Kentucky Kingdom Reopening Final + News on New Rides

As expected, today it was officially announced that Kentucky Kingdom will reopen on May 24th, 2014.  After a long struggle and four years of sitting around idly, the theme park seems to have finally made it to the point where we may feel confident that visitors will once again have the chance to experience its rides and slides.

Part of the announcement of the reopening also included the news that when the park opens next year it will see the largest expansion in its history.  For starters, a $7 million new roller coaster will help draw a lot of attention, though all details are being kept under wraps for the time being.

The water park, Hurricane Bay, will see a massive $12 million expansion that will include "a wave lagoon (an attraction the whole family will love!), three wet and wild water slide complexes, and an adventure river that speeds you along at six times the rate of the water park’s existing lazy river."  The expansion will be located where Change once stood, but utilize an additional four acres on top of that.

The existing water attraction will also reopen, along with the majority of the park's amusement rides including the "Thunder Run wooden coaster, the Mile High Falls giant spill ride, the 150-foot-tall Giant Wheel, the rapid river raft ride, and the Thrill Park Theatre."

In 2015 the park will totally renovate and reopen T2, a Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster.  The following year, 2016, the intertwined Twisted Twins will reopen as a "much superior ride."  New rides will be added each season after that, per the lease that has been signed for the property.  The initial outlay of cash in the first three years will total $43.5 million.

A previous plan included a $15 million B&M roller coaster, but it seems that is not the direction they plan to go next year with the now announced $7 million ride.

The park has launched a new website which promises updates as the work continues.  You can also check out this news story with video that details some of the changes and additions.