Joyland Memories

Joyland’s Famous Roller Coaster

Just a relatively short trip south on Hillside brought one to Joyland Park.  It was huge and it had almost everything a young person could desire.  There was a swimming pool; a huge, wooden roller coaster; snow cones and other snacks galore; a fun house; a Ferris wheel; and everything one would expect plus a few fun experiences one might not expect.  Bring some money and choose your fun.

What to do first?  Would it be an afternoon swim with friends, a thrilling ride on the roller coaster, or some other excitement awaiting on the fifty-eight acre site?

Joyland opened in 1949 and was in its heyday as we grew up in Wichita.  All of us knew Joyland, and many of us will remember its excitement as a destination for unbridled fun! Admittedly, not everyone loved the place, much as some people do not find joy in clowns. Joyland closed in 2004 and is slated for significant redevelopment as its second act. The Joyland carousel is now on display at Botanica, a gift from the Ottaway family that owned Joyland.

Lee Ayres: I went to the Joyland pool a lot in the summer. We lived near Hillside and Lincoln; it was a long bus ride with a transfer to get to the municipal pool at Sims Park. So it was an easy choice to hop on my bicycle and ride a mile and a half south on Hillside to the Joyland swimming pool. (In 7th grade, it was a very big deal that my mother gave me the ok for me to ride my bike that far).   Neighbors Art Casado,  Don Trees and Dean Britting often went swimming at Joyland as well.  I remember that the water was  really cold, no matter how hot the day, and the diving board was really high. My dad worked for Boeing and they sponsored  an annual event for their employees and families at Joyland. Imagine! Free roller coaster rides, free food and free soft drinks, all day! That was the first and last time I drank as many Dr. Pepper’s as I could drink.  

Jake Jacobs: Gerald (Jake) Jacobs remembers that his first date at Roosevelt was with Sharon Cone. She invited him on the date and they went to Joyland with another couple. Sharon’s brother drove.

Jake also remembers the high diving board at the Joyland pool.  He remembers particularly the time he dove off the board and found his swimming trunks moving down by his knees.  He said it took some athleticism to  keep from drowning while trying to get attired in order to get out of the pool!

Marcia Benjamin O’Donnell: I didn’t go to Joyland that much.  I remember swimming there and going off the middle diving board, but I was too terrified to try the high one.

Janice Collins Bailey:  My memories of Joyland  are mostly about the Lions Club Day. I only rode the kiddie rides. Mom never let us have pop at home or Koolaid, so Kim and I  loaded up with free pop. I do know something about the restoration of the Joyland Carousel that was donated to Botanica by the family that owned Joyland. You may have heard on the news that they have recovered the clown that was stolen, but not the organ he played.

Barb Hammond: Like my friends, my family didn’t go to Joyland. We went a few times to Kiddie Land for little brother’s and sister’s birthdays, which I enjoyed because it was so tame. I went to Joyland once in high school – with some girls, don’t remember who. Like Janice, I favored the merry-go-round, but didn’t want to look like a wimp. I wasn’t brave enough to ride the Ferris Wheel, but I wanted to appear to be a “typical teenager,” so I swallowed my fear and got on the roller coaster. Totally terrified me and I never went back. I think by now I could enjoy a Ferris Wheel.

Diane Rusch Zinn: We lived only a few blocks from Joyland. Often at night when my bedroom window was open, I could hear screams of excitement, from the roller coaster riders I presume.  As a family, we only went there a couple of times.  Once, when my dad was swinging the sledge hammer to see if he could ring the bell, he accidentally hit his brow with the hammer, and it bled profusely.  We went home directly after that incident. 

I loved all of the rides except one, and I don’t recall its name.  It was a long thing with an enclosed seat for two persons on each end that went up and down with the cages also spinning around.  One ride on that was enough for me. 

As for the swimming pool, I had an experience similar to Jake’s.  I jumped off the high dive and to my embarrassment, my one-piece suit fell to my waist.  I struggled under the water to become decent before I surfaced.  I never went off that board again. 

And who knows, maybe you were lucky enough to purchase a fifteen cent hamburger and a ten cent bag of French fries at McDonald’s, which was near Harry and Hillside, on your way home.   The first in Kansas,  this McDonald’s opened February 4, 1960, only a couple of years after McDonald’s started business as a national chain in California. 

You can share your own memories of Joyland in the Comment box below or send to Fred Elder (elder@engr.wisc.edu).