The Abandoned & Fraudulent History of Wild West World Theme Park: BBQ, Bankruptcy & The FBI

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

What Extinct Theme Park do you miss?

[@MrClean-real]

Skibidi Toilet land

[@Tenore1921]

Terra Encantada in Rio de Janeiro. It had the best coaster in all of Brazil (Monte Makaya, the first Intamin 8 inversion coaster), and an overall wonderful magical vibe that I can’t quite explain. When it first opened, it was the largest and most modern theme park in all of Latin America; it even had the first IMax cinema in all of Brazil! Unfortunately an accident in one of its rides in 2010 forced it to close. Nowadays, Rio doesn’t have a single decent amusement park in the entire state. It’s quite sad really

[@Feelthefelt]

Americana.

[@Amusementnational]

Camelot. I miss that park so much 😢

[@reddragon8488]

I haven't been to any of them, but some parks that I would have liked to visit would be MGM grand adventures in Las Vegas, zygofolis in Nice and Kamakura cinema world in Kamakura.

[@tfromcleveland3741]

8:33 That date shocked me. This screamed 70’s to me, even the pictures 😂

[@GoetiaTV]

I did a double-take a few times because I couldn’t believe this was in the 00s

[@Emplordxiii]

@@GoetiaTV common handheld cameras, both photo and video, at the time were still pretty bad quality. Hence, why it looks older than it was.

[@renegadetenor]

Personally I liked the idea, but have to admit that it was very 50s/60s in concept..

[@phantomkrieger2744]

Same, wouldn’t be out of place in the 70s, but for the early 2000s this whole thing was incredibly dated and that mascot made me cringe internally.

[@DystopianOverture]

I thought this was in the 70s aswell 🤨😂

[@MrMatteeG1]

I was attending Wichita State University during this era and remember this fiasco well! I still don't know anyone who actually went to the park (we could all see it was a bust from the start), but I remember the big cowboy sign on the highway! It was fun to see this come up on your page! Thanks for all of the hard work and research you put into it. It's a fascinating story!

[@truequeen2875]

Went there, my mom bought all us kids, PLUS all her grandkids, season passes. Went ONE time and it was completely dead. I was afraid to ride some rides and half the rides weren't even operating.

[@AddableStone13]

That sign sat there for years. All that remains now is the hotel.

[@toupac3195]

Yeah it was depressing. Had our hopes up. We desperately need family entertainment here.

[@BeckyGard]

My sister went she said it was horrible

[@TheHallFamilyAdventures]

Now the hotel is owned by the casino

[@MatecaCorp]

I’m so glad you covered this park! The story is absolutely wild! I get the feeling that someone willing to truly own up to his mistakes would not be on the run from the law for multiple years lol

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Crazy!

[@masterjoda999]

A greasy shyster, on the other hand, definitely would.

[@ParkerBlank]

Nice pun nyeheheheheh

[@drblais5193]

conservative white men never own their crimes

[@Thelightning1out]

expedition theme park posting within the span of 11 days is so rare

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It’s true 🤣

[@JustinCoasters]

He posted, Rested for 7 days, then Rose again, Duh

[@labor_mel]

my whole homepage has been like this too lol! the spring equinox is providing a bountiful harvest

[@demonlver13]

But so amazing

[@kellark]

He gets so distracted by Jackie he just cant get work done.

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

Thank you SO MUCH for covering this one! As a Kansas native, I was hoping (and asking) that you'd cover 'Wild West World' eventually! I can't tell you how many times we drove past that abandoned property, and my dad would lament/rant about how he would never be able to take us, and how much it screwed up the local economy. This park became LEGEND for several years for just how big a fiasco it was! XD =\

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

@@ExpeditionThemePark I always do! I'm a subscriber. Can't wait for the next one! =)

[@so-calseany1176]

FBI and fugitives tied to an abandoned theme park?!? Happy Easter to us, indeed!!!!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Aha it’s a crazy story

[@MrSkerpentine]

This is the reason Jesus gets up every year ‼️ 🗣🗣🗣

[@eightiesman]

Some more context to this as I lived in this area. The infamous "Greensburg" F-5 Tornado happened days after the park opened. Also the arrest of the BTK killer happened 2 years before this park opened in the same town, Park City, Kansas. And the Chinese acrobats who were hired to perform at Wild West World were stranded without pay and any way to get back home when the park closed.

