Joyland - Abandoned Amusement Park - Wichita, Kansas

Joyland was a popular amusement park in Wichita, Kansas, from 1949-2004. Now there are only a few abandoned buildings and rides remaining. I never got to visit Joyland, but I wish I would have. A lot of people from the Kansas region speak fondly of the park. Check out this video of what is left!

Follow my travels:

MUSIC
Waiting - Andrew Langdon
I'll Remember You - Jeremy Blake

[marlenac]

Born and raised in Wichita Kansas, this is truly heartbreaking😢 so so many fond childhood memories of riding the roller coaster over and over again. It's a shame to see it reduced to piles of rubble💔 Thank you for the memories

[davebuser]

As a Wichita native living in Columbus for the past few decades, that was pretty intense to watch. Joyland was part of my childhood and I'm sure even more my parents' and grandparents' childhoods. Mixing in the heyday footage with the ruins was super bittersweet. Nice work. Cheers!

[johnnyjones]

Seeing this video now makes my heart heavy. It looks nothing like when I was a kid and it was full of life and laughter and screams from the roller coaster. My friends and myself had so many great times at joyland.

[kandipiatkowski]

I worked at Joyland during the 87, 88, and 89 seasons. I was able to tour the park after it was abandoned. It made me very sad. The buildings had to be torn down because people kept breaking in and setting fires. Even tho Margaret (the owner) tried to take the necessary measures to prevent break ins, it still kept happening. The city stepped in, and Margaret was forced to tear down the remaining buildings in order to avoid more fires. It's sad that she was the one who got in trouble, even tho she tried to keep people from breaking in.

[erikwolfarng]

It is so surreal to see videos like this. I find myself watching the camera view as you walk around thinking, "That's where I stood! That's where I was!".

I was fortunate to live in a neighborhood close by and got to visit Joyland many times in its greatest days. In fact, My elementary School (Still there by the way) is right across the street. It was absolute TORTURE to be a child in class and hearing the sound of the "Toy Train" as it drove past. Teachers would cover the windows so we would stay focused on class rather than staring outside in hopes of catching a glimpse of the train as it rolled by. Ahhhh memories.

[lakarachilders]

As a person born and raised in Wichita I have fond memories of Joy and. From going there on Easter Sunday, bringing my report card for admission, riding the train, the roller coaster, the creepy clown playing the wirlitzer and of course the wacky shack! It's so sad that it is no more. I live out here by Joyland and I drive by it often and I can't help but shed tears when I drive past. So many memories of my childhood.

[jackietatum]

I was born in St. Joe, MO., and moved to Arizona when I was 4 years old.. all of my relatives still live in NE Kansas and I went to Joyland a few times in the 80's when we came back to visit each summer! When I got old enough, we just to went to Worlds of Fun lol

Thank you for this video! You're so sweet, I thought you were going to cry! I was getting teary eyed!

[kellytaylor-zm]

I was born and raised in Wichita Kansas. I moved to Texas as an adult in 2002. This is so HEART BREAKING! My childhood memories are gone. 😭

[kencarp]

Thanks for this video! I grew up in the 1960s on the other side of that highway to the west, and I attended what was then Sowers Elementary School that is visible in the background in a portion of your video.

It's heartbreaking to me to see the ruins of Joyland. I spent many happy days there in the 60s as a kid - riding the roller coaster many times; riding the Scrambler, the Rock-O-Plane, the train, the Ferris Wheel, the Carousel, the Safari ride, the bumper cars, and all of the other rides there; watching the big Wurlitzer Organ played by Louis the clown; putting trash in Porky the Paper Eater's mouth; walking around the old West area; and roller skating at the roller rink they built sometime in the 60s.

I also remember a big rocket ride that went round and round up into the air, with cars that looked like spaceships on the ends of long arms that could move up and down hydraulically... you could make your "rocket" car go up and down using a little stick in the car, like an airplane. I don't remember there being any seatbelts in those little "rockets"! I also remember riding a being a ride like that at Walt Disney World much later... in the late 1990s, I think.

The log ride must have been built after we moved away from Wichita in 1970, I think... I don't remember ever riding it. And of course, the Wacky Shack came long after I was no longer in Wichita.

I have watched many videos of Joyland here on YT and elsewhere. I watched a video somewhere showing the demolition of what remained of the roller coaster. It was very sad.

I like to remember Joyland as it was in the 1960s when I visited the park so often. I remember that we received free Joyland tickets at the end of each school term - 3 for each A, 2 for each B, and 1 for each C... I was a good student, and I always received a bunch of tickets each year!

[kevinintheusa]

I worked at Joyland from 1972 to 1976 and had the best time ever since it was my first job. I started at the Go Cart track but then I was moved to the rides. I was taught to run all the rides and I used to take patrons in groups from one ride to another in the Summer heat. In my last 6 months, I ran the Wacky Shack and had a blast scaring folks. My dad retired to Myrtle Beach, SC and we moved in the Fall of 1976. I got a job with the MB Pavilion since I had experience running rides. Good times. I met, my now wife, at MB Pavilion in 1977 and we have two great kids and a lifetime of memories around rides and amusement parks.

[christinachavez]

Born and raised in Wichita remember going there during school events and kfdi day

[RailRidersUnited]

This makes me almost cry. I have so many fond memories of joyland from when I was a kid. The wacky shack, the swings, the log jam, the sky coaster, the go karts, even the bumper boats. And I'll never forget that organ playing clown! remember and miss Barnacle Bills!

[tammylawrence]

I moved to Kansas from Maryland about a month ago. Your channel is giving me a new perspective on my new home state. Thank you.

[BrianMills-bi]

I loved Joyland! I remember the school trips and KFDI listener appreciation days so fondly

[ALthePAL]

We lived in Wichita in 1970-1972 and from 1975 on. If you took your report card to Joyland they would give you ride tickets for good grades...the better the grades, the more tickets you got. So we always went at least once a year. Sometimes my dad's company rented the entire park for a company picnic and we got unlimited rides. If you rode in the last car of the roller coaster, you could actually feel the car come off the rails momentarily coming over some of the rises. But my absolute favorite thing there were the bumper cars! When we moved back in 1975, I was a teenager and my friends and I went occasionally. It was a great time, and sad to see it reduced to rubble today. Thanks for the walk-through.

[jljordan]

Used to attend school with a gal whose grandparents owned it, The Nelson’s. We’d always go on school field trips there, and look for coupons in the paper for unlimited free rides, since it operated like the fair rides (it costs tickets!). Always had a fun time in the wacky shack! Supposedly there’s another “wacky shack” somewhere around, I was told this when picking up my wacky shack shirt at Vortex souvenirs in Delano!

I graduated high school in 2003 and went to Wichita State before I became a nurse, but our school started scheduling the trips to Kansas City’s Worlds of Fun instead because Joyland wasn’t really keeping up with maintenance in the late 90s. But we still had fun! Thanks for the memories 🥹

[Roybwatchin]

When you walked up onto the roller coaster platform, it brought back a flood of memories for me. I went to Joyland all throughout my childhood, with my family and also many school fieldtrips over the years. I'm just thankful that I was able to take my two sons there when they were little, they are now 33 and 30 yrs old. Sad to see it in this condition. Thanks for posting this video.

[sarajuanaict]

How depressing. I loved joyland so much 💜💚❤

[lynettevulgamore]

So many memories of joyland, loved going there. Took my boys there when they were young.
It's such a shame they couldn't save it.

[vendettavan]

so many memories; i remember thinking i was so brave for riding in the front seat on the roller coaster but the wacky shack and log jam was probably my favorites.