2014 Oscars Pay Tribute to 'The Wizard of Oz'

We knew it would happen but we weren't sure what was the big secret plan was for the tribute moment. Thankfully, it turned out to be elegant and heartfelt.

Simply and sentimentally introduced by Whoopi Goldberg (who lifted her skirts to show her ruby high heeled slipper and striped stockings), a beautifully edited montage of scenes from MGM's Wizard of Oz played on a large screen behind Pink, who gave possibly the best performance of the evening, singing Over the Rainbow. The star studded audience, complete with the reunion of Judy Garland's three children, thought so too, quickly giving Pink a standing ovation after her last notes. Alecia Moore (aka Pink) gave the song her own phrasing and a more sombre, slightly sad, retrospective emphasis to the interpretation, which the audience clearly felt too. If you missed it and have any feeling for The Wizard of Oz - book, film or both -  you'll want to take time to watch this. It's nothing fancy, just beautiful:

Afterward we were treated to host Ellen DeGeneres in her Glinda the Good Witch get-up which was a light and lovely bubble of 'pink love' to button up the moment with. All, in all, it was unexpectedly grounded while still sentimental. We applaud it.

Great Promo for Wicked Return of OUAT! If Only They Had Followed Through..

I'm way behind on my TV viewing (shocker, I know) so I haven't been up to date on what's been going on with OUAT or when exactly it was coming back. I only knew that the Wicked Witch of the West would be featured, although I didn't realize she was the main hook for the second half of the season. I should have been tipped off by the 75th MGM anniversary though. How could they not take advantage of such a tie-in?

And I only just saw this promo (below) which is quite possibly THE best teaser/promo Once Upon A Time has ever had. It's brief, clearly fairy tale in Storybrooke, uses iconic motifs and images, is subtle in presentation and doesn't suffer from a whole lot of bad CG or weirdly lit make-up and costumes. Take a look:

See what I mean? It's a good promo. It's piqued my curiosity.

Then I saw the full trailer for the return of the show and... "wah waaah..." Yeah.

The WWs look is just hideous and wouldn't even pass the audition phase of FaceOff. I feel awful for the actress. It's just a bad, bad combo. I know she's not supposed to be beautiful (at least in the traditional sense) but she's not supposed to look like her kids colored her face with green markers while she was asleep, either.  And all the extra sparkle makes her look like some sort of failed lizard-lady. :/ Even so, this could still be fixed with some changes to the lighting, lens and smart use of a filter. (It's driving me crazy!) I can only hope the actress is good enough to transcend her look.

The image at left was the official 'teaser image' to see what fans thought of the next cast member's look. Here it isn't too bad, but then this has been through the power of Photoshop. If only they'd done the something similar with the actress' scenes instead of that make-up. (I would even prefer her just in black and white for a good long stretch...)

I do, however, like the flying monkeys - at least, seen in a split-second from a distance... Here's the longer promo I'm talking about:

As a side note: Seeing what fans do with the images gives me good cause to believe that if the show just used a filter on most of the camera work, it would be make the show lot easier to watch (especially in the CG scenes) and a lot more magical! But I digress...

UPDATE 6:52pm:
I forgot to add an excerpt from an interview on the OZ-factor coming to OUAT with the creators. here:

Where is Glinda, the Good Witch? We will meet Sunny Mabrey in the iconic role in latter half of this new crop of episodes.“I think she’s still Glinda the Good Witch in that she’s positive and has a lot of spirit to her,” said Kitsis of their spin on the character. 'But the kind of mythology of the four witches and that thing, we kind of created our own.” Horowitz also revealed that our Glinda is pure goodness but she’s a character “who has gone through a lot more."

You can read more of that interview HERE.

So, we shall see what OUAT has done to the WW of the West story and to Glinda as well. The Wicked Witch will not be named Elphaba or Theodora but will have her own identity and a story we haven't yet heard.  Her name instead, will be Zelena. Although there's usually a reason for the name choices on OUAT I can't immediately think of a reason for this choice. Can you?

