Worlds of Fun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Worlds of Fun

Logo used since 2007
Worlds of Fun from the parking lot (pictured in 2015)
Location	Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Coordinates	39°10′38.4″N 94°29′20.5″W / 39.177333°N 94.489028°W / 39.177333; -94.489028
Status	Operating
Owner	EPR Properties
Operated by	Enchanted Parks
General manager	Dameon Nelson
Theme	Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Slogan	The Best Place in Kansas City to Have Fun
Operating season	April/May through November
Area	More than 235 acres (0.95 km2) (~0.90 km2)
Attractions
Total	43
Roller coasters	8
Water rides	11
Opened	May 26, 1973 (1973-05-26)

Worlds of Fun is a fun theme park that covers 235-acre (95 ha) in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. EPR Properties owns the park, and Enchanted Parks operates it.

Worlds of Fun was started by American businessmen Lamar Hunt and Jack Steadman in 1973. They owned it through Hunt's company, Mid-America Enterprises. Oceans of Fun is a water park that opened in 1982 right next to the theme park. Now, your ticket to Worlds of Fun also includes admission to Oceans of Fun. Mid-America Enterprises sold both parks to Cedar Fair in 1995 for $40 million. Cedar Fair later joined with Six Flags in 2024. Six Flags then sold the park to EPR Properties in 2026, and Enchanted Parks became the new operator.

History of Worlds of Fun

Lamar Hunt, a businessman from Texas and Arkansas, brought his football team, the Dallas Texans, to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1963. He renamed them the Kansas City Chiefs. Hunt also started a company called Mid-America Enterprises, which worked on real estate, mining, and entertainment. Lamar Hunt, his business partner Jack Steadman, and park designer Randall Duell imagined and built Worlds of Fun.

Building the park started in November 1971. It took about 17 months and cost around $20 million. The park officially opened its doors on May 26, 1973. At that time, many other big projects were being built in Kansas City, like the Kansas City International Airport. The park was first planned to be part of a bigger hotel and entertainment area. However, money problems in the early years stopped this plan.

In 1974, the park added its first new feature, the 4,000-seat Forum Amphitheater, in the Europa section. In 1976, a new area called Bicentennial Square opened. It celebrated 200 years since the United States became independent. This area also introduced Screamroller, a roller coaster with a loop.

In 1982, Oceans of Fun, a water park, opened right next to Worlds of Fun. It was the biggest water park in the world at the time. Also in 1982, a new area called "River City" was added to Americana. The next year, Screamroller became Extremeroller, which was North America's first looping roller coaster where you stood up! In 1989, the park added Timber Wolf, a wooden roller coaster. It quickly became very popular.

Cedar Fair bought Worlds of Fun in 1995 for $40 million. The new owners spent $10 million to add Mamba, a huge steel roller coaster, in 1998.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the park had shorter operating hours from 2020 to 2022. In 2020, Worlds of Fun was open from June 22 to September 7, but Oceans of Fun did not open at all that year. The park's opening was delayed in both 2021 and 2022.

On July 1, 2024, Cedar Fair and Six Flags joined together to form Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. Then, on March 5, 2026, Six Flags announced they would sell Worlds of Fun to EPR Properties. The sale was completed on April 6, 2026. Now, Enchanted Parks operates the park.

Other Exciting Additions to the Park

• 2006: Patriot opened. It was the longest, tallest, and fastest inverted roller coaster in the region. It was the park's biggest investment on a single ride, costing $14 million.
• 2008: For its 35th anniversary, Worlds of Fun added a festival called Oktoberfest.
• 2009: A new wooden coaster, Prowler, was added to the Africa section. It won an award for "Best New Ride of 2009" from Amusement Today magazine.
• 2010: Snoopy's Hot Summer Lights opened. This was a $1 million light and sound show in the Europa and Africa sections. A Subway restaurant also opened at Oceans of Fun.
• 2011: Planet Snoopy, an $8-million children's area, was added to Worlds of Fun. It has over 20 rides and attractions. A classic Illions carousel called The Grand Carrousel was added to Scandinavia.
• 2012: A special line system called "Fast Lane" was introduced. It lets visitors pay extra to skip the regular lines.
• 2013: Oceans of Fun became fully connected with Worlds of Fun. This meant visitors could enter both parks with just one ticket.
• 2014: WindSeeker, a 301-foot (92 m) tall swing ride, was moved from Knott's Berry Farm and renamed SteelHawk. It opened at Worlds of Fun for the 2014 season.
• 2016: Planet Snoopy got upgrades, including five new rides for kids. Two older attractions were removed.
• 2017: Mustang Runner and Falcon's Flight were added to the Americana section. The park also got a newly designed entrance, and Winterfest started in November.
• 2018: Nordic Chaser was added to the Scandinavia section. The Timber Wolf roller coaster got a new, steep turn.
• 2019: Worlds of Fun opened a new main restaurant, Cotton Blossom BBQ. It is very large and can seat over 300 guests.
• 2020: Riptide Raceway, the world's longest mat racing slide, was planned to open but was delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 2023: The new Zambezi Zinger roller coaster opened in the African section. It was the world's first wooden coaster with GCI Titan Track. This ride was named after an older coaster that used to be at the park. Its opening celebrated the park's 50th anniversary.

