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Once done with my marathon ride session on the Kentucky Flyer I made sure to a ride on the Skycatcher before working my way back through Hurricane Bay to the rest of Kentucky Kingdom. 

There are lots of big and little changes to Kentucky Kingdom since my last visit.  Probably the biggest is that the midway that wrapped from the Giant Wheel around the back side of Hurricane Bay past Chang, T2, Penguin's Blizzard River, and Top Eliminator Dragster rides has been completely closed and all of those attractions removed from the park.  Some of that land has been taken over by the water park but there is an awful lot left for Herschend to work with.



Discovery Meadow is Herschend's first section of the park that they have worked on and re-themed.



From the bridge to the western boundary of the park Kentucky Kingdom has been transformed and themed to the natural wonders of Kentucky.  With Herschend obviously focusing on the family market for Kentucky Kingdom, with their closest competition being Kings Island and Holiday World, they tricked out this corner of the park and added plenty of rides such as Scout's Squirrel Race.



The Garden Carousel is a re-themed version of the International Carousel that opened here in 1996.



What's nice is Kentucky Kingdom in the off season gave local schools the carousel's rounding boards to paint.  Tying the park to the local community is very much a Herschend sort of thing to do and is a great way to get the community to have a stake in the park.



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Paul B. Drabek