Beech Bend Park Opens Giant Proslide Designed Slide Tower in Splash Lagoon

Located in Kentucky, Beech Bend Park and its Splash Lagoon water park has opened its exciting 2016 addition, a large Proslide-designed slide tower featuring four different experiences for riders.  The addition of the slides represents an investment in the park that cost millions of dollars, adding much innovation and capacity to Splash Lagoon.

© Beech Bend / Splash Lagoon

This photo from the park shows the splash area for all four slides.  One of the slides, the Cyclone Saucers, is touted by the park as the first of its kind to open in North America.  That slide (in green) features tight enclosed turns that riders, in individual tubes, navigate through.  The enclosed sections open up into giant open-air "saucer" sections that features equally tight turns that sliders whiz through.

© Trevor George via Vimeo

Here's a nice aerial look at the overall slide tower.  The other slides (Riptide, Tidal Wave, and Polynesian Plunge) all offer different experiences.  One of them is a traditional bowl slide, another features Proslide's popular "Tantrum" mini-tornado elements, and finally the third a massive wave wall that riders slide up after a large drop.  This view comes from neat drone footage featured on the park's website.

The brightly colored addition came online just as the hottest part of the summer kicked in, perfect timing for the park!  Also new this season is Spinning Out, a family sized roller coaster with spinning trains.

Beech Bend Park Building Large Slide Tower + New Spinning Coaster in 2016

Another season of exciting additions has been announced by family-owned and run Beech Bend amusement park and Splash Lagoon, located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  The 2016 expansion comes off of the addition of a handful of family and thrill rides to the park this past season.

© Beech Bend Park

The largest addition that will take place in 2016 will be this huge 55 foot tall water slide tower, featuring four different experiences and created by Proslide.  The four slides will be named Cyclone Saucers, Riptide, Tidal Wave, and Polynesian Plunge.  The Cyclone Saucers will be the first of its kind to be installed in North America, and is one of Proslide's Flying Saucer slides.

© Beech Bend Park

This aerial view of the new slide tower allows the path of each slide to be easily traced.  The green and yellow slide appears to be the new Flying Saucer slide, but there is also a large (orange) wave wall style slide, one with two small funnels (blue) on the way down, and a large traditional bowl (purple) slide.  This news story posts the water park expansion at around $5 million, so this is by no means a small expansion.

© Beech Bend Park

On the amusement park side of things, a new spinning family roller coaster - named Spinning Out - will also be built at Beech Bend next season.  Well, technically the ride was already built!  The park received the new coaster, manufactured by SBF Visa Group, late last year and quickly had it installed.  The four passenger cars will spin freely during the course, which will make for a dizzying experience for riders.

Beech Bend Park Expanding with 5 New Rides in 2015

It looks like Beech Bend Park was happily shopping all throughout this year's IAAPA trade show, as they've just announced the addition of five new flat rides for the park's 2015 season.  The new rides will provide something for everyone, ranging from wild to mild.

Example Air Race ride

The largest and most exciting addition is Air Race, one of Zamperla's wild inverting creations.  Beech Bend describes Air Race as sending "riders on an amazing journey, replicating the experiences and sensations of an acrobatic airplane flight. Banks, loops, dives and weightlessness will test even the most experienced thrill seekers. The action takes place up to 30 feet above the ground and “pilots” experience accelerations of almost 3G’s, right side up and upside down."

The park also purchased another major ride, a Carousel Swing from Bertazzon.  Park President Dallas Jones commented that “We had been thinking about a new swing ride for a couple of years. The swing we ordered is a gorgeous ride with very intricate, hand painted panels and a beautiful light package."  The park is holding a contest via social media to come up with a name for the new ride.

Beech Bend didn't forget their smaller visitors while selecting new rides, and will add a "Monster Truck" attraction just for them.  To round out the new offerings, the park will also purchase newer models of their already popular Sizzler and Tornado flat rides.  Sounds like an exciting 2015 is in the works for the park!

Beech Bend Park Swings + Spins Toward 2013

Beech Bend Park and Splash Kingdom have been steadily adding to their ride and water attraction collection over the past few years, and have just revealed that they've signed on the dotted line for yet another thriller.

An example of the type of ride coming to Beech Bend

A major benefit of the annual IAAPA trade show is that some parks indeed go shopping for a new ride, and are eager to make the purchase on site.  Such is the case with Beech Bend owner Dallas Jones, who purchased a Chance Revolution for the park's 2013 season.

The ride, which will be named later, will send riders up to 60 feet in the air at a maximum swing angle of 240 degrees, well on the way to fully inverted.  As the large arm swings back and forth riders, who seat facing each other, are rotated 360 degrees.  To say the experience is disorienting is an understatement!

Congratulations on the continued expansion of Beech Bend!

