Bring Joyland back

Now after three years of the park being closed, the city of Wichita is coming together to reopen the park. Joyland Restoration Facebook creators 17-year- old Alex East and Wichita State college student Kira Johnson are trying to raise $20 million to reopen the park as a non-profit organization.

"We are really hoping to purchase and renovate and reopen by April 2013," East said.

The organization is trying to raise 1.5 million dollars to purchase the park and to file the non-profit taxable forms. The process of filing the tax forms is a long expensive process.

According to ncstac.org, there are fees for becoming incorporated, which is $20, cost to purchase checks and open a new bank account, $100, Mailing and filing expenses, $50, submission fee to IRS with form 1023, $500, purchase liability insurance ranges from $300-$600, volunteer labor and equipment, tax lawyer, $200-$500, bookkeeper and accountant and fund raising will become a consideration and the IRS will want to know how they will intend to proceed with necessary processes.

They are starting with a fundraiser at Grace Point Church in Wichita on Friday April 15 from 6-8 p.m. At the fundraiser they will have a local band, art work for donation, bake sale, donation boxes and many other sellers giving money to the program.

"There was a girl on Facebook that was bashing my age and telling us how a bake sale wouldn't work," East said. "But as of right now, we are just planning as many fundraisers as we can to get through the approval process."

The park has sold many of its rides to other places but the Round Up, the Zumur, Dodge'm, Tilt-a-Whirl, Log Jam, Giant Slide, Paratrooper, Ferris Wheel, Scrambler, Roller Coaster, Sky Coaster and Louie the Clown are still at the park.

"We had an owner of a construction company come out two weeks ago and take a look at the park," East said. "He said that the buildings and rides, even the roller coaster, are still stable but just needed some reinforcement."

They all hope to make it a retro 50s theme park.

If the park fails to come together after April 2013, the money they have raised will go to local charities in the Wichita area that are best for the overall community.

East said that when he was little, his family would go one or two times a week to Joyland, and when it closed he really missed it. It was a place that didn't change or get boring. Now the only thing to do is go to a movie or bowling.

On June 12, 1949, Joyland Amusement Park made its way into many Wichitan's hearts when it officially opened its doors as the closest amusement park to the Wichita area.

Joyland was founded by Lester Ottaway and his sons Herbert and Harold. After the Ottaway brothers retired from the park in the 1960s, the park was sold to Stanley and Margaret Nelson. The Nelson's then sold the park in 2006 to Seattle based T-Rex Group which was known for saving small parks in Washington.

The Nelson's filed a law suit in 2008, along with Star Lumber, against Michael Moodenbaugh and Robert Barnard for not being able to pay the money to lease the park and for not paying back what was loaned to them.

In the Wichita Eagle in 2008 Moodenbaugh stated that they just didn't have enough money to fix everything and pay for all the business aspects of running Joyland too.

"It was like no other," East said. "It was unique and hard to explain the feeling of Joyland, but it was a great memory for everyone."