It is a Flat world after all?

 

Flat rides.  What are they you may ask?  Why do they matter you may ask?  Well to start a Flat ride is a ride that is FLAT, and is not a coaster.  (Scandi) Scrambler, Zulu, Cyclone Sam’s, Flying Dutchman, these are all prototypical flat rides.  The two new rides for 2017?  Condor (Falcon’s Flight) and Troika (Mustang Rider) are also both flat rides.  That might answer the "why they are important right now" question, but how about next year, or the next?   Let's be honest, people come to theme parks and amusement parks for one major reason.  Coasters.  Lots and lots of coasters.  People LOVE coasters, people are always asking when the next coaster will be added, what do you see advertised when you see Worlds of Fun?  Patriot, Mamba, Prowler.  COASTERS.

However, one cannot live on cake alone.  People don’t just come to parks and ride coasters, and often enough the coaster itself might be the first ride, but chances are the second, third and so on rides are the… flat rides.  They are the ones we ride over and over and over again because we all love them (well, some of them). Flat rides are thrilling in their own right, they make some of us puke afterwards, and some sick to their stomach just thinking about them… Which is how flat rides have received their second moniker… Spin and Pukes. 

So what does all of this have to do with Worlds of Fun?  Quite a bit.  Worlds of Fun has since almost day one been absolutely blessed with flat rides.  A few years after opening in 1977, the park decided to double down on flat rides and add, not one, but two.  Two years later came two more.  Why?  They were and are cheap, and of those four added in 1977 and 1979, many still love Zulu and Bamboozler of which both still operate in the park. 

So since flat rides have made such a huge impact on the park, I figured let’s do a feature on a few of the more memorable ones.  We can tell a few stories we may not have told yet, and then we can also look at the two newbies too.

Here is an interesting fact, that until two years ago every flat ride that opened with the park in 1973  was still operating.  Scrambler, Finnish Fling, Flying Dutchman and Octopus.  Of course, the removal of Octopus in 2014 ended that streak.   Of the four, they are all interesting in their own right, but since a recent conversation about Octopus with a friend of mine gave me the idea for this editorial I figured we would start there.   (Plus, I did cover all of them in detail in an editorial for the 40^th Anniversary, its here: 9 Old Rides)

The conversation in particular was in regards to the color changes of Octopus over the years.  So lets talk about Octopus, a ride that had literally been every color of the rainbow.  Octopus was manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Co, a company founded in Salem, Or. In the 1930’s to produce equipment to train airplane pilots.  By the 1940’s they were producing amusement park rides instead of training equipment, and by the 1950’s and 60’s their rides were a staple in parks and fairs across the country.  The Monster and Spider are their major hits, but all of the “-O-“ rides are theirs too. When Eyerly went out of business the rights to the rides and parts was purchased by Oregon Rides, which while still in business, the company is supposedly caught up in a family squabble causing parts to “their” rides to become difficult to obtain.  This explains, at least partially, why Octopus was eventually removed.  Additionally, and sadly I might add, this isn’t the first time, by a long shot, that a family squabble has caused not just rides, but in many cases whole parks to vanish into history.

Octopus is also interesting because like another flat ride, that is still operational in the park, it had been moved three times, and had three separate, different names, and who knows how many color changes.  In 1973 it opened with the park as the Oriental Octopus, it was painted all black and located where Bamboozler is today.

Octopus in its signature "Tomato Plant' color scheme in Pandamonium.

Now take a deep breath because here we go.  In 1983, the Barnstormer, a Bradley & Kaye tower plane ride was removed from the Aerodrome section of the park due to high winds.  The next year, 1984, Octopus was re-painted to red and black (often referred to as the tomato plant color scheme), and moved up to the Aerodrome to take its place; it was also renamed for the first time to Tailspinner.   Three years later, in 1987, when the Aerodrome was re-purposed into the “new” Pandamonium! Tailspinner remained known as Tailspinner but was re-painted once again, this time to the signature six-color Worlds of Fun balloon color scheme.  It wasn’t until 1994, that Tailspinner, though it hadn’t moved, was renamed a third time, to just Octopus, and re-painted once again to the tomato plant color scheme (red and black).  By this time Octopus had been repainted three different color schemes, had three different names, and been moved twice, but its story wasn’t over quite yet. 

 Octopus in its final home in Scandinavia.

In 1997, with the renovation of Pandamonium into Berenstain Bear Country Octopus was removed from the park.  At this point, it was unknown to onlookers whether Octopus would ever return to the park.  The answer to that question would come the next year in 1998 when Octopus was re-installed in the park, this time to a new, third location, Scandinavia.  This final move made Octopus, to date, the only ride at the park to operate in three separate themed sections in the park.  When re-installed, the cars were re-painted (yes again!) to lime green, while it also believed many of the cars were replaced.  Of course, Octopus would end its final run at Worlds of Fun in 2014, and it along with Krazy Kars (which was removed the next year in 2015) would leave the park with not nine original rides as I wrote about in 2014, but seven instead.

Way back in 1997 when I started Worldsoffun.org, that’s where I would have ended it, facts, dates, and locations.  However, I have learned over the years that history isn’t only about what, when and where, but how those changes affect all of us.  So let me add some personality to this story.  I rode Octopus, when it was Tailspinner in 1987, the year Pandamonium opened, I was almost 10 at the time.  Saying I hated it would be the understatement of the year, I had taken a chance on an “unknown” ride and it would leave me fearful of trying new things again for several years.  Why the ride I took a chance on couldn’t have been Zambezi Zinger I will never know. Though I would finally “suck it up” and ride Octopus again many years later, I never shared any particularly positive experiences with Octopus and didn’t shed a tear when it was removed.  The same friend that inspired me to write this editorial, WAS upset to see the park remove it, unlike me he had many wonderful memories of Octopus and spoke at length at how much he disliked the various color changes of the ride over the years.

