Kentucky Kingdom - June 3rd and 4th, 2026

 From May 31st to June 4th, my mom and I visited Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Kentucky Kingdom! It was a fun road trip visiting these amusement parks during a week of beautiful weather! ☀️🎢

Kentucky Kingdom - June 3rd, 2026:

On the morning of June 3rd, we drove from Mason, Ohio down to Louisville, Kentucky for our first-ever visit to Kentucky Kingdom! I was most excited to visit Kentucky Kingdom as it not only has a great collection of six roller coasters, but also has quite the history, too!

Kentucky Kingdom is a 67 acre amusement park located on the grounds of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. Kentucky Kingdom opened to visitors on May 23rd, 1987 on 13 acres of land. Unfortunately, the first season was not successful, causing the park to close and sit dormant until it reopened in 1990 under the guidance of local businessman, Ed Hart. Ed Hart had to purchase all-new rides and attractions as the original rides from the 1987 season had been sold off. One of the major attractions that still exists at the park from the 1990 reopening is Woodland Run (formerly known as Thunder Run), an insanely thrilling wooden roller coaster, which was built on an additional 13 acres. Throughout the 1990s, more rides would be added, including the introduction of Hurricane Bay water park and the iconic Giant Wheel in 1992!

Throughout the mid to late 1990s, Ed Hart continued to add even more rides and roller coasters to this rapidly growing park. By late-1997, Ed Hart sold the operating rights to Premier Parks, which acquired the Six Flags brand of parks shortly after. In 1998, Kentucky Kingdom would become Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. For the next 11 years, Kentucky Kingdom would operate under the Six Flags banner.

After the end of the 2009 season, Six Flags would leave the park, causing Kentucky Kingdom's future to be uncertain. The Kentucky Fair Board attempted to find a new operator to open the park for the 2010 season, but this was unsuccessful. After some more deals failed to materialize, it was announced in August 2012 that Kentucky Kingdom would reopen in 2014 under Ed Hart, former operator of the park. In under two years, he was able to get the park operational again after it sat dormant for over four years.

Ed Hart would continue to add rides to the park in the years following its reopening on May 24th, 2014. In February 2021, the operating agreement was sold to current operator, Herschend, who operates parks such as Dollywood and Silver Dollar City. 

Since then, the park has continued to transform into something very special!

 As luck would have it, the new for 2026 roller coaster, Flying Fox would open just days before our first visit to Kentucky Kingdom! It is a very fun Family Suspended Coaster manufactured by Vekoma! More details and photos of Flying Fox shared below!

Be sure to enjoy the photos from our very first visit to Kentucky Kingdom! 🙂🎢

With I-65 in Louisville being closed from June 1st through July 2026, it took us a little bit longer to get to Kentucky Kingdom. We eventually arrived just around 12pm.

Once through the gates, you are greeted by this large Kentucky Kingdom Theme & Water Park sign! The fountains and flowers are quite beautiful! 

Of interest, this sign is located on the former site of Hellevator/Superman Tower of Power drop tower that operated at the park from 1996 to 2007.

Here's a park map of Kentucky Kingdom. The layout is quite interesting, but Herschend appears to have made it a bit better in recent years with relocating some of the rides attractions to their new for 2025 section, Discovery Meadow.

During our visit, the Floral Frenzy event was happening. There were many beautiful floral displays around the park for guests to enjoy, such as this floral wall near the park's entrance!

The park does a great job with landscaping!

The highlight of my visit was to ride the new for 2026 Flying Fox!

As mentioned, Flying Fox is a Family Suspended Coaster manufactured by Vekoma. It pays tribute to crop-dusters of Kentucky and features 1,380.0 ft of track filled with swooping drops, banked turns, and even a bit of airtime, too!

While only 65 feet tall, Flying Fox sure packs quite a thrill for anyone who rides it!

There's even a small tunnel within the layout of Flying Fox!

