25 Years of Running Wild with Timber Wolf

April 1, 2014: Twenty five years ago today, a Worlds of Fun landmark opened for the first time to the public, Timber Wolf.  Today, the name Timber Wolf and the ride experience itself inspire a multitude of different emotions and opinions.  There are those who complain about how rough the ride is, who scream “give me a Tylenol!” or “never again!” after stepping off a ride There are even those that feel that the only good thing to do to Timber Wolf would be to tear the thing down; turn it into a nice scrap heap. 

However, this writer, and many others who feel very differently about Timber Wolf.  Timber Wolf is more than the sum of its parts or its numbers but lets stop and look at those for a minute. Today Timber Wolf is twenty-five years old, a first for ANY Worlds of Fun coaster past or present. Today it becomes Worlds of Fun’s longest operating coaster, a feat that could not be achieved by either of the other two of the Hunt Midwest Triplets (Zinger, Express, Wolf).  When it opened it also wasn’t the park’s fastest or tallest coaster either, at 100 feet tall, with a maximum speed of 53 MPH.  Orient Express, built roughly 10 years earlier was 117 feet tall with a maximum speed of 50-65 MPH (depending on the source).  It was however, the park's longest coaster to date at 4,230 feet long.

Timber Wolf was different though, unlike Orient Express and Zambezi Zinger it was made of wood.  Unlike almost every park I can think of, Worlds of Fun operated for an unimaginably long time without a wooden coaster in its line up. (17 years).  In 1989, there were only 88 wooden coasters operating in the country.  Today that number has almost doubled, and for good reason.  For those who remember about a decade ago in the era of CCI (Custom Coasters Intl.) and GCI (Great Coasters Intl), you needed more than one hand to count the number of wooden coasters being built in one season.  In comparison, In 1989 there were only two wooden coasters that premiered, Timber Wolf and Hercules, at Dorney Park in Allentown PA., and both were the creation of Dinn and Summers.

Dinn and Summers, who were they?   In a nut shell, Curtis Summers was an engineer and did the design work and Charles (Charlie) Dinn was responsible for the construction, as a whole they built many world class coasters.  Their story together begins at Kings Island, near Cincinnati Ohio, where both were directly involved in the building of what is still considered by many one of the greatest wooden coasters ever built, The Beast.  As a partnership Curtis D Summers and Charles Dinn built several of the great coasters of the late 80's and early 90's,  Timber Wolf in 1989, and the popular Georgia Cyclone and world famous Texas Giant the following year in 1990. 

Timber Wolf Promotional Video featuring a real timber wolf, also notice how quickly the coaster moves through the course!

Unfortunately, with all their success the Summers and Dinn legacy has not be remembered entirely fondly by coaster enthusiasts in general.  And that's putting it nicely.   In a not so flattering ode to Dinn, the “side to side shuffle” found on many of his coasters has been nick named the “Dinn Shuffle”.    It’s also a sad truth that Timber Wolf’s brother in 1989, Hercules, also designed and built by Summers/Dinn (and was located at Dorney Park in Allentown PA) was not only torn down due to its rough ride (2003), but given the unkind moniker of “Jerkules” in its last few years.

General Manager John Hudacek at Timber Wolf opening in 1989

When Timber Wolf opened in 1989 it made an impact on almost everyone immediately, especially those of us who have been Worlds of Fun fans for years.  I distinctly remember the media blitz surrounding Timber Wolf, its commercials with a real timber wolf running through the snowy woods, the red glowing eyes, and that lonely wolf howl are permanently implanted in my brain.  It was probably with that one commercial that I started taking a more sincere interest in what was happening at 4545 Worlds of Fun Avenue.  Of course as some know, I would not ride a roller coaster until almost two decades later.  So instead of my own lack of first hand experience I will hand that job off to a friend of mine, Randal Strong-Wallace…

I first saw Timber Wolf on the day that they test ran the train for the first time.  I had come up for the weekend to Kansas City and stopped by the park to check out the coaster.

It went around the track the first time only loaded with sand bags and my jaw dropped at how fast it was for a first run.  I could hardly believe what my eyes had just witnessed.  On the second run as the train entered the 180 degree point at the cross over of the upward helix, we all gasped as we saw what appeared to be the track being chewed to bits!  We then realized it was a sand bag that had ripped open!  

I soon enough got my first ride on the first night of the ACE Spring Conference.  It was late in the evening around 9:30 p.m. and the que line was full, but the line moved and it took us only about 25 minutes to get to the boarding platform.  To this day, no other roller coaster has blown me away after riding it for the first time like the Timber Wolf did.  I was riding with my best friend who had never ridden on a wooden coaster before.  She had however rode the  EXT (sit down version), Orient Express and the Zambezi Zinger multiple times with me like a pro.

On that first ride, we came off the lift hill and flew around the pre-drop turn, then plunging down that first drop at breakneck speed.  The ride hadn't been tamed yet with the first drop trim brake.  We were out of our seats the entire way down the drop.  And it never let up, it was so, so fast, and only slightly slowed down at the top of the helix.  Every hill was filled with ejector or floater (but mostly ejector) air time and the forces on the last 3 turns had lot's of lateral G's due to the tracks minimal banking.

My poor friend spent the entire ride wedged between the seat and the lap bar and to this day I have never heard a more terrified high pitched scream.

It was my instant favorite roller coaster, upsetting the Orient Express, which I didn't ever think could happen.  I still ride it almost every time I go to the park, and still enjoy it, but it doesn't even compare to the original way it rode.  For those who didn't get to ride Timber Wolf when it was newer, imagine riding the Prowler today, how crazy it is.  Then go ride the Timber Wolf.  Prowler is the superior ride today obviously.  Well friends, imagine how Prowler is today, and then imagine it crazier and longer, that is the way Timber Wolf was when it was young, Prowler couldn’t even hope to keep up.  That’s what it was like.

Some of us forget… MANY of us (including myself) have never even experienced Timber Wolf quite that way.  A few remember and try to keep their voices heard. Timber Wolf was and I firmly believe still IS a great, world-class coaster.  Of course the words of two, allegedly Worlds of Fun fanatics isn’t going to stir anyone’s concrete beliefs.  So let me let the rest of the world speak about Timber Wolf. 

Bill Gaspard wrote for the Kansas City Star in 1989 shortly before the ride would first open to the public… “The ride is a touch schizoid...  The first half of Timber Wolf has been built in the spirit of Harry Traver, a legendary designer who constructed coasters in their most fearsome form – a wide mix of startling hills, steep fan turns and unexpected spiral dips”

Not long after Timber Wolf opened, people were coming from all over the country to ride this colossal terror. Fans called from as far away as London and Europe, to make sure the ride would be open when they flew 12+ hours just to ride it.  

The "monument" at Parvin Road and Worlds of Fun Avenue stood for several years.