Park Areas and Attractions

The park's design is inspired by Jules Verne's famous book, Around the World in Eighty Days. Worlds of Fun has eight main areas: Gateway Gardens, East Asia, Americana, Wild West, Europa, Africa, Scandinavia, and Planet Snoopy. Each area has rides, shops, and restaurants that match its theme. In 1997, the original main entrance in Americana closed to make way for the Grand Prix Raceway. Since then, what was once the "back gate" became the main entrance.

The park is designed in a loop. When you enter Gateway Gardens, you can walk clockwise through Scandinavia, Africa, Wild West, Americana, and East Asia. The Europa section connects Africa and Wild West. Africa has three smaller parts: Serengeti, Morocco, and Egypt. Some older areas like Bicentennial Square and River City are now part of Americana. The Wild West area used to be part of Americana too, but it became its own section.

Behind the Wild West area is Planet Snoopy, a special section just for younger kids. This area has changed its theme several times since it was added in 1978. It started as "Aerodrome" with futuristic rides for grown-ups. Then it became "Pandamonium!" in 1987, "Berenstain Bear Country" in 1997, "Camp Snoopy" in 2001, and finally "Planet Snoopy" in 2011.

Even though there isn't an Australian area, you can find an Australian-themed Boomerang roller coaster in the Africa section.

Roller Coasters at Worlds of Fun

Ride name	Picture	Year opened	Manufacturer	Current location	Description
Boomerang		2000	Vekoma	Africa	This coaster opened in 2000. It took the place of the original Zambezi Zinger, which left in 1997. Its waiting line and signs were moved in 2005.
Cosmic Coaster		1993	Preston & Barbieri	Planet Snoopy	This is a fun, smaller roller coaster for kids. It has a loose Snoopy theme. Before 2012, it was called Wacky Worm.
Mamba		1998	Morgan	Africa	Mamba is the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster at the park. It's known as a 'hypercoaster' because it's over 200 feet (61 meters) tall.
Patriot		2006	Bolliger & Mabillard	Americana	Patriot is an inverted roller coaster. It goes upside down four times and reaches 149 feet (45 meters) high. When it opened, it was the biggest and fastest inverted coaster in the area.
Prowler		2009	Great Coasters International	Africa	Prowler is a wooden roller coaster with lots of twists and turns. It won an award for 'Best New Ride' in 2009.
Spinning Dragons		2004	Gerstlauer	East Asia	Spinning Dragons is a roller coaster where your car spins around! It was one of the first rides like it in the world. It opened in 2004 in the East Asia area, after the Orient Express coaster was removed.
Timber Wolf		1989	Dinn Corporation	Wild West	Timber Wolf is a classic wooden roller coaster with many twists. It was voted one of the best roller coasters in the world in the early 1990s.
Zambezi Zinger		2023	Great Coasters International and Skyline Attractions	Africa	This new Zambezi Zinger is named after an older coaster that used to be here. It's a special kind of wooden coaster called a 'hybrid' with Titan Track.

Africa Section Rides

Americana Section Rides

Europa Section Rides

Gateway Gardens Section Rides

East Asia Section Rides

Planet Snoopy Rides for Kids

Scandinavia Section Rides

Wild West Section Rides

• + Denotes an extra cost for the ride or attraction.

Past Rides and Attractions

Former Roller Coasters

• Schussboomer, (1973–1984), a steel roller coaster with ten small cars.
• Silly Serpent/Funicular, (1973–1987) A small roller coaster for children. It was first in Europa as "Funicular" and later moved to Africa as "Silly Serpent."
• Screamroller/Extremeroller (EXT), (1976–1988), an Arrow Dynamics coaster. It was the first stand-up roller coaster in North America for one season in 1983.
• Zambezi Zinger, (1973–1997), a fast steel roller coaster that raced through the woods. It was later moved to a park in Colombia.
• Orient Express, (1980–2003), this coaster was the first in the world to have a "batwing" loop, which is now a common feature on many thrill rides.

