A History of Haunt: Part II Halloweekends

 

Part I of the three-part History of Haunt blog looked at the initial development of Boo! Blast and Halloweekends at WOF, but at this point in 2002, the event was more geared towards younger children than teenagers or adults. Many fans hoped for something bigger and better.

The old Beat Street Sign was modified to Freak Street.

The structure for Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns was built in 1982 for River City. Today half of it still stands as part of Patriot Landing gift shop.

It all started innocuously; Worlds of Fun introduced its first full-fledged haunted house intended for mature audiences in 2003. The first haunted house was known as Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns and located on what the park titled "Freak Street." it was exceptionally well thought out and featured both real human clowns and dummy clowns, which one could not tell the difference until too late. As would be the case for the next few years, though, Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns would use abandoned or underused buildings. Freak Street was just the old Beat Street, and Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns was just an old strip of gift shops turned into a haunted house. Sometimes ingenuity beats boatloads of money, which was the case in 2003. Carnival was an immediate hit. So was the other, more family-oriented haunted house, Magical House on Boo Hill in Camp Spooky. Like Clowns, Boo Hill would be re-using a derelict building, in this case, that had been most recently the park's Ambam (employee break area), built initially as Lucky Lyndy's Lunch Counter. In addition to the two new houses, the old favorites were back too: Diggers Used Coffin Lot, Spooktacular, and Trick-or-Treat Town. The event in 2003 would run from September 20 until October 26, six weeks as had become the standard.

Magical House on Boo Hill

One of the interior rooms of Boo Hill. 

Upside down living room

If 2003 was more of a "Let's try this and see if it works," then 2004 was the first step towards the empire that Haunt is today. 2004 saw the first printed park map specifically for Halloweekends (remember it was still Halloweekends at this point), and would see THREE new haunted attractions added in addition to Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns, including Lore of the Vampire, Camp Gonnagitcha Witchhatchet and Fright Zone. 2004 also introduced one of the park's longest-running shows, Haunted Homecoming at Moulin Rouge, a haunted spin-off of the popular Stax of Wax. The final addition to the Halloweekends 2004 season was Fright Night Fright Nights, which covered the five Fridays in October (with the event kicking off on Saturday, September 25). When the Fright Night Fright Nights debuted, the park was a literal ghost town, even quieter than Thursdays are today.  

Today this show is on its 18th season, back when this poster hung it was on season numero uno. 

Promo photo for Haunted Homecoming

Promo photo for Camp Gonnagitcha Witchahatchet. Notice the very early cymbal monkey on the left. 

2004 saw a few more minor details important to Halloweekends history, too. Makeup and Costuming for all three original haunts were applied and donned in the "Creature Crypt," otherwise known as the basement of All Stars Grill (Formerly the Indoor Ambam). Changes to makeup and costuming would occur in 2008 when it would all be centralized, but from 2004 until 2007, all makeup and costuming was individualized to each individual haunt. As mentioned, Camp, Lore, and Fright Zone would all share the Creature Crypt, but each other particular haunt until 2007 would have its makeup and costuming completed on location. With individualized sites, it gave each haunt "back room" more of a "home" like atmosphere and, in many cases, took on a festival atmosphere itself; with Halloween movies being shown and food brought in potluck style, it became nearly a party within a party, 

Promo photo for Fright Zone which ran from the Scandi/Africa trestle to Moroccan Merchant.

Entrance to Lore of the Vampire (which was the exit for the Orient Express)

Promo photo for Lore of the Vampire. 

 Another tradition that started with Camp, Lore, and Fright Zone is the tradition of the park's "parade." Though many may point to the more modern version, which kicked off in 2008, it could be argued that the parade's predecessor could be traced to 2004. Once prepared, the Camp and Fright Zone screamsters grabbed an old rope and were lead, chain-gang style, down to Camp Gonnagitcha and Fright Zone. The vampires, which always opened earlier (4 pm) and also opened on Sundays, would "parade" thematically correctly, carrying umbrellas to shield their pale skin from the midday sun.