As if that wasn’t enough, the great tour de force for Timber Wolf was not just one person’s seal of approval, but hundreds. For in 1989 and 1990 Timber Wolf was ranked #2 coaster in the world by readers of “Insider Track” (a fan magazine at the time). Not to be outdone in 1991, Timber Wolf launched up one very important step to become the #1 coaster in the world.  Not #1 WOODEN coaster, but #1 coaster PERIOD.  Designer Curtis Summers, Mark Wyatt (editor of Inside Track), and Mayor Emmanuel Cleaver were on hand to unveil the “monument” that stood on Parvin Road and Worlds of Fun Avenue for several years. By the way, if you are interested the #2 coaster that year was Magnum XL-200, followed by Texas Giant, and The Beast. Not exactly bottom of the rung coasters by any stretch of the word. 

So the big question is how did we get from THERE to HERE?  You have to wonder how the idea of someone yelling “tear it down!” back in 1991 would have been viewed… probably like they were completely out of their mind.  Yet it’s the SAME coaster!  So Why? 

Well as Paul Harvey would say… now its time for the REST of the story (for you younger people Google it).   In the summer of 1994 Timber Wolf was temporarily closed due to some minor wear and tear to the track, John Hudacek, General Manager of Worlds of Fun at the time was quoted saying “There was more uplift and side to side motion to a couple of areas”.  This probably figured in heavily to the decision to re-track and partially re-profile the entire ride during the 1994-1995 off season. In 1995, Timber Wolf ran like it never had run before, smooth as silk, faster then a bullet, and incredibly insane. 

Then the rest of 1995 happened.  In June the park was sold to Cedar Fair, in July the girl got thrown from the ride, and not long after trim brakes got thrown onto the first drop.  It slowed the ride down.  As many riders from that time period can attest it did slow the ride down, but not to a point that it was unenjoyable it was still the best experience on Timber Wolf other then the first few months of 1995, when Timber Wolf flew like it never had before.

Then the worst thing that can happen to a wooden coaster happened, and that was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  Sure, Maintenance walked the track every day for safety, sure anything that was considered unsafe was punctually replaced and repaired. Maintenance of a wooden coaster though is not only about safety, its also about maintaining the enjoyable ride experience. The concept of maintaining an enjoyable ride, along with seemingly Timber Wolf itself, seemed to have been forgotten about for many years. Nothing happened, and for this reason, Timber Wolf languished. 

But my goal in this is not to dwell on the problems with Timber Wolf, though they are many, its to reflect and celebrate a truly great coaster.  Timber Wolf IS a truly great coaster.  I am hoping with what I have written more will come to appreciate Timber Wolf not for what she is today, but for what she has been, and what she could be again.  A World Class coaster.

  Happy Birthday Timber Wolf from your fans, and here to twenty five more!

 

1989 Timber Wolf Commercial : http://youtu.be/MP68T-4cRJ0?t=1s

WOF Off Season Tour 03/28/2014

With about two weeks to go before park opening day (April 12th), more updates at the park are approaching completed status, and there is a LOT of action going on in the park.  We were able to visit the park on Friday Afternoon with Rachael Murie and Wayne Meadows.  Later that evening we were joined by about a dozen ACE members for a behind the scenes look at Steelhawk.

First, as some have read my prior Wayne Meadows interview story a few updates. While many updates are happening this year, not everything that we had talked about in August will be happening this season.  For example the train unfortunately will not receive its (much needed) coat of paint and rehab.  Also the Voyager rehab which while there is some work occurring on the ride this off season, and probably more then the ride has seen in MANY years, its entire rehab will be spread over a few years.  With that being said many things are happening, so lets take a look.

So here we are at the entrance to the park... though we had been told originally that the plans to re-cover some of the midway had been scrapped due to the new Steel hawk (and costs associated with it), it appears, thankfully, that some of the entrance way has been re-covered with new asphalt.  There has been some confusion online since in the past, with every new season the park has re-sealed the existing asphalt, this is not the resealing, this is actually new asphalt.   It extends from the security Post 8 (approximately) to the Ranger station/Season Pass processing on the opposite side.

So inside the park we start with Scandinavia.  As some know a recent rant of ours has been the towers on the old Scandi Skees/Plaza gifts that were the only part of the building NOT repainted with its refurb a few years back, due to lights on the towers.  While we do not have a photo (thanks Jeff), the lights have been removed, and the towers are to be repainted.  From what Wayne told us, the lights will not be added back but there are plans to uplight the towers.  We will see.

 The old Copenhagen Nogginvear (if anyone remembers that), or more recently Just for Girls store has officially be retired as a store and is now storage.

 What's old is new again?  Some of us may remember Worlds of Fun TV, when the park installed tv's into several of the major ride queue lines, and played video loops to entertain those in line.  I barely remember it, and I'm 36... so yes its been awhile.  Cedar Fair is introducing (or in WOF's case re-introducing) in-queue tv programming. 

Don't scroll by this photo thinking nothing to see... As Wayne mentioned in his interview the goal with Voyager is to start from bottom (supports) up.  Many of these supports have been covered by a foot or two of mud for who knows how many years.  You can see the orange on the supports where the mud was sitting for years.  The point of what is going on here is to add retaining walls so that the supports can be properly inspected. 

 Prepping for trough painting, I wish I could make this scratch and sniff, you could smell the paint.

 Originally home to Beetle Bumps (kiddie ride relocated to Planet Snoopy), and for the last few years, Tibetan Treats.  This small kiosk will become a Coke Freestyle station.  For the few not familiar with this concept, guests can basically create their own soda from 100 different flavor options.   Also as an FYI, the kettle corn will not be returning to the park. 

 The Bamboozler station is receiving some work too.  Last year the paint on this station looked rather pathetic, it was peeling, rotting, basically not good.  The trim on this station has been renovated and you can see that work is continuing along the column bases which still have unpainted wood.

 Panda Express eating area is also receiving new concrete and new tables. 

 And here is Steelhawk up close and personal.  Though the work on Steelhawk has progressed surprisingly quickly (and MUCH faster then in previous years), it still has several weeks worth of work left, both for electrical, LED lighting and testing.  Basically this ride will not open to the public until it is well broken in, and 100% safe.  The park official line on opening day for Steelhawk is "late spring".  So please don't expect it to be open on April 12th.

 A closer view of the ride carriage and seats. 

 Here is the offending ladder.   This is the reason Worlds of Fun has Steelhawk and not Knott's Berry Farm.  This ladder is certifiable safe in 49 states, and dozens of other countries (including Canada).  California was the sole exception, they wanted an outside rung and also cage surrounding the ladder.  If you look at the photo below and see the same ladder in the photo (to the left of the opening), and then see the ride carriage, there is no way a ladder cage would have fit.  The entire ride would have had to have been redesigned.  Wayne and by default Cedar Fair's commitment to safety is 100%, they would not open a ride to the public that they would not put their family on in good conscious, and would not open a ride that could not safely be maintained.

 Wayne Meadows himself answering questions about Steelhawk for ACE members.

