From Foam Mountains to Outer Space: The END!

 

Well folks we have come to the end; episode five of our look at the evolution of Worlds of Fun’s children’s areas. We started in Scandinavia with Half Pint’s Peak and Humpty’s Haven and forty-five years later have gone into outer space with the world-famous beagle, Snoopy.  

On August 10th 2010 Worlds of Fun announced the new expansion of Planet Snoopy of Snoopy's Birthday!

Snoopy even got a special dog-boned shaped birthday cake for the occasion!

Brandon Stanley, Director of Public Relations at the time posing with the concept art for the new Planet Snoopy.

In 2010 Cedar Fair decided it was time to update Worlds of Fun’s Camp Snoopy and expand it once again, this time rebranding it to Planet Snoopy! It’s hard to forget that day in August 2010 when Worlds of Fun announced the new expansion on Snoopy’s birthday! There was a gigantic gift box, balloons, and a dog-bone-shaped cake!

The 1997 Bear County Museum is transformed into Peanut's Showplace, with the removal of much of the Berenstain Bear Country theming removed.

Planet Snoopy still very much under construction even on opening day.

The Grand Opening of Planet Snoopy occurred on  May 28, 2011.  Frank Wilburn, park General Manager at the time cuts the ceremonial ribbon. 

When the park opened on April 16, 2011, nearly nothing was ready in the new Planet Snoopy except for Wacky Worm, Pony Promenade, Woodstock’s Express, and Scrambler. Slowly, seemingly every week another ride came online until by summer Planet Snoopy was up and fully operational. Planet Snoopy was the largest kid’s area expansion in park history, with the addition of seven new rides all manufactured by the Italian firm,  Zamperla. The new rides included Woodstock Whirlybirds (Mini Tea Cup), Lucy’s Tugboat (Rockin’ Tug), Sally’s Swing Set (Happy Swing), Peanut’s Road Rally (Convoy), Flying Ace Balloon Race (Samba Balloon Tower), Peanut’s 500 (Speedway), and Snoopy’s Rocket Express (Aerial tram). Worlds of Fun’s Planet Snoopy expansion saw the removal of two kids' rides: Road Rally (Micro Moto Bahn added in 1977) and Head over Wheels (Viking Vheel added in 1982).

Woodstock Whirlybirds by Zamperla.

Peanut's 500

Lucy's Rockin' Tug.

In addition to new rides, the entire area also received some well-needed cosmetic updates. The concrete paths were replaced by paving stones. Outbuildings such as the old “Bear County School” (Sally’s Dance Studio), and “Boys Club/No Girls Allowed” (Woodstock’s Nature Center) were removed. The Spooky Old Tree(Kite Eating Tree) slide was entirely removed to make way for the Rocket Express loading platform.  Woodstock’s Airmail would take on the Kite Eating Tree name after moving across the midway to accommodate the arrival of the Peanut’s 500 ride. The “old” Bear County Museum (Beagle Bay Outfitters and Snoopy Campground Theatre) would also receive exterior updates to remove additional remnants of Bear County theming while the nearby Launchpad Gifts (Great Waldo’s Prop Shop) was converted into a Family Care Center. Taken individually no one change was massive, but taken as a whole it was the update the area deserved and made the entire area feel fresh and new. 

The Snoopy in a canoe is replacing by a tubing Snoopy. 

A great before and after, Campground Theater and Beagle Bay Outfitters in Camp Snoopy (previously the Bear Country Museum).

And after the transition to Planet Snoopy.

In 2012 Worlds of Fun relocated and rethemed its oldest steel coaster, Wacky Worm In an ironic twist, the park’s first kiddie coaster, Funicular/Silly Serpent was also moved and re-themed, so Wacky Worm was just following tradition. In Wacky Worm’s case, it was only moved up a hill and was re-themed to Cosmic Coaster. The worm-themed train became a rocket, (with feet!), and the apple transformed into a planet. More ride removals came in 2012 with the retirement of Peanut’s Ponies (Pony Promenade added in 1982) and Woodstock Express (Too Too Train added in 1987).. In 2015, Worlds of Fun decommissioned the park-orginal Krazy Kars (Crashem Bashem), the last remaining kiddie ride outside of Planet Snoopy.

Wacky Worm when the area was known as Pandamonium.

