Very cool video. Sad how much it seemed like she wanted to make it work and just couldn't.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah, there’s so many more great videos of her talking about her passion for the park. Thanks Benson!

@Meekerextreme

5 жыл бұрын

Sucks the local area changed the laws and made water an issue. Not an issue before but oh no it is now.

@EstorilEm

5 жыл бұрын

And Stuff Like That jumped out at me too, you could tell she really had her heart set on reviving the park. It’s shattered dreams at that age that can really break someone - I feel bad for her. :(

@Leavemealone-

4 жыл бұрын

Such a shame what a sweet old lady. :(

@sunnysmiles960

4 жыл бұрын

yes i loved the park i took my kids there when they were young the can can girls were awesome ,very sad it cant be re opened .would love to take the grand children there .if someone could get it all redone with new stuff ,and water to it .i dont think there's any place like in the world .so yes sad it closed looks like permanent,

As someone who lives in Maggie Valley, it’s always so eerie to drive by the parking lot everyday and just see the roller coaster barely peeking out over the mountain. It’s crazy to see a park that I went to as a kid now rotting and lifeless.

@banananinja9076

8 ай бұрын

I know right! The recent northern light that happened this year in Maggie everyone flocked to ghost town and took pictures!

@MiggerPlease

5 ай бұрын

Your must be poor

@snipz113

2 ай бұрын

@@MiggerPleasedouchebag

@user-nq6ow5jk6j

2 күн бұрын

Serves you right !

@user-nq6ow5jk6j

2 күн бұрын

Serves you right !

I feel so sad for that woman. She believed in and seemed to have an emotional attachment to this park. Very sad end.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah such a shame

@Manchessollte421

6 жыл бұрын

I'm glad it failed. We don't need another jesus statue in the south. My childhood was spent at ghost town and it did just fine without a holy land. That would've made it a tacky gawk-shop, as it is, it was a nice theme park.

@hoosierdaddy9277

5 жыл бұрын

P Worley not a church goer i guess

@Manchessollte421

5 жыл бұрын

Does that matter when we're talking a huge gigantic cross that would have detracted from the beauty of the park?

@hoosierdaddy9277

5 жыл бұрын

P Worley no not a necessary thing for tbe park but if they did/were to do that ?

I'm 58 years old and can fondly remember visiting Ghost Town as a child with my family. Back in those days every families car displayed bumper stickers of all the tourist places visited and almost every car had a Ghost Town sticker on the rear bumper.

@macaylacayton2915

2 жыл бұрын

How was it man? Anything that would have been very cool to see? I never been, 2002 was my birth year

@airflowfpv7791

Жыл бұрын

@@macaylacayton2915 it was very cool. It was like Tweetsie but no train.. It was fun though, when I was a child in the 80s.

@macaylacayton2915

Жыл бұрын

@@airflowfpv7791 i was born in 2002 so i never got to go so thanks for sharing

@jbarwick50

Жыл бұрын

Yes I remember the stickers you put on your car and most cars had a few! 😊

@karencameron8514

5 ай бұрын

I loved this park as a kid.

One of my fondest memories with my wife (R.I.P.) was our trip to Ghost Town in the sky. It was a wonderful weekend for sure. Shame it is no longer letting others make memories. -Larry

@Disneyfamiglia

2 жыл бұрын

❤️❤️❤️

@macaylacayton2915

2 жыл бұрын

How was it? I never been as I was born in April 2002 and my family usually goes to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for those short trips as we actually live closer to the NC beaches so therefore a few hours away from BGW and my parents get those passes

@lilacscentedfushias1852

Жыл бұрын

IR, I’m sorry to read that, I’m glad to read you have good memories, I expect this was lovely to remind you of her, but tinged with sadness at the same time xxx

@HueyPPLong

Жыл бұрын

My grandparents took me and my sister to ghost town in the sky twice. I loved the place. My favorite part by far was riding the train when they put on a shoot out and then robbed the train. Such a thrill for 10 or 11 year old me to be in what felt like a real Wild West movie

@alanhumphrey4198

12 күн бұрын

We used to get up there by chairlift.. 😮😊😮😊

The concept of the rollercoaster on the mountain was a great idea, especially since you didn't have to wait to go up an incline. Great video as always, really enjoy hearing about parks that many people might not know existed.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. Yeah some real gems out there

@annebenton3296

6 жыл бұрын

Theme Park History 2

@ab5olut3zero95

3 жыл бұрын

Would be interesting in seeing one of y’all do a video on DollyWood in Sevierville, TN.

@Dan16673

3 жыл бұрын

But you have to wait to get back to the beginning ?

@macaylacayton2915

2 жыл бұрын

Dude a theme park in the mountain concept is cool as is that roller coaster sounds like a cherry on top of a really good sundae, I said sounds like as I never been

I live so close to this park. It was so sad to see it gone. I remember Silver Dollar City. Thank you for the video very cool.

@johnnypaul5979

Жыл бұрын

Before it was silver dollar city it was gold rush junction. Now dollywood

Funny story... the ghost town entrance is where I began my monthly curse and my mom bought my first sanitary napkin in the gift shop. I was mortified the entire day.

@RealLifeFinance

4 жыл бұрын

That is too funny

@HerosTheme

4 жыл бұрын

(Tips cowboy hat)

@benedictdwyer2608

3 жыл бұрын

I didn’t realize you were talking about periods and immediately thought you got cursed by some old witch disguised as a employee to get very unsanitary every month and you’d need to wipe down your entire body to get rid of the grossness, and that’s when I realized I’m a dumbass

@tomcorwine3091

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing that with us Stephanie!

