Worlds of Fun (WOF) Discussion Thread

[chadster]

I think for this time of season fastlane at WoF is not worth it, lines are typically less than 20 minutes and in many cases walk on. Once Mid June hits it will be worth it on the weekends for sure.

Lines on opening day at times got up to probably about 45 minutes. It should only get worse on the weekends from now on.

 

Thats why you go on Sunday's

[pieeater]

I wonder if there getting something in 2013. Look at the facts.

2009- Prowler

2010- Nothing

2011- Planet snoopy

2012- Nothing

 

There has been 3 years between Patriot and Prowler.

I think 2013 will bring a Windseeker and Dinosaurs Alive. 2013 will be the parks 40th and i think windseeker would be a great addition because It will the tallest structure in the park and the gp will eat that up and it would fit perfectly themewise in Americana. I go to WoF ll the time so I'll keep my eyes out for any suspicious objects

[Stuff513]

Speaking of new food options, they posted this beautiful creation on their Facebook page a few hours ago: (

)

That, my friends, is a turkey leg, wrapped in sausage.... wrapped in bacon.

[megametal]

^ I am so getting that when I go there. Everything is better wrapped in bacon.

[chadster]

^^That made me sick when I first saw it on their FB page...

 

Anyway, big changes to their policies this year. Re-Rides are now allowed on many rides as long as no one is waiting for your row or in line. And even if people are in line for say Fjord as long as their are enough empty seats you can stay on if you wish.

 

Starting about 30 minutes before park opening they are shuttling people in the park gates to allow you to purchase a locker, buy crap, etc and then allow SP holders into the rides portion of the park 15 minutes early. Sadly on Saturday many rides were not open until after 10am with some not opening until closer to 10:30

 

Adults are now allowed on Cosmic Coaster, no max height limits without an adult are listed on the new signage.

 

Having said that they are still suffering operationally with their food and beverage staffs having no clue how to run a register or fill a fry order, I suspect they received no training and were receiving on the job training, not a pretty thing on a busy Saturday. Very few returning rides staff that I could tell resulting in slower operations not to mention many I found to be unfriendly. Fortunately that improved with a staff swap for evening ops but certainly needs to be worked on along with employee level of park knowledge. Asked some very basic questions like where is the new coffee shop, no one could tell me (Pro tip: It's next to Front Street Gifts)

 

 

 

The crews at Prowler and Mamba seemed to be the friendliest.

So lets take a quick tour and see what's new. The gift shop is new.

Fast Lane is new and advertised very heavily throughout the park. It also appears to be ran well with Patriot, Mamba, and Prowler basically having been pre-equipped for it and merging at the platform, they did a nice job incorporating it into the other rides merging into the main line for most as I recall.

You can come in and walk around the plaza area now prior to park opening.

Some of the ADA improvements in Ouch Wolf.

The moved and revamped cosmic coaster.

and the redone train.

No height max listed.

Noted.

Choo Choo for David.

Thunderhawk is up and running well....finally, I'm sure the park is glad the nightmare with this ride is behind them.

This year they have microphones for prizes.

and miniature dongs.

The new coffee shop looks much like a Starbucks

With Starbucks pricing.

And finally this year the Pagoda decided to serve nachos over Chicago dogs.

[XYZ]

 

Seriously, who would want to have this?

 

Anyway, it seems Cedar Fair is doing a good job on maintaning WOF.

[cfc]

It looks like a prop from The Walking Dead.

[The Yeti]

What exactly was wrong with Thunderhawk? Last year it was not operating when I went, and I'm pretty sure the gondola was not attached to the arms. I remember something about a weight or balancing issue years ago, but I hadn't been in four years until last year.

[chadster]

^Bearing issue on the arms, then the new bearings were recalled AFTER they re-installed the gondola, so another huge expense in crane rental and disassembly/reassembly. Then add insult to injury with other components that started to act up and yeah, it was a hell for them.

[larrygator]

No max height requirement on the Cosmic Coaster, I wasted $2 to borrow a kid.

 

The turkey leg wrapped in bacon looks awesome.

