Zeppelin at Kentucky Kingdom has been in operation since 1991. Designed and manufactured by Zamperla from their Zeppelin line. Riders take to the skies and spin around on this classic family ride. Perfect for families since everyone can sit together. But then why is this inside of the kid park?
Zeppelin at Kentucky Kingdom Experience
Zeppelin is a kiddie ride that sits at the back of King Louie’s Playland. It sits very close to Pounce & Bounce and Mad Hatter. This ride has such great capacity that you will likely never wait for more than one cycle. Making it so there is no need to prioritize this ride over another. Riders must be at least 48 inches tall to ride alone, but anyone under 48 can ride with an adult supervisor. Each of the Zeppelin’s has two buckets to sit in. To keep you safe each has a locked gate. There are no seatbelts or lap bars to worry about. After the ride attendant has locked all the gates, the fun can begin!
As the ride begins the Zeppelin’s will begin to rotate around the structure. While it is gaining speed they will also begin to rise up higher into the air. Then the final element is that they will tilt. Making it so each rotation you are dipping and rising. The ride duration will be around 2 minutes and then will come to a complete stop. Once the ride attendant gives the all-clear you can unlock your door and exit the ride safely.
Zeppelin at Kentucky Kingdom: The Good
Make no mistake this isn’t a kid’s ride. This is a major flat ride that for some reason was placed in King Louie’s Playland. It offers a great ride experience no matter the age of the rider. So this isn’t good for a kid ride, this is just a good ride.
Flat rides are at their worst when all they do is one thing over and over again. Zeppelin is able to mix it up enough so as to not ever get too repetitive. If all this did was spin and go up and down, we wouldn’t like it as much. But here you also get the tilt about midway through the ride. That tilt is the key to why this ride rises above the others. It means that at no point is it just doing the same thing over and over.
Each Zeppelin can hold up to 8 riders comfortably. That means most groups will all get to sit together. Also, the height restriction is a double-edged sword. For the good side of it, anyone in your group can ride no matter how short as long as they can sit up in the seat on their own. Of course, that is if they are accompanied by an adult.
The Bad
But the Height restriction does make it that unless you are 48 inches tall you cannot ride alone. Kentucky Kingdom placed this ride in the kid park. Now we don’t actually think this is a kid ride but only families with young kids will find this because of its placement. A kid will have to be tall enough to ride Lightning Run before they can ride this one alone. You should never have a kid ride with a height restriction that strict.
The placement of this ride in the kid’s park is just a head-scratcher. Maybe this is the kind of thing that only matters to nitpicky-theme-park-nerds but we think it really hurts this ride’s potential.
Final Verdict
Zeppelin at Kentucky Kingdom is a great ride. It offers a fantastic ride experience for all ages. Don’t be fooled by its placement in the kids park. This is a legit full-size flat ride. The ride itself is great and deserves a high score. However, because it sits in the kid’s park we will have to judge our score on that basis. Because of these reasons Zeppelin gets a five out of ten.
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