I received a note from David Valdez, a reader of ours, saying that Movieland Wax Museum is closing down and moving to San Francisco.They are going to auction off their wax figures on March 11, 2006, on location. The museum opened in 1962 and was founded by Allen Parkinson and later sold to Six Flags.
I remember going there with my dad in 1978. I don't remember too much about it. Maybe Knott's can buy some of the wax figures and create a small wax museum in their Roaring Twenties area?
They're auctioning off everything...
- wax figures of celebrities
- all props and sets
- chandeliers
- fine art
- marble carved actual replicas of Michaelangelo's "The David" and "The Pieta"
- celebrity photos
- furniture
- display cases
Got any memories of Movieland Wax Museum? Post a comment!
50 comments:
I remember going there as a kid, and we even had a family friend who worked there soon after they opened.
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
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...
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!
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.
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!
Check out this introduction article on Wax museum:
Wax museum
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
does anyone know what happened to the movieland wax museum? i just went there and the doors were locked. what happened?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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??
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
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
The Cars of Stars and the Planes of fame weren't behind the Wax Museum. The Wm was on Beach Boulevard and the CoS&PoF were on Orangethorp just east of Knott Ave. The buildings are still there,however they are now Industrial buildings.
I am extremely sad that MWM has closed down. I went there practically every year almost from the time it opened. Then when I married and had children, I would take them occasionally.
It used to be a very special place, with the pond out front with swans, and the limousine. Then when they opened up the Palace of Living Art!!! Oh, my - how wonderful that was! A man who worked there told me (after they took it out and put the horror section in it's place), that people used to come from all over the world to see it because it was the only thing in the world like it!
What a shame!!! We will miss it greatly!
I was 6yr's old when i visited MWM in 1964 i remember taking a picture with frankenstien who bought the Gold Rolls Royce that was outside??????
When I was a little kid in the late 70s and early 80s I loved the Movieland Wax Museum more than any other place on earth. My poor parents must have been sick of my dragging them there every birthday. Why couldn't I have wanted to go to Disneyland like a normal kid?
I often wonder why I was so into the MWM. Part of it was that I liked movies and it was both educational about the history of film (the early displays are a highlight reel of great old movies, including I think some silent films) and because the really good sets and figures made you feel almost like you were there in the movies with the stars.
I think the MWM failed because the quality of the figures and sets dropped off. The original stuff was so good and lifelike, and often had great realistic touches, sometimes donated by the featured movie stars themselves. But the more recent stuff just didn't have the same realism or quality. I think the star power that the displays had in the 60s and 70s had also faded quite a bit a few decades later.
So what's become of the site? Is the museum still there or is it a strip mall full of El Pollo Locos and Fashion Bugs?
in 1976 my family and I went to the movieland wax museum. there was a "bobby"(english policeman} at the entrance. my grandmother was closley examing him noting how realistic the wax figures looked, suddenly he cleared his throat and scared the bejesus out her ( he was an actor dressed up ). that and how realistic the wax imges did look is a memmory I will have forever
i worked at Movieland Wax Museum from 89 to 92 alot of great memories and sad to here it no longer there!
i worked at Movieland Wax Museum from 89 to 92 alot of great memories and sad to here it no longer there!Bobbie
I grew up near the Movieland Wax Museum and it still ranks as the best wax museum I've ever seen. I used to know someone who worked there in the early 70's and she told me that most of the best figures were created by one artist who was one of the pioneers of taking precise measurements of the actors to reproduce amazing likenesses. I think what struck me the most as a child were the amazing sets the figures were placed in. In many cases actual props from the film were used to create a feeling of actually standing in a 3D still photograph from the film. They made me want to actually SEE the movie.
For a number of years they had a second museum next door dedicated to famous works of art (mostly paintings) turned into 3D figures with a complete set constructed around them. It reminded me of the "Pagent of the Masters".
What a terrific way to bring to life art and movies to children. I can say that a big part of my aprreciation for movies and art started by visiting this wonderful museum. Its a shame that there seems to be no place for something like this in todays society.
I know this place closed a fe years ago, but I miss it so much. My grandma took me when I was 9 years old and we had our picture taken outside with George Burns, i think my mom still has it. And now that my grandma has passed I find myself revisiting places we used to go, and I wish it was still open to go. I remeber they had a place inside where you could get your pic taken and they would put in another picture and you could have it put on a shirt, poster ect... I miss it very much and I think I will take a drive over there, I live 20 min away in Los Alamitos, and walk around outside......
I went in the early 80's. I wandered away from the family and found the Keystone Cop. His eyes looked so real, I had to get right up next to him for a closer look. He said "May I help you?" and I nearly crapped my pants. I still remember trying to convince my parents that one of the wax statues was alive. "Yeah, sure it is."
Movieland Wax Museum was my very first job as a teen in the late 80s. So much fun. They would move us around from ticket booth, greeter and photographer (get your picture with a look a like), and photo lab. Every once in a while you would get a rock star, prince from another land, or a real star come visit. Corey Feldman came in once while I was greeter. He did a little Michael Jackson dance outside the doors after his visit. I LOVED the people I worked with. We had so much fun, time went by so fast. The only position I absolutely hated was getting stuck next to the star trek set getting the theme song repeated all.... day.... long. I did so many greetings in my years there I would wake up in the middle of the night doing my welcome speach. Ugh. miss you co workers!! Debbie
Post a Comment