Worlds of Fun 2014

[Swoosh]

I don't think SteelHawk is open yet.

[Sungod]

SteelHawk is set to open today.

[Swoosh]

It opened yesterday

[Joy]

I'm so glad Steelhawk is open now. I'm working as an airbrush artist there and it's been so hard to watch it testing but not be able to ride it yet.

In other news, I hadn't been to WoF in four years until this year. I'm impressed by the improvements I saw when I finally walked the park a few weeks ago. It's so much cleaner than I remembered and I like the new queue TVs. Also, I haven't had the chance to ride the train since my visit, but they were building the sets at the time for a train robbery! And I love seeing Phileas Fogg and Nellie Bly riding around in their old fashioned car and playing hopscotch and stuff with kids. WoF really needed some "face characters."

[Swoosh]

SteelHawk stranded some riders today when a RideOp hit the eStop button. Not sure on the reasoning or if it was an accident.  They did get down eventually without the evac platform.

[History Buff]

I just haven't lost anything at Worlds of Fun.  In other words, I don't need to return, and the only reason I have is to escort a group of youths.  Yesterday's trip was no exception.  Some might argue that I'm there at the wrong time of the year - with NO shows (no roving characters, no music, no magic; nothing), NO train robbery (not even any jokes; just advertising for other rides), NO locations that beckon me to snap a picture, a lax dress code, and disengaged employees.

On one ride (which I strangely enjoyed), the ride ambassador's attempt to read the warnings script was abysmal.  She couldn't read, so her partner at the attraction had to tell her what to say into the microphone.

Some ride ambassadors appear to be in their early teens.  In comparison with our fair park, I feel much safer (and more welcome) in our beloved SDC.

When lost children were reported to the authorities, they refused to make any effort to help locate them.  I realize they probably have reports like this every day, but to put no effort - and absolutely no concern - into their guests' worries was astounding.  If your children get lost at WoF, you cannot count on WoF for any help whatsoever.  They will not communicate the need to attraction operators, security officers, or anyone else; they will, however, sit in their air conditioned office and cast you out with the wave of a hand!

The TVs in the ride queues are nothing but irritating music videos (having nothing to do with the theme, and in fact, detracting from the theme), advertisements for other rides, and commercials for upcharges like meal plans.  Blending with the regular music from the area, ride rule announcements, and the rattling of the rides themselves, there is a general noise that makes everything incomprehensible.  Guests can't even hear their own conversations until well away from the queues.

Buildings at WoF have the beaten up feeling of an old hometown amusement park, not a charming appeal, not a magical attraction.  They look to have plopped down a few bucks with little thought for appearance or purpose.  Barkers repel visitors with their obnoxious carnival games.  I took very few pictures that could count as pretty, and most of those were simply the tops of coasters (of which I have ridden and don't need to ride again; they're just not unique to me.).

There were moments that were interesting or fun, but I am disappointed with such a lack of any emphasis on appearance, theme, and "feel".  Most visitors can't even identify the theme.

Not to mention the wait time:

[Swoosh]

I just haven't lost anything at Worlds of Fun.  In other words, I don't need to return, and the only reason I have is to escort a group of youths.  Yesterday's trip was no exception.  Some might argue that I'm there at the wrong time of the year - with NO shows (no roving characters, no music, no magic; nothing), NO train robbery (not even any jokes; just advertising for other rides), NO locations that beckon me to snap a picture, a lax dress code, and disengaged employees.

The park plainly states on their website that there will be no shows during this period.  If you arrive at the park and expect shows to be playing without first educating yourself on what is available, the disappointment is on you, not the park.

The dress code does bother me some, but at the same time it is no where near as bad as Six Flags.  Also I realize that they are scrapping the bottom of the barrel right now with employees.  The quality college kids have gone back to school.  The quality high school kids are all back at high school doing those activities and then you have the left overs - oh sure there are some quality ones left, but they are overwhelmed by the apathetic ones.  You think it is bad at WOF, do yourself a favor and don't go to Six Flags during this time.

On one ride (which I strangely enjoyed), the ride ambassador's attempt to read the warnings script was abysmal.  She couldn't read, so her partner at the attraction had to tell her what to say into the microphone.