[@raygunsforronnie847]

WWW and Thomas Etheredge's involvement with the Park City Bluegrass Festival played a role in the financial troubles the Festival had. Etheredge gave the Festival use of the Johnny Western Theater for free, but "free" didn't include anything but the 4 walls and roof. Technicians, equipment, catering for performers had to be in-house, lots of add on expenses. They paid their bill and didn't have enough to continue forward. Or so I was told a few years later.

[@GiraffeLoverJen]

I'm from Wichita. My brother worked at the Subway sub shop in Park City. I had never heard about the Chinese acrobats being stranded.

[@md-1]

I once drove through Park City and stopped at the 7-11 for gas, after BTK, after opening, before tornado, met the acrobats, ate a subway sammy,... and then drove home.

[@downychick]

I too, lived in the area then. We always have bad weather. It's Kansas! It is either too cold, too hot, too wet, too dry, or too windy to enjoy a lot of outside activities. We get good days in spring and fall, if we are lucky. Even Worlds of Fun in KC has bad stretches due to weather. He should have just stuck with the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper. It seemed quite successful.

[@GiraffeLoverJen]

@downychick the year this opened seemed to have a lot more bad weather than normal. I remember driving past thinking how much of a mess the ground must be in there. I agree that they should have just stuck with the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon.

[@Replicaate]

The phrase "the Karate Kid's dad sued" is not one I expected to hear...well, anywhere.

[@richardmoo9066]

turns out he was a private investor....AND his parents BOUGHT the theme park for 1.5 mil....

[@OutdoorsWithShawn]

Look into Lake City Amusement Park in Guntersville, Alabama. It's probably the 2nd shortest lived park at 2 months and 10 days.

[@SaberFox]

YES!! It's about time someone did a true deep dive on WWW! My friends and I recently attempted to contact them, yet sadly they never accepted a interview. I'm a local in this area and I thank you for doing a deep dive on WWW!

[@kirtemoon529]

You need to know your editing is so good that I actually fr thought that they just straight up wrote “Bankruptcy” on a building

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

That makes the time i spent making that worth it hahaha

[@caraiya]

Same, the other features too.

[@offrails]

There was a time when wild west theme parks were all the rage - Ghost Town in the Sky, Six Gun Territory, etc., but many of those parks have long since closed - often due to the decline in interest in the Wild West genre and tougher competition. Had the place opened in the 60s, the story might have ended differently.

[@Neville60001]

That park _should've_ had a s sci-fi/fantasy theme, then it would've made money.

[@Neville60001]

@@SomeTypicalTourist, with what we now know about history, the Wild West doesn't work anymore, which is why this theme park failed.

[@carwashadamcooper1538]

Silver Dollar City and Dollywood are still going!

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

Nah, the real interest was during the fifties...by the sixties, there were a lost fewer new cowboy shows being made. In the seventies, a new kind of cowboy show started being made...more realistic, gritty. That helped revive interest for a bit.

[@noelcook2389]

​@Neville60001 nah the problem is how much people will come you probably need 5 million customers per year.and probably need Make 250 million and Kansas doesn't have that many people

[@ShayneMcGuire]

The Will Smith Wild Wild West reference in the into is top tier

[@Wnick1996]

Wild West World truly had a faith worthy of the name. It became a real ghost town, just as many towns did back then

[@emilymalinowski5027]

😮

[@teamsteed1]

Woah! :O

[@tracetobin690]

It's so rare to see any content on WWW, but it's content I've been missing! I was lucky enough to visit as a kid, and had forgotten that it was connected to the Chuckwagon Supper (which was also so cool as a kid)! Thanks for covering!! Joyland was another Wichita amusement park you mentioned that I'd love to see covered one day!

[@kelseycrider329]

I was supposed to go to WWW 2 weeks after they locked up and left. I never did get to go.

