Worlds of Fun

When you enter Worlds of Fun, you may be forgiven for thinking it is a small, rather compact park at first glance. In fact, its true extent is well hidden and it is much larger and more sprawling than it first appears.

Worlds of Fun takes Jules Verne's book "Around the World in Eighty Days" as its overarching theme, with park areas loosely themed around Scandinavia, Africa, Europa, the Orient and Americana.

Major attractions include Prowler, an astoundingly good wooden coaster which won the Golden Ticket award for Best New Ride when it opened in 2009; Mamba, a 205ft tall hyper coaster added in 1998 as the first major addition by Cedar Fair after they bought the park in 1995; Patriot, an excellent B&M inverted coaster; and Timber Wolf, a Dinn Corporation woodie from 1989.

The park was opened in 1973 as part of a plan to revitalise the area around Kansas City as just one of several major projects including Kansas City airport, an entertainment arena and sports complex.

Sadly, Worlds of Fun feels like one of the least loved parks in the Cedar Fair chain. Although there are small improvements and additions every year, there has not been a massive investment made since Prowler was added in 2009. It's a pity, as Worlds of Fun is a pleasant park with much seemingly unrealised potential. It has some excellent rides, but it could do with a bit more attention from Cedar Fair to keep it in line with the chain's other properties.

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More on Worlds of Fun

• Trip: ECC North America 6 (4 Jun to 19 Jun 2016)