This photo rates rather high on the cringe worthy scale for Worlds of Fun fans... The pond around the "Henrietta" (the keel) is being filled in.  It will no longer have a lagoon, which while looking incredibly dismal these last few years, still its a sad reminder that the last remnant of Henrietta will disappear from the park...  From what I have heard there may be some sort of water feature/creek build in below the bridges.

 Another look at the Henrietta pond.

On a more positive note, Vittle Griddle looks nice with its new wood and paint job.

Last thing, as many know another of my more recent pet peeves, irritations has been Autobahn and its quite frankly, dismal status operating with only 6-7 cars.  We have been advised by Wayne that parts have been purchased from Majestic (bumper car manufacturer) to retrofit and get up to 17 total cars operating on the Autobahn cars.  I'm not sure if I should when or if this happens, I will be incredibly thrilled.  Well... atleast happy about Der Fender Bender... ahhh Autobahn.

Also to answer the question about the roof lines in Africa (galvanized steel on Congo Clearing/Gorilla Grill), they are to be painted, a green color.  Right now they have not be painted yet, the park is waiting for better weather.

So that's about it.  I really do like the improvements we are seeing in the park.  Do I wish more was happening this year? Of course.  However, the park as a whole is admitting to many problems that they are starting to correct, and they are starting to fix them.  This is a VAST improvement over the past.  I am still optimistic about the future, and it will most definitely be an interesting ride.

More photos from the March 28, 2014 visit to the park can be found on Facebook!

Park Off-Season Photo Update 02/28/2014

So Jeff and I headed out to Worlds of Fun this last Friday, February 28th for a look at the park during the off-season.  Special thanks to Rachael Murie and Wayne Meadows for escorting and visiting with us yesterday!

First, though there is a LOT of work going on in the park this off season, it is not as much as we originally would have thought.  When the discussion with Wayne Meadows occured the annoucement of Steel Hawk had yet to be made, due to costs associated with installing the new ride, many of the original park enhancements have been delayed (not cancelled!) until either later this season or for 2015.  Yes, Steel Hawk isn't a new ride, but from discussions many of the ride components have been completely replaced or updated, plus its site and foundation is QUITE extensive as we will soon see.  Still lots of things going on in the park, including Steel Hawk so we will take a look quickly at them.

An update on the photo blog from November, the expansion of Baltic Bazaar/Scandi Shops is being finished, from what it looks like these expansions will be mostly storage space, but still something desperatly needed.  ALSO, though there is no photo here the lights from Plaza Gifts (old Scandi Skees) have been removed from the towers, whether this means the lights are gone, or that they are being removed to repaint the towers (which are still the original green color) is yet to be seen.  I hope they will finally be repainting the towers and replacing the lights!  We shall see.

Here is Viking Voyager, which is getting some work this off season, not as much as originally thought, but about 100% more then its seen in years.  (which is next to none).  As one who worked on Voyager for 2 seasons I can speak from absolute experience that ambassadors will be thrilled that the evacuation walkways are BEING REPLACED BY GALVANIZED STEEL ONES! For those that have never worked Voyager, the originals were wood, which if they weren't painted (which usually they weren't) they would get slimy and VERY slick.  Some of us almost fell on our you know where MANY times because of this. So thrilled to see that.  Also you can see here the lift rollers are being replaced.  There is also some footer work going on too below the ride, but that doesn't photograph well.

 A closer look at new walkways.

So now we have Steel Hawk.  As some will notice the original "Henrietta Building" (originally the photo booth for park entrance/exit, in later years the Grand Prix ticket booth) has been torn down.  The keel is still there though and from what I have heard should be getting repainted.  You can see the first piece of the Steel Hawk tower in place with the 2nd piece to the side.  This is its final paint job.  Very Cedar Fairish.

Though we have no close up photos of the Steel Hawk foundation as of yet, its definitely impressive in stats.  The concrete structure to support this 301 foot tower, is over 7 feet deep and features 1 foot wide steel rebar.  The base of the structure weighs 30 tons (ELI is 25 tons to compare).  It was for this reason that the crane to lift it in place was not at its full height for the first piece placement.  Now if you drive by the park you will see the crane dwarfing the rest of the park towering over 320 feet in the air.

 Close up look at the base of Steel Hawk.

 And the 2nd piece of the tower close up.  We are being told that next week, weather permitting, the park is hoping to have two pieces of tower up a day.

 Vittle Griddle is getting a LOT of exterior work this year, it appears that almost its entire exterior is being entirely replaced.  Nice to see that it is being rebuilt correctly themed, and appearing identical to its original themed structure.

 Americana Station train bridge, (europa is to the right, Blue Bronco to the left).  It looks VERY nice in person and is a definite improvement over its weathered original.

 Moulin Rouge exterior is also getting extensive work, with all of its wood work trim being sanded down or replaced (in most cases it appears replaced), the roof line has had all of its paint removed, to be repainted as well.  It should look much nicer this season. 

 Ok yes this is Congo Clearing/Gorilla Grill... and Big Game Hunt and the Zulu Bathroom have also received the same roof treatment.  That is a steel corrugated roof.  Am I thrilled about it? No, not really.  I would have much preferred a replacement roof exactly like the original wood.  Obviously, so would have others at the park too.  This was actually a discussion we had with Wayne back in August, and we knew about the roof issue back then, but I think when I heard about steel roof in Africa, I decided to ignore it, and not think about it.

Wayne stated he had looked into replacing the roofs of these three structures in the same manner they were designed and originally built, but found the cost to be prohibitively expensive.  So the options were no roof at all, (which considering the state the original 40 year old roofs were in probably would have happened), or this.  So, though I may not like it thematically and asthetically I can... understand the decision.  After all if I was in the same situation I would have probably had to have to make the same decision.

So here is Sea Dragon, the reason the photo is here is what is NOT in the photo.  Yep, Trees.  In this case I heartedly agree with the decision to remove the trees lining the Viking Voyager Pond, having had to clean those Voyager pump screens of leaves in the fall MANY MANY times.  There are still some trees left though so it will not be completely barren.

Out in parking lot E, we have the motor for Steel Hawk, this will sit at the top of the ride, and will be part of the mechanism that actually spins the cars below.

Pully Wheels (Sheaves) for actually raising and lowering the cars on Steel Hawk.  These will be completely replaced by the time they are put in the park.

Up by the adminstraction building are the actual cars for Steel Hawk.

One last comment... and update to the park that may not be OHHH! AHHH!! WOW! to some but to us symbolizes and very 180 direction change in thought.  (or demonstrates some thought period).  For those that have parked in C lot at the park .. you may remember that there were cinder block/parking lot wheel stops that lined C lot, in fact they were the only thing (supposedly) keeping cars from exiting from C lot to the exit lane.  In many cases cars just ran over them, and they were shoved here and there looking terrible.  Well good news, the wheel stops (what was left of them) have been REPLACED by a more permanent curb.  Will this stop cars from driving over said curb? Probably not, but it looks much NICER and was always a huge complaint from Jeff. 

