Worlds of Fun to Say Goodbye To Finnish Fling with Charity Fundraiser

© Worlds of Fun

Worlds of Fun has announced that when the park closes for the 2017 season, happening on October 29th, that will also mark the end of the Finnish Fling's time there.  The ride will be closed and removed before the start of the 2018 season - it originally opened with Worlds of Fun in 1973.

Finish Fling is a classic amusement park ride, known as a Rotor, where guests stand inside a large barrel that spins and holds them against the wall with centrifugal force as the floor below them drops out.  This type of ride gained popularity in North America at parks throughout the 1960s and 70s, when they opened at many major amusement and theme parks.  The majority of the permanent installations have already closed, with only a handful still operating at large parks across the country.  There's a great list on Wiki of parks that still have a Rotor, along with those that did but have since removed them.

© Worlds of Fun

Within Worlds of Fun, the Finnish Fling can be found inside the Scandinavia themed section.  Probably not coincidentally, the park has already announced that a brand new flat ride, Nordic Chaser, will join that land in 2018.  The ride can be seen on the park's map, above, in the lower left corner.

To give the ride a nice send off, the theme park will auction off the final three rides.  Fans can decide on which ride they want to be a part of, with different price levels available depending on which ride they choose.  All proceeds from the event will be donated to charities within the Kansas City area.