[@Lukinshed]

Yay!! I suggested this one awhile back. My whole family had season passes to this park!!

[@marquisehebbler9471]

How many times did y’all actually go?

[@Lukinshed]

@@marquisehebbler9471We went 4 times. It was raining 3 of them, the weather really was awful that year. I remember having a good time, we went with grandparents and some family from out of town in addition to opening weekend and one other random day. The unfinished condor ride was such a tease but we had hope they would open a wooden coaster around the lake (they showed a sample design somewhere in the park). Absolutely shocked when it closed only halfway through the season, I wager we got more use out of our passes than nearly anyone else haha.

[@laura6691]

The log flume shown at the beginning was actually located at Western Playland in El Paso. The park was later moved to New Mexico. I grew up going to that theme park in my hometown and the picture of that log flume brought back so many memories 😭

[@theycallmeobsessed]

OMGGG I remember this so vividly, my fam still has our season pass cards 🤣 we only went twice , over the years we’d drive by constantly on the interstate and see more and more of the park disappear

[@AcornElectron]

Got to appreciate the Easter Sunday upload!

[@PirateNovelist]

Always excited when I see a new upload! I learn so much from this channel and it makes my day when I see a new video!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy

[@muppetsretrofan8873]

This park has one of the craziest histories ever, right next to the Mr. Blobby theme parks. I feel bad for the people of Kansas, now they don't have ANY theme parks [unless you count Worlds of Fun which is actually on the Missouri side and is being neglected by Cedar Fair]. I always love learning about theme parks, especially abandonded ones. I do hope one day you can cover defunct restaurants and restaurants that have changed a lot over the years. As a 2000s person, I'm still sad I'll never get a chance to eat at Burger Chef, because their food looked super tasty, and they were also the originators of the Fun Meal [Mcdonald's stole the Happy Meal from Burger Chef].

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

You may get your hope sooner rather than later 😄

[@billchief397]

Neglected? They just built zambezi...is there another wof park somewhere else?

[@joeschmoe5009]

Dang, didnt think us wichita area people would get an episode here. Awesome! If you want another interesting park, Joyland was in wichita for decades, and parts of it still remain around town

[@OffendingTheOffendable]

Seems boring

[@mercdragons]

Joyland would have been rebuilt but wichita would not rezone the area for the new investors so they could expand with a water park.

[@thisisjustanchannel]

I don't mind if it doesn't happen but for your next expedition, could have a follow up part to your Thorpe park video on the start of the park?

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

I’m working on it currently so it won’t be too long

[@thisisjustanchannel]

Yay!!

[@trinamiller100]

I remember Wild West World when I was living in Wichita, KS. I went there with my elementary school friend during the end of my 5th grade when I was 11. But it’s short lived.

[@timerbunneh]

This was wild af (pun not intended) and kept me hooked. Can't say I've seen the FBI get involved in one of these before!

[@DCombz]

This was God (us, the player) creating that wild west theme park in ever roller coaster game ever and then abandoning it when we beat the scenario.

[@islayidiots713]

😂😂😂😂😂 I thought I recognised one of my parks from RCT !

[@willenewadkins]

Great vlog! Love the history and all of your research. That indeed was a truly frightening ride.

[@yugioht42]

That restaurant sounded a lot like the old ponderosa restaurant that was in Orlando which was run by Eddie Huang’s family. They ran western music every night and added an occasional mechanical bull once in a while. Oddly the family was Taiwanese and didn’t know jack about the Wild West. The old ponderosa sat on International drive but I think Ming court bought the land out in the 90s and created the near authentic Chinese dim sum restaurant in Orlando which now is the CVS near the convention center after clearing the land. Eddie currently works in New York and California as a restaurateur and the occasional defense lawyer as he is a lawyer as he did pass the bar. He just gets into trouble occasionally with noise complaints or the occasional public intoxication which he whittles down to the minimum fine. But he’s a powerful businessman who knows the restaurant world and the criminal world as he studied the court system.

[@BeckyGard]

I am from wichita ks. I CANNOT believe you did a story on this. My sister bought season pass to this park. Went once said it was HORRIBLE most of the rides didn't work, there was no shade. Theme parks are my fav. I'm still mad she went without me. And to clear something up the park was located on park city kansas. Thanks for the story.