Fan-made promo image

Since seeing the second promo and the extensive use of awful green make-up, and use of purple screen (that's right - they had to switch to 'purple screen' for the CG sets instead of using the usual green), I'm just not really hooked in. It doesn't help that the Snow-Charming storyline is so very, very tired and that we just don't care anymore. They essentially had a reboot though, which, although being (essentially) a writerly-cheat, it may just be enough to inject some much-needed life back into the series. The wandering-in-circles-around-the-island with lots of made-up drama got old very quickly and I think everyone cheered when we got back into Storybrook this time. It's the magical juxtaposed against the every day that seems to be most fascinating to people, including big-time fans, so here's hoping Horowitz & Kitsis are listening and have steered this aimless storyline back on course.

OUAT is returning Sunday, March 9th, with a promise of no-repeat episodes until the season finale this time.

I'm going to do my best to be optimistic about it. I'd love to enjoy watching this again and not have it dissolve into a 'likely-to-be-canceled' series.

Fairy Tale Review's 10th (!!) Anniversary Issue Is Out and It's An 'Oz-Stravaganza'

Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of MGM's beloved The Wizard of Oz movie, Fairy Tale Review, the annual literary journal dedicated to publishing new fairy tales, has released their special 10th anniversary Oz-themed issue! (And it's EMERALD green... ;) )

Ten years! Wow and congrats to all editors  and contributors through the years. You make our world a much richer place. Thank you.

Speaking of contributors, fairy tale news friend and writer Cate Fricke (of Something to Read For the Train) has a short story, Tin Girl, in this landmark issue as well (congrats Cate!). Here's a quickie-peek on the inspiration for her achievement:

Love that heart too! And you can go read more about her news and story HERE.

Here's a little announcement from Fairy Tale Review with some more exciting fairy tale news as well (the grayed links are intact so you can go there directly to find out more):

Fairy Tale Review is now open for submissions. 

Our tenth-anniversary issue, The Emerald Issue, is now available from Wayne State University Press. 

The newest Pins & Needles interview features the fabulous Timothy Schaffert.

We’ve added a new blog feature, Fairy-Tale Files, launching this week with ten days of Oz in celebration of The Emerald Issue. 

See you at AWP!

Did you see that? Fairy-Tale Files! A new blog feature and new fairy tale reading! Here's the scoop (& the new header by Samantha Sweeting):

(Read more HERE.)

This is just wonderful. Plus: Baba Yaga! Tam Lin! Fearnot! These are in my all time favorites fairy tale list!! I cannot click on all the goody-links fast enough!

Now I just need to clone myself so I have time to read even more and then figure out a way to download my clone's brain back into my own so I don't miss anything...

Note: Apologies for all the exclamation marks... I take it back. It's too exciting to not add exclamation marks!!

Breaking News/Rumor Mill: There's A "Wicked" Musical Animated Miniseries Currently in Production (& Chenoweth & Menzel Are On Board!?!)

I haven't been able to confirm this via any single additional source but this was announced yesterday (Tuesday), November 26th. There is no identifying title, handle or nickname behind the Tumblr that I can see (the header is above), but that person tagged the post with #Wicked Musical #Kristin Chenoweth and #Idina Menzel...

I know a lot of people are dying to see something done with the Wicked musical (as opposed to Gregory Maguire's book - though there's a whole crowd excitedly watching the various on/off developments for that too) but I wouldn't have thought "animated musical miniseries" would be what we would see first.

Here's the sneak peek or "test & promo animation":

Well, it's clear whoever did this has a good idea of what they're doing. What else do we know? Not a lot but here are the points listed in the FAQ:

It will be 2D (hand drawn)

It will be a televised miniseries event made by a feature animation team (first time this has been done)

It’s by a major studio that has done 2D before

Not WDFA (Walt Disney Feature Animation)

The animation on here is test/promotional material and is not final

The event is very early in pre-production

I (the Tumblr owner) briefly worked on the production

Hmm... I'm very much wondering if this is due to the hard work and inspiration of Heidi Jo Gilbert, who, not only storyboarded "Defying Gravity" herself in her spare time (and received much praise and support for it) but has been (gently) lobbying Stephen Schwartz for permission to do this (or to have him get someone else to do it, but preferably with her on board) for a good couple of years now.

