Been There ... ... Done That
Worlds of Fun - Kansas City, Missouri
- Mamba - Morgan Hyper-coaster
With the first hill over 200 feet high and reaching speeds up to 75 mph, MAMBA® is one of the tallest, longest and fastest roller coasters in the world.
- Prowler (2009) - A new thrill ride called "The Prowler" hit Kansas City's Worlds of Fun amusement park. The $8 million wooden coaster takes about a minute-and-a-half to ride. Like all roller coasters, it starts out high and has a big plunge. Once the ride gets going, the roller coaster runs low to the ground. The Prowler makes its way through the woods in the back side of the amusement park, making it reminiscent of the popular "Zambizi Zinger" ride that was a Worlds of Fun original.
- Patriot (2006) - The longest and tallest inverted roller coaster in the region! The inverted PATRIOT delivers two minutes and 18 seconds of the ultimate amusement park adventure by exposing riders to height, speed and a seamless transition of gravity-defying elements. Hanging beneath the track, thrill-seekers climb a 149-foot lift hill, then plunge down a 123-foot curved drop reaching a speed of nearly 60-MPH. Riders are disoriented as they fly through seven gravity-defying elements, including an 89-foot vertical loop, a zero-gravity roll, an Immelmann loop, an inclined banked curve, an s-curve, a corkscrew, and a high-speed spiral.
- Boomerang (2000) - After boarding a Boomerang train, riders are pulled backwards to the top of a nearly vertical 12-story tower and then released to plummet at nearly 50 miles per hour down a steep hill. They turn and go through two corkscrew turns and a vertical loop, flipping upside down three times. Riders then head up another nearly vertical 12-story tower where the whole trip begins again... in reverse!
- Timber Wolf (1989) - Summers/Dinn Twister. This 100-foot tall coaster is ranked as one of the best coasters built in the 1980s. It features an uphill helix, lots of air time and a top speed of 52 mph.
- Orient Express (1980) - Arrow Multi-Element - No longer operating.
- Zambezi Zinger (1973) - Schwarzkopf Speed Racer
- Detonator - Twin-tower free fall. Although this is not a rollercoaster, it was sure a fun rush.
- The latest addition to Worlds of Fun’s roller coaster thrills is Patriot, billed as the longest and tallest inverted roller coaster in the region! I haven't ridden this coaster yet, but will on my next visit to Kansas City.
Hotels Near Worlds of Fun
Super 8 Worlds of
Fun
4321 North Corrington Avenue | Kansas City, MO
Located
adjacent to Worlds of Fun and approximately seven miles from Kansas City
Downtown Municipal Airport.
Top Gun - Paramount's Great America
Top Gun was the first inverted coaster I'd
ridden and it was the coolest coaster I'd ridden. The sensation of the inverted
configuration is like no other coaster experience. It was this coaster that
solidified my fascination with roller coasters and really began my search for
the ultimate coaster.
Other coasters worth mentioning at
Paramount's Great America, now owned
by Cedar Fair, in Santa Clara, Calif. include the steel Loop-Screw
Demon, the double out & back wood Grizzly, and the standup
loop-screw Vortex, the suspended, inverted boomerang coaster
Invertigo, the world’s first and only true flying coaster,
Stealth.
Valleyfair
Located in , Shakopee, Minnesota,
Valleyfair has six roller coasters including the Wild Thing, standing
more than 200 feet tall.
A Couple More Coasters I've Ridden
Desert Storm - Castles 'N' Coasters, Phoenix Arizona
Roller Coaster (1949), Joyland Amusment Park, Wichita, Kansas
