Podcast cover background photo is by 4045 on freepik.com. Joyland photo is by newsplusnotes. Theme music is from “Aerobatics in Slow Motion” by TechnoAXE. Incidental music all by Kevin MacLeod / incompetech.com: “Midnight Tale”, “Plucky Daisy”, “Constance”, “Relent”, and “Simple Duet”. Images, audio, and video are all the property of their respective owners, as credited.

Joyland: beginnings

Joyland was an incredible place. More than just a theme park, for most of a century, the park has served as a community connection, a home for those seeking light and joy in their lives.

Joyland was the creation of the Ottaways: Lester Ottaway and his sons Harold and Herb, of Wichita, Kansas. In particular, Herb was interested in motorcycle racing, winning several big races in the 1930s. Through racing, he met the Chance family, including Gerald and his son Harold. 

Both families had an interest in steam-powered vehicles. The Ottaways purchased a miniature steam-powered train, and the Chances built a set of steam-powered kiddie cars. Together, the families spent summers throughout the 1930s hosting a small carnival for residents of Wichita, Kansas and Manitou Springs, Colorado.

As World War II began, the carnivals stopped. The population of Wichita and the surrounding areas was booming, literally doubling between 1940 and 1943, due to the aviation industry and companies like Cessna, Beech, and Boeing. The population was in need of diversion and recreation. 

The Ottaways opened up Ottaway Amusement Company and hired Harold Chance to start producing miniature steam trains based on their original train. By 1945, they’d sold seven trains. At the same time, Herb and Harold set up a small amusement park in Planeview, Kansas, a Wichita suburb built for aviation factory workers. The park had a few rides, and was hugely popular with its local audience.

Inspired by the success of the Planeview park, the Ottaways purchased land in the heart of Wichita, and opened Joyland Central around 1946. The original Ottaway steam train ran there, as well as a Ferris wheel, dodgem bumper cars, a carousel, a roll-o-plane, and other small midway rides.

The park was a success for a population still looking for lightness and leisure after the war, and the Ottaways began eyeing improvements for Joyland. They realized that they needed more space, so they purchased land on Hillside, further out in Wichita.

Joyland

With Joyland Central still operating, Joyland Hillside opened on June 12, 1949 – the biggest amusement park in the area, with the shiny new rollercoaster being quote “A huge deal. It was amazing”. The coaster was simply called Roller Coaster, and was designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck, and built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. Entirely wood, Roller Coaster was one of the last all-wood coasters, and was designated an ACE coaster classic. It was said to have the steepest drop of any in the country at the time. 

The coaster originally cost $0.25 per ride and operated with a full ridership from morning until night.

Besides the star attraction, there were many other popular rides at Joyland Hillside. There was a custom-built Allan Herschell carousel, with distinctive hand-carved wooden-and-aluminium horses. 

The park had a number of classic flat rides, including a paratrooper, Dodgem bumper cars, and an Eli Bridge Ferris wheel. And, of course, the miniature steam train. 

When Joyland Central closed, its assets were merged with Joyland Hillside. One of the two Dodgem buildings was repurposed as a simple dark ride. 

Another iconic feature of Joyland, there from opening day, was the Wurlitzer Mammoth 160 Organ. This was the largest of the early Wurlitzer models, and had been built around 1905. The organ had been sitting abandoned in a Coffeyville mansion for two decades. The Ottaways purchased the organ, had it refurbished, and gave it a position of honor in their newest theme park. They added the piece de resistance: an animatronic clown called Louie, who sat in front of the organ and “played”. 

In 1948, the Ottaways chose to focus on their amusement park business, and sold their miniature train business, Ottaway Amusement Company, to Harold Chance. As part of the deal, Joyland received a set of miniature ABA Santa Fe steamliners in 1951, increasing the size of the Joyland fleet.

In the 1950s, a pool was added to Joyland, featuring a slide and a very tall high dive. This was incredibly popular during the days when air-conditioning wasn’t widespread in the average home. The park even sold swimtrunks for those who forgot their own. Quote: “ That pool seemed so big, and the slide was so tall. The diving boards were really high up. There were always a lot of people in and around the pool.”

The park expanded, with a Frontier Town section as part of the celebration of Kansas’ centennial in 1961. There were several buildings, a stage for performances, and of course, a classic fake Old Western gunfight staged daily. 

In the mid-1960s, the Ottaways retired from Joyland, and took their original miniature steam train with them. A new train joined the park in its place, direct from Harold Chance and his newly-incorporated Chance Rides. It was a miniature C. P. Huntington steam train, with serial #1. 

Quote: “Joyland’s train really launched Chance Rides.” To date, Chance Rides has produced over 400 of these miniature trains, and the company reportedly became the largest amusement ride manufacturer in the world.

Joyland’s New Ownership

Under new ownership (Jerry Ottaway and Stanley Nelson, and later Stanley and Margaret Nelson) the park continued to prosper and grow through the 60s and 70s. 

The park’s original dark ride was rebuilt into something new by noted dark ride designer Bill Tracy. The Joyland “Whacky Shack” was the last dark ride to receive Tracy’s personal touch. Riders entered through a spooky facade and rode through the dark haunted house, with glow in the dark scenes and spooky lighting used to great affect. The facade of the Whacky Shacky has been one of the most iconic images from Joyland since the shack opened in 1974.

Joyland continued to thrive. It participated in numerous local cross-promotions like the Good Grades program, where good report cards earned ride tickets. A movie (King Kung Fu) and a commercial (Kellog’s Mini-Wheats) were filmed at Joyland. 

There were ups and downs as competition from larger parks like Six Flags became more intense and guests began to desire more thrills. Quote: “Joyland doesn’t pretend to be the park to end all parks,” Nelson said. “It’s simply a hometown recreational facility that draws from a radius of about 100 miles.” 

In 1985, the Log Jam was added, a classic log flume ride designed by O. D. Hopkins. The Joyland pool had closed some years earlier, and the Log Jam became the new hit during hot summer days and nights. Guests were guaranteed to get wet. 

And in 1996, the last new ride in the park: the Skycoaster, where guests were hoisted to the top of a tower and then allowed to free-fall swing from a giant arch. The ride was located where the pool originally had been, and cost an extra fee to ride.

Despite guests’ current-day fond memories, Joyland began to stagnate. There had been several deaths at the park. The neighborhood was taking on a rougher vibe. Attendance was down. In the modern day, theme park tourism is primarily driven by location: on large highways near major population centers. This is not Wichita. When Joyland was built (before the rise of the insterstate), theme parks were a much more regional situation.

A flood in 1997 closed the park for 11 critical days in the middle of the summer season, leaving behind damage to the Roller Coaster and half an inch of sludgey mud. 

The park was leased to new owners, and the formerly-pristine maintenance park began to look shabby. The Frontier Town section of the park was abandoned and closed off. And still attendance was low.

Finally, in Spring of 2004, a guest fell out of the Ferris Wheel. She was massively injured but fortunately didn’t die. Still, this was the last straw as the Consumer Product Safety Commission got involved to investigate the accident, and the park abruptly closed in July 2004. 

A series of lawsuits followed, with the new owner missing payments on both property loan and property taxes. The park sat in uncertainty, empty of guests. By December of 2004, the sheriff’s office owned the park, and the Nelsons were able to buy back the property.  

For all of 2005, the park sat empty, all rides still in place, its future uncertain.

In early 2006, the park was leased to a new group. They began investing money in Joyland. The park did open Easter weekend, but without any rides. A contemporaneous park visitor posted about the reopening, saying it was “worse off than it was before. The roller coaster was closed, Whacky Shack was closed, go-karts closed, sky-coaster closed, the Log Jam was open but did not work properly; the Slide did not have wax so you could not slide. This image of Joyland was one that people did not like to see.” 

The park closed for some legal squabbles and additional renovations, mostly cosmetic. They reopened in May 2006 with a blue and pink paint scheme. The Roller Coaster was given a new name (Nightmare) and a new coat of paint. 