[@charlottestreet3301]

Was there a reason why a lot of the rides weren't working. Also what the point of opening a fair or an amusement park with not many rides working.

[@UAPandFriends]

Gotta say mate, your research into each and every place is superb! Very pleased to subscribe!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Much appreciated!

[@provingmistermystic]

Can you do Universal's ET Adventure? Its my favorite ride.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It’s on my list to do for sure

[@krymsonuchiha14]

Omg... as someone who grew up going to Frontiertown in Ocean City, MD I needed to watch this!

[@paulroberts3643]

How am i just realising who you are! Been watching this channel and super enthused for ages lol. Just watched this video then a old thorpe park one where u showed pictures..i feel so dumb lol. Keep up the great work i love both the channels but love this one more.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you haha it’s true!

[@Makoto03]

Great video. I wasn't aware of this Wild West World theme park before.

[@SnowBunneh]

Same

[@princesskristan]

I never heard of this park before! This is gonna be intresting

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Hope you enjoy

[@Halo1Buff]

It didn't stay open long enough for anyone to really hear about it. Never even got the chance to go and live in the area.

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.

[@Diddgery]

i grew up in wichita and i remember the hype surrounding wild west world when it was first announced... i never got to actually go because it closed so fast.

[@getupkidsfan]

Dude, I really enjoy your videos! I appreciate the time you take to make them in depth and entertaining! Thank you!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you so much!

[@jonathanlowe2196]

I have never known about this park, a very interesting video you have put together.

[@nerdygal1234]

I'm so delighted you did a video on this! I was never able to visit the park, but my partner spent a good amount of time there while it was open. I still drive past the land fairly regularly, and that sign stood for such a long time. Thank you!!!

[@sethbelt8386]

I don’t see you’ve ever done Joyland in Wichita - that one was great and has a lot of history and rumors about the mob and crazy roller coaster accidents. There’s even crazy stories about missing pieces from the park that were found years later.

[@davidglad]

Ah, yes. Unregistered securities and the broad antifraud provisions in the statutes will unleash the wrath and full fury of the government.

[@Ruffi0]

Perfect just got a break!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Enjoy!

[@lightingnut]

There was an old amusement park in Kansas City Mo that would be interesting to hear about. It was called Fairy Land. It was open from 1923-77.

[@steelcurtain187]

This was a really interesting one I wasn’t familiar with. Greta job! 👏

[@TJ_Games326]

@ExpeditionThemePark now that nemesis reborn is open can you do an updated video on the history of that?

[@rico4741]

As always great work!

[@markgawne5919]

Love this channel and the content. I appreciate it takes a lot of time and research, but I’d love to see more content as they’re so interesting 😃

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

I try but it’s just me researching, editing and writing them!

[@MaxStax1]

I live in Kansas and have never even heard of this place.

[@mistermister98]

Crazy to see a video on this! I was one of the few who got to experience this park for the brief time it was open. I remember it being incredibly hot and very lackluster when compared to other theme parks I had been to at that age (Worlds of Fun, most notably). I just figured the bigger and better rides were just around the corner since the park was so new and being surprised when they announced it was closed for good.

[@Kaptastr0phe]

As someone who had season passes to year 1, I find it hilarious anywhere else outside of Kansas heard about this.

[@8ullfrog]

I find it insane how many chances life gave this man, and he just couldn't settle for success, he kept reaching for more. Even a park venue fit the area, but he had to aim for theme park. Build the lake, build the theater, call it Wild Wichita, bob's your uncle. Heck, slap a summer camp in there.

[@eerielakeerie]

woah wild adventures mention! i’ve ridden that sidewinder a dozen times omg

[@chewydewok]

I feel sorry for the church and it's members. It's sad to see people lose money over an investment they might not have made.

[@trisnics]

I really enjoy these sorts of videos. It's crazy when you're watching one and recognize a ride from a local attraction when you live nowhere near the place being talked about. :The Ferris Wheel is now at Cultus Lake Adventure Park and has been since 2015. It has the "Wild West World" logo still the side of the cars to this day. The ride isn't called that but my son thought it was because of the old name being on the side.