 

Singapore Sling on the left, Whirligig on the right, but the same ride.

Another flat ride that shares a similar, if not conjoined story with Octopus is a ride that IS still operating, Bamboozler.  Like Octopus it started in the Orient, but on the other side of the pavement from where it is now, where the entrance to the Orient Express would be located.  Bamboozler wasn’t known as Bamboozler in 1977 though it was originally named Singapore Sling.  When Orient Express claimed the territory in 1980, Singapore Sling was moved, to Americana, where it was renamed Whirligig, and was located across from the then Screamroller.  Whirligig would be the first of three rides in what has become a relatively-speaking “cursed” location, as the pad would later on be home to Omegatron and then Thunderhawk.  However, its stay in Americana wouldn’t be long, as Whirligig would again be kicked to the curb by a new ride, this time Omegatron in 1986.  It was only then that the ride that we all know and sometimes love, Bamboozler, the vacant space left by Octopus a few years prior. 

Singapore Sling with its original entrance, and next to it the Express entrance, notice how they are one in the same.  It appears the Sling queue line was enclosed for Orient Expressions gift shop.

Personally, I love these types of stories, because its proves such a great historical point, one thing cannot happen without it affecting many other things in the long run.  A great example?  The entrance to Orient Express, a tiny A-frame structure that we all think of as built for Orient Express?  It wasn’t built for Orient Express at all, but for Singapore Sling.  It was spruced up a bit, but still re-used from its original intention. Personally, I think Bamboozler never gets any love whatsoever.  It’s not an original ride, it was added five years after the park opened, its been pushed around, renamed, all in the name of the brand new rides (of which none of them are there anymore, ironic?) But here is one more interesting factoid.  Except for the two original flat rides from 1973, Bamboozler is the oldest non-original flat ride still operating in the park.  Bamboozler turns the ripe old age of 40 this year, right along with me… I feel your pain.  

Think of how many of us have any mechanical object still working that many years later?  You might.  Usually it’s called a classic by now though.

Side by side Chance Trabant (same model as Wobble Wheel) and Chance Wipeout (same model as Cyclone Sam's)

The amazing thing is that every overlooked flat ride has its own unique story.  Wobble Wheel, the ride added the very same year as Bamboozler (1977) was removed after the 1993 season, but what makes Wobble Wheel’s story so unique is that it was literally replaced by almost the exact same ride, Cyclone Sam’s in 1995!  They are so similar that many believe (in error) that Cyclone Sam’s IS Wobble Wheel.  Let me settle that urban legend here and now, Cyclone Sam’s IS NOT Wobble Wheel. Sam’s was a brand new ride in 1995, but it is basically an updated model extremely similar in design. Wobble Wheel being a Chance Trabant and Cyclone Sam’s a Chance Wipeout (both manufacturd by Chance Rides of  Wichita Ks.). It’s a great story that a ride was replaced by its own virtual twin.  Of course Sam’s was also historically important as it was Hunt Midwest’s last addition to the park, soon afterwards (as in months) they would sell the park to its current owner, Cedar Fair.

 

Original press release photos from 1977

In the 16 years that Wobble Wheel operated at the park, it would be joined by several spin and puke worthy cousins that many of us still know quite well.  Zulu, which in a unique flat ride twist in that it not only has the same name, but same location as it did almost forty years ago when it was added in 1979.  However unlike Wobble Wheel, and Bamboozler, Zulu was manufactured by a German Company, Huss Rides (pronounced more like “whose” not “us”)  Huss Rides is still around manufacturing flat rides, and manufactured the two “new” rides for 2017, Falcon’s Flight and Mustang Runner.  Zulu is pretty much what you see is what you get, its an old stand by that everyone loves.   Ride operators at the park loved to give it and Octopus its own mash up name when Octopus was Zulu’s next door neighbor, and its ride complex was often referred to as Octa-Lu.  I always remember it as not only the ride I won’t ride (something about the name Spin n’ Puke…) but as the ride that has the awkward Schwartzkopf twin, that is the same, but its not.  Both are given the same model name “Enterprise”, but though the Schwartzkopf version was the first introduced of the two, the Huss version is the more common.  As an interesting factoid the Highland Fling at Six Flags St. Louis is the closest geographical Schwartzkopf version of the Enterprise, once again “like” Zulu but not quite.

 Wing Ding is about center left in this photo.

Of course one of the most interesting flat rides also happens to be Worlds of Fun’s shortest operating ride in the parks existence.  Wing Ding.  Most, other than geeks like me who have nothing better to do, have never heard of the thing.  It was added the same year as Zulu (1979), but unlike Zulu it was removed from the park only three years later.  The funny thing about Wing Ding is I am not sure which part is the more interesting story, the ride while it was at Worlds of Fun, or what happened to it after it left Worlds of Fun, because folks if you made it this far you are about to read something no one (or okay maybe the two or three we have told) has known.  UNTIL NOW. 

 The Fly-O-Plane at Lake Winnie.

First a little background on Wing Ding, it was manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Co. (same company as Octopus), it’s most commonly referred to as a Fly-O-Plane, and as far as I am aware there is only one operating in the country at this time, at Lake Winnepesaukah near Chattanooga, TN.  Suffice it to say it is an incredibly rare ride.  If you are familiar with a May Pole you have the basic idea of the way this ride worked. Eight “planes” are attached via medal sweeps to a center hub.  When the ride rotates a coiled wire would wrap around the center hub, lifting each attached sweep and plane into the air.  Once airborn each plane could spin independently itself.  The way everyone remembers it?  Human being in a tiny spinning tin can.  As in jammed into a tiny little metal space that vaguely looks like a plane, that spins, at sometimes crazy speeds.  It is probably one of the reasons flat rides are also called spin and pukes.  There is probably a good reason the restroom in what is now Planet Snoopy is where it is.  Besides being memorable for ALL the wrong reasons while at the park, it’s also been incredibly memorable for its “urban legend” of what happened to it after it left the park.  Urban legend says that Worlds of Fun its it’s haste to remove Wing Ding, neglected to remove the “Worlds of Fun” in the ultra iconic, PARTRIDGE FONT before selling Wing Ding to a fair circuit.  The ride didn’t cause any undue “dangerous” havoc at the park itself, but did at some point on the fair circuit, and since that point every ride removed from the park has been scrubbed of any PARTRIDGE FONT logo going forward when it left the park. 

