Coaster Community

Home sweet home.

Growing up, there were a handful of attractions that were must rides for the entire family and these include, the Orient Express, Zambezi Zinger, Scream Roller, Zulu, Viking Voyager, Le Taxi, and Octopus.  Now I’m about to admit something that usually doesn’t make it’s way to the public…I used to be deathly afraid of roller coasters as a kid and I spent most of my time holding my mom back (feel free to send hate mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).  After a couple of years on the Zambezi Zinger and Silly Serpent I was able to work my way on to Timber Wolf and Orient Express.  I was really mad at myself once I realized how much fun I had missed out on in the early years.  Even with my fear of rolling down track I still had a lot of fun every time I went to the park and that fun continues to this day.

I took a small break from Worlds of Fun during my four year stay in the military and this absence in reality is the time that I became an unofficial enthusiast.  I was stationed in San Diego so I made frequent trips to Los Angeles and it was a ride on Batman the Ride back in 1997 that sent me down this path of adrenaline.  When I returned to Kansas City in July of 1998 I was surprised to find a hyper coaster waiting for me.  This began a new era of Worlds of Fun enjoyment for me.

In late 1999 my wife and I went on our first date and Worlds of Fun was the destination.  It’s remained the primary summer destination ever since and in the year 2000 my wife and I got our first Worlds of Fun season passes and we’ve had them ever since.  It’s also a good idea to buy a parking pass with the season pass especially if you plan on visiting as often as we do.  It’s hard for us to say how many times per year that we hit the park but I would feel comfortable guessing that it’s more than 20.  We have found Worlds of Fun to be a great place to relax after a crazy day at work mainly because the crowds are thinner on weeknights.  We also make frequent weekend trips with a small group of friends that have become Worlds of Fun junkies like ourselves (through our recruitment efforts, this group has grown larger and larger each year).  Our favorites times are the first couple of weekends of the season and the midnight closings on Saturday night during the peak summer season.  If you’re just now jumping on the coaster bandwagon one piece of advice that I can offer is to ride everything at night as often as you can. 

Here’s a look at a normal weeknight trip for the Coaster Community crew.  We will typically eat dinner at the park and this includes a corn dog (because corn dogs rule!) and a stop at Zarda.  If you happen to eat at Zarda make sure that you’re plenty hungry because they pile it on and even I can’t eat an entire plate of food and if you’re ever lucky enough to meet me you’ll know why I’m mentioning this (it’s because I’m a giant Yeti).  If we happen to be craving something sweet then the options are limitless but the spot that we hit most often is Triple Dip Ice Cream. 

With the crowds being relatively thin we are able to leisurely meander through the park and we start by riding Timber Wolf.  For some reason wooden coasters seem better in the evening when it’s a bit cooler.  Timber Wolf is the first wood coaster that I’ve had the pleasure of riding and to this day it still delivers an intense action packed ride.  Like most coaster rides I prefer to ride this one in the back row. 

The wife and I hate getting totally soaked but if we’re in the mood we’ll prepare by wearing flip flops and lighter clothes and it’s on these days that we hit the water rides hard.  So if we have the right set up we’ll hit Thunderhawk because for some reason it’s just not as much fun when the water effects are turned off.  This ride has a serious giggle effect on me.

Next it’s off to Detonator, this is another must ride every time we hit the park.  I’ve been on a handful of space shot rides around the country and none of them even come close to having the kind of power that Detonator has.  If conditions are just right you’ll get thrown out of your seat on the second bounce and that it unheard of on any other space shot that I know of.  I’ve been told that this is due to Detonator being a first generation space shot (sounds like a good explanation to me).

Mamba is the next stop on the must ride list and it’s likely going to be ridden by the Coaster Community crew multiple times before we move on.  Mamba is a smooth fast ride with incredible air time.  I mentioned previously that I’m a fan of the back row and this applies to Mamba as well but I will ride in the front on a regular basis to experience the insane air time that this ride provides as it goes over the 2^nd hill.  I don’t know what the designers did but once you crest the top of the hill you don’t land back in your seat until you’ve reached the bottom, at which point the g-forces turn to positive.  The helix provides just the right amount of forces and sends the train into the mid-course brakes with plenty of speed to spare.  The front couple of rows score more ejector air as the train enters this section of the ride.  The camel humps may cause more giggling so be prepared.  Regardless of the crowd situation the Mamba line moves quickly.

