and culture that would open in 1987. Construction began on March 28, 1986, with a team of mules and a 60-year old plow breaking the first ground at a ceremony that was also attended by Governor Collins and Mayor Abramson. On May 16, 1987, more than 6,000 Girl Scouts and their relatives were allowed to preview the park a week before opening. Most of the reviews were negative, as visitors complained about long lines and poor crowd control, many believed that the park was too small to accommodate large crowds. The park opens Kentucky Kingdom opened on May 23, 1987, with about 400 people in attendance at the opening ceremony. The park had four themed areas called "Carousel Plaza," "Old Louisville," "Kentucky Frontier," and "The Enchanted Forest." The latter was a children's area which would later become "King Louie's Playland." Many people who visited Kentucky Kingdom complained about the 13-acre park's small size and how it had few attractions, one visitor said "What few rides Kentucky Kingdom did have seemed to be oriented to younger children. In fact, most of the park seemed to be oriented to children. But what about the parents who take them there? What do they ride or do while waiting for their kids?" The park closed and filed for bankruptcy after only one season due to low attendance numbers, which were contributed to the small amount of attractions and poor weather conditions throughout the 1987 season. Most of the contractors and vendors were unpaid and almost all of the rides were auctioned off to other parks on April 15, 1989. Rapid growth (1989–97) The rights to operate Kentucky Kingdom were purchased by Ed Hart and a group of investors in April 1989. Hart was a local businessman who had renovated two buildings in Louisville's Highlands neighborhood. After Kentucky Kingdom closed, he was contacted by the Bank of Canada, who wanted him to reopen the park. Hart initially declined, because of the stories of Kentucky Kingdom's failure, but later changed his mind. Hart's first step was paying the 227 vendors and contractors that were unpaid before. On December 15, 1989, the new operators decided to exercise an option in their deal with the Fair Board to lease an additional 13 acres so that the park could be expanded. Kentucky Kingdom reopened for the 1990 season on June 13, with an estimated 2,000 people visiting the park