So all the native Louisvillians out there will have already heard the news that Six Flags is closing down Kentucky Kingdom. This after they had made an announcement last year that they would be expanding the water park. Although, honestly, it all sounded very fishy to this Louisvillian, what with the common knowledge that the park attendance was way down, then later when SF had filed in June for bankruptcy protection and all. And lets not forget all the nightmare press over that gruesome severed feet incident of three years past. All these things contribute to the feeling of looming failure that has, since its dismal late-eighties premier, always clung to this place.
When it first opened in 1987 in the parking lot at the Ky Fair and Exposition Center it was about as Podunk a place as you could imagine--maybe a couple of steps above a well-funded brat's birthday party (think inflatable bounce castles and sad, broken pony rides). The park was initiated through the misguided ambitions of an eccentric local millionaire who figured he could do worse than throw some money at the local tourism industry--the idea re-payed him by promptly going belly-up after its first summer of operation. I'm a little hazy on the exact time line and other such details (I was, like, 7 years old at the time), but I seem to recall it laying dormant like the creepy haunted park in that episode of Scooby-Doo (the one with the robot phantom or something) for a while before someone else bought it and it reopened. Maybe it was the very next year.
The park changed hands a few times, becoming a popular teenage gathering place--and later a dangerous gang recruitment center, according to hazy recollections based on half-remembered "problem teen" stories on the local news from that time--before Six Flags eventually bought it and cleaned it up in the late 90's. It had improved quite a bit--bigger rides with brand names (T2, Mr. Freeze, Superman), Looney Tunes character endorsement--all the trappings of a corporate takeover, which for a theme park is probably a good thing. I had one of my very first shitty teenage jobs there, as a ride operator for the giant Ferris wheel. Amusement parks, like movie theaters, are run almost entirely by teenagers and the turnover was so rapid that I was basically given sole command of the wheel operation after my second week on the job (think about that the next time you are strapping into a "thrill ride").
But getting back to the idea of looming specters of failure: it always seemed like the place was star-crossed to begin with, and the theme kept playing itself out. The first roller coaster at the park was the Vampire--one of those that go through its coarse frontwards, then backwards--and it was infamous for breaking down, leaving its occupants stranded for hours. When it was finally removed, the story got out that it had originally been operating in Japan, but was dismantled and sold to Kentucky Kingdom because of the common local belief that it was cursed--no one in Japan would dare ride it. Then there was an incident around the time I was working there: the hiring staff failed to do any kind of background checks on the employees, even a very basic one--consequently it was found out that they had hired a registered sex offender, who was assigned to work in kiddie land (he was later fired when he was caught fondling some kids). Bad press like this has been the hallmark for the Kingdom, so I guess nobody should really be surprised that Six Flags is pulling up stakes. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the place now--I'm guessing it'll make a pretty good shanty town for teenage gangs, Japanese poltergeists and spooky robot phantoms.
Posts