Winifred's Wise Whimsies in 2003

Scandinavian Halloween character from 2008

2004 had some changes in store for the family side of Halloweekends too. It would be the last season that the term "Boo! Blast" would be used to describe any Halloween event at Worlds of Fun. It also saw a relatively minor change to the title of the Witch's storytelling in Scandinavia; no longer known as Winifred's Wise Whimsies, it became known as Hexaba's Hogwash. 

Spooktacular in 2004

From the auspicious beginnings of 2004, the 2005 and 2006 seasons would continue in much the same way. 2005 introduced two new attractions: Dominion of Doom on Forum Road/Heart of America Blvd and John Bundy's Slash. Dominion of Doom offered a simple haunted graveyard experience populated by the living dead. Personal recollection: I was a screamster in the first year of Dominion of Doom. I can attest to the struggles with making this haunt a success as, unlike the other attractions, Dominion suffered from the straight out and back roadway between Mamba and Detonator. It also had a high proportion of female screamsters, giving the haunt its moniker "dominion of dames," unlike Camp or Lore, its makeup and costuming were located in the tight confines of the Country Junction cabooses. 2005 also saw the addition of another John Bundy show, this one created for more mature audiences Slash. While Spooktacular would continue to run during the daytime, both shows would be housed in the Tivoli Music Hall. Slash would only run for two seasons and would be discontinued after the 2006 season. 

Asylum Island signage near Monsoon.

Exterior of Asylum Island

While 2004 and 2005 saw significant growth for the overall event, no longer was Halloweekends an afterthought tacked on to the end of the season, it was still nothing like the madness it is today. We have one attraction to thank for that, which came in 2006. Asylum Island.

First season screamsters for Asylum in 2006

"security" signage for Asylum Island

More Asylum signage

Halloweekends and Haunt have always been successful due to the sheer creative talent behind it, whether that be Brent Barr, John Bundy, or one of the many others involved in the early years. Asylum took that perfect creative 10 and knocked it up to an 11. Not a single haunt before or after has captured its terrors, its length, or its sheer depravity. Located at Oceans of Fun in the Coco Palms Picnic Pavilion, Asylum Island took guests through a Mental Asylum overrun by the insane. You had your Doctors and Nurses, lobotomy patients, bathroom attendants, and yard keepers. The impact it had was immediate. Before 2006, lines for most haunts were 30, maybe 45 minutes long. After Asylum, lines were multiple hours long. Personal recollection: I remember a supervisor coming through Asylum in 2006 and letting us screamsters know people were waiting 3 hours… my mind was blown. 2006 also saw the addition of a small show that only lasted two seasons but that many still remember vividly, Jack's Rip Roarin' Improv at Country Junction.

Slash from 2006

After the 2006 Halloweekends, at least every year for the next few seasons, would add something that would move Halloweekends closer and closer to the modern version we know today. 

Bloodshed, or Old McDonald's Slaughterhouse

Bloodshed was the first structure built specifically to be a haunt.

In 2007, the park added its first Haunt, designed in a building built specifically for it, Bloodshed or Old McDonald's Slaughterhouse. It would also be the last new Haunt to open with its own Makeup and Costume area, the A/V booth for the Forum/Heart of America Theater. Another new haunt premiered in 2007, CarnEvil. CarnEvil replaced the defunct Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns, which had been discontinued and departed its structure in 2005 due to the arrival of Patriot. The Clowns would take up residence in Bicentennial Square as part of CarnEvil, which would last in that area until 2015. Another unique aspect of the 2007 Halloween season was the event operating schedule change. For the first and only time, the park elected to stay open the entire week of Halloween, from Thursday, October 25 until Wednesday, October 31, and every day in between. It is a personal belief that this odd schedule change necessitated the name change from Hallo WEEKENDS to what we know today, Halloween Haunt. 

Master McCarthy's Dollhouse exterior (prior and current Zambezi Zinger queue house)

Re-used Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns signage for Carnevil 

Carnevil Entrance

The first Haunt parade in 2008. Notice how light the crowds were!