[christianscoasters]

I have been going to WoF since I was a little kid and not once have I ever been on Thunderhawk. For some reason, the past few years, it hasn't even been operating. I know the issues it was having recently, but even the years before, it was always closed. Hm.

[chadster]

^Those rides are notorious for blowing motors and other parts, nice concept and when run well can be fun, but also very hard on the hardware.

[Joe Cool]

No height requirement on the wacky worm anymore, looks like I need to make it up to Worlds of Fun.

[The Yeti]

Do they still run all the water on Thunderhawk? You used to get soaked when they had it on full blast, but sometimes they had different "programs" or no water at all...I do like a little moderation WOF! Though I remember the ride always gave me a good laugh.

[chadster]

^Nope, and you apparently won't see the water turned on on similar rides at CF parks anymore from what I understand. The water was the cause for the extensive downtime. HUSS signed off on operating the rides as water attractions, but in the end the water caused some major issues. And of course the original HUSS went belly up so no real way to get any satisfaction out of them but to pay the new piper to get the ride back up and running.

[triggernel]

Chadster, do you guys have other Caribou's down there? They're a MN based company, and not surprisingly, Valleyfair will also be getting one. Glad to see the prices aren't too much higher than outside the parks.

[pieeater]

I was here yesterday and both times while waiting in line for prowler it broke down. It did similar things last season. Is this normal for a GCI?

[chadster]

Chadster, do you guys have other Caribou's down there? They're a MN based company, and not surprisingly, Valleyfair will also be getting one. Glad to see the prices aren't too much higher than outside the parks.

 

I don't recall seeing any, but did a quick location search, showing 4 others in KC, 2 of which are in C-Stores. The closest to me is located on the Oklahoma State University Campus. I suppose I might try it out.

 

I was here yesterday and both times while waiting in line for prowler it broke down. It did similar things last season. Is this normal for a GCI?

 

Sadly since the lightning strike that occurred summer of 2010 that took out it's system board it really hasn't had the same up time it once did. That being said, I've had pretty good luck with it of late. Maybe just bad luck?

 

Speaking of Prowler, the red train is missing it's badging on the front grill. Anyone know what happened to it? The ride crew members I asked didn't know.

[-Edge of Beast-]

/\ I noticed it was gone yesterday too. Maybe they're just getting a new one, that sticker might have gotten dirty or something.

 

 

Also, I noticed Cosmic Coaster was open yesterday. The park was packed. The line for each coaster ranged from about 5 to 45 minutes. Boomerang was almost empty, but Mamba's line was a drag. Plus one train operations aren't boosting.

[chadster]

^It's not a sticker, is a piece of metal welded to the cage.

[pieeater]

Do you think that the rumors of a windseeker coming here will start up agian?

[KDCOASTERFAN]

Do you think that the rumors of a windseeker coming here will start up agian?

 

A windseeker would make for a fairly decent ride for WOF & perhaps MIA or VF as well since CF seems to like this particular ride & it has gone over rather well with the crowds.

[-Edge of Beast-]

I was at the park yesterday, still no sign of construction of any sorts. I kept my eyes pealed on that plot of land in the front where Orient Express used to stand. That seems to be the best spot for construction. I've also noticed that the stall next to Thunderhawk, called Lumberjack *something*, hasn't been open at all this year. Maybe they're planning on removing it for a future attraction? I always thought the land behind Thunderhawk would be a clever spot for a coaster or ride, to get that area up and lively.

 

Come on WoF, what are you gonna do for your 40th year of operation?

[The Yeti]

^I wouldn't mind seeing Timberwolf removed...I can't picture what is behind Finish Fling, but it feel like there could be a lot of room to expand between there and Prowler. Of course I would love a mega-lite...I think the park could use another good, big coaster - I hope they can get their hands on some Intamin. They could also use a new flat ride - and I would love to see something like a Huss Giant Frisbee or something like Skyhawk, just hopefully not a Windseeker.

[KC_Engineer]

Intamin would be a dream come true. WOF hit the jackpot with Prowler, and I would think something big is in the works for the 40th anniversary. I also think a sit-down looper would be a great addition, which I think the park has been missing ever since the removal of Orient Express (I don't count Boomerang).