What's Old is New Again

Zambezi Zinger at Worlds of Fun

Back in 2017 I wrote a blog on how the park could bring back Zinger as a Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) Raptor track coaster, I never really expected it to happen, but that’s not the point. It’s fun to think about and maybe if we do more “let’s imagine if” we might someday have a “wow they did it!” Maybe.  

the RMC Raptor "Golden Lasso" Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas

One thing that is 100% true with amusement park rides, with a lot of things actually, is what is old will at some point become new again. Case in point, wooden coasters have been built, relatively speaking, pretty much exactly how they were built almost 100 years ago. During the1980’s few wooden coasters were built as the new hotness in the coaster world was the STEEL coaster (hence Worlds of Fun added Orient Express). By the 1990s that trend was changing and hundreds of wooden coasters burst on the scene over the next decade. Case in point… Timber Wolf. Another good example, in the 1970’s Chance Rides introduced the Trabant Ride (Wobble Wheel) in the ’90’s they introduced an updated version, The Wipeout (Cyclone Sams), almost the same. I could go on and on and on on this, even just at Worlds of Fun but I think we can all agree on the concept. 

Sky Hi at Worlds of Fun going over Viking Voyager.

SO we have our dream of a Zinger Raptor coaster what’s next to dream up? And for all us WOF fangirls and boys this is when it finally pays to have a laundry list of awesome defunct rides.

The Bambusario Cable Car ride at Parque del Cafe.

Another look, the cars are very similar to the Skyliner cars at Walt Disney World.  Both attractions are manufactured by Doppelmayr.

Let’s Start with Sky Hi, or Ski Heis in Scandinavia, the aerial gondola ride that connected Scandinavia with Americana and gave guests a bird's eye view of the park (and some awesome photos that just can’t be replicated). Sky Hi was a Von Roll Sky Ride 101, and EVERY park had one at one time or another even Walt Disney World and Disneyland! As the story goes back in the summer of 1987 insurance adjustors came to Worlds of Fun and ended up condemning all but 6 cars on Sky Hi for surface rust. Many, if not most Von Roll Sky Rides share similar fates, and today there are only 11 left in the country, and Von Roll the parent company is gone right? RIGHT?! 

Nope. Von Roll was bought by Doppelmayr. If you are confused a bit by all the weird sounding names, yes that was a Swiss company (Von Roll) bought by an Austrian company (Doppelmayr). Doppelmayr went right on producing the ski lifts and cable cars that Von Roll was famous for but no one really thought about it as an amusement park ride anymore… Then what was old became new again. Disney World hired Doppelmayr to build a transportation system for them called Skyliner, and the moment it was announced the comparisons between it and its predecessor the Von Roll Sky Ride began.

The summer before Skyliner’s introduction, Jeff and I had been down in South America to visit the REAL Zinger, and noticed that that park, Parque del Cafe operated not only a traditional Von Roll Sky Ride 101 but also had a new ride, a Doppelmayr Sky Ride waiting in the wings to open too. These two details made me think that if a park in South America can do it and Disney can do it, then sure Cedar Fair and Worlds of Fun could do it too. Let’s say Worlds of Fun for real would consider it (not likely), they would get A) A new ride B) A new family ride C) A throwback retro ride. All In One. A poster on Facebook, Chris Knight, also added to the perfect storm saying that the park would then have one-way FAMILY transportation from the International Plaza to Planet Snoopy, assuming they use the two original locations, or nearby.

The famous Kamikaze Kurve, or Boomerang element on Orient Express.  Orient Express was the first time this element was ever used on a roller coaster. 

So what’s next? Well, if we can re-build Zinger let’s re-build another coaster… Orient Express. Now while I am a proponent of building Zinger exactly or almost exactly how Zinger was, because let’s be honest that was (is) one frickin’ awesome little ride, Orient Express had its problems, twenty-eight of them exactly. Big black harnesses. That liked to hit rider's heads a lot. Plus, the manufacturer of Orient Express, Arrow Development is gone, and the company that bought it, S&S isn’t likely to re-build a coaster anywhere similar to Orient Express. But there is a direct descendant of Arrow Development/Dynamics that does, and its name has been 100% guaranteed to put a cringe on any coaster enthusiasts’ face for the last few decades, Vekoma. 

