39 Comments:

• I remember going there as a kid, and we even had a family friend who worked there soon after they opened.

  By  Valdez is Coming, at February 16, 2006 1:47 PM  

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• I was a student at Cal-State Fullerton and worked at Movieland Wax Museum during the summer.
  
  This was during the mid 80's.
  I worked 1 year in the restaurant and then security. Made some great friends, wonder what they are doing now.
  
  Mark

  By  Anonymous, at March 21, 2006 11:24 AM  

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• I worked at Movieland Wax Museum the summer of 1980, after graduating from Kennedy High School in La Palma. It was a truly odd place to work--and very creepy being there after the place closed at 10 or 11 at night. I was a ticket taker, and worked in both the main building and in the sister attraction, the Palace of Living Art. They turned that into the Black Box or some other horrid attraction. I was sad to hear that it had closed down, but I guess people were becoming tired of looking at wax figures...

  By  Julie Engelhardt, at April 03, 2006 9:08 AM  

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• I'm sad to hear that another part of my childhood is closing down! Thanks for this website. It has been a real trip sown memory lane!

  By  Debbie Wilkinson, at April 25, 2006 9:50 AM  

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• I'm sorry to hear this news, too. So much has changed about Orange County. I grew up there from 67-81. At least where we live now, Santa Maria, CA, we still have an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater.
  Movieland Wax Museum wasn't far from a Crocodile Land across the street from Knott's. That's gone, too, but I'll never forget the zookeeper feeding whole chicken carcasses to the suddenly hungry crocs.

  By  dolphindancer, at April 29, 2006 10:31 PM  

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• Went there one time in 44 years in the county with free tickets... thought I got ripped off. Guess wax museums don't float my boat!

  By  velella, at May 27, 2006 9:41 PM  

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• Check out this introduction article on Wax museum:
  Wax museum

  By  wax museum, at July 10, 2006 3:21 PM  

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• I worked at the Movieland Wax Museum for two years until it closed and I truly miss it. People may think a job like that goes nowhere but I did other things besides. You get so use to the figures and it was like friends going away, silly huh, There were some nice people that came through the museum that I will never forget. There are still nice people in this world. There were those interesting guests also. Luckily the Ripley's Believe It Or Not which was also owned by the same family was kept open by a partner and kept a handfull of us working. It's hard to believe nothing is left when the building is still so prominent such that alot of people still come to Ripley's requesting combo tickets. All in all I have great memories that will last forever.

  By  Joseph F. Pimentel, at August 21, 2006 7:55 PM  

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• that must've been something, that place is something i'll never forget.. i've been to other wax museums and this one was the best.. it must've been wierd watching it shut down. i grew up on western and artesia,1975-1989, we must've passed that place on an average of 5 times a week, always noticing the rolls and some other limo in the yard, on each side of the gift shop..
  my favorite was the little cesar display where you can see him get shot, and the poseidon adventure..
  i remember the black box, very well.. VERY scary, the later chamber of horrors was nothing in comparison, but still had the exorsist display. a date could involve a trip to the wax museum, and a couple of frames at the aztec bowl, right across the steet. too bad it's shut down..you don't realize how much you miss something till it's gone

  By  Anonymous, at August 23, 2006 8:08 PM  

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• Cant believe it!!!!! I was born and bred in the OC, I am now 42 yrs old and have never went to the wax museum! Well I just decided that my fiance and I would go this weekend and also to Ripley's!!! To my absolute surprise I find it is gone after all these yrs!! I may have a females intuition but boy oh boy is it ever out of wack!! I never would think they would close this attraction! Maybe Hollywood holds a spark of hope for me!
  Cha Cha/Tustin, Ca.

  By  Anonymous, at October 19, 2006 8:12 AM  

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• I am the City Clerk for the City of Buena Park, and I am undertaking a project to create a vintage memorabilia display for city hall of the city's amusement attractions. If you have anything you would like to donate or loan to the City on long-term basis, please contact me at sreynoso@buenapark.com.

