Orlando's Weird & Forgotten Six Flags | Expedition Extinct

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Want a little more Expedition? Then check out our brand new podcast! Join me and @superenthused on an Expedition Enthused introductory episode talking about us, our story and what is to come. Search on your podcast app or follow the link here - linktr.ee/expeditionenthused

[@muppetsretrofan8873]

This was a great video, in fact, I had no idea there was a Six Flags [even if it's technically a different experience] in Orlando. Six Flags has a surprising amount of defunct parks. Hoping you eventually cover Astroworld [with info on Marvel Mcfey and the park's pre-Six Flags history].

[@andrewcoy1766]

Just had a listen, great introduction, looking forward to the next one!

[@alexgeorge501]

love the intros to your videos and the all the historic-rich content on rides/attractions past and present they feature, can we get a clue on what the next video will be on? till then i'll catch you next ride!

[@carminecdinoproductions]

I’d love to see some awesome Six Flags Theme Parks and Water Parks in Florida including the destination Six Flags Over Florida theme park in Central Florida, Six Flags Paradise Kingdom in Southern Florida, etc.! If there could be a Six Flags Over Florida theme park, it might be a compliment to the other Central Florida and Orlando theme parks in the area and a compliment to Six Flags Over Georgia!

[@pretti4ashun]

@@muppetsretrofan8873 I just made a comment on this and came under this comment and saw yours!!! I miss Astroworld. It was our summer camp in the 90’s. 😂😂😂 we were a different breed of kids back then!!! I still remember all my favorite rides!!

[@rosera99]

I visited Movieland as a kid, the whole thing was uncanny but I would not budge from the gift shop because the hall of horrors was the exit. My cousin, gods bless him he passed away recently, zipped me up in a jacket and put me on his back and ran through it. Just a memory my family has held onto since back then. 20 years ago already, jeez.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Time flies!

[@Mrs.Self.Distruct]

That was very sweet of your cousin, condolences.

[@oooh19]

Sorry for your loss

[@Datadog-1]

That’s a really nice memory

[@jwgreek8606]

Wow great story

[@meetmeindreamland]

I remember visiting the wax museum in San Antonio and finding it both very underwhelming and extremely creepy. Obviously, the best part was the dungeon or horrors (or whatever it was called), but at the same time, I kind of couldn't handle it as an 8-year-old. It's amazing to me that wax museums are still a thing, they seem like such a quintessentially Victorian attraction.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Yeah exactly the same for me in London!

[@christina.kleman]

Same for me in Niagara Falls! It was a never again experience as a kid because it scarred for life. I remember physically shaking in fear with the combo between the sound effects, the uncanny wax valley & the scary maze to top it off😬😬😬

[@jennrodriguezdaluz]

i never went into the wax museum (just the ripley's believe it or not) but always thought it was genius to put wax museum in the hottest areas of the country because you KNOW it's always gonna have great air conditioning lol.

[@Boom12]

I love wax museums. I've even worked in one for a couple of years! Was part of Madame Tussauds Singapore in fact. Was the best 2 years I had before the pandemic. I think why wax museums are still a draw if done right, is the fact there are people who like to size up to celebrities and historical figures. Certain areas were creepy though... then again, the building its in use to be a hospital in World War II. Tussauds in Singapore took over another wax museum called Images of Singapore, which was more of a historical and cultural type attraction. The figures were...something. A small number of those figures remained as we kept Images as part of the attraction, but they didn't look took good compared to the ones brought in by Tussauds, and they always get us feeling the chills.

[@papisuavevision]

New York one crazy too on Times Square

[@SmolAliens]

I appreciate you covering these older I-Drive attractions. I lived right off of I-Drive for several years and it’s always interesting to find out what used to occupy some of these older buildings and lots. My partner grew up in FL and got to visit a lot of them. I feel like the 80s-early 90s were an era with a lot of fun indie attractions and I’m sad to have missed out haha.

[@gc4644]

Actually the 70s was a bigger era of the big boom of indie attractions in the greater Orlando area. The Mystery Fun House, Wet & Wild, the Zanadu Home of the Future, Fun Spot on 192, Dinner Theaters, and tons of unique restaurants and gift shops being built as International Drive was being developed & coming to life. And the prices for everything back then was quite reasonable, and the crowds weren't ANYTHING like today. Yep the 70s (and early 80s) was thee best time to experience Orlando..