Other Past Rides

• The Safari, (1973–1978) a jeep ride with a safari theme.
• Barnstormer, (1978–1983), a 100-foot tall spinning airplane ride. It was removed partly because of frequent shutdowns due to strong winds.
• Ski Heis/Sky Hi, (1973–1987) a Von Roll Skyride.
• Wobble Wheel, (1977–1993) a spinning ride. It was replaced by the indoor Cyclone Sam's.
• Incred-O-Dome, (1981–1997), a special theater where viewers could experience virtual rides.
• Python Plunge/The Plunge, (1988–1999) a water slide ride where riders carried their own rafts.
• Omegatron, (1986–2001), a six-story spinning ride.
• Rockin' Reeler, (1991–2005), a spinning ride.
• Grand Prix Raceway, (1997–2014), a go-kart racing track.
• Octopus, (1973–2014) a classic spinning octopus ride.
• Thunderhawk, (2002–2015) a ride that flipped riders many times and went up 60 feet high.
• Krazy Kars, (1973–2015) a children's bumper car ride.
• Le Carousel, (1979–2016) a merry-go-round with horses.
• Finnish Fling, (1973–2017) a spinning ride that was one of the few left in North America.
• Falcon's Flight, (2017–2022) a tall spinning ride.
• Monsoon, (1992–2022) a 55-foot water ride.

Oceans of Fun Water Park

Oceans of Fun is the water park that belongs to Worlds of Fun. It opened in 1982 and was once the largest water park in the world. Since 2013, your ticket to Worlds of Fun also includes entry to Oceans of Fun.

Fast Lane System

Fast Lane is a special system at Worlds of Fun that started in 2012. If you pay an extra fee, you get a wristband that lets you use a separate, faster line for many rides. This helps you reduce your waiting time. Fast Lane Plus gives you access to even more popular rides, like Detonator, Spinning Dragons, and Zambezi Zinger, as well as some rides at Oceans of Fun.

During the Halloween Haunt event, a similar system called "Fright Lane" is available. It helps you get through the lines faster for haunted attractions. "Fright Lane+" includes a "Skeleton Key," which gives you special access to secret, intense rooms in some haunted houses.

Worlds of Fun Village Resort

In 2005, Worlds of Fun opened its first on-site resort, called Worlds of Fun Village. This campground is right next to the park. The Village has 22 cabins, 20 cottages, and 82 spots for RVs, all with electricity and TV hookups. Each cabin or cottage can sleep 6–8 people.

Snoopy's Hot Summer Lights Show

"Snoopy's Hot Summer Lights" was a special light and sound show that started in 2010. It featured the Peanuts characters. The show used over 2 million LED lights and different music soundtracks throughout the Africa and Europa sections of the park. Along the paths, there were models of Snoopy and other characters for guests to see. Snoopy's Hot Summer Lights was a million-dollar project that used special effects and sound designed just for Worlds of Fun. It ran from June 4 to September 5, 2010.

Halloween Haunt Event

Halloween Haunt logo

Worlds of Fun has had fall events since it opened in 1973 with an Oktoberfest festival. Halloween-themed events began in 1992 with Boo! Bash, which was for families. Over the years, the Halloween fun grew bigger and lasted longer.

By 1998, the event had two parts: Boo! Blast for younger visitors and Halloween Haunt for older guests. In 1999, these events were called Halloweekends, a name used until 2007 when it became Halloween Haunt. The park's first haunted maze, "Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns," opened in 2003.

In 2025, Worlds of Fun announced that guests would need to pay an extra fee to enter the haunted mazes during Halloween Haunt. Before this, maze entry was included with regular admission.

Current Halloween Haunt Attractions

As of 2025, Halloween Haunt features ten scary attractions. These include five mazes and five scare zones. There are also five live shows to enjoy.

Past Halloween Haunt Attractions

Images for kids

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  Finnish Fling and Octopus rides.

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  Le Taxi Tour's line queue in Europa.

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  Le Taxi Tour in action.

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  The Sea Dragon in Scandinavia

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  The Flying Dutchman is reported to be founder Lamar Hunt's favorite ride.

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  Zulu at night

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  Thunderhawk

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  The Skyliner Ferris wheel at Worlds of Fun.

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  Nighttime at Worlds of Fun.

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  Boomerang's full profile

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  Prowler's main drop.

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  Prowler's queue line.

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  Mamba and Timber Wolf.

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  Coaster's Diner near Mamba.

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  Prowler's train ascending the lift hill.

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  Fury of the Nile in action.

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  Fury of the Nile's signature turnstile dock.

See also

• Closed rides and attractions at Worlds of Fun
• Incidents at Worlds of Fun