2008 saw the introduction of another new haunt, with its structure built adjacent to the old Zambezi Zinger queue house, Master McCarthy's Dollhouse. The park's third fright zone, Outlaw's Revenge, would debut in 2008, too, with its first-ever cowboy sliders (screamsters that would startle by falling and then skidding along the asphalt). With the addition of the two new haunts and the existing seven, the park would advertise nine extreme haunts! The most significant change, at least for historical purposes, in 2008 was a modification in logistics, which set in place an iconic, not-to-be-missed aspect of Haunt today—the parade. Before 2008, as mentioned, all makeup and costuming were done at each Haunt; for 2008, all the costuming and makeup were centralized near the park costuming building. This change necessitated the movement of screamsters from the centralized location to their individual haunts. Personal recollection: having participated in the 2008 parade, I can attest to the lack of coordination, which was awesome. The parade had no cars, no motorcycles, no Overlord, no signs, just groups of screamsters, vaguely organized by their haunt that ran wild through the park. Good times. 

First season Outlaws from 2008

Outlaw's Revenge included dummy cowboy's to disguise the real ones..

Original entrance to Outlaw's Revenge scare zone in 2008.

By 2009, the event had the name it has today; Haunt also had a parade, but what was missing that is identified as integral to Haunt? The Overlord's Awakening would debut in 2009. With the advent of The Overlord, one of Worlds of Fun's longest-operating Haunts would change forever. Lore of the Vampire, which had always opened earlier on Saturday (around 4 pm) and Sunday as well, would be modified to operate the same hours as all the other haunts. In addition to changing hours, Lore of the Vampire was updated with a new bar and dance area known as Club Blood. It never worked well and would only last a few seasons until 2014. 

Overlord's Awakening in 2009, the only year Overlord had pyrotechnics.

Club Blood in Lore of the Vampire

Graphite inside the Lore of the Vampire/Orient Express tunnel leading into Club Blood. 

Until 2009, the family side of Halloweekends had remained relatively unchanged, but in 2009 many of the activities took on a decided "pirate" theme, No longer known as Boo! Blast, most of the family-oriented, scare-free attractions, were still in Scandinavia centered around the Tivoli and its newly re-named and re-themed Skullduggery (a variation of the magic show Spooktacular), another wonderful creation of John Bundy and one of his last at Worlds of Fun.

"Pieces of 8, from Skullduggery"

Skullduggery

Pirate dance characters in Scandinavia in 2009.

More midway characters in 2009.

The park added Captain Jack's Street Dance Party (a variation on the old roaming spooky characters), Snoopy's Big Treasure Hunt, and Captain Kitty's Costume Contest. Buccaneer's Hideaway replaced the old Trick-or-Treat Town in Scandinavia, and a new Peanut's sing-a-long show, Charlie Brown's Pirate Adventure, was added to Campground Theater in Camp Spooky. These themed additions would last through the 2011 season.

Campground Theater in 2007

Treasure Hunt map in 2010-2011.

2010 through 2012 would see the end to several older Halloweekends/Boo! Blast favorites. The first to go was Camp Gonnagitcha, which had been moved to the Fury of the Nile queue line in 2008. It never worked quite as well in its new location and would be replaced by a popular favorite, Cornstalkers, in 2010. Another significant change in 2010 was another schedule tweak, which expanded Haunt to the current seven weekends that it occupies even today. 

Cornstalkers entrance during the daytime

And at nighttime.

2011 again saw the retirement of several old favorites, with Dominion of Doom being replaced by the new London Terror. London Terror featured a London at night, populated by freakish characters like Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde and Jack the Ripper with a more modern "steampunk" take. Ripper Alley today is its thematic successor. 2011 also saw the retirement of the classic street shows of Digger's used Coffin Lot and Witch Doctor's Revenge and the introduction of another one-season-only show at Country Junction, Half Pint Brawlers, which featured the tagline "Who wants to see a midget bleed?" 

Half Pint Brawlers at Country Junction

Alice in Wonderland kids attractions in Europa in 2014

(

Witch Doctor's Revenge from 2003 would be discontinued after the 2011 season. 

Parking the grass lot in 2011, a sign of growing crowds. 

