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.
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.
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.
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!
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 18th, 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.
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.
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