@benedictdwyer2608

3 жыл бұрын

@@c0m4g1bb oh shut up

It's funny hearing a British person describe a park in North Carolina.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

What do you mean? Im from Winston-Salem! :D

@Sylkenwolf

6 жыл бұрын

A lot of Scottish/British settlers settled NC.

@jayjohnson2919

5 жыл бұрын

@@ExpeditionThemePark Winston Salem has a nice skyline

@godspeedparadeteam

5 жыл бұрын

I was thinking the same thing !

@bloomoggi

5 жыл бұрын

He sounds southern English with f sounds instead of th and a plenty of dropped ts mixed with posh tones.. could be trying to fake the posh haha

Oh hey I live here! Theres actually talk of reopening it yet again in April 2019 as ghost town. It was one of my favorite places ever to go as kid, my dream was actually to be a can-can dancer when I grew up because of there.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

I’m interested to see if it reopens and hopefully I will be able to attend if it does!

@fatfarmer4288

5 жыл бұрын

Hey what's the news on the park

@austintuttle8744

5 жыл бұрын

Any info? Did it reopen?

@karaleung147

5 жыл бұрын

It's on sale again as of July 5 2019

@williamschutz4982

5 жыл бұрын

@@karaleung147 Sad.

I went there with my dad back in the summer of 1988 when we were in the area for a family reunion. It made for a fun day. I remember the staff were clearly trained to ask everyone where they were from, and when we said New York state, they'd all make fun of us for being Yankee city slickers, but it was all in good fun. It was all completely functional at that point, and I remember the shoot outs. The old west theme was kitchy even then, but it worked somehow. I remember eating baked beans for lunch and then trying very, very hard not to barf them up after a few rides. The video is spot on - because it was on that ridge, the rides flung you over the edge, which made it scarier/more fun. I feel like there used to be more regional theme parks like that in the US, and at some point in the past 20 years, the industry went through this 'go big or go home' phase where it's fewer bigger parks.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah i agree so much and alot of gems were lost. I hope i can't help try and preserve some part of the memory of them at least!

@alanhumphrey4198

12 күн бұрын

Disneyworld blew all those regional parks away....😢😢

That woman who owned the park had so much determination to bring back Ghost Town in the sky, I'm really sad to see my childhood park in a condition like this :(. I lived in North Carolina from 1988-2003, I moved from Minnesota in 1987 when I was 3, and my parents decided to take a road trip for about six months, exploring the country. I moved into North Carolina around late 1988, two years later (mark we spent a lot more time than six months traveling) and lived in Charlotte for the duration of the time. I lived in Charlotte and visited Maggie Valley during my breaks, where I found that legendary theme park in the sky. I'd always love to take my friends from the city to Maggie Valley to experience the Ghost town in the sky. They loved the park and would always beg me to take them again. As time passed I moved on to high school in 1999, things really changed for me. One, I went on trips less often, and two, my friends didn't ask me to take them anymore. I guess they took their seperate paths. In 2001 I met the love of my life in high school and decided to take her to Ghost town in the sky as one of our trips. Everything was just as how it looked back when I was a child. Unfourtunatly there wern't as many guests as there were when I was a little child. Our first ride was the famous roller coaster that started with a drop at the beginning. the park attendant let us ride Red Devil (or known as the famous looping roller coaster) as much as we could without stopping through the loading zone since there was no line. Best roller coaster experience of my life. I do remember trying to buy another pass for the next year but I forgot to so I never did... In 2003 I decided to come back to the theme park after my graduation just one more time before I headed to College in California. When I arrived in Maggie Valley things were much more different than they were back in the day. I parked at the parking lot that held the guests for Ghost town, and when I got out of my car I saw that the cable car chairs had been removed, the grass was overgrowing the area. I decided to head to the main road, which was Rich cove road, but the road was blocked so I decided to go to the local folks to ask them what had happened to the famous theme park, Ghost Town In the Sky. The only person that could tell me about this was this young fellow, I long to forget his name, found him in a gas station nearby, told me that the park closed down for good just a year ago, the road has been blocked off, and no word has ever been said ever since... Here I am, in 2022, watching these documentaries about my amazing experience with Ghost town in the sky. I really hope they fix the theme park and put it back into operation, I'm very sad to see my childhood dream in a state like this. Thanks for reading my story. -Waffles

I live in a town called Asheville about 45 minutes away. Ghost Town in the sky is right near the entrance to a local ski resort called Catalooche and it’s always been sad seeing ghost town and it’s chairlift sit derelict year after year.

@stokedmtb333

6 ай бұрын

I live near by and thought this place would make a great mountain bike park

I remember visiting as a child in the mid 1960s with my parents and two brothers. Saw the shootout, the can-can dancers, and FRED KIRBY! He had a cowboy show on Sundays in Charlotte back in the day. What a day we had in Ghost Town. This video brought back great memories of my childhood. What a terrible shame I can’t take my grandkids there.

@user-nq6ow5jk6j

2 күн бұрын

Your grandkids would most likely think this place sucked !

@bayernfanladyl1879

Күн бұрын

I remember Fred Kirby!