So did that all really happen?  Well.  Maybe.  What I can tell you is that unlike every other defunct Worlds of Fun ride that has been located after its removal from the park, Wing Ding can still be identified to this day (ok, last year), by the fact that it still carries the “Worlds of Fun” logo on it.  Yes that’s present tense.  Because Wing Ding still exists. 

Yes this is Wing Ding, sitting on a trailer in some field.

No I won’t tell you where it is.

When Orient Express was being removed, Omegatron was going with it.  

Of course not every ride that gets removed from Worlds of Fun goes to another park, many do, but not all.  Many go to the great scrapyard in the sky.  For those that have witnessed the actual removal of a ride, or even worse the actual action of throwing of said ride into the junk trunk or dumpster, you know it’s a very sobering scene.

Original press release for Omegatron in 1986

Another great, memorable flat ride went that way.  It was called Omegatron.  Omegatron was added to the park in 1986, and if you remember it replaced Whirligig (now Bamboozler) near the exit for the Timberwolf.  It, along with EXT that came around 1983, were part of a “1980’s vision of the future” additions, both ride AMBASSADORS wore the same costume, white “buck rogers” type top, with the EXT logo and Omegatron added below it.  Omegatron like many other Worlds of Fun rides was state of the art, it was the Vekoma prototype Skyflyer,  I believe there may be one operating somewhere in the world, it like Wing Ding is incredibly rare.

 

Omegatron is at about 1:00 into the video

Omegatron is probably remembered for two things, its signature whine, those of us that remember are probably either vividly remembering it, or possibly humming it to their best ability right now….  For those who weren’t alive for Omegatron (can we trade?), or even for those who just want to remember it there is a great YouTube video of Omegatron operating.  The second memorable thing about Omegatron was the change.  As in both the sound of falling change, and what it was used for after it was collected.  See AMBASSADORS at EXT (Screamroller) and Omegatron and elsewhere, were very well behaved Worlds of Fun minions, that was until they got of work when they threw great parties where Pepsi and Kool-Aid were served… You can all believe that right?  That all your loose change went to buy… Pepsi.  Lets just leave it there.

‘With a new flat ride pretty much every four to five years at maximum it would be another decade before another one came around, and it would be historic, Cyclone Sam’s, mentioned previously replacing its almost identical predecessor Wobble Wheel in 1995.  Cyclone Sam’s was unique to the park in that it was an outdoor ride, that was themed and ran indoors, but probably more interesting it was also the last addition by Hunt Midwest to the park. 

Cedar Fair, the new owners would jump right in and start making their mark on the park right away.  Almost every choice they made in the first few years had resounding impacts in the park, even today, some good some not so good.  But this isn’t an editorial about Cedar Fair.  One thing Cedar Fair has historically not really been known for is its abounding additions of flat rides, one only has to look at Cedar Point to see that.  And from 1998 until a little over a decade later, 2009 Cedar Fair’s additions to Worlds of Fun were almost entirely ALL coasters, so much so I like to refer to that time period as the “Coaster Decade”.  But again, this editorial isn’t about coasters either.

There was ONE flat ride added in that first Cedar Fair decade, and that was in 2002 with the addition of ThunderHawk, another Huss Ride, known more commonly as a Top Spin, and one in which Worlds of Fun tried to do something untried once again.  Worlds of Fun attempted to take a flat ride and make it a water ride.  It was a great idea, actually fairly revolutionary, but one that like so many revolutionary ideas, it just didn’t work that well.  (EXT as a stand up anyone?) For the last few of its years in the park Thunderhawk stood idyll more than it actually operated.

Before we continue to go forward lets go back twenty years ago before we look at the now.

In 1997, I wrote a letter to Worlds of Fun in regards to park history… I received a letter, park history timeline and a Mamba promo photo (that was actually Steel Force but that’s another point) I still have all of them, but an interesting point I will never forget was a comment made in the letter by then Public relations manager Whitney Howland, that history is always being made.  No truer words were ever said, because Mamba is now almost 20 years old, and by any definition historically important.  Why am I bringing this up?  Because, hopefully, in another ten or twenty years we will be talking about 2017, not as the upcoming season, but how it fit into the next ten to twenty years of Worlds of Fun history. 

Same ride?  hmmm.... Bounce-A-Roos on the left, Kopter on the right. 

So the two “new” rides, Huss Condor and Huss Troika (Falcon’s Flight and Mustang Runner), aren’t really new are they?  That’s the argument many people are using is that Worlds of Fun (or Cedar Fair) is adding banged up, used old rides to the park and calling them new.  First off, buying classic rides that are used is not necessarily a bad thing and can, in fact be a VERY good thing. Second, unlike going to a used car dealership these rides will be for all intensive purposes new.   Third, this is by FAR not the first time this has happened.  Obviously, Steelhawk was used but how about Rockin’ Reeler and Skyliner?  Both of those were and are used.   How about not even a new ride to the park being marketed as a new ride?  That’s a very old amusement park trick.  Move a ride around, give it a new name and call it new.  