They hire numerous foreigners to help fill the gap of workers who have left for school.  Don't be a jerk about the girl not being able to read a script.  She should have never been put into that position, but knowing how teens (or 20-teens) can be when put into positions of authority....

Some ride ambassadors appear to be in their early teens.  In comparison with our fair park, I feel much safer (and more welcome) in our beloved SDC.

Really?  You're comparing a destination park to a local teen-driven park?

When lost children were reported to the authorities, they refused to make any effort to help locate them.  I realize they probably have reports like this every day, but to put no effort - and absolutely no concern - into their guests' worries was astounding.  If your children get lost at WoF, you cannot count on WoF for any help whatsoever.  They will not communicate the need to attraction operators, security officers, or anyone else; they will, however, sit in their air conditioned office and cast you out with the wave of a hand!

They state up front on and on the website that there is no paging system at the park.  They remind you this via announcements that your party should plan a meeting place if you become lost or separated.

The TVs in the ride queues are nothing but irritating music videos (having nothing to do with the theme, and in fact, detracting from the theme), advertisements for other rides, and commercials for upcharges like meal plans.  Blending with the regular music from the area, ride rule announcements, and the rattling of the rides themselves, there is a general noise that makes everything incomprehensible.  Guests can't even hear their own conversations until well away from the queues.

Please realize that you are probably not the target audience for the TVs.  Also, let's not try to kid ourselves that the teens can hear their conversations just fine -- they still have phones, right?  Yep, texty-text-text and Snap Chat.

Buildings at WoF have the beaten up feeling of an old hometown amusement park, not a charming appeal, not a magical attraction.  They look to have plopped down a few bucks with little thought for appearance or purpose.  Barkers repel visitors with their obnoxious carnival games.  I took very few pictures that could count as pretty, and most of those were simply the tops of coasters (of which I have ridden and don't need to ride again; they're just not unique to me.).

Oh yeah, because buildings at ALL parks are ALL just exquisite - it's only WOF that has run down buildings.   Do yourself a favor, don't look around Midtown at SDC, down by Lost River, and the list continues.  Think it is bad at WOF -- don't look around at Six Flags.  Oh and even Disneyland has issues.  WOF is still trying to dig itself out from the neglect that Lamar Hunt had for the park.  They have had to go through the park systematically since they bought it (Cedar Fair) and completely redo buildings.  This past year they redid Vittle Griddle, Moulin Rouge, and all of the roofs in Africa from Congo Clearing to Prowler.  They also completely rebuilt two buildings over by RipCord.

The barkers are only annoying if you allow them to be.  TBQH, I don't even notice them.

There were moments that were interesting or fun, but I am disappointed with such a lack of any emphasis on appearance, theme, and "feel".  Most visitors can't even identify the theme.

If you cannot go to a park - even the worst park in the USA - and have a good time.  Then you are the one to blame.  Create your own fun.  IF you go in looking for things to piss you off and/or whine about, chances are you will find them.  You are not a food critic, stop acting like a primadonna.  The park has lots to offer and is quite honestly a hidden gem.  I visited parks across the nation and ridden over 600 different rollercoasters and I still find WOF a park that I can have a good time in.

However you are entitled to your opinions, just like I am entitled to  when I read them

[shavethewhales]

HB's opinions are perfectly valid and predictable for someone from this audience. Yes, a lot of that can be expected, but there's also nothing wrong with pointing it out after experiencing it. I don't know why any of that would provoke such a break-down rebuke from you Swoosh. I don't think you really made much of a point anyway other than to push the idea that WOF is a 'meh' park and no one should expect it to be very good.

I think the real issue here that most WOF criticism gets at is that with just a little more effort in a few areas, the park could be so much better, but their target demographic doesn't expect much from them so they can get away with a lot. I wish I knew more about the actual numbers that their PTB see. I've always debated that special effort in park management pays off big dividends.

I'm planning to be there the weekend of the 4th to check it out for myself.

