Worlds of Fun (WOF) Discussion Thread

[WOFanatic]

They did mention they were going with another former manufacturer as well. It could very well be Intamin, but I feel it's more likely to be Gerstlaurer. I think Kanonen would be a great ride for Worlds of Fun as it would fill the launch and looping gaps in the park. Though, I don't think it's likely to be going to Worlds of Fun. From what I read, it seemed like they would be going for brand new coasters, not relocations.

They want to steer away from relocating their own rides to other parks. I don't think Cedar Fair would be opposed to buying a used coaster if it was in well, working order. That being said, I don't think Cedar Fair bought Kanonen for Worlds of Fun. I don't think Cedar Fair will be buying any coasters for Worlds of Fun in 2018. CGA's already got markings down for their new ride, Knott's is tearing down half of their boardwalk, and CP and KD are already constructing their new rides. Now, I think it's possible for Worlds of Fun to get SOMETHING, but I'm thinking it'll be very small. Possibly something small for Oceans of Fun, or maybe FunPix or in-park WiFi.

 

People forget just how big Worlds of Fun went this year. 2 new rides, WinterFest, that sexy new front gate, as well as tons of other very expensive park improvements, such as Fjord's new paint job and LED's, and the new catering pavilion. With the money they spent, they could have built a smaller roller coaster this year, easily. The first RMCraptor probably could've been ours, but the park went big on improving EVERY guests' experience, and I think it will pay off. The park built something new for everyone this year. Expect them to go a little smaller next year.

[Vonni]

The renewed relationship could also be referencing Premier, and that would suggest the heavily rumored Sky Rocket II.

[grsupercity]

Cedar Fair has hardly worked with Vekoma, Chance. Intamin, Premier or many water slide company's in recent years

[WOFanatic]

Cedar Fair has hardly worked with Vekoma, Chance. Intamin, Premier or many water slide company's in recent years

Cedar Fair has never worked with Premier. They've worked with Vekoma for only 2 projects. Worlds of Fun's Boomerang and Cedar Point's Woodstock Express (3 if you count Flying Cobra's trains). Chance Rides has never built a roller coaster for Cedar Fair, though Morgan did build the WOF, DP, and VF hyper coasters (I wouldn't call those "recent"). Intamin is really the only company that makes sense.

[Bryantw36]

Si WOF has officially announced that Falcons Flight is open

[ToNC]

Just a warning post for anyone planning on visiting WoF this weekend.

 

(Based off of last weekend)

 

Be prepared to stand in lines for an hour that should take 15 minutes. Lots of ride ops standing around talking when they should be checking lap bars. Prowler and Patriot were the worst of the bunch. Mamba was by far the most efficient and had very good operations.

[Vonni]

Just a warning post for anyone planning on visiting WoF this weekend.

 

(Based off of last weekend)

 

Be prepared to stand in lines for an hour that should take 15 minutes. Lots of ride ops standing around talking when they should be checking lap bars

 

 

That is so annoying. I try to be as understanding as I can when it comes to Ride ops jobs, but situations like this, or unprofessionalism is something I don't have patience for.

[Jaykethekid]

Just a warning post for anyone planning on visiting WoF this weekend.

 

(Based off of last weekend)

 

Be prepared to stand in lines for an hour that should take 15 minutes. Lots of ride ops standing around talking when they should be checking lap bars

 

 

That is so annoying. I try to be as understanding as I can when it comes to Ride ops jobs, but situations like this, or unprofessionalism is something I don't have patience for.

It seems there is never any effort to improve these operations. At prowler during my last visit, the whole ride crew was finished checking their sections of the trains but was waiting on one to finish and she was taking her time to do so. The crew kept telling her to go faster but every time they would say that she said "don't tell me to go faster". I get safety is number one priority, but ride operations this year aren't showing safety, there showing incompetence.

[Peeps28]

Making our first trip to worlds of fun this weekend. We usually but six flags season passes but opted to buy the cedar point season passes for this year. I was just curious how this park compares to six flags st.louis.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Cool, have fun! Overall I like the experience at Worlds of Fun better. Six Flags has a much better coaster collection, but Worlds of Fun has a ton of flats. The kids areas are both about even, but Oceans of Fun is clean, beautiful, huge, and newly renovated, while Hurricane Harbor is...well...still the same as it ever was.

 

Overall, if you're strictly a coaster person, you may be a bit disappointed (unless you bought a Platinum Pass and go to Cedar Point this year too). If you have family members with varied interests, though, you'll probably have a better time at Worlds of Fun than Six Flags.

Edited May 27, 2017 by ytterbiumanalyst

[Peeps28]

Thanks for your response. Yes we did buy the platinum pass because we usually go to Cedar point twice a year as well. We are just amusement park fanatics.. Doesn't have to be roller coasters all the time.