[@AddableStone13]

I still have somewhere in a box a grand opening/season ticket flyer that came in the mail around March of 2007.

[@ryanhodges7101]

You make some really interesting videos man. Thank you! This park reminds me a lot of “Ghost Town in the Sky” in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

[@twistedimagev2]

another great video Sam!!! Now, if only there was a new Expedition Enthused podcast to listen to... Its been since January!!!! :)

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thanks so much! We have been meaning to record one but just have not had time. I hope we can soon. We are heading out on a trip but hopefully when we get back

[@twistedimagev2]

@@ExpeditionThemePark I know you guys have been quite busy lately. Been a long time viewer of you and Jackie both. That recent cruise looked like a lot of fun! Will be looking forward to the next podcast, whenever it comes. Hope you guys have a great fun and safe trip! We'll be watching

[@ZontarDow]

Every part of this was insane

[@techwolflupindo]

"Weather" was an understatement. What happen is there was rain every weekend, something that has never happen in the past. No one could have predicted that.

[@magnusvontesla]

Great content, as always.

[@caraiya]

Your pronounciation of Etheridge "Efferage" scratches an itch in my brain that I had no idea I had...Thank you!!! ❤

[@beamstalk6475]

never understood how this was going to work, Oklahoma City has its own western style theme park that has been here for years on I-35 as well, so there was never a reason for anyone from OKC to go there

[@BussyBoyBonanza]

Good ol Frontier City. I remember going as a kid. The DiamondBack was always my favorite ride. I loved that it could always be the first and last ride of the day since it was literally in the gift shop

[@Sithtrooper216]

I was going to say the same exact thing... I guess no one has heard of Six Flags Frontier City

[@corixcat]

My mom took us there once for my sister's birthday because she bought a season pass. There was hardly anything to do besides eat. Especially if you were a teenager. Little to no shade, empty AF, no rides besides the kiddie rides were open and no entertainment whatsoever when we were there.

[@AshleyCatamus]

Really enjoyed this one!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thanks so much

[@juliagoodwin9510]

The dates for this park threw me for a loop, not gonna lie.

[@SyntheticTorque]

always a great day when ETP posts! Your editing and narration is just the right pace for my adhd self, and I love the humor and content you create! Hearing about these unique and wild stories and rides are always brilliant!! Thank you so much for your videos!

[@snoekone]

Thank you. I love your videos.

[@insaneiaq]

Many of the buildings were moved to the West Wichita intersection of Kellogg and Tyler road where they stand to this day as a small shopping center. Until recently, many still featured their original color schemes and even some small signage mounted on the exterior that were tiny "remains" of WWW. I often joke I am grabbing a sandwich at Wild West World when I go to the Subway located in one of the buildings.

[@Musicalcoasters96]

This was a heck of a journey to watch. I heard two months and saw nearly 40 minutes and knew it was gonna be a real crazy ride.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Right?!

[@Musicalcoasters96]

How do you come across these places?

[@hedgehog3180]

I feel like things escalated pretty quickly from a roadside attraction to building an entire themepark.

[@joshuagutierrez270]

6:36 so nice to hear my local park Western Playland get a mention in here!

[@michaelrivera8665]

It was cool to hear Wild Adventures mentioned. I have not been on that ride yet, maybe some day.

[@mikivli]

definitely remember going here as a child. If you need more info lmk! I remember something’s within it. I suggest doing a video on the theme park before it here in Wichita. JOY LAND!

[@sirhcsuiris]

The opera house was working. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[@Kim_Music_books_racing_fan]

29:15- wait, that's where the Rattler, one of my favorite rides as a teen, came from?! That ride at Wild Adventures (my local themr park) has provided many thrills over the years, and almost caused me to lose my glasses more than once.

