originally posted on 5/24/2019
Thunder Run, Kentucky Kingdom
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Big Dipper, Camden Park
Photo: Jay Jacobs. View full-sized image.
On the evening of May 10, Ed Hart stood before the 192 ACE members in attendance and reminisced about his years in the amusement industry — how his park’s latest addition became his favorite and how he couldn’t wait for everyone to take a ride. It could easily have been dismissed as Kentucky Kingdom’s president and CEO having been caught up in the excitement of the moment, or even the hyperbole of a skilled showman, but he projected genuine sincerity. ACE members responded in kind with sincere applause, no doubt fueled by the delicious meal they had recently devoured as well as the prospect of experiencing a new wood roller coaster — the only one to debut in North America in 2019.
Kentucky Flyer
Photo: Jeffrey Seifert. View full-sized image.
The pairing of Kentucky Kingdom with Camden Park seemed to some as a curious one. The former is a regional theme park best known in enthusiast circles as having spent part of its life as a Six Flags-branded property, while the latter is one perhaps best known for, well, being unknown in enthusiast circles. Yet the two share one significant trait: having survived numerous challenges, they have been preserved through perseverance.
Kentucky Kingdom opened in 1987 and began its life by failing spectacularly in its first season, only to be rescued by investors led by Hart. Headline-grabbing attractions such as Vampire, Hellevator, Mile High Falls, T2 and Thunder Run were continually added, and its newfound success grabbed the attention of Premier Parks, which would evolve into the current iteration of the Six Flags corporation. Kentucky Kingdom became Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in 1998, but the parent company’s financial woes combined with an inability to come to terms with the Kentucky State Fair Board (owners of the land and rides) led to the park’s closure following the 2009 season. Years of uncertainty and false starts led to Hart reacquiring the park and reopening it for the 2014 season, beginning another period of growth and stability.
Events Director Steve Berto, Ed Hart and ACE President Robert Ulrich
Photo: S. Madonna Horcher. View full-sized image.
T3
Photo: John Swarens. View full-sized image.
Roller Skater
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Its survival has not been without some painful losses. Greezed Lightnin’ — one of the few remaining Schwarzkopf shuttle loops in operation at the time — required excessive work to return to operation, and the dual-tracked Twisted Twins wood coaster was transformed into Storm Chaser, a steel Rocky Mountain Construction IBox coaster. However, the park has invested serious money (between $200,000 and $400,000 annually, according to Hart) in the retracking and general maintenance of Thunder Run. This itself is noteworthy, as it is one of four remaining Dinn-Summers coasters from the late 1980s/early 1990s that set the table for the wonderful era of Custom Coasters Inc., Great Coasters International and The Gravity Group rides that followed.
Thunder Run
Photo: Jonathan Hymes. View full-sized image.
Storm Chaser
Photo: Jay Jacobs. View full-sized image.
Photo: Cheri Armstrong. View full-sized image.
Photo: John Swarens. View full-sized image.
Speaking of wood coaster acronym soup (CCI, GCII, TGG), Kentucky Kingdom is now home to TGG’s latest bit of sorcery, a coaster that provides huge thrills in a diminutive package. Kentucky Flyer is Hart’s latest, favorite addition to his park, and it only took one or two rides for ACE members to become infected by his enthusiasm. As one well-traveled rider accurately surmised, had the coaster debuted in the era of Dinn-Summers coasters, its snappy directional changes and abundant airtime would have established it as a top tier experience of the time.
ACE members celebrated Kentucky Kingdom, and Kentucky Kingdom celebrated ACE members. Friday night was a preview of sorts, with the park generously opened only for those in attendance. Featuring barbacoa beef tortillas, chicken and waffles, rosemary lamb lollipops and huge shrimp, dinner was cited by many ACE conference veterans as among their all-time favorite park-provided meals, paired alongside Saturday’s lunch punctuated by grilled pork chops, broccoli casserole and roasted turkey breast. A duo of two-hour ERT sessions allowed attendees to experience all six of the park’s roller coasters. Those with an abundance of energy and coordination took part in midway games and climbed to the top of a grassy berm to take photos of Kentucky Flyer. A VIP walking tour revealed the grassy berm that provided the ideal vantage point for photographs was formed by the discarded footers and rebar from Chang’s removal at the end of Six Flags’ tenure. Mark Brunner, the park’s games senior manager (and resident ACEer), led the tour, his vast knowledge providing an entertaining and comprehensive history of Kentucky Kingdom, including access to a storage warehouse that was once home to Starchaser, a Jet Star that served as the park’s very first roller coaster.
Lightning Run
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Photo: Cheri Armstrong. View full-sized image.