By Heidi Jo Gilbert from her "Defying Gravity" personal project storyboard

Here's her open letter to Stephen Schwartz (who convinced Marc Platt to make a musical instead of a movie and resulted in the award winning Wicked: The Musical):

I know you can relate to the plight of loving a story, loving a medium, and trying to convince someone in power to see your vision! You did it with Marc Platt when you convinced him to make it a stage musical. I’m just approaching you with the same sincerity. Is it possible to talk you out of doing a live action movie adaptation? Would you consider doing a traditionally animated adaptation? In my heart I think the musical needs the medium, and I think the medium needs your musical. I just love them both so much and hopefully that shows through in the story reel.
Sincerely,Heidi Jo Gilbert

Take a look at Ms. Gilbert's storyboarded sequence, Defying Gravity (it's pretty great):

Ms. Gilbert got so much attention and acclaim at the time (about 2 years ago) that Theater Advisor interviewed her regarding why she thought Wicked should be an animated movie and how she might go about it, if it were up to her. Here's an excerpt:

TA: What inspired you to make this animation of Wicked? 

Heidi: Wow I don’t really know where to start with that question. If I had to give the short answer I’d just say my love for the story and my passion for hand-drawn animation. But if you want the long story… 

by Minkyu Lee (one of the Wicked-in-animation inspired trio)

I first discovered Wicked from my twin brother. He got the album for Christmas the year it came out. I didn’t know anything about it …but when I looked through the album and saw Stephen Schwartz and Idina Menzel my interest was peaked. I obviously knew Stephen Schwartz from his animation work. And I had seen Idina Menzel on broadway as Amneris in Aida and I loved her. I fell in love with the music and the story. But I think the idea of an animated Wicked first came when I was going to school at CalArts. There was a small group of us Wicked nerds. I think we really annoyed a lot of the other students with our constant stream of Wicked talk. I don’t even remember where the idea came from, it was just like this hive mind. We just had to make it into an animated film! It had to be hand-drawn and we had to be involved! Ha ha! We didn’t think about all the obstacles, how we’re still just students, how hand-drawn animation was dying, how Universal owns the rights. We just loved the story, loved the music, and just had this dream to see it animated.  

by Heidi Jo Gilbert (check the colors! Looks familiar?)

We all got jobs at Disney after graduation. Three of us just never let go of the idea, me, Jennifer Hager, and Minkyu Lee, two of my best friends from school. I got laid off from Disney when production on The Princess and the Frog was wrapping. I had all this time on my hands, and the freedom to work on whatever I wanted. Minkyu had done these awesome character designs and visual development for Wicked for one of his portfolios. I just kind of thought to myself, nothing is ever going to happen until we just do something. So I just invested my whole heart into storyboarding that sequence. Everyone has their dream projects. This would be mine. I love that the story is about the friendship between two girls, and not just a love story. I like that it’s not really a happy ending. I just think animation would be the perfect way to tell that story onscreen. And I also think hand-drawn animation needs a story like that to tell. I just love them both so much and that’s what inspired me to do it. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s just coming from a sincere desire to see that story animated and the hope to be a part of it!

You can read the whole interview HERE.

At the time of the buzz about Ms. Gilbert's boarded sequence, Universal held the rights to using the Wicked property but I'm not sure who is holding it right now. Guess we'll just have to follow the Wicked Leaks Tumblr and watch for updates...

Just Released: Marks & Spencer's "Believe in Magic & Sparkle" Xmas Fairy Tale Campaign (Yes. It's As Gorgeous As They Said It Would Be.)

So, here it is. I know you've all been on the edge of your seats... ;)

Actually it's quite lovely and I sort of wish it were longer... (You can tell me "I told you so" later, 'k?)

Wonderland and Oz work very well together here, as does Little Red and Hansel & Gretel. I'm guessing Arabian Nights was the most legitimate way they could think of to have Rosie in her underwear again, though they could have taken it one step further to make it Snow Queen-ish at the end before tumbling back down to Oz. I have to admit, the guy in the painting throws me a little as all I can think of are more obscure tales that he might be from but, other than that, there are more fairy tale references than I first thought there might be. It's an interesting take and mix, though some transition better than others (as in, why did she lose her clothes through the rabbit hole, exactly? "Part of the contract" is not a legitimate answer.).

Overall it's quite lovely and very "Christmassy".

Here's a behind-the-scenes look, which is fun to watch too, and gives some insight into the thought process behind using fairy tales for Christmas. I particularly like that the Director opted to do as much "in camera" as possible, rather than use green screen and CGI. It makes a huge difference to the acting and the end result.