Despite all this, the troubles continued. Neighbors continued to file noise complaints, and there were constant squabbles with the city about permits. Attendance didn’t improve.

In fall 2006, the park closed for the season, and never reopened.

Abandoned

“The unfortunate thing is that a lot of times, what we’d hear from people is ‘Oh, you’re closing Joyland down? Gosh, I haven’t been out there in 20 years,’ and we’d go ‘Yeah, we know,’” Nelson, the former owner of the park, was quoted as saying. 

The park sat, abandoned. Weeds began to grow.

Rides were either sold or stored.

The Nelsons held out for a few years, reportedly only interested in buyers who would keep the property as an amusement park. A deal never went through.

By 2008, they were resigned, and listed the property for sale for $2 million dollars, open to any buyer. The local paper described the state of the park at the time:  “Weeds have grown up in concrete cracks. The wind whistles through buildings with no windows and through the ghostly skeleton of the roller coaster, now silent.”

While wheels spun on the business front, vandals and thieves made merry at the abandoned Joyland park.

Nelson remembered one weekend in particular: quote “they [vandals] came in and just ripped the guts out of the electrical system and that left us absolutely unable to defend the place because we couldn’t leave any lights on.” end quote.

With the constant vandalism at the park, it was difficult to keep a basic level of maintenance at the abandoned Joyland park, much less to sell it. This in turn made the banks reluctant to invest in either the refurbishment or the sale of the park. The city did their part to make the process even more difficult, declaring the Joyland property a flood zone.

In 2010 and 2011, an ambitious group of high school students organized the “Joyland Restoration Project”. The Joyland Restoration Project had ambitious goals for buying, restoring, and expanding the park, and was looking to run the park as a non-profit. Their plans included expanded concessions, a second roller coaster, and a water park after ten years. However, their plans did not ever come to fruition.

It seemed as though any and every possible idea to save the park was tried. The park was even listed for sale on eBay for a time. Everyone speculated about the reason the park wasn’t moving.

A member of the Joyland Restoration Project said in a website interview, “Joyland is not on the best side of town and that is why nobody has purchased the land and torn it down already; the only things that the land could really serve as is something unique like Joyland.”

Vandalism continued to rise at the abandoned Joyland park. 

Later that year, the Opera House at Joyland, known for its picnics, puppet shows, movies, and corporate retreats, was completely burned down by fire. Police suspected arson.

In 2011, the bathrooms were destroyed in a fire. Police suspected arson.

In 2012, a storage building was partially damaged by fire. Three teenagers were seen fleeing the park, and police suspected arson. 

By 2014, the city of Wichita stepped in. They claimed that the Nelsons had failed to properly maintain and secure the premises. Joyland had become an attractive nuisance, and it needed to be demolished. Plagued by constant vandalism, the park was simply beyond repair.

What was once a vibrant, thriving family theme park was now a hazardous wasteland, covered in graffiti and weeds, ruinous and sad. One urban explorer commented in 2017: “There are heaps of debris everywhere and evidence of fires and graffiti at every turn. It is eerie and sad to remember having fun there and now it’s just an abandoned ruin.”

A windstorm swept through Wichita in April of 2015, massively damaging Joyland’s Roller Coaster. Portions of the track collapsed, and the entire coaster structure was visibly structurally unsound. 

On July 23, 2015, the remainder of the historic Philadelphia Toboggan Company wooden Roller Coaster was demolished.

The final insult to the once-thriving Joyland park came on August 8, 2018. The iconic Whacky Shack building was completely destroyed by fire.

Police suspected arson.

In November of 2018, the land where Joyland once sat was purchased at auction by a private buyer for $198,000, ten percent of its asking price ten years earlier.

After my original episodes on Joyland were released, it was announced that these new owners, Gregory and Tina Dunnegan, have plans to transform the eyesore into a new attraction. They intend to use part of the property for tent rentals, private events, outdoor festivals, and a paintball range. The plans come before the city council this summer, and it’s wonderful to hear plans about the property’s revitalization.

Remnants

Remnants of Joyland are still present in the community and in private collections. 

Local shops have some items, including the lion drinking fountain at the Donut Whole, and the original Joyland Arcade sign at the Churn & Burn. The original Ottaway train is in a private collection, and can be seen on occasion during Ottaway or Chance events.

The Historic Preservation Alliance of Wichita and Sedgewick County has a number of artifacts, such as the large caboose that formerly resided in Frontier Town. The original neon animated sign that once lived at Joyland Central was also purchased and saved, featuring an animation of two clowns. Along with the stagecoach, the Old Woman’s Shoe, and the original Roller Coaster ticket booth, these artifacts were reportedly purchased in 2010 for $22,000. These larger items sit dismantled in storage, waiting for eventual restoration.

The biggest remnant of them all, the 1949 Herschell carousel, was donated in 2014 to the local Botanica, a community garden in Wichita. The entire carousel is in the process of being restored, including a complete rewiring, a new paint scheme, and new LED. Each of the carousel’s original horses have been hand-restored by local carousel restoration artist Marlene Irvin. “This one is special to me because it is the carousel of my youth, in my town,” Irvin is quoted as saying. “I imagine I have ridden every horse several times during my lifetime.” Each horse takes at least one hundred hours or more to restore. Botanica is building a brand new pavilion complex to house the Herschell carousel, where it will reportedly be one of only five remaining Herschell carousels in the world. Irvin completed the restoration of the carousel horses in April 2019, and the expected opening date for the restored carousel in Botanica’s Carousel Gardens is fall 2019.

Memories

Joyland still inspires fond memories today. Everyone who talks about Joyland remembers it in the context of family and community. First coasters, first kisses, first dates: all that happened at the park. The rides were the icing on the cake. It was all about the people you met and the connections you made.

Yes, the park is iconic in its abandonment and became a haven for vandals and urban explorers. But the park remains far more than that.

True to its name from the beginning, the amusement park brought joy to Wichita for decades, and it will forever hold a special place in the hearts of those who visited.

“It was a place where you could take your kids,” Nelson is quoted as saying. “It was just a nice, pleasant uncrowded place.”

Remember that what you’ve read is a podcast! A link is included at the top of the page. Listen to more episodes of The Abandoned Carousel on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RadioPublic | TuneIn | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro. Support the podcast on Patreon for extra content! Comment below to share your thoughts – as Lucy Maud Montgomery once said, nothing is ever really lost to us, as long as we remember it.

References

I’ve included a complete list of references used while researching this topic. It’s hidden under the link for brevity.

The post Joyland (a condensed history) appeared first on The Abandoned Carousel.

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Under New Ownership (1960s)

With Herb and Harold Ottaway retired, Joyland Park was leased to new owners: Herb’s son, Jerry Ottaway, and Stanley Nelson. Jerry Ottaway, of course, was a familiar name. He was Herb’s son, and had literally grown up around the park.

Stanley was a long-time park worker and a friend of the Ottaway family. Stanbley was a Dodgem ticket-seller, and met his wife Margaret at the park in the early 1950s when she was a skeeball attendant. Nelson continued to work at the park, doing bookkeeping and working up through the management as he got his accounting degree at Wichita State University.

“My dad realized that he loved the amusement park business, so he decided to go into it,” Roger Nelson, Stanley’s son, said.

New Directions for Joyland Park

Together, Jerry and Stanley continued to manage the park and take it in new direction.

Things didn’t always go as planned, especially with Joyland’s miniature zoo that operated for a period of time. A lion at Joyland got out after biting its caretaker, and three deer escaped from their pens. The 1960s were also the first major injury at the park, with a girl suing the park for $400 after smashing her teeth on the steering wheel of a bumper car.

In 1968, Jerry and Stanley built Joyland’s roller rink to the tune of $100k, opening in July of that year. The skating floor at the roller rink actually came from the skating rink at Wichita’s Kiddieland that had closed earlier that same year (remember, Kiddieland was not the same as Joyland’s downtown location, Joyland Central). The rink was 75 x 175 feet. It was brightly colored and held 600 skaters.