@pipsheppard6747

23 сағат бұрын

@@bayernfanladyl1879 We're dating ourselves! 🤣

@bayernfanladyl1879

14 минут бұрын

@@pipsheppard6747 I’m proud of my age! I’ve seen some pretty cool things

Ghost Town was always a part of my childhood. I loved the chair lift, and the cable cars. The street shoot out always scared me. One Summer the special guest was Jerry Mathers....The Beaver. I have somewhere in a box pictures that my mom took of us getting autographed picture. I need to find those and post them. The candy, the gift shop and shhhhh, dont tell my mom, but i would "sneak" into the saloon and watch the Can Can girls. I thought i was being sly. Was up that way October '18 and rode thru the parking lot. So much about the area has changed. Stayed at Jonathan Creek Inn and ate breakfast every morning at Joey's Pancakes. I'm almost 60 yo and still making memories to add to my childhood.

I visited Ghost Town many times as a kid. My parents met at ghost town while in high school and have been married since. Even my grandpa worked at ghost town for a season after he had retired. It’s a shame to see the park still abandoned every time I visit.

The idea of a park on top of a hill though... thats awesome, would love to ride the coaster there.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah!

@beverlywest9779

6 жыл бұрын

Miel van Velzen I rode the scrambler there, pretty freaky when it swings you out over the mountain and you can see straight down.

@Manchessollte421

6 жыл бұрын

You must mean the swings. The only scrambler inside ghost town was called the black widow and it was indoors with black lights and flashing strobes. and loud ass rock music.

@davidenglehart5219

5 жыл бұрын

@@Manchessollte421 I have very vivid memories of this ride from my childhood. Thank you for helping me recall the name

@Walkwithmejo

5 жыл бұрын

I would of loved to visit here I love the Western theme and all the western shows 😎❤

I went to Ghost Town in the Sky as a young child, like maybe 7 or 10. Hard to remember exactly. I rode the chairlift. We saw the cowboy shoot out and I got frightened. This part of North Carolina had a few famous theme parks. The Land of Oz is not far. I went there too, as a child. that place really has some tall tails told about it. Tweetsie Railroad, probably the most successful. Ghost Town in the Sky was unique. It brings memories of my Dad and he was always awesome. The guns were loud and scared me, but Dad got down and we sat on the ground and he reassured me. I was very young but I remember seeing how he was not scared, so I wanted to be strong too. So I faked it, and pretended I was Dad. I just did what he did. I guess it was sort of a life lesson. I was a child. Now I am 50. Dad passed away in Oct. Ghost Town in the Sky is a really happy, great memory for me. Thanks for the video.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so glad my video brought back some nice memories.

@bobbyslater1198

6 жыл бұрын

Freedomland had the Chicago Fire, which was awesome.

@papamags

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your memories! I have 3 little ones that I take to parks and only hope our memories are as awesome as the ones you had with your Dad.

@BobPapadopoulos

5 жыл бұрын

I still don't know how this place went under and Tweetsie stayed open. Went there a bunch of times for my older sister's clogging competitions and even at 11 years old thought it was lame.

@mf5531

4 жыл бұрын

sorry for your loss. you'll see your dad again some day .

I feel like they sealed their fate when they named it ghost town.

@johnharris8191

5 жыл бұрын

Oh no, the original owner made millions with the park. The only difference was he knew how to run it.

@JimRedHawk

4 жыл бұрын

If I remember correctly, the mountain was originally called Goat Mountain. 😁

@Scotts350

4 жыл бұрын

It was open for 40 years

@MrManfly

4 жыл бұрын

@@Scotts350 it ran it's course!

As a kid I almost fell out of the coaster as it went through the loop. My dad had to grab me and shove me back into my seat.

I went here all the time when I was a kid. The roller coaster was so shoddy it stopped suddenly and my head slammed into the front of the cart. Good times.

@a.b.c4069

5 жыл бұрын

🤣🤣🤣🤣

@joshbuckner2866

4 жыл бұрын

I went there as a kid to it was awesome LOL

@dawnsimons118

4 жыл бұрын

I like your outlook . W T G

I was blessed to have got to go there forty years ago as a kid great memories wish it would open again it was so cool back in the day.

my father inlaw saw burt reynolds performing as a cowboy at ghost town, way back before he became famous

@tcsmom5281

4 жыл бұрын

That's true! In the movie "Deliverance", the actor who played one of the two mountain men also worked with Burt; it was Burt's recommendation that got the actor the part in the movie.

@johnharris8191

4 ай бұрын

Burt had already appeared in Gunsmoke before he came to Ghost Town.

@dianapearson1771

Ай бұрын

Glad Burt got to enjoy the park! RIP Burt!! Awesome fellow!!

So sad to see... I have a photograph of me and my dad riding the chairlift up to Ghost Town in the Sky. I must have been about 8 or 9... They even had a stagecoach ride... Those were the days when you would get a bumper sticker attached to your car while visiting the park!!!! If I remember my dad was not happy about that...Great video/fond memories...

