Wild West World
Encyclopedia
Park City, Kansas
Park City is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States; it is a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297.-History:...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
that opened on May 5, 2007 and closed on July 9, 2007. It was located on 130 acres (52.6 ha) along Interstate 135
Interstate 135
Interstate 135 is a 95.7-mile-long Interstate Highway in central and south-central Kansas, USA. I-135 runs between the cities of Salina and Wichita. The interstate's northern terminus is at the junction of Interstate 70 and its southern terminus is with Interstate 35 .Until 1976, I-135 was...
near Wichita
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
.
History
Wild West World was owned, developed and operated by Thomas and Cheryl Etheredge doing business as Wild West World, LLC. and Restoration Farms, Inc.. The couple also owned the Prairie Rose Chuck Wagon entertainment venue in Butler CountyButler County, Kansas
Butler County is a county located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 65,880. Its county seat and most populous city is El Dorado. The county is a part of the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area.-19th century:It was named in...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
The announcement for the theme park appeared in the Wichita Eagle on December 19, 2004. Groundbreaking for the development began on August 15, 2005. The park was billed as the only all-western theme park in the world, and the first major theme park in Kansas. The claim to being the only all-western theme park is a mere technicality because Frontier City in Oklahoma City, OK, has one non-western-themed ride ("Mindbender") in an otherwise western-themed park. According to the Hutchinson News Wild West World's rides were off-the-shelf carnival
Traveling carnival
A traveling carnival is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, animal acts or sideshow curiosities. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park, but is moved from...
attractions dressed up in a western facade.
Closure
On July 9, 2007, barely two months after the park opened, the owners filed for bankruptcyBankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
and closed it down. They cited lagging attendance and bad weather as the main factors for the decision, but experts also point to an inadequate business plan and a poor theming choice. The Etheredge's were also forced to close and sell the Prairie Rose Chuck Wagon. The park was for sale, and the owners publicly stated that they hoped to reopen it in the future. However, no sale materialized. The park fixtures, equipment, and materials were auctioned by Bud Palmer Auctions. A few empty buildings are all that remain of the park, but all remaining structures and landscaping were auctioned off November 6, 2010 so that the site could be bulldozed and prepared for future development.
External links
- Wichita Eagle coverage of the Wild West World bankruptcy
- Bud Palmer Auctions Web site (Bankruptcy auctioneer)