Made it out to the park yesterday with my friend Patricia to snatch up T3 after being so conveniently spited on it last time and got a few pics of Storm Chaser construction!
This is as close as you can get to the ride in the park.
I don't know the ride that well since it was before my time, but if I'm correct this should be the low turn into the double up.
But first...let me take a selfie!
Getting a really awesome, twisty coaster made by a top-rated manufacturer? For Kentucky Kingdom, I thought it would mean a preview booth by Twins, posters, early merch sales, I thought Kentucky Kingdom would have been all over this and hyping it as much as the small park could do. However, they really weren't acknowledging it much around the park which surprised me. However, when I was going to guest services to thank them for the sunshine pass they gave me when I got spited last time, I saw that they had laminated this and stuck it on the service desk. I guess it's better than nothing but are some signs by the temporary rails blocking off the area just not worth it or what?
If you drive around to the back of the park and park at this really crappy Shell station you have easy access to the coaster from behind the park!
They're wasting no time ripping up track!
If I'm correct this'll be a low sweeping turn when this is done?
They've already ripped the other lift down for the most part...
Another good look at that turn.
I photographed through the hinge of the gate here trying to find any red I-box track laying around.
Didn't find any, but they're hard at work!
There was still wooden track on the turnaround and parts of the lift and drop of the one they're keeping.
But this is gone and they're wasting no time prepping the structure to add on to it!
Pano of the site taken in front of the "insane airtime hill."
This should be ripped up soon.
This is where they've stopped. On a side note, this barbed wire fence blocking off the park is by far the most intimidating construction fence I've ever had to photograph around.
Just another shot of the lift and bit of what will be torn down.
And another. That'll be the twisting drop when it's done.
Also saw Holiday World being blatantly spiteful across the road. They have these all around the convention center area, but showing off your big, awesome new coaster as this park is putting theirs up? Slimy, Holiday World, just slimy. I love it. =D>
Small gap in the wood I managed to photograph through.
Airtime!
This fence has seen better days...
Storm Chaser selfie!
There were parts of the coaster EVERYWHERE outside the fence. I don't know if they just fell off (I've seen that happen on every wooden coaster walkback I've participated in) or if RMC tore them off when they were ripping up the track, but there was stuff all over that was littering the sidewalk and surrounding grass/road. Not 100% sure but they matched the color and shade of the steel on the coaster and they were right by it...
There's this back road that cuts around a corner lined with car shops and the like that provides some good viewpoints of the coaster.
Some hybrid truss structure action for you.
It's begging to be retracked, KK, get on with it! *cracks whip*
There were big pieces of wood alongside the park's property fence. I think this was part of a catwalk or handrail but I'm not positive.
This road is probably the best place you can legally photograph the coaster.
Going to look so different next year...
If this is the part of Storm Chaser I think it is they need to rip up a lot more of this.
Future sweeping turn into airtime hill?
Spare wood laying around.
I think this will be the best-looking RMC that isn't TC with the hybrid structure.
Looking down that back road...
As for the "is it legal?" question, yes. In addition to the fact that I never once entered park property and stayed on public roadways the whole time we were taking pictures, while we were around photographing Trish saw some guys (who we assumed were driving to this building) in a white Kentucky Kingdom truck stop and wave at us, probably because they knew what we were doing. XD
Overall, the park probably isn't hyping this as much as they could and I seriously wonder why Ed Hart wouldn't be flipping out over this and setting up preview centers and the like (Holiday World and Thunderbird were in almost the exact situation a year ago and in typical Koch family fashion, got as much bang for their buck as they could out of their fifteen minutes of fame) but they're making progress, though it's still in the early stages. Didn't see any materials delivered yet (though this isn't to say they aren't off away from public eyes somewhere) and it looks like they still have a way to go ripping up Twisted Twins before they can start rebuilding onto the structure. I feel like what I saw was more the end of Twisted Twins that has to happen before the beginning of Storm Chaser, but subtractive work is still work! Can't wait to come back next year, I'm holding out for a media event.
