Johnson County mall lost long-time carousel last year. Soon, a new one will replace it

A carousel vacated Oak Park Mall last year after operating there for 22 years, but now the mall has announced the arrival of a new one.

A new, single-level carousel is expected to open at the Overland Park mall, 11149 W. 95th St., in November. An exact date has not been decided.

The carousel is owned by Adam Ilbak, who recently opened “eatertainment” venue District Eat and Play in the mall.

District took over the old AME Golf & Brew Lounge.

The new carousel’s location will be outside the Dillard’s South on the lower level — said Christine Poehling, a spokeswoman for mall ownership group CBL Properties.

The previous carousel was operated by Indoor Entertainment and first arrived at the mall in 2001. In 2008, it moved to its most recent spot, outside Dillard’s North.

But last October, CEO of Indoor Entertainment Kathryn Elliot told the Star that they could not come to an agreement with the mall. Elliot said she was asked to move to a “less desirable” location within the mall, but the move would cost her thousands of dollars.

So, Indoor Entertainment packed up and moved its carousel to a different mall.

Oak Park Mall, which has been open since 1974, has had a carousel since at least the 1990s.

In 2000, the mall considered getting rid of its carousel altogether, after a then-operator received a non-renewal notice.

Indoor Entertainment moved into the mall shortly after.