By the following season, nearly all traces of the original Boo! Blast had vanished. The final nail in the Boo! Blast Coffin, though, would be in 2012, when after nearly 20 seasons, John Bundy's illusionist magic show,  Captain Cook's Pandemonium (Spooktacular in 2012), would vanish in the night. A popular and beloved show, it is still well missed. Many of Scandinavia's cute and quaint, scare-free attractions would disappear and re-appear in Europa under new themes, this time with an Alice in Wonderland theme. But unlike the Malice in Wonderland, it wasn't scary at all. The attractions included Mad Hatter's Scary Tales, a Kooky Caterpillar's Costume Contest, Mask and pumpkin decoration, and more. 

Spooktacular 2007

Spooktacular 2007

New scares were afoot, as were even more changes. In 2012, Zombie High premiered next to Prowler and is still scaring strong today. Blood Drums would premier at Country Junction but would only last one season. One addition that has survived to today is the addition of Fright Lane, giving guests the ability to pay to skip the line. In 2012, nearly a decade had passed since the introduction of the first haunted house at Worlds of Fun, and everything had changed. The slow winding down fall season had given way to the busiest time of the Worlds of Fun season, and it would only continue to grow… And change.

Blood Drums at Country Junction in 2012

Zombie High new in 2012

Zombie High would be the third Worlds of Fun attraction to utilize the fictional highs school of Cleaver High and the Fighting Beavers. (which originated with Stax of Wax in 1985)

A History of Haunt: Part 1 Boo! Blast

 Twenty years ago, Worlds of Fun was in a massive state of flux. Orient Express was operating for its last season, and the park looked exceptionally different than it had only ten years prior. Another change was about to occur to a festival that had been a relatively minor part of Worlds of Fun up to that point, Halloweekends. In 2003 it would begin to expand massively, and that expansion began with two new haunts. Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns and Magical House on Boo Hill.

Boo! Bash pin a rarity for an event that only lasted under that name for one season.

The more recognizable Boo! Blast logo pin

Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns and Magical House on Boo Hill might have been the beginning of the Haunt we know today, but they weren't the beginning of the story of Halloweekends. No, the beginning of Haunt today started far earlier than 2003, and instead started 11 years earlier, in 1992, when the first seeds of the event were planted, not by Cedar Fair but by Hunt Midwest Entertainment (HME). In the early 1990s, HME was looking for ways to attract guests to the park during typically slow times of the year, and they did so by introducing several new park festivals; of primary interest to this blog was Boo! Bash. Primarily targetted at the younger, under-12 audience, the attractions were minor and included a Rockin' Trolls show at Tivoli Music Hall, a Dracula magic show (not to be confused with the John Bundy Spooktacular that would come a few years later), witch storytelling, trick or treating through the park, and the opportunity for kids to paint their own pumpkin. Unlike today's Haunt, the very first Boo! Bash would only run for two weekends in 1992, Oct 23-24 and Oct 31-Nov 1, bookending the far more popular Oktoberfest festival, which had existed since 1973. 

In 1993 the festival would return but with a slight name modification from Boo! Bash to the name more recall, Boo! Blast. Like the prior year, many activity offerings would remain the same, but it would expand to three weekends, Oct 16-31. Obviously, the event was determined to be something worth repeating!

The 1993 version of Boo! Blast repeated much of the same activities as 1992, including a pumpkin patch, magic show, trick or treating, and treasure trolls show. The event also included a Halloween Fun Walk inside the Incred-O-Dome, and children could also receive treats at gift shops throughout the park and a free bag to carry them in.

1994 would introduce a new major addition to Boo! Blast the Swope Parkway Health Center's Trick or Treat Village. The first thought on Trick or Treat Village is that this was the same as the Trick or Treat Town in the Tivoli Lobby. It is not, as it existed as a separate event from Worlds of Fun before and after 1994-1995. The 1994 Trick or Treat Village is described by an article in the Kansas City Star on October 7, 1994, as "featuring costumed ghouls greeting children at 20 house fronts and a pumpkin patch". It then goes on to mention that a donation of $2 is required for admission to Trick or Treat Village, and includes a decorated pumpkin to take home. Another unique twist to the event is that in 1995, Trick or Treat Village would open on October 30 as a "safe" Trick or Treat option when the park was otherwise closed, for a suggested donation of $5 per person. 

