Last weekend I stepped out of a storm-wrecked farmhouse and ended up in Oz. My daughter and I have always wanted to see The Land of Oz, the quirky North Carolina theme park on the top of Beech Mountain, based on characters from the book by L. Frank Baum, and bringing to life the movie, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. We managed a visit to the Emerald City on the last weekend of their autumn season this year. Oz has had a difficult history. It opened in 1970 with a ski-lift balloon ride into the park. My husband remembers visiting with his family during the early years. The park sustained a fire, then was rebuilt and operated for another few years until 1980. The closed park was vandalized and abandoned until some former employees and others helped reopen for annual summer and fall events. You walk along the yellow brick road through the story, meeting Dorothy, the scarecrow, tin man and lion, the witch and her guard, a flying monkey, and more. There's also singing, kitschy souvenirs, costumed visitors of all ages, and fried oreos ("o-ee-o's"). It's weird and wonderful.
Share this post
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Share this post
Last weekend I stepped out of a storm-wrecked farmhouse and ended up in Oz. My daughter and I have always wanted to see The Land of Oz, the quirky North Carolina theme park on the top of Beech Mountain, based on characters from the book by L. Frank Baum, and bringing to life the movie, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. We managed a visit to the Emerald City on the last weekend of their autumn season this year. Oz has had a difficult history. It opened in 1970 with a ski-lift balloon ride into the park. My husband remembers visiting with his family during the early years. The park sustained a fire, then was rebuilt and operated for another few years until 1980. The closed park was vandalized and abandoned until some former employees and others helped reopen for annual summer and fall events. You walk along the yellow brick road through the story, meeting Dorothy, the scarecrow, tin man and lion, the witch and her guard, a flying monkey, and more. There's also singing, kitschy souvenirs, costumed visitors of all ages, and fried oreos ("o-ee-o's"). It's weird and wonderful.