I lived in Maggie valley my family owned the mountain joy cottages across the road from it ..... the people who run that town wanted ghost town the fail ..... they caused my family to lose over 1 million dollars in money cause of the ghost town issue .... Dolly Parton offered to buy it and make it perfect ... and they told her she would have to widen all the roads and build more roads to the park due to the traffic it would cause the people who run that town are old assholes who would rather the town suck then to grow finally moved out about two years ago due to the dying town but wow it’s messed up that people were all affected by this choice not just ghost town ... and luckily my family has other businesses but some people’s entire life’s are in there

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Interesting thank you for sharing this! So interesting to see a different side

@bman768

5 жыл бұрын

Ian Donovan maybe if business owners in Maggie valley didn't always have $ on their mind . Maggie valley thrived for years without ghost town then there was talk of it opening back up and over night prices doubled on everything in Maggie valley the entire town set itself up for failure. I remember when Maggie valley was a 2 lane road ghost town was wide open every business thrived you could afford to stay in a hotel you could afford souvenirs . Now in Maggie valley it takes a months pay to stay in a hotel that should be condemned you want a t-shirt take out a loan food sorry you're not a rich floridiot head to the soup kitchen in Waynesville or Canton . Face it ghost town won't save Maggie valley the only thing that will save it will be for idiots with nothing but $ on their minds drop their elite attitude and actually do something besides price their selves out of business while blaming anyone and everyone else

@nomerc3608

5 жыл бұрын

I remember going there in the late 70’s and and early 80’s. It was a lot of fun the first few times... I could not ride in the swings because they kept breaking... The old west shoot outs were fun... Hot dancing young women... As a preteen and teenager what was not to love, Guns and hot women! I grew up about forty minutes from Tweetsie Railroad in between Blowing Rock & Boone North Carolina. Have a few fond memories from Tweetsie as well... Tripped an Indian thought it was funny to hit me with his tomahawk. I was 8 or 9, I remember getting fussed at by the Great Western Star they had there.. He was so mad at me because I held up the train schedule. Then later he came and apologized to me... I didn’t even watch all of this... makes me sick! The assholes that stopped this from opening... they saw this place as a cash cow and another payday should be tar’d and feathered, ran out of the mountain on a rail. Let me guess the town council saw a quick payday and when Whom ever owned it or was going to buy it refused to pay them they tried to screw buyer? This sucks... like I said I had some very enjoyable experiences there the three or four times I got to go... The kids and parents that vacation they lose but the locals that really needed the work are the ones they really lost in this. There were a lot of college kids that worked there over their summers... There is a lot more to this then we are being told... someone was butt hurt.. maybe out bid? And shut it down! Sigh! To damn bad

@dannysutherland3235

5 жыл бұрын

My family visited that place every year on vacation. We always lodged in Gatlinburg and none of our family vacations were ever complete till we made our annual visit to "Ghost Town In The Sky". It's really cool to hear from Maggie Valley locals like yourself after all this time.

@stacyp4534

5 жыл бұрын

Ian Donovan .

I went here as a child, my father a profound history buff insisted. I’m very sad to see what has happened to such a fond part of my childhood memory. This was in the early 90s and the park was flourishing. I’ll never forget riding the swinging boat with my mother who is terribly afraid of heights. Back and forth over or right to the side of the edge of the mountain, each time it swung she grasped my brother & my arms literally pinching us as she screamed, we laughed. I have old photos on each and every prop in the park.

Always a fun place, loved going here with my family. . . Ghost Town in the Sky & Santa Land were always on our list when we went to the mountains!

@caitlinaronoff3836

5 жыл бұрын

Tiffany Faith my family always visited Santa Land!! I’ve never had anyone else know what I meant when I talked about it lol.

@alyssiafreeman9779

5 жыл бұрын

This place was awesome when we went in the 80s. I completely forgot about Santa land. That place was great too.

@stickfigureofacat479

5 жыл бұрын

I haven't been to santa land in ages!

@sonyafox3271

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, every summer in the 70s we always took a family vacation in the Smokies and every year while we were there we always went to Maggie Valley for a day and would go, to Ghost Town. Santa Land, has been shutdown for quite sometime. Santa Land, was in Cherokee. I think my first trip to Santa Land when, I was 2 or 3 and, I was born in 67. I can about tell you where the park located. Today it’s mostly a big huge parking lot for souvenir shops that are close by. But, there’s a amusement park in Indiana which is Santa Claus, IN and, The name of the Amusement Park is Called Holiday World, there’s a cast of charters and there are candy shops and some themed Christmas Shops in the Amusement Park. It’s not to terribly expensive. It also has a petting zoo where you can feed the animals, mostly baby goats.

Really appreciate the fact that you link footage credit, i really love the history alot but also wanna check out exploring videos sometimes.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

For sure my videos would not be possible and really the people who recorded the history should be the ones thanked

@kittenmatchvids6440

Жыл бұрын

4 years later, but, The Proper People did a really nice UbanExploration vid on this park in 2020

I visited this park many times during the late 80's and early 90's. It sure is sad to see what has become of this place. My daughter had some great times there. It really was a neat place. I wish I could afford to tackle it, if for no other reason just for the memories. Hope it makes it back.

"I hope that I can make them happy." Alaska Presley seems so genuine and nice. I hope shes doing well and thriving after this.

@spikeworks

4 жыл бұрын

She seems to be attached to the park anencephaly it’s sad to see that it failed

@dextermorgan1

3 жыл бұрын

She's dead.

@donnaowens1522

3 жыл бұрын

@@dextermorgan1 no she isn't

@Scotti_o7

Жыл бұрын

​@@donnaowens1522 she is now

I grew up in East Tennessee in the 90s and the nonstop commercials for Ghost Town are legendary. But we never went as we had Dollywood - which was probably the nail in the coffin for Ghost Town as Dollywood expanded like crazy as this place withered away.

i remember me and my dad doing the blacksmith presentation in 2014 before it closed, dad is actually in the video lol sad to see the park shut down

Man if I was rich... mhm, a mountain with rollercoasters, that's a winner!

@fiifiidatrap342

4 жыл бұрын

you'd have to be very very rich lol, the town doesn't want a popular theme park on a 2 lane windy mountain side road

@douglawton3990

4 жыл бұрын

@@fiifiidatrap342 Actually, it's a 4 lane and in spots it has a middle turning lane....

