Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville, Kentucky, continues to receive many inquiries about an opening date. The park submitted its “COVID-19 Preparedness Plan” to local and state health officials on May 5, 2020. The plan, with over 200 pages of text and exhibits, is very comprehensive.
“Kentucky Kingdom is an outdoor attraction covering 63 acres, remarked Ed Hart, President and CEO. “We’ve always had strict guidelines in place regarding acceptable behavior in the park and on all of our attractions, and our more than 1,400 team members diligently enforce these rules. On average, we have one team member for every ten guests, which means we have the personnel to see that guests in the park abide by our rules. Proper social distancing is just another rule that we expect our guests to observe.”
“The public has been practicing social distancing for more than two months now,” added the park’s Vice President of Operations, Lesly Birkner. “We expect our guests to continue following Governor Beshear’s guidelines and to observe social distancing and good behavior when they visit Kentucky Kingdom. In addition, we have the staff needed to monitor our guests and enforce our rules and safety protocols.”
Concerning Hurricane Bay water park, “We have more than 200 lifeguards, aquatic attendants, and public safety officers dedicated to supervising the water park,” noted Birkner. “They are vigilant in patrolling the pools and water attractions and will be reminding our guests to observe proper social distancing while in the water. All of our pools have specific entry points, allowing us to control the number of guests in the water at any one time. Since chlorine kills the virus and sunlight and proper social distancing provide further protection, Hurricane Bay is the perfect summertime escape for families in our community during these trying times.”
“Our rides and attractions are ready to go,” added Ramon Finch, Kentucky Kingdom’s Attractions Training & Administration Senior Manager. “However, we will need three weeks to allow for onboarding, training, and certification of up to 1,400 seasonal team members. We have hired 800 team members who are eager to get started, but they are still awaiting in-person follow-up to complete the onboarding process and begin training. Without a date certain to reopen, it becomes more difficult for us to achieve this.”
“We continue to get many calls inquiring when the park will reopen,” stated Jessi O’Daniel, Vice President of Guest Experience. “Since we need three weeks to prepare for opening, the earliest potential opening date is now mid-June. We hope to get a response to our preparedness plan and a firm opening date from health officials as soon as possible. All of us at Kentucky Kingdom look forward to providing safe and healthy fun for families this summer.”