[@jwgreek8606]

Shoot my father lived in Orlando for years and I lived there in the late 80s and again in the mid to late 90s. I was born in 1986 and I wish I would have gotten to experience Boardwalk and Baseball but it shut down before I could!

[@jwgreek8606]

I grew up in the 90s and most of those places were still around. Especially the former two and the latter as well.

[@jwgreek8606]

Shoot the late 70s and early 80s were a good time to grow up period. I wish I was old enough to experience it. I am 36. I was not born until 1986. But the late 80s and early 90s were good. Folks used to cruise International Drive back then until the authorities put a stop to it.

[@paultidd]

I always appreciate how educational your videos are compared to other theme park videos on KZbin. I like that you show the dark and light sides of things, and you don't just stick to the positive when speaking about these things.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you so much ☺️

[@caketropolis]

Also, they don't unnecessary embellish stories for clickbait, which so many channels do

[@fifthrider]

Our counterpart out here on the west ( Movieland Wax Museum ) was open until about 2005. I still have souvenirs I bought from the place. My favorite story about the place was the day ( 60's or 70's ) that Vincent Price went out to the museum to stand in for his figure. KZbin is rife with videos of modern day actors standing in for their figures but imagine being there 50 years ago and walking by that slice of history. Customer: "Wow, that one looks so lifelike!" Vincent: "...and you as well, madame." Stunts like that put them on the map and kept them there. Once Billy Barty started doing their TV commercials you knew the place was dead. Alan Parkinson holds a special place in the hearts of those of us who grew up around here 50+ years ago. Until now, I'd never known there was one in Orlando AND that it was a Six Flags venture? Wild. I had no idea. Another fun CA/FL comparison was Lion Country Safari. For many years I was the last living person who knew where Frasier the lion's body was buried. I ended up bringing the GPS co-ordinates to the Irvine company a few years back so that he wouldn't be "lost". ...but that's a story for another comments section, whenever ETP gets to LCS stories.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Ah legend Vincent Price

[@margaretgarnto6272]

I would love to have met Vincent Price whenever he came to central Florida in the 1970s (I had a crush on him at the time, from late 1973 to mid-1978.). My oldest sister, Mary, wanted to take me to Stars Hall of Fame back in the 1970s when it was open, but she never did.

[@samanthamaynard4447]

I am so glad I checked out this video. You just answered a 41 year old question. My parents went to Epcot not long after opening. In that group of photos, there was this weird wax museum that I could not place. Now I know exactly where they went. The Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers and Wizard of Oz shots in your video confirmed it. I had no idea this even existed!

[@starsbookreviews]

Love seeing videos about attractions that are not Disney or Universal in Florida, even if most are exctinct now. Also please do a video on Weeki Wachee!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It’s on my list to do for sure!

[@starmancrusader]

What’s Weeki Wachee? Don’t think I’ve heard of that one

[@JustinCoasters]

@@ExpeditionThemePark Any plans for Treasureland in Tampa?

[@JustinCoasters]

What about Haunted Mansion in Kissimmee?

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

@@JustinCoasters i have tried to do that video twice, there is just no good footage for it

[@SuperEnthused]

My favorite are the stories of forgotten attractions like this!! You’re the best!

[@7harrisgirl]

It was my favorite place to visit outside of the Magic Kingdom when I was 10 years old. I especially loved the immersive sets such as the Dr. Zhivigo set which was cold like the movie would have been. Thanks, Sam, for this blast from the past!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you!

[@scotsmith2391]

Growing up in Orlando, I went once as a teenager when my cousin from NY came to visit. The best part at the times was the opening movie and the ominous entry into the time tunnel. The rest of the attraction was kind of tiresome as you already know. But it was great fun seeing this video. I still drive by the building frequently and like to tell people what it was.

[@rdt8]

My recently deceased mother was the Director of Marketing/Publicity at Stars Hall of Fame (after leaving that same role at Cypress Gardens before that, and Circus World before that, and before that being the first female Publicist hired at WDW and having been on the opening team). Haven't watched this yet but I'm excited. This will be very personal for me to see. I have all kinds of memorabilia and files and Betamax tapes and artwork and promotional advertisements and whatnot from all of these attractions.

