A half-century after our first story about Missouri’s big amusement parks, we still find them thrilling.
Fifty years ago, Missouri Life featured a story on the state’s three major family entertainment centers: Worlds of Fun, Silver Dollar City, and Six Flags St. Louis (which was then called Six Flags over Mid-America). Since then, the world of amusement and theme parks has seen stunning changes—some anticipated, some not. All three parks have had to adapt to technological advances, economic downturns, and a worldwide health crisis, while making it all seem, to the average visitor, like business as usual. Let’s take a look, and see for ourselves the creative ways in which each of the three parks has entered 2023.
• The Dol Phun dolphin show was a popular attraction at Six Flags Over Mid America when the park opened its gates for the first time in 1971. • A costumed Silver Dollar City employee welcomes visitors to the park’s old- fashioned general store in 1960. • The World of Fun logo gets a touch-up before the attraction’s grand opening in 1973.
Worlds of Fun
Founded in 1973, Worlds of Fun and its splashy adjunct, Oceans of Fun, represent Kansas City’s impressive hometown entertainment center. Built on more than 235 acres, it is the largest amusement and water park in the Midwest. The park was originally planned and financed by billionaire Lamar Hunt, purportedly at the insistence of his wife. The inspiration for its international theme came from Jules Verne’s classic novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. True to its name, along with its rides, the park encourages both children and adults to “sail” to five main geographic regions, including Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, the Orient, and our own Wild West. Visitors can “circumnavigate” the globe, a la Verne’s Phileas Fogg, and enjoy the music, dress, customs, and food of each region. Best of all, it’s a learning adventure for the whole family.
At one point, the park’s main focus changed. According to Communications Director Brian McGannon, “When the park changed hands in 1995, it went from theming to ambitious rides. Upping the thrill level became the focus.” He adds, “Now we’re going back to theming.” This year, the park is celebrating its 50th birthday with a bold program of renovations and refocusing. “Every building is being addressed and renovated, from the simplest paint job to a complete overhaul,” Brian says. “Everything in the park will be new and different.”
Returning to a theme-oriented experience does not imply that the park’s famous rides will receive short shrift. Today’s technology is light years ahead of what was available when the park was built. Roller coasters of the time were comparatively slow, and could only reach a height of around 40 feet. Today’s rides are considerably taller and much faster. One of the park’s steel rollercoasters, dubbed “Mamba,” reaches a height of over 200 feet and travels at a dizzying 75 miles per hour!
The construction of a new rollercoaster, the African-themed Zambezi Zinger (named after one of the park’s earliest and best-loved rides) will be completed this year. It is the first rollercoaster in the nation to use a Titan Track combination steel and wood rail and will offer Infinity Flyer trains, which are elegant cars built low to the ground for comfort and maximum speed. In addition to a thrilling ride, the Zinger will take its passengers on a ride through terrain that represents Africa’s Serengeti, as did its namesake.
• Worlds of Fun
An added attraction to the park’s list of events is Fifty Nights of Fire. It is, Brian says, “a big drone and fireworks show honoring the nature and history of the park.” The dazzling display features drones flying in formation to create incredible lighted designs in the night sky. The accompanying stage show features hit music spanning the decades from the 1970s to the present.
• Live entertainment, like the dancers who performed in a recent Grand Carnivale show, give guests a chance to sit and relax between rides. • Oceans of Fun, the 60-acre water park that sits adjacent to Worlds of Fun, opens for the season on May 27 this year (2023).
Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City is nestled in the Ozarks, not far from the family-destination town of Branson. According to Brad Thomas, president of Silver Dollar City Attractions, it is “Missouri’s most attended theme park.” The concept for the 63-year-old park’s theme derives from a 19th-century mining town, Marmaros, that had stood on the actual park grounds. Although it was abandoned in 1888, the town is represented in the park’s rides, crafts, and other attractions.
• Silver Dollar City’s artist colony allows guests to interact with working artisans. Park visitors can see how candy creations, such as peanut brittle, are made. • Silver Dollar City
In addition to the rides—from high-thrill to family-friendly mild–the park’s services and amenities include elaborate shows, musical performances, a 100-artist crafts colony replete with demonstrations, an everchanging roster of festivals, and, of course, food. According to Brad, Silver Dollar City is known for its cuisine, which includes “our famous fried chicken and slow-smoke barbecue.” The staff bakes cinnamon bread daily, and makes 10,000 gallons of ice cream a year in unique flavors that include Ozark Mountain Blueberry and Autumn Pumpkin. It also offers special seasonal and Christmas menus. And to illuminate the holiday festivities, every one of the park’s buildings, along with an eight-story Christmas tree, will come ablaze with literally millions of lights.
As in any amusement park, theme-based or otherwise, it is largely the rides that draw the crowds. “Our rides must be unique enough to prompt families from all over mid-America to drive past other parks, entertainment options, lakes, and national parks, just to visit us,” Brad says. Within the last 10 years, the park has added 13 rides. When introduced in 2013, Outlaw Run became the world’s second-fastest wooden rollercoaster. It was named “best new ride in the world” by trade publication Amusement Today, and two years later, was listed in Guinness World Records 2015 as the wooden coaster with the steepest drop.
