Run outdoes PKD's Hurler.

I've ridden every stand-up coaster in the US except Georgia Scorcher and Chang is my favorite. A great cross between Mantis' intensity and Riddler's gracefulness.

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sirloindude said:
I just think that a massive roller coaster is what the park needs. I'd always want a coaster, but I think that in the case of SFKK a coaster would do the park more good than just a waterslide. Chang's been ruling the park since 1997. It's time for something new.

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Well, the park did just add Greazed Lightnin', but the bigger point is that SFKK is the lowest attended of all of the branded Six Flags parks. Adding new coasters does not seem to be working.

-Nate

Hurricane Mountain Water slides.

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sirloindude said:
...I would like to ride T2 to say I've been on the first American SLC.

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Fun to say, not fun to do. ;-)

Adding new coasters does not seem to be working.

Its not working chain-wide. Why? Because no matter how many cool, new rides or waterslides you add if your customers leave pissed off, they're not returning. And worse, they're gonna tell their family and friends what a horrible time they had.

Once Six Flags figures out how to fix that problem they'll see a recovery.

Obviously, your mileage may vary.

mOOSH

I've had/heard of mostly good experiences from SFGAm, SFOG, SFOT, SFDL, and SFFT. The big problems seem to lie in the California parks, SFAW, SFA, and randomly with SFGAdv, SFNE, and SFKK. I've read positive trip reports on all of those parks too though... And bad ones of CF, Paramount, Busch, Disney, and Universal parks. Complaining about Six Flags as a whole is overrated. It's not like we have anything better to do though... ;)

+Danny