WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ The man developing a 30 million-dollar theme park north of Wichita says construction is about 30 days ahead of schedule.

Thomas Etheredge hopes to open the 130-acre Wild West World by his May 5th target date. Etheredge says some of the 24 rides are up and running at the park, which he expects to draw a half million visitors from May to October in its first year.

The first season is expected to generate more than 15 million dollars in revenue. Etheredge has conducted job fairs to recruit workers for the 400 jobs that need to be filled, most of them seasonal.

He says he already has 750-thousand dollars in advance season ticket sales.