@fiifiidatrap342

4 жыл бұрын

@@douglawton3990 Last time I went was 3 years ago they must have done a lot of construction. regardless 4 lanes isn't enough

I remember seeing the commercial on tv as a kid and always wanted to go.

I worked here for their short reopening in 2007. It was one of my first jobs, working in the Silver Dollar Saloon. I remember we had so much equipment that was broken and unfortunately was never fixed.

I was there when I was a kid. They had gun fights. I’m 70 now.

@rickieboheler3346

3 жыл бұрын

me too. I'm 64

@jeremiahguy32

3 жыл бұрын

I went in the early 90's...

@shirleymcbride2320

3 жыл бұрын

I'm 65 and also went there often as a child.

@lynnchilders6704

3 жыл бұрын

I went many times..remember the gun fights...the sleeping giant...I’m 65

@alanhumphrey4198

12 күн бұрын

69 here and our family went in the mid 60s...had a blast!!!😊😊

I went there back in the 80's as a kid. I loved going there and Tweetsy Railroad.

@farva75089

4 жыл бұрын

John Ellison I almost thought this was tweetsy railroad!! What happened to tweetsy since I left NC back in 03

I went several times in the late 90’s. I always had a great time with my grandparents. I have so many pictures with my Grandma on the chair lift and remember shouting “all aboard” on the train.

Amazing, almost unbelievable, that an 88 year old was so driven and active in this.

it was on the news again just last week (May 2018) someone has bought it and they are gonna make it more modern and open sometime in 2019

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

It’s gonna be a lot of work

@ThoosieJP

5 жыл бұрын

Its gonna fail. I wouldve chose Hard rock park or another park

@icepyro1

5 жыл бұрын

@@ThoosieJP hard rock park doesnt exist any more everything has been torn down and sold off. The new owners are former disney executives and imagineers. If they have backing from disney they may be able to pull off the miracle this park needs

@ashleyhales1972

5 жыл бұрын

I hope so i went when I was younger and id like for my kids to be able to go. Hope it all works out and they are able to reopen.

@HunterBidenCocaineBag

5 жыл бұрын

These investors worked for Disney, and they have the money (not that the last investor didn't have the money, but I believe she didn't have the vision). This place was a MUST stop every summer for my family in the late 70's through the late 80's. Amazing memories!

Very similar concept to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park! It’s interesting to see what they did wrong, and being employed at the Caverns, strive to do better. Best wishes to the elderly lady who poured so much into trying to bring it back to life.

My dad took me here many times as a kid...from 95 to about 2003 off and on so many memories that I'd like to be able to revisit. Since he passed away in 2015. If they ever reopen ill be there..

I went there in the late 70's with my mom (I was around 13-14). We rode the chairs up and then down later. I thought it was a pretty cool place. I've wanted to go back but life always has other plans. I went by there about a year ago and was saddened about the chair lift being gone and the train cars rusted so bad. One of my favorite pictures of my mom and dad was taken on the top of the entrance coming out of the A-frame building.

In 1975 I was on an eastern USA vacation for 2 weeks when I visited the park. This video is really a walk on memory lane! I stil have some super 8 film i have filmed there!

Went there when I was a kid back in the late 80s early 90s. I have such good memories there. Still have the picture of my mother and I in the chair lift. They has a camera set up to take the photos. The shootouts were the most memorable parts for me.

My late grandfather who worked for WLOS-TV 13 produced the advertising spots that appear at the beginning of this video. I appeared briefly on the swing ride in one of these clips, I was around 10 years old. He produced most of the local Ghost Towns ads for R.B. Colburn who was the owner for much of the life of the theme park. Thanks for sharing!!

I miss this place. I went when I was 2 and 6, and I loved it. It was where our family went for vacation. It’s been almost 10 years since I last went, and is very sad. I saw it last week driving to Charlotte, and was very sad. Luckily, someone bought it and plans to reopen it, but I’m not counting on it. They’ve already redone the bottom!

I remember going here on a summer camp field trip back in 2006/2007. Literally forgot all about it until watching this. Really brought back some memories. Thank you and good job!

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

We used to go to this park in the 70s. I hadn't thought of it in years. I have some great memories of those rickety rides.

I remember as a 5 year old the cowboy shootouts and being scared as hell on that chairlift. The commercials were so fun cause it was like our own little disneyland. Great video hit me right in the nostalgia bone.

i live sort of near here and went often as a kid. the last time we went, they only had 2 rides open. they gave us free tickets to return but we never got the chance. driving by and seeing the chair lifts leading up always fills me with nostalgia

I love your channel, I especially love the expedition extinct series. I have an odd obsession with amusement parks specifically abandoned ones. I've never heard of a lot of the parks you feature and I love it! It's hard for me to find videos on parks I 've never heard of.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much I really appreciate that. Is there any parks you would like to see covered?

I totally went there as a kid (late 80's), and even still have a Ghost Town patch from the visit :)

@TheDriveInGuys

4 жыл бұрын

I partially went there.

I went to Ghost Town In The Sky when I was younger and I loved it. I thought this is so much more different than any other I had been too because number one you have to take an incline to get to entrance. Then you were up high on top of a mountain and while you rode roller coaster it felt like you were going off the side of the mountain. Such a thrill. I wanted so much for my kids to be able to experience it.

