4/18/2008 Mamba: 10 Years of Thrills

April 18th 2008, today is the 10th anniversary of Mamba. A simple statement, for what is basically a concoction of red and silver steel. In the days and months to come much will be said about Mamba in 1998, the commercials, the crowds, the memories.

Much has changed in the span of 10 years. 10 years ago many of Mambaís riders today werenít even born, or very young still. The Worlds of Fun that many remembered 10 years ago would be almost a foreign place to those of today. It was a place that until recently had been home to the Cotton Blossom, Americana Gate, and Victrix. Only 3 years had passed since Hunt Midwest had sold the park, and passed the torch to the new owners Cedar Fair. It was a place that people still recalled approaching the park on a tram and entering the park through the Americana main gate. Most important it was a place that was still ruled by the unstoppable duo of Zambezi Zinger and Orient Express..

Summer of 1997 wasnít much different then Summer of 2005, rumors flew, stories were told, a hyper coaster coming to Worlds of Fun was on the lips of every coaster enthusiast that visited the park. It was amazing to realize how fast the news spread as there was no internet to spread the rumors and stories, at least not like there is today!

Groundbreaking happened in August 2007, and construction started with winter approaching. In the dark of night, with the industrial lights shinning, a silver behemoth was rising into the air, and we all watched as the Worlds of Fun skyline changed so drastically.

Over the winter commercials blared at us from every media source. Hairstyles by Mamba, Colin Winthrow that reported from the base of theîgiant silver structureî. Today the commercials are legendary, at the time they left us all mesmerized.

We all knew this was the next big thing, no one would realize just how big a thing Mamba would be or would have to be. April 18th 1998. Until last October we havenít had a crowd that has even come close to that date in April ten years ago. Cars lined up Worlds of Fun Avenue. People sitting in their cars gapped up at the mammoth steel terror, with their mouths and eyes frozen wide open. No one had ever seen anything quite this size. It might not have been the biggest or tallest coaster in the world, but it was close enough.

On opening day Mamba had no queue rails, and only one train, due to a down to the wire opening. The line snaked (no pun intended) back to the entrance of the Fury of the Nile.

Several times over the season crowds thronged the park, Mamba lived up to its hype and we all truly thought that the best years where yet to come. That was not to be.

Mamba would prove its worth over the following decade by being MORE then the next big thing. It would become the cornerstone, and bedrock that the park depended on it would become the great sentinel of the park.

For all the parks failures, for all the losses, for all the less the stellar seasons, Mamba continued to bring people back, because it was a great ride. Over the years though it started becoming more then just a great ride it become an icon, and earned quickly a place in the hearts of the parks patrons.

Over the following years track was replaced, trains re-painted, enthusiasts argued about everything from Mamba's trim brakes to the color of Mamba's logo. Every spring the fans came and road Mamba first thing. Over the years bigger coasters were built at other parks, but amazingly Mamba held its own. With the loss of Orient Express Mamba picked up and carried the torch as the ìrite of passageî both terrifying new riders by its sheer size that hadn't been diminished in the years, and earning something entirely new.

When Mamba first opened the comparison between the the newly removed Zambezi Zinger and the brand new Mamba started before the first train was dispatched. At first it seemed the rides couldn't be more different, time taught us something else. Mamba and Zambezi Zinger were the same. Both built for speed, as years would pass both earned a well earned respect for just being pure fun and the best of their breed. Simply put they were both rides that people would ride over and over and over again, and never get tired of just riding.

This similarity has become more striking with the debut of Patriot. The new duo, Mamba had succeeded Zinger, Patriot succeeded Express, forming again the strong connection that both rides seemed to share. With the introduction of Patriot the comparisons flew, which one was better, was one really any better then the other? I have finally come to the conclusion that the arguments on which one is better is mute. The simple answer is that like the originals, the parts of this duo make each other better, more so then they would ever be by themselves. Simply put, Mamba becomes more important for the fact that it doesn't stand alone.

Today we meet a new Worlds of Fun. Mamba is our new old standby, always there, always enjoyable. Mamba is certainly not without its problems, number one being it seems to have a unusual appetite for the polyurethane of it wheels, and boy does it run through them during the hot days of summer!

Every year though it is there like a good friend. No longer is it the premier ride, it gave that title up easily to Patriot. However it is truly an extraordinary coaster in that in a short ten years it has become impossible to imagine Worlds of Fun without it. Mamba faced the empty shoes left of its predecessor and has proven in a relatively short span of time to fill those enormous shoes with extraordinary ease.

Here's to many more.