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| Grand Opening Day May 26, 1973 |
Well, it’s the big one, the year we have been preparing for. 2023. Many years ago in my 20’s I once figured out how old I would be when the park turned 50 years old.. to a 20-something-year-old 45 feels ancient. Now, not so much. Crazy how fast time flies isn’t it? 2023 is when we officially celebrate Worlds of Fun’s 50th anniversary as it originally opened on May 26, 1973. But there are MANY more anniversaries this year too and in this blog, we are going to look at all of them!
1973 - Worlds of Fun opens with 61 brand-new and exciting things to do!
1978 - Aerodrome and Barnstormer premier (45th Anniversary)
1983 - E.X.T. or Extremeroller becomes the country’s first stand-up coaster on May 31, 1983
1988 - Python Plunge opens (35 anniversary)
1993 - Wacky Worm, Worlds of Fun’s 2nd oldest coaster opens (30 anniversary)
1998 - Mamba, Worlds of Fun oldest full-size steel coaster opens (25 Anniversary)
2003 - Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns debuts during Halloweekends and kicks off modern Haunt (20th Anniversary)
2008 - Master McCarthy’s DollHouse and Outlaws Revenge Haunts debut in Africa
2013 - Dinosaur’s Alive Debuts in Africa (10th Anniversary)
2018 - Nordic Chaser debuts, Floral Clock returns (5th Anniversary)
I’m just tired writing that out!
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| Nordic Chaser replaced Finnish Fling in 2018 |
2018 - 5 Years
Five years ago, it doesn’t seem that long ago. And here is an even crazier thought, Nordic Chaser was the last ride addition to Worlds of Fun until this year! That’s probably a big thanks to Covid-19 which gave us Worlds of Fun-lite for more than one season. Nordic Chaser is probably most remembered for replacing a park original, Finnish Fling. While still a spinning ride, Nordic Chaser is far milder. Manufactured by Mack Rides of Germany (pronounced Mauk) Mack Rides also notably manufactured Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City.
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| Timber Wolf with its new banked curve in 2018. |
2018 is also memorable for the return of the Floral Clock after a 20-year exodus and the controversial replacement of the Timber Wolf 560-degree original helix with a new banked turn instead.
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| In 2013 for the park's 40th anniversary a small group of us went around and rode all the original rides at the time. This was back when Scrambler was in Americana. |
2013 - 10 Years
Ten Years ago, was Worlds of Fun’s 40th Anniversary. On May 26, 2013, we as fans circumnavigated Worlds of Fun and rode the (then) nine original rides (well eight, we were all too tall for Crazy Kars), and hosted a small history exhibit in the Tivoli Music Hall lobby. New in 2013 were several small but notable additions. Dinosaur’s Alive an interactive walk-through exhibit premiered in the African section as a pay extra attraction. Dinosaur’s Alive would be removed following the 2019 season. Miss Lizzie’s Chamber of Horrors would replace Master McCarthy’s Dollhouse in Africa as well. Probably the biggest change in 2013 though was the combination of Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun into one park, along with the addition of a new waterslide complex near the Surf City Wave Pool, Predator’s Plunge, Shark’s Revenge, and Constrictor.
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| Dinosaur's Alive premiered in 2013. |
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| A new slide complex premiered at Oceans of Fun |
2008 - 15 Years
Fifteen years ago two new haunts would bring the 2008 Haunt season up to 9 extreme haunts! Master McCarthy’s was just mentioned in the prior paragraph would debut in the old Zambezi Zinger queue house, themed to deranged dolls, I will forever remember the first time I walked in and was greeted with “It’s a Small World”. Truly terrifying. Master McCarthy’s never worked as well as I am sure was hoped, and would be replaced five years later by Chamber of Horrors. The other haunt introduced in 2008 is still around, Outlaw’s Revenge. One of the first “fright zones” outside of the original, Outlaw’s would introduce Worlds of Fun victims to “sliders” or screamsters that would fall and slide across the pavement creating sparks and terrifying screams in their wake. Jeff Mast, one of our editors was one of the very first outlaws, and recalls the poor quality knee pads and equipment they were originally provided with, going out and buying more professional, and durable pads and equipment himself. He also researched and glued metal washers to gloves creating the sparks on the ground that are so identifiable with sliders even today.