(Side note: I wish OUAT would do more in camera. The effects in that show really pull me out of the scenes.)

They essentially say "fairy tales and Christmas go together", which is an interesting concept to me. It seems to be a consistent idea at M&S since this isn't the first Christmas fairy tales have been used to advertise the store. 

Interestingly, my six-year old, while watching this behind-the-scenes with me, said "Fairy tales aren't all Christmassy! They happen all the time.." (Seriously - I have the best kid ever!)

This at least the second time M&S have used fairy tales for their Christmas campaign (which apparently approaches the status of Superbowl commercials in the US). Here's an earlier ad, likely from a previous "Magic & Sparkle" Christmas campaign a few years back but uploaded earlier this year, with Patrick Stewart and pop-up fairy tale books! *swoon* This one is great too, but in a very different way.

(Note: Red Riding Hood is used in both Christmas campaigns - interesting. I guess the red against the white makes for wonderful visuals and red can equal Christmas all by itself. It's just not usually a tale you put into a Christmas collection - perhaps because of the gathering flowers reference - but I like the idea of transforming non-Christmas tales to be holiday-seasonal. Could be a new and interesting fairy tale collection... hint, hint.)

Enjoy!

I have to admit, the 2013 one in particular does set a magical and Wintery mood. So well done M&S.

What did you think? Are you now inspired to make your Christmas* season fairy tale-ish this year? (She says, hurriedly throwing out the rotting jack-o-lanterns and packing up various skeletal appendages and lightweight gravestones...)

* Where I'm from, "Christmas" isn't a religious term but more a description of the season. Though I celebrate more of the Winter Solstice, I love all the end of year/mid-Winter traditions from various faiths. And I still call it Christmas. :)

Let the Holiday (Advertising) Season Begin... With Marks & Spencer's "Magic & Sparkle" Fairy Tale

You know it's supposed to be a big deal when an ad gets a trailer. That's right. The new two minute ad campaign has a fifteen second preview. Apparently the new Marks & Spencer Christmas ad campaign is "highly anticipated" (not sure by whom exactly, but anyway...) and this week they released a sneak peek teaser of the ad and a special behind-the-scenes look.

Set to an enchanting orchestral soundtrack, the ad is shot in a filmic style as it takes the viewers into a world of 'magic and sparkle' from Alice in Wonderland to the Wizard of Oz. 

Rosie Huntington-Whitely is - of course - the leading lady, first seen pursuing a pretty little dog across a city street before tumbling from the real world into a snow dusted enchanted forest, seated at a fantastical feast.

The ad then follows the lingerie designer and model through a red riding house scene, an Arabian Nights flight and finally a walk along the yellow brick road, with a little help from the ever handsome David and a bewitching Helena Bonham Carter, whose appearance is seen as a huge coup for the retailer. (source)

You can read more details HERE.

Ok, yes. It's very pretty.

But even if this ad campaign is completely beautiful and lovely and worth its millions of dollars in production (not kidding on the $), it's essentially a fancy (and expensive) Christmas window to draw people into the stores.

In the meantime, it seems like Helena Bonham Carter is giving us a preview of her fairy godmother persona from the (Disney) live action Cinderella movie to top it off, although apparently she makes an appearance in Oz first.

I've thought about this waaay too much and there was a LOT more before I deleted. (You're welcome.) I'm going to blame the current time-shift (aka ending daylight savings), turn off my brain and just watch it...

 

Aahh, there, see? I get it now. "Ooh pretty. More please!"

The full two minutes, with many more "Believe in Magic & Sparkle" fairy tale references, will be available to watch online on YouTube, this coming Monday.

What I want to know is: do you see any differences and updating in the way these familiar tales are being retold and/or used? What does this ad say about the way we view these tales? (And when did the Mad Hatter change from creepy buck-toothed crazy-person to avoid at costs, into the mysterious, sexy man at the end of a table of bounty?!)

Sorry. Apparently my brain refuses to stay in "sleep" mode, unless it's lying on a pillow. Goodnight!

The Green Book Of Oz (A Project We Want To See Completed!)

The Green Book of Oz by Alessandro Previti (An indiegogo Project)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends of Fairy Tales, I'd like you to meet the very talented Alessandro Previti!

