Amusement Park News

Welcome to the Emerald City – or at least a reasonable facsimile – in North Carolina. 

The Land of Oz Theme Park located in Beech Mountain, N.C. and based on 1939's classic The Wizard of Oz film, will be opening once again this fall. But following the yellow brick road won't be possible forever. The opening will be for just three weekends, for the annual Autumn at Oz Festival. This festival will mark its 30th anniversary amid increasing improvements to the park itself.
 
The original theme park was open for around ten years before a fire hit the location in 1975. While the park was rebuilt and had new management by the following year, it closed again, permanently, in 1980. 



The park was originally designed by Jack Pentes and built by Grover Robbins, who owned the park along with his brothers, under the aegis of their company, the Carolina Caribbean Corporation. Pentes, who passed away in 2015, was a renowned artist and designer in the region, and may be best known today for his 1982 invention of soft-play equipment for kids' playgrounds, avoiding the hazards of playing on what was then typical jungle gyms. His invention was installed in a variety of fast-food restaurants and other play areas, including Chuck E. Cheese.

When fully operating, the park's visitors would follow Dorothy's trajectory from her farm through a tornado experience, and then walk down the Yellow Brick Road to visit with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the West. The original Emerald City held gift shops and an amphitheater, which offered a live show every half hour, called the Magic Moment. The park also had a balloon ride, and a chairlift ride, as well as a small museum that contained props and costumes from the film, which were owned both by the park and actress Debbie Reynolds, who was there to cut the ribbon when the park opened. In its first year, the park drew the largest crowds of any attraction in the eastern U.S. Attendance hit 400,000 the first year the park opened, but only reached 60,000 visitors in 1980, the year the park closed.



Sadly, after the park's closing, parts of the Land of Oz experienced both vandalism and decay and were demolished. The areas that were removed included the Emerald City amphitheater stage, the park's gift shops, and its balloon ride.

But the Gale farmhouse, its barn, and the main parts of the yellow brick road remained intact. 

Eight years after the park's closing, in 1988, a group of the park's original employees held a reunion at the location, a reunion that started the festival itself, allowing more generations to experience Pentes' creative work. Over the years, what has become an annual event procured funds that have gone into restoring and maintaining the park itself, as well as continuing the festival. 



At the event, visitors will travel to Dorothy's family farm in Kansas and travel down the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. Along the way they'll be able to meet costumed characters from Dorothy herself to Glinda the Good Witch, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion among others, including the Wicked Witch and even her flying monkeys. Dorothy's house is a scale replica, as is the wicked witch's castle. The yellow brick road itself is paved with some 44,000 bricks. 



The fest also includes film memorabilia on display, arts and crafts, and food vendors. Also open at the park: the Over the Rainbow observation deck and the chairlift ride. That ride, along with the demolished balloon ride were the only rides ever at the park, which was known more for the overall Oz experience than any single attraction. The observation deck offers views of the surrounding hills and forest, seating, and an outdoor bar where drinks are available for purchase. The chair lift will take guests to and from the mountain top location of the park.

The event typically sells out, drawing large crowds to the small town, which is 80 miles north of Asheville. Tickets for this year's event went on sale at the end of June, and were priced at $55 per person, with kids age two and under free. The event ran September 9-11,16-18, and 23-25. 

Guests can expect an immersive experience, including a recreation of Dorothy's trip from her farm in Kansas through the tornado and her journey down the yellow brick road to Oz. At the end of the road, they'll also get to experience a rebuilt temporary Emerald City that includes a stage on which performances will take place, the food vendor area, and shopping opportunities. Also in the Emerald City area, the eponymous Wizard of Oz will grant guest's wishes. It's unlikely he'll be able to send them to Kansas, however.



The Autumn at Oz Festival is the world's largest Oz festival. It's also the only U.S. depiction of Oz; however, Warner Brothers has plans to open an Oz land at its Movie World Park, located on Australia's Gold Coast. 

The WB attraction there will include two family rides: a suspended coaster, themed and attached to the Wicked Witch's castle, and a boomerang racer set in an area resembling the Gale farm. An Emerald City and yellow brick road will be part of the mix as a play area. The area should be open sometime in 2024 and will be a multimillion-dollar investment – the kind of capital influx that North Carolina's plucky Land of Oz could use to open full time. Perhaps North Carolina visitors this fall can put on their red sparkly shoes, click their heels, and see if they can summon it.