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Kentucky Kingdom can reopen week of June 29, Beshear says

Park owners say they submitted a “COVID-19 Preparedness Plan” that contains more than 200 pages of text and exhibits, to local and state officials in early May.

Update: During his 5 p.m. news conference Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear says Kentucky Kingdom will be allowed to reopen the week of June 29.

Original Story

Wednesday, owners and operators of Kentucky Kingdom said they're getting tons of inquiries on when they'll open. Tuesday, the company released information saying the earliest would be sometime around mid-June. 

Jessi O’Daniel, Vice President of Guest Experience says they need three weeks to prepare for opening and the earliest potential opening date is now mid-June.

Park owners say they submitted a “COVID-19 Preparedness Plan” that contains more than 200 pages of text and exhibits, to local and state officials in early May. They are still waiting to hear back on the submitted plan.  

A summary of the plan is available online.

In April, owners said they hoped to open in early June. 

RELATED: Kentucky Kingdom to open in June

"Kentucky Kingdom is an outdoor attraction covering 63 acres. 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,” CEO Ed Hart says.

The park’s Vice President of Operations, Lesly Birkner, added, “The public has been practicing social distancing for more than two months now. 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, Birkner says they have have 200 lifeguards, aquatic attendants, and public safety officers dedicated to supervising the water park.

RELATED: Holiday World planning to open June 17. Here's what will be different this year

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