Kentucky Kingdom

Visited: August 9, 2026

Attending: Brian, Buzzed Bars Coaster Club

Yeah, there's a sign around the other side, but I'd already walked far enough from the parking lot

In addition to our Holiday World extravaganza, the group had also arranged some special treats with Kentucky Kingdom, seeing as many members would try to hit both parks anyway. In fact, Kentucky Kingdom offered us morning ERT on several rides. They then changed their schedule to open the park an hour later, but instead of moving our ERT, they extended it to two hours. The only problem was that we had to be at Kentucky Kingdom (in Eastern Time) by 9 a.m., which meant leaving Santa Claus (in Central Time) by no later than 6:30 a.m. However, one thing I’ve learned is that no matter what Buzzed Bars does the night before, they’ll always turn up on time for early ERT, which about 50 of us did. We had a dedicated staffer from the PR team, James, who kindly led us around.

Lightning run

Such a pretty coaster

Lightning Run is a coaster I’ve done before, but only once. It’s also a rather strange coaster, a prototype Chance GTX model, with RMC-style seats sticking out of bullet-shaped cars. I managed to snag the front car on the first train, whereupon I was reminded of the importance of letting coasters warm up, and also came to the conclusion that this isn’t really a front-row coaster. I immediately went around and did it from the back, and was much more satisfied. I found the seats uncomfortable on each of my rides, but that’s more a me problem than the seats. Later in the day, I’m sure this would be a really exciting ride. At the moment, I just found it pretty good.

Wind Chaser

Don't let the pleasant new sign fool you; this thing is still intense

The coaster of many names: I last rode this as Storm Chaser, the RMC conversion of Twisted Twins, which had been named Twisted Sisters until the band sued them. Apparently, Kentucky Kingdom has rethemed this area to a pleasant garden full of bees. Which means that this borderline-violent RMC now has a gentler name and an owl as a mascot. I got one ride on this with Alison, which was OK by me. My last rides on it had been at dusk, when it was running all-out, and I couldn’t see where I was going. This time, in morning light, it was still pretty crazy, but robbed of some of its bite. I would have gone around again if given the chance, but I’m not overly upset that we didn't.

Flying Fox

This is about as exciting as it gets, but it's supposed to be that way

This is a brand-new coaster right next to Lightning Racer, so it was a little odd that we walked to the far end of the park for Wind Chaser and then all the way back here, but the park isn’t all that big. It’s also an excellent example of how enthusiasts are adaptable, or at least Buzzed Bars is. Last night, they were overjoyed at the prospect of being able to ride Voyage as it actively tried to kill them. Today, they were excited about trying out this new family coaster, and judged it to be an excellent fit for the park.

Flying Fox is a Vekoma Family Suspended Coaster, the modern version of their old “hang-and-bang,” and a massive improvement. There aren’t a ton of these new ones operating in the US yet, so I hadn’t ridden one. It was interesting to compare to Merlin’s Mayhem, the S&S model with the same idea, which I just rode a few weeks ago. Both are good, but the Vekoma is more polished. I got a front row ride by chance, but that’s how I like riding suspended coasters, so that was great. Which meant that I got to see the track as it came and appreciate that it looks like a more aggressive coaster than it actually is. Or rather, it’s a decently aggressive layout without being super-tall, meaning it’s not super-fast, and hits a perfect sweet spot. As a family coaster, it has no inversions, but unlike Merlin’s Mayhem, which went for big swooping turns, Flying Fox gets its fun from small hills and directional changes. I was surprised to find small pops of airtime in this layout, not something I associate with suspended coasters, but pleasant to experience. The changes are also at just the right pace to be fun without being too intense, and take advantage of the suspended format, so that small twists in the track make a bigger difference in the seats. I took advantage of the opportunity to go around again from the back, but I prefer the front-row ride. Of course, it’s a new coaster, so the colors are fresh, it looks amazing on its plot, and even the station, which is made of wood, smells fantastic. Time will tell how well it ages, but I’m willing to bet it will hold up. This is a great intermediate step for a young enthusiast.