Hidden back behind the Fury of the Nile is the Monsoon.  This ride sounds like a soaker but it isn’t (unless you’re crazy and you hang out on the bridge).  It’s a boat ride that takes you up a lift hill and then turns 180 degrees and drops you into a small pond.  Water goes everywhere but it’s largely directed towards the exit bridge that crosses above the boats path.  This is where the crazy people like to stand and wait for water to pummel them.  If you’re in the boat you get wet, but it’s more of a refreshing wet since it gets so hot in KC.  An added feature that I have yet to experience anywhere else is the bump in the drop.  This bump has a bucking effect and it throws me up out of my seat making it more difficult for me to dodge the oncoming water.  Since we don’t get soaked this one makes it on to the frequent ride list.

The Fury of the Nile is up next and on this one you might get wet and you might not.  If you’re my wife it’s likely that you will get wet because she usually hates it more than anyone and that’s apparently the way things work.  Recent enhancements have made this a more enjoyable ride and it’s always fun to watch people freak out about getting wet.  You can see it coming and Worlds of Fun pros like us know who’s going to get it based on the position of the boat.  It’s like water roulette.  The tunnel at the end of the ride is another area of concern because there is a sporadic waterfall at the exit that usually gets everyone especially my wife.

You would think that this is a good time to hit Boomerang but since going backwards through loops makes my wife and I a little queasy we normally skip it.  It’s a great ride if you can handle the motion so I would recommend that everyone try it.

Next up is the corn dog hut aka Big Jack's Jungle Juice.  If you like corn dogs then you’ll like these, they’re made fresh to order.  They also settle well and that’s important because the Zulu is right across the path.  This ride has been at the park for as long as I can remember and it’s another ride that you’ll find at other parks only that it’s better at Worlds of Fun.  The comparable rides are more often than not a lot smaller and a lot less fun.  Zulu is huge and gives me the feeling that I’m flying an old dive bomber as it completes it’s loop.  With my wife and I in a car we get a lot of wiggling and vibration, which adds another dimension to the scare factor.  Be sure to partner up with someone because this ride just isn’t as fun when you’re alone.

It’s off to Scandinavia.  Since I’m not a big fan of spinning (I might be a giant Yeti but I’m also a wimp) we don’t spend a lot of time here because Octopus and Finish Fling are spinning at it’s best.  I’ll take an occasional ride on Sea Dragon, which is a swinging ship and when I do where do I sit?  That’s right, the back row.  Viking Voyager is another classic ride in Scandinavia that we ride on a regular basis.  It provides us with another shot of “refreshing” wetness.  Fjörd Fjärlane also spins but it’s doesn’t bother me like a lot of the other spinners because of the super fun kicking action.  As you round the circle the ride kicks the cars upward and outward and if you’re thinking that this will cause a giggling effect you’d be right.

At this point we’ve made it completely around the park in about 1.5 hours and the last ride that we absolutely have to hit is Spinning Dragons.  Maximum spin on this ride is about my spinning limit and even then it’s plenty fun.  We’re usually in a group of 4 so this ride is perfect for us and we’ve mastered weight distribution so that we get the perfect amount of spin.  We have also found that leaning in the right directions and at the right times can also play a major role in the spinning of the car.  The best part of this ride is the small drop right before the final turn.  If you’re luck you’ll go down this hill backwards and you’ll be caught off guard.  This is where you are most likely to hear inappropriate language from visitors whose party forced them to riding because it’s small coaster.

If we have the time and the energy we’ll head into Eupora at this time and tear it up on the bumper cars.  This is another ride that we have mastered.  You’ll never see someone from the Coaster Community crew getting caught up in a pileup in the middle of the floor.  We’re like vultures that circle the outer rim waiting for someone to get stuck and then we strike.  If the mood is right we’ll take each other out leaving you and your family the ability to ride without fear.  The Flying Dutchman is another spinner that I can deal with, keep in mind that the end of the ride comes at the perfect time but the breeze provided during the ride is a nice break.  Le Taxi gets occasional visits from us but families really drive up the wait time so it’s a game time decision whether we wait or not.

Join us in our forums for more information.
http://coastercommunity.com/smf_forum/index.php