originally posted on 7/8/2024
All Photos: Paul Drabek. View full-sized image.
Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kick off to summer, and that means warm weather, cookouts, great times with family and friends and amusement parks opening for the season. On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, 65 ACE members and their guests attended ACE Around the World at Worlds of Fun (Kansas City, Missouri) and had all of those things all wrapped up in one event.
Registration began well before the park opened with each attendee being handed a questionnaire from Worlds of Fun. It included inquiries such as, “List all of the roller coasters in Missouri that you have ridden” and “How many ACE Heart of America events have you attended.” No one was sure what Worlds of Fun had in store as all finished their questionnaires and headed into the park for a behind-the-scenes tour of the new-for-2023 Zambezi Zinger.
ACE Around the World attendees were treated to a tour of Zambezi Zinger’s off-limits areas.
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Attendees were taken for a tour of Zambezi Zinger’s queue (look out for some Schwarzkopf Easter eggs) before heading out into the coaster’s off-limits areas and through the park’s Peter the Pumpkin Eater Haunt to get a closer look. Once the tour ended, attendees were treated to the first rides of the day on Zambezi Zinger. Those who got to ride it last year were surprised how the coaster’s intensity has increased significantly. It has gone from being a fun family coaster to being as intense as its nearby sibling, Prowler.
Following the tour, ACEers were treated to the first rides of the day on Zambezi Zinger.
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“Worlds of Fun Cash” was distributed and used by attendees at an auction for ride parts and park merchandise.
Lunch was held in Worlds of Fun’s picnic grove, and various ride parts covered the picnic tables, including coaster wheels, steel rails from Prowler, sections of cable from Detonator, various ride sensors, bolts and more. When lunch began those in attendance discovered the reason for the park’s questionnaire. Dollar values had been assigned to the answers, and “Worlds of Fun Cash” was given to use for an auction of ride parts, T-shirts, sweatshirts and more. The auction was quite spirited with lots of bidding, cash changing hands to help friends out and lots of laughter. The auction was such a success that there is already a discussion about holding another during next year’s version of ACE Around the World.
A tour of the Lore of the Vampire Haunt followed lunch and the auction.
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View full-sized image.
Following lunch, everyone took their winnings out to their vehicles and were then given a tour of Worlds of Fun’s Lore of the Vampire Haunt. For those who don’t know, this haunt occupies the old station and tunnel of the legendary Orient Express Arrow Dynamics looper that operated from 1980 to 2003. Despite the lights being on during the tour, there were a few good scares, as some of the tricks were turned on while attendees wound their way through the haunt.
Throughout the day, attendees enjoyed park favorites like Zambezi Zinger and Patriot.
From then until the park closed, all were left to enjoy everything that Worlds of Fun had to offer. Many rode coasters like Patriot, Timber Wolf, Mamba, Boomerang, Prowler and Zambezi Zinger along with the rest of the rides in the park. Some chose to take in the Oceans of Fun water park on its opening day.
The day ended with night ERT on Zambezi Zinger.
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View full-sized image.
Even though the park’s operating hours ended, the fun wasn’t quite over for ACEers. Zambezi Zinger was on the schedule for nighttime exclusive ride time, and the coaster didn’t disappoint. Without any lights after the pop over the Worlds of Fun Railroad, Zambezi Zinger’s aggressive side came out to play. Even being familiar with the coaster's layout in the pitch black, it is difficult to guess which way the coaster is going to whip riders. For an hour everyone rode, got off, ran around and found a seat on the next train. By the end of ERT smiles were on everyone’s faces, as a fun time was had by all.
For those who missed out but want to attend in the future, ACE Around the World 2025 is scheduled for Saturday, May 24 (keep an eye on the Heart of America pages for registration after the first of the year). Worlds of Fun will also co-host the ACE Preservation Con in August.
— Paul Drabek, ACE Heart of America Regional Representative
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