The History of the Wonderful World Of Oz: The Cancelled 'Wizard of Oz' Theme Park

[@TeacupForOne]

*MATT'S MUSINGS:* Which Ride Would Have Been YOUR Favourite??

[@DaRealTaylorPlayz]

I would have LOVED the tornado ride!

[@marthayipchuck9977]

I believe the reason that the Wizard of Oz Theme Parks have not survived is due to the locations they’ve been built on. To be successful the park would have to be built close to an existing popular tourist destination, in a warm climate. Central Florida would be perfect! My favourite ride would be The Flying Monkey Coaster ( I wouldn’t ride it, but it looks awesome)

[@DaRealTaylorPlayz]

@@marthayipchuck9977 That actually makes a LOT of sense! 🤔

[@TheJFish94]

I'd take the Dorothy's Adventures in Oz Dark Ride and the Flying Monkey's Roller Coaster. I'd think the coaster should've been a B&M Inverted Coaster like Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa and Batman the Ride at various Six Flags Parks.

[@forrestdupre87]

The Muppet version had the most source material

[@CelebrimborCurufinwe]

actually Santa did show up in the Oz book The Road to Oz as a guest at Ozma's birthday party!

[@TeacupForOne]

I love that!!!!! I’m so sad I missed it while I was writing out this video, but it’s making me want to do a deep dive into some of the later books, that birthday party sounds magical! Thanks so much for watching!

[@CelebrimborCurufinwe]

@@TeacupForOne Yeah! Baum basically uses the party to pull in all the other fantasy books he'd written at that time into an expanded Oz universe. I hope you enjoy the books and thanks for making this excellent video 👍👍

[@wickedfeylady]

Thanks for this. I'm a big Oz geek and would have loved to go here. I'm also sorry I JUST missed the experience at MGM Grand, but they still had a little branding when I was there, and I got to meet Roger S. Baum there, who was really nice.

[@TeacupForOne]

Thank you so much for watching!!! Ever since starting this series I’ve realize just how lucky I was to catch the MGM Grand’s Oz era while it lasted…and meeting Roger S Baum was such a special thing that I’m so grateful they offered even after the emerald city went away. Did you get him to sign a copy of Lion of Oz?? I think that’s the book he was promoting the last time I met him 🦁

[@wickedfeylady]

@@TeacupForOne Close, it was the now infamous Dorothy of Oz, the source for a certain movie. But he wrote a little story for me in the book and we got a signed copy of Lion for my cousin, who helped get me into alll things Oz when we were kids. I'm so glad you got to meet him too! Based on your video I am sure you appreciated it.

[@SarahHalina]

Why oh why did this theme park fail. I found myself screaming with glee watching your video and then sobbing because it never happened. Not gonna lie, I would have definitely taken the Dorothy's Farmhouse route. When you started that part, I said "I bet you anything, it's a "twister" that takes you there" and then you said it and I was like I knew it. Dorothy's Adventures in Oz is seriously the greatest thing I have ever heard. Seriously, this is the most exciting theme park that never was.

[@TeacupForOne]

Ugh I know, I kept getting so excited while researching this video…only to realize it doesn’t actually exist 😭 My not so secret agenda is to get this video to go viral so that the WB Movie World executives see that the people want an Oz park with more than 2 lightly themed roller coasters! Thank you so much for taking the time to watch, it honestly means so much to hear that people are enjoying the content and also share in my excitement for this project (even if it never happened)

[@MissManday]

You missed a few attractions! - Universal Studios Japan had an Emerald City that featured a condensed version of Wicked. - The Storybook Canal ride in DL Paris features the Emerald City from Return To Oz. - In 2013 Epcot had a Land Of Oz garden to promote Oz: The Great And Powerful.

[@TeacupForOne]

No joke, I discovered the Universal Japan Oz land the day after finishing this series….I think I might have to do a part 3!! I had no idea it featured Wicked! 🤯

[@GageTheMatewielGurl]

I am so disappointed that this theme park never came to life, and I hope they create this theme park in the future.

[@andrewkellogg8762]

I hate to say it dead for good it was canceled on October 5, 2001

[@GageTheMatewielGurl]

@@andrewkellogg8762 I've seen ideas a lot further back than 2001 in theme parks that have been brung back as ideas.

