Aerodrome: Then and Today

Twenty years ago, when I was much younger, and had no gray hair, I started an organization for folks that had met on www.worldsoffun.org called WOFFA.  Among the several people I met and made friends with was a guy named Michael Parsons.  A few years younger than me he seemed to remember a lot of aspects of Worlds of Fun that quite frankly, I just couldn't remember, one of those was the Aerodrome.  Now before I get into the Aerodrome, and what it was, and where it was, one other point remains.  Michael had an idea for several years to re-create photos of the Aerodrome and Barnstormer, or more a "before and after" of what the areas look like today.

Last year (2018) Mike did an awesome job shooting before and after photos of the Aerodrome during Haunt.  Funny enough Mike is "the friend" in the Haunt Review if you have read that.  I thought the photos were fabulous and I thought we should do more than just share them on Facebook, so I decided to write a blog about it which you are now reading.  (and man the guy that said I was too wordy was right...)

Aerodrome, which was Worlds of Fun's fourth large land expansion (following The Forum, Screamroller, and the 1977 "A new attraction in every world" expansions), was a 3.5 acres expansion that we today know as Planet Snoopy.  It was introduced for the 1978 season, and unlike today where it is known as a kid's section, Aerodrome was decidedly not just for kids, and included one of Worlds of Fun's probably most thrilling rides up to that point, The Barnstormer.  At a little over a 100 feet tall, it was not only the tallest ride in the park up to that point, but probably offered the biggest thrill in the park too as once aboard the planes would dive up to 45 feet down which circling the central hub, or at least they did when it first opened.  Barnstormer was quite ahead of its time, powered entirely by hydraulics, it was infamous for its July 1978 crash that literally sprayed hydraulic fluid halfway across the park, and put a stop to its more thrilling aerial aerobatics.  The problems with Barnstormer were many, it wouldn't operate in high winds either (which might sound familiar to other CURRENT Worlds of Fun ride).  To make to fine a point Barnstormer was one of only three "Barnstormer" rides produced by Bradley & Kaye, the first being at Old Chicago, the third and by in large most successful installation was at the also defunct Opryland which operated until the park closed for good in 1997.  Barnstormer at Worlds of Fun wouldn't last near as long, and was finally removed from the park in June 1983, to be replaced the next year by Octopus which had been not only moved and re-painted, but also renamed to Tailspinner.

Barnstormer wasn't all that when it came to the Aerodrome either though, Aerodrome boasted a new theater, the Flying Circus Theater (which became the Bear County Museum, and is now roughly where the Snoopy Boutique is today), which was home to Dolores Hadley's Marionette show in the daytime and a 1970's style disco at night.  Lunch could be found at the tall flight tower up the hill, known as Lucky Lindy's Lunch Counter which would live on into Pandamonium, and then become an employee break area, and the finally serve as the location for House on Boo Hill before it was finally demolished.  (after the 2015 season).  In fact, what made Mike's before and after shots so hard was the very lack of structures that have remained the same over the last forty years.  So few that there are only a handful.  First, Red Baron is not only the same location but the same ride that it was forty years ago and second, the Barnstormer's old pump house still remains and is most likely now only used for storage, but is painted to appear as a Peanut's Schoolhouse. The last two are really of almost no use when it comes to recreation shots, are the Planet Snoopy Bathroom (which to this day retains its original "airplane hanger" appearance) and the Family Care Center, which opened originally as Great Waldo's Crankshaft Prop Shop. So let's take a look at the before and after and of course, it will be far more fun to have something to look at right?

As mentioned previously, Red Baron, with all the variety of name changes its been through hasn't moved since it was relocated to the Aerodrome in 1978 (it was added to Scandinavia in 1974), it is excepting for mechanical and structural updates, exactly the same ride.  This is shot looking roughly the same direction, and its amazing that if you look its the same trees in the background, only much larger!

Here is the Barnstormer pump house I was referring to.  It was built for Barnstormer and except for very minor theming detail has changed very little.  It allows for an almost exact location marker for where Barnstormer was.

House on Boo Hill was the final use for the basic structure that was Lucky Lindy's Lunch Counter, it originally had a large tower on top which you can see in the photo below.

If you look in the background, Lucky Lindy's is the white tower in the background (left) with yellow trim.  

Funny enough, a plane themed attraction (Beagle Brigade Airfield) sits in its place today.

 These two are actually shot in opposite directions, but shows that Woodstock Gliders today is in roughly the same location as Barnstormer was.  It is the first aeronautical-themed ride to share the same space in almost thirty-five years. After the removal of Barnstormer mid-season 1983, as I previously mentioned Octopus was moved to this location in 1984.  Octopus was kicked out by the arrival of the Bearenstein Bear Family Tree in 1997, which was displaced in 2001 by Snoopy Bounce.  Woodstock Gliders is currently in this location today and was added in 2016.

This is the view today looking in the same direction.  I believe the same "stick" trees that are apparent in the first photo also appear in the second photo but in a much more mature state.  

Last one and this is my favorite, since it features Sky Hi, the ride with the key to my heart.  It appears that Detonator and Barnstormer appear to line up, but just an FYI Detonator was built at a much lower elevation than Barnstormer.  (which is why it always appears so much shorter than Mamba, though it really is very close in overall height).  The red barn in Americana is the exact same building that once housed the Ski Hi and its queue line.  You can even see that at least one of the Ponderosa Pines have survived from the original photo forty years prior.