[@rdt8]

After Stars Hall of Fame, Six Flags sent her down to South Florida to open Atlantis: The Water Kingdom. They then tried to send her to open AutoWorld in Flint, Michigan but she declined this opportunity and left Six Flags at that point. Or maybe she worked for 20th Century Fox? 🤔 Did Six Flags own 20th Century Fox at some point? There was some connection there. I guess this video will tell me lol.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

That’s amazing. I made a video also on Atlantis!

[@rdt8]

@@ExpeditionThemePark I love your Atlantis! video (and all of your videos!). I'm still only halfway through watching this so far but my own personal memories of this facility/building were from the late 1990s when Anheuser-Busch/Sea World owned the building. My father was the Director of Security (and other departments at different times) at Sea World for over a decade when I was a child and by that time they had purchased this building. As I'm sure you will probably mention in your video, after Stars Hall of Fame closed the building eventually was purchased by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ) a large publishing / textbook publishing corporation which owned Sea World prior to Anheuser-Busch purchasing the marine parks and the old Stars Hall of Fame building had been turned into an attraction (well, kind of more of a specialty sales center than a true attraction) called "Places of Learning". It was basically a place where teachers from across the United States would come to peruse the latest and greatest textbooks and teaching materials lol. HBJ created a giant map of the United States out of cement in the parking lot that lit up and had different water effects. Anyway, by the mid 1990s Sea World/Anheuser-Busch used the facility for several different functions simultaneously (and probably still does, if the building is still standing? It's been a few years since I was home in Orlando). Half of the building was leased out to the Orange County Sheriff's Department as office space and then another giant portion of the building contained a huge huge huge fish tank and was basically a nursery for sick fish from SeaWorld (and I remember they had terrible problems with the tanks always leaking and flooding the building). And then another portion of the building on the back was (maybe still is?) basically a store where they sold surplus items from the theme parks to employees and also auctioned off unique items as well. And then another portion of the building became a television studio. Since my father was the Director of Security I basically was able to wander anywhere I wanted and he would give me keys and I used to play in this building sometimes when I was like 14 and it was such a creepy and fascinating place. The parking lot still had a weird, somewhat faded map of the United States set into the broken concrete with weeds growing through it. There was the TV studio area which was at one point in the late '90s was used to film a sitcom that was basically a "Friend's" knock-off (which in reality was pretty much just a promotional vehicle for AB theme parks) about a group of young, 20-something "friends"/roommates who worked at the different AB parks. If I can remember the name I'll edit this comment and add it. There was a television soundstage inside with a set designed to look like the local coffee shop where the characters from the show all hung out lol. The employee auctions were fascinating/fun and you could buy (or bid on) anything you could think of, from Sea World park garbage cans to signs for different attractions, and surplus merchandise. They also sold off items that guests had lost in the parks that had been held at Lost and Found for an extended period of time but never collected such as camcorders and film cameras and expensive sunglasses and whatnot lol. At one point I started taking piano lessons for like 5 seconds and my father came home a few days later with an entire upright piano he had purchased for like $50 from there that had originally been the rehearsal piano for the Chinese acrobats show at the Nautilus theater at Sea World lol. There had also been an attraction in that vicinity built by HBJ called Florida Festival (maybe another video opportunity?) that was basically HBJ/Sea World's attempt to have something similar to what Disney had with the Lake Buena Vista Village/Marketplace which was basically an indoor/outdoor mall that had various shops and restaurants and I believe was Florida / sunshine themed and was built in giant tents. I don't believe it was open for very long. I remember also as a child seeing a few remnants from that property completely overgrown with weeds kind of back behind the Stars Hall of Fame building/near this overflow parking lot for employees that was used at the time next to/behind the Renaissance hotel (which originally was a Stouffer resort and was also owned/built by HBJ and if I recall when it opened had the world's largest atrium lobby in terms of square feet).

[@Wanderlustwithjess50]

I have to say I liked this place! They had a fabulous Poseidon Adventure display that felt very realistic. They also had Fred McMurray's Flubber mobile hanging upside down! I was in my early 30's.

[@foxworthyyoutube9385]

I’ve wanted to learn more about different theme parks outside the United Kingdom, glad you make great videos of theme park history

[@singlerideradventures6621]

The building for the Buena Park Movieland Wax Museum is still standing, with lettering still visible. Nearby Knott's even made a tribute to it, sort of, with Wax Works maze at Scary Farm

[@johnlynch42069]

I thought they tore it down in 2016 and put a Butterfly Wonderland in its place.

