1/23/1999 Is Worlds of Fun prepared in the event of incliment weather or crisis situation

Hundreds of people walk through the turnstiles of the Scandinavian gate each day as the park opens. Eager to be the first in line at their favorite rides, the unsuspecting ""travelers"" rush around the park. I was one of those unsuspecting ""travelers"" when I stepped thru the gate of the park on June 29 of 1998. It was sunny and the temperature was a mild 75 or so degrees. Just perfect for a whole day of thrills and spills.

Just think, Kansas City is in the smack dab middle of North America. It is also smack dab in the middle of the United States. Oh, why not? It is even smack dab in the middle of a thing the world calls ""Tornado Alley"". Nothin' much . . . right? So I thought. It was around 8:00 PM and my friends and I were screaming our heads off while riding a fearce African snake. As soon as we got off, we walked towards Front Street to do a little souvenir shopping and of course I had to buy my Sour Straws from Sharon's Sweet Shoppe. Anyway, we were leisurly sitting outside around the fountain talking and having a good time when the famous voice that we all know and love (yeah, right!) came over the P.A. and said . . . [I quote] ""Attention, Worlds of Fun guests. Please take cover immediately! Please, find the nearest Worlds of Fun ambassador and ask him or her for directions to the nearest shelter."" I was horrified. I hate tornados to begin with, but when you have an entire theme park running around in chaos, AHHH! I was so shocked and I litterally dragged my friends to the Autobahn, that's where we were told to go, when suddenly we found ourselves in Uncle Sam's Skeeball Hall. One of the WOF security guards literally shoved us into the noisy arcade.

While many were shoving their pocketbooks into the machines, I was huddled in a corner, preparing for the worst. Guess what. The Ambassadors that were in the arcade with us were just standing on the porch OUTSIDE! That means they were in the storm. Shouldn't they be trying to calm the frightened guests (me) down? Wouldn't that be their job? They were gossiping about which ride was going to get the most damage! Come on! Oh, and that isn't even the half of it! Some of my friends were riding the Zulu at the time of the incident. They were, believe it or not, purposely shoved into the Zambezi Zinger tunnel! Others, not in my group, were told to take cover under a tree while even others were made to take cover under the Mamba station! It was so chaotic.

Finally, when we were signaled the ""all clear"" we hurried out of the arcade and about 95% of the people at WOF headed toward the gate. The others tryed their luck at getting a few more rides in before the night was over, but with no luck. As we were leaving we ran accross a woman going into labor in the Orient and a mother screaming for her three-year-old son in Scandinavia. Not one single ambassador offered to stop and help either of them as we passed by! We finally got to our van and tended to one of our group member's leg. She sprained it. Everyone else was freezing to death after being soaked.

Wouldn't you think that Worlds of Fun, being in the midst of the Midwest and tornado alley, would have some kind of emergency plan? Is Worlds of Fun's plan, if they have one, making security guards injure people while shoving them into tunnels and arcades? If so, that isn't right. Worlds of Fun as well as Oceans of Fun need to be more prepared in times of disaster and emergency. Something has to be done. ------