Worlds of Fun
Kansas City, Missouri
Worlds of Fun's 50th Anniversary &
ACE Around the World
May 26 & 27 2023
Page Seven



To see a larger version of any of the photos in this trip report just click on the photo and a larger version will open up on top of the page for you.



A highlight of the exhibition is this lead car from Worlds of Fun's Orient Express that was the parks star attraction from 1980 until 2003 that is on loan from the National Roller Coaster Museum.



If you never got to experience the Orient Express part of the reason that this is such a big highlight was that the ride towered over the parks entrance area and really was an icon that is sorely missed.  Getting to see the car again in all of its glory is something that is bound to bring back lots of memories.



As I have said time and again that coasters are a work of art you can understand how much they move and affect us by the emotions that come from just looking at this car sitting here motionless on display.



Getting a look at the design process that went into creating Worlds of Fun was fascinating. 



They really went out of their way to make the park as unique as possible with the theming.  What's interesting is that back in the 1970's theming was everything.  As time went into the 80's, 90's, and 2000's at Worlds of Fun and other parks throughout the industry theming went by the wayside.  You stopped having custom themed rides/areas to having generic things just plopped down with no thought to the theming.  A perfect example of this was the 1950's Americana themed Coasters Diner that was added to Worlds of Fun's Africa section.  It totally did not fit at all.  What is noce though, as far as Cedar Fair parks like Worlds of Fun is that they have switched back to that 1970's mentality of bringing back the theming, bringing back the uniqueness, and taking the effort to make a place where people can leave the real world behind for a day of fun.



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Paul B. Drabek