Richard Bannister

Joyland Amusement Park is a small park located in the middle of MacKenzie State Park in Lubbock, Texas. The layout and indeed the vintage of the attractions reminded me very much of Stricker's Grove, with a variety of antique and classic amusement rides spanning the length of a single midway. The staff were particularly friendly, which cannot be easy when one has to work long shifts in the sweltering heat.

Two years ago the park bought themselves a classic Schwarzkopf shuttle loop from the now defunct Six Flags Astroworld. Unfortunately this has yet to be installed due to prohibitive construction costs in the location the park had identified for the ride. As such, the park maintains a coaster roster containing three antique rides. Two of these are aimed at adults and utterly undistinguished; a rather jarring Mad Mouse (#1166), and a run of the mill Galaxi (#1167). The third coaster, however, proved to be quite a surprise; Little Coaster (#1168) is an airtime machine. It may not have been quite up to the standard set by the original and best, but it was certainly leagues ahead of what we'd expected for a coaster of this size. It turned out later that this ride was my one thousandth steel coaster, and it was certainly the best in the park for that landmark!