Worlds of Sponsorships

 

A inset map from the 1980's Great Times showing several ride and attraction sponsorships

With Six Flags taking over, a question that has recently been asked is whether corporate sponsorships, a favorite of Six Flags, will return to Worlds of Fun. Return? Yes, during the Hunt years, sponsorships were ubiquitous; they were everywhere in the park, and in many cases, they became a memorable part of the park experience. Some sponsorships even became almost synonymous with the ride itself.

ELI with its BN sponsorship signage on the tender

That is best illustrated by one of the first sponsorships of the park, the Worlds of Fun Railroad. Most who lived during the 1970s and 1980s will tell you about the John Deere sponsorship of ELI and the Worlds of Fun Railroad, even telling stories of ELI being painted “John Deere green”.  While it's absolutely true that the Worlds of Fun Railroad was sponsored by John Deere from 1981 until 1994, ELI isn’t painted John Deere green. It is painted Burlington Northern Cascade Green, as Burlington Northern was ELI’s first sponsorship in 1973 and gave not only the engine its name (another blog), but many of its first engineers were retired from Burlington Northern.

Seitz sponsorship in 1973

Nestea sponsorship signage on the entrance

And on the main drop

Iron Kids signage 

Another original ride that has quite an association with sponsors is Viking Voyager. Unlike many original Worlds of Fun rides and their sponsorships, Voyager’s sponsorships were very sporadic. Seitz, a meat packing company, would sponsor the ride in 1973; the most memorable sponsor was Nestea, from 1980 until 1981. While most sponsorships involved signage, Nestea’s Voyager signage was so epic that many remember it to this day… even the poles for the sign are still there right above the top of the main drop at the end of the ride. Are you ready to take the Nestea Plunge? In an odd twist (I mean tea and bread?) Voyager would go on into the 1990s to be sponsored by Taystee Bread from 1994 to 1998 and Iron Kids Bread until 2004. Raise your hand if you remember the Taystee Bread factory in NKC?

A screenshot from 1973 footage clearly shows the Amoco branding on Safari

Screamroller is often referred to by long time Worlds of Fun fans as the Standard Oil Screamroller

Tivoli Music Hall with Coca Cola signage on its marquee, it was also inside of Tivoli too. 

So far, we have looked at sponsorships that have lasted from a few years to a little over a decade. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.  Standard Oil, which would start out as sponsor of The Safari from 1973 until 1975, would go on to sponsor Screamroller and then Extremeroller from 1976 to 1985. The LONGEST sponsorship in park history goes to Coca-Cola and the Tivoli Music Hall. Coca-Cola would sponsor Tivoli from 1974 until 2000. And let's all be honest, the Coca-Cola signage inside and outside of the Tivoli was almost synonymous with Tivoli itself. UMB Bank would take over until 2004. Make me wonder if bringing back a sponsorship might also help bring back Tivoli? Just a thought.

Frontier Airlines signage on the Tram cars

Firestone emblem on the Taxi cars. 

And 40 years later... there is still a Firestone sign on the ride. (this was taken 2 years ago but its still there)

Fins and Flippers sponsored by Commerce Bank

Some other fun sponsorships that are both memorable and unmemorable. Firestone Tires would sponsor Le Taxitour from 1979 until 1982, Frontier Airlines would sponsor the trams from 1977 until 1981, Kodak (remember film? Like to use in a camera?) sponsored Moulin Rouge and Stax of Wax from 1983 until 2001, AMC would join with them to co-sponsor the Moulin Rouge from 1997 until 2004, and Commerce Bank sponsored Fins and Flippers dolphin show from  1977 until 1992. So you may be asking where I am pulling these years from? Brochures, Great Times magazines, and park maps. Back in the 1980’s every ride was listed with its sponsor, making things VERY easy. While I try to be as accurate as possible, I try to err on the side of caution, so if I’m not sure that a ride or attraction was sponsored in a particular year, then I don’t count it. 

Mazda signage on the entrance to Orient Express 

Probably the most awkward sponsorship, in my opinion at least, was with Orient Express. From 1984 until 1993, it wasn’t just Orient Express, it was the Mazda Orient Express. Yep, they even made it part of the ride's name, which wasn’t the first time that would happen, but Standard Oil Screamroller has a nice rhyme to it, Mazda Orient Express just seems… odd. 

Britannica Booth back in the 1980's

Fool the Guesser in 2000

Swedish Sipping Chalet last year

When it comes to sponsorships, one other detail frequently comes up, and it doesn't have to do with a ride or show, but was literally its own little sponsorship attraction in and of itself. Encyclopedia Britannica. For those younger than, say, 40, you may ask what exactly is an Encyclopedia? Think of it as the predecessor to Google, in book form, lots and lots of books form. And they didn’t come cheap. $1,000 to $3,000 for a good set, that’s about double in US dollars today. Libraries had them, and families that probably had enough money to spend lots of time at Worlds of Fun probably had them too, or at least that was the thought process. Starting in 1981, right next to Voyager’s entrance, Encyclopedia Britannica set up a mini info kiosk to sell their research books to families. You could enter a drawing to win a set, or you could just preview what their product looked like (because there was no internet or Amazon at that time). They would also give out free paper park maps for several years. Britannica may be long gone, but its information kiosk isn’t, and it has lived multiple lives since Britannica moved out, from Fool the Guesser to its current stint as a snack stand, the Swedish Sipping Chalet. 

1981 Britannica Booth hand out map showing sponsorships

And I think that’s the main takeaway. Like many things in life, where we call generic tissues Kleenex, Soda is commonly referred to as Coke, and invisible tape, Scotch Tape, brands have invaded our vocabulary and our memories. Today, I can’t think of a single attraction at Worlds of Fun that is branded with a sponsorship, but for many, the brand sponsorship name is literally hammered into their memories, and a ride or attraction is remembered as much for the experience as for its brand name associated with it, like Voyager or Screamroller, or Tivoli. With Six Flags now in charge, I think it's important to remember that if branding does make a reappearance… It's coming back, it's not really something new. That’s the whole point, isn’t it, though? History does love to repeat itself.