Stanley continued rising in the ranks of the amusement park industry all the while. “My dad was the president of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions,” Nelson said, “and that was a big deal. He was in the business a long time, and he was just a little park operator, but he worked his way up to become the president,” Nelson said.

Changes at Joyland Park (1970s)

In the 1970s, more changes were afoot. The park was facing some challenges. Jerry Ottaway said “it takes more thrilling rides to give amusement park patrons their kicks anymore. People have their water-skiing, snow-skiing, motorcycles and that kind of thing.”

Some were little: owners built a giant gunny-sack slide near the dark ride.

Others were more festivals and commercial partnerships. For instance, in fall of 1971, Joyland Park hosted five days of the Wichita State Fair, which included country music as well as other performers: Pee Wee King, Stonewall Jackson and Leroy Van Dyke. In 1972, Joyland was part of a Kellogg’s commercial, introducing the new Mini-Wheats product.

Other changes were bigger. In the mid 1970s, Jerry Ottaway decided that wanted to pursue an interest in the roller rink business. He sold his portion of Joyland park to Stanley Nelson, and later built the Carousel Skate Center.

Stanley Nelson and his wife Margaret were now the sole owners of the Joyland Park.

Whacky Shack

With the change in ownership, Stanley Nelson was in the market for a new darkride. At an IAAPA convention, Stanley connected with noted dark ride and haunted house designer Bill Tracy. Stanley took one look at Tracy’s new “Whacky Shack” concept and placed an order on the spot, saying he wanted the Joyland facade to look exactly like the concept art.

Bill Tracy and the Whacky Shack at Joyland Park

Tracy died soon after the completion of the Joyland Whacky Shack, making it the last complete project with his personal touch. The Joyland Whacky Shack was the prototype for the Whacky Shack model. Joyland’s shack was the first such design built. The Whacky Shack did have its roots in earlier Tracey rides like Hell’s Kitchen and Devil’s Inn. However, the Joyland Whacky Shack was the first true iteration of the design.

Stanley Nelson was a fan of Bill Tracy. Stanley said: “Bill Tracy never got the recognition that he deserved. He had a great imagination and a knack for scouring the local area for just the right materials for a ride. If he needed old looking wood for a ride, he would search for an old building being torn down. No sense in creating that look when the real thing could be found.”

Whacky Shack at Joyland Park

The old safari darkride building became the new Whacky Shack building. This building had originally been a Dodgem bumper car building.

The new Joyland Whack Shack ride incorporated portions of the old safari ride as well as plenty of Tracy’s classic dark ride haunted house spooks. Reportedly, when construction was complete, Stanley Nelson looked Bill Tracy in the eye and said that the building *wasn’t* exactly like the concept art like he’d wanted. Tracy, shocked, asked what the issue was. Nelson laughed and said that the hands on the clock on the front Whacky Shack facade pointed to 2:00, not 12:00.

The completed Whacky Shack was an excellent example of Tracy’s famed dark ride work. The ride combined eerie sound effects, spooky organ music, and dim lighting to set the environment. Then guests rode through different scenes, most done in neon fluorescent paints: skeletons, cemeteries, even a near-collision with a realistic truck. The second floor of the ride brought riders out into the open, past fearsome painted figures.

Tracy’s original ride had additional thrills, with rotating cars and track layouts that dipped and rose. But as Stanley Nelson put it, “Tracy was into thrills, not maintenance.”

Later Changes to the Whacky Shack at Joyland

Whacky Shack had rotating cars that were a maintenance hassle, especially for such a small park. The cars were ultimately welded to stop any rotation. Later, Bell’s Amusement Park made new fiberglass cars for the ride. Management also made other changes, including the removal of the thrilling track dips.

More modern computer sensors and additional fencing prevented guests from getting out of their cars and removing scenery.

See a ridethrough from a different Tracy Whacky Shack on Youtube here.

The Whacky Shack wasn’t as thrilling as some of the bigger rides in the same genre that you might find at a Six Flags, but for many people, the Whacky Shack is one of the most outstanding memories of the park. It was a first thrill ride in a comfortable environment, a welcome into a larger world of amusements.

Joyland in the 1970s

More festivals and commercial partnerships followed in the late 1970s. Filmmakers of the 1976 film “King Kung Fu” filmed on location throughout Wichita. One scene included several minutes of footage shot at Joyland, primarily in the Roller Coaster area. 1978 saw a two day “Jesus Rock” festival that included free camping at the park.

The park also cross-promoted through local radio stations and businesses. The shady picnic areas and Opera House with space for performances were huge draws. Many places held celebrations and meetings at Joyland.

An interview with Stanley Nelson in the local paper in 1979 discussed his hopes to add a large water slide to the popular Joyland swimming pool, citing the popularity of water-oriented rides throughout the amusement park industry. The date of this interview is a bit surprising, since most of the internet sources I came across in my research have given 1973 as the date of the Joyland pool closure. Other reports note that the pool was closed but still standing. Reportedly, the pool became a bumper boats attraction for a short period in the 80s.

Sadness at Joyland Park

Of course, it wasn’t all fun and games in the 70s. 1977 saw the first death at the park. A seven-year-old boy fell from the Roller Coaster after standing up in the rear car. This was a regular activity on the ride at the time, despite the famous sign at the top of the lift hill warning riders to the contrary. However, this time the boy couldn’t hang on. He was ejected from the car on a hill near the end of the ride. He died almost instantly.

Totally, Gnarly, Joyland (1980s-1990s)

Joyland in the 80s

As the decade turned over into 1980, things weren’t feeling as comfortable at Joyland, beginning a time of ups and downs for the park. Stanley Nelson talked with the local paper about the contrast of Joyland vs. larger amusement parks such as Six Flags. “People are developing a taste for bigger attractions,” he said, describing the impact large parks had on small parks like Joyland. It was true that the most popular theme parks were having success because of their location: on large highways near major population centers.

In 1981, the high gas prices resulting from the 1979 oil crisis caused increased park attendance, with people wanting to vacation closer to home. “Joyland doesn’t pretend to be the park to end all parks,” Nelson said. “It’s simply a hometown recreational facility that draws from a radius of about 100 miles.”

Sadness at Joyland Park, Again

Things were looking downhill again at Joyland, with the second of the park’s deaths in 1982. The neighborhood around Joyland took on a rougher vibe. The happenings at the park reflected this. A park employee was stabbed to death in the parking lot. Several men snuck into the park and tried to provoke several employees before finally finding one to fight.

The Log Jam

The Log Jam at Joyland opened in 1985, and represented one of the last major projects the Nelsons undertook at Joyland.

Nelson remembered the ride as “a really big risk at the time”, at least financially speaking. Log flumes were (and continue to be) popular rides; Disneyland announced their log flume, Splash Mountain, in the early 80s, as well.

Designed by O. D. Hopkins, a well-known water rides manufacturer, the Log Jam required a river dug into the ground as well as a tall splashdown. The Nelsons took on some of the building for the project themselves, in order to save money. However, the investment paid of. “It was good for the park, it was a good major ride and it made us feel good to do that,” said Nelson.

The Log Jam was a classic log flume ride. Riders boarded fiberglass boats shaped like hollowed out logs, seating 4-5 riders each. The Log Jam guaranteed that every rider would get wet. The ride was therefore one of the most popular in the park on hot summer days, particularly with the closure of the Joyland Pool.

Joyland in the 90s

The 1990s continued to be somewhat tumultuous for Joyland. In 1993, a fire destroyed the Joyland skating rink – one for the L column. But sometime in the mid-90s, a go-kart track was added – one for the W column.

In an interview with the paper, Nelson drew contrasts with Joyland and bigger parks like Six Flags. He thought that parents interacted with their children differently at Joyland; calmer, more relaxed. “We give them a place to go where they can get their minds off what they’re doing.”

Skycoaster at Joyland Park

1996 saw the addition of Joyland’s last new ride, the Skycoaster. This is a ride consisting of an arch and two lifting towers. The ride pulls riders to the top of the lifting towers, then lets go. Riders swing in a huge arc from the main arch. As described at the time, “There is a sudden drop and the scenery begins whizzing by in a sweeping arc at about 32 feet a second.” A video of the Joyland Skycoaster can be found on Youtube.

