Worlds of Fun (WOF) Discussion Thread

[Skysthelimit]

We arrived back in Orlando yesterday from our Missouri trip with first time visits to WOF and SDC. Just some first timer opinions on the park from when we visited on Thurs 6/29. 

- It’s been said before, but this park is gorgeous.
- The temperature exceeded 100 degrees on Thursday. The shade helped quite a bit and we purchased a cabana ahead of time because we need knew that the heat would be brutal. We alternated between the lazy river and dry park throughout the day. 
- WOF has a TON of drink refill stations, so the wristband system worked perfect and a great deal.

- We figured there’s be some sort of foolishness going on with Zambezi Zinger so we came armed Fast Lane plus which we had purchased prior to our visit to minimize any frustration. Sure enough, it didn’t opened until probably 3p or so and was on one train. We saw maintenance walk away with a guide wheel, so it was clearly out of their control. I would have guessed that the standby line was at least 2 hours and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many guests seated while in a queue for a ride that was technically functional. Anyways, the ride itself exceeded our expectations. Incredibly smooth and experiencing the titan track track has a really cool feel to it. The S-hill after the first turnaround seems to be about 15 feet too tall, but the pacing on the rest of the ride is near perfect. The tunnel has some great headchoppers, the layout is whippy, and there’s surprisingly strong positives. Definitely a great fit for the park once they can get it running on all cylinders! 
- Mamba was so so good. I recall some lackluster rides on Steel Force back in 2009 that made me swear off Morgan hypers for years but this was a home run. Incredibly smooth and running trimless, which gave total magnum vibes minus the thigh pressure on the routine route. 
- I’m probably in the minority who prefers Prowler to Mystic Timbers. The latter has a better experience but I thought Prowler had a bit more bite, similar to what I enjoy about Thunderhead. 
- We had an awesome back left seat ride on Patriot and didn’t get the criticism, but rode twice more and were like “yeah, that’s just.. average”. Presentation is A+ though. 
- The only bummer of the trip was Viking Voyage (or whatever the log flume is called). The water in this and their river rapids was just foul. I felt like I was being bathed in Smartwater on Mystic River Falls the next day compared to the sewage water here. Yuck. 
- The clientele and staff were all very pleasant. I’d take this over a larger SF park even if the ride selection isn’t as extensive. 
- We really enjoy re-rides when we visit new parks and one ride never feels enough. We were impressed the coasters (minus Zinger) were running multiple trains despite being a dead Thursday. We had a zen ride on Prowler to end our day.

Overall, we had an awesome day at the park despite the heat and not ideal circumstances for Zinger. We rode it twice but didn’t want to be “those people” that marathoned it while people sat in stand by. 
 

We spent the next two days at SDC which doesn’t require much of an explanation other than it’s one of if not the best theme parks in the country. I surprisingly preferred it to Dollywood, including the coasters, which were collectively more intense than the mix of family rides at DW.
Time Traveler and Outlaw Run were both reliable and had the wow factor that WOF was understandably lacking. I do get frustrated with HFE’s disdain for running multiple trains unless they absolutely have to. The Cedar Fair parks are a more comfortable experience in that regard but the novelty of visiting SDC for the overall experience was more than worth it. 

[WOF_Fan]

On 7/3/2023 at 11:38 AM, Skysthelimit said:

 Mamba was so so good. I recall some lackluster rides on Steel Force back in 2009 that made me swear off Morgan hypers for years but this was a home run. Incredibly smooth and running trimless, which gave total magnum vibes minus the thigh pressure on the routine route. 

Mamba is running better than ever. Since the trims are virtually non-existent now, the ride is like a totally different ride!

[teacherkim]

We were at the park from about 3-10 last Thursday, on our quick little 4 day road trip. We actually had not visited the park for about 7 years, so it was a good chance to remind ourselves how good Mamba really is. It did go down for a short time while we were in line but was back up about an hour later. Wait times were pretty low, it was one of those really brutal hot days which probably helped and why we mostly spent the morning driving from SDC and focused on the late afternoon/evening hours. Zambezi Zinger is a solid addition and quite fun, although I think that spiral lift is louder than an RMC lift hill. 

[southpuddle]

Got on Zambezi Zinger last week. The area looks great, the subtle theming in the queue and station looks nice. Fun little ride! It’s amusing how many people in line thought that it’s literally the same ride they brought back from before. My only note is that the huge heavy lap bars come down and get absurdly tight throughout the ride to the point of actual pain by the end. This isn’t an “enthusiast only” gripe - our entire train load of riders were complaining waiting on the final brake run. 

[prozach626]

I haven't been in this thread since the beginning of July and there are only two unread posts.

[tndank]

I went for the first time last year.  Had after 4pm tickets and it started raining off and on as soon as we walked in.  Park kept everything but Zinger open and we had a blast.  I couldn't get enough of Mamba.  I got a solid 45 minutes of rides on Prowler at night.  They still ran the Carnival parade even with off and on rain. 

Can't wait to get back to this park.   I could ride Mamba and Prowler all day long and be happy.  I really liked Timber Wolf, too.

 

[prozach626]

Did they do some track work to Prowler? I know there used to be a lot of complaints. It's hard to keep up with all of the rapid fire information that comes out in this thread.

[coasternut]

^ When I was there a year or so ago, Prowler was great! It only had 1 "pot hole" and I was prepared for it. I too rode it many times.

[WOF_Fan]

WOF introduces the KidZPass. For kids ages 3-8 and Seniors 62+. Unlimited visits through Labor Day for $24.99.

[bdarks]

Man I forgot all about this park. Only visited once, but it was a pretty cool experience, although it didn't start out that way.

 

When I was in the Army stationed at Ft. Riley, KS in the mid 90s, a few buddies and myself decided to drive to KC and hit Worlds of Fun one Saturday on pretty much a spur of the moment deal. We make the two hour drive only to find as we approached the park on 435 a huge banner on display welcoming visitors to McDonnell Douglas Family Day. Much to our dismay, it also pointed out that the park was closed to the general public as a result. My buddies prepared to accept defeat and begin the return trip back to Ft. Riley, but I had an idea. Being a military air traffic controller, I had my FAA card on me and I figured with that and a little creative banter I might just be able to bluff our way in. We parked, I went up to the customer service building and innocently stated that as an FAA consultant, I was invited but did not receive any tickets and assumed they were to be picked up at the park. The attendant asked for ID, I turned over my driver's license and FAA card, and after conferring with what I assume was a supervisor, 3 tickets were printed and we were on our way inside. Not only did we not have to pay entry, but there were no crowds to speak of at all. On the Timberwolf we ran right up to the train, and upon reentry to the station, the attendant would ask if we wanted to go again. After three such rotations, my body couldn't hack it anymore and I had to get off. A catered lunch was also provided in the pavilion area, again at no cost. The only negative aspect of the whole shebang was getting stuck on one the rides with a couple of arrogant and smart mouthed kids whose daddies were high level McDonnell Douglas executives and wanted everyone to know it.

 

But hey, all in all, a helluva day!

[prozach626]

Hah. I'm conflicted on how you got in, but that's funny.

Thank you for your story and your service.