Grand Carnivale Review July 20th and 21st 2019

Welcome to Grand Carnivale at Worlds of Fun!

Jeff and I just returned from Kansas City. Our plan for the past few months had always been to fly out to Kansas City for Grand Carnivale, but as the staffing situation at my job continued to deteriorate, I wasn’t so much worried about the cost but actually getting anytime off to actually go to Kansas City.  Thankfully, I was able to get three days off in a row, Saturday through Monday the third weekend of July, and we quickly made plans to travel to Kansas City Saturday morning and flying back Monday.  For anyone interested we flew Spirit Airlines round trip, this was either our 3rd or 4th trip flying Spirit and have so far had very good experiences with them.

Showtimes for many Grand Carnivale Shows can be found around International Plaza

Pretty Flowers!

Torii Gate!  Hey, its the first time I got to see it in person!

We arrived in Kansas City about 11:30 am, picked up our rental car and headed over to Jeff’s mom's house to visit for a bit.  We headed out to Worlds of Fun around 2:30 pm, and arrived around 3:00 pm.  The day was sunny and HOT, I believe it was already in the upper 90’s by the time we arrived and it only got hotter.  Crowds were light at Worlds of Fun itself but I was pretty impressed by the overall Grand Carnivale decor, and of course, this was my first time seeing the Torii gate in person!  I LOVED the landscaping, especially the various flower blocks in the Scandinavia/International Plaza beds.  

Germany, between Festhaus and the Grand Carrousel.

We went around and took a look at all the different international kiosks. I had read that they were all tent-like structures, but they weren’t all that detracting, I will review some of the food options later. 

Germany is the first one we came in contact with, it's located right next to Grand Carrousel, and is very apparent with the two German flags, with the food tent actually closer to Festhaus.  I was incredibly surprised that it was located directly in front of Festhaus but didn’t actually use the structure.  

The New Scandi Candy across from Viking Voyager

Free Fudge Samples!

Several updates had occurred around the park and I knew a couple I immediately wanted to check out.  One was the new candy shop, located where The Lift, and prior to that Norseman’s Niceties was located.  I loved it and noticed far more people in and out of the shop than in any of its previous incarnations.  The park had set up cushioned seats around the Scandinavian section for Grand Carnivale entertainment and there was a nice set up right outside of the candy shop that would occasionally have the AC from the shop blow directly on… a nice spot on an incredibly hot day! 

Italy is located right next to Viking Voyager!

We tried both, photos are later on!

I also checked the trees in front of Viking Voyager, four years ago the old island trees had been pulled out and new trees planted, and they appear to actually be providing some decent shade.  A couple more years and I bet they will provide decent shade to the entire walkway there.  Italy is currently set up directly in front of those trees right now with seating in an adjacent covered (tent) area.

France is in front of the Tivoli Music Hall

We also tried both of the crepes, which my favorite item that we tried at Grand Carnivale!

France is located right in front of Tivoli, right across from Scandi Candy, again with lots of shade (provided mostly by trees in the area), as well as several tables and seating.

India, located on the old patio of Nordic Nook, across from Nordic Chaser.

We tried the Chicken Tandoori Tacos which were quite good, photos are below.

India is set up not in the old Nordic Nook as I originally thought but under the covered patio seating area directly next to the steps.  There was quite a bit of seating for eating and watching entertainment, I mentioned the cushioned chairs, but numerous tables had been set up around the area too.  

Hanging Baskets...

More hanging baskets...

And even more hanging baskets (these are the helicopter plant variety)

Funny thing is I read on Facebook on the Local Kansas City history page that someone was lamenting the “old hanging baskets” the park used to have.  Ironically… there were tons in the park currently, probably more than I have seen in years, if ever, all over the place.  The old standby airplane plants, staghorn ferns were all there, but there were several new ones filled with annuals.  

Africa with the floral clock in the background.

One question I have received numerous times over the past few months was about Oceans original 1982 Diamondhead waterslides and their lack of operation, or so I had been told, so I wanted to check it out for myself.  To do so we had to head to Oceans, and I was pretty sure it was going to be busy.  I did get to check out the new floral clock in all its glory (keeping in mind last I had seen it it was filled with annuals),  Before heading to Oceans I filled the water bottles we had brought with us at the Boomerang bathroom fountain.  Fascinating, twenty years ago this fountain was the coldest fountain in the park, it still is.  I was told by Jeff that the bathrooms had been re-done and looked nice.

Headed over to Oceans of Fun to check out Diamondhead.

The right slide was operational.

Coconut Cove

Oceans was an absolute madhouse, but I rather expected that with the heat, sun, and it being Saturday.  The park had lounge chairs set up pretty much in every area that would accommodate a chair, they were all full, and then people were still sitting in towels around them.  I was able to confirm that one slide (the one on the far right looking at it from the splashdown pool), was in operation.  I also took a look at Coconut Cove, and it was packed, before heading back to Worlds of Fun.