This is my last story for you today, and it starts in 1977 once again.  1977 saw several new rides and additions, Singapore Sling, Wobble Wheel, and the third ride that was “new”?  Bounce-A-Roos.  Yes, that jumping kangaroo ride in Europa.   See in 2014, I wrote an editorial called “9 Old Rides” about the nine operating original rides from 1973.  But really, there weren’t nine original rides in 2014,  there were actually TEN.  In the ultimate game of switch-a-roo, Worlds of Fun took one of their original rides, a kiddie ride named Kopter.  They chopped off the very top “helicopter” theme, added a Kangaroo head, moved it from Scandinavia to Europa, and here is the kicker… MARKETED it as a new ride.  Clever.  What is even more so is that most of us fell for it, for years.  So how do we know you might ask?  I had a good suspension several years ago when I was studying park maps and noticed that Kopter ceased appearing on the map in 76 and a similar ride, Bouce-a-Roos showed up in 1977.  Once we had a Bounce-A-Roos car though, and split the head off (because transporting a nine foot kangaroo isn’t easy), the writing was on the wall… or the car so to speak.  The car underneath the head was still there, mostly.  The paint was pealing but it was bright red, and that obviously it had experienced some serious cosmetic surgery.  It answered the question, and left me with one more… if you were Hunt Midwest and you were moving a ride to Europa, and you had full creative control of what it would look like…. WHY KANGAROOS?

So in the last seven pages we have looked at many of the major and many minor players when it comes to Worlds of Fun’s flat ride collection, rides and attractions that are often overlooked but I firmly believe form the bedrock to the park’s ride collection, and set the park apart from its Missouri family members by offering an exceptional flat ride lineup.  Historically speaking, while the park’s oldest coaster is only twenty eight, there are two flat rides that are almost twice that age, and another that is only a few years younger, meaning anyone that has an interest in park history, its an oversight to miss the most important and oldest members of the park’s family.

New Gate Review of Videos

How many years have we talked about how the park has desperately needed a new gate and the answer always was that it wasn't done because they wanted the money to do it right.  Well I think we finally are getting a taste at just how large a scale "getting a new gate" will take.  First I thought before we get into the questions we should start with some facts.

#1)Baltic Bazaar (Norma's Funnel Cakes), Tivoli Central, Tivoli West, Gate and Ticket Booths are all gone as of now.

#2)First Aid (the structure), Tivoli East (old Ski Heis), Chickie and Pete's, Fjord Fjarlene and Plaza gifts are staying but many of these structure may be re-purposed, or partially so.  

For a size comparison I am presenting the area of the original Americana main gate.  It may make the

size of the new area which appears immense appear in scale to the original gate area.

So onto the videos...


https://twitter.com/worldsoffun/status/806939377410646016

This is the most interesting video for me as it's inside the actual park and you can see how much things have changed (I refer to this as the shock and awe video).  First and foremost everything past the trees is completely gone, the ticket booths, old guest relations, Baltic Bazaar and Tivoli West and Central picnic areas.  Pretty much everything under the arrows above is gone.  It's quite striking.  At 9 seconds in you can see that the old First Aid IS still there, and this corresponds with what we have been heard, in that First Aid may be becoming the new Guest Relations.  If you look closely you can also see a gray colored wall behind First Aid, this is also a placeholder from the old gate, in that this is the same fence that separated the guest area from the maintenance back area.  Continuing on you can see the four Silver Maples that stood in the gate area are still there but like I mentioned everything beyond them is gone.  My question is where will the gate stand?  Will it be immediately behind the trees or will there be a new large open space such as the mentioned International Plaza?  Some who have brought up just how large the area being demolished is question whether this new large tract will also feature new group picnic areas (a good guess since two have been demolished) or even possibly for new additions in future seasons.

https://twitter.com/worldsoffun/status/806585530846760964

This video was by far the hardest to figure out WHERE exactly it was shot from.  If you see the aerial  photo above I have pinpointed approximately where we think it was shot from.  At the start you can see a tree line in the background and behind that a mass of cars (cars are frequently stored in the lots in the off-season from the nearby Ford Claycomo plant), I believe that we are seeing H lot behind the trees, and the foreground area is what was originally the boneyard or park dump.   Also during the first few seconds of this video you can see a white structure, as well as a bright blue porta potty.  The white structure is the bump out of the Tivoli that you can plainly see in the aerial photo above.  Between the porta potty and the Tivoli you can just barely make out the old train shed that ELI is stored in during the off-season.  What is also missing, which may not be obvious, is the large white propane tank that was always stored across the road from ELI, it was from this tank that the smaller propane tanks carried in ELI's tender were refilled from.  So where will it go now?  Another question we have no answer for.

https://www.facebook.com/WorldsofFun/videos/10154311208203250/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

A very similar video to the one above, but this one shows a slightly different view and is one where it is plainly obvious that this area was the boneyard as the earth walls that are so familiar to anyone who has ever visited the boneyard.  Up on the rise you can see just a bit of G lot and the old walkway into the park.  One thing is certain this is a VERY large area.  With the movement of the gate it was almost without question that the boneyard had to be moved but without that quite literal hole in the ground, it really opens up the space and makes the area virtually unrecognizable.  I say this as a good thing, it makes me really want to see the artwork for this area just so I can see the grand plan.  Will all this space be inside the gate?  Will it be outside the gate?  Originally Falcon's Flight was intended to be located in the new gate area, so obviously there is room for a new ride to go there, and I doubt it will be in 2017 but what about 2018 and beyond?

Once again we are left with more questions than answers.  One thing is certain the place will look a whole lot different on Opening Day 2017 then it did on Opening Day 2016!

New for 2017! An in-depth analysis

It’s the “back gate” not the “main gate”, we have said innumerable times,  explaining once again that the Scandinavian gate that almost everyone, including the park, refers to as the main gate was never intended to be the main gate.  The main gate as we knew it, was bulldozed after the 1998 season to make way for…........... Wait for it…............ Go Karts.  Finally, 18 years later, Worlds of Fun will HOPEFULLY have something it has not had since 1998, a REAL main gate.   On August 18^th, 2016 the park made several announcements related to the 2017 season and in this (probably lengthy) blog post we will take a detailed look at each of the four announcements, and provide some insight and probably a whole lot of guessing into the details of each one.

