Lost Rides...Lost Rides...
The Starchaser was one of the hardest rides to work at Kentucky Kingdom, because of the layout of
the coaster. The cars were individual jumbo jet cars and had to be pulled from the loading dock
to the lift hill chain. Riders could sit up to four per car, which made the experience like a
front seat ride every time. The ride was supposed to be in the dark, but because of a guest complaint,
a lighted disco ball was installed. The Starchaser was one of the most popular rides at
Kentucky Kingdom, and my favorite. It was located in the front half
of the park where they now have the Thrill Park Theatre. Starchaser has been moved to The Great Escape and
renamed Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon.
All photographs on this page are © 1996-2004 - Jennifer Kaiser. All Rights Reserved.
The Vampire Flashback Photographs
After the 1999 season, Kentucky Kingdom lost the Vampire to park expansion.
Since becoming a Six Flags park, the Vampire has been marred with problems. The automatic braking system
had not been working properly for some time. Three separate incidents happened over the 1999 season. Two times
the train stopped between the two corkscrews and stranded passengers and once it stopped at the bottom of the loop. The ride
had already been moved as of December, 1999 and was sold to another park. The Vampire was bought from a
Chinese amusement park in 1990. Some claim they were too scared to ride the coaster and others claim someone died on it.
The Vampire has been moved to Six Flags New England and renamed Flashback.
The Squid
In 1999, an original Kentucky Kingdom ride was lost to park expansion.
The Squid outlived its usefullness at the new Six Flags park. Premier parks had plans to
remove The Squid since 1996, but did not officially close the ride until the '98 season.
Nothing remains of the Squid because they used the land to build the Road Runner Express roller coaster.
Before The Squid was built, there was another ride
located on the site. The original owners of Kentucky Kingdom built a log flume ride, but
its fate was even shorter. The park was only open for two seasons.
KK reopened in 1990 with the same name and new owners. I worked at The
Squid for three years before the park became Six Flags. The Squid was located
just to the right of the Vampire in the front half of the park.
The Castle Walk
The other ride that was removed from the park in 1999 was The Castle Walk
(also known as Playport.) It was a play area for the kids that had crawl spaces, a pool of balls,
netting, and other things. The ride had nothing mechanical, and only small children were allowed
to play. It was replaced by another ride that was much larger where kids and adults could
shoot foam balls at each other.
Starchaser Article 1
Article 2
Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon Photograph
In 1996 the Starchaser roller coaster was removed from the park, pending
a lawsuit from injured guests in a 1995 accident. The Starchaser was a jumbo jet style enclosed
steel roller coaster. It was first opened at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, KY in 1984.
After the parks' close, it was moved to Louisville in 1987 and enclosed. When KK closed in 1988,
the coaster was auctioned and the new owners bought it. It ran for two weeks in 1989, but reopened
in 1990 for Kentucky Kingdom's first full season.
The Ranger Ranger Photographs
The Ranger was located on the site of the Sky Rider (or Rainbow). When
the park removed the ride after the 1994 season, I was told it was for cleaning. The ride never returned.
The Ranger was like a pirate ship ride except it went upside down. One half of the riders
faced the other half. The restraints pushed tightly against your stomach and no matter what you did, you
always lost your change. The Ranger was located next to the bridge that crosses from the front half
of the park. This photo is of a similar Ranger taken from the manufacturers web site.
