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Everyone says that the height combined with the rumor of inversions screams “Mack” to them, but it could also be an S&S like Steel Curtain. (I don’t really think it will he but I’m throwing that horrible thought into the universe just to be an asshole).

Hey TPR! As the season was winding down it was time to plan one last trip for the 2021 season. Initially the plan was to visit Kennywood, but then they decided to close Steel Curtain and half the park. Lagoon was the next choice, but flights were insane and the last of fast pass during Halloween events was a bit too risky. Then, we were reminded of SDC and Time Traveler with rave reviews coming in from Ride to Happiness! Our plan was: Fly into KC Friday, go to WOF for a first time visit during Haunt. Saturday drive to Branson for SDC at night. Sunday full day at SDC. Monday drive to KC and fly out. Oh boy some of Sean Whalen's sheep spotted in the wild! Arriving in KC, we got bbq right by the airport at Scott's Kitchen (https://www.scottskitchenandcatering.com/menus/) and the burnt ends were better than I could have ever imagined. Definitely go here if you want legit KC BBQ! The highway and roads in KC are a bit bizarre and so is the entrance to Worlds of Fun. The parking lot funnels you down into the woods to the new entrance. First impressions - this park is so pretty! Lots of Haunt decorations Let's go to the coasters! Slowly but surely checking off the B&M custom inverts. Patriot was one of four coasters I wanted to ride at WOF. I honestly haven't heard anything overly positive about Patriot, but I was pleasantly surprised! It's positioned on the side of a hill, it has some fun twisty bits and dips, and had a great flow to the layout! It's definitely not close to the top tier of inverts but it was a lot more fun than I anticipated. Already off to a good start for the evening! A nice sunset ride and by the time we were onto the next thing, it was dark. But you could still tell the park was very well taken care of. The park had a lot of fun Haunt food and drinks - and lots of local brewery tents! One of the many haunts, and just like any other park in October - it was busy. But not insane for a Friday. The park is really wooded outside of where Mamba sits. Timberwolf we get it you vape Really good looking sunset here in KC! Timberwolf wasn't bad, but we did wait for the front seat. It just didn't have much to offer and felt like a superior version of the Grizzly layout. Orion, is that you? That's as high as it goes lmao It's pitch black out here, it's time to see Jesus! Prowler starts with some wild laterals right out of the station. Come on Cedar Fair give this park some love!!! October 2021 - Prowler was funning fantastic. It's right up there with Mystic Timbers, Gold Striker, and Renegade for me! What an incredible night ride. While others wanted to get the little credits I decided to check out a nearby 'scare zone' that was obviously the dino alive path by boomerang. There was a TON of love given to this Pumpkin - blair witch themed walk through in the woods! This was way more than a scare zone. No one seemed to notice it since it was wedged between the boomerang and other haunts Then, things got really scary! This is what I get for skipping lame credits Thankfully it decided it was more scared of me and ran the other way. Skunks are fast! Damn! Sadly at this point in the night Mamba still hadn't moved and the ride op told us it would not be running at all, it was some sort of air brake issue. The crowds really poured in so our idea of a chill Friday night didn't really pan out so we voted to return in the morning in hopes that Mamba would be working. We found 54th Street Grill which had a ton of local KC beer on tap and a happy hour that went all night. We got a TON of food for cheap! Definitely a good spot to check out even if it's a bit basic: https://www.54thstreetgrill.com/kansas-city-mo-zone-rosa.html Seeing the park in the daylight was stunning! It felt like a Busch park! Please open please open please open please open please open please open please open At this point we were starting to creep in on our SDC night time. I wasn't sure if it was laziness or cold temps but the team didn't get Mamba open until about an hour after park opening. But it was well worth it! Mamba was really great! The layout is a smaller version of Steel Dragon 2000 and both front and back seat offered surprisingly good airtime. I think Mamba was the one where Morgan really got it right because their next coasters were - Steel Eeel, Steel Dragon 2000, and then Superman Ultimate Escape. Don't sleep on Mamba! Back over for more Prowler since we're here. Even early in the morning it was hauling, and we got a ton of rides in back to back! The flume looked like a lot of fun, would love to visit this park when CF invests in a new ride! Alright time, to get on the road to SDC! So final report: Patriot 1x Timberwolf 1x Mamba 2x Prowler 6x Worlds of Fun is an easy park to access flying into the KC airport. I'd love to visit again on the way to SDC and see more of the park in the daytime, it's really pretty. There's trees everywhere, a little Moroccan village, fun topiaries, and beautiful foliage everywhere. I know the park is getting some extra touches for their anniversary season so I can't wait to see how it looks!

great report. thanks for posting it!

Good report. Kings Dominion is also renowned for its skunk population.

I feel like parks make much better roller-coasters when they just try for something fun over being 'world-first' or 'continent/country-tallest/fastest/steepest' etc. Rides like Maverick and Velocicoaster come to mind. Because those early rendering look like this roller-coaster could be a lot of fun.

Checking really seemed to restart in October. But 2 weeks out I had no issue reserving Wed, Fri, and Sat the week of Thanksgiving. Finding a place to stay with dogs was harder. Earlier this week someone complained so I looked and only the weekend of the 18th was full. Every other day left in Dec was green.

I think thats the issue - Its on the website, but they've not been checking - even telling people they "suggest" but don't require, then overnight earlier this week they became "mandatory" again right as they have bee pushing season pass sales - now people that bought to "take advantage of Smokey Mtn Christmas this year".... can't because so many days are already sold out. I just think this park needs to get a handle on a lot of things as they keep growing and chasing a bigger and bigger slice of the tourism pie.

