Photo TR: Worlds of Fun, April 21st

[HogarthOK]

Hi gang.

 

Worlds of Fun is a small little park, and a lot of fun.

Weather was beautiful; crowds were very light early in the day, and just medium at the end of the day.

 

Unlike poor Ginzo's KI experience, the season pass processing line was relatively short -- even better, though, we went yesterday to get processed and there was no line at all.

 

The bathrooms definitely got that "Cedar Fair" makeover. I felt like I was doing #2 near Disaster Transport. It's also amusing to still find Orient Express merch in some of the stores.

 

Got tired after awhile, but ended up being there about 6 hours.

Patriot x 4

Mamba x 2

Boomerang x 2

Spinning Dragons x 2

Wacky Worm x 1 (yay credit)

(and some miscellaneous flats)

 

If you're near MO, and you haven't been, you're missing out! (Doubly so if you have or want to get a Maxx pass.)

 

Pictures taken with a Fuji Finepix V10 -- i *love* it. It can power on, take a picture, and power off in under 5 seconds.

 

On with the photos...

Patriot from the Parking Lot

Spinning Dragons from the Bridge into the Orient

One of Cedar Fair's best logo designs, IMHO

No lines at 9:45 in the morning.

Boomerang needs a paint job badly.

Sit upright, hold on tight, because Mamba is about to strike.

Detonator's still fun, too.

It's not Power Tower, but it'll do.

Snoopy looks borderline inappropriate in this photo. Thanks, Snoop.

Duhhhh Dee Dee Dee

whee?

[Divv3k]

Cool TR, looks like you had a fun day.

 

I'm thinking about stopping by WOF this summer, although the reports that Patriot's one of the lamer B&M inverts is putting me off a bit. It looks like it's a fun ride though so I probably will end up visiting.

 

It's not a big deal but I still can't stand the white stripe on Patriot's track.

[HogarthOK]

I'm thinking about stopping by WOF this summer, although the reports that Patriot's one of the lamer B&M inverts is putting me off a bit. It looks like it's a fun ride though so I probably will end up visiting.

 

Granted, I haven't been on many, but I think Patriot is a great ride.

It is very smooth, due to its age, I assume. It's not overly complicated (5 inversions) but has a great sense of speed, and some decent views. It doesn't have that jarring brake run like Raptor.

 

Plus, due to the crowds (or lack thereof) we probably could've ridden it 15 times today, had we desired to do so.

 

I wouldn't go to WOF if it's completely out of your way. (Scotland?!)

But if you're within a few hours drive, it's worth the trip.

 

After lurking on TPR for awhile, I want to ride Pyrenees.

 

H

[Axman]

WoF is an other park to add to my extremely long list of U.S. parks I need to visit! Boomerang really does need a new paint job, doesn't it?

[thefitness]

Looks like a fun park!

 

On the 8th picture down what is that white car doing right next to that coaster?

[CP_RULES]

^^^^Patriot is a very fun ride with plenty of forces and some airtime. Definitely NOT lame.

 

^^^Patriot only has 4 inversions.

 

^It's an advertisement for Toyota cars. They have one by Timber Wolf too.

 

Nice PTR! I cant wait to get down to WOF this summer.

[Swoosh]

The thing about Patriot is that it is BIG. It's a BIG inverted coaster. The coaster is not about thrills, but grace. It feels like you are flying when you ride that thing, it's a lot of fun. It is definitely one of the better inverts out there -- not because it is in your face, but because it does everything gracefully.

[XII]

^^Everyone is entitled to their own opinion

Oh yeah, Congrats for actually using that photo of the land where Psyclone used to be in a NonSFMM Related TR!

[CP_RULES]

^^Everyone is entitled to their own opinion

 

And I was stating mine.

[zztop]

that first picture isn't from wof

[Swoosh]

Um, as a newbie you wouldn't get that. It's an inside joke. That photo is of Psuckclone (or where it used to be) at SFMM. Rob made the comment awhile back that that photo should be included in every photo TR since it is such a wonderful sight to see it gone.

[LOVE SFKK]

^ one thing ive noticed is that you really love/stand up for MO parks. I think its cool b/c CC and WoF are always getting bashed. I declare swoosh as the national spokesperson for MO parks.

