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| Dolphin Arena under construction in 1972/73 |
When writing about Worlds of Fun history my focus over the years has been almost exclusively the rides, and there is still a mountain of information that has yet to be included in a blog entry. However, I was recently asked about the park’s old dolphin show, known as Fins & Flippers and I have found recently that for many who experienced it it’s a show they have never forgotten, but for a whole new generation it’s a show that they never even experienced. So, let’s start with a bit of background. Fins & Flippers was the park’s dolphin show and opened as one of the Orient section’s two original main attractions (the other being Oriental Octopus), and lasted until it was discontinued after the 1996 season. The duo of dolphins that performed changed frequently as did their human co-stars, but the basic premise never did. The dolphin stars would jump through hoops, launch straight up out of the water for targets, soak guests seated in the first few rows with their flips and aerial antics, and in the end also provide a unique educational experience for a completely midwestern landlocked region. The show wasn’t just about watching though either, in many cases the trainers would call young children out from the audience to directly interact with the playful dolphins too. From a personal stand point I can recall vividly not only hoping to sit in the “get soaked” seats, but also watching from just outside the stadium, because if you were late, you were stuck outside.
The story of Fins and Flippers begins in 1973 with the park’s inaugural season. The original dolphins were named Skipper and Dolly, and were owned and trained by Quinlan Marine Attractions of Lincolnton, NC. The original trainers (performers) were Teresa Farmer and Kaye Sink in 1973, and Sherry Passow and Bill Brown in 1974, they would train the dolphins through the winter in the warm weather of North Carolina, and fly out with the dolphins in the spring and back again in the Fall. The dolphins only lived at Worlds of Fun during the park’s operating season itself.
Even 47 years ago, there was no doubt by any of the trainers of the intelligence of either animal or the whole entire species. In an article from 1974, Sherry and Bill frequently commented on the animals ability to communicate with each other, as well as having quite sly ways in making know their feelings on any particular matter. It’s a fact that many animals are often just as interested in the humans as the humans are of them. This fact was never more noticeable then when Sea World Orlando re-opened after its three-month closure recently and what is true today was also true in 1974! As the trainers would attest, Skipper and Dolly would often “choose” to “show off doing a belly buster to mischievously splash anyone within reach” when they should have easily landed in the water without a splash. They literally enjoyed making a splash and seeing the audience reaction! Bill and Sherry would continue by saying that though both dolphins were incredibly smart, Dolly’s intelligence far overshadowed Skipper’s saying about Dolly that “if you treat her like a dolphin she gets insulted” (Lapham, KC Star Magazine).
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| 1976 |
For 23 years dolphins would go on performing at the same 1,500 seat auditorium in the park, the pool which while larger than some at the time would today be considered comically small, nine-feet deep and 35-feet in diameter. When one considers each dolphin was nine-feet long, and 400 pounds each, it doesn’t leave a whole lot of wiggle room.
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| 1977 |
Throughout the ’70’s the park would play with a variety of themes with the show, in 1976 in honor of the country’s bicentennial they introduced the “Salute from the Sea ’76” where Skipper began the show by ringing a liberty bell, in 1978 a new show, “The South Seas Spectacular” introduced a new opening act the “Kahula Wahines” which offered a ten-minute traditional Polynesian dance show.
From 1975 until 1978 the training team was David and Donna Price, in 1979, Linda and Tamara Mulikin, and then in 1981 Linda and Steve Hutchings. By the early ’80’s a change was about to occur, one that would go virtually unnoticed by the average park guest. In late 1980, the Ralph Quinlan, owner of Quinlan Marine Attractions was quoted stating that it was too expensive to continue to operate his facilities any longer and for this reason I believe that by 1982 the dolphins were no longer provided by Quinlan but by Marine Animal Productions of Mississippi (MAP). 1981 would also be the last year that Skipper and Dolly would perform at the park, and 1982 they were replaced by Jimbo and Pepper, and In 1983 a new duel Cosmos and Leana. After 1983, there is no coverage regarding the actual dolphin names but MAP trainer Jeffrey Siegel advised me personally that the dolphins Clovis and Sandy were the only MAP dolphins the perform at the park. Jeffrey would be MAP trainer at Worlds of Fun from 1991 until 1995.