Although you may feel as if there are Oz projects everywhere you look with the 75th celebrations looming (and there are), I promise you this one is worth your time and, hopefully, your support. It's also a very nice and different way to celebrate a milestone anniversary of America's most famous fairy tale.

From Previti Art Studio's Facebook page with many updates on the project

While many current projects seek to update The Wizard of Oz by "cutesifying" characters (eg for toys) or aiming for the dark side (like the video America McGee has been developing) - and while many of these are beautiful - Previti's approach is gallery-worthy fine art with a refreshingly different take.

Take a look at the video explaining the project:

Although we all think "Emerald City" when looking at green + Oz, Previti has taken an eco-friendly view to the idea and will be printing it on specially recycled paper in an eco-friendly manner, complete with the following certificates:

           

The art is also unique, taking the styles of Marc Chagall, Giacomo Balla* and a sort of modern-meets-impressionist-meets-stained-glass approach (among others), making the art (and different aspects of the story) accessible to children without "dumbing it down". The resulting pieces are gentle, pleasing to look at, layered in meaning and encourage further adventures in art and imagination. I'm so impressed by the effect that I'll be sharing some of these images with my son's first grade class in our future art lessons together**. As a bonus I get to share a fairy tale the school system won't have a problem with me referencing! :)

Previti is no stranger to fairy tales either. One look at the Previti Art Studio Facebook page will tell you he has a long time fascination with them and you'll see peeks of his Le Petit Chaperon Rouge project as well (HERE). There's a lovely video for that HERE too.

Pages from Previti's Green Book of Oz

Although I'm late to finding out about the Green Book of Oz indiegogo project (a crowd funded site very similar to Kickstarter) and the clock is a-ticking down to the final days of the deadline (8 DAYS TO GO!), if all the readers here just put in one dollar we could easily see this beautiful book become a reality. Note: Though the indiegogo page appears in Euros, if you click on contribute, after you enter the "Euro amount", you'll be taken to a PayPal button, which will convert and process any currency automatically for you (as a guide, currently, $10USD= ~ €14).

Here is an excerpt from Alessandro Previti's statement on the Indiegogo site. You can see how his personal sentiments are clearly reflected in his art:

My name is Alessandro Previti, I'm an illustrator and a dreamer. 

While illustrating the story of Oz I had in mind parents and children reading the book together, enjoying the vibrant, expressive pictures.  

The main inspiration to draw these illustrations were children and their artistic expression. I studied hundreds of children’s drawings and combined them with the style of italian futurism. 

The resulting pictures offer the joy of vivid colours and leave a wide space for deeper contemplation.  “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, one of the most charming and enchanting stories ever written is in the public domain. It is a great privilege for independent artists to self publish this masterpiece of fairy tales gifting it a personal touch.

Personally, I'd love to see this book on my own library shelf and share it with my son. The art style is so different to many children's illustrated books today and I love the idea of exposing him to children-friendly creativity and imagination outside the typical.

Thank you Mr. Previti! We wish you every success with your beautiful project and hope to see your book soon.

* The links take you to Pinterest pages full of examples of each artist's work so you can see some of Previti's style inspirations.
** Note: I'm not a regular school teacher. I volunteer and also teach art lessons through the school's Art Appreciation program. My aim is to help make sure the students (including my son) have exposure to - and opportunity to create - Art. :)

"Red Brick Road" in Development (& Summary of all the Other Oz Projects Spinning Around Hollywood Right Now)

Dorothy as imagined by Rob Prior (official development image)

Did The Wizard of Oz books just become public domain or is 2013 just the year of the (TV) Wizard? Answer: all the better known books have been public domain for a while* so it appears the flying monkeys are just making the network rounds... (and possibly prepping for the big 75th anniversary of MGM's movie).

Here's the latest, this time from Lifetime, making it the FIFTH Oz-themed project announced as being in development in the last three months (!):

 Lifetime has put in development Red Brick Road,from the Wolper Organization, Vertigo Entertainment and Warner Horizon. Written by Tim Schlattman (Dexter) based on an concept by artist Rob Prior and executive produced by Roy Lee and Adrian Askarieh, Red Brick Road is described as an edgy, Game Of Thrones take on the world of Wizard Of Oz. an edgy, Game Of Thrones take on the world of Wizard Of Oz. In the classic 1939 feature, when Dorothy set off for the Emerald City, she followed the Yellow Brick Road. But among the yellow bricks at Dorothy’s feet, there was also a swirl of red bricks. They’ve been there the whole time in plain sight. Unnoticed. Unexplored. Which raises the question — just where do they go? Red Brick Road will answer that by following Dorothy down that fateful path, taking her to the oldest, darkest and most dangerous parts of Oz to find what became of her friends who all have gone missing. (Deadline)

I kind of like the sound of this one, though if you like the Oz books (and the movie) I'd suggest thinking of this as an entirely different story.

