Photo courtesy of Fred Biedermann
Okay, I'm sitting here, totally exhausted with absolutely NO voice whatsoever.
Do you think I had a good time? You're darn tootin!
My parents picked us (my girlfriend Susan and I) up at the airport Friday
evening and took us to the Cheesecake Factory on the Country Club Plaza.
Kansas City is just a beautiful city! There are fountains *everywhere* - in fact
it has more fountains than the city of Rome - and a night on the Plaza, with all
that Spanish architecture and horse drawn carriages, is the perfect way to
unwind and start your vacation. Of course all we talked about was Mamba and
how much we couldn't wait to get on it and ride! Well, Kansas City has been
absolutely inundated with almost nightly images of it on TV and after every
comment we'd make all my Dad could do was give his goofy laugh, throw his
head back and say in his heavy Kansas drawl "Oh My Gawd, yew couldn't git
me on that thing fer all the mon..... well, mebbe a thousand dawllars, but that's
it." My Dad is all that and a nutbar.
Early Saturday morning we drove from my parents house in Lawrence to
Kansas City. It is so odd to come back to the place of your childhood after
being away for 11 years. It no longer feels like home anymore, but instead a
nice, well worn jacket. The fit is gone, but the memory of how it made you feel
never leaves.
As we got within maybe 10 miles from the park, "OH MY GOD!!! Look at that
thing!!!" Mamba creates a whole new, incredibly impressive skyline from a
very far off distance. And in spite of what you might think, this area is
definitely *not* flat! Instead, it sits on a hill at the highest elevation of the park,
so it is visible for miles - someone even said they could see it from downtown
Kansas City, Kansas. In any case, it's really a site to behold if you're
approaching it from the north - it's even more dramatic than seeing Desperado for the
first time.
We got to the park at 9:30, thinking we'd be close to the front line for Mamba.
Un-unh. I couldn't believe how full the C parking lot was! We got to the front
gate and immediately realized we had come on some kind of Band Day, which
was fine with me since I love the Americana of marching bands! These were
high school bands and they were all in uniform. Anyway, the park wasn't
scheduled to open until 10:00 but they were already letting people through!
I took a good look around. This was my first trip to WoF since 1992 and I
always love coming back, even if they don't have a lot of coasters. Worlds of
Fun is such a pretty park - it's truly a well done *theme* park, with very distinct
areas, great plazas, and attention given to the little details - those nice little
touches that a lot of corporate parks are missing. On top of that the park has
great landscaping, is canopied by lots of trees and lush vegetation, and a
rolling topography that all combines to give it a funky kind of old-fashioned,
traditional park kind of feel.
It wasn't even 10:00 and we noticed Mamba was already running - with people!
But it couldn't be the FMM event - they were only scheduled for ERT on Timber
Wolf this morning. We headed back to get in line and oh, my. There must
have been a good 90 minute wait ahead of us! How the heck did all these
people get here so early? Oh well, I said, Morgan was supposed to deliver the
other two trains this week so it shouldn't be too bad once....... wait a
minute........ have you noticed more than one train running? Neither have I.
What the heck is going on? Oh no. Oh no. One train again - on a Saturday?
On a sunny Saturday, with a good crowd already in the park even before it's
supposed to be open? Oh my God. A young, take charge type teenage girl
then came back and told her friends right behind us that the ride wasn't even
open yet, that apparently there was some group up there named the
American.... Coaster..... Enthusiast.... or something like that, and they were
getting to ride the coaster until 10:30, and after they were done they would
open up the ride to the rest of us.
Susan and I smiled at each other and just listened to the 5 or 6 girls behind
us. "The what? The American Coaster Enthusiast? What is that?" "I don't
know, apparently they have some sort of club - they're enthusiastic about roller
coasters." "Well I'm enthusiastic about roller coasters!" "What are they, wierd?"
"I don't know, I've never heard of em! I just wanted to know what was going on
- I need to know what's going on!" "Well, why would anyone, what do they do?
Go around saying "We're enthusiastic!"" (group laughter) "I'm just telling you
what they told me! After they're done they'll open up the ride and it should be
around 10:30."
I looked at Susan and we just smiled.
Finally, right around 10:30, those Enthusiastic People got done being
enthusiastic, and they opened up the ride. There was a huge push and then a
long wait. An hour and a half wait. It could have been worse, we could have
arrived at the park at 10:00. Fortunately the wait did not seem interminable,
thanks to the eye candy this coaster provides. Watch the riders as they fly
out of the double up, past the queues and dip down around the station before
the brake run really keeps your motivation level high. One thing I noticed (even
Helen Keller would've noticed) is that the lift chain is EXTREMELY LOUD!!!