A little fun fact is the Flying Fox kind of sits on the land of another Vekoma coaster that previously operated at the park, the Vampire from 1990 to 1999. It was a Vekoma Boomerang coaster that was relocated to Six Flags New England in 2000, where it operates as Flashback! It is one of three former Kentucky Kingdom roller coasters that I have been on! 🤓

After a fun ride on Flying Fox, I headed over to its neighbor, Lightning Run!

Lightning Run opened at Kentucky Kingdom in 2014. Manufactured by Chance Rides, Lightning Run is a Hyper GT-X Coaster model with a drop of 100 feet and a track length of 2,500 feet.

Don't let its smaller size fool you, as it is packed with extreme moments of airtime! For my first ride, I sat in the last row of Lightning Run and had my hands up the whole time! It was insane! 😂

It's really nice to see Herschend add Dollywood-esque like features to Kentucky Kingdom.

After a thrilling ride on Lightning Run, I joined my mom for a ride on a Kentucky Kingdom classic, the Tin Lizzies car ride. This car ride takes you on a short journey through some tunnels near Lightning Run.

Afterwards, we continued our way to the back of the park so I could ride Sky Catcher and Kentucky Flyer. To get to the back of Kentucky Kingdom, you cross this bridge. I really don't understand the hatred for this bridge as my mom and I found it quite easy to navigate.

From the bridge, you get a nice view of Lightning Run!

An interesting fact about Lightning Run is that its station was built for the former Greezed Lightnin' Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop coaster that operated at the park from 2003 through 2009. Greezed Lightnin' was ultimately removed in 2013 to make way for the opening of Lightning Run in 2014.

Another nerdy roller coaster fact is the land of Lightning Run was also once home to Road Runner Express, a Maurer Rides Wild Mouse coaster that operated at the park from 2000 to 2009. It was relocated to Six Flags New England in 2001 where it operates as Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum. It is two of three former Kentucky Kingdom roller coasters that I have been on! 🤓

Just look at that airtime (and hair time) on Lightning Run! 😂

Once you cross the bridge, you are greeted by the Hurricane Bay water park. It features many slides and two wave pools.

On the edge of Hurricane Bay stands the iconic 150 foot tall Giant Wheel. It was manufactured by Vekoma and has been at the park since 1992. As my mom gets nauseas by the slight rocking motion of Ferris wheels, I wouldn't get to ride it until the following day as no single riders are permitted.

Here's the SkyCatcher! This fun 130 foot tall swing tower was manufactured by ARM and opened at the park in 2015! It provides a great view of the park and surrounding area!

After a ride on SkyCathcer, I went on the somewhat hidden Kentucky Flyer!

This is fun family wooden roller coaster was manufactured by Gravity Group opened at Kentucky Kingdom in 2019!

It features many small airtime hills throughout it narrow and compact layout!

Kentucky Flyer is a fun roller coaster to ride with your hands up! 🙌

My final nerdy roller coaster fact for now is that Kentucky Flyer partially sits on the former land that a giant Bolliger and Mabillard stand-up coaster named Chang used to operate on from 1997 to 2009! After the 2009 season, it was shipped to Six Flags Great Adventure where it operated as Green Lantern from 2011 to 2024. That is the third former Kentucky Kingdom roller coaster that I have rode! 🤓

It's hard to imagine a park like Kentucky Kingdom having such a huge roller coaster! It's also interesting to think that I inadvertently had a connection to Kentucky Kingdom through riding three of the park's former roller coasters years before visiting the park itself! 😊

For lunch went went to the greatly air conditioned Swamp Water Jack's restaurant located near Hurricane Bay and the bridge. 

I ordered a very tasty cheeseburger and fries basket. 

My mom had a large garden salad with chicken, bacon, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, carrot, cabbage, and croutons. 

After lunch, we ventured through Hurricane Bay to the other side of the park to a newly reimagined section, Discovery Meadow. 

Here's my mom posing with Scout the Squirrel and Robin Bloom, Discovery Meadow's mascots. They were introduced with the section of the park in 2025. 

My first ride in Discovery Meadow was Woodland Run. This thrilling wooden roller coaster opened at the park in 1990 as Thunder Run. It was renamed in 2025 to fit in with the Discovery Meadow theme. 

