‘Wizard of Oz’ theme park sets 2024 reopening dates
The Autumn at Oz Festival will return to Beech Mountain, N.C. for three weekends in fall 2024 on the site of a defunct “Wizard of Oz” theme park, Land of Oz.
Autumn at Oz Festival 2024
Autumn at Oz will operate Sept. 6-8, 13-15, & 20-22, 2024.
Part festival, part theatrical experience, Autumn at Oz is located in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The event features live performers portraying characters from “The Wizard of Oz” in sets resembling locations from the story, including the yellow brick road, which guests walk through.
Tickets for 2024’s Autumn at Oz Festival will be available in June on the event’s website. Guests can purchase a chair-lift ride from Beech Mountain Resort and access to an observation deck separately.
History of the Land of Oz Theme Park
Land of Oz opened in 1970 — with a ceremony attended by Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher — and operated for several years on and off through 1980. After over a decade of being abandoned, the park established the annual Autumn at Oz Festival in 1993.
Unique among attractions of theme park history, Autumn at Oz provides longtime and new guests alike the chance to visit a closed theme park, repurposed as something new. Though today none of the rides remain and much of the original infrastructure from Land of Oz is long gone, the Autumn at Oz Festival utilizes park spaces that have been maintained and refurbished over the decades.
Learn more about the park’s history here.
Oz Down Under
Halfway across the globe, a new “Wizard of Oz”-themed area at Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia will open sometime in 2024, complete with two roller coasters. Learn more in our previous story.