Vekoma International is a Dutch firm that started as the European distributor for Arrow. This is why, until recently that is, their coasters looked just like old Arrows. Boomerang at Worlds of Fun is a Vekoma for example. And for anyone who has ridden Boomerang, or one of the dreaded Vekoma SLC’s can attest, they are rough just like the old Arrows. They were rough that is until the last few years.  Recently, a new breed of Vekoma has begun appearing. Not in the United States, but Poland of all places. They are crazy, loopy monstrosities, just like the old Arrows. But with one very important difference. They are smooth. 

Imagine a new Orient Express, one that doesn’t give you a headache after a ride, maybe one that has a few new elements, a launch, but still incorporates all the classic elements of Orient Express. That first drop, the interlocking loops, the boomerang or Kamikaze Kurve, and it would be the first of the new breed of Vekoma’s in the United States too. To top it off they aren’t near as expensive as say a B&M or Intamin, at least not yet.  

Lech Coaster at Energylandia, by Vekoma.

Abyssus At Energylandia also by Vekoma.  Take a look at this one as it has a Boomerang element just like Express!  It has recently just tested: https://youtu.be/HXjMQ-_Amag

Like I mentioned above the timeline of Worlds of Fun’s history is LITTERED with rides and attractions that would be relatively easy to bring back but I think only a few that would have a big enough “bang for your buck” as both a nod to history and as an attraction that would be marketable to current audiences. For example, Safari would be easy but there aren’t that many people that remember it, it was only in the park for five years, and a coaster is sitting on part of its location too. There there are those that would be extremely difficult to bring back simply because so extremely few remain, and are no longer manufactured, Octopus and Finnish Fling fall into this category, same thing with Wing Ding and Omegatron.

Cotton Blossom from 1995.

One attraction Jeff and I disagree on, but he makes a good enough point that it's worthy of consideration is Cotton Blossom. Yeah, that big old model boat that was used in several MGM movies and commercials including “Show Boat”. My primary argument is that there is no way to bring the historical aspect of Cotton Blossom back, but I also have to wonder how many ever cared about its history, and just remember the big white boat that was such an icon you could almost see it anywhere in the park. How do you rebuild THAT?! 

Easy actually. If you look at Paddlefish at Disney Springs, it's a square building fancied up to look like an old paddlewheel boat, just like Cotton Blossom. The visual similarity to Cotton Blossom is undeniable, and before anyone goes… but that’s Disney…. It’s a building. And if the amusement industry had said that about Arrow, which did get its jump start with Disney, where would the amusement industry be? After all, Arrow built Matterhorn, and many other great Disney attractions before they built Orient Express and Screamroller.  

Paddlefish at Disney Springs, looks a little bit like Cotton Blossom, yes?

I am fairly sure everyone who has ever held a job has been told “think outside the box” but as I am sure most have also experienced… it never seems to be appreciated in reality. Still, I respect the honest desire behind the overused catchphrase, that to be successful you have to do something that is both unexpected but also the unspoken and sometimes unverbalized desire of the audience the company is trying to attract. While not every answer is in the past, I believe with the park’s history re-living a bit of the past, instead of destroying it, would be only a benefit to the park.  

A Haunted World

Editor's note: I wrote this about a year and a half ago in March 2019, and for some unknown reason I never published it.  I thought it would be a good time to do so now.   Please be aware I have made a few corrections but have mostly left the story as it was originally written.

An attraction I get asked quite a bit about is Haunted Theatre, which was located at the Tivoli Music Hall from 1985 until 1986.  It never fails to surprise me that for an attraction that lasted only two seasons, it hasn’t been so easily forgotten, and in fact in many ways has its own small cult following.  For me, I have never held any attachment to it, other than the fact that it is part of Worlds of Fun history. I don’t personally remember it in the slightest, and that is probably why I have not made any significant attempt to cover its history over the last 23 years.  I have only just recently started to realize how massive a slight I have given it.  A fascinating side note is that the first time I ever heard the name Haunted Theatre was in an old Rand McNally Kansas City atlas from 1994 that still mentioned Haunted Theatre as a current attraction!  I have a very good friend who remembers it, and my husband also does and since multitudes have asked for more information on it I figured I would give it my best shot.  I am hoping this blog will open up the memories of those that remember it well and who can share their own experiences with this short-lived, but no less memorable Worlds of Fun attraction.