Wow I remember being there when I was 12 years old 1972, I decided to get on the swing, it swung out over Maggie Valley looking down into the valley below the cows and buffalo looked like ants I also remember loosing my shoe it came off my foot when I was on the swing, my shoe is now somewhere at the bottom of the Mountain I had so much that year.

This was the best 'Expedition Extinct' yet! The footage is very evocative.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! That is great to hear.

My family visited in the early 70s. That region was quite the theme park Mecca, with Ghost Town, Tweetsie Railroad and the Land of Oz all within reasonable driving distance of each other. The combination of walking attractions, live shows and amusement park rides made for full-on entertainment. I was barely into my teens at the time, and would probably have enjoyed it even more if I had been old enough to appreciate the cultural aspects of the place. A wonderful memory, and I do wish I could take some modern youngsters there.

@gcm100x

6 жыл бұрын

My first visit was age 10, in 1961. I did not realize it was the first year open, until this video.

My mom went to this park as a child and have these old photos they took there. It’s good that people take the time to talk about places like this because I would have never known about Ghost Town or that my mom went if I had never seen this video.

My parents took us to Ghost Town soon after it opened in the very early 1960s. It remains one of my fondest childhood memories, My parents fell in love with Maggie Valley and we returned to vacation there a few times during my childhood. I'm very sad to see its demise and especially troubled to learn that efforts to save it were not encouraged by local officials. Still, that was a great report. Very well done. Thank you.

@richardcallahan224

4 жыл бұрын

I agree. You would think the local government would want to help as much as possible. Maybe they didn't want the business.

I have been there as kid back in the 80's. As my family would visit Cherokee North Carolina. I remember riding the train up the mountain. As well the ghost town.

A shame what happened to it, a theme park on a mountain is quite the unique idea. Impractical but cool.

@bobbyslater1198

6 жыл бұрын

Palisades Amusement Park was built on a cliff overlooking the Hudson River. Unfortunately neighbors complained about all the noise and it was closed down to build an apartment complex, which today have become slums.

I went there as a child and there were lots of people there. I can't remember much, just how steep that incline was while going up to the town and going back down again. I was surprised at how loud the guns were, too, never having heard so many blanks fired in so frequent a manner. It seems like we also road a bus between the incline and the ghost town and the turns seemed really sharp but I was so small when there, I can't remember any more than that.

I am 55 years old. I was lucky enough to go during its good time. Still have positive memories from then. Took my kids back when they were young they enjoyed it and I got to enjoy it through them all over again. Thank you for posting this.

I grew up mostly in SC, but my family went to this place once when I was a kid, probably around the late 90s or so. I remember enjoying it, especially because I really like mountains, but it definitely wasn't super busy that day. Sad to hear what became of it.

As a kid who grew up in Western NC, I've visited the park many times with family. It's definitely a sad story. It feels like at some point multiple systems degraded to the point that it just wasn't possible to save it without massive amounts of money, likely more than it was worth. Gained yourself a subscriber! Check out Jacob (aka the Carpetbagger)'s channel as well, as his excellent footage was featured in this video.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

@pinkywilliams8063

6 жыл бұрын

I visited there several times as a kid in the late 60's ... great times

I went there in the late 80s and early 90s as a kid/teenager. Visiting Maggie Valley was always a good time and was always a highlight of family trips to visit my kin folk in Haywood County.

i have a video of a trip to this park around 1972-73. My mother and father took us there on a family trip and made a video of the trip. It has footage of the old gun fights, rides, and even the ride up on the chairlift. As I was watching your video, it pulled memories I had of our visit to the park. Sad to hear that Mrs. Presley (the current owner) passed away in April of 22. Makes one wonder what will happen now.

I grew up in Asheville, NC and spent a lot of my childhood at Ghost Town. On more than one occasion I have been stuck on those chairlifts! It got to the point that I stopped going and I doubt if it ever reopens that I would go.

@PureVikingPowers

5 жыл бұрын

Maybe the anonymous investor was hilary clinton :o

The Marshal in the film of the gunfight is Bill Leatherwood who worked there for 39 years and performed more gunfights than anyone. He was a good man to work for rest his soul.

I remember going to Ghost town in the Sky, Tweetsie Railroad, and The Land of Oz. All parks in Western Carolina. My childhood was great.

Such a shame. I'd love to visit such a unique place. I live in Salamanca NY. We have an old abandoned wild west ghost town theme park too. I can still see it from my back yard right now. It wasn't as large as the one referred to here but it was no less beautiful. After many years of service, it also sat abandoned till someone turned it into a high scale restaurant with cool looking empty wild west style buildings all around it. The views are spectacular. When that restaurant went out of business after decades, it was bought and turned into a high end Harley Davidson themed bar/restaurant but mismanagement saw that- that was only open a yr or 2. Now it's empty again. It's very sad. If I had the couple million to buy the property I'd have just made a unique private home and maybe put up a few cabins to rent out on the mountain.

I always wanted to go to this place! I sorta did.....when my mom was pregnant with me, back in the 70's!!

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

That counts!

