People gathered at Wonderland Amusement Park Thursday morning, April 2 to get a first glimpse of the freshly painted, updated and improved version of the 75-year-old cherished park.
The new owner, Jimmy Holmes, honored the former owners, Paul and Paula Borchardt, for the outstanding service to the community doing the tough job of keeping over 30 amusement rides going, year after year.
“We purchased the park back in January, and it’s been a bit like drinking from a fire hose,” Holmes said. “Our team has been working around the clock, getting the rides up and running, improving infrastructure, enhancing food and beverage, upgrading technology and refreshing the overall look of the park.”
Holmes thanked his team including his maintenance director, Adam Hutchinson, who did a lot of the repairs and led the charge. He also thanked the Borchardt family, especially their daughter Rebecca Parker, who gave them insights to the park.
Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley also spoke about his memories of the park as a child. Stanley said that as an elementary school student at Gene Howe, the class came out to enjoy the park on Wonderland Night. He said he was in fourth grade and there was a faux fox statue that held his hand up for measurement and if you were under the hand, you couldn’t ride. All his friends were tall enough but he didn’t get to ride, but since that incident, he has worn cowboy boots, to look taller.
Borchardt talks about memories of the park, the beginning
Borchardt said that it made him happy to see the improvements and that he was glad the park landed in good hands. He said that the same staff was kept on and were working their tails off to get the park ship-shape.
“I’ve been here 60 years,” Bordhardt said, “and I’ve gone through four generations out here. I enjoyed working on it, from the dirt work all the way to the people collecting tickets or passes on rides.
“We’ve seen it grow from three rides to 32, and that’s what makes it a different experience than most people can get anywhere else in Texas because it was hands-on, family run and we had a smaller population base,” he said.
Borchardt said that most amusement parks in the country have a larger population base, and that they were the largest family-owned park in Texas. He said that he and his wife, Paula, had four daughters, but it didn’t work out where they wanted to take over.
The Borchardt family was on hand Thursday, April 2, for the ribbon cutting ceremony at Wonderland Amusement Park ahead of its 75th anniversary opening happening Friday. The previous owners had run the park for decades before they passed the baton to a new owner in January this year.
“The most important thing is to keep it going and doing things that get people in here,” Borchardt said. “Remember, we’ve got a 200-mile area to draw people, and we’ve had that since 1951.”
He ended by saying, “I’m a grandparent, and I want to take my grandkids to the park, because they have a good time.”
Wonderland will open its doors on the north side for the 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 originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Wonderland Amusement Park cuts ribbon on 75th season ahead of opening
