Worlds of Fun celebrates 50 years with season-long fun and a reimagined roller coaster

Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri is throwing a party for its 50th anniversary when it opens for the 2023 season, including a reimagining of its Zambezi Zinger coaster, an evening pyrotechnics show, and all-new theming throughout the park.

The amusement and water park invites guests to “travel the globe” during 2023, as it looks back on 50 nostalgic years of fun and anticipates making new memories through reimagined stories and entertainment.

“Our 50th Anniversary celebration will give our guests the opportunity to reflect on and share all their fond memories of the park, and we will help them do that in a variety of ways,” said Tony Carovillano, vice president and general manager. “At the same time, we will be introducing them to entirely new experiences. The park is being rethemed so that everything our guests see and experience will help them feel like they are truly on an adventure around the world. Plus, the reimagined Zambezi Zinger is going to be a great way to connect our legendary past with an exciting future.”

Zambezi Zinger roller coaster in the African Serengeti area of the park recalls its original incarnation as Zinger, one of three coasters when the park opened in 1973. The new version, built on a hybrid structure of galvanized steel and wood, will reach even higher as it courses through the trees and dives low to the ground.

As evening arrives, the new “50 Nights of Fire” show will rock out to some of the greatest hits from 1973-2023 in a pyrotechnic finale that tells the story of the park’s first 50 years.

Worlds of Fun’s 2023 Gold Pass allows unlimited visits for guests, plus free parking, in-park discounts, and Bring-A-Friend tickets, and also includes unlimited visits for the remainder of 2022, including Halloween Haunt.

Passes are on sale now for $94. Purchase by August 14 and receive a free single-day Fall Fright & Fast Lane pass which can be used in 2022.