So this is the end for now, for those that just so happen to be driving by the park over the next few weeks (yes we all know die hard fans love to find reasons to be around Worlds of Fun Avenue...) you should be able to see Steel Hawk rising in thr air very soon, Snowmagedon not withstanding.  We will be back atleast one more time before the beginning of the season to bring you updates to the park so keep watching!

Worlds of Fun Off Season Photos 11/15/2013

Two blogs in one month? With three weeks until my dreaded nursing school senior finals I thought I would take a minute and bring you all excitement from our favorite place.   Of course photos weren't the only reason we headed out to Worlds of Fun last Friday. Our secret mission was to obtain one of these beauties (which I am sure our neighbors have other names for... *cough*)

Proud owners of a giant 7 foot kangaroo...

While out there we also got some photos of what's going on at Worlds of Fun this time of year.  So moving towards the gate, the Patriot trains are resuming their normal operating procedures for off season.

Here is a look at the Scandinavian shops (Baltic Bazaar) looks like its getting an expansion.

There are just a few "things" missing from this photo.  All those ambassadors that cleaned Voyagers pump screens over the years know this was LONG overdue.

 

Octopus is getting its cars removed as we were there for off season maintenance.

Panda Express (old Rangoon Refresher) is receiving a much needed new roof.  To bad I couldn't make this photo scratch and sniff, these are cedar shingles.

And another look at Voyager were it appears work is beginning on its original concrete supports.

Special thanks to Worlds of Fun PR manager Rachael Murie and head of Maintenance Wayne Meadows for the tour, and "new" addition to our collection!

It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow…

*Author's note: Since this is fairly long I have divided it into three sections to make it slightly easier to read: "Wayne's Background", "Immediate Future Changes" and "The Long Term Future"*
 
I might just have dated myself there, but I figured no tribute would be better for our interviewee this go around then a quote from supposedly Walt Disney’s favorite attraction (Carousel of Progress).  Plus it seems to fit.

As many know Worlds of Fun’s head of maintenance, Larry Hurst retired about a year and a half ago, to the dismay of Worlds of Fun fans everywhere…  A year ago almost to this date his replacement arrived.  Wayne Meadows.  To many of us he was an enigma.  True, we had heard he was from Disney (never a bad thing), but we all had to wonder would it be the same old, same old at Worlds of Fun or would we finally witness a little bit of the shakeup we had hoped for when Matt Ouimet was first announced as CEO of Cedar Fair.

Wayne’s Background:

So our first question, who is Wayne Meadows, and what does he bring with him in terms of experience?  It turns out quite a bit.  Not only did he come from Disney, he had 30 years to be ingrained in the Disney way.  He started at Walt Disney World in 1971, not in his dream job as Monorail Driver, but instead washing cars.  In 1972, he transferred to maintenance, and like anyone with a drive to learn, read just about every maintenance manual he could get his hands on, and as Wayne himself states, he would go out and take a look at the ride or attraction and think “Oh Yeah, that’s how it goes”.  It was a very hands-on learning experience. From one learning experience to another, he went head first into developing WDW’s first ride preventative Maintenance (PM) program.  As if that didn’t keep him busy enough, at the same time he was completing his degree at the University of Central Florida and graduated with a degree in Engineering Technology.

Just getting his feet wet, he would go on to be involved in the design and construction of EPCOT, working on the project from conceptual design to opening. Six months after opening he was offered the option to be sent to Tokyo Disney to set up the maintenance program there, and while doing so developed a well-earned respect for the Japanese work ethic.  In 1984, he went back to Florida.  A few years later Wayne was offered the opportunity to be a world traveler once more, this time to set up the maintenance program at Disneyland Paris (known as EuroDisney at the time).  If Tokyo was fascinating, Paris seems to have been exhausting as Wayne talked about traveling to Paris every two weeks for about a year.  At EuroDisney he was in charge of setting up the 200,000 square foot maintenance shop, (that’s about the size of a Super Walmart) “Fully staffed, fully equipped, machine shop, metal shop, paint, fiberglass, wood all the way down the line” complete with 687 maintenance personnel.  In 1989, he moved with his family to Paris and was there from ground breaking to park opening.  In 1992, he moved back to Orlando once more, and moved into general management, and more importantly became directly involved with the resorts trouble spots, and began working on turning those around.  (sound familiar?) In 2001, WDW began to look to reduce staff, and offered to quite a few of its managers, including Wayne Meadows, severance packages.  Thinking this would be a great time to start up his own business; Wayne took the buyout option and started his own consulting business entitled “Facilities Management”

In 2007 at IAAPA he was approached to work on Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi (capital of the UAB, located on the Persian Gulf) were he again worked up the maintenance for all the various operational groups (food, merchandise, operations, entertainment etc.), he got the park to opening in October 2010 and discussed the difficulties of working in a desert environment of 125 degree heat and 70% humidity, with that being said many rides here at Worlds of Fun would just not make it over there with the environmental extremes (Mamba comes to mind)

Wayne made it back to the US in 2011, for the birth of his first grandchild and in the summer of 2012 received a call from Ann Todoroff at Worlds of Fun. The rest as they say is history.

Immediate Future Changes:

So one may ask, what was the first item of business?  After getting Halloween haunt cleaned up and out of the way, the first order of business was to ask what the trouble spots were.  Of course Timber Wolf was the first item on the list, which was already slated to receive its new control system, but then came ThunderHawk.  It’s amazing how little one really understands without being involved in the inner workings and seeing the whole picture.  ThunderHawk’s problem as Wayne stated was that it kept blowing fuses, and like so many things in the park the fix up to this point was to replace the fuse, aka patch it up and let it go until the next fuse went.  We all remember this from a guest’s perspective, as ThunderHawk was up and down repeatedly from almost its opening day.  This wasn’t going to work under Wayne’s management though, it was time to find out the real, underlying issue and get it fixed, once and for all.  Wayne states, that while working at Disney the goal was 99.8% operational readiness. Obviously, as Wayne stated Worlds of Fun is currently nowhere near that, but as he stated its achievable, and that is one of his goals. Today, it appears the REAL issue with ThunderHawk has (finally) been resolved, and we are hoping for fewer “this ride is currently closed” signs in that region of Americana.

Another goal and quite frankly as Wayne states the most important goal is safety, “our #1 priority is safety always will be we will never compromise” He talks about how he talked with the guys (in maintenance) and made what seems a very obvious and simple comment to them.  He stated that if you would not let your own family on a ride, why would any else’s family be any different?

Of course people come for the rides, so let’s talk about the rides.  Our first point of discussion was Viking Voyager.  As some now know it is the target of a lot of work for this coming off-season.  The first decision when the topic of Voyager came up is cringe worthy for a lot of fans, and that was “does it stay or does it go?”  Wayne went to Frank (Wilburn) on the topic and it was decided that Voyager was an iconic ride, an original ride and that it needed to stay.  So they started at the bottom and worked up, starting with the footers, checking for structurally integrity, for problems and condition and what needed work.  It was decided at the time that the trough needs work, as does the water storage pond as the control system (which hasn’t changed since 1973).  Seems like a lot of problems?  Not to worry about this 40 year old classic, though old, and having a few bumps and bruises its overall safety was never in question.  If it was, Voyager would not have been operating.