Woodland Run was manufactured by Dinn Corporation.

Of interest, it is one of three Dinn Corporation wooden coasters that I have been on to date! The other two are the Predator at Six Flags Darien Lake and Wolverine Wildcat at Michigan's Adventure.

A ride on Woodland Run starts with a 90 foot drop, followed by a fast-paced 70° banked turn, which then leads into a series of small airtime hills, into another turnaround followed by another airtime hill, which then leads to the final turn before hurtling towards the station!

It's an exhilarating ride from start to finish! It's layout and re-rideability has made me a fan of this awesome wooden coaster! 😄

Up next, I took a relaxing ride on Spring Fling, the park's Intamin Flying Dutchman ride. Formerly known as Flying Dutchman, this ride previously operated at Kings Island from 1973 to 1990, before opening at Kentucky Kingdom in 1991. it received its current name and theme in 2025. below is an off-ride video of Spring Fling!

Up next, I "dropped in" on Treetop Drop. This drop tower, manufactured by ARM stands 130 feet tall and drops without warning!

It opened at the park in 2014 as FearFall where Flying Fox now operates and was relocated to Discovery Meadow in 2025.

Kentucky Kingdom has many beautiful floral arrangements located throughout the park!

Here we are on the Garden Carousel. I sat on a zebra while my mom sat on a deer!

Garden Carousel is a beautiful carousel featuring many animals, including horses, deer, tigers, lions, zebras, and bears. it even features rocking and spinning carriages, too!

It was manufactured by Wooddesign Amusement Rides of the Netherlands and has called Kentucky Kingdom home since 1996. It received its current theme in 2025 with the addition of Discovery Meadow.

As it was a rather warm day, I decided to cool down on the Mile High Falls water ride! This Hopkins shoot-the-chute water ride opened at the park in 1994 and stands 90 feet tall, soaking riders as it plunges into the water channel below! 🌊

I then spin dried off on the Seed Spinner, a Huss Breakdance ride that has been at the park since 1990. It was renamed and relocated in 2025 to Discovery Meadow. It previously operated as Breakdance, where Flying Fox is today. I love breakdance rides as their unbalanced spinning so much fun!

Herschend has done such a wonderful job with Discovery Meadow!

Discovery Meadow is also home to Nature's Bounty, a Huss Pirate ship ride! It too has been at the park since 1990, originally operating where Flying Fox is today as Bluebeard's Bounty.

I was going to ride Nature's Bounty shortly after this photo was taken, but it went down for a while. I would take it for a spin the following morning.

From the back of Discovery Meadow, you can get some great views of Woodland Run!

At the back of Discovery Meadow is Wind Chaser, the park's RMC roller coaster that opened in 2016 as Storm Chaser!

This coaster has a bit of an interesting history as it originally debuted as a dueling wooden coaster known as Twisted Sisters (tracks named Lola and Stella) in 1998, manufactured by Custom Coasters International. The coaster was renamed Twisted Twins in 2002 as the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister wanted to sue Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom for using the name Twisted Sisters. Twisted Twins continued to operate through the 2007 season.

It sat non-operational until it was mostly demolished in 2015. The Lola side was reused to be converted into Storm Chaser for the 2016 season!

Storm Chaser was renamed Wind Chaser in 2025.

Wind Chaser features two inversions consisting of a barrel roll drop and a zero-g roll within its 2,744 foot long extreme airtime filled track!

Just like most RMC manufactured coasters, the airtime does not give up until you hit the final brake run!

After a ride on Wind Chaser, I took a ride on the park's last of six roller coasters at Kentucky Kingdom, the ridiculously fun Hollyhock & Roll!

This Vekoma manufactured Junior Coaster opened at Kentucky Kingdom in 1994 as Roller Skater. It received the fun name of Hollyhock & Roll with the introduction of Discovery Meadow in 2025. It is a fun roller coaster with a winding drop and winding turns!

Here's the signage for Discovery Meadow as seen from the crosswalk connecting Discovery Meadow to the front of the park.

