For sale: Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun

I grew up with WOF and while I would agree it is not what it used to be it is still a very nice park. Cedar Fair is in the amusement park business not the theme park business and they have done a lot to take away from WOF theming. That said WOF is a well run park that is clean and safe with quality employees. Kansas City is fortunate to have a quality park like WOF. Parks in St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Louisville, Denver are no where as nice as WOF. Cities like Omaha, Indianapolis, Houston, Cleveland, Memphis and Nashville don't even have parks.

What confuses me about this move by Cedar Fair is with the way the economy is now, who could they possibly sell WOF to?

Hey, I visited 6 flags St. Louis last summer and was not all impressed. All I could think about was that I wish I was at WOF. The best ride there was the new Evil Knievel Coaster, which the prowler will be like, but better. I truly believe the prowler will make folks forget about the zinger. This thing will book through the woods and at night, with limited lightening, will be an awesome coaster. I do hope that someone with money and amusement park passion will buy the park. The 4 coasters that CF has added his purchasing the park are all a lot of fun and the Patriot is much better than the orient express. I would love to see OOF shut down and WOF expanded. The Dream owners of this park would be the Herschend family who own Silver Dollar City. Maybe they closed Celebration City because they saw this coming. If you haven't been to SDC lately, it has really grown into a fantastic theme park and they have done a great job with Dollywood also. Come on Pete, buy the park.

If Mark Ceader sells the park to some one whats going to happen to Camp Snoopy? Better yet whats going to happen to Halloween Haunt?

By the way you guys are not thinking ahead. Lets think if someone random rich guy/girl does buy it, good for them but now there low on cash from buying it so no new rides/coasters for a LONG while. Personally im all for Mark selling Oceans Of Fun, cause hasnt done anything to it for awhile but selling Worlds Of Fun has me very worried for its future.

I said "Gotta get that coaster count up", not "keep it up." Cedar Fair runs coaster parks, that's all they know. They have to add to the coaster total at WOF to make it true Cedar Fair park. Right now it is more of a stationary carnival propped up by a couple of above average coasters. Cedar Fair is known for their coasters, and WOF does not fit their brand without adding at least three more coasters after The Prowler. Add to the coaster count, and voila(!) you have a coaster park. Or an Iron Ride Park, if you prefer that moniker instead.

[Incidentally, Cedar Point has 17 coasters. But I think I understand the confusion as only about half that number are any good (Disaster Transport, the kiddie coasters, the mine train, and the wild mouse coaster don't count, do they?). But having 17 coasters isn't all that special anymore, is it? Heck, if Six Flags stays solvent, Magic Mountain will surpass Cedar Point's total in another year or two....not to mention Six Flags New Jersey holds all the height and speed records the Point once had...Cedar Point may be trying to sell WoF because their flagship park's "Coaster Capital Of The World" title is in real danger of being relinquished!]

Anyway, those facts are neither here nor there. And no one said WoF is as good as Cedar Point. The only fact that matters to this discussion is that no one in KC wants to drive 12 hours to Sandusky every time he gets the urge to ride a coaster. I am pretty sure we are all quite happy to drive 20 minutes and ride the Mamba. It may not be the tallest and fastest, but it is still a good ride, and certainly part of a much more cost effective day trip!

Having 17 coasters at WoF would be nice, but it is not necessary for the park to be successful. 10 good coasters and a bunch of top notch attractions supporting them should be adequate. Now, let's just hope WoF finds a good owner who is willing to build WoF into the kind of park KC wants: a good, clean, fun theme park that is suitable for the whole family.

I imagine Cedar Fair found they could not compete with the new water park opening by the speedway.
WOF if great for what it is; not huge lines if you go the right time.

And "keep to coaster count up"? Cedar Point has 16... Please.

I personally never understood why Cedar Fair wanted such a sad little amusement park like WoF anyway. Have you been to Cedar Point? It makes WoF look like a fair carnival!

...unlike the Orient which was dismantled, the Zambezi Zinger is still round. Sadly, you have to go to South America to ride it: http://rcdb.com/ig1392.htm?picture=2

Zambezi Zinger

WoF is not perfect, but it is not awful either. Sure, the place could use more love, and removing the Orient Express was a huge choke, but Cedar Fair runs a clean, fun, and profitable operation. It could be a lot worse and you only have to take a short trip to Six Flags Saint Louis (the trash bin of the theme park universe) to better appreciate what we have here in KC. Trust me: WoF is still the second best theme park in Missouri (Silver Dollar City is first).

Cedar Fair is not jumping ship because the park is losing money. More likely, Cedar Fair just doesn't want to commit to spending the funds it will take to make WoF a premiere Midwest amusement park - at least $100 mil in additional capital is my guess to get the park above its current two-state "regional" status. IMHO, that $100 mil would be spent on at least three new coasters (gotta get that coaster count up), a complete re-theming of the Europa section (including up to a half dozen new attractions to replace the current slate of circa 1973 relics), and about $10 mil in love given to the kid's area of the park (Camp Snoopy) which currently ranks second behind the food court play area at the local mall. Following those immediate expenditures, at least one new attraction should be added per year to keep consumer interest high, which is what used to happen when Lamar Hunt owned the park.

Cedar Fair probably is not up to that sort of commitment. It is easier to sell the park than to build up their brand in the Midwest.

Let's hope Disney or Universal will sweep in and use WoF to establish their own Midwest presence! ;)

I had no problem whatsoever with "hoodrats" when I took my family there last year. Had a great time as always.

I moved to Arkansas in 1986 and haven't been to WoF or OoF since but driven by many times. Has it really fallen on such hard times? Have thugs taken over? I was thinking of bringing my family, remembering all the great times I had there.

I got sick of the hoodrats running around stealing stuff and starting fights with families in the lines for the rides. Never again.

Could Worlds of Fun go the way of Geauga Lake, be disassembled and their rides scattered to other profitable parks.

I like Cedar Point but I hate Cedarfair for not even trying to take care of their parks. Just plop a ride and hope for the best.

The ambiance of Worlds of Fun is gone since Hunt Enterprises left it.

You can see the stamp of Cedar Fair over at the Mamba where they added a restaurant that doesnt even match the theming. What a half assed effort.

Hope an investor really cares about the park and brings it back...

Two words---

ORIENT EXPRESS

Enough Said!

I would not go as far as to say CF butchered WOF/OOF, but I feel like the parks lost a lot of their charm after Hunt Midwest sold them. It seems, to me, like CF cares more about their flagship park in Ohio, and their other parks (WOF/OOF included) have suffered because of it.

This could be good news for the parks. If they can find a buyer that is truly dedicated to the parks, maybe they can recover some of their former, pre-1995 glory.

I wonder how many ways the city and county will find to throw money at the new buyer to keep it open? (a.k.a. tax breaks)

Cedar Fair stuck around long enough to butcher both parks. Now that they've ruined them, they want out? Sounds about right to me. That's Corporate America for you.