The Henrietta and main gate as it appeared on opening day 1974.

Let’s go back though and look at some history though first (because you do all know WHO is writing this right?).  Worlds of Fun opened in May 26, 1973, and to enter the park guests rode a tram to the MAIN gate, bought tickets at a beautiful tree-lined plaza complete in Americana-style gingerbread trim and crossed the beautiful side-wheeler Henrietta to enter the park.  In front of them as is there today was Front Street Square.    There was a second gate at the time too, the group-sales gate, or back gate that lead into Scandinavia, buses could easily pull up and in later years bands, choirs, school groups could organize and enter the park as a group here too.  Other than for groups it was seldom used, in fact a large sign once hung above the back lots informing guests whether the gate was even open for the day or not. 

The Henrietta twenty-five years later, a sad remnant with debris floating in the surrounding moat.

Change happened in mid-1995, when new owner at the time, Cedar Fair, made the decision, along with many other parks at the time, to discontinue the tram service.  Unlike many other parks the Americana gate was set about a quarter of a mile walk from its nearest parking lot.  The point was to separate the fantasy world of Worlds of Fun from the dust and grim of the normal every day.  Though it is uncommon for a park's main entrance NOT to be visible from the park lots it is a concept employed successfully at one of the most successful theme parks in the world, Magic Kingdom in Florida and was also successfully employed by Worlds of Fun too.  It's that unique separation of the parking lot to the gate that gave Worlds of Fun its "magical" experience but also lead to the unique situation where its main gate no longer functioned when the trams were discontinued.  The problem is that quarter-mile or so was a even longer walk to most people’s car, the Scandinavian gate took over a lot of the foot traffic and became a still secondary, but now more often used gate.  The trickle of guests into the Scandinavian gate over the next few years turned into a flood and it turned the Americana gate, once a hub of activity into a ghost town.  Clarks’ Livery Stable (where Subway is now) where guests would rent a locker or a stroller saw scant guests normally, and was closed in most cases, The glass encased Guest Relations was boarded up, a lone ambassador sitting forlorn on a stool manned the single open turnstile on the once busy Henrietta, when the Americana gate was even open that is.  The writing on the wall was clear as day.    Mamba opened in 1998 to great jubilation, but on the opposite side of the park the Americana gate was closed, no one crossed the Henrietta anymore, very few even noticed it, and its green algae covered water that now surrounded it.  In spring 1999, the gate was gone, completely demolished with Go-Karts now in its place.  The solitary tree that once served as the tram turn around stood in the midst.

The Scandinavian back gate as it appeared in the mid-1990's

The Scandinavian back gate was all that was left.  Over the next 15-16 years the Scandinavian gate changed a LOT.  Landscaping was added, Guest Services had already been relocated several years prior, but it too was updated and enlarged. Attempts were made to make both the gate and surrounding entrance, feel, at least somewhat like a main gate.  An arcade became a gift shop, the original glass blower’s shop became a candy shop, the park’s full service restaurant  gave its outdoor dining patio to lockers and wheelchair rentals.   A beautiful hand carved carousel was added in 2011, though some attempts were half hearted, not all of them were, and it became more and more obvious that there was no way to band-aid in a main gate.   Many of the long time fans who had been coming to the park since the days of the trams took to taking first-time visitors through the “real” main gate by quite literally walking newbies over to the Go-Karts, and walking across what was left of the Henrietta into Front Street square. 

Finally, in 2017 the wait will be hopefully over.  So what will the new gate look like?  We have been given brief details by the park, that the new gate will be re-designed, that it will include an international plaza where guests can meet up, and that it will have a waterfall.  Many of us, especially long time Worlds of Fun fans worry that it will look just like all the other Cedar Fair park gates (well except of course, Cedar Point), like Dorney’s or Valleyfair’s, which are fairly identical cream colored clock tower entrances.  Maybe.  One thing is true first appearances ARE everything, and for the first time in almost twenty years guests will not have to pass through the rickety old Scandinavian gate, one intended to be a back gate, but forced to become so much more.

Dorney Park's main gate

Valleyfair's main gate

Onto the rides.  Two new rides for 2017 let’s see if I can get this right.  Falcon’s Flight and Mustang Runner.  First, as I am sure I am the only one geeky enough to notice, Falcon’s Flight follow’s traditional Worlds of Fun ride naming pattern, two words, both starting with the same letter. (Zambezi Zinger, Oriental Octopus, Finnish Fling, Viking Voyager, Fjord Fjarlene, the park was and is littered with them) So lets start there,

Falcon’s Flight facts, the ride is a Huss Condor, first manufactured by Huss Rides in 1984 it is one of two used rides purchased by Cedar Fair on its Europe legacy rides tour.  It will however, from reports be completely updated, and for all intensive purposes, be a new ride.  It is a 102 foot tall circular ride, with four arms, and four cars circling in each arm with a capacity of 56 riders per ride cycle.  It’s also a rather rare ride, this will be the first in the Cedar Fair chain, and one of only a handful in the United States, in fact the only other operational Huss Condor I can think of is at Hersheypark.   In the unconfirmed rumors division, we have heard that Falcon’s Flight will be replacing Le Carousel which interesting enough, and factually enough is Europa’s newest ride added in 1979,  making Flying Falcon, Europa’s first new ride installation in 36 years.

The second ride is a little more common, a Huss Troika, that the park will be naming Mustang Runner.  It will be located in the western Americana section where Krazy Kars/Crashem Bashem (Kiddy bumper cars) was located, the yellow building is still there for now.  It is unknown at this point whether the old Ski Hi Station (red barn) will remain.  The Huss Troika was first manufactured in 1973, and is as mentioned a much more common ride but one that is exciting to see the park adding as it’s a very enjoyable, not too overly thrilling of a ride. 