A photo tour of Kentucky Flyer was very popular.
Photo: Bill Linkenheimer. View full-sized image.
A midway game competition made for a fun diversion.
Photo: S. Madonna Horcher. View full-sized image.
The top three winners were awarded prizes.
Photo: S. Madonna Horcher. View full-sized image.
Kentucky Kingdom packaged up some great auction items.
Photo: Cheri Armstrong. View full-sized image.
Photo: Jeffrey Seifert. View full-sized image.
Sunday morning brought cooler temperatures and an irritating drizzle, but attendees became instantly enchanted by Camden Park’s charming, laid-back atmosphere, especially the many who were first-time visitors. A morning ERT session on Big Dipper, Lil’ Dipper and Slingshot coasters as well as the Haunted House gave ACE members the perfect venue in which to debate whether Haunted House qualified as a true roller coaster (which, if so, brought the park’s coaster count to four).
Photo: S. Madonna Horcher. View full-sized image.
Lil’ Dipper
Photo: Paul Daley. View full-sized image.
Photo: B. Derek Shaw. View full-sized image.
Haunted House
Photo: Elizabeth Ringas. View full-sized image.
Camden Park, named for former railroad tycoon and West Virginia Senator Johnson N. Camden, opened in Huntington, West Virginia, in 1903. One of the nation’s few remaining trolley parks, it was one of the amusement industry’s elder statesmen long before Kentucky Kingdom was a kernel of an idea. Having survived two world wars, the Great Depression and a devastating flood in 1937, Camden Park had fallen into disrepair when local businessman J. P. Boylin purchased it in the late 1940s. He operated it until its sale to a group from Virginia, but when the new owners were unable to maintain payment of their debts, the Boylin family repurchased the park (an interesting parallel to Ed Hart’s situation at Kentucky Kingdom).
The combination of dreary weather and Sunday being Mother’s Day kept crowds light, and ACE members took advantage by riding to their hearts’ content. The lunch spread was a delicious fare of hot dogs and fried chicken, representative of Camden Park’s traditional atmosphere. Assistant Manager Dev Boylin presented attendees with an oral history of the park, and ACE President Robert Ulrich presented Dev and his father, Jack (park manager), a host plaque in honor of the event.
A bigger dedication followed shortly after, as the park’s 1958 Big Dipper was officially recognized as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark. Installed in front of the coaster’s loading platform, the new commemorative plaque is a noteworthy accolade: Big Dipper is one of a handful of remaining roller coasters from National Amusement Devices as well as one of the last to operate classic Century Flyer rolling stock (along with Camden’s Lil’ Dipper).
Photo: S. Madonna Horcher. View full-sized image.
Photo: Elizabeth Ringas. View full-sized image.
Slingshot
Photo: Paul Daley. View full-sized image.
For many in attendance, the time spent at Camden Park was an eye-opening experience, because the park is representative of the type of amusement parks that dotted the landscape as recently as ACE’s founding in the late 1970s. Later seasons have been highlighted by installations of a handful of modern rides, but Camden Park’s notoriety is based on many that were once ubiquitous, such as the gravity-fed Pretzel (Haunted House), a skyride over a sprawling miniature golf course and two beautifully maintained W. F. Mangels Whips — a little one for the little ones and a full-sized, eight-car version that rivals the best of the breed for hysterics-generating intensity. It is also worth noting that Camden Park, in all its analogue glory, has been digitally immortalized as a setting in Bethesda Game Studios’ Fallout 76.
Photo: Jay Jacobs. View full-sized image.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Photo: Jay Jacobs. View full-sized image.
As he spoke to the assembled crowd, Dev Boylin specifically noted J. P.’s desire to restore Camden Park as one of the region’s premier family-friendly destinations following his purchase. Like its Preservation Conference co-host in Louisville, Camden Park’s overcoming of many challenges throughout the years has led to a new period of growth and stability. However, preservation of tangible assets is only half the story when it comes to Kentucky Kingdom and Camden Park.
Communications Director Elizabeth Ringas and ACE Editor Tim Baldwin offered on-camera interviews to bring publicity to Camden Park.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Photo: Jeffrey Seifert. View full-sized image.
Harkening back to an era when people weren’t separated by technological distractions like social media and FaceTime, the two parks that hosted ACE have preserved something intangible but equally important — the opportunity for family and friends to spend time with one another.
As the 2019 Preservation Conference came to an end on the evening of May 12, ACE members celebrated more than just the preservation of roller coasters.
— Rob Ascough
Attendees enjoyed looking at the “ACE wall” at Kentucky Kingdom.
Photo: Jay Jacobs. View full-sized image.
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