Call it a conversation stopper - it's worse than Wild Thing.
Finally, at 12:00 noon, we got our ride. We held out for the front row. Up that
noisy lift to the top, you crest the hill and
hang... hang... hang... hanging..... WHIP down that first drop - I dare you not to
scream! Up the second hill and GET OUT OF YOUR SEAT NOW!!! down the
second drop DON'T GET BACK IN YOUR SEAT UNTIL I SAY SO!!! and
curving to the right OKAY, GET BACK IN YOUR SEAT AND STAY THERE!!!
and up the top of the helix, then whip around and around and oh my god those
supports are awfully close awfully close awfully getting closer awfully oh my
god too close too close TOO CLOSE "OH MY GOD!!!!! AAAAA!!!" then up and
a quick turn to the left and on top of the mid course brakes, then the bunny run
- down and up GET OUT YOUR SEAT and down and really up I SAID GET
OUT OF YOUR SEAT!!! "WHOOOOOAAAAA!!!!" down and up GET OUT!
down and up GET THE &*%!* OUT and "whoa - in the double up!!!" a flyby the
que and station, then a quick turn and dip toward the brake run and BRAKES.
Cue cheers - long, loud, lusty applause.
Awesome. That's the only way to describe the best steel coaster I've ever
been on. It's fast, it maintains its speed throughout the ride, that second drop
is a real airtime lovers delight, the helix has got the most psychologically
brilliant headchopper I've ever experienced, the bunny hops have an intense,
launching type of airtime like Magnum, and double up and dip down to end the
ride give you a great finish. We were completely thrilled, our expectations
were met and then some. Let the trumpets sound, Mamba is King!
We decided to ride Timber Wolf next. As we were waiting in line I told Susan
that this coaster was ranked in the Top 10 among wooden coaster fans.
"Really?" Now I know this tone - she didn't seem too impressed with it's
appearance. But Timber Wolf's layout is wierd, and its appearance is
deceiving. As we boarded the front seat I again threw out for her consideration
that "I think it's ranked No. 9." "Really?" "Yes." "In all the WORLD?" "Uh
huh, you'll see."
First of all, I would like to say thanks to fellow RRC'ers Shawn McLaughlin and
Cindy Stout for hanging out with us and making the day so awesome. Both of
you are just as nice in person as you are on RRC and it's just amazing how
two people who until that point you've known only through your computer can
turn out to be so real and funny and genuinely interesting and just plain fun to
be with. Both of you made us feel instantly comfortable and we would *love* to
hang out with you anytime!
|
The following is message from Susan Barth: I LOVE THE TIMBER WOLF! end message |
Now it was time for us to wander over to the old Zambezi Zinger site and meet Shawn McLaughlin, a fellow RRC'er. Shawn is a great guy who's evil wife does not like roller coasters, forcing this poor gentle soul to ride solo. We talked for awhile, then went to the Round Up, which Susan wanted to ride, then headed back over to Timber Wolf - guess who wanted to go there again? Anyway, Shawn suggested we ride the back. While we were waiting in line I noticed a woman with the FMM event badge and a smart little Knoebels t-shirt that I immediately coveted. As Shawn climbed into the back seat with Susan and I in front of him a ride attendant asked would he mind being paired up? Well, the woman with the Knoebels t-shirt got in and I overheard her and Shawn introducing themselves. It turned out to be RRC's very own Cindy Stout! I turned around and introduced myself - what a coincidence!! Cindy and I had e-mailed each other with the hope we would get a chance to meet at this event! AND WE'RE OFF!! The Timber Wolf from the back is so much better! The airtime's more intense and the laterals are much more violent. What a great ride - Susan is fast becoming a Timber Wolf diehard.
I invited Cindy to hang out with us and without really knowing where we were headed ended up in the line for Mamba. It seemed to be moving fast, but before we could get our ride Cindy had to leave for the FMM event dinner. She said she hoped it would not turn out to be hot dogs, and I was so hoping they would treat everyone to some Kansas City barbecue. We agreed to meet her in front of the Orient Express at 6:30. Meanwhile our wait on Mamba was 1:45 and as we got on it started to lightly rain. Our second ride was just as great as the first, but Shawn said it didn't have quite the same intensity that it did the week before.
After our ride we walked back over to the old Zambezi Zinger site for a period of proper mourning. We studied the area quite awhile and I explained to Susan about the electrically powered spiral lift, how the ride was tracked, the awesome tunnel and headchoppers, and just what a great, fun ride it was. What a memory, what a shame.