[@HugeRMCFanBoY-bx3od]

I remember having a conversation with my grandma about how she visited this park

[@LukeHowell__47]

Hey. I love your stuff. Keep doing what you do. But can you please do more on Dollywood? It is one of my favorite parks and I’d love to learn more about it from you

[@RayBennett-t2d]

Westworld, where nothing could possibly go wrong... go wrong... ...go wrong

[@edricwallace8625]

In few months or more I'm going to make another video of the Wild Wast World. Where still digitising the remaining tapes

[@chrisyoungblood1421]

Sam, another fine video!!! Very interesting. You are quite talented at what you do! Please give our best to Jackie as well. Stay golden sir!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you! Will do!

[@CrackingCody]

I live in Wichita and was lucky enough to go to Wild West World one time on Father’s Day with my family. It rained most of the time, made me sick because it had that kind of carnival feel which always makes me nauseous, and barely any of the rides were working due to said rain. But the live Chinese acrobatics show was cool.

[@slopesgameroom]

Dsmn good video, had no idea this existed

[@Brian-mp2mv]

*"used religion to swindle them out of money"* If he'd just used the television as his platform, it would have been totally legal... Then he could have called himself a televangelist like Kenneth Max Copeland.

[@DrewberTravels]

Oh my god! I went to Wild West world before it closed. I am from the area and a friend of mine and his dad got season passes. Boy was it Terrible. The best part of it was the Chinese acrobat show. The wild mouse roller coaster was boring. The rides were all just spinning things that made you sick. There was no shade, no cooling, and Kansas is hot as hell in the summer. It never should have been built.

[@akniznik]

i was fond of strip mall carnivals as a kid. Every year the rides would show up for a few weeks taking over parking spots in the outdoor strip mall. Some of the those strip malls are gone and for the ones that remain few still host a carnival with rides.

[@Tconlon251_2]

While not totally substantiated, the shortest operating amusement park in history may have been the one in Pripyat, Ukraine. It was supposed to open on May 1st, 1986 but Chernobyl happened on April 26th. Some sources say it was open for one day on April 27th as a sort of distraction for the town until they had to evacuate

[@charlottestreet3301]

Thant sounds like a very interesting video I feel sad that Chernobyl happened and that the park is abandoned. If Chernobyl didn't happen think of all the happy memories that kids would have had.

[@MrRoeler]

Bravo.. well made.. again

[@Snazzyzazzy99]

My dad had bought season passes for us, we only went once before it closed 😂

[@LanceUppercut78]

Great video! I was not familiar with this story. I think this guy had good intentions. He dreamed big and lost. He also lost his own wealth. All the people are suing him as if they weren't trying to make big money off of his idea. This park really needed a big coaster and maybe it would have been a success. Honestly, I kind of feel bad for the guy, if he didn't care he wouldn't have risked his family fortune. He did and he lost.

[@DarthMillennial1]

I remember the barrage of local commercials for this park, my family never went lol. We went to old cowtown instead to see how the real Wild West was.

[@jinxmclastname9212]

Love your videos man when a new one comes out I always have to stop what i'm doing and watch it, then proceed to binge about 10 more episodes

[@RonPiggott]

This was really well done

[@shrimpster101]

Hey dude as a resident of Wiltshire too. I'd love to see a run down on paultons park

[@EmeraldCityVideo]

I was feeling bad when they said it was his wife's family business and they couldn't make it work. Then you got to "he's a white collar criminal and this farm was something they bought after he got out of prison," and I didn't feel bad for him anymore.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Aha my plan worked

[@grayrabbit2211]

Nicely done. As a fraud / white collar crime investigator, this is very typical. Including using church members for funding. And a con man always a con man. Same with the scammer claiming they're a victim. As to if he believed this was possible, he most likely did. They often have a grandiose sense of self. They're geniuses in their own minds. Don't let facts get in the way.

[@NeighborhoodOfBlue]

Out of curiosity I went to the website in the news article featured at 3:45, and the website still works! It redirects to prairieroseks instead, but they are still in business. Albeit a bit different than they used to be.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

21:13 Indigenous peoples are owed so much. Extra reparations for this.

[@kennethstark1117]

I lived in the area during this time. People were desperately trying to fill a void since the local park Joyland had been closed for quite a while by the time the park opened. Now the only thing being built on the land is a casino and Horse Track opening soon.