The only realistic way this part could be reopened would be to have the entire thing torn down and rebuilt from scratch, including the chair lift (or possibly a gondola like they have at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia) and the incline railroad. The rollercoaster on the side of the mountain can be a huge drawing point, maybe even add a couple of other rides that hang over the mountain for thrill seekers, like that one ride they have in Las Vegas that hangs over the side of the building. Rebuilding the town itself would be whole new buildings and plumbing from the ground up, maybe add a functioning wooden water tower also like from the 1800s (or a modern one with an exterior that looks like an old one). Also instead of an Old West theme which is kinda weird for the East Coast, why not build an old Appalachia themed site with actual Eastern Cherokee Indian tribal stuff. Not only would that prove more realistic it would be educational for kids. Maybe even have a Civil War Weekend since those are popular in the South with many folks and that part of the State of North Carolina has interesting history regarding the War Between the States. For rides other than the ones mentioned, add some old classic fair rides like the Tilt-A-Whirl, Scrambler, Ferris Wheel, ect. Trust me when I say the old ones are the best and having them at 4,000 feet above sea level would be thrilling enough. All of this would cost a fortune and would probably take a few years to repay and start producing a real profit, but with time and effort made I believe something like this could be a big boon for whoever tried it.

@CourtneyHammett

3 жыл бұрын

I would really love if they included more Cherokee input in development. I'm hopeful it'll actually reopen soon but they're still finalizing sales and renovating

@greenwave819

2 жыл бұрын

As a ghost town, I hope they mostly keep it as it is before reopening

@myd0gr3x

Жыл бұрын

anybody have $20+ million to gamble...

One of my most favorite memories as a child was our visit to Ghost Town. I was probably 7 or 8 no older than that I can remember that was the 1st chair lift I had ever rode and it scared me but what scared me more was riding the cable car back down the mountain. The gunfight frightened me also but after being there a while i got use to it. I had heard about the reopening and wanted to take my children just for the experience but it closed before we could get up there..... we also saw Unto these Hills outdoor drama my 1st visit to Ghost Town mid 80's and that was a great memory also!

We went to Ghost Town every year. It's so sad that it no longer exists. We loved it so much.

How sad. This looks like a unique place to have a theme park. I would remove the chair lift and put the furnicular back as a means of transportation though. "Appalachia world...moonshine and mayhem!" Would be my tag line and I'd go heavy on the food selling with all American food and try to get a demonstration moonshine still going as a means of advertising and raising revenue for ride repairs.

@Manchessollte421

6 жыл бұрын

Alaska tore up the furnicular railroad, it's gone. I walked up the mountain a few years back. All twisted metal.

Crazy, looks like there is a new group working on it and it will re-open in 2019 😮

@chrish931

5 жыл бұрын

I'll believe when I see it. I went there quite a few times as a kid in the 80's. In the last 20 years it's been nothing but closings and re-openings that go no where and the park just rots. I don't think anything can save those rides now, most have not been operational in 20 years. I'm just waiting until I finally here it's been torn down. Sad to see childhood memories go.

@van_demonium

5 жыл бұрын

are they changing it up at all? seems like adding some modern style activities, features and attractions, could do them allot of good.

@jr-xs9tf

5 жыл бұрын

The investor has now disappeared and owes a lot of money to locals who have invested both money and time to get it open. Lawsuits have begun, so it's looking doubtful again. I'm rather dubious about today's kids being thrilled over fake gunfights and 60s nostalgia. The last opening was a true ripoff for visitors. Rides broken and overall atmosphere poor.

@van_demonium

5 жыл бұрын

@@jr-xs9tf thats a bummer. similar things are just being cleaned up in NH. You're not being dubious at all i was thinking the same thing. Its topography makes it perfect for gravity sports and other motion based thrills. some alpine slides, zip lines and mountain biking could have done wonders. the whole western thing has been played out for far too long. its one thing in a historical sense like wall drug or places along the old rout 66. but unless its dolly wood i just dont see it working here either. hopefully it works out for ya'll. things turned around for Tenney Mountain in NH. its now owned by a capable snow sport enthusiast and its opened for the first time since 04.

@jr-xs9tf

5 жыл бұрын

@@van_demonium Ghosttown could be a great, scenic spot for a roller rink, paintball arena and other activity based themes. It's on multiple levels and easily sectioned. Too many code problems, though.

I spent my childhood visiting Ghost Town from the first year it was built until it's original closure. So sad for my family! I have so many pics from through the years! Thanks for doing that you do. I love to see these stories and now I have my daughter interested too!

My grandparents took us here everrrrryyyy summer when we were little. I wasnt sure if it were still open. Sad to see it like this... but I remember when I was little it would open and close and open and close and open and close.... it was only a matter of time. I have so many memories with my late grandpa here and a heavy emotional attachment to the park even though its way sketchy lol. Id never get on that rollercoaster now!

So i finished the entire video. I remember another KZreadr (maybe Adam the Woo) doing a video and people commented not wanting another religious theme park. In like 2014.

It was a very cool park. I really liked it.

That roller coaster was the first i ever rode that flipped upside down. I was wanting to go back to it one day. I think i still have my conductor hat with Ghost Town stitched in red on the bill. Brings back such good memories, thank you.

How sad that was my favorite place as a kid . Glad I had the chance to enjoy it in its glory days

If I won the Powerball jackpot I'd invest in this place for a Fall season attraction. Something real scary.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Would be a cool haunted attraction

I worked there in the early 90s, it was very unique.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Oh what did you do?

@johnharris8191

5 жыл бұрын

Do you know Chris Tingen?

HOW NICE. IT HAD JUST OPENED WHEN I WENT. TO A TEN YEAR OLD IT WAS MAGNIFICANT. I REMEMBER MY MOM AND DAD BEING SO HAPPY WE HAD DISCOVERED A CHILD'S WORLD OF IMAGINATION.

My late husband played in the Band. They were "The Mile High Boys" They played many years there. I miss him very much!

I had never heard of this park very interesting!