Beech Bend Park Expanding Again in 2012

It's always a delight when a smaller park finds success and is able to plan expansions, and quite happily for Kentucky's Beech Bend Park this is true.  The park has come off some larger expansions in past years, starting with the addition of the Kentucky Rumbler in 2006, and then a significant water park addition spread over 2010-2011.

Appearing uninterested in resting on their laurels, the park has just announced the addition of a 140 foot tall drop tower - still unnamed for now.  The ride will feature a 12 passenger car that will drop riders at a stated 60 miles per hour.

From a photo posted by the park, the ride looks like it will be similar to XScream at Waldameer Park, created by ARM Rides.  These provide quite an intense experience - no need for a 300 foot tall tower here, these babies pack a punch.

Beech Bend is accepting name suggestions right now for the new tower, and the winner will get some free tickets to the park next season.

Also new next year is a show called "Wild Bill Hiccup's Wild West Show," a family friendly slap-stick comedy show.  The water park will also see the debut of the Tiki Grill and another hydration station - did we mention that the park offers free soft drinks?  Sounds like a great year is on deck!

A Blast From The Past - Beech Bend's Kentucky Rumbler Pt 3

On May 6th 2006 Beech Bend Amusement celebrated the grand opening of the Kentucky Rumbler. Members of various roller coaster clubs and local VIPs were treated to fantastic weather and an even more fantastic coaster to ride.


After a short ceremony and the ribbon cutting, riders were more than ready to ride the Rumbler! The first GCI Red Millennium Flyer rolled out of the station, curved to the right and then dipped slightly as the chain lift engaged. The lift hill goes back over the top of the station and as the train climbs riders are treated to a great view of the Beech Bend Drag Strip and a great deal of the amusement park.


The Rumbler's first drop was inspired by the Rye Playland Aeroplane, it begins with a turn to the right and thanks to the negative G-forces, the drop gives a nice little tummy tickle



From that point on the Rumbler speeds smoothly along over the rest of it's 2,827 feet, crossing over it's self thirty times, flying by the station three times, providing twelve minutes of airtime and completes the course with high speed finish.



While those are impressive stats, even more impressive is the pacing of the ride, how well placed those twelve minutes of airtime are and how much "umph" they provide for the rider.



The thirty crossovers can make for a very disorienting ride, keeping riders guessing as to what's up next. And the train navigates very smoothly through all of those transitions.


Kentucky Rumbler seems to be going pedal to the metal throughout it's course and while most roller coasters tend to slow near the end, the Rumbler doesn't. The last leg of track sloped downward slightly which provides the speed for the grand finale.


As someone who saw the Kentucky Rumbler in various stages of it's construction I must say the ride is stunning. In fact it is as pleasurable to look at, as it is to ride. It is also not difficult to notice that the Kentucky Rumbler appeals to a wide audience, it offers family fun and still has enough thrill for the enthusiast crowd. And, it's not unusual to see people hop of the ride, walk quickly down the exit ramp, through the gift shop and head right back into line for another ride.


Happy Fifth Anniversary Kentucky Rumbler and congratulations to the entire Beech Bend family on the success of this wonderful addition to the park.Topsy-turvy, ride the Kentucky Rumbler! Ride, ride, ride, topsy-turvy, ride the Kentucky Rumbler!

A Blast From The Past - Beech Bend's Kentucky Rumbler Pt 2

On October 27, 2005, Beech Bend Park outside of Bowling Green, Kentucky, held a press conference. There were somewhere between 50 to 75 people sitting outside the beautiful sunshine waiting for the festivities to begin.The occasion ...The announcement of the name for their new wooden coaster, You see for the family, had decided on the company they wanted to build the coaster, the layout and where they wanted to build the ride. But, the perfect name still had to be selected. So, Beech Bend decided to hold a contest get some ideas for the name. All season long park goers could submit proposed names in the park’s main gift shop or names could also be submitted on-line.


The attendees, local dignitaries, coaster enthusiasts, the Jones family, the Bowling Green Middle School cheerleaders, a film crew from The Discovery Channel and the press were all very eager to learn the rides name.

But, first some formalities were required; Charlotte Jones Gonzales and Clay Jones went to the podium to talk about how their parents were making a dream come true. The single largest investment in the history of the park was this new attraction. And they wanted their mom and dad to know how much it meant to the kids. Dallas and Alfreda Jones received warm applause as they posed for a family photo. They talked about how all the parents, kids, in-laws and grandchildren all gathered together Wednesday night to select the new coaster's name. They started with over 7,000 entries in the name the coaster contest

Dallas described how they threw out the names nobody liked, spending hours whittling the list down to ten, then five, then three, and finally one. The whole process required three hours. The film crew covered the entire affair, and those grandchildren had to be the coolest kids in school, for they really had something unusual for show and tell.