We then headed over to the Finnish Fling. I'm not too up on brand naming flat rides, so I'll just say it's a barrel that spins and then the floor drops out from under you. Susan had never been on one and Shawn and I did our best to convince her that unfortunate accidents *have* occurred, and the bottom half of the barrel is also known as the "Toe Depository." This was a good ride that also served to protect us from the deluge of rain that was now helping to empty the park!
When we met Cindy at 6:30 she was appropriately dressed in her thunderwear. We, however, were not, and ended up spending the next 10 or 15 minutes under a shelter. Then we decided to hit one more flat ride - Cyclone Sam's. Cindy made the comment that with so many parks pulling all their old flat rides, it's nice to see a park like Worlds of Fun that has a flat ride on every corner, including some of the old great ones. It's true.
The rain stopped once our ride ended and we made our way back to Mamba. The park had cleared out considerably but despite this we still had to wait quite awhile before our ride. During our wait I got to meet Dave McCall, also known on RRC as Curtscurve! By the time we boarded the train it was 9:30, good and dark. Shawn and Cindy were in seat 1.3 and Susan and I climbed into 1.2. We cheered like crazy from the moment we left the station, knowing it would probably be our last ride of the night. We clapped our hands in the air and screamed the whole way up the lift hill.
Finally....... OH MY GOOOOOOOOD!!!!!! THIS THING IS FLYYYYYYYYING!!!!!!! We were absolutely catapulted in the air on every single hill, for what seemed like an eternity. And as hard as I tried I still could not keep my hands entirely raised during the helix - the supports are spaced *just* far enough apart for it to sink in that they are GETTING CLOSER AND ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO TAKE YOUR HAND OFF! And as they get closer the distance between them gets narrower and narrower - it's straight out of Alice in Wonderland.
There was an *intensely* noticeable increase in the coaster's speed - I mean, we really flew through the track, so much so that we got slammed into the turn toward the brake run and airtime on the little dip! We were running so hard that the brakes *slammed* on, much like Mantis' brakes at the end - the kind that makes you go OOF!
It was easily the awesome, intense ride I had ever had on any roller coaster. Ever. We screamed and cheered and clapped all the way into the station and several people were still cheering as they headed toward the exit! It was a fantastic way to end the night.
Well, almost. It was 9:40, and we still had time to get in one more ride on the Timber Wolf before Cindy's ERT started. There was almost no wait, and as we entered the station I saw what could only have been RRC's Dredlock Jim! I tapped him on the shoulder and quickly introduced myself. He was in line for the front, and we went straight for the back. There were only a few riders ahead of us, but I couldn't help but notice one man in particular. I tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he was Randy Duffner, and yes, he was! I introduced myself and told him I enjoyed watching him narrate my favorite wooden coaster on "Wild Rides," to which he replied "Well, I'm kind of fond of it, too, but you probably already knew that!" Anyway, we talked for awhile about carousels, which he is interested in possibly writing about in AT. Randy seems like a very nice guy - and he has the biggest hands I've ever seen!
Well, our last ride of the night. Timber Wolf. Cindy started the howling up the lift hill, and we all joined in. Until it dropped, at which point we realized we were in for the RIDE OF OUR LIVES. This thing was not only brakeless, it was good and wet! We FLEW and SLAMMED into every drop and turn. I don't even remember it all - it wasn't a violent, uncomfortable kind of ride. It was simply a coaster lover's nirvana. We screamed and screamed, and it wasn't all just for fun - some of it was out of shock! After we got off, Cindy summed it up best by saying "Well, that might as well have been a stand-up!" Susan was now a certified Timber Wolf convert. Shawn agreed that it was the absolute best ride he'd ever had on it. And I was completely and totally juiced - I thought of Charles Jacques' line - "just one more ride, give me just one more ride." It was such a perfect way to end the day.
We said farewell to Cindy who was off for ERT. Susan commented later that she felt bad seeing Cindy walk off by herself. I'm like, "She's off to experience those last two rides we had AGAIN for the next hour and a half - she should be feeling sorry for us!" Then it was goodbye to Shawn - I gave Shawn an RRC button that I was hoping to give to Kris Holm - Kris, I'm so sorry we didn't get to meet, I was looking forward to it! I was also hoping to meet Robb Alvey and also see my friend Jerry again, but I never dreamed the park would be so crowded. If this is any indication of the kind of summer WoF is going to have, I think Cedar Fair is in for a fast return on their investment, and hopefully continued funding for additional coasters. If you build it they WILL come!
Worlds of Fun is just a great park, and when it comes to coasters, what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. I cannot wait to come back again this summer, after they have added another train to Mamba. And for those of you who think "awwww, just another hyper" please, don't miss out on the very best one of all! Mamba is King!
RunawayMT
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