Joyland Amusement Park (Wichita)

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Joyland Amusement Park opened in Wichita, Kansas, United States on June 12, 1949, and with the exception of a gap between 2003-2006, has been in continuous operation ever since. It currently is the largest theme park in central Kansas and the only park in the region with a world-class wooden roller coaster.

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[edit] Origins

The park was originally founded by Lester Ottaway and his sons, Herbert and Harold, to serve as the home for a miniature 12-inch gauge steam locomotive that Herb Ottaway had purchased in Fort Scott, Kansas, back in 1933. The train had been part of a defunct amusement park in Fort Scott and was originally built by the Miniature Railway Company of Elgin, Illinois, between 1905 and 1910. By 1934, Herb Ottaway, who worked as a race car builder, had fully refurbished and restored the steam locomotive and cars and began transporting the miniature train to county fairs in western Kansas and eastern Colorado. Ottaway soon built a track for his miniature locomotive around the Manitou Springs, Colorado, racetrack and operated the train there for some time. Joyland Amusement Park came into existence on June 12, 1949, primarily to give Harold’s miniature locomotive a permanent home in Kansas. The park was originally located near the corner of East Central Avenue and North Washington Streets in Wichita but soon moved to its current location on South Hillside. After Lester Ottaway’s death in the mid-1950s, his three sons, Herbert, Harold, and Eddie, continued running the park as a family operation.

[edit] Roller Coaster

Joyland's 1949 era Roller Coaster, a Philadelphia Toboggan Company coaster designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck, is world renowned for being one of the last surviving original wooden Roller Coasters, and is one of 33 surviving roller coasters of only 44 original coasters designated as an ACE Coaster Classic. Joyland’s roller coaster, originally called simply Roller Coaster but recently renamed the Nightmare, has a 2600ft track span, 80ft drop, and 50mph top speed. It has the distinction of being the only remaining roller coaster in North America using vintage rolling stock with fixed lap bars.

[edit] Other original attractions

In addition to the miniature train and classic wooden roller coaster, Joyland also boasts a Mammoth Military Band Organ, also known as a Wurlitzer Style 160. It was the largest of the Wurlitzer’s early band organs. The organ was built around 1905 by the DeKleist Musical Instrument Works and was sold by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. It contained 486 wood and brass pipes and used two perforated paper music rolls. The organ represented the effect of a military brass band of 20 to 25 musicians. It was the largest available band organ from Wurlitzer at the time, and was designed primarily for the skating rink industry. In 1915, the organ was taken back to the Wurlitzer factory and remodifed into a Wurlitzer Style 165. The organ was sold to W.P. Brown of Coffeyville, Kansas, who owned and operated the Silurian Springs Bath House, which also featured a skating rink. The organ was used to provide music for the skating rink. In the 1930s the organ went into storage. It was heavily water damaged and some of its brass parts were stripped off during World War II scrap metal drives. In 1948, Jess Gibbs of Parsons, Kansas, purchased the old organ and began the painstaking work of restoring the instrument. In 1950 he sold the refurbished organ to the Ottaway family, who installed it in Joyland Amusement Park. The Ottaways added Louis the Clown Organist, an automated clown who sits before the organ keyboard and "plays" the instrument. Louis the Clown and the Mighty Wurlitzer have been a fixture at Joyland ever since. It creates a sound that resonates through the entire park. The Joyland organ is one of only two Mammoth Organs still in existence, and the only one in public view.

Joyland also features an original Allen Herschel Carousel, which was built in 1949. It has all of the original Carousel Horses. The carousel is disassembled at the end of every season, which has been carefully done for protection every year for the last 57 years.

[edit] Joyland today

The Ottaway brothers retired from the amusement park business in the late 1960s and sold the park to Stanley and Margaret Nelson. The Nelsons were the driving force behind Joyland Park for over 30 years and a large percentage of the park's current rides, including the Bill Tracy designed Whacky Shack dark ride, added to the park in 1974, come from the Nelson's time as owners. Though there are a few Whacky Shacks still in use across the country today, this classic two-story dark ride was the prototype, and the closest one can find to Tracy's original designs. In addition, the original miniature train retired with the Ottaway family and was replaced with the first-ever C.P. Huntington miniature train. This train carries serial number 1 from the factory.

Today Joyland has over 24 working amusement rides, including:

Joyland also has a valuable collection of kiddie land rides, including Dune buggies, Horse and carriages, Bulgy the Whale, and other Herschel Rides. It also features an Old-West Frontier Town and Go-Kart Track.

[edit] Reopening

The park was showing its age with many attractions requiring extensive repairs when the Nelson's shut it down in 2003. However, in 2006 the Seattle Based T-Rex Group, who were instrumental in turning around a pair of small parks in Washington state, leased the park from the Nelson family and reopened it with plans for a complete refurbishing. Joyland is a classic example of a traditional American amusement park of the mid-twentieth century but its future is uncertain. Currently a new theme park, Wild West World, is under development north of Wichita and it is not known if the old Joyland can survive the competition from the more modern Wild West World. However, the two parks may complement each other very well. Joyland gives a great glimpse of the past and has many classic rides. It is also a great park for those with small children because it is well shaded and they don't have to walk far between rides.

[edit] External links

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