It’s a big weekend. There’s just one football game left on the calendar this NFL Season, and it’s a very big game — one might even call it Super. While the Mattel Adventure Park isn’t quite open in time to host all football fans in town for Super Bowl LVII, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles head to the Phoenix area and State Farm Stadium with hopes of winning the 57th edition of the big game.
Just like last year’s Super Bowl, this year’s big game will see teams who share their home metro area with Cedar Fair parks. The Chiefs and Worlds of Fun, both hailing from Kansas City (just a quick 11-mile drive from park to the Chiefs’ home, Arrowhead Stadium) share a similar origin story — both were founded by Kansas City businessman Lamar Hunt. (Hunt’s son, Clark, still owns the Chiefs.) Meanwhile, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dorney Park is located just a quick hour’s drive up Interstate 476 from the Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field.
While we haven’t seen a true “theme park sports bet” on the game from either park just yet (even though Dorney Park hinted on Twitter that one might be coming!), we wanted to have a little bit of fun.
(Sidenote: Our idea involves an early season weekend where the winning team gets a coaster temporarily renamed at the other park — we think Spinning Dragons and Wild Mouse are both good candidates — and the culinary team at the losing park is tasked with temporarily serving a regional speciality of the winning park — Philly Cheesesteaks could be served at Worlds of Fun, or Brisket Burnt Ends at Dorney Park — WOF and Dorney, if you’re reading this, call us. Let’s chat!)
Many people tune into Sunday’s game for the commercials (which somehow end up on YouTube the week prior to the game, which doesn’t make sense) or halftime entertainment (highlighted this year by Rihanna!) but what if people tuned in, looking for comparisons between the participating players and attractions at the parks closest to the respective teams? I’m not sure anyone thinks in this manner, but just in case, we’ll give you a little bit of a primer if you’re tuning into a football game for the first time this season!
We’ll be using attractions at Dorney Park to compare to the Eagles, and attractions at Worlds of Fun to represent the Chiefs. Before we dive into individual parks, we’ve got a special entry to kick off this year’s list!
Both Parks
Mamba at Worlds of Fun and Steel Force at Dorney Park – Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce and Eagles Center Jason Kelce
Those who are both roller coaster fans and sports fans might have heard that this is the first ever Super Bowl that features a pair of brothers on opposing teams – in fact, there has been a petition circulated to let their mother toss the coin to begin the game. Both brothers, named to multiple pro bowls throughout their careers. attended the University of Cincinnati, and Jason is older than Travis by just a few years, but Travis stands 6’5″ tall, and Jason is 6’3. Do you see where we’re going with this?
What about a pair of roller coasters that could almost be considered brothers — and if not brothers, they’re definitely related. Both Mamba and Steel Force are hypercoasters from Morgan, and considered some of the best coasters in their respective parks. Steel Force, representing the Eagles, opened in 1997, a year ahead of Mamba, but also stands five feet shorter than its Kansas City counterpart. The similarities don’t end there.
Ironically, if you average the base salaries of the Kelce brothers for the 2023 season, they end up at $10,125,000, just $125,000 more than the reported costs of both Mamba and Steel Force, but we’re not actually going to do the math to adjust for inflation. Just know the numbers are close!
Dorney Park
The Whip – Head Coach Nick Cirriani
In his second season as head coach of the Eagles, Cirriani led the team to a 14-3 regular season record. Quite the intense turn-around from the Eagles 9-7 2021 campaign, not unlike the classic Whip’s drifting motion around the iconic turns. You might say he was able to “Whip” the team into shape, leading the Eagles to their first Super Bowl berth since 2018.
Demon Drop – Quarterback Jalen Hurts
During his college career, Hurts transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma, similar to the “transfer” that took place when Demon Drop was relocated from Cedar Point to Dorney Park in 2010. While the quarterback has developed a “cult following” of sorts, not dissimilar to Demon Drop’s fandom, Drops are the least of Hurts’ worries – Eagles wide receivers dropped the 4th fewest passes of any NFL team in 2022. Could he lead his team to the second ever Super Bowl title for the franchise?
Hydra: The Revenge – Wide Receiver AJ Brown
After spending the first three seasons of his career as a member of the Tennessee Titans, Brown has had a little “Revenge” of his own this season, having his best season ever as it relates to catches, yards, and touchdowns. In Week 1 of the 2022 season, Brown had 10 catches for 155 yards — the most catches and third-most yardage he had in a game all season. Talk about starting the season off on a (J0-J0) roll!
Thunderhawk – Linebacker T.J. Edwards
Edwards could definitely be considered a ball “hawk” on the league leading Eagles defense, finishing with the team lead in tackles on the season with 159 – nearly 50 more than his next closest teammate, and a top-10 ranking in the league for the statistic. He can also bring the thunder, as one of just 60 players in the NFL with double digit tackles for loss, and seven deflected passes, fifth most on the team.
Possessed – Running Backs Kenneth Gainwell & Miles Sanders
With two twin 185′ tall towers – one spiral, and one vertical at the ends of its 630′ of track, you might say that Possessed might have a split personality. The Eagles’ backfield of Gainwell and Sanders has a bit of a two-headed look to it as well, as they are the only team to have two rushers in the top 5 of rushing yards in the 2022-23 NFL postseason.