[musicmand]

Si WOF has officially announced that Falcons Flight is open

It was closed on Saturday when we went, and they had an employee sitting in front shooing people away. Could have been due to weather though, as it was pretty stormy when we were walking by.

[WOF_Fan]

Si WOF has officially announced that Falcons Flight is open

It was closed on Saturday when we went, and they had an employee sitting in front shooing people away. Could have been due to weather though, as it was pretty stormy when we were walking by.

 

It was open on Sunday.

[WOFanatic]

http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/visitors-frustrated-by-closed-rides-at-world-of-fun

 

Looks like Worlds of Fun is having maintenance problems recently, and guests are quickly catching on. I did see some huge problems with maintenance early in the season, with tons of rides being closed almost every single time I visited the park. I usually just chalked it up to it being early in the season, but apparently they are still having the same problems a month and a half into operation. Every visit to the park this year has just been terrible when it comes to ride reliability. Usually about half of the major rides are down. While I don't love complaining, especially considering this is my home park and I'm on their side of the argument most of the time, this is a problem that is quickly getting out of hand.

 

I would also like to point out that their operations are horrible. The ride ops just cannot move people to save their lives. What would be a short line at other parks seems to take forever at WOF. Especially flat rides like SteelHawk and Detonator, where a 10+ minute dispatch is not uncommon due to only having one person checking restraints at a snail's pace. The same thing is happening at the food locations as well. Not only are half of them usually not open (there are literally 2 locations I haven't seen open in 3 years, and yet they are still listed and remain on the map), but it's not uncommon to wait an hour for a piece of pizza. Something really needs to be done in both departments.

 

Like I said before, I really hate complaining about this kinda stuff, but I feel like people need to start speaking up about it because it's getting out of hand. I don't really know who's to blame, but after spending $350 on a season pass to the park (Platinum+Dining and Drink Plans), I feel as though I'm being ripped off a bit. Especially when I'm waiting an hour for food and rides on a random Tuesday in May.

[musicmand]

^^ This is true. We've been three times this season so far, and Finnish Fling has been down all day, all three times. Viking Voyager was down twice that we saw (admittedly once was due to weather). Prowler, Mamba, Spinning Dragons, and Timberwolf were each down at least once for at least part of the day (I've been touring with preschoolers, so I've just been noticing the coasters in passing). In a couple weeks I hope to go solo to get my coasters in, and I don't have a lot of confidence that all the majors will be running.

 

Not really sure what's going on. Before this season, we hadn't been to the park since 2012, but park operations have been really bizarre this year. We rode the Sea Dragon last weekend, and the ride operator was training two lifeguards to run the ride. I get the cross training bit, particularly when it's stormy, but it took FOREVER to get the ride running. For some reason, a lot of the flats have only one person running the ride (which always makes me chuckle when they give thumbs up and call "clear" over the mic to... nobody).

 

For what it's worth, though, our visits have all been between 10am and 2pm, so lines haven't had a chance to build. Thus, even though it takes WAY too long for a cycle, the lines themselves aren't long enough to be bothersome.

[Shavethewhales]

Well that sucks... I'm planning on being there on Friday. Hope the coasters are at least open.

 

Wasn't WOF featured on NPR like two years ago for their great operations? Did they have a corporate shake-up?

[greenman]

Well that sucks... I'm planning on being there on Friday. Hope the coasters are at least open.

 

Wasn't WOF featured on NPR like two years ago for their great operations? Did they have a corporate shake-up?

They fired GM Frank Wilburn last year because he was told to fire

someone in maintenance and he didn't. I won't name my sources.

 

Irony?

[lk2500]

http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/visitors-frustrated-by-closed-rides-at-world-of-fun

 

I would also like to point out that their operations are horrible. The ride ops just cannot move people to save their lives. What would be a short line at other parks seems to take forever at WOF. Especially flat rides like SteelHawk and Detonator, where a 10+ minute dispatch is not uncommon due to only having one person checking restraints at a snail's pace. The same thing is happening at the food locations as well. Not only are half of them usually not open (there are literally 2 locations I haven't seen open in 3 years, and yet they are still listed and remain on the map), but it's not uncommon to wait an hour for a piece of pizza. Something really needs to be done in both departments.

 

Like I said before, I really hate complaining about this kinda stuff, but I feel like people need to start speaking up about it because it's getting out of hand. I don't really know who's to blame, but after spending $350 on a season pass to the park (Platinum+Dining and Drink Plans), I feel as though I'm being ripped off a bit. Especially when I'm waiting an hour for food and rides on a random Tuesday in May.