Another Jeff, Jeff Mast, recalls an experience hauling the dolphins back to the airport to be flown home for the winter, it wasn’t an easy task as the dolphins were each over 400 pounds in weight and had to be constantly kept wet, and like humans didn’t like dealing much with strangers, especially in what must have been a cramped, uncomfortable position.
Probably one of the most interesting questions about Fins and Flippers is how it ended, and I think it no surprise to anyone as to the why today, but what is always more interesting is the why back in 1996.
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| An audience member has a close encounter with a dolphin (1990's) |
The Kansas City Star began coverage of the protestors at the Fins & Flippers show starting in 1993, John Hudacek General Manager of Worlds of Fun argued that the dolphins provided not only entertainment but education for guests that live thousands of miles from the ocean. Protestors on the other hand saw it as an abuse of the living animals to make a profit. In a Star-Touch survey conducted by the Star most local readers wanted the show to stay by nearly a 2-to-1 ratio.
Protestors and discussion on the issue continued over the next two years, with a few protestors being arrested in 1994. JcPenney also removed its short-lived sponsorship of the show (it was previously sponsored by Commerce Bank for many years) to switch to a more visible advertisement at the main gate instead, but many opponents of the show saw this as JcPenney removing themselves from a contested issue. The show would continue into the 1996 when one of the dolphins, Nikki died of unknown reasons at the park in April 1996.
Worlds of Fun decided to continue to use their dolphin stadium and re-named it the Aquatic Arena and added a new show, The All-American High Dive Team for the 1997 season. In 1998 it was switched to the Acapulco Fiesta Dive Show, and in 2000 it was once again switched to Mermaids and Mariners High Dive show. In 2001, the Mermaids gave their last show. The Aquatic Arena was left empty for the 2002 and 2003 seasons and was “removed” following the 2003 season with Orient Express. However, as many know part of the stadium lives on, the original tank is now the Spinning Dragons fountain, and the elevated queue line for Spinning Dragons is held up by the curved original retaining wall of the original dolphin arena.
This isn’t the place to argue why the park decided to remove Fins & Flippers, history does however shows us the writing was on the wall for the show, in the same few years that Fins & Flippers was discontinued, similar shows at parks across the country were doing the same. Today, the only aquatic shows that continue are located at marine-specific parks which can host and provide better support for their various marine life. Some may want to judge Worlds of Fun and other parks on their choices to have such shows that used wildlife in such a manner, but while it’s easy to judge the past, let us not forget the last Fins & Flippers show was performed now over 25 years ago. The world and the people in it have changed over those years, possibly changing not in spite on Fins & Flippers but partially because of it. In retrospect I would like to think Fins & Flippers did exactly what the park intended all those years ago, to entertain and educate. It without a doubt did both.
Lapham, Jim. “Making Friends with the Dolphins at Worlds of Fun.” Kansas City Star Magazine. 2 June 1974.
Calllahan, Hortense. "Theme Park to Open Season Tomorrow." Kansas City Star. 9 Apr. 1976. p. 20a.
"It's Show Time." Great Times. 1978.
“Inflation takes toll on dolphin trainer’s business”. The Index-Journal. (Greenwood, SC.) 23 Dec. 1980. p. 16.
Ball, Nancy. “Worlds of Fun Shows take you on a Razzle-Dazzle Ride.” Kansas City Star. 19 June 1980. p. 1B
"In the Spotlight." Great Times. 1982. p. 16
Kennedy, Mike. “New Arena for debate on dolphins.” Kansas City Star. 20 June 1993. p. A1:2
Kennedy, Mike. “Continue dolphin show most StarTouch callers say.” Kansas City Star. 25 June 1993. p. C3:2
Barr, Paula. “Protestors at Worlds of Fun call for freedom for dolphins.” Kansas City Star. 30 May 1993. p. B3:2
Kennedy, Mike. “J.C. Penney ends sponsorship of dolphin show.” Kansas City Star. 17 May 1994. p. B1:2
Barr, Paula. “Dolphin’s death is a puzzle.” Kansas City Star. 26 Apr. 1996. p. C3:1.
Garbus, Kelly. “Dolphins’ act is over in KC.” Kansas City Star. 15 Dec. 1996. p. B1:6.
1 comment:
Nice article!
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