[@ducatisti]

I never knew about this, and I'm a pretty savvy person when it comes to Orlando attractions history. I visited the Movieland Wax Museum in California as a kid and even then I thought most of the figures were embarrassingly bad and it's made me avoid wax museums ever since. Although I'll probably visit the original Madame Tussauds whenever I get to London.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

At least you got to visit one of them!

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I've only been in one wax museum, and it was definitely an odd experience but the figures were pretty excellent, IMO. Of course my opinion isn't worth much but it's just my own experience. I could see how one bad go could get you to avoid them though, as even the one I've been in that I think is pretty good, I've only been in twice and it's less than two hours from my house. 😂 They're an odd concept to begin with, to me. But again, just my opinion.

[@Eric-Indiana]

I definitely remember going there multiple times while on vacation in Florida. Somewhere my parents have a photo of me next to the 'Mister Spock's wax figure, ha ha! If I remember correctly it was very close to Florida Festival....

[@VibeVixen02]

Great and informative video! Would love to see your take on Six Flags Autoworld in Flint, MI. So interesting that Six Flags created attractions that were not as ride-heavy as its competition

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

I hope to in the future. Thank you!

[@michaeltaylor1603]

My1st job was AstroWorld Houston, TX. (1985) Six Flags had some unique properties. This was one along with '84 SF Auto World '85 SF Power Plant '83 SF Atlantis (water park in Hollywood Fla) I'd only seen a few pix in the Six Flags Guide books amusement travel books. Great documentary as always!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you so much

[@Visualizedtime]

I honestly thought you were going to say that its now the Movieland hotel down international drive. Maybe the hotel is named in honour of this old attraction. Great video.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

That would be a better ending ha

[@timpendleton514]

I visited on my first trip to Orlando in 1977 and really enjoyed it. The sets with sound, music, lighting, and special effects made it memorable. However, some of the figures looked……weird. I also visited Movieland in Buena Park in 1990 and loved how it rekindled memories of Stars Hall of Fame.

[@benjaminmuratore9341]

It's nice to see you covering Six Flags again. Especially since you don't talk about them that often. Speaking of infrequently covered, how come you've never made a video on Hershey Park? Even channels similar to yours rarely, if ever, seem to talk about them.

[@OfftheWallTales]

I started to leave a comment asking what he could focus on. Quick wiki check: opened in 1906, has 76 rides, has had a total of 142 during its lifetime… Now I’m definitely going to spend way too long reading about those 66 closed rides.

[@michaeltaylor1603]

Hershey IS a great park. One of the many "old" parks in PA. The birth place of the 1st roller coaster in America Mauch Chunk Scenic Railway.

[@EpcotCenter1982]

I remember Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park CA and also Stars Hall of Fame in Orlando. Went to the CA one all the time; my sister worked there.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Oh nice!

[@lavetaloca7790]

I honestly love that every time you mention Six Flags you have that old dancing guy with the quirky music. He always cracks me up

[@woodencoasterfan]

I live in Orlando and always remembered seeing this as we drove by to go to SeaWorld and WDW.

[@tomklock568]

We visited these parks in Buena Park area (Knott's, Hollywood Wax Museum, and Japanese Village/Deer Park). It was a different era! All but Knott's are long gone. I didn't realize I guess that they also put that into the Orlando area too. One day I hope to visit Florida, haven't made it yet!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Hope you get to!

[@AJCMagicTV]

I remember this place on my first trip to Disney World as we stayed on International Drive. I remember seeing the brochures for it at the visitor center and hotel lobby racks. We did end up visiting Movieland in Orlando. We have been to the many Wax Museums in Niagara Falls, Canada so knew what it would be like. Thank You for sharing. I remember all kinds of attractions in and around Orlando that are no longer there.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thanks so much for watching

[@vectorwolf]

I distinctly remember visiting Movieland in Anaheim, and we'd always hit the Ripley's that was nearby at the same time. It was what you did if you were a local and wanted something fun to do out of the heat, but didn't want to mess with the fuss of Disneyland or Knotts. Good times. I actually thought it closed in the mid 90s, but I guess the old beast hung on a bit longer. I don't know why, and I suppose it seems a little silly now, but I always found the statue of Superman standing motionless amongst all those silent crystals to be the spookiest scene in there, a lot more so than the actual horror vignettes! To this day, I can't remember why.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

I thought it was so spooky!