Another change to Boo! Blast in 1994 was the expansion of the event from three weekends to four from October 8 to the 30th in 1994 and October 7 to the 29th in 1995. As part of the extension, Boo! Blast saw the addition of a classic attraction that would last for nearly the next 20 seasons—John Bundy's magic and illusionist show, Spooktacular, featuring his assistant, Morgan. The show would change themes, titles, and primary audiences over the years but would become integral to many memories of the early event. 

1996 would see the first changes by the new park owners, Cedar Fair, which had purchased the park from HME in June of 1995. Before 1996, the park's season would run until the end of October, as it does today. Cedar Fair, for unknown reasons, changed that. The park season would now end in the middle of October and would remain that way for the next six seasons. 

Photo from Side Show of Horrors.  Photo thanks to John Bundy

Boo! Blast ad from 1996

Boo! Blast would continue, but for only three weekends again, with the event being re-scheduled to the time slot traditionally allotted to Oktoberfest, in 1996 that would mean September 28 until October 13. In addition to the schedule change, Cedar Fair would introduce a new attraction, Trick-or-Treat Town, in the Tivoli Music Hall Lobby; it would offer a tiny town where kids could trick or treat for goodies. Other activities also included mask-making and the storytelling K.K. the Witch. Tivoli Music Hall would also continue its tradition of Halloween entertainment provided by John Bundy and Morgan with Side Show of Horrors. Bundy describes the show as a "Tales from the Crypt format in which audiences saw the bizarre and unusual illusions in the crypt of curiosities." Unlike the later Spooktacular, it was not a show targeted at younger audiences. Bundy continues and describes that, like so many other Worlds of Fun traditions, this one was last minute, being put together in two to three weeks.

Frankenstein during Halloweekends, possibly taken in 1997 (Icicle in the background would be removed after that season).

Trick of Treat Town in Tivoli Lobby

1997 would be more of the same, with the event running from September 27 through October 12 (with October 12 being the closing day for the season). For the first time, Scandinavia would be officially listed as the official home for the event, and attractions would be updated, too. A new John Bundy show, Nightmare Castle, premiered, and it would be the first of his productions to feature "Wacky Dracky." Unlike the later Spooktacular, this was not geared towards children and families and featured a smaller cast than the later Spooktacular. In addition to the Tivoli offerings, various roaming characters, including Dracula, Frankenstein, and "other frightful favorites." 

Photo from Nightmare Castle, photo thanks to John Bundy

The following season is when things would "start" to get interesting and would start establishing the event we would all know at the turn of the millennia. The first significant change was the re-addition of a 4th week, with the event running from September 26 until October 18 (adding a week back to the operating season). 1998 would also be the first time for two separate Halloween events. Boo! Blast would continue in Scandinavia for the under 12 children, and Halloween Haunt would debut in Africa. In 1998, that meant several new activities. The first two would be creations by John Bundy: Digger's Used Coffin Lot, a comedy horror-style skit based around a fictional used coffin lot (think like a used car lot), and Witch Doctor's Revenge, where a talking head would taunt and tease its audience. The last attraction was Voo Doo Tunes, a DJ in Mamba Plaza with dancing Alien characters.

John Bundy's Spooktacular

Voo Doo Tunes at Mamba Plaza.

The Scandinavian section would continue as Boo! Blast and the Tivoli show would take on the form and theme it would carry through the next decade, the John Bundy production Spooktacular. Spooktacular took on its more family-oriented show format but continued to offer a full professional-scale magic and illusion presentation, providing spectacular entertainment value for all ages. Bundy would mention that it would carry on several props from the long-gone and short-lived Mark Wilson Haunted Theatre production that played at Tivoli in 1985 and 1986. In addition to Spooktacular, Tivoli would continue to be home to Trick-or-Treat Town and not far away still in Scandinavia. Broomzelda's Bewitching Tales would be a continuation of Witch-led storytelling. At Tivoli East would be located Maskerade, where kids could make their own mask, and also in Scandinavia, Groovy Tunes, featuring dancing Halloween characters.

Broomzelda's Bewitching Tales in Scandinavia. 

Though there is no official mention of it, it is also believed that the attraction of Fury of the Bloody Nile would begin in 1998 as well, it was memorable for its dyed red water and haunted skeleton raft.