Both rides as mentioned were manufactured by Huss Manufacturing in Germany which also manufactured the Huss Enterprise known at Worlds of Fun as Zulu and the Huss Top Spin, which was known at Worlds of Fun as Thunderhawk. 

The last new announcement for 2017 was the addition of Winterfest to the parks 2017 operating calendar.  Parks opening up in winter or the Christmas-season is becoming a more and more common occurrence, however Winterfest is actually a take off of an old tradition at another Cedar Fair park, Kings Island.  Winterfest at Worlds of Fun is due to kick-off on November 24, 2017 and will operate for six weeks.  Though details are scarce the park is announcing that the new festival will feature 14 characters, lighting displays, ice-skating and live entertainment.   For a look at how Worlds of Fun may operate their Winterfest it is beneficial to take a look at the history of the event at Kings Island.  The original Winter Fest debuted in 1982, and featured festive lights, a large Christmas tree at the park’s signature Eiffel Tower attraction, ice skating in the royal fountain (located at the entrance to the park), the carousel and steam train were the only rides in operation.  In 2005, Kings Island attempted to bring back the festival with limited success,  and is again doing so along with several other Cedar Fair parks in 2017.

As Winter Fest is a traditional Kings Island event, a look at King's Island version at KI Central might be of interest: http://kicentral.com/parkhistory/winterfest/

Those were the facts, now we enter into the world of speculation.  Nothing I write going forward has been confirmed by the park in any way shape or form.  Many of the attractions at Kings Island could easily be copied over to Worlds of Fun, A Christmas tree in Americana, (the art work shows a large Christmas Tree in Front Street Square), while we lack a large fountain for ice skating that King Island possesses, I could see them using Ripcord lake, or possibly creating a flat ice skating rink somewhere else in the park.   However "flat" and "Worlds of Fun" do not seem to go hand in hand, this detail should be interesting to see how it unfolds.  Also, a key aspect of the event is live entertainment, this makes me question whether Tivoli Music Hall may be on the list for renovations, since it is in many ways functionally the same as it was in 1973.  Another consideration is that many buildings were either not built, or have not been renovated in such a way to operate in cold temperatures, bathrooms and fountains are shut down in the winter, most buildings that I am aware of do not have heat, so there are many logistical mountains to cover so to speak prior to next November.

In regards to rides questions began immediately after the announcement.  Would there be rides?  Some said no, as Kings Island only operates their steam train and carousel during the event historically.  However, nearby Silver Dollar City operates almost every ride as long as the weather is favorable and meets necessary temperatures.  Worlds of Fun has stated so far that they are considering about two dozen possible rides for operation.  Im guessing at this point the list will include the Worlds of Fun Railroad, the Carousel and possibly Cyclone Sam's, in fact a online poster (not affiliated with Worlds of Fun) mentioned temporarily re-theming Cyclone Sam's to a blizzard instead (Blizzard Bill's?) which I thought was quite creative.  Last point is the so called elephant in the room, though Winter Fest is being hosted at several Cedar Fair parks it’s a question as to how this event will compete with nearby Silver Dollar City’s Old Fashioned Christmas, the folks at Carowinds must be asking the same question as their market is not to far from Dollywood, which also hosts a Christmas-time event, it’s a question we will most likely not have an answer for until December 2017.  It will be interesting to say the least as in most cases its rare for the general public to visit the park past the traditional end of October closing date. 

Screamroller Model for its 40th Anniversary!

Check out Randal Strong-Wallace's and ModelCoaster.com newest roller coaster model of the 1976 Screamroller!  Just in time for the 40th Anniversary of Screamroller's Grand Opening on April 24, 1976!

Screamroller 40 Years

It’s a sunny afternoon in a living room somewhere in Kansas City, Missouri. The year is 1983, a young girl sits poised in front of the family television, watching a Saturday morning cartoon, it breaks to commercials, and all of a sudden a exciting adventure plays across the screen. It’s a commercial for the Kansas City theme park, Worlds of Fun, and its newest creation is just being announced with a flourish and a flash of light, it’s the EXT.  It doesn’t matter if she isn’t tall enough or brave enough to ride this amazing ride, it’s the adventure and excitement that it entails that becomes to the girl, and as of that moment, there is no place more exciting and enticing than that park.

Though this story is from 1983, and the ride, Extremeroller, it seems fitting to begin a discussion of Screamroller, the ride that would also be known as Extremeroller later in its life than with a very true story,  as its my own story, or history so to speak.

Both photos above are Corkscrews, but only one is Screamroller.  Believe it or not the brochure on the left for Worlds of Fun, is NOT Screamroller, it's actually Knott's Berry Farm's Corkscrew.  Though the rides are very similar its easy to tell them apart by the style of the corkscrew upper supports, which are quite different. (black and white photo provided by Debbie Reasoner)

But while my personal story with Screamroller might start in 1983, Screamroller’s real story started much earlier, earlier than even April 10, 1976.  It started instead on May 24, 1975, when the world’s first modern inverting coaster opened to the public, at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. A local paper, The Independent, called it a “70-second thriller”. The Corkscrew’s lines when it opened were only half jokingly referring to as ending in the next county.

Designed by Ron Toomer, at the time Engineering Manager of Arrow Development of Mountain View California, it was his job to engineer a successful looping coaster.  Looping coasters were first introduced in the 1890’s, known usually as either Loop the Loops or Flip Flaps, they failed primarily due to a lack of engineering knowledge, of those that built them. These earliest of looping coasters were built with a perfectly circular loop, causing extreme gravitational forces on their riders.  This engineering flaw spelled a short end to this first chapter of looping coasters. Enter Arrow Development in the 1970’s, Ron Toomer took a scientific approach to the looping coaster.  In a 1976 engineering conference covered by The Argus of Fremont, California, Ron Toomer stated “Before a coaster is offered to the public, it has been checked by computer, analyzed by mathematical experts and test-ridden over 2,000 times”.  That doesn’t stop the ride from experiencing kinks as Ron Toomer went on to explain, that the Corkscrew at Knott’s itself required chassis replacement after only 5,000 rides as the originals were considered inadequate.