  By  Buena Park City Clerk, at October 30, 2006 3:37 PM  

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• this is larry rosa the great.......
  hello old friends i have known ,
  i miss each and every one of you dearly. sorry to hear about bill nash! i did not hear about him passing away until 2005 and also bob obema ! the movieland wax meseum was a great place and also the palace of living art.
  larryarosa@yahoo.com

  By  larryarosa, at November 02, 2006 4:33 PM  

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• I went to the attractions in 1978 and I have pictures of several wax figures, such asRedd Foxx and Aunt Esther;Jerry Lewis (Nutty Prof.);The King & I;Red (hobo) Skelton; Wizard of Oz;and many others I would like to Donate them to the city of Buena Park,as I did for the Historical Society several years go.

  By  Anonymous, at December 09, 2006 6:30 PM  

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• I am sad to know the museum has closed. I was hoping to visit in June when I come to Los Angeles. I remember a mechanical keystone cop when you first entered. Another cop next to it appeared to be mechanical two... I remember my Aunt and Cousin "scrutinizing" it closely, when the "mechanical" cop said "Boo.." He was real and they ran all the way to the front door. We had some great laughs over it.

  By  Anonymous, at February 13, 2007 2:30 PM  

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• Before they closed, i stopped by a couple of days and took pictures. i posted close to a hundred of them here:
  
  http://renegademartian-movielandwaxmuseumtribute.buzznet.com/user/photos/
  
  i miss Movieland. Too bad it just sits there as an empty shell now.

  By  Anonymous, at March 06, 2007 6:58 PM  

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• i had not been to MWM in quite a while. i would say 15 years but when i heard it was closing down i had to see it one last time. let's put it this way the building was white and they just addedthe chamber of horrors.
  i am starting a tribute site to MWM. it's under construction http://www.movielandwaxmuseum.org i was there the last and filmed the place on my cannon XL1 3CCD and also working on a dvd.

  By  Tony, at March 07, 2007 3:41 AM  

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• does anyone know what happened to the movieland wax museum? i just went there and the doors were locked. what happened?

  By  Anonymous, at April 08, 2007 9:15 AM  

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• Why hasnt anybody mentioned the "Cars of Stars - Planes of Fame" museum that used to be right behind Movieland?...I remember that at one point they had sort of a partnership, and if you bought a ticket to one, you gained admission to both attractions. This was circa 1975 or so.

  By  Anonymous, at April 22, 2007 8:45 AM  

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• Hey Anonymous,
  Go back...they were likely just out to lunch.
  
  If you're limited on time and can't do that, you might want to just read the other posts in this thread to find the answer.

  By  net, at April 24, 2007 1:00 PM  

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• I remember when the MWM opened.I was living in Oakland and went to MWM in the summer of 1963. I remember the Golden Rolls Royce. I went many other times. I had not been to Southern California since 1993. I was looking in the AAA California Book and did not find the MWM. I came online and I was shocked it closed in October 2005.

  By  Anonymous, at April 24, 2007 3:59 PM  

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• Wow... I just now found out that MWM is gone! It's sooo sad! I grew up in So. Cal. and we used to take visitors there often. I was looking forward to visiting when I went back on vacation next year! I remember when they had "The Black Box" and we were all so scared to go in there! Also, once we were visiting and we were in the scary part where the Monster Movies are, and There was a power failure and THE LIGHTS WENT OUT! My Son & Daughter were FREAKED OUT! An employee with a flash light came and had us all hold hands and he led us out of there! What a great memory. I'll really miss the place! I'm saddened.

  By  Anonymous, at May 14, 2007 5:51 PM  

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• I remember Cars of the Stars. Used to my girlfriend there in the late 70's. I remember it being located on Orangethorpe west of Knotts street and you could also see it from the 91 as you went by. I think it was only there a couple of years.

  By  Brian, at June 14, 2007 1:15 AM  

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• My family visit the museum occasionally when we took our vacations. It was just part of the amusement since we don't have anything like this in New Mexico. We missed going last summer 2006, but we didn't know it was closing. It is sad to see it close.

