Kentucky Rumbler

History

Beech Bend Park seemed to blossom as the new Millennium arrived. Between 2000 and 2005 many improvements were made and many additions were added to the park. By the end of 2005 there were 40 rides including the new coaster the Wild Mouse, 500 campground spaces with modern amenities, renovated racing facilities, a water park,and large picnic pavilions.

The Jones family started talking about adding a wooden roller coaster to their park years before the Kentucky Rumbler was built. When Dallas Jones decided that the time was right he contacted Great Coasters International. He was impressed by GCI's more park friendly, hands on approach to doing business than other wooden roller coaster manufacturers.

Great Coasters International offers well built rides with minimal maintenance for any park, a very smooth ride for the guests, and service after the installation of the ride. GCII is also a firm dedicated to preserving the old fashion fun a wooden coaster offers.

Now Vice President of Sales & Design Jeff Pike started working for GCII straight out of college, under the tutelage of Mike Boodley. Jeff soon proved himself as a very talented and creative designer. The Kentucky Rumbler was Jeff's first solo design. Jeff described how much fun it was to recreate part of the Rye Aeroplane in the Kentucky Rumbler design during the press conference on when the park released the name The Kentucky Rumbler. The Rye Aeroplane coaster is a long-defunct coaster that was built in the city of Rye, New York. It served as the inspiration for parts of the ride but mainly the first drop, the Kentucky Rumbler's first Drop is a Mirror Image of the Aeroplane Coasters.

The highlights of the ride including an unprecedented three station fly-bys, still A world record even till today, and an exciting aeroplane style first drop show-off Jeff's creativeness and pay homage to the classic rides of the past.

On October 28, 2005 Beech Bend Park officially named their new wooden roller coaster “The Kentucky Rumbler” and they stated that it will roar out of the station for the first time on May 6, 2006. Derek Sailors from Surfside Beach, South Carolina, was the winner of the contest to name the ride. Beech Bend received thousands of entries for the contest from all over the world.

The Kentucky Rumbler opened in 2006 to great reviews. At speeds of almost 50 miles per hour, the ride features 30 track crossovers, record setting 3 station fly-bys and it delivers tremendous airtime. It is very smooth despite its constant lateral G's along its never ending twists and turns. The Kentucky Rumbler was ranked in the Top Five New Rides in the World by Amusement Today magazine, for 2006.

Beech Bend Park's Investment building the Kentucky Rumbler was $4.6 million. It is a Wooden Twister Coaster with the Capacity of 480 guests per hour.

The Kentucky Rumbler Features, a world record setting 3 station fly-bys, record setting 30 crossovers, and 12 airtime moments.It has one 24 passenger Millennium Flyer train, made up of 12 cars, that each seat 2 riders.

The Max Height is 96 feet with a First Drop height of 80.2 feet. The coaster reaches speeds up to 50 mph. It has a Ride Time of Approximately 90 seconds. The Track Length is 2,827 feet.

The Kentucky Rumbler was constructed with 80,000 bolts and 1.5 million nails

On May 25, 2014 Beech Bend Park dedicated The Kentucky Rumbler to all members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts.