Most hotels are fully refundable. The Spider Man is a creepy top-hatted arachnid, maybe not so scary in a world of chest-bursting aliens and zombies. Get a piece of your childhood now! It opened in 2019, and incorporates the Magic Forest, which opened in 1963, along with a new attraction entitled Dino Roar Valley. 3. Lake George Expedition Park The women at the snack bar were putting together a puzzle in between filling orders, and when we found that the gift shop had closed before the park did, they allowed us to come back the next day (for free) to shop for souvenirs. I thought it was really just time to get it out of their way, Gilette said in a phone interview on Thursday. $$ Photos See all photos Connect with Magic Forest on Facebook Log In or Create new account Santa had been on the Atkins diet and looked as healthy as the animals. Most hotels are fully refundable. Tripadvisor checks reviews for fraud. Close. Sign up for our newsletter & stay up to date. A bean pole droops, a gingerbread house caves in, a Humpty Dumpty falls one last time. She doesn't understand our concern, and is probably wondering why grown men traveling without children are in her park in the first place. More, National Cryptologic Museum, Annapolis Junction, Maryland (Feb 27-Mar 5, 2023). There is a area with several picnic table just outside a small snack bar. As of this week, over 700 lots from Magic Forest were posted by Schenectady-based Collar City Auction & Realty Management, all put there by the parks former owner, Jack Gilette. Almost all of the quirky attractions of Magic Forest described below -- including the diving horse, the gigantic Uncle Sam, and the Muffler Men -- have been removed. Magic Forest probably has the longest running permanent "Diving Horse" show since Atlantic City's Steel Pier burned down. Best suited for the very young, or anyone with a penchant for quirky roadside attractions, this small amusement park opened in 1963, and retains some of its retro charm. Where else can you see Esso tigers and Sinclair Dinosaurs peacefully coexisting with pink flamingos and polar bears? Gillette sold Magic Forest in Lake George in 2019 and retired. Get a piece of your childhood now! More, National Cryptologic Museum, Annapolis Junction, Maryland (Feb 27-Mar 5, 2023). Its a miracle that the Magic Forest, which opened in 1963, outlived its expiration date by several yearsmaybe even decadesbut nothing lasts forever. Lake George Expedition Park I made, I dont know, about 20 or 30 trips, sometimes with a tractor-trailer. This is by far the greatest place whether you are old or young. It means nothing to most people; but for people who went to the fair and loved it, its worth its value to them.. It is now a running joke In our family that as a pumishment we will return to bizzaro world. She likes things that are bigger or smaller than they should be: novelty architecture, miniature worlds, and anything made from fiberglass or neon. Actually, that helps to explain a lot about this place. Web1912 State Route 9 Lake George, NY 12845 Visit Site Adirondacks Region Details Since 1963, Magic Forest has entertained young park goers and their families, creating memories for all. WebMagic Forest Address: 1912 U.S. 9, Lake George, NY 12845, USA, United States Magic Forest Contact Number: +1-5186682448 Try the best online travel planner to plan your travel itinerary! WebYour visit to the park will be a walking tour; for our visitors with mobility difficulties, we will provide alternative means. However, that didnt keep father and son from getting together at the Danbury Fair after it had closed, for the grounds to become a mall to rescue hundreds of statues and decorations. Posted by 3 years ago. WebCompare 721 hotels close to Magic Forest Park with room rates, reviews, and availability. Almost all of the quirky attractions of Magic Forest described below -- including the diving horse, the gigantic Uncle Sam, and the Muffler Men -- have been removed. When the Fair went out of business, Jack Gillette bought him in April 1982 (along with dozens of other statues) and stood him in the Magic Forest parking lot. WebMagic Forest (Gone) Lake George, New York The theme park reopened in 2019 with a new owner and a new name: Lake George Expedition Park. Best Western of Lake George 2452 State Route 9N, Lake George, NY, 12845 $77 per night Mar 1 - Mar 2 Stay at this business-friendly hotel in Lake George. He says that all of the figures lived diverseand sometimes manypast lives before they came to the Magic Forest. All of that was fine. Not for family but for the individual. Lake George Expedition Park - Magic Forest Went there with 3 toddlers and spent almost 4 hours. Best Western of Lake George 2452 State Route 9N, Lake George, NY, 12845 $77 per night Mar 1 - Mar 2 Stay at this business-friendly hotel in Lake George. I have no place to store it, he said. By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Magic Forest is one, aided by a combination of prime location and classic clean kid fun. Magic Forest Hundreds of fiberglass figures strewn about the heavily-wooded park were faded by decades of sun and exposure to the elements, covered in spider webs and other forest detritus. The admission cost is super reasonable and their snack bar has normal food prices. Fun Park Again the kids enjoyed itand that is the most important part. WebMagic Forest 3.5 461 #10 of 27 things to do in Lake George Amusement & Theme Parks Closed now 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Visit website Call Write a review About A family fun park, in the Adirondacks, that features 25 amusement rides, including the Safari Ride, plus live animal performances, magic shows and the ever-popular "Rex the Diving Horse." Almost all of the quirky attractions of Magic Forest described below -- including the diving horse, the gigantic Uncle Sam, and the Muffler Men -- have been removed. A good place to spend half a day for kids. This used to be Santa's Workshop and they've kept parts of it. Jimmy Brown's magic show was great. The kids thought the place was greatmy husband and I thought it could be better. Santa is actually there in an air conditioned log house. Along the shaded trails, attractions feature fairy tale characters like Hansel and Gretel and Paul Bunyan. Create Your Own Bizarre Road Trips! I didnt want to go to six flags or another big park that would take the entire day waiting in lines. The magic show by Jimmy Brown was incredible, full of laughs, both of my girls got to go on stage and participate. There are plenty of unnerving fairy tale statues along the wooded trails of Magic Forest -- an impressive collection of contorted bodies, asymmetrical faces, weird leers, and bulging eyes. More, Roadside Presidents app for iPhone, iPad. Are rides being disinfected after each use? 10am5pm | Sat & Sun Only WebLake George, New York. Magic Forest About 20 dioramas -- accompanied by audio at the push of a button -- bring to life the Three Little Pigs, Jack Sprat, Hansel & Gretel, assorted princesses and woodsmen Magic Forest opened in 1963, the brainchild of Arthur Gillette, who wisely built his fairyland along a major highway (Route 9) and just south of the town of Lake George, a magnet for summertime and weekend crowds from New York City. Simple fun and a great day. Gilette was something of a collector, amassing his estimated over 700 items over decades while running Magic Forest, which first opened in 1963. So many rides. WebMagic Forest 3.5 461 #10 of 27 things to do in Lake George Amusement & Theme Parks Closed now 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Visit website Call Write a review About A family fun park, in the Adirondacks, that features 25 amusement rides, including the Safari Ride, plus live animal performances, magic shows and the ever-popular "Rex the Diving Horse." This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher. Magic Forest We put an ax in his hands and made him a woodsman.". WebMagic Forest - Lake George Expedition Park FUN TO MAKE YOU SOAR Enter a world of nostalgia and wonder Magic Forest is the park of your childhood dreams! Sometimes, Baker would get ten emails expressing interest in a single item before he could even list it as sold. There are also a petting zoo, magic shows, and stunt shows with the last remaining diving horse, Lightning. Jack Gillette, the longtime owner of Magic Forest, initially purchased Uncle Sam (and other pieces) at auction from the Danbury Fair decades ago when the fair closed its doors in 1981. He cataloged the items, helped set prices, and listed them on his website. Hours I was especially concerned about "Lightening" the diving horse. Anyone know if I will be towed for parking there after hours? Visit Family Vacation Critic on Facebook! Enjoy free WiFi, free parking, and a 24-hour front desk. Never ever again will we return. RoadsideAmerica.comYour Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions. tourist attractions and odd sights in New York, World's Highest and Longest Pedestrian Bridge. Get in Touch Things to Know Before Visiting Magic Forest How popular is Magic Forest? I am very grateful to the Magic Forest for essentially saving all this original fiberglass all these years, and also for calling us rather than an auction house who could care less about anything other than the money, says Baker. "His head is the way we got him. Magic Forest Its fiberglass figures had long ago dug in their collective heelsand hoovesas the world evolved around them. Jack Gillette, the longtime owner of Magic Forest, initially purchased Uncle Sam (and other pieces) at auction from the Danbury Fair decades ago when the fair closed its doors in 1981. With magically delicious food and shows so good you wont believe your eyes, one trip to the Magic Forest will have you checking for vacancies in the Old Womans shoe. The next button will take you to Roadpass to create a free Roadpass account and finish the process. Magic Forest POTUS landmarks, oddities. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. Uncle Sam is Out & Dinosaurs are The 38-foot-tall Uncle Sam has been returned to its original location in Danbury, Connecticut. Statues from Magic Forest in Lake George are up for sale. Then there are the fairy tale worlds blessed with good fortune, as if every child who ever visited used up a secret wish on its behalf. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. Our website found buyers who truly have a passion for saving these kinds of things.. Lake George Expedition The Magic Forest was a theme park that remained untouched by timeand when we visited, almost nothing about it made sense anymore. 51. Stories, reports and tips on tourist attractions and odd sights in New York. 95% of travelers recommend this experience. Train ride wasn't running which was disappointing. The other is a Happy Halfwit with an Amish beard and hat, holding an ax just opposite the Little Miss Muffet display. It opened in 2019, and incorporates the Magic Forest, which opened in 1963, along with a new attraction entitled Dino Roar Valley. Contents 1 Magic Forest 2 Dino Roar Valley 3 References 4 External links Magic Forest [ edit] Each ride had info about when and where it was made, when it was bought and info about the hydraulics. We are grandparents of 5 yo and 9 yo boys and went with them and their parents to the park. Enjoy free WiFi, free parking, and a 24-hour front desk. Credits, Media/Business Inquiries WebLake George Expedition Park is an amusement park located in Lake George, NY along Route 9. Tall tales, trip guides, and the weird and wonderful. Items from local theme park empire hit the auction block We have an awkward moment -- not uncommon for us -- when we ask a passing manager why the grimacing, Amishized Alfred E. Neuman holds an ax. Water available for sale all throughout. Magic Forest is the park of your childhood dreams! Trip Planning Caution: RoadsideAmerica.com offers maps, directions and attraction details as a convenience, providing all information as is. Get a piece of your childhood now! Keep exploring with the Roadtrippers mobile apps. Are you associated with this business? Theyve added Dino valley and are working on updates around magic forest. Magic Forest Magic Forest (Gone POTUS landmarks, oddities. Lake George Almost all of the quirky attractions of Magic Forest described below -- including the diving horse, the gigantic Uncle Sam, and the Muffler Men -- have been removed. Ever. Is the park recommend for children 7-10 years old? The fella Im buying stuff from says, We gotta leave some stuff for the auction.'. WebCompare 721 hotels close to Magic Forest Park with room rates, reviews, and availability. live santa only comes out when the weather isn't too hot. Hundreds of fiberglass figures strewn about the heavily-wooded park were faded by decades of sun and exposure to the elements, covered in spider webs and other forest detritus. I think that you would probably be towed. Gillette sold the park in 2019, but much of the remnants have remained on the property, now operating as Lake George Expedition Park. Jack Gillette, the longtime owner of Magic Forest, initially purchased Uncle Sam (and other pieces) at auction from the Danbury Fair decades ago when the fair closed its doors in 1981. enchanted forest water safari where the fun never stops is up in old forge, this place was near Lake George. Most fairy tale theme parks eventually suffer the fate of a fabled cursed kingdom. There are adult rides and family rides too. There's a chapel, too. Anything you purchase through links on our site may earn us a commission. Magic Forest Park WebLake George Expedition Park is an amusement park located in Lake George, NY along Route 9. Learn more about Roadpass accounts here. I didnt want to go to six flags or another big park that would take the entire day waiting in lines. Baker is surprisingly sanguine as he watches the collection split up and scatter around the country. This park is a cute stop and great for small kids without the meltdowns that come with large parks when theyre beyond exhausted. Trip Planning Caution: RoadsideAmerica.com offers maps, directions and attraction details as a convenience, providing all information as is. WebStatues from Magic Forest in Lake George are up for sale. Mixed among the dioramas are giant statues of American icons, several of them reworked Muffler Men: Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, Smokey Bear, the Statue of Liberty, a big Indian, a couple of space-walking astronauts. This park is a cute stop and great for small kids without the meltdowns that come with large parks when theyre beyond exhausted. Actually, that helps to explain a lot about this place. Yes. Rex the Diving Horse leaped on cue into a pool for many years; now his son, Lightning, takes the plunge twice a day. Almost all of the quirky attractions of Magic Forest described below -- including the diving horse, the gigantic Uncle Sam, and the Muffler Men -- have been removed. The rides are very old school, and my kids. Loved the nostalgia of this park, the "dated" that everyone seems to be talking about. WebYour visit to the park will be a walking tour; for our visitors with mobility difficulties, we will provide alternative means. We need your email address to send you trip itineraries and other updates. Sometimes I wonder if we really saw Lightning, the last remaining diving horse in the country, take his famous (and some may say inhumane) dive twice the day we visited, or if it was all a mirage. Almost all of the quirky attractions of Magic Forest described below -- including the diving horse, the gigantic Uncle Sam, and the Muffler Men -- have been removed. Statues from Magic Forest in Lake George are up for sale. Embark on a ride that will take you sky high or take the scenic route through the forest on our park train. Climb into a dinosaur nest, dig for hidden fossils, and stand next to what is possibly the world's largest dinosaur ever discovered - the Titanosaurus. A lion-head drinking fountain (and lion-head trash can), a caveman family, Ma and Pa Kettle, an Esso tiger, a 15-foot Santa, a one-hump camel, a skull, and several other pieces are still up for sale. People normally club together Water Slide World and Lumberjack Pass Miniature Golf while planning their visit to Magic Forest. The theme park reopened in 2019 with a new owner and a new name: Lake George Expedition Park. It was an amazing collection of original piecesthe largest I knew to exist.. 8.6 Fabulous 813 reviews Price from 102 per night Check availability Best Western of Lake George Staff is great rides are safe & fun for any child or adult. Start here.Use RoadsideAmerica.com's Attraction Maps to plan your next road trip. The worlds largest Uncle Sam statue greets you in the parking lot. Magic Forest 71.18% of people who visit Lake George include Magic Forest in their plan, 42.86% of people start their Magic Forest visit around 3 PM - 4 PM, People usually take around 30 Minutes to see Magic Forest, 95% of people prefer to travel by car while visiting Magic Forest. Still gives me creeps every night to look back on it. WebExperience a journey through time. But we bet this up close encounter will come back in someone's nightmares. Uncle Sam is 38 feet tall and formerly stood at the Danbury Fairgrounds in Connecticut. The majority of the items have now sold and most of the well-known, larger items are gonelike the big animals and Muffler Menbut there are still plenty of items online for those that are interested.. 7.1/10 The Magic Forest felt like it was from a different time not only physically, but spiritually. No souvenirs though. Please try signing in with another option or create a new account with Roadpass. We missed the magic show but will catch it next time. RoadsideAmerica.comYour Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions. One, a giant clown, has to be the most remodeled MM in the world. We left & renamed it "bizzaro world". We took our almost 3 year old and she loved it. Dino Roar Valley is so fun its prehistoric! The pace has slowed, but each week he continues to get inquiries. The dark, woodsy allure of classic fairy tales is part of Magic Forest's charm. Explore the unknown as you traverse the Dino Nest and uncover the world sleeping beneath our feet as you excavate colossal dinosaurs in the Fossil Dig Site. WebExperience a journey through time. June 27 - Sept. 5 There is so much potential to this park. Try My Sights, Roadside America app for iPhone, iPad. Prices range from a few hundred dollars into the tens of thousands. We are hoping to go back again We got there around 2 and stayed until close. When they heard about the sale they purchased that teddy bear and it meant the world to them, Baker says. Accessibility is our goal, please contact us with site improvements. Magic Forest Park Reddit 1912 U.S. 9, Lake George, NY 12845, USA, United States, Magic Forest Address: 1912 U.S. 9, Lake George, NY 12845, USA, United States, Magic Forest Contact Number: +1-5186682448. We are located on the seasonal Greater Glens Falls Transit Trolley route. It opened in 2019, and incorporates the Magic Forest, which opened in 1963, along with a new attraction entitled Dino Roar Valley. Take time to enjoy the rides - the merry-go-round, you-drive car track, sail in the boats, and others. 8.6 Fabulous 813 reviews Price from 102 per night Check availability Best Western of Lake George Fun Park That was a bit disturbing to me. Hundreds of fiberglass figures strewn about the heavily-wooded park were faded by decades of sun and exposure to the elements, covered in spider webs and other forest detritus. WebYour visit to the park will be a walking tour; for our visitors with mobility difficulties, we will provide alternative means. Id gladly trade a few more brain cells to take that so-called safari ride again and spend a few more precious moments with the mangy menagerie of animals scattered throughout the woods. I hope the owners decide to open it all the way up. 10am5pm | 7 Days a Week The Muffler Mena Paul Bunyan, a Mortimer Snerd, a clown, and Pecos Billwere among the first items to sell. 100% of travelers recommend this experience. My husband told me he was creeped out & felt like the statues were following is with their eyes. Would have loved to have seen the dinosaurs. The park's famous Santa Claus overlooks the parking lot. This place is great if you are into any of the following, all others beware: Unsafe broken rides, uneducated senior citizens running rides, creepy overall, sad use and abuse of a horse forced to walk up an inclosure and dive down into a pool multiple times a day, dirty sad animals in cages, safari train ride of ceramic animal heads with choking fumes from extremely slow moving ride, permanent carnival. Lake George "His head is the way we got him. Before Chuck E. Cheese, video games, Six Flags, or Disney World, parks like the Magic Forest used to be the place to take your kids. Fun for the kids and nostalgic for us babyboomers! The full, 700+ lot posting will stay online until the end of September. Gillettes over 700 nostalgic lots are all up for the bidding now, and can be seen in-person by appointment. At Dino Roar Valley, find adventure, make discoveries, and be transported to other places through hands-on experiences. It's perfect. Officials ended up tipping Uncle Sam onto a 40-foot flatbed truck, and had to remove one of his hands to avoid it getting torn off by a bridge along the route. Maybe what we actually saw was the ghost of Rex, the parks original equine entertainer and Lightnings fatheror perhaps it was all an elaborate magic trick performed by the resident magician, Jimmy Brown (who also doubledor rather, tripledas the parks lone emcee and balloon animal artist). That means the array of memories up for auction come from a variety of other fairs, carnivals and fun lands. This is a must see. Embark on a ride that will take you sky high or take the scenic route through the forest on our park train. Most of these giants had already stood at a handful of locations before coming here so it is not surprising they are on the move again, Having worked with these giants for almost 10 years now, I know that nothing ever stays the same, he says. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Strange and amusing destinations in the US and Canada are our specialty. Memories of Magic Forest up for auction Probably nowhere else is the disturbing world of children's' fairy tales brought to life more vividly. Gillette can be reached at 518-895-8150 to schedule an appointment. WebMagic Forest (Gone) Lake George, New York The theme park reopened in 2019 with a new owner and a new name: Lake George Expedition Park.