Fury of the Bloody Nile 

Boo! Blast ad from 1998

The final change would occur in 1999 when the event title was officially changed to Halloweekends while still using the tags Boo! Blast and Halloween Haunt for the individual sections of the event (Scandinavia and Africa, respectively). Halloweekends would remain the name of the event for the next eight seasons, with the event changing drastically around the title, becoming more recognizable as the modern version of Haunt with each passing season.

Halloween Haunt signage headed into Africa

Digger's Used Coffin Lot photo by John Bundy

2000 would see the return of Halloweekends and a similar line-up, but the event would expand to FIVE weeks, from September 23 through October 22. Boo! Blast in Scandinavia would remain unchanged except for its witch's storytelling, which would have a new name, Winifred's Wise Whimsies Bewitching Tales.

Signage at the gate that the event has been modified due to 9/11

On September 11, 2001, the world changed when hijackers flew two jetliners into World Trade Center Tower One and Tower Two. Halloweekends would go forward but with little of its Africa Halloween Haunt attractions. The Scandinavian kid-friendly attractions would continue, as would Spooktacular. There were a few minor additions to the event in 2001 with the new themed modification of Camp Snoopy into "Camp Spooky," which came with a Peanut's Coloring activity in Campground Theater, and children could meet the Peanut's characters in Halloween garb. 

Coloring at Camp Spooky's Campground Theater.

Peanut's characters dressed in Halloween costume.

One change that stands out for 2001 is the event's expansion to six weekends, from September 27 until October 28; this is important as the six-weekend template would last through the 2009 season. With the event schedule expansion, this would also be the first time in six seasons that the park would again open until the end of October. 

2002 would return to the full roster of activities and was seen by many as the same old Boo! Blast. Little did anyone know that it would never be the same old again. 

A special thanks to John Bundy for answering our questions regarding his several Worlds of Fun shows and providing photos for many of the early shows as well!

Zinging at Worlds of Fun Once Again!

 Over the last year on this blog, we have delved into the announcement, followed by the design of the newly re-imagined Zambezi Zinger at Worlds of Fun. We considered the similar details from the original vs. the new, on paper at least, and interviewed its designers and builders. Finally, the day arrived; Zambezi Zinger would give its first public rides. 

Worlds of Fun invited us to attend the Big Slick event on June 16th, when the 32 winners of the first rider expedition would experience the first public ride. The new Zinger would open to pass holders the following Saturday and Sunday and finally to the general public on Monday, June 19th.

Before the first rides, speeches were given by Worlds of Fun General Manager Rick Fiedler, and Public Relations Manager Brian McGannon, as well as Andrew Garton Assistant Director of Philanthropic Giving at Children's Mercy Hospital (CMH) and Mauria Stonestreet of Big Slick (Pediatric cancer foundation of CMH). The podium itself was an attraction itself, designed and built by the park to look like the ride's iconic spiral lift hill. The presentation of an oversized check to Big Slick and the ceremonial ribbon cutting followed. 

After the first riders had ridden, we immediately headed into the queue we had heard so much about. Probably one of the best-themed queues in park history, the new Zinger reuses the original Zambezi Zinger's original queue house. Riders enter through a side entrance instead of entering through the original entrance. At first, this was a bit confusing, but it follows the back story laid out for the new Zinger when it was announced last August. The story goes that many years ago, a small-time safari company, Zambezi Adventure Safaris went out of business when its star attraction, the Zinger, was believed to have gone extinct. The safari company has now re-opened its doors after new evidence that the Zinger had been re-discovered. Signage on the original main entrance reads, "please use side entrance, as office closed due to snake infestation" This is a small detail that not only fits the new story but is a nod to the old urban legend that snakes once lived in the original Zinger tunnel.

The details continue throughout the queue line, both planned and unplanned. One of the most unnoticeable details is that if you look down, you can still see where the original queue rails were located; tight and narrow, the park removed them many years ago. Then there is a large corkboard in the queue that is so detailed it could have its own blog! A few standouts include a small letter telling riders to "watch out; there are snakes in the tunnel!" A reproduction of the Schwarzkopf badge (Schwarzkopf built the original Zinger), a copy of a 1973 souvenir map, and a small nod to Phileas Fogg, the original explorer from "Around the World in 80 Days". 

