Might Wichitans still get a chance to play at Wild West World? It’s encouraging that a California theme park company this week expressed interest in purchasing the amusement park for $12 million; one company official called the park a “tremendous opportunity.” If the deal goes through, the park could be open for the 2008 season. That would be a win not just for Park City but for the entire county.
Wichita still needs a major amusement park. Let’s hope a deal goes through that gives this attraction a chance to succeed.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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35 Comments
Wichita still needs a major amusement park.Posted by Randy Scholfield
Why? Who decides that?
Another waste of taxpayer money to support this project. Probably give them some tax credits or this or that.
For something I do not believe we need.
It’d probably work without Fox affiliation.
Park Empty City sure can use some good news.
I see it as good news. Hopefully the deal goes through without Tom messing it up.
Why is it a good thing that the city is going to run Cowtown but Wild West World needs an investor?
Please be consistent in your philosophy Randy.
Quick, Wichita–set up a special sales tax so poor people can be taxed to make rich people richer.
Don’t let this opportunity for welfare for the wealthy pass you by . . .
Unless the new owner puts another $30 - 40 million into it for some great rides and landscaping, it still won’t work.
Wichita still needs a major amusement park. Let’s hope a deal goes through that gives this attraction a chance to succeed.
Whatever happens dont let Sedgwickians vote on any thing to do with this, They dont like outsiders to spend their money here.
How much money will our schools get, at least a penny I hope. Maybe we shouldnt even give the school system a budget, we will give them all the taxes. After all if everything that ever happens doesnt give the school systems at least a penny the sky will fall and schools will lose money because they did not increase their money. I am going to my boss right now and tell him that unless I get a raise every time they get a new customer I’m not going to be able to work here anymore. Maybe we should only let him buy if the state says all of his profit should go to the school systems, that is what seems to be the issue if someone wants to open a business here.
Are we sure that we can trust a source of entertainment to open in Sedgwick County. After all I think we need to consider the possibility of everyone spending all their money and then going on a crime spree. And what about our schools!
And our economy would fail if we let the entertainment industry just run rampant opening things that could bring sales tax dollars into our county. And oh no dont get me started on our schools.
I am very worried about being able to have a source of entertainment that close to where I live. I would feel alot safer if it was located an extra 5 to 10 minutes farther away. Especially if it would mean the 1100 jobs could go to a different county and we could send 250 of our people to the unemployment line. And what about the unrelated topic of our schools!
A I most certainly do not want to give our economy the kind of boost this might bring. And dont forget the schools who are not really related to this conversation.
Schools
Schools
I am part of a religion that believes carnival rides are evil so I disagree with this and want everyone to believe the way I do. If you dont then your wrong. and dont forget about the schools which has absolutely nothing to do with this.
oh yeah and by the way schools.
Maybe, because there’s an infrastructure established, there is hope.
But you’ve got to remember the basic *theme* of this theme park is not a hot marketing hook.
When Baby Boomers were wearing Hopalong Cassidy suits, shooting Roy Rogers cap guns, and hoping Chuck Conners’ “Rifleman” came on Channel 10 before bedtime… maybe then there’d be a marketable theme.
Amusement parks these days need adventure rides, and that’s not riding around in a stagecoach.
The voters have spoken so there’s no chance “Wild West World” could re-create Wichita’s historic Keno Corner or saloons. In a real “Wild West World” the girls wouldn’t need pasties, but there would be rooms upstairs.
Maybe an adult theme park could leverage the concept into a working enterprise, but it’s not gonna happen in Wichita.
Long time,
That is a great idea, but how much money would the school systems lose because of this?
Have some cheese with that disgruntled.
Ben, your still just an idiot.
;^)
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
LOL ROTF
When we used to sit around doing nothing during training with the Marines for hours on end we would usually talk about 3 things…
1. How we would rob a bank.
2. How we could go on a shooting spree
3. What kind of amusement park we sould build.
Skipping the first two… LOL
I have to agree, the whole Wild West theme seems pretty silly.
I understand why they chose it, but it doesn’t have the same ring as Worlds of Fun or Six Flags…
I hope the park does continue on. I really want a good rollar coaster. The best park I ever went to in my opinion of Cedar Point.
Speaking of which, I would love to go back to.
They had so many rollar coasters that they were like the small silly rides with no lines.