[@ThePirateprincess23]

As a kid growing up in the 90s, I remember watching commercials for Buena Park. Knotts Berry Farm, Medieval Times, Movieland, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and Disneyland were all being promoted in one 30 second commercial. It was pretty cool seeing all of them being promoted at once. I never did make it to Movieland or Ripley's though.

[@onbearfeet]

I never managed to visit the Buena Park Movieland, but I'd love to see a video on Ripley's Believe It Or Not! I loved that weird place as a kid.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Yeah it was also cool

[@eddienhp]

Great video! Movieland had a great history of a wax museum of actors being in wax. I never notice there was a Six Flags in Orlando until now.

[@tommiller4895]

In 1979, Six Flags Stars Hall of Fame did an outdoor Stage Show called "The Wacky World of Comedy". It was an hour long show featuring Comedy Skits, a Musical Number and a Magic Show. I did the Magic Show for run of the show. It was tough working outdoors in the Florida heat and humidity in a Full Dress Tuxedo with Tails but I managed. I would sometime go into the wax museum to enjoy the air conditioning. The Museum itself was really good and most of the wax figures were extremely accurate and life like. I got to meet a number of Celebrities there including Barbara Eden and Mel Torme. During this time I became friends with one of my childhood heroes, Sky King (Kirby Grant). He was the Host of a Shopping/Dining venue called Florida Festival (which was right next to Stars Hall of Fame). I would eat lunch there everyday and became friends with Kirby (and their Magician "Micro" aka Joseph White). I have great memories of the Stars Hall of Fame and this time of my life. PS: I went on to perform Magic at other Six Flags parks.

[@snarkus63]

Thank you for this.... my family visited Florida several times in the early-to-mid 80s; upon learning of the Stars Hall Of Fame via a brochure from the Florida Welcome Center, I really wanted to see it. I was lucky if I got one day at Disney World ( and we'd be there in a St. Augustine condo for two f--kin' weeks!!! Gawd, I hated those trips! ). By the time I started going by myself, the place had closed.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Ahhhhh needed those two weeks!

[@johnsettineri5332]

Hey I don't know if you do suggestions, but I'd love to see you cover Coney Island in one of these series. Especially the old days and new of Coney Island. I'm surprised no one has covered The World in Wax at Coney Island, as it was especially strange.

[@coyoteartist]

I never sawr this place but I do remember it coming up as a there use to be, in the early 1990s when the TV and Toy Museum at Shopper's World opened. That place was fun. There was a totally rad model train museum near by too.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Orlando has some cool gems!

[@slugslugslugslug404]

i always love these videos they can start anywhere ! sleep medication to theme parks is insane !

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Ahah right?

[@SharonMooreHeartSwell]

This is so weird for me. I used to work in this building from 2013-2015. I had no idea of the buildings amazing history.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

what did you do there?

[@SharonMooreHeartSwell]

@@ExpeditionThemePark The marketing and sales teams for SeaWorld Orlando worked in there. I was on the public relations team for SeaWorld, Aquatica, and Discovery Cove.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

@@SharonMooreHeartSwell I knew it was used by SeaWorld but didn’t know which part! Super cool

[@shaggytallboy4982]

The comments can some times be as interesting as the video itself.

[@datapusher-]

Wow. This made me remember that I went to "places of learning" for a 4th grade field trip in 1986. The giant US map 16:58 is all I remember about it.

[@EpcotCenter1982]

I would love if you could research the park that replaced Japanese Deer Park called Enchanted Village.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It’s on my list!

[@puckpirate1987]

Thanks for this video! I got picked to be in the MASH skit and it was lots of fun! I thought this woukd just be a distant memory but this video brought it all back.

[@diggingattycho7908]

Whenever I see anything on Movieland, I remember another attraction in southern California called "Movieworld and Cars of the Stars". I saw them both in the same summer on a family vacation. I have to say Movieworld blew away Movieland. Movieworld was a collection of screen used sets and props. Perhaps it's worth you guys looking into.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Sounds like a fun place!

[@diggingattycho7908]

@@ExpeditionThemePark They had commercials with the late Billy Barty. It will take a bit of research on your part. Hopefully you have some avenues beyond the internet. I've found inly a few things about it online. At the time it was a very unusual place. The studios really didn't see any value in their props. The guy that owned the place was buying them up. You could go right up and touch the props(you were not supposed to, some even stole parts) the staff didn't seem to care. But then I don't remember seeing much of a staff. When it shut down the collection scattered all over the place. Some items were never seen again.