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| 15 Years ago Master McCarthy's premiered in Africa. |
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| And so did Outlaw's Revenge. |
2003 - 20 Years
If this is beginning to feel like a history of Haunt you wouldn’t be far off, and 2003 is where it all started. Twenty Years ago Live Entertainment had the idea to take a derelict building (The old Beat Street shops) and create a terrifying attraction, the like of which had never really before been seen at Worlds of Fun. Populated by both living and dummy clowns, guests could never tell which was real and which wasn’t until it was too late, creating what could be argued to be one of the best haunts ever to grace Worlds of Fun. The concept immediately caught fire and had one of the longest lines in the park. In 2004 the park would start its yearly expansion of Haunt to what it is today. None of it would have happened without Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns twenty years ago.
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| Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns kicked off modern haunt in 2003. |
1998 - 25 Years
1998 was truly a turning point in Worlds of Fun history, it was the first year without Zambezi Zinger (the original), it was the first year of Mamba. 25 years ago this year. Mamba was the third of the D.H. Morgan Hypercoasters, usually referred to as the Morgan Triplets, with the others being Wild Thing at ValleyFair (1996) and Steel Force at Dorney Park (1997). In 2023, Mamba not only eclipses Zinger as the oldest full-size steel coaster at the park but also celebrates its 25th anniversary. Quite early in its existence Mamba became iconic to Worlds of Fun, and there are many, that are adults even that can’t remember a Worlds of Fun without it or even imagine a Worlds of Fun without it for that matter. It has become in many ways the modern version of the Zambezi Zinger, for being a little thrilling, speedy, and a lot of fun.
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| Mamba in March 1997 when it was nearly ready to open. |
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| Looking backwards from B-block trim brakes on Mamba. |
1993 - 30 Years
While writing the paragraph above I have to include that Mamba is the oldest FULL-SIZE steel coaster in the park. Why? Because there is one older steel coaster, but it’s tiny, Wacky Worm, or as it is known today, Cosmic Coaster. Though there have been some disagreements as to its original manufacturer, every mention of the coaster by the park has identified its manufacturer as the Italian firm Pinfari. Wacky Worm opened with the 1993 season as a major expansion to the kid's area of the time Pandamonium. Kids would ride, sometimes with an adult, a 12-seat bright green train shaped like a worm that would wind its way around a bright yellow track and through a gigantic red apple. In 2012, one year after the transition to Planet Snoopy, Wacky Worm would be re-themed into a rocket ship, and re-named Cosmic Coaster, it was also moved just slightly up the hill from its original location.
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| Many kids had their first coaster ride on the green worm in Pandamonium/Camp Snoopy. |
1988 - 35 Years
The first anniversary we look at a ride that is no longer in operation. Python Plunge opened in late April 1988 as a $1 million expansion as part of a total of $1.6 million in capital expenditures for the season. Manufactured by New Wave Rides of Arlington, Tx, Python Plunge was composed of four separate water sides, two-speed slides, and two enclosed serpentine slides. Both slides were experienced in a raft that guests had to carry up one of two forty-foot tall towers. Python Plunge became known as just Plunge in 1992 and would operate through the 1999 season. Plunge would become Standing But Not Operating (SBNO) until 2001 when it was removed entirely.
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| Python Plunge debuted 35 years ago in Africa. |
1983 - 40 Years
Another defunct attraction was the Arrow Corkscrew known as Screamroller/Extremeroller. While it opened in 1976, in 1983, 40 years ago, it took Worlds of Fun a step towards cementing itself into roller-coaster history by becoming the country’s first stand-up roller coaster. The sit-down cars (nearly identical to those on Orient Express or Boomerang), were switched out to stand-up pods, lacking the small bicycle-like seat that modern stand-up coasters all have. It was a true stand-up coaster. The newly renamed Extremeroller or E.X.T. would open on May 31, 1983. It would only operate for about a year as a stand-up and was re-converted back to a sit-down in June 1984. The infamous accident at Six Flags Mid-America, which Extremeroller seems to always be incorrectly remembered for, occurred in July 1984.
