Kentucky Rumbler • Beech Bend

I showed up to Beech Bend after a thunderstorm, and while the other two coasters were closed, they reopened Kentucky Rumbler even though there were only 15-20 guests in the park. The ride ops were als...

I showed up to Beech Bend after a thunderstorm, and while the other two coasters were closed, they reopened Kentucky Rumbler even though there were only 15-20 guests in the park. The ride ops were also super friendly. This ride exceeded my expectations; it's a high-tier GCI with great pacing and an intense layout. It can be pretty rough, but that just fits the name. I didn't realize until I was onboard that the first turn has titan track; that's a great sign that this small park is continuing to invest in their standout attraction. There's not that much else to do in this park, especially if the water side is closed, but if you're in the area, don't miss out on your chance to ride this fun coaster.

Rode this again in 2022, and it was my first “big” coaster in 2017 when I was 8. In 2022, it was insanely rough and had one horrible pothole that got worse throughout the day. I was at an ACE event to...

Rode this again in 2022, and it was my first “big” coaster in 2017 when I was 8. In 2022, it was insanely rough and had one horrible pothole that got worse throughout the day. I was at an ACE event too. About a week after I rode it I found out I had a stress fracture in my back, caused by this ride. I’ve seen pictures of the titan track on this, but they still didn’t retrack the turn with the pothole. The pothole is now right after the end of the titan track and the turn over by the station. I still love the layout, but that turn needs some tlc.

Good GCI with lots of laterals and little airtime pops. It's large for a tiny park like Beech Bend. Never once had to wait for it and had multiple rides with just my group. It's good but not one of th...

Good GCI with lots of laterals and little airtime pops. It's large for a tiny park like Beech Bend. Never once had to wait for it and had multiple rides with just my group. It's good but not one of the best GCIs I've done.

Kentucky Rumbler used to be good, or at the very least "pretty alright". It seems that it isn't getting the upkeep it needs; my last ride on KR was painful, shaking so badly that I couldn't see straig...

Kentucky Rumbler used to be good, or at the very least "pretty alright". It seems that it isn't getting the upkeep it needs; my last ride on KR was painful, shaking so badly that I couldn't see straight and slamming me into the side of the seat hard. This isn't simply a rough ride, this is a downright unbearable ride. There's a good layout here, and a good ride beneath it to be uncovered, but man, the upkeep's gotta be done to do that. Otherwise, just rip it down and put something else in its place. This is especially disappointing for me because I had previously thought of the Rumbler as the one really good reason to go to Beech Bend since they've done away with free soda and gutted the arcade.

Great little GCI! I came out of this ride very pleasantly surprised. Lots of air throughout the layout and surprisingly smooth trackwork. The Titan Track on the turnaround rides heavenly. Most surpris...

Great little GCI! I came out of this ride very pleasantly surprised. Lots of air throughout the layout and surprisingly smooth trackwork. The Titan Track on the turnaround rides heavenly. Most surprising of all, though, was the first drop. Unlike most GCIs, this drop yanks you over in the back and provides some serious air. Definitely my favorite drop on any GCI I’ve done. I prefer Mystic Timbers and Thunderhead to this, but it’s a solid #3 GCI. Beech Bend have themselves a great little gem here, and it’s so good to see it taken care of right.

Pretty solid woodie and really the only reason to go to this park. It definitely has that signature GCI layout with those unique GCI elements but it runs like a CCI between the excellent laterals and ...

Pretty solid woodie and really the only reason to go to this park. It definitely has that signature GCI layout with those unique GCI elements but it runs like a CCI between the excellent laterals and pretty weak to nonexistent airtime. I also enjoyed the first drop between the excellent laterals going into it and great sustained floater going down it. In general, the best elements on the ride are towards the beginning but the coaster keeps its pace really well the entire ride despite a lot of the elements at the end of the ride being relatively void of force. The coaster does have that wooden coaster rumble to it but it’s not necessarily rough apart from one pothole at the end of the first large turn. However there is 2 problems I have with this ride but they aren’t really related to the actual coaster itself. The first one is you are not allowed to stay in your seat and reride this coaster even if there is no one waiting for your row or even if the queue is completely empty. You must walk back around to the entrance and through the queue which is a pain and severely limits the amount of times you can lap this coaster. The second issue I have is that the park is completely dead, or at least it was the day I went. This might seem like a good thing but this means it’s pretty hard to ride with a full train, so most of your rides the train will be nearly empty which causes the coaster to run significantly slower. Overall, this coaster is nowhere near being one of the best woodies in the country, but it’s a long, relentless and just plain fun ride that makes the visit to Beech Bend worth it.

Excellent, excellent coaster in a fun little park. Lines were very low the day we were there and I think we rode it 10 times that day. The rest of the park looks like a temporary fair set up. It ha...

Excellent, excellent coaster in a fun little park. Lines were very low the day we were there and I think we rode it 10 times that day. The rest of the park looks like a temporary fair set up. It has a very fun vibe about the place. This coaster doesn't seem to fit, but I'm glad they built it or I never would have gone. It is close enough to Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World that I made a 3 day trip out of it. This still would rank #4 out of all of the coasters at all three of those parks. Compared to other GCI's, I think Ozark Wildcat was better, even though it no longer exists. Currently, I still think American Thunder is slightly better, but not by much. It is far better the Prowler. It is on par with Thunderhead and Ghost Rider, although I put those two in different category as they are much larger than this compact style. Rumbler gives the distinctive side to side transitions and air pops that keep you hopping around in the wonderfully comfortable trains the entire ride. It just delivers pure fun.

Kentucky rumbler is one of those hidden gems, I mean who would have thought a tiny little park in Kentucky would add such an awesome wooden coaster from GCI. The intensity, fast pace, surprise airtime...

Kentucky rumbler is one of those hidden gems, I mean who would have thought a tiny little park in Kentucky would add such an awesome wooden coaster from GCI. The intensity, fast pace, surprise airtime moments, and out of control feeling of the ride allow for a top notch guest experience. I highly recommend finding your way to this nice little park that in addition to this great ride has 2 other coaster credits and most notably a very solid flat ride line up with a mix of new and classic thrill rides.