  By  Anonymous, at June 17, 2007 7:43 PM  

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• So sad movieland has gone .We visited everytime we came over from England just to see the Star Trek set,although Spock had grey hair...my kids loved the horror bits. The store was always a good scource for trek items and they had a signed pic of Leonard in a corner I remember..will miss it next time we visit Knotts

  By  Anonymous, at July 03, 2007 1:55 PM  

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• The first time I went there was in the late 70's, I was about 6 yrs old. I still have the pressed penny from one of the machines. I'm sad to hear that it has closed although I'm not surprised. The last time I went there was in the late 90's and there was hardly anyone there. Farewell Movieland Wax Museum, you will be missed.

  By  Mike Ing, Jr, at August 26, 2007 9:38 PM  

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• I moved to Buena Park when I was a kid in 1964 and moved away in the 80's.We lived in the same neighborhood as Movieland Wax Museun and went there often (us kids on the block),Sometimes just to play.We've even dug in the trash can and would find all kinds of neat stuff like wax hands and feet and once the starting of a head.I'll allways remember the wax museum too bad it's gone.
  mike mcclearn
  mikemcclearn@yahoo.com

  By  mike mcclearn, at August 30, 2007 6:26 PM  

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• hi there
  Hello from the Buckeye State
  My name is Randolph L. Burns
  I am from Urbana, Ohio(neardayton/Cincinnati/Columbus)
  I have been coming to the Movieland Wax Museum every time I would visit my family in LA> I was very saddened to hear about the
  closing of Movieland. I absolutly loved it!!! Thanks for all the great memories.

  By  Anonymous, at September 12, 2007 12:26 PM  

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• i worked at movieland wax museum from 1989 till 1992 in the Amazing Pictures section. my name is John. I would love to here from some of the people i used to work with.if there is anyone out there please email me at chri714ana@yahoo.com i would love to see some of the people i used to hang out with

  By  Anonymous, at September 12, 2007 4:24 PM  

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• I remember working at the Museum in the 80's and I really enjoyed it. I no longer live in Calif but was hoping to go on vacation there and taking my grand kids one day. Wow how things really change.
  
  Patti

  By  Anonymous, at October 04, 2007 4:34 AM  

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• I grew up in the neighborhood right behind MWM... "Imperial Estates", anyone?
  Does anyone else remember how the parking spaces had movie star names painted on each spot. I just thought that was the coolest. My sister worked at "Starlite Gifts" (now Starbucks). Also used to frequent "Aztec Bowl" across the street. My friends and I used to think it was hysterical to help ourselves to coffee from the enormous urns set up for the different leagues and then leave the cups all thru-out the building. AAAAHHHH......... the 70's. way too much time on my hands.

  By  Anonymous, at October 05, 2007 10:39 PM  

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• I also remember the Cars of stars,planes of fame museum.When i lived in Norwalk back in 1972.Used to go there to see Ed Roth in the back room.He had some neat cars in there,But everything was quite dusty.Also had some wax figures of stars also. Used to goto Knotts Berry Farm also.AH the GOOD old days.

  By  Anonymous, at October 10, 2007 10:50 AM  

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• I just found out that the Movieland Wax Museum has closed! Two years too late. I thought I just saw a billboard advertising it. My kids are now old enough to appreciate that wonderful museum, so I got on line to see how much it would cost. And low and behold...It is no longer there. I've visited the museum atleast four times, since I was ten years old. I remember how scared I was seeing Frankenstein's creature standing in very dark forest. Am I remembering that wrong? I always liked how large the "sets" were. The last time I visited was in the 80's. I think Michael Jackson was one of the newest figures. Am I remembering incorrectly?? In the Doctor Shivago set, was there an interior of a house filled with ice? And then you stepped outside to see the figures from the movie. The last time I was there, the house had been turned into Pee Wee's Playhouse. Am I right? Oh to be able to see it all again. Such a shame.
  I, too, remember the Cars of the Stars. Seeing the props from movies. Models of the Seaview and Planet of the Apes and the original King Kong!!!! Does anybody else remember such things??

