BEECH MOUNTAIN, N.C. — If you follow the yellow brick road to Beech Mountain, it will take you to North Carolina's mysterious Land of Oz.
Starting in June, the park, which has been the center of urban legends in the Carolinas for years, will let guests take a journey with Dorothy into one of Hollywood's most famed fantasy worlds. And it's all to celebrate the 80th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz."
The Land of Oz was designed in the 1970s as a "Wizard of Oz" theme park. Now, it opens a few weeks each year to take visitors on a journey along the yellow brick road to Oz.
Guests will take a quick trip up the mountain to Kansas where they can explore Dorothy's home after a tornado swept her away to Munchkinland.
"You can see in everyone's eyes when they are here they are transported," said a Land of Oz spokesperson. "The book and the movie have a very special palce in everyone's heart. Whether they feel they're Dorothy, or they're the Lion, or the Scarecrow or the Tin Man."
The Land of Oz will be open June 6-7, 13-14, 20-21, 26-28 and July 5. Children 2 and under are free.