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Park,
individual, supplier each recipents of
Overseeing the duties of the park now are daughter Paula, husband Paul Borchardt and their daughter Rebecca Parker. Wonderland Park has always been a family park. It’s run by a caring family and it caters to families. With an annual attendance of more than 200,000 guests, there are no long lines here, just simple thrills, food and fun, all at an affordable price. While the park has grown to include everything from a miniature train ride, a classic dark ride and even the high tech thrills of a double looping roller coaster, it wasn’t until this year that the park saw its first multi-ride expansion in a new area.
The park’s
marketing campaign plays on the WOW factor, also known locally
as the World of Wonderland. Now Wonderland Park has
something else to be wowed over, as AT’s selection
for 2009 Park of the Year. Dick and Barbara Knoebel work through health issues, keep park strong
Such is the case for Dick and Barbara Knoebel. Two people made for one another. Two people, who not only work 100-hour weeks to keep the Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pa. running in tip top shape, but recently battled the odds to keep each other running in tip top shape. In the spring of 2008 Barbara was diagnosed with cancer and many tests later was found to have cancerous spots in four other parts of her body. Chemotherapy led to many complications that left her ill, mentally exhausted and completely drained. With Dick by her side every step of the way, Barbara underwent radiation therapy and later a completely different kind of chemo. Through all this she managed to read the staffing sheets for catering, the schedules for ticket sellers and correspondence with suppliers. Although she is not cancer free, her most recent CAT scan did not show cancer in two of the previous areas. Great news!
Gary Goddard’s creativity for show production, theming good for guests
Since his job as an entertainment design consultant on the Georgia Aquarium that same year, Gary has gone on to produce concerts, the Broadway musical Hair, Crossroads of the World mega mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, and a mega slide called Atmosphere at the FX Lifestyle Center, also in Jakarta. Closer to home, Gary oversaw the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and the Hershey Story museum near the entrance to Hersheypark. But it is two of his newest creations for Six Flags that are capturing the buzz in the parks and on the internet.
But Gary Goddard Entertainment’s biggest hit of the year has been the complete makeover of the popular dark ride at Six Flags Over Georgia. Now transformed into the Monster Mansion, Goddard went back to the ride he created in 1980, and brought it back to life better than ever with new animation, lighting, fog, special effects and a whimsical audio track that leaves guests wishing for more. AT salutes Gary Goddard Entertainment as our 2009 Supplier of the Year for its thematic excellence. Amusement Today honors Jack Krantz in Legends Series “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
For our amusement industry those words ring home. The people of this industry, like Jack was until his death in Jan. 2006, are full of enthusiasm equal only to the rides and thrills found in the parks. Jack Krantz, seeing the need for a quality family amusement park in Des Moines, started construction in 1973 on a piece of former airport property that once saw a 1924 landing by Charles Lindbergh. By August 1974 a portion of Adventureland opened to the public with its main street and a handful of rides. Its opening was delayed only by a small tornado which passed through the park that July. Running so well, Adventureland was able to add its first big ride in 1978, a wooden roller coaster. One year later it moved rides from the aging Riverview Amusement Park, also in Des Moines. Under Jack’s guidance, the park continued to grow into Iowa’s largest tourist attraction complete with a hotel and campground and more than $60 million in reinvestment into the 180-acre resort. Those who knew Jack, knew his love for the amusement industry. He listened, he learned and then he passed on his success and knowledge to others. In AT’s debut year of 1997, Jack’s wisdom on the industry and his financial views were just part of the reason Amusement Today survived through its start up phase. Jack may be gone, but the business sense he instilled into his family members running the park today, keeps his vision, his enthusiasm alive for all to enjoy. Amusement Today is honored to present its first Legends Series award in the memory of Jack Krantz. —Gary Slade View
the complete list of winners! |
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Founded in 1951 as Kiddieland by Paul and Alethea Roads, this
West Texas amusement park would grow from three kiddie rides
and a ticket booth, made out of the crates used to ship the
rides in, to a full blown amusement park that Amarillo residents
are proud to have. 
Three rides, a Chance Yo-Yo, a Vekoma
family coaster and a Moser drop tower, were all purchased used.
The Wonderland team then totally refurbished the rides in house
over a three year period. The result is the new West End, a
big hit for guests and for the park, proving good things do
come to those with dedication, drive and patience.
Some things were just made to go together and sometimes those
matching bookends can be found in the people behind the scenes,
running an amusement park. 
During the winter
months, Dick fell down an ice-covered stairway and broke his
ankle. Refusing a cast, he opted for a bandage and crutches so
he could continue his duties at the park and his duties at home
with Barbara. 
Starting out as a show designer at Walt Disney Imagineering
in 1970, Gary Goddard has moved on outside of Disney to form
several entertainment companies, including Gary Goddard Entertainment
Design in 2002. 
The Glow in the Park parades
debuted last year at Six Flags parks in Mexico, New Jersey and
New England. This year the parades wowed the guests at Six Flags
Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis. 
That
is a quote that is inscribed on a plaque behind the desk of Jack
Krantz, the late founder of Adventureland Park in Des Moines,
Iowa. 
Adventureland’s first full season
arrived in 1975 and thanks to the addition of a skyride from
the World’s Fair in Spokane, Washington and numerous other rides,
the park was off and running. 