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| E.X.T. or Extremeroller advertising its May 31, 1983 opening. |
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| Extremeroller concept art. |
1978 - 45 Years
On April 8th, 1978 exactly 45 years from this year’s opening day another one of Worlds of Fun’s shortest-lived rides opened, Barnstormer, along with the new expansion land, Aerodrome. Aerodrome’s acreage has changed names and themes many times but is today’s Planet Snoopy. Barnstormer the ride was a towering 100-foot tower ride equipped with 12 bi-plane-shaped cars that would dive up and down through the air. Manufactured by Bradley and Kaye of Long Beach Ca. Barnstormer was one of only three such rides ever manufactured, and would only last at Worlds of Fun until June 1983 when it was removed.
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| Barnstormer and Aerodrome premiered on April 8, 1978, 40 years ago to the day of opening day 2023! |
1973 - 50 Years
Over the last two years, I have written several blogs celebrating the 50th anniversary of some park construction milestones. However now, we have finally reached 2023. 50 years ago the park is taking shape, it is already recognizable for what it will become, When the park opened on May 26, 1973, it was home to over 60 brand new and exciting things to do, or so the park advertised. Still of those 61 exciting things to do, only 15 were rides and of those 15 only six (or seven depending on how you look at it) still exist.
At Worlds of Fun these six include:
Flying Dutchman: Flying Dutchman is still in the same place, with the same name with pretty much the same ride experience as it had fifty years ago (seatbelts were added many years ago). Flying Dutchman is an Intamin AG Flying Dutchman ride. When Hunt Midwest still owned the park it was a commonly known detail among ambassadors that Flying Dutchman was Lamar Hunt’s favorite ride.
Le Taxi Tour: Also in Europa, one of two Arrow Development manufactured rides that opened with the park (both still exist). Manufactured with the Taxi-themed car style, several rides of its type once existed, but because of the acreage they occupied many have been removed over the years. Thankfully, Worlds of Fun still has their’s and it is still as much a favorite as it was fifty years ago. Like Flying Dutchman, Le Taxi Tour hasn’t changed a whole lot over the years either.
Autobahn: The last of the original rides in Europa that still operates. Autobahn opened as one of the park’s two bumper car rides in 1973 known as Der Fender Bender but still in the same location as it is today. The ride’s name was changed in 1997 and the ends of the structure were enclosed in 2010. As an addendum, the second bumper cars ride, one designed for kids, and originally known as Crashem Bashem, was removed after the 2015 season.
Worlds of Fun Railroad: ELI was out of commission for a couple of years but thankfully we got her back, and in far better shape than she left in. ELI is an authentic steam engine manufactured by Crown Metal Products of Wyano, Pa. It like the other five original rides is still very much a favorite to guests to the park, a point that was truly felt when it was missing for two and a half seasons.
Scrambler: Scrambler currently operates in its original 1973 location, but hasn’t always been there, as it was located in Americana from 1998 until 2014. Scrambler is an ELI Bridge Scrambler ride, the only ride on this list that is still in production by its original manufacturer unchanged even today.
Viking Voyager: The second original Arrow Development attraction that opened with the park. Like Le Taxi Tour, Voyager was once a dime-a-dozen type ride but is becoming rare in recent years. A traditional flume ride, Voyager originally operated boats with red dragon heads at the bow. These boats were replaced in 1994 with the current headless variety,
And last but not least, I just can’t celebrate 50 years of Worlds of Fun history without mentioning the ride that ALSO turns 50 years old, IS still in operation, even if that doesn’t necessarily mean it's in operation at Worlds of Fun.
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| Zinger in 1973. |
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| Zinger, or as it is known now, Montana Rusa in Colombia, looking nearly identical 50 years later (the only change is the addition of a catwalk which was added by Worlds of Fun) |
Zambezi Zinger: Manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf and designed by Werner Stengel, Zinger is classified as a Speedracer or Extended Jumbo Jet. Zinger operated at Worlds of Fun from 1973 until 1997 when it was removed following the end of the season. It was sold and purchased by Parque del Cafe in Montenegro Colombia, who reassembled the ride, complete with a concrete tunnel, and began operating it as Montana Rosa in 1999. Today it continues to operate in its “new” location.