We're off to see the Wizard! A road trip to Beech Mountain, NC. The Beech Mountain Resort is home to the former Land of OZ amusement park. Our visit was 47 years and 1 day since the park originally opened on June 15, 1970. The amusement park closed at the end of 1980. By 1985, the Emerald City was demolished. Sadly there isn't much left to see but with some imagination you can make the Land of Oz live again!
You must take a leisurely ride on a chair lift to the top of the mountain before your tour, Journey with Dorothy, can start. Then it is a short walk to the gates. After gathering at the Fountain of Youth, a guide takes you on a walk as she tells you about the history of the park.
You soon meet with Dorthy at her farm in Kansas and the fun begins. Members of your group reenact parts from the movie as you walk through the Land of Oz. The most spectacular part of the journey is seeing the original Yellow Brick Road. The witch's castle has seen better days and the haunted forest is kind of funny looking.
A short 45 minutes or so and you end your journey at the Gate to OZ were you meet the wizard. The cast poses for pictures, you get a sticker proclaiming that you walked down the yellow brick road, and you giggle all the way back to the chair lift down the mountain.
A Journey with Dorothy was a fun outing but it left us wanting more.