Worlds of Fun - Kansas City

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Sat May 02, 2009 10:17 am

The Prowler. I love wooden roller coasters.

http://www.kansascity.com/936/gallery/1174193.html

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Sat May 02, 2009 1:03 pm

video and animations

http://prowler.worldsoffun.com/public/ride/video.cfm

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sat May 02, 2009 1:27 pm

Ah! That looks awesome! It's great to see new wooden roller coasters still being built.

Gosh, WoF keeps getting better and better. They could give Omaha a third of what they have, and you'd have two AMAZING parks.

Post by **Brad** » Mon May 04, 2009 9:46 am

I can't wait to get back down there!

Post by **Brad** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:23 pm

Worlds of Fun will be closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays in June due to an employee shortage.

Worlds of Fun limits days of operation due to staffing shortage

https://www.kctv5.com/news/local_news/w ... 1e18a.html

BETSY WEBSTER, KCTV5 wrote:“While we continue to ramp up our recruiting efforts,” it read, “we must adjust our operating calendar based on the availability of seasonal labor.”

One recruiting effort involved a raise in pay. On June 4th, Worlds of Fun announced ride operators and “food and beverage ambassadors” who are 16 and older will start at $15 per hour.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 2:41 pm

Wow that is crazy...$15/hr to work at an amusement park.

I am glad that they are trying though.

We were thinking of going to Adventureland for the first time in 20 years at some point this summer and I noticed that they are only open till 5 or 6 on most weekdays in June, with TBD for July's calendar.

Post by **Brad** » Fri Nov 11, 2022 10:31 pm

Great news! Worlds of Fun is bringing back a new version of the Zambezi Zinger in 2023! The layout seems very similar and while the rendering video doesn't have the trunnel, apparently the real thing will. Can't wait to get back down there.

Hopefully a new version of the Orient Express is next!

rendering video:

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Sat Apr 15, 2023 12:17 pm

I read where there was a brawl last weekend at Worlds of Fun, involving over 100 young people. Police were called to try to break it up. As I recall numerous arrests were made.
As a consequence the management of the park has instituted an immediate change of policy, now requiring anyone 15 or under to enter in the company of an adult over age 21. I believe this policy is only in effect during evening hours, and requires any unaccompanied youth in the park earlier in the day to leave the property at 5 pm.
Sad it has come to this, but it’s very smart for the park to get ahead of this problem before it starts to bleed their attendance numbers.

Post by **Brad** » Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:25 pm

I read that too, so sad.

Post by **Brad** » Thu Nov 02, 2023 9:16 pm

Hope this doesn't effect the park in a negative way. We went there in July and had a blast!

Kansas City's 'Worlds of Fun' owners merge with Six Flags

https://www.wowt.com/2023/11/02/worlds- ... six-flags/

wowt.com wrote:KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Cedar Fair, the parent company of Worlds of Fun, has announced a merger with Six Flags.

The merger means the group will now operate 42 amusement parks and 9 resort properties across 17 states, Canada and Mexico.

The announcement was made Thursday morning.

The merger was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors for both companies.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Fri Nov 03, 2023 8:56 am

I was wondering the same thing. I have obviously visited Worlds of Fun, also Cedar Point in OH, and ValleyFair in the Minneapolis area(all run by Cedar Fair) and they are all great. I just hope that this is good news for the parks.

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Fri Nov 03, 2023 10:25 am

From my perception I’d think Cedar Fair has the nicer parks, especially with how revered Cedar Point is amongst coaster junkies

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Sun Nov 05, 2023 10:28 pm

Worlds of Fun will not change its name as part of the merger.

Dusty · Post by **Dusty** » Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:08 am

Cedar Fair will own 51-52% of the company. Six Flags will have the rest. This means all the parks will keep their names and run as usual. They mentioned the merger will help drive down their supply chain costs for concessions. Also, an ultimate season pass would give you access to all the parks in their portfolio.

Post by **Brad** » Mon Jul 22, 2024 9:43 am

We went to Worlds of Fun on Memorial Day and then again this past Saturday 7/20.

Memorial Day wasn't too crowded and everything big except the "Spinning Dragons" was running. Overall going on Memorial Day was a great experience.

