Opening Day Review 2006

Welcome to the 8th annual Opening Day Review! For the past several years I have discussed new concrete, flower beds, light bulbs and trees, and in all those reviews I have dreamed about writing the review for a new B&M roller coaster at Worlds of Fun. It was a fleeting dream for all Worlds of Fun enthusiasts until this year. But Iím getting ahead of myself.

Worlds of Fun opened this year on April 8th, a chilly day, I believe the temperature only reached 55 degrees or so, but it was bright and sunny and again all the rides were running! We actually made it to the park about 9:30AM, and the crowds were very light, probably partially due to it being cold and partially due to the delay in advertising. The commercials and billboards didnít get out until maybe two weeks before park opening, and with a (hopefully!) influx of ads I hope to be seeing a pack emí in problem this summer.

Of course everyone walked (some kids were running) to the Patriot. Chris Ozimek, Director of Marketing at Worlds of Fun kicked off the opening day ceremony in the Patriot Queue House, complete with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The large scissors were manned by CEO of Cedar Fair Dick Kinzel, and General Manager of the park Phil Bender. The opening went off perfectly and without a single hitch, and the full queue-line provided a surprisingly quick wait.

Patriot for those who havenít ridden is a good ride, there are a few that might not be huge fans but I think it will be a massive hit for the Kansas City area. I had the chance to stand in line for Mamba behind a father and his younger daughter (taller then 48î but shorter then 54î) who I overheard saying that while Mamba was a lot of fun, he couldnít wait until she rode Patriot which was better the Mamba. That brought a smile to my face. Nothing makes me happier then people having fun. This is added to the several wonderful and positive comments Iíve heard from friends and general park guests. My personal opinion, well Iíve ridden it over 20 times in three days, and love it just a bit more every time, its more forceful then Mamba, and I still love that ìnothing but skyî feeling that you get only on an inverted coaster. Saying Iím glad to have Patriot at Worlds of Fun is the understatement of the year.

Patriot also has the advantage of having all the details taken care of as well. Since a certain person took over being in charge of the park, there have been some remarkable changes. The Patriot Plaza area showcases these changes to a tee. There is new concrete that runs from the Orient all the way through the Patriot Plaza; you know I love new concrete. The landscapers at Worlds of Fun are also to be commended, its April and the landscaping is beautiful, lots of new trees, rose bushes, lily turf, shrubs, the works. Patriot Station has an over abundance of something we haven't seen a lot until recently, theming. There are wood timbers, and steel trusses that look like wood timbers (love that detail) wood siding, frontier-style lanterns, and oh yes, John Phillip Sousa to complete the look and feel. I also personally like the shade-awnings over the queue-line, even though I know some really donít care much for them; in this case form follows function. The only thing I really am concerned about is the lack of queue-lines.

One thing I must also commend the park in relationship to Patriot is the rideís ambassadors. It is so refreshing to see people who enjoy there jobs, who smile when they work, and who ran Patriot with some degree of capacity considering it was opening day. True there was some train stacking (when the 2nd train sits in the brakes while the other is in the station), but overall it was a good performance, the wait was very quick for the lines size, and hereís hoping they only improve from here.

In the Merchandise department, as you exit the station there is the small Patriot Landing gift shop. Now I know most of you know this, Patriot Landing is the oldest structure in the Patriot area, as it was originally built in 1982 for River City, and has served multiple purposes since. This season it has been downsized a bit, given a rather nice rehab, and is home to the on ride photos and some nice Patriot merchandise.

So after hanging around Patriot for about an hour or so it was time to check out the rest of the park. The first thing I did was head for the bathroom; I specifically picked the Orient bathroom for this purpose. Reason so, it was one of two that has been remodeled. Supposedly there were supposed to be more... They are nice, much better then what they replaced, the automatic sinks are very user friendly, and from what Iíve heard the hand dryers are really powerful (Iím a paper towel kind of person). The only thing Iím concerned about is the drywall instead of the tile; I honestly donít see it holding up to the same kind of abuse. Overall though, better.