The name was announced: the Kentucky Rumbler. The cheerleaders fired up the crowd with a special cheer, "Topsy-turvy, ride the Kentucky Rumbler! Ride, ride, ride, topsy-turvy, ride the Kentucky Rumbler!" Any visitor to the park on a Sunday knew where the name came from, for the Bowling Green facility also has a drag strip right next door and the rumble of the dragsters can be heard all over the park. Riders on the coaster will have a free view of the track when they ride the coaster. Of course, they will have to keep their eyes open to see anything! The only time they will see what's making that loud noise is when the train is climbing the lift, because the next 40 seconds is going to be amazing.

The rides designer, Jeff Pike, talked about how much fun it was to recreate the Rye Aeroplane. This long-defunct coaster served as the inspiration for the new ride. Looking much like a fighter pilot, he used both his hands and sometimes his arms, to describe how the ride would feel to the guests on board. Not to say he was excited, but he did have to have quick cold drink before he could start the construction tour!

Dallas explained how they were changing around some of the ride locations, trying to balance out the park. There will also be a new restaurant, bathrooms and a patio for those who say, "No thanks, I'll just watch.”

During the tour, Jeff explained how he wanted to recreate the original bottle look of the Aeroplane, but was unable to because the Rumbler would be traveling much faster and would exert too much sideways stress. So instead, he used a cone surrounding a taller cone, to establish a definitive shape for the coaster. Jeff wanted every picture of the coaster to help establish the identity of the ride. He works on his designs so they are not only fun to ride, but also are nice to watch. They are also very photogenic.

He took us deep inside the tallest part, where a concrete deadman retains the structure. This would be considered the "cathedral" for coaster lovers, as weddings have been performed inside some of their other roller coasters. The bents sloping skyward do lend an uplifting feeling while you are inside the structure.

Jeff also showed us how the design takes full advantage of the 26-foot drop over the site to maintain a higher speed throughout the course. He told us they used 3,000 cubic yards of concrete, and it will require almost a million bolts to hold its sinuously curves together

After the tour was completed, we decided to ride the Wild Mouse, which they had running, before we headed home. As we were walking out to the front parking area, we could hear Charlotte screaming clear up by the go cart track while she took her turn on the Wild Mouse! Evidently, this was her way of relieving the stress of the day before she went home

As we drove northward, we marveled at how special it was to attend something as meaningful as this event was! And, it's still a very special memory to us today. Check back next week for part three, the grand opening of the Kentucky Rumbler!

A Blast From The Past - Beech's Bends Kentucky Rumbler Pt1

Beech Bend Park's in Bowling Green Kentucky began as a picnic park in 1898, the park's name comes from a bend in the nearby Barren River that happened to have beech trees scattered along it's banks. In the early 1940s Charles Garvin purchased the park property and began adding amusements. First was a pony ride, followed by a roller skating rink, dance hall, bowling center, and swimming pool. Shortly after WWII Garvin added rides and racing, first with motorcycles, then auto racing. The same oval track is still used today. The drag strip was added in 1960.



Dallas and Alfreda Jones purchased the racetracks in 1984 and began hosting national drag racing events sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association. The NHRA events were successful and in 1987 the couple bought the land where the long forgotten amusement park once sat. The Jones' began to clear out the park area and renovate the campground in the early 1990s. They reopened the pool and then gradually began adding amusement park rides.



The park seemed to blossom as the new Millennium arrived. Between 2000 and 2005 many improvements were made and many additions were added to the park. By the end of 2005 there were 40 rides rides, 500 campground spaces with modern amenities, renovated racing facilities, a water park, and large picnic pavilions. But...still something seemed to be missing.



Many small family owned parks seem to rapidly climb the lift hill to success with the addition of a wooden roller coaster. Making the investment is a difficult decision and often involves making huge sacrifices, such as mortgaging the park or putting off purchasing a beach house.



The Jones family started taking about adding a wooden roller coaster to their park years before the Kentucky Rumbler was built. At the time Custom Coasters was going strong, but Dallas Jones wasn't ready to put all his eggs in one basket...it was just a matter of timing.



When Jones decided the time was right CCI was no longer an option, but he had already decided that Great Coasters International was a better fit for the park anyway. He was impressed by GCI's more park friendly, hands on approach to doing business.


Great Coasters International offers well built rides with minimal maintenance for park, a very smooth ride for the guest and service after the. GCII is also a firm dedicated to preserving the old fashion fun a wooden coaster offers.


Now Vice President of Sales & Design Jeff Pike started working for GCII straight out of college, under the tutelage of Mike Boodley. Jeff soon proved himself as a very talented and creative designer. The Kentucky Rumbler was Jeff's first solo design.


The highlights of the ride, an unprecedented three station fly-bys and an exciting aeroplane style first drop show-off Jeff's creativeness and pay homage to classic rides of the past. In short, Kentucky Rumbler is a ride that appeals to the young and the young at heart!

Tune in next week for part two of the story!