[@jamiesimpson8596]

You can still see the 1-acre USA map in satellite images of the property! Great video!

[@RealSkylus]

Love the video! Your one of the best people to find for Theme park Knowledge. Especially the Smiler video!!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you!

[@karenwade6713]

I remember going to that wax museum in Orlando multiple times when I was a teenager in the 80s. I always wondered where it went.

[@gc4644]

Thru the 70s as a kid, I remember we drove past Stars HoF hundreds of times (going to my grandmother's house), but we never stopped, and i always wondered what that place was . In 1981 I finally had the chance to check it out (by myaelf). I remember being very disappointed after finally going ,as it was indeed just basically a simple Wax Muaeum. I wasn't surprised when it did finally shut down. I also remember (in the 70s) across I-4 from Stars there was a large resort called "The Court of Flags", I believe that closed shortly before Stars HoF..

[@philiptrapper6646]

I can still remember going as a teen. I know I still have a Broschüre just need to take time to find it.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Ahh that’s awesome! A real collector item now

[@scifinut1]

Visited 2 times when I was a kid. I loved it. It was depressing that it couldn't stay around. It would've been nice to visit today and bring my kids

[@Zombie_Trooper]

It's funny you posted this now because only a couple months ago I discovered this attraction and was sad that no one had really talked about it. I even purchased a few items related to it.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

That’s awesome, what did you get ?

[@Zombie_Trooper]

@@ExpeditionThemePark Thank you 😁 I managed to score a couple vintage brochures and even a couple of souvenir guides. I love collecting vintage brochures and enamel pins especially, but no idea if they ever made any of those.

[@QueenDeni]

My only experience with a wax museum was a Madam Tussauds we stopped at on a road trip. It freaked me out so much that I refused to go with my family into any of it especially the Room of Horrors or whatever it was called. I sat in the lobby alone and stared at the figure of Michael Jackson from Thriller. Never wanted to go back.

[@kaylawhipple7570]

Everytime I think I've finally gotten the music from Mr. Six ads out of my head, a Six Flags video shows up. This was definitely an odd one. Thanks for the fun adventure.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It will never die!

[@kaylawhipple7570]

No it most certainly won't.

[@msryllo]

Love to see something in Geauga Ake and Boblo Island..

[@CRianna926]

Posted just in time for my lunch break! Thank you for all your hard work on these videos!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Hope you had a good lunch

[@Lee-kd3be]

Stumbled across your channel by accident but had to say what a fascinating vlog on Windsor safari park. Not something im proud of but I was actually at the last show Winnie did in 1990. I was only 5 at the time but still remember a bit of it. I also remember the keeper at the time telling us she was heading to America.

[@danandtab7463]

I wonder how many different attempts at theme parks/museums came and went in Orlando. So far I’m counting three so far, that China one, Holy Land, and this.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

So many!

[@Bigreid92]

Circus World then became Boardwalk and Baseball, Mystery Fun House, Hard Rock Vault

[@danandtab7463]

@@Bigreid92 Circus World sounds familiar!

[@Bigreid92]

@@danandtab7463 they were a major Orlando area theme park came around the same time as Stars Hall Of Fame but was bought out by Sea Worlds owners HBJ the same group that bought Stars. They turned it into a Baseball theme park and was the spring training facility for KC Royals. HBJ ran into financial difficulties in the late 80’s due to the crash of Wall Street Junk Bonds and they sold all their theme parks including Sea World to Busch. The remains of the park was demolished not too long ago.

[@gc4644]

There was also "Xanadu House of the Furure" off 192, was open thru the 70s and most of the 80s.

[@splinky9226]

One thing you forgot to mention about Stars Hall of Fame is that at least a majority of the figures were later bought up by the owners of Plaza of Wax, which opened near the Alamo in 1988, though was rebranded as Louis Tussauds Waxworks in the 2000s and a majority of the figures disappeared by the late 2010s. Also, in a way, Madame Tussauds succeeded Stars Hall of Fame as *the* wax museum of Orlando

[@marielayfield2987]

These are always interesting! Never heard of this place so it neat to see.