Of course what is a ride without its operators?  As many who have worked at the park in the previous years can attest, until recently there has been a lack of communication between maintenance and park operations (to put it nicely). It was Wayne’s plan to change that.  It would no longer be “no that’s a maintenance problem” or “no that’s an operations problem”, there are different responsibilities true, but Wayne talks about the importance and need to work together.  Things have already started to change in that manner.  Case in point Cosmic Coaster (aka Wacky Worm) which has required manual launch from its beginning in 1993.  What this means is that the ride operator literally has to push the train out of the station.  Over the years this has created a lot of problems with rider operators backs, ankles, etc. leading to workman’s comp issues.  For 2013, twenty years after its debut, Wacky Worm/Cosmic Coaster will have a kick motor.  And hopefully a lot fewer sprained ankles and sore backs.

Wayne visited the operations kick off this year before the start of the season by letting everyone know that THEY were maintenance eyes and ears, the first responders so to speak.  Instead of the nuisance that ride operators were seen as in the past, operations became an important tool in keeping the rides operating safely and the rider’s safe. Now if paint is flecking, or if there is a squeal, or a bad wheel, or some other unknown, unusual occurrence, rider operators are no longer afraid of calling maintenance to report it as they might have been in the past. As Wayne states he would rather get five calls that end up being nothing, then let one real major issue overlooked.  Wayne brings up the accident at Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain to bring the point home; it was in this case that a rider lost their life due to simple maintenance negligence. 

So how about another original ride to the park, ELI? or more commonly known as the Worlds of Fun Railroad.  ELI operates by 100% steam power and must be certified as a high-pressure vessel.  Though a bit of a handful for both its engineers and maintenance, Wayne talks about its importance to the park as he states “probably 95-99% of guests see that (ELI) it’s a show piece and it needs to be treated as such, and it’s in rough shape”. There is a trend of wear and tear with ELI’s boiler, which should receive some work over wintertime, along with ELI’s paint, which at the time of interview was out for pricing. 

Same thing with Autobahn, even Wayne admits “it’s embarrassing”, he brings up that they have gotten in touch with Majestic Manufacturing (the company that manufactured autobahn’s cars), and have been quoted $4500 per car, and there are plans to build up the Autobahn fleet for 2014 and beyond.  However Wayne did respond to the question regarding returning Autobahn to its full-sized floor, stating that currently there are no plans to return the floor to its original configuration.

Ride vehicles as a whole are sometimes difficult to replace Wayne goes on to talk about.  Case in point the old Arrow cars on Le Taxi Tour (Arrow Development/Dynamics), which as some know went out of business several years ago.  Due to this situation the park is now dealing with a whole other issue, that of obsolescence.  There is no way to get parts from the original manufacturer, so the plan for now is to scrap the parts from the existing cars.

Another fixture of Europa since we are talking about that section of the park is the Moulin Rouge that has been sign-less for quite some time… So replace or enhance the old sign?   Wayne states:

“Replace, much enhanced replace, the old sign, kind of created a hornet’s nest there, it was about ready to fall in, it was so rotted, I was concerned if it would even make it through the season without falling through the canopy.  I know the temporary little sign, that’s not what we were expecting, but what Debbie Strong has been working with Missouri Neon are some jam up, redo of the front entrance of the façade basically.  So, we are working through the costs situations now, and what you will see is a much improved marquee coming up.”

So nice new sign, for Moulin Rouge in the future… and possibly more.  Not just another Worlds of Fun patch job.

The Long Term Future?

So what are the future plans for the overall park? In Wayne’s words they are “to bring up all the structures and buildings to the standards we think it should be”, Wayne states though this isn’t the old Cedar Fair anymore.  He goes on to say “we have found that what works in Sandusky, may not work in Kansas City, or Richmond or Toronto or wherever”.  It’s a new Cedar Fair, he talks about Matt Ouimet (Cedar Fair CEO) coming from Disney and his new expectations for the company and its parks.  This includes moving beyond simply investing in new rides, but also investing in the entire park experience, such as overall park infrastructure.

Case in point the pavement.  As Wayne so enthusiastically stated “you don’t need a technical degree to see the pavement looks like crap” When he came at the end of the season last year he noticed how worn out it was, and then when the sealant is laid down this spring he stated that it brings it up to a much more “less despicable” appearance.  But the “less despicable” appearance doesn’t last long with daily wash downs and foot traffic.  Wayne specifically comments about how he noticed that the sealant in places (not the asphalt just the sealant!) was up to ¼” thick! That’s from the sealant being applied, year, after year after year.  He states that replacing the asphalt is part of the park’s 5-7 year integrated services plan.  

We began seeing this process just a bit last off season when Pizza Pier/Gyro’s was completely gutted and replaced.  Maintenance with Wayne at the lead is going through every structure with a fine-toothed comb… Asking questions, When was the roof replaced last?  How’s the flooring, the electrical, structural? What needs to be replaced? Then the job is to prioritize and replace what can be replaced during the off season.  Wayne quotes an old FRAM Oil Filters Slogan, “you can pay me now or you can pay me later”, and that if you pay me now you won’t have to pay me as much later… Take care of things and actually REALLY take care of things, and you won’t have to be replacing things as much.  The goal as Wayne put’s it is continuous improvement, including making the park look better, this includes landscaping….

Wayne had noticed the forgotten liberty bell shell of a topiary left abandoned near the greenhouses, and figured that’s something easy to get back in the park and replace.  So those of us that remember the Liberty Bell from Bicentennial Square may be seeing it again sometime soon.  Thanks to Wayne and a lot of help from landscaping.

Landscaping, pavement, signage… many seem insignificant reading it here, but as Wayne states so eloquently its all about the details “it’s the details that will make you or kill you, its frustrating for me that we can’t do more quicker, I want stuff to happen and I want it now.”

Which brings us to our last major point…Bicentennial Square.  What’s in its history?  No one really plays midway games anymore, atleast not like they used to thanks to all those hand held smart phones and angry birds… So either rehab the buildings or convert the area to another use.  Even Wayne talks about the area being a massively underutilized area.  So what is its future? Wayne has some ideas for the area, and they are quite a departure from prior Cedar Fair thinking.  He leaves us all with a parting though… Look around at all the other theme parks in the world, really there are some elements here that we are really missing if you think about it…” 

I do have to say after not so silently grumbling about Worlds of Fun calling itself an “amusement park” over the last few years, it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone on the inside so to speak refer to Worlds of Fun properly as a “theme park”.  Wayne goes on to further expand on the differences between the “old” and “new” Cedar Fair, about how it’s not just important to add the next great big thrill ride and slap a snake on the front and call it theming (referring to Mamba) but that’s its also about the big picture the whole story…

“you walk into any of the Disney parks, and stories being told, you walk down main street, and it’s turn of the century type and everything is seeing that, and then you go into tomorrowland,  frontierland, whatever, everything has a theme and a story behind it as well.  Something I think over the years here was lost and I guess and I remember early on, a lot of the live entertainment, like the robbery of the train, that sort of thing.  That’s what helps make an entire park, different lines of rides, atmosphere, food, whatever you want to say, there are certain things we can tweak to improve as well, without just throwing in a thrill ride.  To me you are missing part of the market there”

So is this the new vision of Cedar Fair? One that instead of catering exclusively to the thrill rider, now focuses once again on every guest young, old and everything in-between that crosses through the gates?  Will we see future rides added that everyone can enjoy together?  Also, will we see an increased interest in the intangibles, theming, landscaping, atmosphere? Only the future will tell us.