 Construction of Screamroller including the "Toping Out" a tradition with almost every coaster, or large building.  Usually a christmas tree is hung from the highest point as in seen in this photo.

The clamoring of riders to the Arrow Plant in Mountain View, California should have been the siren’s song of warning when it came to the popularity of the Corkscrew.  Hoards were already showing up at the Mountain View plant, attempting the scale the fences and RIDE corkscrew, before it was even completed!  With its introduction, Corkscrew not only literally kindled the flame of the coaster wars, but packed Knott’s Berry Farm with future coaster fans to the gills.

Six months later, November 13, 1975, Worlds of Fun jumped on the bandwagon, and announced the addition of the new 3.5-acre addition, Bicentennial Square, and at its heart would be the brand new, blazing white, Screamroller.  Screamroller would be a very-near identical twin to the Corkscrew at Knott’s Berry Farm, but it wouldn’t be the 2^nd version, or even the 3^rd… Corkscrew coasters had become quite a phenomenon in just a span of six months, and like the beanie babies of the 1990’s, had become a hot commodity, everyone wanted one. Worlds of Fun would be the 5^th version of the Corkscrew coaster, following the likes of the Chicago Loop at Old Chicago, the Wabash Cannonball at Opryland park, and the Corkscrew at Magic Harbor (Surfside Beach, SC).

However, as hot a commodity as the new Arrow Corkscrew was, it was still an amazing, gapping mouth open moment for those in the region, so much so that on April 10, 1976, two weeks before its announced grand opening, Screamroller gave 27,000 rides… 

Grand Opening day, April 24, 1976, for both Bicentennial Square and the Screamroller, wasn’t going to be your normal run of the mill day either, it brought out the finest festivities the park could offer, on behalf of our country’s 200^th birthday.  A musket and cannon salute by the continental volunteers of Marceline, a replica of the liberty bell was on display, patriotic music was to be played by the Wentworth Military Academy, and in TRUE American fashion, there was a roller coaster and a 76 foot long hot dog…

Lee Derrough, General Manager of the park at the time went on to comment “We are extremely please how well the Screamroller and Bicentennial Square were received by our guests on our two preview weekends.  We feel our increased attendance is a good indication that the new ride and area will be immensely popular additions to Worlds of Fun”

Screamroller would reign supreme along with Worlds of Fun over the entire state of Missouri, as the state’s only looping coaster until Orient Express came into existence in 1980, and only then, in 1981 would Six Flags Mid-America (currently Six Flags St. Louis) finally compete, with Jet Scream.

The 1975 Corkscrew was the flame to the match that set off the Coaster Wars that were prevalent well into the 1990’s.  For the first eight years Worlds of Fun was not only a player but also well in the forefront. Orient Express, which came only four short years after Screamroller in 1980 allowed Arrow Dynamics to build exponentially on what they had accomplished with Screamroller.  Screamroller was revolutionary in 1976, towering at 75 feet tall, 1200 feet of tubular steel track featuring TWO upside down corkscrews, thrilling riders with one and half minutes of thrills.  Orient Express by comparison was light years ahead only four short years later towering 117 feet tall, with a track length almost triple that of Screamroller at 3,470 feet long, FOUR upside down elements including two massive loops and a boomerang, and an elapsed time of what felt like riders in the 1980’s as eternity, 2 minutes and 30 seconds.  Orient Express was a behemoth both to Kansas City as was as the overall coaster world.   However as mighty as Orient Express, and all the coasters that followed it would be, it simply would not have existed if Screamroller hadn’t come first.

And Worlds of Fun and roller coaster history wasn’t done with Screamroller either.

Arrow, the king of coaster builders of the 1980’s, had by this time built its first few great looping coasters with Orient Express and Loch Ness Monster; it had proven what needed to be proven.  What was left?  To do things never even tried before, so entered the era of the next decade of “trick” coasters, some stuck and became classics, and some did not.  The suspended Coaster, the six and seven inversion multi-loopers, AND the stand-up coaster.  The fight for the first stand-up coaster was fought directly between Worlds of Fun and Six Flags Mid-America in 1983.  Six Flags attempting to convert one side of the two track’s of the also Arrow-built River King Mine Train, while Worlds of Fun went for converting Screamroller, and it was a photo finish, with Worlds of Fun beating Six Flags and opening the newly re-named Extremeroller on May 24, 1983. 

Like the first Corkscrew in 1975 though, there was only so much the engineers could learn on a piece of paper, and much more to learn when the engineering was put to practice.  Extremeroller, and its St. Louis cousin Railblazer both were very short lived.  In the case of Worlds of Fun, about a year, the coasters, engineered for sit-down chassis, couldn’t handle the strain of the much taller, heavier, stand-up pods.  Though short lived, Screamroller or as it was later known, Extremeroller, had something very few coasters can say, a double shot at fame.

The 1979 Screamroller Crew posed with the train at the top of the lift.  From the 1979 Ambassador Yearbook.

As many know telling a story of Screamroller from an engineering, or even a guests point of view is really only telling you half the story.  Worlds of Fun from its very first season, had a secondary, but just as important culture, that of its Ambassadors.  For forty years every seasonal employee at the park wasn’t JUST an employee, or an associate, instead they were known as Ambassadors, an ambassador to the world of fun.  It gave an air of dignity to an otherwise rather hum-drum job.  In good seasons, Rides Ambassadors were loyal to their rides and to their fellow crew, and the best of seasons they were a family.  Screamroller’s crew was no less.  From 1983 until its last year, the crews of Screamroller played practical jokes, experimented with the equation of weight and motion of a 28-person multi-ton train to ketchup and mustard packets, and best yet they threw great parties.  Nicknamed, and then officially named, Scream Jam, these ever-not-so-park-sponsored events, were probably anything but dull, and properly enough had refreshments “sponsored” by the proceeds of the nearby Omegatron’s riders loose change.   And folks… this was just one ride, make no mistake the 1980’s were a good decade, and that’s just the parts those that lived it can remember.