We stopped at Coasters to get Jeff Coke for his refillable bottle that we had brought with us. I refilled mine with ice water, and though it was busy it only took a few minutes to do so. I wasn’t questioned (or charged for)  filling my bottle with ice water, something I would continue throughout the day without any problems.  At some point this season, Coasters has introduced the “Mamba Burger” inside a '50’s style diner in an area of the park that continues to have identity issues   (Africa? Americana? Afrmericana?)  I LOVED the nod to theming.  It's served with Mamba venom sauce.  Not enough time or I would have tried it.

Yet ANOTHER hanging basket on the shade structures on Forum Road.

Lots of guests were already making use of the shade provided...

We checked out Forum Road and the new shade structures which looked beautiful and were definitely being used!  Around Americana we checked out the Timber Wolf queue line and area around the depot, making sure all the old Screamroller and Ski Hi footers were where we remembered them to be.  And before anyone asks why that would change… the park took out the old Ski Hi footer by Autobahn about two decades ago for no apparent reason.  

A mustang topiary in front of Mustang Runner

Liberty Bell Topiary!

Several topiaries have appeared around Americana, the liberty bell is back once again, and this year has annuals all around it, looking spectacular.  There are several mustang topiaries around Blue Bronco (Prospectors), and of course, the topiary cacti are back around Depot.

Charlie Hustle retro-t's at Front Street

France's String Trio

A terrific French mime

It was getting extremely hot by now so we decided to stop in at Front Street to also check out merchandise (and air conditioning). I noticed that several of the new retro-line of shirts by Charlie Hustle were available for purchase, and several of the older retro shirts were also still available.  Since it was nearing 5:00 pm, and that was the official starting time for Grand Carnivale we hustled through Orient, though we did stop at Rickshaws and I found that awesome Apollo 11 tribute shirt (which I later bought).  We made it to International Plaza just a bit after 5:00 pm and missed the intro show, but it seemed to have been greatly shortened, due to the heat. (it was 100 degrees for real at this point).  

Some balloon dragon art in the Orient.

China booth, in .... The Orient.

My original plan was to buy the $30 tasting card, but I will be honest, I was so hot I did not at all feel hungry.  We stopped by Scandi Candy and stopped at some seats and watched the French string trio,  which was entertaining, but probably due to the heat, a little out of tune.  Honestly, it's a tribute to the musicians that they were even playing at all!   I ran over to Norma’s funnel cakes and refilled both refillable bottles with ice water (again no cost, no problems), and I headed down towards the gypsy wagon.  This small plaza area is filled with four different shows that rotate by time.  Two are actually at the gypsy wagon, Topsy Turvy and The Amazing Chicken Parmesan/Mesner Puppet Theater.  A couple of comments first on the Gypsy Wagon, I was in love the moment someone sent me a photo.  There was a bit of confusion on whether it was a remake or update of the original when I originally heard about it.  I did find out that this one is a new build, built by Worlds of Fun, specifically based on the original gypsy wagon.  That was in Scandinavia.  That had a puppet show.  Yeah. LOVE.

The new gypsy wagon!

First up is the fabulously funny Topsy Turvy Duo.

Not to be overshadowed by the Mesner Puppet Theater and the famous Chicken Parmesean.

Onto the shows themselves. Spectacular. Topsy Turvy is a comedic/acrobatic show featuring two local ladies, Amanda and Lily.  Chicken Parmesan is a comedic puppet show set to music, and while the puppeteer has no lines it's easy to follow along, and it's both adorable and hilarious.  That poor chicken though.  The puppeteer was obviously sweating and hot, but he never let it affect his performance, same with the Topsy Turvy performers.  Amazing job! 

Aisha, the Belly Dancer

And I apologize, I didn't get the contortionist's name...

Right across from the gypsy wagon are Tivoli and the old Copenhagen Nogginvear store (dating myself, I know).  That is where the second stage is set up for the Aisha the belly dancer and the contortionist.  Both stages are so close you can literally stand in one spot and see all four shows by simply turning around, but they are staggered so no one show competes with the others.  I also watched most of both of these shows (I arrived about halfway through one) and was also greatly impressed both at the skill and the simple fact that they show went on, despite the weather.  I feel comfortable saying if you miss them you are missing a big chunk of the Grand Carnivale experience. 

Tandoori Chicken Taco from India.

German duet in Scandinavia.