Management built the Skycoaster on the site of the former Joyland Pool, now filled in with cement. This ride was a separately-charged attraction, costing $15-25 in 1996.

1997 flooding at Joyland Park

In June of 1997, in the middle of the Joyland operating season, Wichita experienced a torrential rainstorm, which led to flooding. Joyland Park flooded with water from the nearby creek, to a depth of 6-8 inches. Electrical equipment shorted out. Debris scattered everywhere. Two of the Joyland Log Jam cars floated away in the fray. One was found a few days later. The other car remained lost for three years, finally being found seven miles away in the Arkansas River.

When the flood waters finally receded, building floors had been covered in a half inch of sludgey, silty mud that had to be scraped and power washed. The park lost eleven critical days in the middle of the season. The park reopened, but it was clear that the flood had put a damper on the season.

The End of the 90s at Joyland Park

The flood may have marked the beginning of the end for Joyland. Despite the niche market the park had in providing party catering and group picnic spots and corporate event hosting, opinion of the park was starting to take a downturn.

In 1998, it got worse, with the final death at the park. A roller coaster car hit a maintenance worker, killing him. For unknown reasons, he was weeding with a weed trimmer underneath the roller coaster; he then stood up. The oncoming roller coaster train hit him.

Kansas lawmakers at the time did not require state inspections for amusement park rides. They did consider the notion as a result of this incident. But, it wasn’t until a state lawmaker’s son died on a water park ride in 2016 that a law was passed requiring state inspections of theme park rides.

Things were getting grim at Joyland.

Trouble at Joyland (2000s)

Getting into the early 2000s, we are finally arriving at a point where contemporaneous trip reports posted on the internet still exist.

Joyland Park Layout

One 2002 visitor described the park layout: “Essentially Joyland is one long midway. It is a bit odd as I felt the left side of the park (as you are walking in) had a classic feel to it. Down here there was Louie the Clown (one of two Wurlitzer clowns left), a Herschell carousel, the Eli Bridge Wheel, a Hrubetz Paratrooper, the Hopkins flume, an Eli Bridge Scrambler and the Roller Coaster.

“There were lots of trees hanging over the midway and may of the trunks had benches fashioned around them for people to sit and relax. The right side of the midway featured the seemingly out of place Skycoaster, the train station, a Hrubetz trailer-mounted Round Up, the Zumur, a Tilt-a-Whirl, Bumper Cars, the Wacky Shack, the kiddie area and a boarded-up western area. There was lots of open space here covered by concrete and some downright ugly buildings.”

Joyland cost $3.00 at the gate, plus either individual ride tickets or an unlimited wristband.

The park in 2001 felt run down. The entire Frontier Town section of the park had closed, fenced off, and decaying under cover of weeds. The post praised the park for trusting the visitor (“the park’s scenic train ride crosses pedestrian paths without the use of gate crossing arms in at least three places!”). They also noted that there was only one food stand and one set of bathrooms for the entire park.

2001 Review of Joyland Park’s Roller Coaster

Another 2001 visitor described the park as “shabby”. They praised the Roller Coaster, however, still a park favorite even after more than 50 years.

“The 1949 ACE Coaster Classic was my very first roller coaster. I still measure all wooden roller coasters by the standard set by its first two hills. It wasn’t the tallest coaster, nor was it the fastest. It didn’t do loops or have any bells and whistles. The lift hill was a tall ride, straight up. As you neared the top, you saw the vintage clown sign that read, “Last chance!” We’d put our hands in the air, and WHEW!, you dropped straight down. No turns, no tilts. Just a perfect, straight tummy-tickling drop. You could touch the branches of the trees, if you kept your hands up. Then whoosh!, straight up again, and another straight drop. The rest of the ride was a bit quieter, but those first two hills were my favorite part of Joyland. And in 2001, that ride was still incredible.”

Joyland Park Under David Rohy

All together, the reports were painting a picture of a park past its prime. It appeared as though the park’s maintenance, formerly meticulous, had slipped. Visitors were starting to notice. Many of the attractions were said to be in need of extensive repairs. It perhaps should not come as a surprise that in 2000, the Nelsons had begun leasing the park operations to another person, one David Rohr.

In 2003, David Rohr purchased the park from the Nelsons for $1.6 million.

It was short-lived. In March of 2004, the Nelsons sued Rohr, for missing payments and not paying the park’s taxes. In their lawsuit, they alleged that he was not properly maintaining the park.

Closure of Joyland Park

Then, in April 2004, another major incident, with a 13-year-old girl falling out of the ferris wheel and dropping over 30 feet to the ground. She suffered major head, leg, and arm injuries. Fortunately, she lived. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated the accident. “We have an excellent safety record,” said David Rohr. “Nothing like this has ever happened since I’ve owned it.”

2004 at Joyland Park: Lawsuits and Closure

In mid-July 2004, the park abruptly closed. The given reason at the time was a dispute between David Rohr and the insurance companies, possibly relating to the Ferris wheel incident. Joyland was still a profitable park, reportedly grossing around $1.75 million per year at this time.

In late July of 2004, the Nelsons sued Rohr for a second time, again for missing payments on his $1.6 million dollar loan. Employees of Joyland were furious as well, reporting missing paychecks or paychecks that had bounced. The IRS put a lien on Rohr’s business, Rohr Enterprises, for $185,000.

By December of 2004, the park was in possession of the sheriff’s office. At this December 2004 sheriff’s auction, the Nelsons were able to successfully rebid on the Joyland Park, purchasing the property back with a $1.3 million bid that primarily consisted of collateral owed to them by David Rohr.

Joyland Park Revived (2006)

Joyland sat empty for all of 2005, with gossip flying about the future of the park. Urbex found its way in, even back before it was a trend: a great image album of the park in 2005, in between the final operating seasons. Rides were all still in place. Everyone waited.

In early 2006, the Nelsons leased the park to Michael Moodenbaugh and his business partner Robert Barnard, of “T. Rex Group”, with plans to renovate and reopen the park by mid-April of the same year.

It was a tumultuous year. The park did open Easter weekend, but without any rides. A contemporaneous park visitor posted about the reopening, saying it was “worse off than it was before. The roller coaster was closed, Whacky Shack was closed, go-karts closed, sky-coaster closed, the Log Jam was open but did not work properly; the Slide did not have wax so you could not slide. This image of Joyland was one that people did not like to see.”

Upgrades at Joyland Park (2006)

Joyland closed again in May for additional renovations. The Nelsons weren’t pleased. They got a court injunction to prevent Moodenbaugh from entering the park, claiming he had missed utility payments. Moodenbaugh countered by saying he and his company had already spent over $300,000 on renovations. The injunction was lifted after a few days, and the renovations continued.

Moodenbaugh and his T. Rex Group did invest money into the park, mostly focused on aesthetics and not ride safety. The roller coaster received a facelift – white paint, $10,000 dollars worth of wood repairs, and a new name: “Nightmare”. This included a quite tacky skeleton grim reaper makeover on the coaster cars themselves.

The Log Jam ride received upgraded pumps. Most of the other rides were left alone. Nothing was really done in regards to upgrading the ride safety. However, the park received a very unique blue and pink paint scheme throughout.

Joyland Park Reopens in 2006

By the end of May 2006, the park was open again, from 2-9pm daily. The Roller Coaster, however, did not reopen, due to failure to obtain insurance company approval for its operation. Irritated neighbors complained about the noise at the park, and there were constant squabbles with the city about permits.

The park closed for the season in the fall of 2006, and never re-opened.

Uncertainty at Joyland Park (2007-)

Joyland sat empty for all of 2007. Moodenbaugh and Barnard were facing a lawsuit from Star Lumber Supply Company, Inc, stemming from unpaid debt incurred for materials used in repairing the Joyland Roller Coaster. CEO of the lumber company stated: “It isn’t a huge amount ($10,000) but it still makes you angry.”