Photo by Kim Slater

The various, seemingly generic travel posters are not generic at all. They were designed by Cedar Fair Senior Environmental Graphic Designer Brittani Rosier, specifically for the ride, with each one including a nod to both current and defunct African attractions in each section. For example, the Egypt one features the Sphinx (Fury of the Nile) and a Mamba snake (Mamba), and The Serengeti features a nod to the original Safari ride. Brittani added an interesting detail: the Safari Vehicle on the Serengeti poster was initially designed to look identical to the vehicles on The Safari ride (1973-1978)  but was modified to the more "Range Rover" appearance in final production. 

Out of the queue building and towards the station, the landscaping is lush and unparalleled in any queue line at Worlds of Fun. Music is piped in to make you feel as if you are on your way toward a real Safari adventure. Because, of course, you are!

As discussed in a previous blog, the two trains on the new Zambezi Zinger are the first-ever Great Coaster International (GCI) Infinity Flyer trains. Riders only have a lap bar for restraint, no seatbelts! The significant change here is the height requirement, which the park had initially posted as 40" but was increased to a minimum of 48" just before the ride opening; the "why" to the question regarding the height requirement change is pretty straightforward once you experience the ride. It's fairly intense and makes several rapid, directional changes. The overall intensity doesn't detract from the ride experience but pushes it above what most consider a family ride.

This isn't the first time in amusement history that a ride that was intended to be a family ride ended up being something completely different. Personal recollection: PowderKeg at Silver Dollar City was also intended to be a family ride. No one will discount that PowderKeg is a great ride, and, in my opinion, people will see Zinger as a similar situation; a good ride is a good ride, after all.

This footer is visible from both the new Zinger queue line and when heading towards the lift.

A view of the high-speed turn on the original Zinger, and you can see what I believe is the same footer (different angle) below the track. Photo by Tammy Queen.

A ride on Zinger itself starts as you head out of the station. Immediately on exiting the station, riders should look to the right. In the stream below, they will see several concrete footers for the original Zambezi Zinger, specifically for its "high-speed turn" or its fourth drop that followed the curve around the lift.

Once on the lift, The Zambezi Zinger is anything but quiet, thanks to the anti-rollbacks (a feature the original Zinger never had). Besides that auditory detail, the lift is reminiscent of the original Zinger, and unlike your typical lift hill is quite fun. The drop itself is quick and relatively steep compared to the original, which was 56 feet tall; the new version is about twenty feet taller at 74 feet. The ride starts out relatively tame, making a quick turn over by Nile's queue line before heading back towards the lift hill. The turn around the lift is nearly identical to the original, while still being a bit speedier on this new version. What probably amplifies the similarity is that the new lift hill is located within 20 feet of the original, making this one detail, and the lift it surrounds, probably as close as anyone could get to the original without actually re-building the original.

From this point, the new Zinger becomes a tale of two different rides. While the original would take a curving drop into the high-speed turn, the new Zinger rips off towards undiscovered land. The train dives, crests over the train tracks, and begins its action-packed second half. 

Going back to Zinger's original announcement, fans have been discussing one vital feature, the tunnel. Some go so far as to say it's not really a tunnel as it doesn't go underground. While I disagree with that assessment, I was surprised that the tunnel was a last-minute addition to the design. Today, the new tunnel is enclosed, and while not pitch black, it is quite fun and at a great location about midway through the ride. After shooting out of the tunnel, the ride continues its quick and ferocious campaign. Flipping riders side to side, so close to the ground in some cases you feel you could reach out and touch it. Several fiberglass African animals populate the second half of Zinger, a zebra, lion, and rhino, all relocated from Kings Dominion. Still, most riders would never realize it as you are being zinged right past them. Before anyone can catch their breath, we have made it back to the station and our safari expedition has come to an end.

The lion hiding out in the corner.

I would end up riding the coaster three more times (for four total) in that first hour of ride operation. It was fun; I rode it multiple times and would do so again. One detail I mentioned is that unlike the original, which was mostly mild-mannered, this new Zambezi Zinger, totally lives up to its name, Zinging guests through the wilds of Worlds of Fun's Africa section. Like the original, though, the trees play a big part, and I imagine they will grow much like they did on the original as the years go by. That really will be one Zinger of a ride!