“With a thundering last note from the organ, the house lights in the already gloomy theater fade to black.  In the half-light of the stage, two hunchbacked figures in filthy rags carry a pallet on which lies a skeleton with a stake protruding from its rib cage.  Approaching the bright red coffin that sits isolated in a pool of brightness they place the corpse inside. The two hulking gnomes pause a moment then reopen the casket, yank out the stake and stand back as the music swells and a Byronic figure in long sideburns, black riding boots, and short jacket emerges and surveys the audience with a disdainful smile.” (Robert, 1985).

That is how the world was introduced to an entirely new macabre experience.  A friend of mine who quite vividly remembers both seeing and being terrified of Haunted Theatre attests to the show starting by everything going dark.  My husband who also saw the show in his late teens, recalls two show openings, which initially involved two bantering skeletons, but was later changed to a large, back-lit floating skull that hovered over the audience just prior to the show start.

Designed by legendary illusionist Mark Wilson, the Haunted Theatre was the headline attraction for the 1985 season and part of the season’s 2.1 million expansion investment.  A component of Haunted Theatre included major renovations to the Tivoli Music Hall itself which involved painting the theater walls black along with several massive installations,  a  “long-abandoned Victorian-era theater”  stage proscenium* that measured 20 feet by 70 feet,  four major sets, mechanical gargoyles, and audio-animatronic characters.  Very little work was actually done in house, with settings designed by Hollywood designer Brian Bartholomew (responsible for sets on the 1984 Summer Olympics), and costuming by Pete Menefee (from the Shirley MacLaine TV specials), which rounded out the efforts of a total of 155 designers, painters, electricians and builders used to complete the project.

Overall the show attempted to capture the 1980’s version of terror, seen and heard today in the cult classics such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Nightmare on Elm Street, but also walking the careful balance between entertainment and terror.  No one wanted screaming kids running out of the theater (though from second-hand experience that definitely did happen).

Haunted Theatre was hosted by a “monster of ceremonies” portrayed in1985 by Hollywood performer Vernon Willett.  The park hoping the character would be a memorable, slightly tantalizing, vampire host. Instead of the host though, most remember the elaborate magical routines.  Jeff describes it best as a magic show gone wrong, but one that was elaborately dressed up and suited for Hollywood. Ballroom dancing skeletons, a trip to a torture chamber where the host precariously balances on a floating sword and is then impaled,  a women passes through a glass mirror to exit as a walking skeleton instead, even a gigantic spider played a role at some point in Haunted Theatre’s run.  All the effects were relatively mild-mannered, and the show even had a few moments geared towards kids with a delightful dancing glowing skeletons set to “We’re gonna Getcha”.  Overall, Haunted Theatre was a massive undertaking on the park, and on its premiere, the park was already in early planning stages to lease the concept to parks across the country.

Mark Wilson stated to the Kansas City Star at its premiere that “right now the show is about 50 percent of what I want it to be” (Robert, 1985).  One has to wonder if it ever even came closer than the 100% that Mark had originally intended.  This is reflected in the other story I often hear when it comes to Haunted Theatre, in that it never quite worked exactly the way it seems to have been intended to, so much so that in 1986 the show was heavily modified, and then discontinued after the 1986 season returning the theater to its “singing and dancing extravaganza” a tradition that would continue until even those shows were discontinued after 2011.  Like so many aspects of Worlds of Fun in the 1980s, Haunted Theatre probably is most remembered for being both amazing and spectacular, but also a failure.  Amazing and Spectacular in the pure show quality realm, a failure in that it never seemed to reach the pinnacle the park had planned for it.

Robert, B. (1985, April 9). Ghoulish Pleasures: Haunted Theatre conjures up a blend of thrill and chill. Kansas City Star, p. 1B.