From The Vault: New for 1996 at Worlds of Fun

In last week's Vault I shared the 1996 park map from Worlds of Fun.  This week we will continue to look at some of the park's press materials from that year, when several new attractions were featured.

Part of the information that the park shared was a general release about what was new and happening at the theme park.  The additions included the Detonator tower ride, RipCord, and the addition of the Berenstain Bear family (not the land, though, just meet and greet opportunities).  The park also featured a heavily discounted gate ticket for the evening, and kids got in for only $4.95!

RipCord was an extra admission thrill attraction that simulates "sky-diving, hand-gliding, and bungee jumping," according to this press release.  A Skycoaster, this style of attraction was already popular at many amusement parks across the globe.  RipCord was positioned so that fliers swing out over the Beat Street Lake, adding to the thrill.

Here is a diagram of the attraction that was sent out, to provide a visual of 180 foot tall ride.  The Worlds of Fun version of the ride featured room for one set of fliers at a time, where some others could accommodate two at a time.

The biggest news of the year was Detonator, a brand new S&S Sports Power double-tower space shot ride.

Here's the fact sheet for the ride.  Each tower seats 12 riders and blasts them up the 200 foot tower at 45 miles per hour.  The sheet also points out that Detonator was the "first two-tower design" and also the "first at a theme park in the United States."  As we are well aware many, many more tower installations quickly were built around the world - including almost every Cedar Fair park.

And how about some concept art for the ride?  Unfortunately the image that I received was not in color, but it's still pretty neat to check out.