Wonderland Park cuts ribbon to begin new era of WOWing crowds
People gathered at Wonderland Amusement Park on Thursday morning, April 2, to get their first look at the newly painted, updated and improved version of the 75-year-old model. precious park.
New owner Jimmy Holmes honored former owners Paul and Paula Borchardt for their outstanding service to the community by performing the challenging job of keeping more than 30 recreational rides going each year.
“We bought the park in January and it was a little bit like drinking from a fire hose,” Holmes said. “Our team is working day and night, getting vehicles operational, improving infrastructure, improving food and beverage, improving technology and refreshing the overall look of the park.”
Holmes thanked his team, including maintenance manager Adam Hutchinson, who made many repairs and took responsibility. He also thanked the Borchardt family, especially their daughter Rebecca Parker, who gave them ideas for the park.
Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley also talked about his childhood memories of the park. As an elementary student at Gene Howe, the class went out to enjoy the park on Wonderland Night, Stanley said. He said he was in fourth grade and there was a fake fox statue that raised its hand for measurement, if you were under the hand you couldn’t get on it. All his friends were tall enough but he couldn’t ride a horse but after that incident he wore cowboy boots to look taller.
Borchardt tells about the park’s memories, its beginnings
Borchardt said he was happy to see the improvements and that he was pleased that the park was in safe hands. He said the same staff was kept on duty and they worked their tails off to make the park take on a ship shape.
“I’ve been here 60 years,” Bordhardt said, “and I’ve worked here for four generations. I’ve enjoyed working here, from doing the dirty work to people collecting tickets to getting into cars.”
“We saw it go from three rides to 32 rides, which makes it a different experience than most people can get anywhere else in Texas because it was hands-on, family-owned, and we had a smaller population base,” he said.
Most amusement parks in the country have a larger population base, Borchardt said, and they are the largest family park in Texas. He said he and his wife, Paula, have four daughters but couldn’t decide where they wanted to take charge.
The Borchardt family was on hand Thursday, April 2, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Wonderland Amusement Park ahead of its 75th anniversary opening on Friday. The previous owners operated the park for decades before passing the baton to the new owner in January of this year.
“The most important thing is to keep it going and do things that will bring people here,” Borchardt said. “Remember, we have a 200-mile radius to attract people, and we’ve had it since 1951.”
“I’m a grandparent and I want to take my grandchildren to the park because they have a good time,” he continued.
Wonderland will open its doors on the north side for its 75th season on Friday at 1 p.m.
Fans can purchase season passes and tickets online and find more information online at: https://www.wonderlandpark.com/ .
This article first appeared in the Amarillo Globe-News: Wonderland Amusement Park cuts the ribbon for the 75th season ahead of its opening