[@brittanyc.4540]

I would love to experience a Wizard of Oz theme park because the entire amusement park based on the Land of Oz would’ve been bigger and spectacular like Universal Studios and Disney theme parks! 🤩🤩 Though, of course we have a very sweet smaller Wizard of Oz version theme park at Beech Mountain, North Carolina. Hopefully, I hope we get a Oz-theme attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood which is based on the upcoming *Wicked* film series! That would’ve been awesome to have that at Universal Studios Hollywood and even Orlando Resort if the *Wicked* films became a smashing hit at the box office! I’d love to see character meet-&-greets for Elphaba 🧹and Glinda 🫧 and a dark ride similar to “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.” We shall see if the Oz world *Wicked* ever comes to the Universal theme parks, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!🤞🤞

[@TeacupForOne]

I was just thinking this the other day: I would be OVERJOYED if Universal Studios incorporated an Oz section following Wicked…aaaaand they’ll have a ton of space in Orlando after Poseidon’s Fury closes…

[@PunziesPalace]

i could see some other reasons just legistically that would have been difficult for the Oz theme park, but overall, with some tweaks, i think it would have been amazing!! definitely would need some revamping for glinda's world, and a bubble coaster sounds epic! (i'm imagining something like meet the robinsons bubble transportation thing from the movie, or like in robots the spinning ball coaster thing). overall, this video just inspires me to want to do theme park design lol and also inspired me to start working on a video series for a theme park i actually have a ton of ideas for so thanks again Matt for a truly wonderful video

[@fishytuna4304]

what an amazing video! I'm a huge theme park enthusiast and I had never heard about these concepts. keep up the good work 👍 and I'm looking forward to your next video

[@downtheyellowbrickpod465]

Excellent video!!! Thank you!!!

[@splashvengance_875]

i live four minutes from where this park was going to be located, and this is absolutly heartbreaking to me not only to my theme park enthusiast side, but also to think the amount this could benifit the KC area and midwest overall. Horrible to see talant and creativity like this go to waste.

[@TeacupForOne]

Aw, living that close would be such a tease!!!! What did they end up using the land for??

[@splashvengance_875]

@@TeacupForOne a shopping complex called the legends and nascar's Kansas speedway

[@ballerinafromtheblock]

I have a pair of Ruby slippers tattooed and consider myself a sort of oz adaptation historian. This is crazy that I’ve never heard of this theme park!

[@TeacupForOne]

I know, right?! It’s not easy finding info on it, even when you google it most of the results are for Land of Oz in NC…I’m still hoping I get to experience an Oz theme park at this scale one day

[@Evilgidgit4Ever]

I understood the green elephants reference. Not exactly the most terrifying plan to conquer Oz, but entertaining nevertheless.

[@ballerinafromtheblock]

The lions area along the yellow brick road sounds to me like a cute nod to being brave, definitely for kids but the lion is explored the leash of the three and his backstory so there wasn’t much to work with

[@tinmanlover1994]

Hi I just found your channel and been watching your wizard of oz videos and im such a huge wizard of oz fan myself. I love the tinman the best because hes so sweet and nice. I can relate to him to.

[@tinmanlover1994]

I'm 4 Foot 7 inches so the munchkin land/ village is perfect for me

[@urbex_coasters]

I do believe the coaster for Emerald City was further designed than people think. A show coaster with a launch? Does that sound like anything? Something that would've had the plans sold to another park after Oz was cancelled? Yes, I'm suggesting California Screamin' was originally designed for this park.

[@TeacupForOne]

Well…that just blew my mind! 🤯

[@Hellosidney123]

We should just start a committee for this park to actually be created and I seriously hope we could get a witches broom ride and a glinda bubble ride and a complete change in how the glindas land works id make it bubble themed with a bunch of bubbles flying down constantly so a lot of bubble machines

[@TeacupForOne]

I would love that. I’m still holding out hope that Wicked will dominate the box office, and Universal will add Oz for Phase II of Epic Universe 🤞

[@downtheyellowbrickpod465]

So enjoying watching this as we are obsessed with what could have been with this park! BUT just want to make sure this is said. Santa Claus actually is in Oz cannon- he’s friends with Ozma and comes to her birthday party in The Road to Oz!

[@TeacupForOne]

He is?! That actually makes me feel so much better, haha 😂 but I maintain that Glinda’s land needed a Glinda ride, since recording this video I’ve decided it should have been a bubble Ferris wheel 🎡🫧 Thanks again for the ongoing support with this series!!!

[@ericgjovaag7958]

Quite right, a bubble ride would have been terrific-and even would have fit for Santa Claus as well! In "The Road to Oz", the Wizard creates giant bubbles that many characters use to get home at the end, including Santa Claus!

[@christopherfelipe60]

Baum did have Santa Claus in one of his Oz books ….he made an appearance in the Road to Oz as a guest for Ozma’s birthday party

[@TeacupForOne]

One more reason this park would have been wonderful!

[@marseilletarot]

Ok the unka jams cameo made me LOL

[@TeacupForOne]

I was pretty proud of that one 🤣🤣🤣

[@emilyschulz907]

Please make it real someday I would love to see it

[@MrTophatter]

I want to live there