So, now I have to go from all the highlights, to the one major fault of the 2006 season. There is an extreme major sigh there; you probably couldnít hear it, thatís okay. Timberwolf, Timberwolf, Timberwolf, what can be done about it? I donít know any nice way of saying this, but it really needs help. I mean it really needs a full re-track very seriously. Luckily it was running somewhat tolerable for opening day; it was running fast on that first drop if you catch my drift. I can only imagine how well it would be running if it would be re-tracked. A few other concerns I have about Timberwolf. Number one, while capacity at the park was doing pretty decent for opening day, Timberwolf ran only one train the entire time, and it ran that one train really slowly. I didnít quite understand this, as the second train was sitting right in the transfer track and there was a line out of the station? Second, those trains need a new paint job, actually pretty badly. I know for a fact that those PTC trains are expensive, but they sure didnít look like it on April 8th. There is one bit of good news on the Timberwolf though, and this is another one of those things I get excited about, new lights. They replaced the string of burnt out ones, with a new string of lights up the lift. It only goes up the lift and not down the drop, but hey Iím not complaining, itís a major improvement.

While were on the topic of lights lets talk about them some more. Oh goody new lights! With a few minor exceptions the lights this year are a significant improvement over last year. All the rides that looked good last year still look good, Bamboozler, Octopus and Zulu. Patriot has those really nice red chasers on the lift hill, but Iím beside myself in all the other new lights. I was shocked and awed on Thursday morning at 5:30AM (donít ask) when I saw the new lights on the towers of Scandi Skees. They also had new light strings on Norsemanís Niceties, and the previously mentioned Timberwolf.

Besides the white rope lights that line the buildings are also a few new lamp lights. Jeff and I were honestly worried about Patriot Plaza when it opened that it would be home to run of the mill parking lot lights. There are about four of that variety, but of the more common variety are the unique themed lights. There are several bronze-colored wharf lights that line the Patriot Plaza area, which are very well themed, and quite striking. Of course the station has the previously mentioned lantern-lights all over the place, which are well-themed; they even have a nice distressing job on them. Going up the hill to Skyliner, the parkís ELI Bridge Ferris Wheel, the pole lights that line the walkway look like they were moved/added (Iím not sure if maybe these were the original Beat Street lights?) Anyway they are clean and simple, re-painted a bronze color to match the more decorative, but similar lights in the Patriot Plaza below.

Overall there is drastic improvement already this year, just a few comments and points I would like to make before I move on. Going back to Skyliner I was really surprised with the multi-colored lights on the ride itself. As it seems they were left untouched from last year. If youíve read my past editorials you know that Skyliner looks kind of pitiful with half of its light bulbs burnt out. This is especially surprising as Skyliner is literally next door to the Patriot. Skyliner can be quite striking when itís lit fully. I wouldnít be surprised though if work was done on the lights on this ride over the upcoming season. Another point, now that we have the beautiful lights in Scandinavia pretty much 90-95% functional I think its time to turn the flood lights off on Scandi Skees. The flood lights were put there for the overnight wash down crews, and not put there to light the park during regular operating hours. As the electrical staff has graciously put the nice decorative lights back up, there is no longer any need for those awful flood lights.

Also in the Scandinavia area are some minor updates. The park added a very nice large block retaining wall to the Viking Voyager queue-line area; you have to be in the station or on the walkway behind Sunset Strips to see it. The landscaping up there seems to have been updated too. Also beginning the end of last season the show pump on the final Viking Voyager drop is back on. This gives you the water cascading down the drop, it serves no ìfunctionalî purpose, but it does looks good. Glad to have that back too.

Last thing in Scandinavia, Scandinavia is home to one of the parkís two 25 cent Cotton Candy locations, in this case at the Swedish Sipping Chalet, near Viking Voyager. I can already tell that this is a big hit, as 1 in 4 people on average was holding a stick of cotton candy this weekend. Iíve already indulged in way to much sugar myself. Its only 25 cents!