The crosswalk helps complete the loop from the front to the back of the park. It is manned by park security who make sure park guests safely cross the Circle of Champions Road on the exposition grounds.

This neat artificial topiary race horse is placed in a flowerbed next to the Kentucky Kingdom Amphitheater.

At the Kentucky Kingdom Amphitheater we caught the "Wheels in the Wild" show. 

It is a family oriented motorbike stunt show filled with moments of laughter as the ranger tries to get the camp ready for opening day as his assistants finish the job with their bikes! 

Throughout the show, they ride up on the outpost building, picnic tables, and other structures all while narrowly missing the ranger! 

They eventually do get the camp ready for opening day while performing stunts on their motor bikes! It was a great show! 

My second-last ride of the day was on the classic Reverchon manufactured Himalaya. This ride opened at the park sometime in the mid-1990s. 

I then took a ride on the Bumper Cars locate near the entrance of Kentucky Kingdom. 

On our way out for the day, I captured a photo this unique children's carousel located in King Louie's Playland. it is known as musical Carousel and features musical instruments instead of traditional horses. 

Here we are after a great first-day at Kentucky Kingdom! 

June 4th, 2026:

Our second day at Kentucky Kingdom was another hot day, with temperatures reaching a high of 30°C (86°F)! Quite a line had formed outside the gates before the park opened at 11am. 

Once inside, I got a ride on Scream Xtreme, the park's Zamperla Endeavour ride. It takes a new spin on the classic Enterprise ride, which it had replaced at Kentucky Kingdom in 2018.

This was the third Endeavour ride I have been on to date! It was just as intense as the other the other two!

I then took a ride on Nature's Bounty followed with a ride on Wind Chaser and Honeybee Buzzers flying scooter ride.

Here's the zero-g roll inversion on Wind Chaser located next to the Honeybee Buzzers ride.

Honeybee Buzzers was relocated to Discovery Meadow in 2025 after operating as Professor John's Flying Machines near Lightning Run from 2014 to 2024.

I then took another ride on Seed Spinner and Spring Fling (pictured).

For lunch, I ordered a meal from Bloom's BBQ & Grill in Discovery Meadow. 

I ordered a Philly cheesesteak with a side of curly fries and mac and cheese. It was all very delicious! 

After a great meal, I took another ride on Treetop Drop and Woodland Run!

Here's a train full of passengers zipping through the 70° banked turn on Woodland Run at speeds upwards of 53 mph (85 km/h)! 

Just located to the south of the park is the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Jets were taking off and landing all day long! Some looked to be quite close to the park! 

I then ventured to the back of the park for another ride on SkyCatcher and Kentucky Flyer.

Then we crossed the bridge back over to Lightning Run and Flying Fox! Look at the hair time on Lightning Run! 😂

The first drop on Flying Fox has a nice pop of airtime!

The grain silo with the Flying Fox name on it was a nice touch and nod to Kentucky's rural farm life.

We then ventured back over to Discovery Meadow where I got another ride on Hollyhock & Roll!

I then walked over to Clock Tower Treats for some ice cream to cool off!

I ordered a cup of vanilla and chocolate twist ice cream. It was refreshing!

As our second day was coming to an end, I was becoming doubtful that I was going to get a ride on the iconic Giant Wheel as no single riders were allowed.

As luck would have it, I saw a single rider get in line as I was approaching the Giant Wheel. I quickly got in line and offered to ride with them. They luckily agreed! Here's a view of Woodland Run from the Giant Wheel!

The 150 foot tall Giant Wheel gives you a great view of the new for 2026 Flying Fox! 

In the area of Lightning Run, it looks like future additions may be popping up over the next few years! 

There they go!

The first drop on Lightning Run is filled with quite the amount of airtime!

Here's a look at Woodland Run's layout from the Giant Wheel.

Once I was back on the ground, we finished our second day at Kentucky Kingdom!

My mom and I greatly enjoyed our first-ever visit to the Kentucky Kingdom! It was a fun two days at this great park! I look forward to seeing what Herschend continues to do with the park in the future!

Thanks for checking out my photos of Kentucky Kingdom! 😊