Saturday 7/20 was a lot more crowded. It was raining until about 2pm but that did seem to deter the crowds one bit. However the "Spinning Dragons" was closed most of the day. It opened for a while before closing again. Not sure if it ever re-opened. The "Mamba" closed for a little while in the afternoon too, but don't believe it was closed that long. The New "Zambezi Zinger" was closed most of the day and then finally opened early evening. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time for that. The "Patriot" lines were really long all day.

I heard the "Spinning Dragons" got a completely new control system this year and was closed for the first half the season while that was installed. Apparently it suffered a lot of closures the past couple years and the new control was going to fix that, but it hasn't been perfect. I don't care for the "Spinning Dragons". Its a lame rollercoaster and the line moves extremely slow. That said, its better when its running because it spreads out the crowd. A Saturday when 2 coaster are closed most of the day isn't good for lines on the remaining coasters.

Speaking of new control systems.... The Scrambler. It had a simple control right by the entrance gate. However they built a new control building in the back of the ride, far away from everything. This has really crushed the efficacy of getting people on and off the ride. The ride ends and people get off and depart the ride area. The worker checks all the cars, and goes back to the control and locks the exit gate. Then he has to walk all the way round the ride to make sure the exit gate locked. Then he walks all the way back to the controls and unlocks the fast pass gate and then walks over to let those people in. Then back to the control to lock that gate. Then they go check that gate is locked, then back to the control to unlock the front gate. Then back to the front to open that gate and let riders on. Then back to the control to lock that front gate. Then its a trip around the ride to check and make sure all three gates are locked. Then checks all the cars to make sure everyone is buckled. Then the ride can start. There are several ways to make this ride more efficient, and hopefully changes are made.

Speaking of over the top safety... The "Le TaxiTour" ride. Back in the day, the ride would end, riders would depart, and the worker would jump on the side of the car and push a side pedal to drive it up the 20 feet to where the new riders would board. Now the worker must get in the car, put on the seatbelt, drive the car up 20 feet, take off the seatbelt and get out... What a dumb waste of time.

Overall I like the park, but I hate lines. So when I see dumb inefficacies I get annoyed really easily.

We went to Oceans of Fun on Sunday and that was good. Not too crowded.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Mon Jul 22, 2024 10:06 am

I need to go back here. I wonder if there are any big additions in the works. Several people I have talked to used to love Worlds of Fun, but with the few newer additions that Adventureland has done in the past 4-5 years with rollercoasters, it is quickly catching up if not surpassing WOF.

We haven't been for about 10 years, I think.

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Mon Jul 22, 2024 12:38 pm

skinzfan23 wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2024 10:06 am I need to go back here. I wonder if there are any big additions in the works. Several people I have talked to used to love Worlds of Fun, but with the few newer additions that Adventureland has done in the past 4-5 years with rollercoasters, it is quickly catching up if not surpassing WOF.

We haven't been for about 10 years, I think.

The new Zambezi Zinger is awesome. They've also smoothed out the Timber Wolf with new tracks (and probably since you've been added an all new section).

For us Adventureland is definitely improving but my boys are older now (high school and college) and they still prefer Worlds of Fun (both the ride side and water park-new slides added there as well).

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Mon Jul 22, 2024 1:54 pm

Thats good to hear. I always preferred WOF to adventureland, but we went to Adventureland in 2021 and it was much better than before. Obviously, KC has a lot more to do than Des Moines, so there is also that to consider as well.

Post by **nebugeater** » Mon Jul 22, 2024 2:29 pm

Brad wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2024 9:43 am We went to Worlds of Fun on Memorial Day and then again this past Saturday 7/20.

Memorial Day wasn't too crowded and everything big except the "Spinning Dragons" was running. Overall going on Memorial Day was a great experience.

Saturday 7/20 was a lot more crowded. It was raining until about 2pm but that did seem to deter the crowds one bit. However the "Spinning Dragons" was closed most of the day. It opened for a while before closing again. Not sure if it ever re-opened. The "Mamba" closed for a little while in the afternoon too, but don't believe it was closed that long. The New "Zambezi Zinger" was closed most of the day and then finally opened early evening. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time for that. The "Patriot" lines were really long all day.