• The beloved Fire in the Hole indoor coaster will be retired after the 2023 season. • Wilderness Church, an authentic log structure that was relocated to the park in 1960, hosts Sunday services and daily hymn sings throughout the operating season. • Silver Dollar City
Since then, the park has built the Time Traveler rollercoaster; opened Fireman’s Landing, an entirely new section containing several family-oriented rides and attractions; created Rivertown, a rollercoaster white-water boating run combined; introduced a new bakery and furniture factory and shop; and opened a smokehouse and two new restaurants. Plans for a third are now in the works, to be built in the park’s waterfall section, with a scenic waterfront dining deck.
As with every park, attrition is a given; attractions break down or become obsolete, even as visitors continue to demand the latest in thrills and amenities. As Brad points out, “Guest expectations are different than they were 20 years ago, and certainly 50 years ago,” and the park must accommodate those expectations with the latest technology if it is to remain viable.
One change that has stunned many of the park’s fans is the planned removal of the iconic and much-loved Fire in the Hole indoor rollercoaster. Touted as “the world’s most historic coaster,” for over half a century, Fire in the Hole has been the favorite ride of many of Silver Dollar City’s visitors, carrying over 25 million guests on a rider-friendly trip through a period in local history.
• Silver Dollar City
Rides notwithstanding, Brad is quick to point out that it is Silver Dollar City’s large adult couples base that distinguishes it from other parks. “While they cater their experiences to teens and families, with a very small segment of their base coming from adult couples traveling without kids, a large number of adult couples visit us for the shows, festivals, crafts, shopping, and food, in addition to the rides.”
While annual attendance 50 years ago was at less than a million, today it stands at more than two million. Meanwhile, Silver Dollar City has recently acquired hundreds of adjacent acres, which have been earmarked for the park’s expansion.
Six Flags St. Louis
Nearly three and a half decades ago, Elizabeth Gotway began working at the park as a teenaged ticket taker. She has since risen to the position of marketing, public relations, events, and entertainment manager. She is arguably more qualified than anyone to describe the many changes that have taken place at Six Flags St. Louis, as well as it plans for the future.
In describing the park, Elizabeth’s first focus is on the layout: “Six Flags has retained its natural landscape. It is not built in a circle, and invites guests to wander the grounds and enjoy the idyllic setting.”
She describes some of the differences in the park since it opened in 1971, under the name Six Flags over Mid-America. “At that time, we featured only one rollercoaster, and a Mule-Go-Round with real mules pulling gondolas around in a circle! Many of the rides back then were basically ‘one-size-fits-all.’ Nowadays, we offer a wide range—gentler rides for the kids and more intense experiences for our older visitors.”
Elizabeth says that the park upgrades its rides every couple of years. “We’ll soon have a total of 10 rollercoasters, with rides ranging from the steep drops of the more traditional wooden-railed coasters to the loops and twists of the steel-railed rides. The type of crowds has changed as well. Although it’s still largely family-based, a lot of teens and younger kids now come on their own. They tend to be our most vocal guests, always looking for bigger, faster coasters.”
Catwoman Whip is last year’s new installation. It consists of a giant arm with an eight-person pod at each end. As the arm swings ever faster, it flips over and backwards. An old favorite, Highland Fling, has been replaced by Supergirl. Here, the cars hang from a giant wheel that spins, rises, and turns upside down.
• The Hurricane Harbor waterpark area will open for the 2023 season on May 27.
• Six Flags St. Louis
Inevitably, some old favorites had to go. The Mississippi Riverboat ride, with its covered boats, was replaced by Thunder River, a faster-paced white-water ride; the Ninja rollercoaster took the place of the Mule-Go-Round; the original guest-driven race cars were replaced by Jet Scream, which was in turn superseded by Batman The Ride, an inverted looping coaster; and Tom’s Twister was removed to make room for the Bugs Bunny National Park, where parents can actually share many of the rides with the kids.
Meanwhile, the park still features such multigenerational attractions as the giant Ferris wheel and the popular water ride, Log Flume. Where it once offered Kiddieland, it now highlights the much more impressive Bugs Bunny National Park. And around Halloween, there is the annual fan-favorite, Fright Fest, now in its 25th year, with its haunted houses, “eerie scare zones,” and live entertainment.
Modern technology has significantly altered and improved the flow of visitors, and their acclimation to the park. “Paper tickets are practically a thing of the past,” Elizabeth says. “Where once we had ticket booths and long lines, visitors can now buy their tickets online or via their cell phones. The park has Wi-Fi and a map that can be downloaded. When visitors enter the park, they can simply download the app. ”
Tradition, however, still matters. This year marks the return of the park’s iconic carousel, fully restored to its original 1915 elegance. Each of the craftsman-built horses has been stripped down, skillfully restored by an expert hand carver, and painstakingly repainted to match its original design.
Even after all these years at Six Flags, Elizabeth still finds the park a thrilling place to be. “The design, atmosphere and beauty of it. The size is perfect; everything is accessible, and everyone who visits can find something to love.”
LOOKING AHEAD
All three of Missouri’s most iconic parks have managed to survive, and to thrive, for over half a century. Some of the features that we remember from our youth or childhood may have disappeared, but they have been replaced with the most sophisticated and exciting experiences that modern technology can provide. And while each park has maintained its own approach, their goal has always been the same: to provide its visitors with thrills and lasting memories.
This article was orginally published in the May 2023 issue of Missouri Life.