[Tmboote]

I personally think WOF is quite a nice park. I love the variety of rides you get there (wooden-Prowler, Hypercoaster- Mamba, Invert- Patriot/Boomerang). I haven't ever ridden SteelHawk or Thunderhawk, but I've ridden Riptide at VF and I'm sure both of those rides are fine. The only ride they have at I'll probably never ride again in my life is Timber Wolf. (I think most people would agree that ride can go)

Sure, WOF doesn't have any record breaking rides, which I think is okay. Maybe we'll see one in 2016.  

[History Buff]

Exactly my point, Shave.  I had plenty of the target demographic walking around with me, and shortly after lunch they became bored.  At a park that boasts over 100 rides and attractions (most of which must be upcharge games).  When someone wanted to ride a ride, most others did not.  I was able to ride with the ones who wanted to.  Even they noticed when the girl couldn't read the script - and she was not a foreigner.

I'm not faulting Swoosh for his hilarious rebuke, but to be honest, we can compare WoF with Six Flags and Silver Dollar City because they compete in the same state.  I'm unimpressed by SFStL, as well, having experienced SF over Texas before it shed its theme.  Cedar Fair has a great opportunity with its WoF property, but seems perfectly at ease with keeping it a teen-run local park when it absolutely could be worked into a destination park.  The theme is solid, but is executed poorly.

As far as the paging system, Swoosh is incorrect.  Of course there is a paging system.  They will only agree to a generic announcement:  "If you are a lost child, report to the First Aid office."  That's it.  I'm not upset that they would not make the page, but I am put out by the entire lack of concern by staff.  At a point when children are lost and adults are angry or upset about it, they made no effort to provide even the hint of concern.  In fact, the two adult individuals appeared to be irritated that such a request for assistance was even made.  In the "tourism" industry, service is/should be the number one effort.  God forbid if a child was ever actually abducted at Worlds of Fun!

I don't expect much from WoF, and this is not my first visit, but as far as the SDCFans forum is concerned, I can look at SDC in a brighter light after visiting WoF.  I can certainly admit that the Fury of the Nile is the best tube-float ride I've ever been on, and as I have always believed, the Lost River of the Ozarks is the worst.  As I recall, even Renegade Rapids at Frontier City beats SDC in this genre.

WoF gets credit for attention they paid in trimming this tree to fit the shape of the coaster:

[Tmboote]

When I rode Fury of the Nile, it was probably the most fun I've ever had on any ride. The ride stopped when we were in the big open area by the water cannon and we were stuck for about 20 minutes with the water cannon spraying us every minute or so. It was the wettest I've ever gotten on a water ride.

[shavethewhales]

I went to WOF for the first time yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised with the place. While it doesn't hit many of the notes that SDC plays so well, it is a nice experience of it's own if you are focused on just riding rides. Sometimes I just want good rides in a nice setting, and WOF is just that. Only thing I don't like about it is how they push the fast passes on you constantly, especially when the operations on some of the rides are slow, artificially creating demand for them (intentionally or not). That's my peeve with almost every park now though, sadly.


I found Mamba to be much better than I expected. I love a good out and back hyper coaster, and this one has a great setup of big drops, a nice helix with headchoppers, and awesome airtime filled bunnyhops. Only thing it's missing is a tunnel to make it perfect.

Boomerang was great. This was actually my first standard boomerang, and I wasn't expecting it to be much good based on the reports about them that I've been reading for the past decade. I don't know if this one is just particularly well maintained or what, but it was smooth and really enjoyable. You've got to hand it to the boomerang design, it really is was an ingenious innovation that packs the best parts of a looping coaster into a tiny area.

Patriot was good, but I wasn't exactly blown away by it. For some reason Patriot doesn't feel like a big coaster even though it's got a 123ft drop. It's a good quality ride for sure, but it seems like it doesn't really reach it's full potential or something.

Timber Wolf was just staggeringly horrible. It's would be hillarious watching the car in front of you bounce up and down and side to side and seeing everyone's heads wobble back and forth... if the same thing wasn't happening even more violently to your car! I'm surprised the train can make it back to the station with all the energy it looses bouncing around. I rode it in the front seat once and that was almost tolerable save for the jackhammering, but the farther back you go the worse it gets. I'm actually surprised this ride is still allowed to operate. Genuinely surprised. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen.

