Defunctland: The History of World's of Fun's Orient Express
 

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Felt this was a nice trip down memory lane.

When I was finally tall enough to ride [about 5-6 yo], I subjected my dad [I was tall enough, but had to have an adult accompanying] to about 30 straight rides on the Schussboomer. It was a Bendix/Allied/Honeywell employee appreciation night, so the lines weren't long, so I'd sprint out the exit yelling my head off and run right back into line. Easily 2-2 1/2 hours straight riding the same coaster over and over.

And 2 different times in HS, on school field trip, I won the biggest stuffed animal in the arcade [the one as big as a person] and gave it to a girl I was dating. The 2nd time, I was fortunate the girl in question was a freshman, so she didn't know I'd done this before, and luckier still my friends didn't rat me out.

Orient was always my favorite, though I could never decide if I liked the front [with the view straight down on the first drop], or the back [with the speed of being the tail-end of the acceleration on that drop].

When I went off to university, I kind of dropped WoF as a habit, right around when the Orient started aging. So I missed the decline and demise.

Oh, and many years growing up, my actual favorite part of WoF night with the family was, if I behaved myself my parents would let me get something cool for my bike at the BMX/Freestyle shop at the I-35 turnaround right outside the park. Not a lot of high-end BMX/Freestyle shops and certainly no online shopping in the early 80s.

I'm so very glad that they put that Chicken Exit sign up. Had that not been there, who knows how long it would have been before I finally rode it. Instead, I became a roller coaster junkie. Sadly, once I made it to Cedar Point, I had no desire to visit WoF ever again.

Great times in the early 80’s. Orient Express was my first big coaster

First 'big' coaster was Texas Cyclone at Astroworld [riding it was a point of pride as a kid, because my mom was scared to death of it from a visit before I was born].
Second, Screaming Eagle at Six Flags St. Louis.
Both before Orient was built.
First upside down was of course the Scream Roller. But even the first year, it was a long line for a short-assed ride.

I miss Astroworld.

Went back in summer of 05 before they closed.

The really crazy thing for me was that I was in the park for both of the Orients major accidents.

Orient was my favorite growing up. Even the theming was awesome.

I really like all of Defunctland’s stuff. Great series.

Yep, the Orient Express was my first coaster in 1981, broke me of being scared. Defunctland's series is great as well as his podcast.

It was so mystical when it first came out. I did the chicken exit a time or two before I did my first time. Then it’s all I wanted to do.

Orient was the first real roller coaster I ever rode. Was so scared the first time, got off... immediately ran back through the line to ride it again. The last time I rode it tho, I was so sore from how rough of a ride it had become

Late August 1993 a friend and I went to WOF on a weekday and the park was nearly empty. We road the Orient Express over and over again as there was literally no line. Just ride it, run around and get back on. So F'n great.

Last summer I came back home to KC for a funeral and before I came back to Florida my father and step mother wanted to go do something fun.
My wife and I have Universal Studios and Disney passes and go probably 25 times a year.... WOF has some rides that rival those big guys.
I did miss the ol Orient Express.

I think I saw somewhere that the Zambezi Zinger was repurposed and is being used in a foreign country today.

I love the seat on the Orient- 1 long seat so the girls we picked up walking around- could sit in front and we could cop a feel during the ride. Worked every time.