Talon – Tight End Dallas Goedert
The Veteran Tight End was able to put a “Grip of Fear” on most of the balls thrown his way this season. The team’s third-leading receiver had 69 balls thrown his way during the 2022 campaign, catching 55 of them. Like Talon, who is often forgotten about and underrated on lists of Best B&M invert coasters, Goedert quietly put together a fantastic 2022 season, with the seventh most receiving yards of any tight end in the NFL, ranking as 4th best TE according to the NFL’s advanced stats.
Wild Mouse – Wide Receiver DeVonta Smith
Don’t let his small stature fool you. While Brown was the leading receiver for the Eagles in 2022, DeVonta Smith, a second-year receiver out of Alabama, wasn’t far behind. Improving on a strong freshman year campaign with both more receiving yards and touchdowns than his rookie season, the 6’0, 170 lb. receiver, nicknamed “Slim Reaper” in college, could also technically go by the nickname “Mighty Mouse!” His quick moves on the field might resemble those of a Wild Mouse coaster on the tracks!
Worlds of Fun
Boomerang – Head Coach Andy Reid
When taking the ride experience of the Boomerang into consideration, it actually loosely mimics Reid’s coaching career, which coincidentally has been with the Eagles (14 seasons) and Chiefs (10 seasons). Starting in reverse with a 5-11 record his first year with the Eagles, Reid’s coaching career saw multiple moments of excitement (9 trips to the playoffs in the next 13 seasons) much like Boomerang’s Cobra Roll and Vertical Loop. “Big Red” fell back down to earth a little bit with 8-8 and 4-12 seasons in 2010 and 2011 respectively, before taking on a new adventure as head coach of the Chiefs, leading Kansas City to, you guessed it, 9 playoff berths – including a Super Bowl win in 2020. A model of consistency, just like the Boomerang!
Patriot – Quarterback Patrick Mahomes
This one almost feels like cheating, but the roller coaster was actually briefly named for Mahomes in 2019 when the Chiefs took on the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. Eager to support their hometown Chiefs, the name change made sense, as Mahomes is one of the NFL’s most exciting quarterbacks, much like Patriot is one of Worlds of Fun’s most exciting coasters. Mahomes would go on to lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl title the following year.
“The entire city was going bananas with Mahomes fever,” recalled Worlds of Fun’s former Communications Manager Chris Foshee, who led the charge to re-name the coaster. “As a social media manager with a bottomless need for attention, approval, and dopamine, I needed to insert ourselves into the conversations. In the words of the 1992 smash hit from Ace of Base, ‘I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes’.”
Timber Wolf – Wide Receiver Marques Valdez-Scantling
Often flying under the radar as a secondary or tertiary receiving option during his five-year NFL career, Valdez-Scantling came alive during the 2023 AFC Championship game, gaining 116 yards on six catches — his best offensive output of the season, proving that he might have saved the best for last, much like Timber Wolf’s new “banked curve” finale that replaced the upward spiraling helix several years ago. If the Chiefs Wide Receiver corps continue to deal with injuries leading into the Big Game, “MVS” could have the Chiefs’ offense “Running Like a Dream!”
Prowler – Defensive Tackle Chris Jones
With the third-most sacks in the National Football League this season, Jones was often seen “Prowling” in opposing backfields, and had 2 sacks of Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow in the AFC Championship game, one for each minute of Prowler’s two-minute ride time.
Zambezi Zinger – Running Back Isiah Pacheco
Pacheco and Worlds of Fun’s “New for 2023” addition have a fair bit in common — they’re both relatively new on the scene, but have the past looming over them — the Zambezi Zinger’s long-departed predecessor, and former Chiefs Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill’s #10 jersey number. Both Pacheco and “The Zinger” have impressed with early statistics, but still are largely unproven and it remains to be seen if they’re going to be great in the long term, or are just good because it’s new and different from what we already know? Could the Super Bowl be Pacheco’s coming out party, much like 2023 will be the year of Zambezi Zinger? Wait and see! (Our thoughts? They’re both going to be amazing, just give it time. The best is yet to come.)
Cyclone Sam’s – Running Back Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Earlier this week, Edwards-Helaire was designated to return for Sunday’s big game following a high ankle sprain that he suffered during Week 11 of the NFL season. While Isiah Pacheco has filled in well during Edwards-Helaire’s absence, nobody really knows what to expect from the former LSU running back in his return. It’s a mystery, much like what’s inside the building at Cyclone Sam’s. Even as someone who has a strong theme park knowledge, I don’t really know what’s going on with that attraction. We’re taking the “wait and see” approach to see if CEH can return to his former glory, just like we’ll have to take the “wait and see” approach on Cyclone Sam’s for our next visit to Worlds of Fun to see if it lives up to the hype.
Grand Carrousel – Kicker Harrison Butker
It’s hard to get a more consistent theme park experience than a classic Carousel. Worlds of Fun’s Grand Carrousel, which opened at the park in 2011 following 70 years of operation at Geauga Lake, takes riders up and down on one of 64 jumping horses, round and around, creating a relatively identical ride each time a guest rides. A model of consistency in the kicking game during the NFL playoffs, Butker has only missed three playoff field goals in his entire career, and is basically automatic inside 40 yards during that same time frame.
The Super Bowl Superb Owl airs live on Sunday at 6:30pm Eastern on FOX. With no real rooting interest, we just hope that both teams have fun, and we’ll probably be thinking about roller coasters in between commercials and that halftime performance! Unless Dorney Park and Worlds of Fun decide to make an actual wager, then we’ll probably pay closer attention!
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