Saying Good-Bye to Diamond Head and a retrospect on Oceans of Fun's 38 Seasons!

Diamond Head in 2013

I was asked several months ago about doing a blog on Oceans of Fun history. Then Worlds of Fun published a blog on the topic, and I didn’t want to seem like I was copying, so the idea went to the back burner.  However, with the recently announced removal of Diamond Head, I thought it might be an opportune time to look at how Oceans of Fun evolved around the three original slides-- Maui Wowee, Honolulu Lulu and Waikiki Wipeout. All three marked the end of 38 seasons in operation this month.

Kansas City dignitaries shattered a giant water bottle against a 41-ton earthmover to officially break ground for Oceans of Fun.  Participating from left to right are Bob MacGregor (president of Kansas City Chamber of Commerce), Pat Tierney (President of the Convention and Visitors Bureau), David Rismiller (president of Commerce Bank), Lee Derrough (Vice President and General Manager of Worlds of Fun), Jack Steadman (President of Worlds of Fun), Chuck Boyd (Director of Missouri Division of Tourism), Bill Linscott (Linscott, Haylett, Wimmer and Wheat), and Gary Maggert (Engineer for Burns and McDonnell)

To understand the historical impact of Oceans of Fun, it’s also important to understand the world it was created in. 1977 was a pivotal year for water parks and for Oceans of Fun. Wet N’ Wild, the park many consider the first “true” water park, opened in Orlando, Fl. in 1977. Probably not coincidentally, 1977 was also the year that General Manager of the park at the time, Lee Derrough, had the idea to build a water park adjacent to Worlds of Fun. It would take a few years, but Oceans of Fun would finally be announced to the public on December 17, 1980. The original plan was a 35-acre tropical-themed water park, complete with wave pool, water slides, a five-acre lake and an Olympic-size pool. Groundbreaking occurred on June 11, 1981, when the park was again lauded by Robert Butler of the Kansas City Star as a 35-acre water park, with a budget of $6 million. By May of 1982, the budget had grown to $7.25 million and the park itself had grown to a total of 60 acres making it, at the time, the world’s largest water park.  

Opening Day, May 22nd, 1982 was a chilly day with temperatures in the 60's.

The park would open on May 22, 1982 with a total of 16 attractions. The Surf City Wave Pool and Castaway Cove adult pool are still there, relatively unchanged. Buccaneer Bay, spanning four acres, is also still there, but in 1982 was home to a ski show. Next to Buccaneer Bay, in what is today Coconut Cove, was a one-acre sandy lake known as Neptune’s Lagoon   (the two lakes together were five acres). The Belly Hai/Knee Hai children’s water play area was located right next to Castaway Cove. The last major attraction was Diamond Head, 50-feet tall and offering a combined total of 1,200 feet of slides. Today, and for the last many years, the area around the Diamond Head splashdown pool has been relatively quiet, but back in the 1980’s it was the place to be.  I remember being told that the slides progressed from least thrilling to most thrilling left to right, but I can’t remember if that was from the base or from the tower. I did not ride them back then. I was terrified of coasters, and water slides were basically the watery cousins of the steel coasters on the other side of the fence.

Diamond Head in 1982, you can even see Neptune's Lagoon in the background!

Castaway Cove and Belly Up Bar looking pretty similar to the way it does today. 

It was in 2009 that the park first looked at replacing Diamond Head, but instead elected to simply refinish them. That was the year I finally got up the courage to ride the slides I had spent so much time around when I was younger. They definitely offered quite a thrill.  As some have mentioned it felt like you were about to be launched out of the slides and onto the rocks below! 

Typhooon with Diamond Head and Neptune's Lagoon in the background.

Oceans of Fun and Mid-America Enterprises wouldn’t sit on their laurels, and in 1983 would continue to expand the world’s largest water park with Typhooon, billed as the world’s largest dual flume racing slide.  Designed by Waterforms, Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., the slides towered five-stories tall, 400-feet long and allowed guests to reach speeds of up to 30 mph.  

Press Release for the Oceans of Fun additions for 1983. 

Frisbee Folf and Typhooon in the background under construction.

Also new in 1983 was Frisbee Folf, or Par None Frisbee golf course, complete with nine “holes” (giant frisbee catching chain poles) designed by Tom Ingle.  At Neptune’s Lagoon, the park continued its expansion with the addition of Bobbin N’ Wobblin, a watery obstacle course complete with floating pads and overhead nets. It would be an attraction that would challenge the uncoordinated kids like myself for years.  I could never stay up on those floating logs.  For the littlest visitors, the park also expanded its children’s activities with a new play area, Treasure Island. 

Caribbean Cooler in 1987!