The Nelsons were back in court in 2008, again suing Moodenbaugh for “$248,000 in unpaid rent and $200,000 in missing or damaged property”. Moodenbaugh planned to counter-sue, but did admit to owing $150,000 to various creditors in Wichita.

Joyland Park Abandoned (2006-present)

“The unfortunate thing is that a lot of times, what we’d hear from people is ‘Oh, you’re closing Joyland down? Gosh, I haven’t been out there in 20 years,’ and we’d go ‘Yeah, we know,’” Nelson said to the local paper, afterwards.

“The support was just not there, and that’s nothing against Wichita, it’s just a fact,” Nelson added.

Park visitors concurred. One stated: “I honestly believe that Joyland closed because there was no introduction of new rides. Every park has to have some form of modern rides to keep the interest of the general public. The lack of attendance is why the park went under.”

Joyland Park Up for Sale

After the park’s closure in 2006, the Nelsons unsuccessfully tried to sell the park twice more. Both times, the sale ended with the potential owners walking away in the middle of the deal. And Stanley and Margaret Nelson wouldn’t sell to just anyone, at least not at first.

“He wanted to keep it as an amusement park,” Roger Nelson said of his father. “My dad genuinely loved the place and he wanted to see it continue.”

By fall of 2008, the Nelsons were resigned. They listed the park for sale for $2 million, open to any type of development, not just a theme park, for the first time. The local paper described the state of the park at the time:  “Weeds have grown up in concrete cracks. The wind whistles through buildings with no windows and through the ghostly skeleton of the roller coaster, now silent.”

Vandalism at Joyland Park

While wheels spun on the business front, vandals and thieves made merry at the abandoned Joyland park.

Nelson remembered one weekend in particular: “they [vandals] came in and just ripped the guts out of the electrical system and that left us absolutely unable to defend the place because we couldn’t leave any lights on,” Nelson said.

In 2009, the Nelsons sold several of the rides: the paratrooper, the round-up, the big truck ride. Later that year, someone stole the “Last Warning Do Not Stand up sign” from above the roller coaster.

Vandalism at Joyland Park was Difficult

Fires were set. Items were stolen, tagged, destroyed, sometimes even on a nightly basis.

“It was very hard to watch and very hard to come to grips with,” Nelson said.

With the constant vandalism at the park, it was difficult to keep a basic level of maintenance at the abandoned Joyland park, much less to sell it. This in turn made the banks reluctant to invest in either the refurbishment or the sale of the park. The city did their part to make the process even more difficult, declaring the Joyland property a flood zone.

Joyland Restoration Project

In 2010 and 2011, an ambitious group of high school students organized the “Joyland Restoration Project”. The Joyland Restoration Project had ambitious goals for buying, restoring, and expanding the park, and was looking to run the park as a non-profit. Their plans included expanded concessions, a second roller coaster, and a water park after ten years. However, their plans did not ever come to fruition.

Neighborhood in Decline

It seemed as though any and every possible idea to save the park was tried. They even listed Joyland for sale on eBay for a time. Everyone speculated about the reason the park wasn’t moving.

Alex, from the Joyland Restoration Project, was interviewed by the website Coaster101 in 2011. When asked why Joyland was still standing after seven years of abandonment, he responded: “I believe that Joyland is still standing because the owner of the park wants to see it come back to life. Joyland is not on the best side of town and that is why nobody has purchased the land and torn it down already; the only things that the land could really serve as is something unique like Joyland.”

Other people agreed, commenting on websites with similar sentiments. “Many people are probably thinking about the neighborhood Joyland is located in. I really think it will be fine there but many people won’t. Security will have to be addressed. People’s perception of the area will play a major factor regardless if there’s enough security there.” Others described the neighborhood as “a scary part of town”.

Fire, Fire, and More Fire at Joyland

Vandalism continued to rise at the abandoned Joyland park.

In late 2008, paintballers began to tag up the abandoned park.

In 2009, vandals destroyed the park’s office building. They smashed windows, scattered papers, kicked in doors, and destroyed furniture. Metal scrappers attacked the park. In a comment to the newspaper, Margaret Nelson said, simply, “We’re sick. Our hearts are just sick.”

Later that year, the Opera House at Joyland, known for its picnics, puppet shows, movies, and corporate retreats, was completely burned down by fire. Police suspected arson.

In 2011, the bathrooms were destroyed in a fire. Police suspected arson.

In 2012, a storage building was partially damaged by fire. Three teenagers fled the park. Police suspected arson.

Joyland Park: An Attractive Nuisance

By 2014, the city of Wichita stepped in. They claimed that the Nelsons had failed to properly maintain and secure the premises. Joyland Park had become an attractive nuisance. It needed to be demolished. Plagued by constant vandalism, the park was simply beyond repair.

What was once a vibrant, thriving family theme park was now a hazardous wasteland, covered in graffiti and weeds, ruinous and sad. One urban explorer commented in 2017: “There are heaps of debris everywhere and evidence of fires and graffiti at every turn. It is eerie and sad to remember having fun there and now it’s just an abandoned ruin.”

In 2015, Joyland’s iconic (or terrifying, depending on the source) Louie the clown was discovered. Lost at the time of the park’s 2004 closing, a disgruntled former employee reportedly stole Louie; originally, he maintained Louie during the park’s off-seasons. The same employee was involved in a civil suit with Margaret Nelson over the purchase of the Wurlitzer organ. Neither the status of the lawsuit nor the current whereabouts of the Joyland Wurlitzer organ are known.

Decay and Damage at Joyland Park

The decay of the abandoned park is very apparent in this video from the local paper.

A windstorm swept through Wichita in April of 2015, massively damaging Joyland’s Roller Coaster. Portions of the track collapsed, and the entire coaster structure was visibly structurally unsound. On July 23, 2015, owners demolished the remainder of the historic Philadelphia Toboggan Company wooden Roller Coaster.

The final insult to the once-thriving Joyland park came in 2018. The historical society had purchased the iconic Whacky Shack facade, among other Joyland items, and was in the process of arranging for transport. On August 8, 2018, fire completely destroyed the Whacky Shack building.

Police suspected arson.

In November of 2018, a private buyer purchased the land where Joyland once sat for $198,000.

Joyland Park Remembered

Joyland Park was an iconic part of Wichita for the better part of a century, and parts of the park still remain, scattered throughout the community.

Storage and Preservation of Joyland Park Artifacts

Despite the attractive urbex abandoned park photos cluttering the internet, many of the park’s items were saved. Sitting in a warehouse, buried under layers of dust, lie piles of park memorabilia: original Joyland posters, dodgem cars, ticket boxes, signs. Porky the Paper Eater leans up against a wall, recovered from the home of a disgruntled park employee in 2015.

Elsewhere, the Historic Preservation Alliance of Wichita and Sedgewick County have stored away several larger historic Joyland artifacts, such as the large caboose that formerly resided in Frontier Town. The original neon animated sign that once lived at Joyland Central was also purchased and saved, featuring an animation of two clowns. Along with the stagecoach, the Old Woman’s Shoe, and the original Roller Coaster ticket booth, these artifacts were reportedly purchased in 2010 for $22,000. These larger items sit dismantled in storage, waiting for eventual restoration.

Joyland Park in the Community

Other local groups also have bits and pieces of Joyland. The Donut Whole shop in Wichita has Joyland’s original open-mouthed lion drinking fountain. And over at the Churn and Burn, an ice cream and coffee shop, you can find several of the handpainted Joyland signs, including the “Joyland Arcade” sign. Owner Christian Shomberg says that after a dream about opening up the show, he says the Joyland signs pictured under his first web search for “ice cream shop”. “That afternoon I went and looked at them and put a deposit down before I had even bought any equipment or anything else because I knew I wanted them.”

