The. family was at Worlds of Fun today at opening. The lot wasn’t exceptionally full. We passed the Spinning Dragons — still being tested and not open. Went to the Patriot — not open and no estimate of when. Just beyond that was the Steel Hawk, the new ride of the season. We had seen it running when we were at Oceans of Fun on Saturday, but at the time it looked like a test run — we didn’t see any feet sticking out. Today that was confirmed. We were close enough that we could see the seats are still wrapped in plastic.
So we went back to the ferris wheel. Since we were the first people on, and the only people, we were able to ride it faster than normal, and got to go around about twice as long before we got off.
By this time the Spinning Dragons had finally opened, so we got in line there. We had a modest wait before getting on. We had a discussion on how to load to get maximum spin. Nathan and I couldn’t decide whether balanced or unbalanced distribution should get a better spin.
Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun have started these “fun network” monitors to watch while you wait in line. They play music videos, advertise park specials and have games, trivia, etc. The only problem is that they overlap and distract from the ambient music of the rides you are waiting for. Actually, when we came into the park, we were greeting with three overlapping sound zones: music for two rides and a conflicting ambient sound. Disney does a much better job of realizing that sound is part of the whole experience and watching their sound zones.
Nathan wanted to ride the Viking Voyager, but the women didn’t so he and I rode while the women played photos. Again it was a question of how to sit and weight distribution. He sat all the way to the front, and I sat all the way to the back. Turned out to be a fun plunge, but didn’t really get wet (that was a score for me, since I wasn’t interested in getting wet).
We did a lot of pick and choose with the rides today. No line for the Sea Dragon, so we rode that and got swung back and forth. Betsy noticed a young lady opposite us who seemed absolutely terrified, with her face buried in the shoulder of the hunk she was with, while he just seemed to sit there and smile. I noted he missed a real opportunity there — he should have put his arm around her and let her bury her face in his side. At the same time, Carly, behind us, was so calm while riding that she was observing a turtle in the water below us.
By this point Betsy had enough spinning around, so the remaining three of us got in line for the Prowler. Nathan and Carly went first, and I went on the next car after them. They were only running one car, so I was able to take a few pictures of them while waiting, and then pass my camera off to them so they could snap a few pictures of me.
When I came off the Prowler the three of them were down by the souvenir photo display, where a hyperactive clerk had shut off the monitors and told them not to take pictures of the monitors — when all they were doing was holding their cameras while walking through. So I didn’t bother even trying to look at my picture after the way the clerk had insulted my family. Betsy took it in stride, but I think Nathan, my rule-follower, was a little shocked at being accused, since the camera was closed (though he did try to understand the other person’s point of view, wondering if there was something about the way he was holding it that made him suspicious).
On the way back out the kids decided to do the Zulu. I have enjoyed the Zulu the couple of times I rode it, but by this point I had reached my limit of spin for the moment. So they rode and came off bouncy and excited.
From there we took the long trek over to the Mamba. Only the kids rode at this point, and the Mamba was the longest line wait. Again, they were only running one car at a time.
We cut back through the middle to get to the Flying Dutchman. Nathan didn’t ride, so used the camera while the other three of us rode. From there we meandered out, checking on the Patriot, which was still closed.
At The Rainbow 