One thing is for certain, the desire is there to make the park better and provide an overall improved experience for guests.  One key point that indicates this is his obvious frustration, frustration in the way things are, frustration in wishing change could be faster, frustration in even the small details.  However, in this case frustration is a good thing, it means that things will be changing. As Wayne states “when I don’t care is when I will quit” and I don’t foresee that being hopefully for a long while.

9 Old Rides: The Original Rides from 1973

9 Old rides.  Those that are familiar with Disney lore, know that the 9 original imagineers that worked with Disney were labeled the 9 Old Men.  Old, but valuable for the years of service, and love that they provided to the Disney company.  So it is true with our 9 old rides.  Those left still operating from their 1973 original debut.  Like the old imagineers, these rides have their bumps, dings, tears, and just plain signs of age and in some cases neglect by the park itself.  Many are overlooked, just part of the fabric that makes up Worlds of Fun, but like so many things, it is those that are overlooked that are often the cornerstone of the park, the rides and memories that everything else came after.  Oriental Octopus wouldn’t have become Tailspinner if it wasn’t partially for the addition of Orient Express, Taxi’s wouldn’t be with us if Hunt Midwest had added a gigantic planned coaster.  Most importantly though these rides are not just steel, oil and mechanics, they are memories.  For that reason I would like to start with a story of my own.

Almost thirty years ago my mom took me to Worlds of Fun, I was 6 years old, and we rode the Sky Hi.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  Twenty years ago, working at Worlds of Fun on the Viking Voyager I began to wonder about that old gondola ride I rode at Worlds of Fun.  What was its name? What had happened to it?  My father took me down to the Downtown Kansas City library in the summer of 1996 and I “discovered” a 1973 souvenir map, and most importantly the name of the ride… The Sky Hi.  So began a long, sometimes tedious research and re-discovery of the park’s short, but important history.

Last year I had a realization.  I had never covered the history of what was actually THERE, in the park.  That changing of a simple word from “WAS” to “IS” can make a huge difference.  After all aren’t rides that have operated now forty years entitled to their own history?  Don’t they have their own important stories?  So I began thinking about a blog series on the “IS” rides instead of the “WAS” rides.  And so here we are.

So today let’s look at the nine original rides, rides that have made it from 1973 to today, and are still in operation.  Some of them are limping along, some have changed names, some more then ONCE!, some haven’t even operated all forty years.  But they have one thing in common.  They were all there on that opening day forty years ago, May 26, 1973.  They are:

The Worlds of Fun Railroad/ELI

Krazy Kars (Crashem Bashem)

Scrambler (Scandia Scrambler)

Autobahn (Der Fender Bender)

Flying Dutchman

Le Taxi Tour

Octopus (Oriental Octopus/Tailspinner)

Finnish Fling

Viking Voyager

Viking Voyager

Viking Voyager or simply Voyager as most people call it, was one of Worlds of Fun’s premier rides when the park opened.  It shared that distinction with Zambezi Zinger, in that every 1973 ride operator desired to end up at either Zinger or Voyager, they were the Place To Be, so to speak.   Of all the original rides left, it is by far the largest complex, and truthfully probably operates as close to its original capacity parameters as any of the original rides.  Unlike many other “unit” rides, it runs probably about 80% of its original capacity.  Maximum capacity on Voyager is 24 boats, it is not unheard of for Voyager these days to run 18.  There are many things that make Voyager unique. Manufactured by Arrow Development (the same company behind the development of Pirates of Caribbean, not to mention Screamroller and Orient Express too) multitudes were built after the first Arrow log flume, El Aserradero opened at Six Flags over Texas in 1963.   

Viking Voyager in 1973, ambassadors from Voyager should wince when they notice that the roof on the boarding dock was an addition not original!

Today, there are few Arrow Log flumes operating.  Many have been removed to make way for the newest, latest, and greatest thrill rides.  Parks have had to make the decision (including Cedar Point) due to the limitations of their landspace.  Worlds of Fun’s abundant land and size has been one aspect that has saved a few of Worlds of Fun’s rides from the graveyard, and it has what has saved this popular family ride from the axe.

 

A "tradition" for Voyager Ambassadors was the end of season "suding" or "soaping" of Voyager.  We at worldsoffun.org do not condone this action... and plead the fifth as far as involvement in the past.  However, some unknown ambassador would pour soap into the bottom of Voyagers dry trough at the end of the evening before, and when water was added the following morning... well you can see the results.

Of course, those that have worked Voyager have dozens of stories to share, its original operators panel is replete with 40 years of initials carved into it, the double whistle/roar of the pumps when they come on in the morning, the hornets (enough said?) or even the unforgettable white soap suds rising out of the flume early in the morning.  Some things it seems just do not ever change.

An "abused" or "well loved" (Depending on how you look at it) Voyager panel.... and this was shot in 2006. 

Of course no history of Voyager would be complete without mentioning the beloved dragon heads.  For 20 years (half of Voyager’s existence) the flume boats had striking red dragon heads at the bow of each boat.  In 1993, the boat heads were removed.  But there are still signs at the ride (These boats may bump) that still sport the red dragon heads, and if you ask anyone what they miss most about Voyager, it will almost always be those dang dragon heads.  So why remove them?  There are two schools of thought.  1)The boats were too heavy, requiring that the trough be patched repeatedly, so the heads were removed making the boats, now, too light.  (the scourge for any unload attendant on Voyager from 94 onwards) or 2)The heads blocked the views of riders on the on-ride photos.  Both are good arguments, and the truth is it might actually be both.  Still the heads weren’t actually removed, the entire boat was replaced.  I still vividly recall in 94 the old Voyager boats left to rot in the back of the employee parking lot. 

Yeah! Lets do this again!

So Voyager we love you, we are so glad we still have you, and we hope you continue to provide many somewhat dry, thrilling rides for years to come.

 Fling on a busy operating day, in the background you can see Scrambler and the WOFRR two other original park rides.