 

Back on topic, i liked your TR, and you got some cool shots of the the main coasters at WoF. Btw did you ride Thunderhawk, and if you did, did they tell you they wernt running the water jets anymore.

 

Great TR

[snuggles]

No water jets anymore? Serious? Now I can ride it again

[CP_RULES]

No water jets anymore? Serious? Now I can ride it again

 

Are you kidding? Those were the only reason to ride!

[coasterdude5]

Nice park. I've heard this park referred to as "small" before. I always pictured it as being a larger park with it's ride collection. Is it really that small of a park?

 

Still, great TR!

[Swoosh]

No actually it is a medium sized park. Its acreage makes it bigger than it really is though.

[LOVE SFKK]

WoF is big....land wise, but rides and coasters make it a medium-large park. Its a park that you can spend a good full day at, but its no where near large enough to spend 2 days at. Even if you do Oceans of fun too.

 

If you want a MO park thats big, go to Silver Dollar City. Its the most beautiful, and funnest park in the US IMO.

[snorkymn]

I visited WoF yesterday for about 6 hours. I initially had some issues getting in to the park since I was "absent minded" and forgot my Cedar Fair MAX Pass that I had purchased from Valleyfair. It took 30 minutes to get cleared up and to get someone from VF to give someone at WoF my pass number. Ugh. But a WoF employee actually gave me a free drink coupon for my troubles, so not horrible. (You'd think Cedar Fair parks would be able to look up Max Pass clients from other Parks.. we have these thing called "computers" and "networks" which would let them do that.) But in the end, it is my own fault for forgetting my pass.

 

During that time, I have to say that the ride crew on Patriot was top notch. They really seemed to take pride in their work, and were working as quickly and efficiently as they possibly could. It actually seemed like they had some sort of internal/fun contest going and who could get a record number of trains through in a certain amount of time. They had 2 trains going, and the lines were minimal throughout the day. They kept up with nearly all the people that kept coming to ride it, and it was only a 5-7 minute wait for the front row! Anyway, thanks to their hard work, my buddy and I were able to ride Patriot a minimum of 20 times. The crew working here at Patriot was by far the best in the park.

 

We were also able to get on the other coasters, but it was quite a bit more hassle.

 

First, on Boomerang, which we rode twice, (front and back), the staff was lackidasical, and mostly standing around chatting and not paying attention to anything. They easily could have gotten an extra ride through for every 3 that actually got out if they were paying attention. But still, the lines weren't bad, and it was only a 5-10 minute wait.

 

Second, on Timber Wolf.. they had only 1 train running. Claiming it was too slow in the park to run 2 trains. Well, from a customer standpoint, standing in line for no reason, because the park doesn't want to run 2 trains, was a complete joke. It was a 15-20 minute wait because of this.

The first ride up in the front area of the train was fairly enjoyable. The second ride, near the back of the train, was PAINFUL!!! This might be the worst ride I've ever had on any coaster. It was so shaky and rattly, and at such a high speed, it would have to be considered a health risk. It was HORRIBLE. I would advise do not ride in the back part of the train! Only ride in the front car (or maybe 2?) I shutter to think that this was even worse (from what I have read and heard) last year. This is just a violent, violet ride, and not in a fun way.

 

Mamba.. Actually a fairly fun coaster for an out and back, and had good speed and airtime. Better than Wild Thing at Valleyfair, (my home park) for sure. The only problem, they were only running 1 train. It was literally 4.5 to 5 minutes between trains, and the wait was up to 30 or more minutes. One reason it took so long between trains again was the staff. They stood around so much in between trains, they weren't paying attention to when a train would come. They were standing around, joking with each other, and not paying much attention to the customers. It's a shame how different these people were compared to the people on Patriot. If the whole park had a staff like the group on Patriot, you'd be running much better. Also, the park should be running 2 trains at all times. It's ridiculous not to. I would hate to run a business and have my staff literally standing around doing nothing for 3 or 4 of every 5 minutes. Because of the wait, we only rode it 4 or 5 times, but we wanted to ride it probably another 10 times.