I heard the "Spinning Dragons" got a completely new control system this year and was closed for the first half the season while that was installed. Apparently it suffered a lot of closures the past couple years and the new control was going to fix that, but it hasn't been perfect. I don't care for the "Spinning Dragons". Its a lame rollercoaster and the line moves extremely slow. That said, its better when its running because it spreads out the crowd. A Saturday when 2 coaster are closed most of the day isn't good for lines on the remaining coasters.

Speaking of new control systems.... The Scrambler. It had a simple control right by the entrance gate. However they built a new control building in the back of the ride, far away from everything. This has really crushed the efficacy of getting people on and off the ride. The ride ends and people get off and depart the ride area. The worker checks all the cars, and goes back to the control and locks the exit gate. Then he has to walk all the way round the ride to make sure the exit gate locked. Then he walks all the way back to the controls and unlocks the fast pass gate and then walks over to let those people in. Then back to the control to lock that gate. Then they go check that gate is locked, then back to the control to unlock the front gate. Then back to the front to open that gate and let riders on. Then back to the control to lock that front gate. Then its a trip around the ride to check and make sure all three gates are locked. Then checks all the cars to make sure everyone is buckled. Then the ride can start. There are several ways to make this ride more efficient, and hopefully changes are made.

Speaking of over the top safety... The "Le TaxiTour" ride. Back in the day, the ride would end, riders would depart, and the worker would jump on the side of the car and push a side pedal to drive it up the 20 feet to where the new riders would board. Now the worker must get in the car, put on the seatbelt, drive the car up 20 feet, take off the seatbelt and get out... What a dumb waste of time.

Overall I like the park, but I hate lines. So when I see dumb inefficacies I get annoyed really easily.

We went to Oceans of Fun on Sunday and that was good. Not too crowded.

Wonder how much of the changes, esp safety procedures, have to do with now being owned by Six Flags?

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Tue Jul 23, 2024 3:06 am

nebugeater wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2024 2:29 pm
Brad wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2024 9:43 am We went to Worlds of Fun on Memorial Day and then again this past Saturday 7/20.

Memorial Day wasn't too crowded and everything big except the "Spinning Dragons" was running. Overall going on Memorial Day was a great experience.

Saturday 7/20 was a lot more crowded. It was raining until about 2pm but that did seem to deter the crowds one bit. However the "Spinning Dragons" was closed most of the day. It opened for a while before closing again. Not sure if it ever re-opened. The "Mamba" closed for a little while in the afternoon too, but don't believe it was closed that long. The New "Zambezi Zinger" was closed most of the day and then finally opened early evening. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time for that. The "Patriot" lines were really long all day.

I heard the "Spinning Dragons" got a completely new control system this year and was closed for the first half the season while that was installed. Apparently it suffered a lot of closures the past couple years and the new control was going to fix that, but it hasn't been perfect. I don't care for the "Spinning Dragons". Its a lame rollercoaster and the line moves extremely slow. That said, its better when its running because it spreads out the crowd. A Saturday when 2 coaster are closed most of the day isn't good for lines on the remaining coasters.

Speaking of new control systems.... The Scrambler. It had a simple control right by the entrance gate. However they built a new control building in the back of the ride, far away from everything. This has really crushed the efficacy of getting people on and off the ride. The ride ends and people get off and depart the ride area. The worker checks all the cars, and goes back to the control and locks the exit gate. Then he has to walk all the way round the ride to make sure the exit gate locked. Then he walks all the way back to the controls and unlocks the fast pass gate and then walks over to let those people in. Then back to the control to lock that gate. Then they go check that gate is locked, then back to the control to unlock the front gate. Then back to the front to open that gate and let riders on. Then back to the control to lock that front gate. Then its a trip around the ride to check and make sure all three gates are locked. Then checks all the cars to make sure everyone is buckled. Then the ride can start. There are several ways to make this ride more efficient, and hopefully changes are made.

Speaking of over the top safety... The "Le TaxiTour" ride. Back in the day, the ride would end, riders would depart, and the worker would jump on the side of the car and push a side pedal to drive it up the 20 feet to where the new riders would board. Now the worker must get in the car, put on the seatbelt, drive the car up 20 feet, take off the seatbelt and get out... What a dumb waste of time.