Joyland Rides at the Ottawa County Fair

It’s not just small stuff that’s been saved, though. The Ferris wheel remained in the park until the early 2010’s, when crews eventually came to remove it. Today, the Joyland Ferris wheel runs at the Ottawa County Fair in Minneapolis, KS, a brilliant yellow wheel against the sky. Bucket seats feature a detailed “JP” on the backs, for Joyland Park. The Scrambler and a handful of other rides, including a tea cup ride, were purchased by the Ottawa County government from Joyland to run at the fair, as well.

Joyland’s Carousel, Restored

Perhaps the most visible part of the former Joyland artifacts is the Carousel. In May 2014, Margaret Nelson announced her donation of the carousel to the Botanica in Wichita, where it would be fully restored. In addition to restoration of the horses, the entire carousel is to be rewired after copper thieves hit the park, and energy efficient LED bulbs will replace the original incandescents.

Carousel Restoration Process

Carousel restoration artist Marlene Irvin has 40 years of experience with carousels. “I have repainted and restored thousands of individual animals and restored complete carousel machines. This one is special to me because it is the carousel of my youth, in my town,” Irvin said. “All through my growing up years I went to Joyland for various outings and always rode the carousel and stopped by the Wurlitzer organ to listen. I imagine I have ridden every horse several times during my lifetime.”

Describing the task ahead of her, Irvin said, “Every couple of years a new coat of paint was applied over the old resulting in me now having to strip anywhere from 5 to 25 or more coats of paint.” Each horse takes at least one hundred hours or more to restore.

“Finding and bringing back the beauty that was originally there is never boring,” Irvin said.

Botanica is building a brand new pavilion complex to house the Herschell carousel, where it will reportedly be one of only five remaining Herschell carousels in the world. Irvin completed the restoration of the carousel horses in April 2019, and the expected opening date for the restored carousel in Botanica’s Carousel Gardens is fall 2019.

Joyland: Community

Joyland still inspires fond memories today. Everyone who talks about Joyland remembers it in the context of family and community.

“I grew up at Joyland. First roller coaster, first date and even my first kiss were at Joyland. I am sad that my kids and my nieces will never get to experience Joyland the way me and my sister did. I have so many amazing memories with my family there. My sister and I always reminisce about our youth and mom and dad taking us there,” a visitor is quoted as saying.

Remembering the Ottaways

Roger Nelson is grateful to the park’s original owners for the work they put in and the risks they took in opening a park like Joyland in Wichita.

“The people that originally started the park were some really special people. The Ottaways were very innovative and very handy at what they did, and I always like to give credit to them. The things that they did, back then, the risks that they took to buy equipment and stuff, not knowing for sure what’s going to happen. They took some tremendous risks,” he said. “We did, too. That’s what it’s all about in that game. You spend a lot of money on a ride and you hope like heck it goes, ‘cause man, we’ve got everything riding on it.”

Joyland Park: Something Special

True to its name from the beginning, the amusement park brought joy to Wichita for decades, and it will forever hold a special place in the hearts of those who visited.

“It was a place where you could take your kids, it was a good safe place, and it had little kiddie rides,” Nelson said. “It was just a nice, pleasant uncrowded place and it was something that people just enjoyed,” Nelson said, remembering the park. “We lived and breathed the whole thing, always.”

Remember that what you’ve read is a podcast! A link is included at the top of the page. Listen to more episodes of The Abandoned Carousel on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RadioPublic | TuneIn | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro. Support the podcast on Patreon for extra content! Comment below to share your thoughts – as Lucy Maud Montgomery once said, nothing is ever really lost to us, as long as we remember it.

References

I’ve included a complete list of references used while researching this topic. It’s hidden under the link for brevity.

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One thing that I’ve learned even over the short course of this show, is that despite the fascinating images of abandoned places, these parks are really all about people and families and communities. The story of Joyland, in particular, epitomizes that community connection.

The Ottaway Family

Joyland all started with a family: the Ottaway family, of Wichita, Kansas. Our story begins with the patriarch, Lester A. Ottaway.

Lester was a businessman, farmer, and mechanic who arrived in Wichita around the turn of the century, in 1904. He opened and ran the Ottaway Alfalfa Mill from 1909 until 1921. From 1929 to 1945, he opened and ran the L. A. Ottaway Sand Company. During this time, he married Ms. Gladys Woolworth, and they began having children. Lester had ten children: three daughters and seven sons.

Herbert Ottaway, born in 1912, was a mechanical whiz and a bike aficionado. The story goes that he walked home from school each day. One day in the 20s, he spotted a 1913 Indian motorcycle leaning up against the house – the next day he returned, found the owner, and tried to buy it. The owner, a Mr. Laff Glatner, refused. Herb came back the following day with a bag full of change, $12 (“which was all the money I had managed to save in my life”) which would be about $300 in today’s dollars. Glatner took the bag without counting the money and gave Herb the broken-down motorcycle, which Herb pushed all the way home.

This was the start of Herb’s love of racing and motorcycles, and an indicator of his persistance in accomplishing his goals.

Herb Ottaway and Motorcycles

Professionally, Herbert began as a welder in the local Wichita aircraft plants. In the mid-20s, Wichita was already throwing off its image of a “sleepy cow-town”, and was well becoming essential for both agriculture and aviation. Boeing, Beech, Culver, and Cessna were all big names in the area, as the Depression shifted into wartime production.

By the age of 17, Herb had built his own motorcycles from the ground up. He won the biggest race of his career, The Oklahoma State Championship, in the 1930, winning roughly $600 (about $9000 in 2019). He continues to race on tracks throughout Kansas in the 1930s, retiring without injury from the sport.

Population was booming in the formative time period between the world wars. With the huge amount of aviation production booming in Wichita starting in 1927 (Beech, Cessna, and Boeing, among others), the population was growing rapidly as well. Wichita was essential for warcraft production prior to and during the second World War. The city’s population doubled between 1940 and 1943 alone. Against this background arose Joyland: the perfect thing for a population in need of diversion and recreation.

The Early Seeds of Joyland

Motorcycles and Miniature Trains

It was through motorcycle racing that Herb met some friends that would help him along in his future career goals: Gerald Chance and Max Wilson. Gerald Chance was the Indian Motorcycle dealer in Wichita in the 1930s, and Herb and Gerald became good friends. Gerald introduced Herb to his son, Richard “Harold” Chance. R. H. Chance was nine years junior to Herb, and also served as a welder at the local aviation manufacturers in the years prior to the war draft in 1944.

Max Wilson, also a fellow motorcycle rider, was interested in miniature trains. This inspired Herb.

The First Ottaway Train

Here is where stories diverge. If you do a quick search for Joyland, you’ll see the same block of text copied over from nearly every single site: the Wikipedia text. “The park was founded by Lester Ottaway and his sons Herbert and Harold to serve as the home for a miniature 12-inch (300 mm) gauge steam locomotive that Herb Ottaway had purchased in Fort Scott, back in 1933. The train had been part of a defunct amusement park there and was originally built by the Miniature Railway Company of Elgin, Illinois, between 1905 and 1910.”

It’s difficult, given that the relevant articles from the main Kansas paper aren’t available online for these years, but this Wikipedia account doesn’t ring quite true. Fort Scott is a small place that had one amusement park: Fern Lake Park, which later became Gunn Park. This was a fairly typical pleasure garden of the time, which operated movie theaters, vaudeville acts, and even a zoo. The park was purchased by the city somewhere between 1910 and 1912, however, and the amusement aspects were stripped away to become a typical city park. Nowhere in the newspaper sources at the time was there mention of a miniature train, which would’ve been huge news in the papers and magazines of the time.

Another possible source could be nearby Hutchinson, KS, the former home of Riverside Park. This amusement park was known for its miniature train; however it was sold in 1916, also far earlier than the known acquisition date in the mid-1930s.

Other Accounts of the First Train

A more reliable source may be the account of Jerry Ottaway, Herb’s son, on “The Ottaway Steam Train”. Jerry wrote: “About 1932 my Dad, Herb Ottaway, purchased a steam train from a popular recreation area located on South Meridian (Avenue). He rebuilt the engine and coaches the following winter.” Another account states: “Herb had built a miniature live steam locomotive” following advice of his friend Max Wilson.