Nice! Yeah, we got a lot of skunks around here. Glad you liked Mamba! I agree the park itself is really beautiful. They do a great job of making you forget you're right next to an interstate.

When I think of coasters that haul ass back into the station and definitely don't take 100 years to get there, I think of Tennessee Tornado. It seems like they struggle more and more every year with operating a theme park well, but you can say that for a lot of companies right now.

Some of those pics really hit me with the nostalgia from when I worked there as an airbrush artist in 2014. The skunk especially. Brings back memories of being warned by co-workers who'd worked there longer than me about coming across the skunks. I really do miss the park. Haven't gotten to visit since then. I haven't gotten to see the new entrance in person yet! They've done a lot of excellent work at prettifying the park over the last several years. Were they still using the score from Edward Scissorhands as part of the atmospheric music for Haunt? I haven't gotten to go during Haunt season since.... possibly close to 15 years? Can't remember, it's been that long. Loved reading your report! Looking forward to the SDC portion!

"Anticipated opening summer of 2022" seems more accurate at this rate...

Nice report man. World's of Fun has always been an interesting park to me, it's kind of like Dorney a little bit. Not really worth a trip on it's own because the coaster lineup isn't great, but it's good enough that it's worth stopping into if you're in the area. Ironically I've been to KC and Allentown a couple different times for various reason's and have never visited either park. One of these days I'll get there, maybe.

Media Night at WinterFest When last we left Kings Dominion, evil boogie-boogie eyes glared at guests from the top of the Eiffel Tower, and the forces of Darkness held sway. But on Friday, December 3, the tower sported brightly colored, ever-changing lights, and the air was filled with the sounds of Christmas music and the smell of gingerbread. Yes, it’s time for WinterFest, the park’s annual holiday celebration. Kings Dominion invited Theme Park Review to experience WinterFest Media Night last Friday. The center piece, of course, was the Eiffel Tower, which was lit up like an enormous Christmas tree. The pool in front of the tower became a skating rink named Snowflake Lake, and all of International Street offered all sorts of holiday cheer, drinks, shows, and food. In fact, the entire park, with the exception of Safari Village, was open and decked out for the holidays. There were quite a few rides running, as well, including Dominator and Twisted Timbers. What was new for 2021 was the WinterFest Wonderland Parade, which starts in Candy Apple Grove and swings by the front of the Eiffel Tower. The parade features all the characters wandering around the park that evening, including Scrooge and Company from Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” and the big man himself, Santa Claus. It’s a nice way to finish your evening at WinterFest. Prepare to be jolly! Or maybe merry. Possibly tickled. Santa and his sleigh welcome all to WinterFest. Busch Gardens isn’t the only park that has a tree with big balls. Scrooge, Marley, and the Ghosts of Christmas Present and Yet to Come wandered all over that park that night. They even chatted with guests in the restaurant where I had dinner, telling everyone who would listen that Scrooge needed to learn a thing or two about Christmas. Boy, they leaned him good, I'll tell you what! I imagine this would be Robb’s first stop if he were here. Jack Frost, the coolest guy in town, and two of his buddies hanging out at Starbucks. I think they all had iced coffee. What else? You do not want to be the reindeer behind Blitzen if he’s been eating burritos. Snoopy is here to get this party started. He's even more important than Santa. One flick of this giant switch . . . . . . and WinterFest begins in a flurry of snow. The Eiffel Tower really dominates the park during WinterFest. I wandered through Old Virginia in search of dinner. Hmm--this looks promising. They serve a pretty good turkey dinner here. You can get Virginia ham, too. There are plenty of other food options, such as a donut bacon cheese burger and crepes. What’s happening in nearby Tinseltown? “I really can’t stay . . .” “But baby it’s cold outside . . .” Yeah, typical dude making Christmas time. Coca Cola Santa--this one’s for Elissa. I took two rides on Twisted Timbers that night. The second one was kind of chilly. Candy Apple Grove featured music and synchronized lights. If you miss the Nativity show . . . . . . you can feed an honest-to-god camel instead. My favorite decorations are in Planet Snoopy. I like the gumdrops in the trees and all the lights on the topiary Peanuts characters. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and beagles oft go astray. If you still need to fill some time before the parade . . . . . . you can always go skating on Snowflake Lake. Or you could do some shopping. Tumbili is all set to brighten up your Christmas tree. Or this ornament could put your yule log in a twist. Who’s up for some hot chocolate and a bit of ritual Christmas cannibalism? A band of reindeer warm up the crowd for the parade. These guys were all over the park that night, too. And here it comes. Jollity on the move! One of Jack Frost’s buddies waves while a KD employee watches warily in the background (her eyes are on you, people). Hey, less cavorting and more baking! Them cookies ain’t gonna make themselves! Mrs. Claus is happy to finally get outside after decorating cookies all evening. “OK, it’s sing-a-long time! How about ‘Simply Having Wonderful Christmas Time’? Wait--where’s everybody going?” The safest way to ski. “That’s right. I am the coolest guy in town. I bestow my coolness on you by pointing.” I failed at getting a good picture of Santa. He’s going to leave this in my stocking for taking such a bad photo. The crowd follows the parade out. Thanks for the fun evening at WinterFest, Kings Dominion. Merry Christmas!

New images 11-11-2021 05:07 pm (Local)

Unfinished new supports for a new kind of test. Unknown what kind of test at the moment. Its gonna be a BIG test. I hope its for the long awaited Tiltcoaster 2.0.