A near identical view in 2016 once Wacky Worm was moved up the hill and several rides were added.

Wacky Worm was moved and became Cosmic Coaster in 2012. 

Big changes were right around the bend in 2016, when Cedar Fair expanded Planet Snoopy again, with five new rides from Zamperla!  These rides were truly additions rather than replacements; no rides were removed from Planet Snoopy to accommodate the new arrivals in 2016. Beagle Brigade Airfield (Flying Tigers) would replace the aging restaurant building that was originally Lucky Lyndy’s Lunch counter (better known as the employee cafeteria in the late 90s and more recently Magical House on Boo Hill), Snoopy’s Space Buggies (Jump Around), Linus Launcher (Kite Flyer) and Snoopy Junction (Rio Grande Train) would be added down the hill from Cosmic Coaster, where Wacky Worm used to sit. 

Magical House on Boo Hill was the last incarnation of the original Lucky Lindy's Lunch Counter. 

Beagle Brigade Airfield replaced Magical House on Boo Hill. 

Snoopy Junction

In the center of Planet Snoopy, the park added a popular Larson  Flying Scooter, known at the park as Woodstock GlidersWoodstock Gliders seems an unpresumptuous little ride, but it has quite a history as both a ride and for where it stands at Worlds of Fun. First from a ride standpoint, though it's new at Worlds of Fun, the ride, at least in concept is very old. Bisch-Rocco first manufactured a nearly identical ride in the 1930s and 1940s known as the Flying Scooter. There are a few of the original variety of these rides left, including one at Cedar Fair’s Carowinds in Charlotte, NC. Larson Rides, best known for its Ring of Fire ride, revived the concept and re-introduced the Flying Scooters ride in the 2000s. The new version is nearly identical to the old version though some enthusiasts disagree on various aspects of the ride experience itself. 

A few more before and afters. So first we have Barnstormer in 1978.

Tailspinner (Octopus) would replace Barnstormer in 1984, it would last until 1996.

And the current ride in the SAME PLACE is Woodstock Gilders.

Woodstock Gliders moved into a rather historic piece of Worlds of Fun real estate, first home to Barnstormer (1978-1983) and then Octopus/Tailspinner (1984-1996). Octopus was removed from the park in  1997 to accommodate the installation of the Berenstain Bear Family Treehouse (Octopus would be reinstalled in Scandinavia in 1998). It wasn’t long before the Berenstain Bears were evicted, and the Snoopy Bounce inflatable was installed on the site.  Woodstock Gliders was the first ride to be located at the site in twenty years! One could easily miss that the small building built as a pump house for Barnstormer is still standing.  It was rethemed to Papa’s workshop in Berenstain Bear Country and the PEANUTS school house in Camp Snoopy.  The rethemed building is once again fulfilling its purpose as a ride’s electrical building.

Peanut's Playhouse became a petting zoo in 2019.

Probably one of my favorite "expansions" was the introduction of Woodstock!

And the introduction of Schroder and Franklin.

Planet Snoopy hasn’t changed much in the last few years. Peanut’s Playhouse became an animal petting zoo in 2019, (and was a mask-free rest area in 2020 during COVID) A few new walk-around characters have been added to the Peanut’s mascot lineup including Woodstock and Franklin. As much as things have changed over the last forty-five years so much has also stayed the same. Red Baron is still where it was parked in 1978 with the addition of Aerodrome, the Aerodrome “hangar-themed” bathrooms still look exactly as they did forty-four years ago too. The basic structure of the original Flying Circus Theater, which became Panda Pavilion in the 1980s still exists as part of Peanut’s Showplace (look for the metal poles and spot the different ceiling types). Even the incredibly popular play-music pad from the Bear County Expansion still exists. And though many older rides have been removed many still operate including the 1974 Red Baron, (originally Scandinavia), the 1978 Tot’s Yachts (also Scandinavia), the 1979 Beetle Bumps (originally in the Orient), and the 1987 Turntyke and Swing-a-Ling (from Pandamonium) still take their second and possibly third generations for a ride.

The original Aerodrome bathrooms still look like airplane hangers.

The original Barnstormer pump house today is used for electrical housing for Woodstock Gliders.