Screamroller was the coaster of the 1970’s, Extremeroller of the 80’s, but as 1988 came edging up, so did the end of the decade, and the end of Screamroller.  Screamroller only operated twelve seasons at the park, a short life span for a memorable ride, and more important memorable experiences.  In its short time it saw Worlds of Fun grow from a small, young park with 60 brand new and exciting things to do, to a mature, beautiful park with over double the attractions, and a brand new water park to boot!   In the end Screamroller would be removed to make way for a coaster of the 1990’s, the Timberwolf, one of the first of a wooden coaster revolution.  Even Timberwolf though couldn’t make Screamroller go away for good, the loading gates still, almost thirty years later, don’t line up to the Timberwolf trains, because they were designed to line up to Screamroller instead.  Even many of Screamroller’s concrete footers can be found for those with a keen eye, and then of course is the entire entrance, queue-line and station which are nearly identical (there have been some minor changes) to the station Extremeroller left behind on its last day of operation, October 30, 1988.

No Screamroller wasn’t going away easy, and in fact it could be said to have lived even a third life, not in Missouri, not even in the United States, but in South Korea, as the Spiral.  The Screamroller and Spiral finally met its end just a few years ago.

Many times it’s easy to focus on the past, something I greatly enjoy doing because as I always say it keeps the long lost attractions of the past alive.  However, I think Screamroller’s testament is not so much its past, but the future it helped create, it and the company that created it, Arrow Dynamics spurred the coaster race, and for that we had many great rides such as Orient Express and today even continue to have such great rides as Mamba and Patriot to enjoy, both of which are direct descendants of the great Corkscrew and Screamroller.  To those of us who remember Worlds of Fun of the 80’s, and for those of you who remember riding Screamroller remember we were all young once, like they said in 1976 though when Screamroller opened, lets be young again… Twice.

Screamroller Panel and Operation

An interesting addendum to the story is the inclusion of not only the Screamroller Panel photo, but also identification of what each button/control does.  Many of these steps and controls are no longer used in normal operation of more modern coasters, since much of the fine-detail in driving these older coasters has been mechanized with the more modern varieties.

1) Controls On/Off.  This key-operated switch must be in the ON Position to operate the ride.

2) Low Air Pressure.  This light indicates low air pressure in the system.  The ride cannot be started when this light is on.  If this light should come on during operation of the ride, immediately bring all trains to a stop and notify your ride manager.  Notify Rider Operates and Maintenance immediately.  (Interesting enough Viking Voyager, also an Arrow product, has this same light).

3) System Power.  This a pull-to-start/push-to-stop switch with an illuminated head.  it also serves as the Emergency Stop (E-Stop) button.  It must be activated (pulled) to turn on control power.  It's head will be lit when control power is on.

4)Clear Block Left & Right.  This is a three position, key-operated switch with a spring return to center.   Clear the blocks by turning the key first to th left and then to the right.

5)Ok-To-Move-Track Switch.  The light indicates when the track switch can be moved from its main line position.  The time delay function described prior to this controls this light.  

6)A pull-to-start/push-to-stop switch with an illuminated head controls the lift meter.  The lift will run only when there is track continuity at the switch and the "B" block is clear.  The switch head will be lit when the lift is running.

7)Block Lights.  Indicates the status of the safety blocks.  Two for left (7a and 7b) and Two for right (7c and 7d).  The "A" block extends from the station to just beyond the lift crown.  The "B" block extends from the lift crown to the station.  The left and ride status lights should always be in agreement.  When control power is turned on, the Red Set Up lights will light.  When the blocks are cleared, the Green Clear lights will light, and the Red Lights will go off.  The presence of a train in the block will be indicated by White Occupied lights.  (Orient Express had these as well, the quad-buttons presence are very indicative of an Arrow Coaster)

8) Discrepancy Reset.  A discrepancy in status between any two similar right and left block functions will be indicated by the sound of a buzzer and the illuminated head of the Discrepancy Reset push button which will light.  The buzzer can be stopped by pushing the button.  Any such warning should be reported to Ride Operations and Maintenance for their attention.

9)Dispatch. This is an illuminated push button to release the station brakes.  There are two interlocked functions involving this button.  One ensures that a train comes to a complete stop before it is released and the other ensures a safe interval between trains.  A train may be dispatched only when the button is lit.  However, the button may be pushed at any time to adjust the position of the train to facilitate loading.

10) Release Trim Brake.  This is an illuminated push button with a light indicating that the trim brake can be released.  The brake can only be released after a train has been in the brake for several seconds.  This prevents the release of the brake as a train approaches.

11) Set Safety Brakes. An illuminated push button allows the safety brakes to be set at any time.  This may be done to test the brakes or to over-ride the automatic system and stop an incoming train.  The button will be lit when power is applied to release the brakes. (add on: Safety brakes are the higher pressure version of trims, that will stop a train in an emergency)

12) Open/Close Gates (Not Original).  Both Screamroller and Orient Express opened without gates, these controls were added after the fact.  

13) Buzzer (Not original).  This is automatic on more modern coasters.  The loud buzz heard when the lift starts, used to notify anyone on the lift that it is about to re-start.

14)Zag Brake (Not original), a brake located at the base of the lift.  It is unknown what exactly this break was added for, whether to line the train up to the lift itself, stop the train at the base on the lift, or some other unknown purpose.  Orient Express did have this same control.

Special Thanks to Debbie Reasoner for providing a copy of the original Screamroller Operator's Manual as well as several of the photos seen above.