 

I was hoping things were going to be better this year. Operations last August when I visited were horrible. Absolutely no sense of urgency.

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum I wish I had taken video of the awesome crew at Hyperspace Mountain at DLR last year. The gal with the mic would be giving a speech prior to each train hitting the station to be ready to enter, etc... The train would stop and the ride ops would do everything short of actually physically pulling passengers out and pushing new ones in and the train was off. It was the model of efficiency and could easily have been used as a training tape for other parks.

[CaptainUnknown]

For some reason, a lot of the flats have only one person running the ride (which always makes me chuckle when they give thumbs up and call "clear" over the mic to... nobody).

 

There a lot of single-operator rides at any given park. As for the thumbs up and saying "clear," they are required to do that. And if they don't and some higher up sees...

[ytterbiumanalyst]

For some reason, a lot of the flats have only one person running the ride (which always makes me chuckle when they give thumbs up and call "clear" over the mic to... nobody).

 

There a lot of single-operator rides at any given park. As for the thumbs up and saying "clear," they are required to do that. And if they don't and some higher up sees...

That's a corporate park for you.

[Shavethewhales]

The park seems to be doing well today. Most rides are open. Only major ride that I have seen down is Boomerang. Operations are pretty decent - not great, but the guests cause most of the slowness themselves. Cant believe so many people still think they can take purses on a roller coaster. Its hot, but the crowds are pretty light.

 

Only one complaint today: the $6 ice cream is a tiny scoop on a kiddie cone. The girl working said she was sure that was the correct size, but she seemed super unsure about everything since it was her first day working the stand. Probably should have known better than to buy food in the park, but usually ice cream is a safe bet.

Thats like 2 bites.

[TrashcanMan]

Visited today, unfortunately Prowler was down all day. Timberwolf was down for part of the day. Everything was of course single train. Many ride operations for slow. Waited 5+ for a single train to leave Patriot. Falcons Flight was up and down but did get one ride. All the new stuff looks great. Hope the operations improve as the year progresses.

[n1ch0las]

Well that sucks... I'm planning on being there on Friday. Hope the coasters are at least open.

 

Wasn't WOF featured on NPR like two years ago for their great operations? Did they have a corporate shake-up?

 

It was their games department on This American Life, and it was an awesome story.

 

As for the terrible operations so far this year, I think its a combination of the park not having all their rides ready for summer from a maintenance perspective, and also major staffing problems before high schoolers got out. The park needs a lot of staff and unemployment is very low, kids can get better paying (and easier) jobs elsewhere.

 

One thing that's always bothered me is how WOF runs one train on all coasters during the weekdays even when they have staff to run two. I know it saves on wear and tear on the trains and wheels, but it always creates long waits and drives down satisfaction.

[RailBlazer]

The park seems to be doing well today. Most rides are open. Only major ride that I have seen down is Boomerang. Operations are pretty decent - not great, but the guests cause most of the slowness themselves. Cant believe so many people still think they can take purses on a roller coaster. Its hot, but the crowds are pretty light.

 

Only one complaint today: the $6 ice cream is a tiny scoop on a kiddie cone. The girl working said she was sure that was the correct size, but she seemed super unsure about everything since it was her first day working the stand. Probably should have known better than to buy food in the park, but usually ice cream is a safe bet.

 

That is a ridiculously small amount of ice cream! I forwarded this to Worlds of Fun through facebook messenger and they thanked me for letting them know. Maybe you can contact someone and get another ice cream for free?

[Ddef12]

I was there on Tuesday and also saw the impact of ride ops. At Detonator the front ride op letting people on miscounted and a guy had no seat but his girlfriend got on. When the guy approached the ride op he made the guy exit and get back in line. I actually said something to the ride op that he hadn't rode yet and you let too many people queue up and he just brushed it off.

 

I actually tweeted them and got no response. Also while waiting in line at detonator the same ride op took about 5 minutes to socialize before letting people queue inside on their number while two empty towers sat there doing nothing. I have to say I have been going to WOF for 25 years and this past visit put a super spurt taste in my mouth.

 

On top of bad ride ops, don't even get me started on the employees in the food operations. No enthusiasm at all, rude and didn't care and not to mention both Coasters and Chickies were so dirty we walked in and right back out and decided to wait to eat after we left. No clean tables at all and all staff was hanging around doing nothing. I asked if there was a towel to clean a table before we left and decided not to eat and the girl said she would get it. We waited and saw her get right back to socializing with other crew and that's when we were out.

 

Quite disappointing because I have been to many parks and WoF is a beautiful park with a lot of potential but situations and experiences like this do not paint the overall experience of having a fun day at a park in a good light