Finnish Fling

Finnish Fling, or simply just the “fling” is known usually either as a)that ride that spins and everyone sticks to the side (thanks to centrifugal force), or b) the ride that makes every one sick, this of course, depends on who you are and how strong your stomach is.  However, in the amusement industry Fling is more commonly referred to as Rotor.  Manufactured by Chance Rides, a company still in operation in Wichita, KS  (Currently known as Chance-Morgan) Rotor’s in general were incredibly popular rides back in the 60’s.  Almost EVERY park had one. Over the years the many rotor’s have been removed, to a point where there are less then a handful of Rotor’s left in operation in the United States.  Finnish Fling is the only Rotor left in operation in the entire Cedar Fair chain of 17 parks and one of only four continuously operating Rotor’s in the United States today.  That’s saying something.  When Worlds of Fun opened the Kansas City Star followed the Trainer family around on opening day May 26th.  The article specifically highlighted what it called the “Finnish Flum” and discussed how the family almost passed this small ride up, but were told by disembarking riders, that it was one “not to be missed”.  Today, it is not uncommon to see the line snaking down Fling’s precariously narrow queue line, making it still a very popular thrill ride, forty years later.

The galley ship in front of Fling.  The trees have grown a little too. Photo from early 80's

As many past and present ride operators know many rides simply require the push of a button to operate, Voyager has a dispatch, Zinger had a simple “presence””, and though there are a few rides that are more complex to operate (notably Octopus in our list of rides) Fling could probably walk away as the most difficult to operate.  It requires a certain “touch”.  Why you ask?  Fling has no brakes.  Basically it’s either spin or no spin.  To stop fling the operator simple stops “spinning” the ride, and it slows, again thanks to centrifugal force, to a stop.  Not hard you say?  Well Fling's inner ride compartment only has one door.  It has to line up with the exit door on the exterior of the ride.  So no brakes, and getting guests out of the contraption requires a great deal of skill.

Fling in more modern times (2000 I believe), this was soon after its paint job that changed the color of fling from brown to its current green color.  

Besides Fling being a rather unique flat ride (generic name for non-roller coaster ride) it also has a little bit of a unique Worlds of Fun spin to it.  Of course, everyone knows Worlds of Fun was home to three main ships, the Cotton Blossom, Victrix and Henrietta.  Fling was also home to one of Worlds of Fun’s mini-ships.  Of just great of importance as the big guys, these small ships were found around the park and were also stars from many of the old MGM films.  Fling was home to a galley ship (ships with dozens of rowers).  It was removed sometime around the mid-90’s.  It is officially unknown what has happened to this ship.  Unofficially, a similar galley ship was found around the same time period abandoned in a field in Nebraska, and became part of the Planet Hollywood movie memorabilia collection.  We are continuing to work to find out if these two ships may possibly be one in the same.  Makes you go… hmmmm….

 The Oriental Octopus.  Occupying the pad now home to Bamboozler.

 Octopus in Pandemonium! Seen here painted in its "tomato-plant" color. (Below) The Octopus control panel from the mid-80's, notice the "spider" control.

The Octopus Panel from the mid-80's

Octopus

Dear old Octopus another basic flat ride, in this case a Monster by Eyerly Manufacturing.  Though an incredibly common ride, Octopus ties its unique story to its history at Worlds of Fun.  It opened in 1973 as the Oriental Octopus, and was located where Bamboozler is today in the Orient section of the park.  In 1983, when Barnstormer was removed from the Aerodrome, Oriental Octopus received a new name, and a new home.  It became the Tailspinner, and remained atop the Barnstormer hill in the Aerodrome for many years.  In 1987, when the section became Pandemonium!  It surprisingly enough remained in its location, a thrill ride, in a children’s rides area.  It was also re-named Octopus, and re-painted into its infamous “tomato plant” color scheme. Finally in 1997, with the addition of Bearenstain Bear Country Octopus was removed.  Originally, we thought it was to be for good.  However, history wasn’t done with old Octopus.   If you remember our previous discussion about Aerodrome, another famous Aerodrome attraction, the Incred-O-Dome was removed in 1997.  Scandia Scrambler, was moved up to that location.  Octopus made it back to the park in 1998, this time in Scandinavia.  This makes the basic Octopus, one of Worlds of Fun’s most relocated rides, having called three different sections of the park home, and also being the one original ride NOT to operate the full forty years of park operation.

 Le Taxi Tour, and you ask where are the trees? They are there, just much smaller! You will also notice another of Worlds of Fun's original rides, the Zambezi Zinger in the background.  Zinger was removed following the 1997 season.

Le Taxi Tour

Taxi’s has the unique distinction of not only being another rather large ride (land-wise), that has been axed by many other parks for its land, but also being a ride that got very close to not making this list.  Back in 1995, some remember that Cedar Fair bought Worlds of Fun from Hunt Midwest.  Hunt was at the time developing plans for a massive wooden coaster, that some believe was to be called “Vampire”.  It is known that this coaster, had it been built, was to be built on the land occupied by Le Taxi Tour.   Now I am not going to get into the discussion of whether a wooden coaster would have been better then Taxi’s, or that we have Cedar Fair (grumble grumble) to “thank” for keeping Taxi’s. But that story is a unique cliff note in Taxi’s unique history.  Taxi’s like Voyager is another Arrow Development creation, the cars that riders board back in 1973 and today are one in the same.  Today though Taxi’s runs at about half of its original capacity, but is still an incredibly popular family ride.

Another view of Taxi's

Like many of Worlds of Fun’s original attractions Taxi’s has had various “pieces” that have vanished over the years.  Many remember the red water tanker that was located at the high point, center of the ride.  Though I have asked a few times, and meandered around the WOF bone yard just a few times (plus looked around various Cedar Fair parks to see if it landed there instead) I have yet to see even a glimpse of this small theming element.  

 

  (Above, Top) I had to search long and hard for this photo,  its the only photo was have of the old water tanker up at the top of Taxi's main hill. The Taxi signage, now in a safe place.  AKA Not the WOF boneyard.

Another park of Taxi’s that some of us remember is the Taxi’s photo signage that was at the turnstile of Taxi’s.  It vanished about the same time as the tanker… Thankfully we do know where it is.  Though it is not in good shape it does still exist, and hopefully someday I will spend some time to restore it.

(Above) An overview of Europa, the rides haven't changed a whole lot... If you notice though you can count the six coaches on the train. 

A current view of Flying Dutchman.

Flying Dutchman

Flying Dutchman probably ranks up there as the most overlooked of the original rides.  It is also one of the most rare though too.  In fact, though I have researched it, and visited probably most of the United State’s major (and not so major) parks, I have found only two other Flying Dutchman rides in the United States. Today only one of which is even in operation, which is at Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver, CO, the second being the Flying Dutchman at the currently non-operational Kentucky Kingdom amusement park.  I had a chance to talk with a fellow member of ACE from Kentucky just recently and he commented how excited he was to see and ride another Flying Dutchman.  So there you go.  Flying Dutchman was built and designed by Intamin AG, a Swiss company that is still in business today.  (most notably known for manufacturing Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster to name a few) Flying Dutchman at Worlds of Fun was its proto-type of the surprisingly named… Flying Dutchman ride.  Today, Flying Dutchman still offers a fun, and quirky ride aboard one of the ride’s small Dutch boats.  The ride itself is almost identical to a ride in 1973, except for the addition of seat belts, and the movement of the ride’s control panel.  Be careful though this small ride can pack quite a thrilling punch to the stomach.