Loving that green Astroturf! (You can also see Toobie or Not Toobie in the background)

The next big addition to Oceans of Fun wouldn’t come until 1987, and really would be the last of the old-style Oceans of Fun additions. Caribbean Cooler was introduced, which is Oceans of Fun’s lazy river. We had several old 1987 photos donated to us recently, which were likely taken around opening day, and they display the signature green Astroturf being laid around the attraction. No one who went to the park in the 1980’s can forget that bright green Astroturf! It was so pervasive! Caribbean Cooler was built at a cost of $750,000, and designed by Burns & McDonnell. Growing up in the 1980’s, I can vividly recall when Caribbean Cooler opened, there were no trees (or more likely they were super tiny), like there are today, the water always seemed like it was freezing, especially the water spray area, and if you wanted a tube you had to pay to rent one. There was no complimentary tube rental back then. You paid your couple of bucks to rent a bright yellow tube, and received the tiny coupon to return for a partial refund when you brought it back.  And like so many other attractions at Worlds and Oceans even the tube rental shacks had cute, play on word names, Toobie or Not Toobie was near Caribbean Cooler, George’s Rafts was up by the Wave Pool.  

Toobie or Not Toobie, which can also be seen in the photo above. 

Crocodile Isle Concept Art from the Press Release.

1991 would see the addition of Crocodile Isle children’s play area, replacing the original kid's water play area Knee Hai/Belly Hai. The next season, 1992, would be incredibly instrumental in the future of both parks. Many parks at the time were adding Intamin water chute rides. Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun took it a step further, and added not only its version known as Monsoon, but also offered it as a ride that could be experienced from either Worlds of Fun or Oceans of Fun. In doing so the Same Day Gateway was created.

Monsoon on opening day 1992. It was once again rainy and cold. (There seems to be a pattern to this...)

Photo of Monsoon from 1998 where you can still see the clear delininiation between Oceans of Fun and Worlds of Fun on the Monsoon bridge.

It might be hard for some younger readers to relate, but there was a time period, about a decade really, when a guest to Oceans of Fun could not even see Worlds of Fun from its grounds. I vividly recall being told on numerous occasions that the parks were only separated by a fence.  Maybe not a major revelation to an adult, but mind-blowing to an 8-year-old in the 1980’s. Of course, that’s not the only funny story related to the Same Day Gateway…Back when I worked at Worlds of Fun as an Ambassador from 2005 until 2010 ride crews would create funny shirts for themselves and their ride, I vividly recall Monsoon’s reading along the lines of “Monsoon Border Patrol”.  I am sure it was quite an accurate description.  

Captain Kidd's from the Press Release

1992 didn’t just see the addition of Monsoon though at Oceans of Fun. It also saw the removal of Neptune’s Lagoon beach and lake, and the more clean-lined Coconut Cove pool was added featuring zero entry. 1993 would see the expansion of Coconut Cove with the popular Aruba Tuba slide complex. The last attraction added to Oceans of Fun by owner Hunt Midwest was the expansion of Oceans of Fun’s children areas with Captain Kidds in 1995.

Hurricane Falls, new for 1999!

Many write off the last twenty years as not distant enough to really be considered history, but those years, and the attractions that were added, play a big part into what Oceans of Fun is today. Hurricane Falls, a family-style raft slide, was added in 1999, and was the first addition to Oceans of Fun by new owner Cedar Fair L.P. It also saw the eviction of Frisbee Folf. 2003 saw the addition of the water play area Paradise Falls, which included several more water slides. 

Paradise Falls new in 2003!

2013, though only six short years ago, had possibly one of the biggest impacts on the park's overall history. Not only did the park add its first thrilling water slides since Typhooon with the Predator’s Plunge Slide complex, they also completed a refresh to the rest of the park. However, the biggest change was when Oceans of Fun finally knocked down the proverbial fence and became one park along with its older brother, Worlds of Fun. Oceans of Fun was a whole new park both in appearance and in function, and had a whole new collection of brand new water slides.

Predator's Plunge Slide Complex new in 2013!

Diamond Head was not only just one of dozens of water slide options available, it was also old. No attraction is immortal, just like no person ever is (except for Zulu which actually is*).  When Diamond Head’s removal was announced, no one was surprised. No one cried, no one thought of protesting it, because we all acknowledged its time had come long ago. It is a good thing that it is being replaced with what looks to be a great new addition to Oceans of Fun. But there’s still a part of me that can’t help but remember back to those early years at Oceans of Fun, and I realize I am saying good-bye to one of the last physical vestiges of the water park with the iconic green astroturf and brown sandy beaches. Good-bye Diamond Head… and thanks for all the memories. 

*Before anyone takes this seriously, it was a funny editor's note added by one of my proof readers that I thought was funny enough to keep.  

Special Thanks to Greta Erhardt for the Oceans of Fun Caribbean Cooler photos, and to Andrea Martin, Peter Celuch and Steve Murphy for assisting in proofreading this story.