Kentucky Kingdom is a 67-acre amusement and water park in Louisville, Kentucky, sitting at the intersection of Interstate 65 and Interstate 264 on the Kentucky Exposition Center grounds. The park first opened on May 23, 1987, and has had one of the most turbulent histories in the American amusement industry, surviving an early bankruptcy, a stint under Six Flags, and a multi-year closure before Louisville businessman Ed Hart and his investor group reopened it independently on May 24, 2014.
Today the park is majority-owned and operated by Herschend Family Entertainment, which became Kentucky Kingdom’s majority partner and operator in February 2021. Its lineup mixes steel thrill rides with the Hurricane Bay water park, included with regular admission, making Kentucky Kingdom one of the few Louisville attractions that pairs coasters and water slides on a single ticket.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Louisville, Kentucky
- Operator: Herschend Family Entertainment (majority partner and operator since February 2021)
- Opened: May 23, 1987 (reopened May 24, 2014 under Ed Hart’s Themeparks LLC)
- Size: 67 acres
- Annual visitors: Not publicly disclosed (600,000+ visitors in the 2014 reopening season)
- Signature attraction: Lightning Run — the world’s only Chance Rides Hyper GT-X coaster
The Ride Experience
Lightning Run, which opened in May 2014, is the park’s headline coaster and the only Hyper GT-X model built by Chance Rides in operation anywhere. It features a 100-foot drop, hits speeds around 55 mph, and runs roughly 2,500 feet of track through a layout of airtime hills.
The park’s second major steel coaster, originally opened in 2016 as Storm Chaser and renamed Wind Chaser in 2025, was built using the surviving steel structure of the former Twisted Twins wooden coaster fitted with Rocky Mountain Construction’s Iron Horse track. It stands about 100 feet tall and includes what was billed as America’s first barrel-roll first drop, along with a 140-degree stall element. Family riders can also try Kentucky Flyer, a wooden coaster that opened in 2019 and reaches about 35 mph over 1,288 feet of track.
A Park Built on Comebacks
Kentucky Kingdom’s history is defined by resilience. The original park filed for bankruptcy after a disappointing debut season, prompting Ed Hart and a group of investors to buy the operating rights in 1989 and reopen the gates in June 1990. Six Flags purchased the park in 1997 and ran it as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom starting in 1998, but the park shut down in February 2010 amid Six Flags’ corporate bankruptcy.
Hart led another revival, signing a lease with the Kentucky State Fair Board and reopening the park independently on May 24, 2014 through his company Themeparks LLC, with new rides including Lightning Run. Herschend Family Entertainment, the company behind Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, became the park’s majority partner and operator in February 2021, and Hurricane Bay remains part of general admission for guests who want to combine coasters with water slides in the same visit.
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Kentucky Kingdom FAQs
Is Kentucky Kingdom open today?
Yes. Kentucky Kingdom operates seasonally from roughly May through the fall, and has been run by Herschend Family Entertainment as majority partner and operator since February 2021.
What is Kentucky Kingdom’s most famous ride?
Lightning Run, which opened in 2014, is the park’s signature coaster and the only Chance Rides Hyper GT-X model operating anywhere in the world.
Who reopened Kentucky Kingdom after it closed under Six Flags?
Louisville businessman Ed Hart and his investor group, operating as Themeparks LLC, leased the site from the Kentucky State Fair Board and reopened the park independently on May 24, 2014. Herschend Family Entertainment later became majority partner and operator in 2021.
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Photo: BlueShirtz / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.