Overall I like the park, but I hate lines. So when I see dumb inefficacies I get annoyed really easily.

We went to Oceans of Fun on Sunday and that was good. Not too crowded.
Wonder how much of the changes, esp safety procedures, have to do with now being owned by Six Flags?

I had read that Cedar Fair got over 50 percent of the new company and Six Flags was the smaller entity in the merger.

Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Mar 05, 2026 7:41 am

Six Flags has sold Worlds of Fun and six other parks to EPR Properties

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/ ... C7lsvFIy-A

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Thu Mar 05, 2026 10:55 am

nebugeater wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2026 7:41 am Six Flags has sold Worlds of Fun and six other parks to EPR Properties

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/ ... C7lsvFIy-A

This is fantastic news.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Apr 01, 2026 12:33 pm

So apparently they were thinking about getting rid of the Timber Wolf, but hard a change of heart?

Worlds of Fun wrote:We've listened. Timber Wolf returns this June! Stay tuned tomorrow to learn more about how we are preparing for the return of this iconic wood coaster.

So here is their Timber Wolf update and Prowler update.

Worlds of Fun wrote:Timber Wolf :
As we aim to restore this classic wood coaster, we're replacing three sections of the ride with 406 feet of Gravity Group Engineered Precut Track.

Prowler:
Wood and steel merge to bring Prowler an additional 225 feet of Titan Track from Great Coasters International continuing its refurbishment.

The Prowler got 400' of Titan Track last year and the Zambezi Zinger is 100% Titan Track.

Hope to get back there again this year.

Stan · Post by **Stan** » Wed Apr 01, 2026 12:40 pm

Looked it up because I did not know.

Great Coasters International wrote:Titan Track is a patented, weld-free steel track designed by Skyline Attractions for Great Coasters International (GCI), used to upgrade or build wooden roller coasters.

Key Features and Benefits
Weld-Free Design: Titan Track uses a rivet-based system, which reduces fabrication, installation, and maintenance costs.
Improved Performance: It offers a smoother, quieter ride experience, minimizing the "bone-crunching" impact of traditional wood track on high-stress sections.
Versatility: The track can be used to retrack high-stress sections of existing wooden coasters or to create entirely new, full-circuit, ground-up hybrid coasters.
Increased Possibilities: Unlike traditional wood, Titan Track allows for inversions, launches, and steeper, more intense elements.

OmahaRedWing · Post by **OmahaRedWing** » Wed Apr 01, 2026 2:16 pm

Brad wrote: Wed Apr 01, 2026 12:33 pm So apparently they were thinking about getting rid of the Timber Wolf, but hard a change of heart?

Worlds of Fun wrote:We've listened. Timber Wolf returns this June! Stay tuned tomorrow to learn more about how we are preparing for the return of this iconic wood coaster.
So here is their Timber Wolf update and Prowler update.

Worlds of Fun wrote:Timber Wolf :
As we aim to restore this classic wood coaster, we're replacing three sections of the ride with 406 feet of Gravity Group Engineered Precut Track.

Prowler:
Wood and steel merge to bring Prowler an additional 225 feet of Titan Track from Great Coasters International continuing its refurbishment.
The Prowler got 400' of Titan Track last year and the Zambezi Zinger is 100% Titan Track.

Hope to get back there again this year.

Last year was the first since Six Flags took over all the old Cedar Fair Parks (which included Worlds of Fun), Cedar Fair had really done nice things with Worlds of Fun since taking over, including fixing up old rides, cleanings the park/updating landscaping, and adding new rides.

The first thing Six Flags did was shut down for the season, the Timber Wolf. Now that EPR bought multiple parks from Six Flags under the Enchanted Forest subsidiary, this is the first thing they did, which is a great sign. EPR is based out of KC. One of the other parks they got was Valley Fair in Minneapolis (which was also a Cedar Fair Park previously). Six Flags St Louis which was an original Six Flags park is now also owned by EPR.

Very happy that Six Flags is now out of the picture. They seemed overleveraged and didn't have the money to maintain and improve the parks.

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