I rode Prowler a couple of times first thing when I got to the park, and then a couple of times around midnight. When I rode it during the day I thought it was just 'OK', I watched this thing be built five years ago and remembered all the rave reviews, so I was a little let down since it was rattling somewhat badly. However, when I went back to ride it at night, it was a whole different beast. It seems like it smooths out and gets faster over the course of the day somehow, and riding it in the dark is fantastic. It could use a little track work, but it's still got what it takes to be a fantastic wooden coaster.

Cyclone Sam's was awesome. I didn't even know what this ride was when I got in line, and I was pleasantly surprised. Definitely a must ride on every trip to WOF.

Also rode the train, enterprise, detonator and the spinning coaster and they were all pretty good.

This was my first time to experience a serious Halloween event at any park as well. I knew the parks always made a big deal about it, but I didn't know how much there was too it. I really liked the scare actors and spook zones all over the park. The Haunts were cool too, but the lines were just insane. Most of them were well over an hour, and the haunt passes really noticeably slow the lines down which makes everyone in the normal lines grouchy. I waited something like an hour and a half for Asylum, and while I wouldn't wait that long again for any haunt, it was a good one. I also did the slaughterhouse themed one and the london themed one. It was all pretty fun, but there's only so many times people can make sudden noises around you until you start to become immune. I did get one good scare in one of the haunts when someone came out of no where and got right in my face.

I definitely advise staying as long as possible. Like I said, I wouldn't want to wait an hour and half for a haunt again, nor do I want to pay another $55 to get a pass for something I've already paid for once, so I recommend just waiting the crowds out. Half the crowds leave by 11:30, so the haunts will only have waits of around half an hour or less (from what I could tell). Stick to the rides and the scare zones for the first couple of hours and then start with the less popular haunts first.

[Swoosh]

It all comes down to "what is your time worth"
To me $40 to visit ALL of the Extreme Haunts without a line and get home before 10pm is worth it. 

[Joy]

So, I ended up having to leave my job at the airbrush stand because of a changing living arrangement, so I didn't get the chance to experience the park during Halloween as an employee. I was looking so forward to that, too, 'cause our stand was located right where some major hiding scarers are located and my co-workers kept telling me how fun it is to watch guests getting scared.

As for the lost child, no, they don't page over the park speakers, but the one time that a kid was lost when I was working, a woman who had found the lost girl asked us to phone security from our stand's phone, and ultimately the child was found.

Of course, I don't know how things went at the park once the school year hit and employees started leaving for the season. I was only there one or two weekends after the park went to weekends-only.

All I can say is that I definitely noticed a difference in the park from my last visit four years ago when I finally got to walk the park this year. Sure, there's certainly more for Cedar Fair to do, but I remember when Hunt used to owned the place. YIKES.

And please note: I may have been working IN Worlds of Fun, but I was not employed by them. I was employed by Kaman's Art Shoppes. Btw, if you're ever looking for a summer job in Kansas City, I HIGHLY recommend applying with Kaman's. You don't have to have any previous experience; they'll train you hardcore. But I have never had better co-workers than the ones I had at the airbrush stand, and our boss was the nicest guy ever. I can't be more emphatic about recommending Kaman's as an employer. My hope is that things will improve for me so I can move back to KC in time to apply for next summer; I want to go back to working there SO bad. It was such a great feeling as an artist to actually be making things and getting paid to do so.

Do they have an airbrush stand at SDC? I can't recall. If so, I'm guessing it's in the GE area...?

[History Buff]

Another yearly visit to WoF (I hate to start a new thread for this.):

We went last Saturday and had special group tickets - $39, including fried chicken/hotdog lunch and all-you-want drinks in the park.  I will never be impressed at any price, but the chicken was very good.

A number of rides were closed.
Most of the drink stands were closed, making the all-you-want drinks into more of a quest.
The lack of dress code enforcement is glaring, and putting my life in the hands of youngster ride operators is always nerve-racking.

I finally had the chance to ride Steelhawk.  It is easily my favorite in the park now as none of the coasters really hold my attention.  I love the smooth ride, the view (though smoggy).  The Superman music during our ride really added to the experience, which was like a real-life version of Soarin'.

The youth group enjoyed themselves anyway, but were also upset at the many closed attractions.