Bits Beyond the Berms 4/23/07 - 4/29/07

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Wild West World Theme Park Opens Saturday

BY JILLIAN COHAN
The Wichita Eagle
April 29, 2007


In case you missed it, kids, Kansas is about to get its own theme park. When Wild West World opens on Saturday, thrill-seekers won't have to drive to Kansas City or Oklahoma City for cotton candy, bumper cars and crazy coasters. Wild West World's management is betting on a family-friendly layout, exhilarating rides and the cowboy mystique to make the $30 million park a regional destination.

But has the park -- not long ago an empty field four miles north of Wichita -- been transformed into a world of fun?

"What everyone can expect is the finest family attraction ever built in Kansas," owner Thomas Etheredge said during an interview at the park.

With 24 rides on 40 acres and a prime location just off I-135 in Park City, Wild West World is positioned to draw half a million visitors its first year, Etheredge said. The park has already sold about $2 million in advance season passes, he added.

Those season ticketholders have bought into Etheredge's vision, which includes a mock frontier-town boardwalk, four gazebos for live entertainment, 18 arcade games, 10 food stands and four sit-down restaurants. This summer, a Chinese acrobatic troupe will perform three times a day at the park, while a number of touring acts have booked Wild West World's Johnny Western Theatre for concerts in the fall.
As visitors wander through the park, they'll find thrill rides, family-oriented rides and kiddie rides grouped together in three sections, divided around a Chisholm Trail theme.

The first section, which includes rides such as the flip-action El Diablo and the spinning-seat Crazy Mouse Coaster, honors the Texas caballeros who were instrumental in starting the cattle drives along the historic trail.

The second, home to the Kanza Kanoe swinging barge and the Sidewinder spinning pendulum, is an homage to the Native Americans who used the trail as a hunting ground.

The third section, which houses the flagship Wagons Ho Ferris wheel and the sky-high Condor, pays tribute to Kansas cowboys.
"This cowboy thing is a great heritage and tourist draw, but beyond that, it's the fabric that makes us Kansans," Etheredge said. "We want kids to be proud of that heritage."

Yet for all its historical details, Wild West World ultimately is an entertainment destination, packed with rides, games, fast food and souvenirs. Etheredge knows that it won't take the place of a history lesson, but he hopes that by the end of a day at the park, the message will sink in.

Ten days before the opening, all of the rides were in place, if not running. Two larger attractions, the Prairie Plunge log flume and the Condor ride, won't be ready on opening day, said marketing director Ryan Cole. The rides are awaiting parts from overseas that have been delayed in customs.

In the Main Street shopping area, workers stocked the gift shops, erected signs and made sure the entrance and exit turnstiles were in place.

"I intend to have everything open that we can," Etheredge said, acknowledging that unpredictable weather had delayed some work on the park.

"My intention was two and a half years ago when we announced this project, and one and a half years ago when we broke ground, that we would be ready May 5," he said. "Dadgum it, we will open May 5."

Throughout the park, heaps of red earth lay next to newly excavated paths. Stray gusts of wind raised dust clouds, obscuring the Western paintings and mirrored mosaics that adorned the Round Up, a custom-made swing ride imported from Holland.

Etheredge said he has an army of contractors and a maintenance crew working nearly 16 hours a day to make sure the park will be ready.

"It looks a lot more unfinished than it is," he said, adding that once his crews have landscaped and paved the park, it will appear complete.

"Paving is like carpet," he said. "It hides a multitude of sins."

As he spoke about the future, Etheredge's eyes widened under the brim of his ten-gallon. Wild West World's current 40-acre footprint is just the start, he said. In coming years, he said, there will be an extreme roller coaster, a water park, circus acts and even more entertainment for families.

"Will it be everything the first day?" he asked, shrugging. "We'll grow into it.

"We will make this a tremendous asset to Wichita."

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Universal Park Brings on Monsters

By Rick Bentley
The Fresno Bee
April 29, 2007

Universal Studios Hollywood is trying to scare up more visitors to the park with a new attraction that pays tribute to the film studio's horror history. If that isn't enough, the Southern California theme park is cranking up its VIP version of the tram studio tour ride to provide more hands-on activities.

First, the monsters.

Universal's most notorious movie creatures are featured in the "Universal's House of Horrors." The new attraction, located just inside the front gate, gives a nod to the likes of The Wolf Man, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy, the Phantom of the Opera and Mother Bates of "Psycho" infamy.
Guests encounter these figures as they travel the dark passages of a Gothic castle. The whole event takes place on Soundstage 13. Universal never has had a Soundstage 13 before because it was considered bad luck.

Ghoulish hosts aren't the only part of the attraction. Guests travel a corridor filled with movie props including: the original corduroy blazer worn by Anthony Perkins in "Psycho"; the Hannibal Lector mask from "Red Dragon"; the police uniform worn by Roy Scheider in "Jaws"; the books and necklaces from "Skeleton Key"; the original "Chucky" doll; and the Billy doll from "Dead Silence."

In the VIP Experience, guests, in groups of 15 or less, now get behind-the-scenes access to previously off-limits areas. The additional access allows guests to see the filmmaking process in its entirety, including sound stages and standing sets, post-production bays and craft support facilities.