One final source may hold the ultimate key to tie all these accounts together. In 2004, Ed Kelley wrote a history of the Ottaway Amusement Company. The site is now defunct, but was fortunately saved by the Wayback Machine. Quote: “An important chapter of ‘park train’ history began in 1933, when a Kansas family by the name of Ottaway bought a 12” gauge steam locomotive from an old amusement park at the Kansas/Missouri border in Fort Scott, Kansas. This locomotive was built between 1905 and 1910 by the International Miniature Railway Company of Elgin, Illinois for White City, a Chicago amusement park. Replaced by a larger 15” gauge Cagney locomotive, the little engine passed through amusement parks in Iowa, and Kansas…as well as received many extreme modifications.”

Kelley’s post references a photo of the train taken in Iowa, which unfortunately was not archived.

One way or another, we know that Herb purchased a miniature steam train, after getting into the hobby via his motorcycle friend Max Wilson.

Traveling Carnivals (1933-1946)

So in 1933, Herb Ottaway acquired a miniature steam train. Together with Harold and Lester, he rebuilt and refurbished the little train over the next year. The train was styled as a miniature  AT&SF (Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe) railway.

The trio began taking the train around for rides for children in Kansas, which was quite popular. They expanded their reach, setting themselves up with Gerald Chance and his family (remember Gerald, the owner of the local motorcycle shop?). Chance built “four gasoline powered cars and a kiddie auto ride” that was called “the Little Motorcycle”. Together, they spent spring and summer in Manitou, Colorado, providing rides on their small carnival, each summer from 1934-1940. The carnival came to a halt with the onset of war in 1941.

Ottaway Amusement Company

The train was the star of the show, and in 1940, they Ottaways opened Ottaway Amusement Company, a business for building the trains. By 1944, their shop was set up in Wichita and had produced two engines. They hired Harold Chance, Gerald’s son, to work in the train shop, located at that time on North St. Francis St in Wichita.

By 1945, five more locomotives had been built from scratch, and the Ottaways were advertising their locomotives in papers and magazines. It was essentially a complete mail-order miniature railroad setup: an engine, three cars, and 270 feet of track, plus maintenance accessories, for $2500. (In today’s money, about $35k.)

The Ottaway Theme Park in Planeview

Around this time, Herb and Harold opened a small amusement park in Planeview, Kansas, a suburb on the outskirts of Wichita. With the war in full swing, a town called Planeview had sprung up near the Boeing and other aviation plants. Thousands of people were looking for entertainment, and the Ottaways provided.

This park was quite small. It opened in 1942 or 1943, and was called Playland or Playtime, depending on the source. There was a Tilt-A-Whirl, a Ferris wheel, and a merry-go-round.

This was a difficult time to have a leisure business during the war years. It’s said that any non-war business uses, say such as a theme park, were taxed at 20 percent (compare to your current state tax rate that might be somewhere around 5%). But the park was hugely popular with its captive crowds.

Joyland Central (1946-1949)

Perhaps inspired by his sons, patriarch Lester Ottaway purchased the land in the heart of Wichita, between Central and New York streets. Joyland first opened at 1515 E. Central, on the south side of the street, sometime in 1946. Soon afterwards, Herb and Harold closed the small park in Planeview, moving the rides from Planeview to what we’ll call Joyland Central.

Joyland Central is sometimes confused with “Kiddieland” in modern accounts; however, these were separate parks. Kiddieland was another Wichita theme park, owned by the Consolver family. This park opened in 1947. One visitor remembers “The things that made it special for me were the boats and the pony rides, two attractions that Joyland did not have”. Kiddieland in Wichita was closed in 1968 and torn down to build what is now the Wichita Mall. There is, of course, a Facebook group for fans of the Kiddieland park.

More Rides for Joyland

New rides were added to Joyland Central, including a shooting range, a child’s auto ride, a Roll-o-Plane, and the Dodgem bumper cars. The fondly-remembered “Old Woman’s Shoe” attraction (a giant shoe that kids could climb in) also was located at Joyland Central originally.

The city’s electric company also would not provide service to the park – they didn’t think it was “necessary”. The park therefore had to operate on a generator, which had to be turned on by hand each time the park opened.

Success of Joyland Central

Still, the people came to Joyland. After the end of World War II, people were hungry for lightness, entertainment, and leisure. Joyland was a hit with both children and adults, and business was booming.

As the Ottaways eyed the addition of a large roller coaster at Joyland, they needed to look for a new location for their park: the Central location was just too small. The Wichita Eagle wrote about the planning of the park in November of 1948.

Joyland

The Ottaways found the land they were looking for at 2801 South Hillside. Joyland Hillside, or just Joyland, had found its new home.

1949 Opening of Joyland Hillside Opening

Joyland Park opened on June 12, 1949.

At the time, it was considered the biggest amusement park in the area, with the roller coaster being a particularly big deal. “A huge deal. It was amazing,” said Roger Nelson, son of Stanley and Margaret Nelson, who would later own the park.

More than 1200 people attended on the day the mayor cut the ribbon for the roller coaster’s opening ceremony. “The coaster is said to have the steepest drop of any in the country,” they said at the time.

Two Joylands Become One

Joyland Central and Joyland Hillside were open simultaneously for only a short period of time. The land value of the Central location was increasing, so the Ottaways sold Joyland Central and combined the parks at the Hillside location.

Some of the rides moved to Joyland’s Hillside location, but the Joyland Central carousel was sold, and a brand new 1949 carousel made by Allan Herschell, under the Herschell-Spillman name. By the time of its closure, every single one of its original horses was still present and accounted for, primarily because the carousel was completely disassembled every winter beginning in 1951. The horses were hand-carved, with wood bodies and aluminium heads and tails for durability. These can be dated to a specific point in history, as these were only manufactured for a short time before and after World War II.

Joyland opened with several rides right from the start in 1949, including the famous Roller Coaster, the Dodgem bumper cars, the Carousel, and the Ferris Wheel.

Joyland’s Roller Coaster

The park’s coaster, called “Roller Coaster”, was built in 1949 for Joyland by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, and was ready on open day. The coaster was designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck, whose work has often been listed among the top ten coasters in the world.

“Roller Coaster” was one of the last original wooden coasters, one of the 44 “ACE Coaster Classics”. Not until 2006 was the park given any other name, at which point it was briefly called “Nightmare”.

“They ran that roller coaster from one in the afternoon until one in the morning at 25 cents a ride, and it was full every time,” Roger Nelson said.

A 2001 trip report describes the ride thusly: “The ride, featuring an ‘L’ dog leg and a lift hill that is slightly askew from the “out” run of the coaster, is bigger than you think. Immediately off the lift, riders are shot skyward as the train tumbles down the steep first hill, then slammed down as it bottoms out. The first three hills all have great air time”. The report goes on to say “Rarely do I find a roller coaster that changes in intensity so much over the course of a day. This coaster, tame in its early runs, becomes an airtime machine by late afternoon and a bat out of hell by nighttime.”

Roller Coaster’s Operating Stats

The coaster covered 2,600 feet, with an 80 foot drop and 50mph top speed. The ride was notable as the years went on for being only North American coaster using vintage cars with fixed lap bars, allowing for great “airtime”.

The coaster used what is called “skid brakes” to slow the coaster cars. Sections of the track had manually operated brakes, which were controlled by the ride operator using large, four to five foot tall levers. A barrel underneath the tracks hung, filled with cement, which also tripped the skid brakes.

Ferris Wheel at Joyland

The Ferris wheel was an original Joyland attraction from the park’s opening in 1949, though it wasn’t always bright yellow. Eli Bridge is the country’s oldest maker of Ferris wheels, and they manufactured this wheel in Jacksonville, IL. The company actually still operates in their original production building there, opened in 1919.

In earlier days, the Ferris wheel was silver, with its 16 chairs painted in bright blue, red and yellow. As the years went on, the frame was painted a distinctive sunshine yellow. Bucket seats featured a detailed “JP” on the backs, for Joyland Park.