[@jwgreek8606]

I visited the Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson and loved it

[@thatevangarcia]

Thank you for this I’ve always read about this place on sketchy blogs but never really believed it really existed. Lol

[@dennycelestinohybridspecies]

I went here once as a kid with my parents, I grew up in Winter Springs FL north of Orlando.

[@hmcdude1027]

I wonder whatever happened to the cement squares with signed famous hand-foot prints in the front of the building.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

I tried to find out but could find nothing. One person reported they got save but who knows

[@rwhinkle1]

Very interesting video, I had visited Movieland in Buena Park back when my family went out there in 1989. Then we had also visited the HBJ Places of Learning around the same time, I've got video of that large map that used to be there. The overhead aerial image gives a good look on where it used to be. Never knew that this other wax museum existed

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you

[@coreyhiggins3475]

Great breakdown friends. Great work!!! Please, for us Carolina folk, can we get some Expedition Extinct rides from Carowinds?

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you! I will soon for sure aha

[@emmarose4234]

Did the cute filler at 1:18 inspire anyone else to look up exactly what the French Academy (of Sciences) was? It’s much like the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, or the Royal Society of London. They still only open a vacancy when a member dies.

[@shaelan]

I remember going there on my first trip in 1983. We did the museum because my cousin really really wanted to go, so we spent like half the day there. I still have photos of it somewhere, the original Superman set was the best of it, to me anyway, that was my favorite. I get a feeling that some of those figures ended up at other wax museums around the country because some of the ones you showed that I don't remember I know I've seen elsewhere. There used to be a museum in Lake George, NY called Waxlife, I wonder if some of their figures ended up there. Waxlife was open until the late 1980's across the street from Gaslight Village. The biggest exhibit they had there was a huge revolutionary war battlefield scene with several figures, If you go to Fort Ticonderoga, I think that you can still see some of the figures that survived the closure in the fort museum.

[@Clay3613]

You have any photos?

[@shaelan]

@@Clay3613 No, sadly. My photo albums disappeared some years ago.

[@robertmitchell7792]

Thanks for making these videos

[@KimCee2179]

My biggest impression of this attraction is that it seems like a walk-thru precursor to the Great Movie Ride.

[@scaram0uche]

I loved the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park! It was a great place. My friend's dad worked there as a teen and has some great behind the acenes photos of it!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

That’s awesome!

[@technosworld2]

I vaguely remember the MASH show as I would have only been about 3 or 4 years old. I also remember Places of Learning where I went on a school trip (I lived in Orlando) and remember enjoying it.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Yessss! That’s awesome

[@carminecdinoproductions]

If there could be a Six Flags Over Florida theme park, it might be a compliment to the other Central Florida and Orlando theme parks in the area and a compliment to Six Flags Over Georgia!

[@pretti4ashun]

New subscriber here! Love your videos. Would you do one on Six Flags Astroworld? I see you did the ultra twister which was one of my favorite rides! 🥰🥰🥰

[@fredreubens89]

I remember visiting Stars Hall Of Fame several times before it closed. Really enjoyed it.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Nice!

[@dennissmith5807]

I remember it and I made a video about it but yours of course is much better.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Oh you did that’s awesome, will check it out

[@WPack911]

Awesome video, this place was very shortly before my time. However, despite going to Orlando probably 25 times at least and being an pretty avid watcher of theme park KZbin video's I had never heard of it! Great find! I have been to Madame Tussauds Orlando, it was pretty cool, I had never been to a wax museum before so it was fun. Though I feel like with the rise of Animatronics and such the impact was less then it would have been 50+ years ago.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you!

[@jugatsu23nichi]

Excellent video Sam! Very interesting!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thanks so much

[@Backroad_Junkie]

The main ingredient in Sleep-eze is the same as the main ingredient in Benadryl. Most sleep aids are Benadryl, but at twice the price, lol... I've been to a Wax museum when I was a kid. Creeped me out, lol....

[@scottjohnson5415]

I visited the wax museum on Anaheim back in 1983. It was pretty impressive.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

That’s awesome

[@aidanconroy966]

Excellent video as usual. I saw a mention of Marco Polo Park in a newspaper clipping you showed and hope you do a deep dive into that long-lost park at some point. I believe I have a picture of "Marco Polo" shaking hands with toddler me, if you want to use it. Lol

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It’s on my list to do for sure. Thank you!

[@MushroomHausArt]

I must have driven past that building hundreds of times and had no idea about its history!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Right?!