Kansas City Can You STAND to Be First?

 We celebrated Worlds of Fun's 50th Anniversary only a few days ago, and today we have another significant anniversary to recall. On today's date: May 31st, 40 years ago, Screamroller was converted into the country's first stand-up coaster and became Extremeroller or E.X.T. In researching E.X.T. over the years, I have found very little about it before May 1983, and the 1983 map lists the ride as a sit-down and still named Screamroller. Extremeroller as a stand-up only appears on the 1984 map. My theory is that converting the coaster was not a multi-year planned one like most attractions but was instead a fly-by-night, "how about we try this? Sure, that sounds good" kind of thing. Like many historical details, this is just a theory based on the facts that I have. Worlds of Fun spent about $250,000 to convert Screamroller to Extremeroller. The conversion was completed by Arrow-Huss, the short-lived attempted merger of two great amusement manufacturing companies. Arrow Dynamics and Huss Manufacturing would eventually go separate ways only a few years later. 

To understand why E.X.T. happened, though, one only has to look at what was happening in the coaster world. From the mid-1970s until around 2000, the amusement industry was fully engaged in a "coaster war." Whoever could build the loopiest, fastest, tallest, longest coaster had a claim to "coaster capital," and Arrow was right at the forefront for much of it. Most reactions to the concept of E.X.T. were ones of disbelief, and according to Lee Derrough, that was exactly what they were looking for. 

The stand-up pods and fiberglass body.

Extremeroller would use the original structure of the Screamroller coaster, an Arrow Corkscrew, with only a slight modification to the rollover on the first drop to accommodate the larger and heavier trains. The trains themselves would be gutted, with new fiberglass cars and restraints added to the Screamroller trains' original undercarriage. Out went the seats, and in came tall, six-foot-pods with a shoulder harness, a thigh harness, and a seatbelt around the waist. Also, unlike modern stand-up coasters, there was no seat; it was a literal stand-up ride. 

Concept art by Byron Gash

In the true meaning of "coaster wars," Worlds of Fun wasn't alone in this attempted venture. Six Flags Mid America (St. Louis) was doing its own stand-up conversion to its aging Arrow, River King Mine Train. Many are familiar with this classic family coaster but unaware that it originally had two tracks. One track on the Mine Train received a similar conversion and was dubbed Railblazer. Railblazer, unlike E.X.T., wouldn't open until 1984. 

Extremeroller at Worlds of Fun

Railblazer at Six Flags Mid-America

Tragedy would strike at Six Flags on July 9th, 1984, when Stella Holcomb, aged 45, was thrown from the ride and died from her head and chest injuries. For many years urban legend would twist this story so that the actual culprit was E.X.T. which had already ceased operation by the time of the accident at Six Flags. An investigation after the death found that Railblazer lacked the waist belts that E.X.T. had, which may have contributed to the accident.

The deconstructed Extremeroller with Timber Wolf going up in the background.

So why did Extremeroller return to being a sit-down if it wasn't for an accident? The simple answer is that Screamroller was never designed to be a stand-up coaster. The stand-up trains were far heavier and had a completely different center of gravity, causing technical difficulties with the lift hill and breaking the lift hill chain on more than one occasion. The ride itself wasn't any less safe, but the problems did cause it to be a mechanical nightmare. Extremeroller would return to being a standard sit-down model in June 1984 and live out the rest of its short life at Worlds of Fun until its removal in 1988. Extremeroller would be sold to a park in Taiwan and live on until 2003-2004, known as the Spiral. 

Forty years have passed since Worlds of Fun's made its splash into the great coaster wars. To many, Extremeroller was a blip in amusement park history but a monumental part of Worlds of Fun history. When it played on T.V., the E.X.T. commercial is my earliest memory of Worlds of Fun, commercial, park, or otherwise; it's probably why I ended up going to Worlds of Fun for the first time in 1983. So for me, at least, I may not have been able to "Stand Being First," but E.X.T. is anything but inconsequential.