Joyland Amusement Park facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Amusement Park |
| Founded | 1940s (as Mackenzie Park Playground) |
| Headquarters | 500 Canyon Lake Drive, Lubbock, Texas United States |
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Key people
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David Dean, CEO |
Joyland Amusement Park is a fun, family-owned amusement park located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It's found inside Lubbock's Mackenzie Park. The park usually opens its doors from March to September each year. During the week, it's open in the evenings, and on weekends, it's open for more hours.
Discovering Joyland's History
The park first opened in the 1940s. Back then, it was known as "Mackenzie Park Playground." In 1973, the Dean family bought the park. At that time, it had 13 rides. The Dean family renamed it Joyland Amusement Park. Members of the Dean family still run the park today. You can choose to pay for each ride separately. Or, you can buy one ticket that lets you ride all day!
Exploring the Park Layout
Joyland Park is set up in a long line with a main path called a midway. Many parts of the midway have water sprayers overhead. These sprayers mist guests with water. This helps everyone stay cool in Lubbock's hot and dry weather. The park has several exciting water rides. You can also find thrilling roller coasters and fun family rides.
A park train runs from one end of Joyland to the other. It has a station near the kid rides. There's also a station at the far end of the park. The train is painted in the colors of an old railway, the ATSF. There's also a sky ride, which is like a chairlift system. Both the train and the sky ride let you see the whole park from above!
Exciting Rides at Joyland
Joyland Amusement Park has about 30 different rides. This includes two exciting roller coasters! Near the park entrance, you'll find a classic carousel. It has old-fashioned advertisements on its top. The park also has many other popular rides. These include a Trabant, a Scrambler, and bumper cars.
Here are some of the park's cool roller coasters:
- The Galaxi is a steel roller coaster. It was built in 1971 by an Italian company called S.D.C. This coaster was moved to Joyland in 1989 from another park in Pennsylvania. It has one train with two cars. Each car has two rows, and two riders fit in each row. So, a total of eight people can ride at once.
- The Mad Mouse is a steel wild mouse coaster. It was built in 1959 by Hershchell. This coaster came to Joyland in 1974 from Bell's Amusement Park in Oklahoma. Each car on the Mad Mouse has two rows. Two riders fit in each row, for a total of four riders per car.
- The Little Coaster was a smaller ride. It was replaced in 2016 with a new Wisdom Dragon Coaster.
- Greezed Lightnin' was a big roller coaster. It was planned to be added in 2006. However, the ground where it was supposed to go wasn't stable. So, the plan was cancelled. This coaster was a Shuttle Looper from Astroworld in Houston, Texas. It had one train with seven cars. Each car had two rows, with two riders per row, fitting 28 riders in total.
- For the 2010 season, Joyland added the Dare Devil Drop. This is a thrilling drop tower ride that is about 140 feet (43 meters) tall! It was built by Larson Int. A fifteen-year-old named Wesley Orr from Texas won a contest to name the ride. He thought of the name while reading about another roller coaster. The Dare Devil Drop opened on May 24, 2008.
- The Dipsy Doodle was a junior coaster. It was replaced by the Wisdom Dragon Coaster in 2016.
- In 2018, Joyland added the X-Factor Extreme. This ride swings like a pendulum. The seats also spin around! The ride swings in a big arc, giving riders exciting feelings of being pushed down or lifted up. Because the seats rotate, every ride on the X-Factor Extreme is a little different!