Above: (Top) Der Fender Bender in the better days, notice the old Europa costume the ambassador is wearing.  (Below) the entrance to Der Fender Bender from prior to the name change to Autobahn. 

Autobahn/Der Fender Bender (AKA DFB)

Autobahn… so often forgotten that it is actually an original ride to the park.  If we were to be handing out awards to the original rides, Autobahn could easily walk away with “#1 ride that bears not resemblance to its original self”, and that’s not in a good way.  Autobahn started out life as Der Fender Bender, or DFB as it is 

 often called.  Its one of the few original rides I remember riding quite vividly as a child.  That was when it ran 20+ cars, ran its full course, and had a great center island that the cars would quite literally skid around.  So much fun.  Today, not so much.  Atleast half of its original course has been cut out, over half of its cars are gone, or atleast completely non-functional, and the one's that do function, could be said to barely do so.  Still, Autobahn is still with us.  It’s just one ride that I can’t talk about without commenting how much love this ride simply is NOT getting. 

 An early photo (1973) of Der Fender Bender.

So why the name change?  Many of the original rides have had name changes over their existence.  Usually due to a ride move.  But Autobahn/DFB hasn’t moved an inch since 1973.  The truth of the matter is Cedar Fair.  When Cedar Fair bought the park quite a bit of homogenization occurred, wanting to make the park as much like the other Cedar Fair parks as possible.  Der Fender Bender, became Autobahn during the transition.  Some though still have not accustomed to the name change and still call it good old DFB.

 

 Above: (Top) Scrambler with its original ELI Bridge factory paint job.  (Below): Scrambler later on in its classic Worlds of Fun color scheme.

Scrambler/Scandia Scrambler

Another original ride I remember riding extremely vividly, simply because I loved this ride as a kid.  Scandia Scrambler started out life in the Scandinavian section of the park, located where Octopus is today.  It stayed there until 1997 when it moved up to Americana to replace the good old (ancient) Incred-O-Dome.   So many of the rides we have looked at were “mass produced” rides, meaning Fling, Octopus and even Flying Dutchman were rides that Hunt could call up and order a ride from a flyer or brochure and get the same exact ride as the other amusement park half way across the country.  Unlike those three other “mass produced” rides, Scrambler was and still IS incredibly successful.  Built by ELI Bridge Co. (who also built ferris wheels, including Skyliner) Scramblers are probably the most prolific of any amusement park ride.  Quite literally the VW Bug of the amusement park world.  Cheap, dependable and fun.

Krazy Kars, I apologize we have no photos that I can find of the ride as Crashem Bashem.  Once again we realize after the fact those attractions that we overlook until its too late.

Krazy Kars/Crashem Bashem

When Worlds of Fun opened, the plan was no specifically designed children’s area.  Instead children’s rides and adult rides would be co-mingled, this was so that the entire family could enjoy the experience together.  Until literally a few years ago, many of the park’s children rides were still scattered sporadically around the park.  Over the last 5-6 years all of them have either found their way to Camp/Planet Snoopy or been completely removed. Krazy Kars remains the sole survivor of the kiddie ride exodus to Planet Snoopy.  It also seems to suffer the same fate as the adult bumper cars, except it simply needs more cars.  Like Autobahn Krazy Kars also has had a name change, without a move.  Krazy Kars used to be known as Crashem Bashem.  But again, when Cedar Fair bought the park there was no children’s bumper cars known as Crashem Bashem in the chain, and plenty of Krazy Kars, so Krazy Kars it became, and has remained.

ELI/Worlds of Fun Railroad

ELI has quite a unique story to tell like most of the other original rides at Worlds of Fun.  When Worlds of Fun was planned, the ride was designed so that guests would not so much get a tour of the park, but instead a chance to see others at the park having fun.  That was so they could decide where they too could have the most fun.  Today, though the park has greatly changed, a ride on the WOFRR has not, atleast physically speaking.  There are many interesting points about WOFRR and ELI.  Of course most know that ELI was produced by Crown Metal Products, a company that while having gone out of business in the 80’s, was and still is known for its many steam engines it produced for parks and zoos across the country.  Crown Metal’s can be found as close by as Six Flags St. Louis and the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, and half way across the country at the two Busch Gardens Parks.  

Above: (Top): ELI from its original season in 1973.  (Bottom): ELI as it arrived at the park in 1972, while the rest of the park was under construction.

Today, ELI still provides a ride behind an authentic steam engine, with no electricity involved.  The engine itself has seen small updates and maintenance through the years, but is for all intensive purposes almost identical to itself of forty years ago.  For more information on ELI take a look at a fact sheet we created in 2010 when we worked as engineers aboard the train.

I again apologize for the quality of these photos, but they are the only one's we have of the actual train robbery from Yumma Yucca Mesa.

 

The train ride as you might imagine has been and still is one of the most popular rides in the park.  The ride itself has seen various changes over the years.  In the 70’s and early 80’s riders were treated to a “train robbery” at the then named Yumma Yucca Mesa (train turn around near Prowler), where the train was “attacked” by the James Gang. 

Many other changes to the train have been made over the years.  The Depot station, used to boast a small gift shop.  Would be riders would enter through the depot station, (which was home to wood train whistles and the like), and then enter the waiting area outside to wait for their ride.  Now of course, the depot is a retail storage room.  Boo Hiss.  Of course the train has been downgraded in capacity along with it seems almost every other original ride.  When the park opened the train boasted 6 coaches.  A few years later, that number was downgraded to 5, and it stayed that way until about 7-8 years ago, when another coach was removed.  Both coaches are now in the boneyard (the park’s dump so to speak behind Tivoli).  That has dropped the trains capacity as you might imagine by 1/3, a lot for a ride that used up to 576 people on each ride. 

ELI as it appeared in 2008, more modern times.

Do you think I would leave you the reader on that somber note?  No.  Of course not.  We should all be very thankful that ELI is still with us.  In fact, thanks to Hunt Midwest (Hey I love Hunt as much as any other WOF fan!) we almost lost ELI.  Back in the 80’s Hunt tried to sell ELI to replace it with two small diesel engines.  Thankfully, no one had interest in a steam engine back then, and there were no buyers.  ELI stayed with Worlds of Fun, to ride off into the sunset. 

So there we go, forty years ago these rides were part of the “60 brand new and exciting things to do”, in 1974 as my dad would have said they would have been “Somewhat new and somewhat exciting”.  Today, all 9 definitely have never stopped being atleast somewhat exciting. They may not any longer be anywhere that “somewhat new” definition, but though some would classify they as old I prefer to think of them somewhat differently …they are not old they are CLASSICS. Long live these great rides, and the memories they continue to make for all of us.