[@RedKnight.]

I’m wondering where was this located? I’m looking on the maps and I live in Orlando. I don’t remember this building. Is it a part of the convention center now?

[@noellesimagination7813]

right off of interstate 4, in front of Sea World.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It’s right next to i4 across from seaworld

[@gc4644]

On the eastbound side of I-4 near SeaWorld. I remember we drove past Stars hundreds of times thru the 70s, and I always wondered what it was..

[@alexismackenn4449]

I’m currently trying to plan a trip to Carowinds so I’m gonna take this as a sign to go 🤠

[@yupitsjessbbyx3]

I’ve lived in Orlando my entire life and have never heard about this place

[@gracelandone]

Growing up in Dallas I frequented Six Flags maybe four times a year. There used to be a wax museum along the Highway to get there. No way were we going to stop for that when Six Flags awaited. I wonder if the wax museum was part of their empire.

[@milesthehousecollection4153]

Gosh wax museum's are creepy things!! There is something spooky but enchanting about them. We had one in Blackpool in England.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It’s true!

[@charlottestreet3301]

Blackpool still has a wax museum

[@ellisz5972]

I never knew about this. Very cool.

[@SaturnCanuck]

I believe I visited this around 1982. Pretty good actually

[@robertgrady5509]

Movieland in Buena Park was a great attraction so sad when it closed 😢😢 visited between 99-2005 … it was still fun and good to see figures in proper film sets etc with music and effects …. It was huge too …. They did open a bodies and titanic exhibit for a few years … until sadly it finally closed and demolished .. a planned butterfly 🦋 farm type attraction was started but never complete so sad to see the site now a total mess RIP movieland

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

A real shame

[@brainysmurf74]

I remember the Stars Hall of Fame. The building is still there. There is so much I could tell you about vintage orlando. Tried to reach your friend but she never replies to messages. There are so many secrets to the area that few know about it. Including one BIG secret that I am surprised Woo, Trackers or any of the others haven’t found yet. Its amazing becuse its so obvious to those who live in the area.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Yep still offices

[@christopherandersch1299]

I think you should do one on the extinct attraction, “ six gun territory “ near Ocala , Florida

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

I did one a long time ago but may be something I might revisit

[@fanatichighdesertrailroader]

Movie Land was in my back yard in Buena Park . Remember it well. The figures were good until it was sold then they became less.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Good place to be

[@lukegreen5341]

14:01 I've Been To Epcot Theme Park At Walt Disney World Resort In Florida In The United States Of America For My 30th Birthday This Year. Thanks Mate. X

[@deandupont5503]

Holy cow. I'm juuust old enough to remember Japanese Deer Park. I never went, because my parents had the sense to know their young offspring would be bored to death. ("But Daaad, Disneyland is right there!")

[@korwynias_yt]

I remember seeing an ad pamphlet for this in a hotel. But it was in late 80's and the hotel was in Texas. So the ad pamphlet would have been too late XD

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Ahaha wish I had it

[@darladoxstater8528]

Movieland Wax Museum was in Buena Park, not Anaheim, on Beach Blvd north (deeper into BP) of Knott's. Anaheim has baseball, hockey, and the rodent.

[@mechi20]

Super awesome episode!

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thank you so much

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

THIS would still be AWESOME!! I know I'd go to see it. I love Hollywood wax museum type things, because modern movies are mostly pretty boring, all we'd have would be superheros. After the 1990's the movies totally tanked. Pandering to the Red Chinese love for superhero movies, for some dumb reason. Why would the Chinese adore Western superheros? You'd think they'd be just about Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan etc etc etc

[@DeanSVaughan]

*Gets the idea from madam Tussauds* "There's nothing like it in the world"

[@KaldraJayd]

If EPCOT was too much competition then Universals "ride the movies" theme would've crushed them when that opened

[@gc4644]

You can't compare the Stars HoF attraction with Universal Studios regarding competition from Epcot. The revenue from Stars for a whole year would probably equate to a week's revenue at Universal..

[@ryananderson8511]

I guess history learns from its mistakes sometimes, right place wrong time

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Yeppppp

[@haroldwinkler9772]

Visited the Japanese Deer Park, not many growing up knew about it....

[@Ragan31687]

As an Orlandoan myself I just wanted to note how bad the traffic is on I-4. I mean just awful