@poppiarlin5612

6 жыл бұрын

Christopher Sanders You have messed a real treat. The entire area is just a great place. I wasn’t able to visit Ghost Town until I was 23 years old. We went to that area 10 years earlier but it was closed for the winter. The entire area has something magical about it.

@lisahuddleston141

5 ай бұрын

I went there with my now ex-husband before my son was born. We went up there on the chair lift, I used to have a 8 x 10 picture. We had the full experiences . Watched the gunfight and all.

This park always stayed in my mind after seeing adam the woo do a vid on it years ago - for sure one of the more unusual parks and one I'd have loved to visit, but I'm on the other side of the world. To be fair it was doomed without it's major rides running, and it would cost a fortune to resurrect now, which would be financial suicide given the general decline in this type of attraction's appeal. Sadly it's all VR from here on in lol

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah I don’t think the park will return this time!

@mordokch

6 жыл бұрын

Well maybe over there, but here in the UK, and from what I've seen in youtube vids, in the USA too, this kind of attraction is fading out. Kids just aren't interested in the real world anymore - they'd rather sit in a dark room hitting X over and over again.

Came here from an urban explorer page. Super cool to see they built it in the mountain! Riding a roller coaster on a mountain would be way cooler and scenic then any roller coaster cedar point has!

I remember going their as a kid and having a ball. My grandparents loved taking us to places like Ghost Town, Tweetsie Railroad and other small amusement parks. I took my kids there and we were there 2 days before the chairlifts were stuck for 2 hours. We got sutck on them, but it was for only 5 or 10 minutes. I would love to hit the lottery for a couple of hundred million and be able to reopen old parks like this.

I live near Ghost Town and actually know the original owner, sadly I don't think this place will ever be reopened. It's been debated several times between my friends and I and we've even been on the Ghost Town grounds. But it's just going to be left to rot...

@prismstudios001

5 жыл бұрын

Not likely to be a success now that there is a Harrah`s casino next door in Cherokee.

@bradyryan5105

5 жыл бұрын

We need someone wealthy, preferably a theme park Corporation, to get ahold of this park. They'd boost this park back to what its supposed to be

@firstcanonkill1767

4 жыл бұрын

@Riddick alton towers should extend from the uk and make it into a small A.T american sector of the company

I went to Maggie Valley years ago when I was a kid...I remember it being a fun place! Sorry to see it’s closed.

I went to 'Six Gun Territory' a couple of times when I was a kid. When your video started I said hey this is like 'SGT' and was surprised when you enlightened me to the fact they were related. Thanks for the little flashback to yesteryear! Stage coach rides, steam train, Shoot- outs in the streets. Then some regulars like a mouse trap style coaster, a flume ride, etc. Yep then I remember back in the 70s or early 80s I believe I read that they sold the place to build more houses, Florida, like we need more houses. Now we need a gate. All are welcome just please leave all your blue problems you are running away from in the land you are running from. Keep up the flow of interesting history I enjoy them all and you do a fine job!

My family visited on vacation often when I was a kid. It was a fun place back in the day. Sad to see it fall in to memory only.

When I went there they put bumper stickers on everybody's car that said ghost Town

@sct913

3 жыл бұрын

At one point, nearly every tourist attraction would do that.

@carolinaghost4138

3 жыл бұрын

They put them on my dad car back in the 60s

Can you guys do one for opryland usa in Nashville . Always intrigued me what happened to that theme park.

@ExpeditionThemePark

6 жыл бұрын

I will put it on the list! :)

@freemansjam9022

6 жыл бұрын

Hoax killer , they literally plowed down that theme park and there's a mall and a parking lot sitting there now

@SarahEA1

5 жыл бұрын

I miss Opryland, if it never closed, we would have season passes there instead of Dollywood. I love Dollywood though.

@railrider4745

5 жыл бұрын

Jose Justiniano I was going to diesel college in Gallatin when opened, flooded out in 90s....we operated Rachael the steam engine in Hampton,tn 3yrs. it went to grapevine,Tx. cannon ball was bought set up elsewhere, can't remember.....dolly claims to shut it down ....Dollywood.

When I was a kid I used to do competitive roller skating. My instructor, his wife, and partner moved to Maggie Valley in the late 80's to start an Ice Skating show at Ghost Town. They invited us to come visit and tour the park. I remember riding the Sea Dragon, probably my favorite ride... Anyway, they joked how the "Mountain Men" would come to the show and hoot 'n' holler at the scantically-clad women skaters. The park holds those memories for me, but I sadly don't think it'll ever be viable again.

@GregsGameRoom

5 жыл бұрын

Oh, and as for the roller coaster... The skaters had a good chuckle about it because it couldn't complete the loop during testing. I would never ride it due to this story even if given the chance!

Just happened upon this video today and it’s super nostalgic and incredibly sad. My grandparents took us to Ghost Town when I was around 8, which would’ve been around 1991. It was different than anything I’ve ever experienced since then and is such a fond memory for me. I was able to take my first born (she was almost a year old) in 2007 and remake and remember so much walking down those streets, seeing the can-can girls, the saloon, we even did an old timey photo with my parents while we were there. It wasn’t completely open then and unfortunately we’ve never been able to go back to any of the temporary opening since then. I’d love the opportunity to just go walk those streets one more time and see what was so special to me again.

Should it re open, they could make use of the chair lift and train a bit more by adding mountain biking, alpine coaster/s and even zip lines.

@americantrailrider7031

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah. This place could work as an adventure park. Mtb, zip line, waterpark.