Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
diggA New Frontier
This summer, Thomas Etheredge plans to open Wild West World, billed as Kansas’ first theme park. There’s plenty riding on the line.
Jarrett Medlin
Ze Bernardinello
As he drives the amusement park’s grounds he points out the highlights. The park’s layout is supposed to resemble the Chisholm Trail with sections consisting of Mexican, American Indian and cowboy themes. There are cars shaped like sombreros, a ride that resembles a giant canoe and seats fashioned like saddles. “Of course, you can’t be so realistic with the history side that you screw up the fun side,” he says, pointing toward a rollercoaster painted with the cartoon character Speedy Gonzalez.
Every ride is custom-designed to match the Western theme. There’s El Diablo, a ride that resembles a giant cow skull. There are the bumper cars painted like small bulls. There’s the Ferris wheel with cars like covered wagons, the log flume and a winding rollercoaster. Etheredge rattles off the park’s planned features—20 eateries, 22 retail stores, 28 games, 24 rides, three musical stages and a theater built to seat up to 1,400 people. All to say, Wild West World is a major undertaking, one in which millions are riding on the line. “Understand me clearly,” says Etheredge. “By this time next year, you’ll either be interviewing a very successful individual or you’ll be interviewing a homeless person.”
A Rollercoaster of Ups and Downs
To say the development of Wild West World, billed as the first major theme park in Kansas, has been an emotional rollercoaster for Etheredge and his wife, Cheryl, is an understatement. Some days everything feels right, he says, and other mornings he’s overwhelmed by what’s at stake—a $30 million investment.
Through it all, Etheredge remains confident. Two years after Wild West World’s beginning stages, the park is scheduled to open May 5. He estimates it will serve at least a half million people per year. He believes the attraction will completely alter the face of tourism in Wichita. He hopes Wild West World will bring families together, the same way his own family gathered around the dinner table when he was a child. “This theme park is going to be Kansas’ supper table, and it’s going to allow families to come together,” he says, leaning forward in his chair.
When Etheredge talks about a subject he believes in, it’s with undeniable intensity. His voice fluctuates from a loud boom to a soft whisper to emphasize his points—a habit he attributes to passion rather than salesmanship. He often sprinkles his sentences with superlatives like “the biggest, best and greatest.” Standing 6 foot 6 inches tall, everything about the Texas native is larger than life. People have labeled him the P.T. Barnum of Cowboys, which is fitting considering he owns a museum dedicated to Hopalong Cassidy, ‘King of the Cowboy Merchandisers.’ “I’m not that great of a salesman,” he says. “But I am extremely passionate about what we’re doing.”
The Pioneer Days
Etheredge’s obsession with the Wild West began in the Texas Panhandle, where he grew up on a cattle ranch. He spent hours watching great cowboy entertainers like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy on the family’s black and white TV screen. Decades later, after graduating from Texas Tech and a successful stint as an oilman, he frequented cattle sales while running a ranch in Texas. On nights before the sales, Etheredge and his wife often enjoyed watching mariachi bands perform during barbecues. That concept—Western entertainment served with delicious food—would follow the family to Wichita.
In 1998, the Etheredges were looking for a new way to make a living. That’s when they came up with the idea for Prairie Rose Chuck Wagon Suppers. They offered homemade grub with live Western music, and the attraction soon began drawing 70,000-80,000 visitors per year to a small field north of Wichita. The venue’s success boiled down to the same principles those cattle sales had taught Etheredge—Southern hospitality, good food and wholesome entertainment. “What makes the Prairie Rose so special is that it’s not a restaurant where you come to eat,” explains Cheryl. “You’re coming to our house, and our family is caring over you for the evening.”
Prairie Rose was a success, but the number of visitors began to level off after several years. The business wasn’t growing; it was staying stable. And as any businessperson understands, says Etheredge, if you’re not growing you’re going backwards. So he began thinking outside the box and looking for a way to attract more families. The result was Wild West World.
At first, the idea of building a theme park in Kansas was a daunting one, says Etheredge. “It’s easy to think that something needs to be done,” he says. “But it takes a whole different mentality to say, ‘I see that vision, and it’s so real that I’ll base everything that it will work.’”
Obviously, a major theme park is a high-stakes gamble, especially in a state without an operating amusement park. But as a former banker, Etheredge tried to alleviate the risk. He commissioned three economic studies, all of which found the park could succeed. He then researched amusement parks himself by visiting 28 theme parks across the world, including Europe and China. His youngest daughter, Emily, went along and helped test all of the rides (most rides make him sick, he says). He also toured parks in nearby states like Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma and Missouri. All through the Midwest, he found amusement parks averaged nearly half a million people per year. Finally, he looked at Wichita and the surrounding area’s population and income statistics. Everything indicated the park could succeed. But he still wasn’t sure.
“After I did all that data, I went back to the Prairie Rose. I looked at all of our numbers, and we’d been running 80,000 people in the middle of a pasture in Butler County, a pasture where I couldn’t even raise cattle,” he recalls. “Suddenly, I knew this was something that would work, that this state needed great family entertainment and that people would pay. I saw it worked around the world and, more importantly, I saw it worked in Kansas.”
Into the Wild
Flash forward to the present, nearly two years later. “These are the Gold Rush days,” says Etheredge, pointing toward I-135. “Look up and down the highway. It’s all for sale, and people are buying it.” Already hotels are sprouting up north of town, and restaurants and gas stations are sure to follow. Etheredge estimates Wild West World will have an economic impact of $80 to $100 million per year—“that’s almost like having another aircraft company move into town,” he says. He plans to employ 400 people at the park and draw an estimated 500,000 visitors per year. He believes they’ll come from Garden City, Dodge City and all over the state to visit Wichita for weekend vacations. He hopes they’ll visit the amusement park and spend time at the zoo, local museums and shopping outlets while staying at Wichita hotels and eating at nearby restaurants.
Whether that dream comes to fruition remains to be seen. But Etheredge, with his pioneer attitude and his firm belief in the American spirit, has done his part to ensure Wild West World’s success. Now all he can do is wait.
“Okey dokey, cowboy,” he says as he finishes driving around the park. “That’s a quick tour. It was a bumpy one.”
He stops the truck for a moment and turns in his seat. “Here’s the bottom line: What if you could be the first and only? I’m talking about something that people buy. What would that be worth?” he asks. After a moment, he answers his own question. “Priceless.”