I loved it.
boy, if we could build the park us Marines thought of…. WOW
I can still open a makeshift casino in my basement, or I suppose thats wrong to. :-}
I know that the Greyhound Park ask for a re-count of the votes. After gaining another 100 votes from 1800 provisional ballots, a hand count of the 17,000 paper ballots seemed to be pretty reasonable. The vote needs to swing 250 in their favor. While hand counting paper ballots may be still another long-shot.
They are paying for it, if anybody wants to know.
The best park I ever went to in my opinion of Cedar Point.
Posted by: Nathan | August 15, 2007 at 03:26 PM
Where is this?
Disgruntled - Didn’t you see the news where 18 people were arrested for gambling in a home? Sorry, no can do.
What I find funny about the Casino ads, either on TV or on Billboards around town is that they always show people wearing tuxedos and evening cocktail dresses throwing dice at a craps table. Like you really going to see people like that at Kaw Southwind Casino pole barn. LOL!
If Marines are building a theme park where does the shooting gallery go? Or the obsticle course? Would there be an opportunity to go jogging while chanting some ridiculous rah rah song? Can I go and learn how to disassemble my M-16? Do I have to give it a woman’s name? And do the visitors of said theme park get shot or just detained without a trial?
I never wore a tuxedo to Southwind, but I wore a pretty darn fancy pair of sandles one time.
TDT,I will keep it limited to 17 than
I never made it to WWW while it was open. I got to see it right before it opened and it seemed small and cheesy. If this deal goes through, the buyers will get it for something like 44 cents on the dollar. I hope that gives them some incentive to improve it and maybe enlarge it.
If this California company wants to buy Wild West World, then I hope they make it work.
I’m wondering if the new company will honor the season passes that were sold.
I’ve never been there myself but I did drive past it one day. It does look rather small but what did we expect it would be? There is just not that much tourist draw in Wichita Kansas.
Part of the reason there is not much tourist draw in Kansas is because of people like the no no vote group, who does not want any tourists or their monies.
ComCare can help you.
Absolutely let someone else take it over, get the religious radical connection out, change the THEME of the park, and get some big shade trees.
TDT,
http://www.cedarpoint.com/
It is in Sandusky, Ohio.
Best Amusement park I have ever been to. In America.
I had alot of fun at Ratanga Junction in Cape Town. Everything was cheaper in the park than out in town. Much better than 20 dollars for a hot dog and soda at some of the parks here.
Yeah, change the theme name at the very lease.Wild West World sounds too much like Frontier Land down south of here.
WWW needs built up to rival Worlds of Fun.
While the potential new owner of the WWW seems promising, a look at the potential buyers is really skeptical.
This is a company barely making any money and only records assets of $1 million dollars, which most of it is cash on hand.
They were losing $120,000 a quarter last year, but sold some property and now only cleared $5000 in 3 months of this year.
It’s a Publicly traded company, but penny stock and on the over the counter bulletin board. The share price is $0.12 a share. They begin trading as a public company in 2004.
How can a company with only a million dollars buy WWW for $12 million without borrowing?
Something doesn’t add up. They are kind of fishy.
Joe - good points. Especially with the current turmoil in the credit markets caused by ‘dubious’ lending.
Econ - if you are out there care to comment? This is your territory.
They better put in a good rollar coaster.
Ben! You’re right! Try to borrow in this climate.
They can issue more shares, but at $.12 a pop, I doubt seriously they will raise any money that way.
Check out their website. They only have one staff person running the entire operation.
It’s not that I don’t want them to buy it. They can! But I seriously doubt they can flood the park with cash and build it up with new rides and a good rollercoaster.
Maybe they found a deep pocket investor, I don’t know.
I guess anything is better than having the weeds overtake the park.
But they are going to have to come up with more than a $1 million in cash for operating and working capital on this park. Not including to pony up the $12 to buy it.
And I seriously doubt a bank in town will lend out money to this park again.
When we used to sit around doing nothing during training with the Marines for hours on end we would usually talk about 3 things…
1. How we would rob a bank.
2. How we could go on a shooting spree
3. What kind of amusement park we sould build.
You must have been NEW Corps, or something else entirely. Because during the twenty years I spent in the Corps, young Marines did not talk about the above.
Marine talk about:
1. Women2. Women3. Booze