Part Three, Theme Parks Land of Oz, NORTH CAROLINA

  
http://www.landofoznc.com/

The Land of Oz – The Land of Oz is a mostly now-defunct theme park located in the resort town of Beech Mountain, North Carolina. It was opened in 1970 by Grover Robbins, who had been successful with Tweetsie Railroad, and was fully operational until 1980. The park was based on the book rather than the film.

This is a park that almost was. The good news is it’s been revived for special seasonal events, not in all its glory but to serve the community and pay homage to its creator and his inspiration. The link provided gives upcoming events, history and photos.

Another trivia fact I learned was when the park opened it was by Debbie Reynolds, accompanied by her then little-known daughter Carrie Fisher.  How this came about is another interesting story, with a link provided. In its first summer 400,000 visitors came to the Land of Oz.

http://www.averyjournal.com/news/reynolds-fisher-walked-yellow-brick-road-at-land-of-oz/article_c0f1964b-5dae-5e25-b267-2fbd69a489f8.html

In fact, during the designing phase employees were told not to watch the movie but rather read the book. The costumes of the actors were in fact based more on the book descriptions until later on in the park’s history when they were changed to look more like the film.

Visitors could take a walk down the Yellow Brick Road, “experience” the cyclone which struck Dorothy’s house, and visit with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the West. The Yellow Brick Road led to a show at the Emerald City where the characters met with the Wizard.

An artificial balloon ride, a specially modified ski lift installed by Goforth Brothers, allowed visitors to get a bird’s-eye view of the park and mountain scenery before leaving Oz. A small museum showcased props and costumes from the film. These were jointly bought by the park and Debbie Reynolds from MGM.

Land of Oz opened in 1970 with the intention of extending the ski resort to be a ‘year-round’ attraction by offering an attraction at the pinnacle of Beech Mountain. A ski lift was specially designed to become the hot air balloon ride which has since been redeployed to be a ski lift on the back bowl, now Oz run, of Ski Beech. In later years, characters from the story conducted tours, but the original design was for the visitor to assume the role of Dorothy – experiencing everything from Kansas to tornado to the meeting the characters on the yellow brick road to Oz. The visit culminated in Emerald City, where Dorothy appeared with her friends to meet the Wizard.

The park was the top attraction in the southeast the first year. Its opening day in 1970 attracted 20,000 visitors. Dampened by the death of owner Grover Robbins a few months before the park opened, the driving force to keep the park as a special experience gave way to commercial necessities foisted on Carolina Caribbean Corp by the downturn in real estate sales. Emerald City burned on Sunday, December 28, 1975, destroying some artifacts, including the dress worn by Dorothy in the movie. There is some speculation that the fires were set by disgruntled employees who were angered at having been dismissed for legitimate reasons. Land of Oz finally closed in 1980.

After the park was closed much of it fell into disrepair. Props were vandalized, stolen, or left to exposed to the elements. Some of the park was saved, including as parts of the yellow brick road, a few munchkin houses, some of the later costumes, and sections of the witch’s castle were preserved.

The owner of the land restored the park about ten years later. In the late nineties, former employees started the Autumn at Oz event as a reunion. Later this became an annual event, and in 2009 the festival had 8500 attending. In 2010 more of the park’s original characters will return, the Fountain of Youth will have green water, and vendors and face painters will add to the event. Gregory Hugh Leng was guest of honor. A museum now shows costumes from the movie and other memorabilia. The Yellow Brick Road has a few of its 44,000 bricks missing but once again takes visitors through the Enchanted Forest and Poppy Field. Dorothy’s house, which can be rented for events, includes a basement intended to make visitors feel the experience of a tornado; the Wicked Witch’s legs stick out from under the house. In 2011, the park hosted the International Wizard of Oz Club and some of the original 1970 cast returned to share photos and tales from the original inspiration of Jack Pentes.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: eerie abandoned Land of Oz …

www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Goodbye-Yellow-Brick-Road-eerie-a…

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The eerie abandoned Land of Oz theme park hidden at top of a North Carolina mountain

Fire and death forced park to close ten years after it opened in 1970

Park based on popular Wizard of Oz theme attracted 400,000 visitors in its first summer

Tourists could explore Dorothy’s farmhouse, meet the characters and depart in a special hot air balloon ride

Vandals and thieves damaged Oz, as it lay forgotten on top of a mountain resort

By Jessica Jerreat

PUBLISHED: 18:53 EDT, 1 June 2013 | UPDATED: 11:39 EDT, 2 June 2013

Daily Mail

Jun 1, 2013 – … Land of Oz theme park hidden at top of a North Carolina mountain…. a guided tour through the park, a picnic at the Kansas farmhouse and…T

At the top of a winding North Carolina mountain road is the entrance to Oz, a 1970s theme park abandoned less than 10 years after it opened.

In its heyday the Land of Oz could attract 20,000 visitors a day, but now the neglected Yellow Brick Road is missing some bricks, the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle is empty and the Emerald City has disappeared.