 

The line on the Spinning Dragon wasn't too bad, only 5-10 minutes wait when we went, and the staff there did a decent job. It wasn't anything spectacular, but definitely worth a ride if you can catch it with a short line.

 

The one ride that was kind of a surprise was their version of the Trabant, which at most parks has been slowed down to to take away most of the fun. Well not here. They put it inside a building, put it on steroids, and incresed the speed and intensity of it. It was actually quite a blast.

I think they called it Cyclone Sams. It was an inconspicuous building that my buddy and I just kind of stumbled in to, without any idea of knowing what was inside. But it was definitely worth the ride. Go ride it and see how a Trabant really should be!

 

Anyway, the trip to WoF was definitely worth it, getting 20 rides in on Patriot. But we were disappointed we couldn't get on Mamba more times, because of the line. The park really needs to keep 2 trains going on Mamba and TimberWolf at all times. Especially when you have up to 30 minute waits for them!!!

[steel]

Seriously, Timber Wolf isn't that bad. I don't know why everyone keeps bashing it, but I've never had an OMG rough ride on it. If you think it's rough now (which it isn't, especially in the back), you should have tried it two years ago.

Also, they almost never run both trains on TW, so it's not really that uncommon. I've only personally seen it done one time, and that was at an ACE event.

I'm glad you noticed how awesome Patriot's team is. It's not quite as amazing as it was last year, but they're doing pretty well.

I honestly don't know why there weren't two trains on Mamba though. They only ever run one when the park is absolutely dead.

 

Are you kidding? Those were the only reason to ride!

I think you mean the water jets were the only reason *not* to ride. It's so much better without them. Not only do you not get wet, but you can actually breath a little bit sometimes.

[snorkymn]

I can't imagine many rides being worse than the back of the Timberwolf was.. It was like riding in a sideways jackhammer.. Ugh. The front was reasonable though, and worth doing.

 

I notice they still have a lot of open land at WoF.. anyone know of any future plans on what they might build there? I hadn't been to WoF in 12 years and the park had sure changed a lot! But was surprised that the area around it hadn't really changed that much.

[Jive]

snorkymn,

 

I was there the same day you were and TW was far from rough. I guess that perception is reality though. I ride in the back pretty much every time so maybe I've built up a back callus.

 

It has however become a very moody ride. If the drop brake is on hard it's tame and boring and if it's off the first 70% of the ride is fairly intense and fun. The new brake insures that the last 30% of the ride isn't going to hurt but you're going to limp into the station, which is fine with me since there's not much airtime to be had in that section.

[steel]

I notice they still have a lot of open land at WoF.. anyone know of any future plans on what they might build there? I hadn't been to WoF in 12 years and the park had sure changed a lot! But was surprised that the area around it hadn't really changed that much.

Between 2008 and 2010, it's my guess that OoF will be expanded and the park will get a Screamin' Swing and a GCI.

[HogarthOK]

Between 2008 and 2010, it's my guess that OoF will be expanded and the park will get a Screamin' Swing and a GCI.

 

Not a bad guess, but I'd think a Huss Giant Frisbee more likely than a Screamin' Swing. WoF would want something to differentiate from SDC, who just put in a Swing.

 

It's possible Cedar Fair may like Maverick enough to begin getting more rides like it, but I would think WoF fairly far down the list when it comes to another "big" ride.

[youthink?]

Hey I'm going here next week and was wondering where the best seat was on all of the coasters? And when to hit all of them? And nice photos as well

[HogarthOK]

Hey I'm going here next week and was wondering where the best seat was on all of the coasters? And when to hit all of them? And nice photos as well

 

I like to head for Patriot first. You may get a ride or two on it before anyone else even shows up -- unless the park is mobbed before you get to the gate.. People will tend to run to Patriot or, more usually, Mamba.

 

Some clueless folks hit Spinning Dragons first, but it has a relatively short queue, and is not worth the wait until you've done most other things.

 

Back seats on Patriot and Mamba are probably the best seats they have, in terms of ride interest and intensity, but each is in a fairly open space -- so if you go for the front seat, too -- each presents a breathtaking view, with less force, and a greater sense of speed.

 

Therefore, do both.