About halfway through the shows, I was starting to feel a little hungry and decided to try out India, and the Tandoori Chicken Tacos, which were quite good.  At this point the park was picking up in foot traffic, probably Oceans of Fun guests flooding into Worlds. I really started to notice when we headed back to International Plaza for the Hot Summer Nights show which was canceled due to heat.  Around 7:00 pm the German band came out to play and they were fabulous, I loved not only hearing German music in Scandinavia once again but how they interacted with the guests.  It was a riot.  I am not sure how much time we spent staking out a spot for the parade,  but I am pretty sure we decided to head towards Americana Front Street around 7:45 or so.  We had been told to get a spot near the yellow dashes on the ground since that is where the floats stop for a brief show.  

Grand Carnival Parade at 8:30 every night until August 4th!

The parade itself was well worth the wait, and one of those things you do not want to miss.  The detail is astounding, and so is the talent.  A friend of mine mentioned it was right up there with Disney quality… and I would happen to agree with him on that.  After the parade, you can either follow the crowd back up to International Plaza, or head around the park the longway, towards Africa. A friend of mine who had seen it the week before recommended NOT following the parade since it can be a monstrous, slow-moving crowd.  

The Europa Topiary returns for the second season.

Crane from the Fury of the Nile queue line.

We headed back to Africa via Europa instead, and surprisingly it was our first time heading through Europa this trip. Falcon’s Flight was closed, but all the other rides were open, and the landscaping looked beautiful with the return of the Europa topiary sign from last year.  We also stopped by and rode Nile, which was the first time for Jeff probably in decades.  

Strawberry and Nutella Crepe from France

DJ Street Party !

We headed back to Scandinavia, it's here it would have been beneficial to actually be able to come back another day, and I hope those reading this can benefit from our inexperience.  So once the parade terminates at International Plaza it turns into a dance party.  ALL of the characters from the parade, along with the floats.  Makes for a lot of fun and great photo opportunity.  If I had known that in retrospect I would have headed right back to Scandinavia.  We did come back the next day with that in mind, but the weather (rain and storms) pretty much canceled most of the Grand Carnivale events.  I cannot even begin to expound on the quality of the floats, costumes, entertainment, etc.  It’s awesome!

DJ Street Party and 10 pm fireworks!

The fireworks were at 10:00 pm, and are in conjunction with the show and dance party, though the fireworks are short, about five minutes total, the overall experience is well done.  Just prior to the fireworks I had bought a crepe, the strawberry/Nutella one and it was amazing, probably one of my favorite snacks of the entire visit.  At this point, it was about 10:30 pm and with the heat, we were exhausted and thinking we were coming back the next day….

Meatballs from Italy

Roman Suplii from Italy

Berry Citrus Twist

We made it back on Sunday around 3:00 pm, the weather was much improved, with temperatures hovering around 88-89 F, instead of 98-100 F the day before.  It was rather cloudy all day and threatened rain.  We conducted our planned history tour, which ended up taking four hours instead of the expected 1-2 hours!  Around 7:00 pm, right as we finished the tour it began sprinkling, and we headed back to Scandinavia to get something to eat. We stopped at Italy and Jeff bought the meatballs, and I had the Roman Suppli with the Berry Citrus Twist served in the light-up cup. The only negative thing I can say… I was not all that impressed with the Citrus Twist.  I, later on, went ahead and purchased the ham and cheese crepe, It was mind-blowing AWESOME.   About this time the wind had picked up and I believe it was also the time the park made the call to cancel the parade, there were several public messages to that regard.  They did attempt to put on the Hot Rhythm Nights show, but when it started raining consistently it led to that being canceled too.  It turned out to probably be a good decision weather-wise, as on the way back to the house it started downpouring and I can’t help but remember seeing “Annie” at Starlight when I was 8 and it began pouring in the middle of the show… the pour lady tried to continue… but I can’t even imagine even attempting to perform outside in the pouring rain.  We ended up leaving right around 8:30-9:00 pm.  Of course, we would wake up the next morning, Monday to perfect temperatures and bright blue sky… to have to fly back home.  Figures.

So final thoughts, we had a great time, and though I had already watched the parade on YouTube from Kings Island it was still better than I expected, I was honestly blown away with the quality.  Food was very good, pricing wasn’t ridiculous and portion sizes were decent, especially when you compare it to the utterly ridiculous pricing and portion sizes at EPCOT Food &Wine Festival.  Entertainment was numerous and all very good.  In fact, we spent so much time focused on the entertainment we barely rode one ride.  And that wasn’t because they weren’t operating.  The only thing I found confusing about the whole experience was the lack of communication regarding the start times of some of the activities, though some shows had individual signs with showtimes posted.  A basic A-frame sign or update on the app with a complete times guide would have been helpful.  

 Overall though, I was blown away, so much so that I didn't even realize until after the fact that the hot air balloon I was so looking forward to seeing wasn't even there.  I am glad that even despite the weather, and canceled activities that I took the effort to make it back to Kansas City for Grand Carnivale, it was WELL WORTH IT, and I can't wait for next year.  

Grand Carnivale Runs until August 4th every night!