  By  Norman, at October 17, 2007 2:04 PM  

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• john again i used to work in the amazing pictures section i am looking for people i used to work with please email me at chris714ana@yahoo.com. i had alot of fun with everyone i worked with if you worked with me you will remember me

  By  Anonymous, at December 01, 2007 2:21 PM  

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• I hear the wax museum will be demolished soon. I drove out there tonight after work to snap a few final pictures including all the movie stars cement impressions. Does anyone know the years that Movieland Cars of the Stars was open? I remember going there back in the '70's.

  By  Chuckster, at December 27, 2007 10:20 PM  

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• I pitched Ira Glass’ PBS show to do a story on “where are the Movieland figures now.” I hoped they might like to explore the human psyche as to why we as a culture are so fascinated with celebrity and icons (wax and real) that many would spend thousands to own a piece and display them in their homes (creepy I think, but that’s where a number of these works are now). I thought it would be a great story, but I have never heard back from them.
  
  Having run across this neat site, I wonder… if enough of you are interested in the same story, perhaps I could repitch … this time with a petition of potential listeners? What do you think?
  
  Please drop me a line at bcastgrrl (at) gmail.com if you’d allow me to use your first name, city and email address in a petition. It won’t be post it, or sell it- I promise and I can send you a copy of the response (I did get one last time). Thanks!

  By  cc, at January 26, 2008 3:14 PM  

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• I lived in Buena Park from 1968 to 1980. My mother still lives in the same house. I remember going to the Wax Museum. I loved the pond they use to have out in front with swans in it. I hated to see built over with a gift shop later.
  
  When I was 13, I had my picture taken with Franenstein.
  
  They use to have people dressed to look like scattered wax figures. I remember one was dressed like a keystone cop. He would position himself and remain still as a new crowd of people came into the area. Then when someone got too close he would move on them. Made a lot of people jump. It was fun to watch.
  
  Remember the alligator farm that use to be across from Knotts as well. Never went to that before it was shut down. Just wasn't my thing.
  
  I remember Knotts before the walls went up and the Calico Gold Mine was just 50 cents to ride. Admission was free. My brother use to bring home chickens and rabbits that use to run around there. My mother finally got fed up with a backyard full of them, rounded them up, and took them back. My brother stopped collecting when I tried to capture a goose. The goose was not amused and chased my brother all over the place. Halarious!

  By  EtAl, at February 03, 2008 10:19 AM  

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• Our mom worked at MWM from 1963 to ? Anyone remember Marilyn Westlake? We, karin and Jan worked the late 70"s to 1980. MWM was like our second home! We all have wonderful memories! We Loved to listen to Logan tell stories of what it was like working with the stars he casted. We loved the keystone cops, Singing in the Rain, Sunset Blvd and so much more! We are thankful for the wonderful memories!

  By  Anonymous, at June 02, 2008 7:06 PM  

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• I worked at MWM for about two months in 1971. I was fired because I kept stopping at the Keystone Kop display and watching him do his magic. He was incredible. Whenever people would come up to him and touch his cheek or arm, they would say, oh he's wax too. He would then touch their arm back and say "no I'm not" and they would jump out of their shoes.
  
  I now live in Alaska and am taking a trip to Anaheim in July and was going to go and see this fabulous attraction, but am sorry to see that it has closed.

  By  Perry Streeter, at June 25, 2008 12:58 PM  

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• I don't think many remember what an "event" the opening was in 1962. Many of the big stars whose figures were displayed attended, and many donated costume items or original movie items used in the museum's "sets." Mary Pickford's figure was wearing an original dress from her silent movie, "Taming of the Shrew." MWM tried to keep updating their displays, but I think by the late 1980s there were few who remembered Pickford, Fairbanks, Valentino, Gary Cooper, etc. A shame, because they really were a fine museum of American cinema history.

  By  Anonymous, at August 05, 2008 12:41 PM  

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