Viking Voyager
1973 - Current


Statistics:
Manufacturer: Arrow Development
Maximum Boats (as of 1973): 25
All Time Maximum Capacity: 2,033 an hour

Even today, Voyager is an incredibly popular family ride, especially on hot days. Riders board one of several 4-6 person, viking-themed "log" boats and sit "bobsled-style", there are no seatbelts or lap bars to this original ride. The ride itself starts with a quick float through the rides trough to its first small lift. After a very quick dip into the elevated trough area, each boat winds through the shady treetops before coming to the second, taller of the rides two lifts, which culminates in the ride's climactic 40-foot drop into the lagoon below and a return to the station dock. Overall, though a large splash is generated Voyager typically leaves riders mostly dry, but has also bee known to also leave riders completely soaked too!

Originally, the boats used to sport dragon heads, however when the boats were replaced in 1993 the new boats were designed without the heads, probably related to a lower cost to produce the boats without the heads. Voyager was a product of Arrow Development of Mountainview, Ca. a company literally synonymous with the amusement industry of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Arrow first produced their log flume ride in 1963 known as El Aserradero for Six Flags over Texas. Soon after the Arrow log flume became a "must have" for amusement and theme parks across the country, and was almost a given to be installed at Worlds of Fun for its inaugural season in 1973.

Voyager along with Zambezi Zinger where the two major attractions when Worlds of Fun first opened in 1973, and of the two is the only one still operating along with a handful of other original rides. Classified by the park as a water ride, Voyager does not typically open until 11 am on operating days and is frequently closed in the fall. Besides receiving new boats in 1993, it has also more recently had several major and minor refurbishments to its structure and a brand new control system installed in 2016.




YouTube Videos


Voyager On-Ride footage from 1983:



Additional Photos

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