At the separation between Peanut's Showplace and  Snoopy Boutique you can still see the original structure of Flying Circus Theater.

That s at the heart of it all, families having fun together, kids experiencing the same fun rides their parents, and even grandparents enjoyed. I’m 45 and have fond memories of both Humpty’s Haven in Scandinavia and Pandamonium growing up. Many people my age have children, and some even grandchildren that are experiencing the same rides I and their mothers, fathers, and grandparents rode as kids. Those years, the experiences may be in the past, but the memories never are, they just continue to grow with the years. Here’s to many more years of fun times for kids of all ages at Worlds of Fun. 

Having more fun with before and after this view is from 1978, but as you will soon see its a view that hasn't changed much in 45 years. 

Same ride, same location in the 1990's, PandAm Airlines. 

And today, it's Red Baron again. Same place, same ride still.

Special thanks to Todd Swetnam for proofreading this blog!  

The Devil is in the Details

Kansas City Star article from November 5, 1972. An ironic detail is in the lower right hand corner, advising readers that the NEW Kansas City Airport would be opening on November 11th. 

A clearer view of the same photo from the article. Worlds of Fun is starting to take on an appearance that is recognizable.  Notice how Der Fender Bender (Autobahn) only has half a roof so far!

There is an old saying that a photo is worth a thousand words.  50 years ago the following Kansas City Star article was printed and circulated celebrating the park reaching 50 percent completion along with accompanying aerial photo.  Now I could simply post the article and photo but it’s me and I love to delve into the details.

Vittle Griddle from the same time period. 

Moulin Rouge from about the same time period. 

The details are at the heart of it all, and that is my major takeaway from this article. Lamar Hunt and Jack Steadman knew then that if the rides got people through the gate it was the attention to detail that kept them coming back. So they didn’t design a cookie-cutter park.

Kopter from 1976, located in Scandinavia. 

To highlight this point are my two main takeaways from this article. This first pertains to the plan for children's rides in the park. Manager of Public Relations David Holt is quoted stating “Our feeling is to make it a real family experience by having something along the way for the children”. Instead of specific and separate children’s areas like most parks had, they intermingled the children’s rides with the adult rides. The three original children’s rides were Kopter in Scandinavia, Crashem Bashem in Americana and Funicular in Europa. This concept was apparent through the 1980s and into the 1990s too when you could find Micro Moto Bahn in Scandinavia, Beetle Bumps in the Orient, and Pony Promenade in Americana just to name a few. Starting in the late 1970’s Hunt did start adding more concentrated areas for children such as Half Pint’s Peak or Pandamonium but the “sprinkled through the park concept” lasted until Cedar Fair went ahead and centralized all the rides in around 1998.

 

This is actually one of my favorite construction photos, but was shot far earlier than November 1972. However, it illustrates the unique aspect of the old bridges at the park. These are the pylons before they became bridges.

And one of the train bridges. 

The other major takeaway is about the train trestles, “We tried to be authentic and tried to keep in a lot of details” Holt would be quoted saying. Today the trestles are nearly the same traditional-style structures as they were in 1973, with the exception of the Fury of the Nile trestle which is a very large set of pre-cast water culverts. I’ve always loved the unique detail of the bridges, but beyond the fact of them being train bridges is the concept of going beyond the bare minimum necessary to create something truly unique. It was that attention to detail that always set Worlds of Fun apart, after all, Jack Steadman stated in August 1971 that they planned to have the most beautiful and exciting park ever built. To do so the devil had to be in the details.  

The back of the 1973 brochure, and there were two different versions that I stumbled on accidentally! One was printed in 1972 and shows a spring opening, the second is printed in 1973 and shows a May 26, 1973 opening date. 

I’d always like to think that Jack got precisely what he wanted and for many of us that grew up with it it WAS the most beautiful park in the country. Worlds of Fun’s opening wasn’t without a few challenges, the upcoming winter of 1972/73 highlighted that absolute demand for excellence, it was one of the most brutal winters on record for Kansas City and saw not only a record ice storm in January but then also necessitated jackhammers to break through frozen ground to plant the trees that we still see today. It was the same cold winter that would delay Worlds of Fun’s opening day.  At this point, 50 years ago, opening day was still slated for Spring 1973, but thanks to that wonderful Missouri weather became late May by the time everything was said and done.