Moving into Africa, it has been mentioned that Big Jacks has a new menu that includes Tacos and Tamales, interesting choice in food options but Iím going along with it, there is nothing wrong with variety. Also Jeff mentioned this tidbit. As some of you know Big Jacks was originally named for Jack Steadman, actually a lot of restaurants back then were named for Hunt Midwest people. Obviously when Cedar Fair took over a lot of those names changed, but Big Jack's stayed the same. Now, we have a new Jack, Jack Falfas, who is currently COO of Cedar Fair, so well there you go.

Also changing in the food service department is at King Tutís near the games area. King Tutís is still King Tutís but with Zarda Q Express added on. It serves a limited menu of Zarda BBQ sandwiches, and hot dogs.

Also in Africa is Mamba. I really had a long internal discussion with myself about whether to include the next point. So here goesÖ. Mamba was running really well this opening weekend as the brakes seemed to be really light. It had airtime, I mean REAL airtime on the return run Saturday evening, it was screaming fast, and wonderful. Just think if Timberwolf was re-tracked the park could have four great roller coasters! Yes Spinning Dragons is a great roller coaster. Yes, I will keep mentioning Timberwolf.

At the behest of Jeff, and not being able to give up the title of just being really annoying, I give you my next topic. Forum Road. (Also known as the walkway between Mamba and Americana) Ever had one of those moments that you feel like you might as well bang your head against the wall for all the good its doing you? Well Forum Road is like that to us. Worlds of Fun itís for your own good! If guests donít go down Forum Road they go through Europa. Europa has many more spending opportunities, Bonici Brothers, DÈj‡ vu, Smoothies Stand. What does Forum Road have? A Pepsi machine. Okay it has two Pepsi Machines, but still there is more per capita to be made in Europa then on Forum Road. Would it make a difference if I called it Heart of America Theater Road?

So Europa, I donít ever get to spend that much time on this section, but this time there are a several points of interest. First of all, DÈj‡ vu has a new paint job. It is pink, but actually a rather nice pink, more like a Strawberry Cream as someone put it. With green and white trim, and no rotting wood, it looks very nice. The Europa Bathrooms also got some TLC, with a new paint job (Iím assuming itís not complete?), and this was the 2nd bathroom that received an entire new makeover. In the ride department Le Carrousel was closed the entire weekend, from the new ADA compliant ramp and ADA compliant chariot Iím assuming thatís why.

Last point in Europa, the three large trees that stood near the train trestle between Americana and Europa are gone, after careful consideration, I think I am safe in assuming it was due to the storms that moved through a month or so ago. Itís sad that their gone, but there is nothing the park could have done in this case. Plus there are still many trees in Europa to provide shade.

Back to Americana, and an overlooked attraction, The Grand Prix Raceway has received new banners to replace the slightly faded oneís added with the ride in 1999. There are also some food options in Americana that have changed here as well. The old Pretzel Time is now Gyro Express, didnít try it but it looked pretty good. Next door used to be Triple Dip Ice Cream, but is now Sheridanís. A Kansas City establishment, it serves really fresh-made frozen custard and concretes mixed together in a variety of concoctions. I had the Dirt and Worms, Jeff had the Carmel/Hot Fudge Sundae, both were very good. For those looking for other Ice Cream options, literally 20 feet away is the Blue Bunny Ice Cream counter, and in the middle of it all is Dip ën Dots. Then of course down the hill is Pagoda Soda which serves soft serve. So there you go, four ice cream options in 100 feet. Ahhh Ice Cream Nirvana.

Then of course if you really want a sugar fix the second 25 cent cotton candy stand is not far away at Tibetan Treats. Tibetan Treats overlooks Ripcord and the Patriot, so its obviously the busiest of the two, but the line is pretty quick, and you know itís got a great view of Patriot. Last item on the food agenda is back in the Patriot Landing area, Worlds of Fun has finally added Churros, and there is now a Churros cart on the deck overlooking Ripcord.

So there you have it another opening day is gone, and another opening day review is finished. Like I mentioned earlier, I have been waiting for April 8th, since the day I first heard the name B&M, it was a great day, and here is hoping for one great season. See you at the park.