Joyland’s Mammoth Wurlitzer Organ

As you entered Joyland, you passed a small showbuilding. It was impossible to miss, with the cheerful organ music playing and the strange, grinning clown in front. This was Joyland’s Mammoth Wurlitzer 160 Organ, and Louie the Clown.

The Mammoth was the largest of the early Wurlitzer models, and was built around 1905.

Jess Gibbs and the Joyland Mammoth Wurlitzer

In 1947, the Ottaways were contact by organ man Jess Gibbs, about an old band organ that was sitting at an estate in Coffeyville, the old Brown Mansion, where it had reportedly sat abandoned for the previous twenty years. The Brown Mansion had served as a spa in the heyday of the 1920s known as the Siluran Springs Bath House, where guests whirled in the ballroom to the music of the Mammoth Wurlitzer. When the Brown Mansion closed during the Depression, the organ sat, abandoned and forgotten.

Harold and Herbert went out to take a look, They bought the organ “as is” for somewhere between $350-500 (roughly $4000 to $5500 in 2019 dollars). Gibbs took the organ and repaired it for the Ottaways, a process which took two years. Mice had eaten the glue joints, and there were no brass pipes in the organ, having been reportedly removed for the war effort between 1941-1945. Additionally, the organ was water damaged, which took time and skill to repair. The Joyland Wurlitzer was one of only two Mammoth organs still in existence, and at the time was the only one available for public viewing.

After delivery of the completed organ to Joyland, Gibbs stayed on with the Ottaways, being one of only three people throughout the tenure of Joyland to maintain the organ and its creepy clown player.

Joyland’s Louie the Clown

Perhaps the most memorable part of the park for some, Louie was an essential part of the Joyland Wurlitzer experience. The story goes that the Ottaways acquired Louie at an amusement park tradeshow they were attending sometime in 1949.They purchased Louie for $750, and set him up in front of the organ, where he “pretended to play”, his randomized movements reportedly good enough to fool some guests.

Visitors either loved or hated Louie. He had a white face, painted with blue swirls amongst the classic clown makeup. Each season, he wore a new outfit. One visitor remembers: “I loved Louie. He was the first thing I’d run to see when I entered the park as a little girl, before hopping in line to ride the merry-go-round.”

“Louie was very important to the park and the whole atmosphere of going to Joyland, It just provided excitement instantly as you walked into this park,” said Hal Ottaway, son of Harold. Excitement, or fear, it was always hard to tell which.

Original Darkride at Joyland

During the Joyland Central years, Dodgem (bumper cars) was one of the most popular rides. When the two parks were merged into one, management decided to install both Dodgem rides in the park to double capacity. The idea, of course, being that two must be better than one. This didn’t work in practice, and so one of the buildings was closed.

This closed building was reused, however, as the park’s first dark ride, a one-story fright house common for the era. Some sources say that the Philadelphia Toboggan Company may have been involved. The ride later was updated with a safari theme, including lions, alligators, snakes, and other scares.

Porky the Paper Eater

Not a ride, but memorable still the same, Porky the Paper Eater was also there at Joyland from the beginning. Porky was developed by Harry J. Batt Associates for the Ponchartrain Beach fun center. He is one of several models, which also include Leo the Lion and Pepe the Clown.

Joyland’s Porky was housed in a mushroom, where he waited for visitors to bring him trash to suck up through his open mouth (a vacuum). Slightly menacing from an adult perspective now, kids at the time loved Porky.

“Porky was the best thing because the kids would run all over picking up trash,” Roger Nelson said.

Booming Business at Joyland

Joyland worked with the State Department to help promote their park in the first few years. The Ottaways were cognizant that they wanted to promote the park differently, in order to avoid comparisons with the carnivals of the time, which were seen as “seedy”. They took a number of tacts, including humanizing themselves and tying the welfare of their park to the growth of Wichita.

The Ottaways also took surveys to identify their target audience: most of the Joyland attendees, at least in the first few years, were from rural farms around Kansas. With this in mind, much of the early advertising was directed at the rural audience and not the city audience of the time. Since the Ottaways were all avid collectors of steam and gas engine tractors, they held “Steam Tractor Shows” and tractor-pulling contests at the park through at least 1956. (As an interesting side-bar, Herb Ottaway invented the steam-powered pogo stick!)

Programs were tied in with schools and the local police department. In one, the “School’s Out” party, students got free admission to the park by bringing in school supplies, which were then sent to partner schools in Europe by the state department. (This particular promotion occured in the years after the second World War, remember.) Films were then jointly taken at both Joyland and at the partner school, allowing for cross-promotion of all entities involved.

Other Local Joyland Promotions

Later on, Joyland offered a “good grades” promotion, where students would receive free entrance to the park with good grades on their report card. Wichita resident Erica Davis remembers, “My parents used to take me when report cards came out. It was an excellent motivator.”

Other promotions included days only for employees of local groups and businesses, such as the local aviation industry. Resident Jaqueline DeFever remembers: “My Dad worked at Beech Aircraft and they had nights where if you brought a can of pop you got in free. We would go all the time! Loved the Tilt-A-Whirl, Log Jam and Whacky Shack! Super scary!”

The Sale of Ottaway Amusement Company

In 1948, with the park business booming, the Ottaways had their hands full, and couldn’t devote the attention to their miniature train business, Ottaway Amusement Co. They sold their train business to Harold Chance, who continued to build the miniature steam trains, adding gasoline and electric powered trains to the fleet.

Chance built some new trains for the park in 1951 as part of the transaction: a set of ABA Santa Fe Streamliners, sleek and modern in contrast to the more classic styling of the Ottaway model that had opened the park.

By 1961, Harold Chance had incorporated Chance Rides, which went on to become the largest amusement ride manufacturer in the world.

The Joyland Pool

In the 1950s, after Joyland had been open for several years, it was time for renovations, including the Olympic-sized pool. This pool had a tall slide and high dives, and if you forgot your swimsuit, you could buy a Joyland pair right at the park.

The pool was, unsurprisingly, a huge crowd-pleaser during the hot summers, when air conditioning wasn’t a regular feature in the average home.

Resident Angi Amos remembers: “I remember as a little girl getting to go to the pool that was there for years. That pool seemed so big, and the slide was so tall. The diving boards were really high up. There were always a lot of people in and around the pool.”

Joyland later won an award in 1964 for its “Moonlight Swim” promotion, in conjunction with the local radio station KLEO.

Joyland’s New Frontier Town

Kansas celebrated its centennial as a state in 1961. To celebrate, Joyland added an old West town section, called “Frontier Town”. This old West section had a genuine old Aitchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway caboose, which had originally been built in the 1920s. This new section also had a general store, dry goods, and saloon. Of course, an old West town wouldn’t be complete without “cowboys” who regularly performed shootouts on the town’s main street, much to the delight of Joyland’s visitors.

Passing of the Joyland Torch

Life at Joyland was moving along smoothly, and the atmosphere was thrilling. “I walked through the screams, shots, cries, laughter, music, bells, buzzers, rails, rollers, rides, explosions, flashing lights and grinding gears,” guest John Roe said, describing the atmosphere of the park. Joyland park continued to increase in popularity with guests.

So…

In the mid-1960s, the Ottaways retired from the park business (Lester had passed away in the 1950s).

The original steam train retired with them, moving into their personal collection. A new train joined the park in its place, in 1961, manufactured by Harold Chance and Chance Rides. It was the first-ever C. P. Huntington miniature train from Chance Rides, and it came with serial number 1 from the factory.

“Joyland’s train really launched Chance Rides,” said Larry Breitenstein, National Sales Director at Chance Rides, some time later. The C. P. Huntington miniature train is one of Chance Rides’ most popular offerings.

Joyland would continue in a new chapter under the ownership of Stanley and Margaret Nelson.

We’ll continue next week with the second half of the Joyland story.

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References

I’ve included a complete list of references used while researching this topic. It’s hidden under the link for brevity.

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