To summarize the projects for you:
NBC -      Emerald City (drama - dark re-imagining of the classic tale)
CBS -       Dorothy (medical soap)
Syfy -       Warriors of Oz (fantasy/action post apocalyptic mini-series re-imagining of the classic tale)
CW -        Dorothy Must Die (revisionist take, based on YA novel by Danielle Page)
Lifetime - Red Brick Road (edgy Game of Thrones take on The Wizard of Oz)

Oh and there's also Wicked: The Mini-Series being developed by ABC (based on Maguire's novel rather than the musical) but we haven't heard about that for a while now (a long while) so that's likely on the shelf. Maybe they'll dust it off once someone notices just how many Oz properties are being picked up. I think a mini-series might be the better way to explore the novel.

Wicked the Broadway musical as a movie makes sense too, and that's what I'm kind of waiting for more solid news on, next. Last we heard (at ComicCon July 2013) the Producer attached confirmed that, yes, there WILL BE a move of Wicked, that Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry was "in talks" re Wicked and that a very vague date of sometime during 2014 was at one point announced (although whether that's for filming or release is a little unclear) but is likely to be changed with no cast or start date yet in place.

Have I forgotten anything? (Feel free to add anything else I missed in the comments below.)

* If you want to read up on the complicated copyright releases of the Oz books into public domain you can read a good summary HERE.

Autumn at Oz

The Land of Oz exists!

But it's abandoned.

Except for one day every year... on October 5.

I only found out this theme park existed this last year (past tense, as it's no longer active and open to the public) and discovered only this week that there's an annual "reunion/get together" for past employees and guests! That reunion day is next weekend and is called Autumn at Oz. 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of this special - almost secret - event.

This weekend, October 5th and 6th, the park is open for the 20th anniversary of "Autumn at Oz". It's only open once a year for a reunion of former employees and past guests. In 2009, over 8,000 people attended. Every year more characters return and more vendors show up. All proceeds go to upkeep and preservation. So, if you're in the area, drop by for a stroll through the poppy field. [Emerald Mtn]

The park is currently used as a setting for (lucky people's) weddings, parties and photoshoots and - get this - vacations! (Yes you can stay in Dorothy's house and walk the yellow brick road after breakfast!)
 
I'm sure it's just a coincidence I can suddenly think of some very important reasons to visit North Carolina...

(Don't you love this house? The interior is all at a slant as well, complete with furniture and curtains stuck at permanently odd angles and a certain set of striped stockinged legs poking out somewhere close by.)

Most people, however, have forgotten this even exists, possibly due to it's unfortunate history and timing of events when it was getting going.

The Land of Oz theme park was open from 1970 to 1980 and it's opening day saw over 20,000 visitors. Guests enjoyed strolling down the Yellow Brick Road, and hanging out with the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Wicked Witch of the West. Afterwards, there was a show at the Emerald City, complete with a balloon ride, which was actually a modified ski lift. Visitors could enjoy a breathtaking view of the park amidst Beech Mountain's gorgeous scenery. Unfortunately the death of the original owner before the park opened and a mysterious fire in 1975 marred the initial success of the park and it closed suddenly in 1980. Now, the Yellow Brick Road is missing a few of its bricks, but most of the park is still there, albeit in various states of disrepair. (Source)

Part of the reason for Autumn at Oz is not only to keep the memories alive but to help support and fund the upkeep of the park's unique structures. (Check HERE for some amazing photos from the park's development.) Everyone is now welcome to attend and stroll through poppy fields and munchkin lands with other Oz-philes for one special day.

There's a lovely book of black and white photos of this "abandoned" theme park for purchase HERE (see cover above).

You can find out more about the location, the history and options to visit and stay HERE.

Visiting here has just gone on my bucket list. (I might need a new pair of silver - or perhaps ruby - slippers for the trip... )