Land of Oz takes fans, children on 'Journey with Dorothy'
A winding stretch of mountain road leads drivers up Beech Mountain. It is neither yellow nor made of brick, yet it leads you to the Land of Oz.
The Land of Oz was once a thriving theme park. It opened in 1970, honoring the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz."
Kristen Barger was just 7 years old when she visited the first time decades ago. "It's the best childhood memory, the absolute perfect childhood memory,” she said.
But financial strife took its toll, and the park closed 10 years after opening.
In recent years, owners have begun opening the park just a few times a year, the June and July opening is known as a "Journey with Dorothy."
Now, Barger is visiting the park again. “It touches your inner childhood,” she said standing outside the gates to Emerald City.
“It comes at you like, 'Wow.' It's just really hard to put into words what I'm feeling today, almost like a sweet little tear, for the good old days,” she said.
The Journey with Dorothy is an interactive interpretation of Dorothy's trek down the yellow brick road. Dorothy is portrayed by an actress, while the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion are chosen from the dozen or so visitors on each tour.
Angelina Sprewell dressed her 2-year old daughter Ellis in a Dorothy dress and attended the season's opening day.
“We've always heard about how much fun it is," Sprewell said, standing at the exit from the park. “We always wanted to come check it out."
Ellis quickly became Dorothy's favorite child on the tour, and the two skipped down the yellow brick road hand-in-hand.
“It's the only place around where you can make the Wizard of Oz come alive, see the characters and pretend to be in the movie,” Sprewell said.
The tour follows the movie script. It starts in a house in Kansas and sweeps tourists through a raging tornado.
“The house was scary,” Ellis said.
At then end of the yellow brick road, two large, green doors display Oz in silver letters. A young boy from the tour rings a bell and the gate opens. The great Oz finishes the tour, granting the characters everything they wish to have.
Barger got exactly what she wanted, one last trip to the magical Land of Oz.
“On the bucket list, it's just about number one,” she said. “It's the first thing I've been able to do with my husband. He just retired.”
“Dorothy is a classic. It never gets old,” Sprewell concluded. "It's a story that has stood the test of time, but an opportunity only open a few days a year."
