Ghost Town Village

For the amusement park in Pennsylvania that was once known as "Ghost Town in the Glen", see Rocky Glen Park.
Ghost Town Village
Location Maggie Valley, North Carolina,  United States
Opened May 1, 1961 (1961-05-01)
Website http://www.ghosttownvillage.com/home.html

Ghost Town Village (formerly "Ghost Town in the Sky) [1] is a Wild West-themed amusement park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, USA. An unusual aspect of this park is that it is located atop a mountain which can only be accessed by visitors via a 3,370-foot-long (1,030 m) chair lift or an inclined funicular railway. These start at the parking area beside Jonathan Creek at an elevation of 3,150 feet (960 m), climbing to the lower level of the park at 4,400 feet (1,300 m), a climb of 1,250 feet (380 m). The recreated "Ghost Town" sits at 4,600 feet (1,400 m), with the highest elevation in the park being about 4,650 feet (1,420 m). The park is located on a ridge extending from Buck mountain which is in turn an extension of the Cataloochee Divide, border to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park's entrance is located on U.S. Highway 19, the main road through the town. Ghost Town is promoted as "North Carolina's mile-high theme park".

History

Ghost Town was the brainchild of R.B. Coburn, a Covington, VA native who moved to Maggie Valley, North Carolina. The park was designed by Russell Pearson and constructed for approximately $1 million in 1960. The park opened on May 1, 1961, and quickly became one of Western North Carolina's most popular tourist attractions. Pearson also opened another wild west theme park in Florida, Six Gun Territory.[2]

At one point, 620,000 people visited Ghost Town each year.[3] This number declined to 340,000 in 2008.[4]

The park was sold in 1973 to National Services for a stock swap, but Coburn bought it back in 1986 and constructed the park's famous Cliffhanger roller coaster. In its later years under Coburn's ownership, the park suffered from mismanagement and a lack of maintenance. The Cliffhanger, Goldrusher, Sea Dragon, Monster, Mountain Town Swings, Undertaker, Dream Catcher, Casino, Round Up, Lil Devil, and Silver Bullet rides were constantly breaking down and were rarely opened, causing many visitors to tell others not to go. The chairlift and incline railway also required constant maintenance and repair and Coburn spent thousands of dollars maintaining them.[2] On July 16, 2002, the chair lift stopped, stranding passengers for over two hours. Although there were fewer-and-fewer people visiting Ghost Town because of the bad condition of the park, Coburn closed Ghost Town a few days after the chair lift failure and put it up for sale. The park remained closed for the next four years, with no maintenance on any of the rides, leading many to believe that no one would buy the park because of the bad condition of the rides. Ghost Town was sold in August 2006 and reopened on May 25, 2007, after $38 million had been spent on renovations and improvements.[5] All of the rides were reopened except the incline railway, the train, and the Monster. Two years later, after over $11 million more had been spent, $6 million of that on the Cliffhanger roller coaster, Ghost Town filed for bankruptcy. The economy and high gas prices the previous year were blamed for the park's problems, but managing partner Lynn Sylvester said reopening was planned for May 15 and the park would continue to operate.[6]

In mid-May 2009, the park's rides had not been inspected, and Ghost Town claimed to need a $330,000 loan in order to reopen for the summer on May 22. The park was asking the town for that money. If the town turned down the request, this was expected to mean the loss of 200 jobs and a $2 million payroll, as well as the impact on local businesses that benefit from the visitors.[3] However, "an anonymous investor" provided the money instead, according to park president Steve Shiver, so a vote by the town became unnecessary and the park opened as planned, except for a couple of rides that were not yet inspected. Ghost Town also added a new ride, Geronimo Drop, which had been at Libertyland in Memphis, Tennessee. It had been bought by Ghost Town in 2007. Shiver said the park had an $27 million plan to improve the park over four to five years, including moving and adding rides and introducing new events.[4]

Ghost Town continued to struggle financially until the end of the 2009 season when the park closed while the owners dealt with the bankruptcy issues amid complaints that employees were not getting paid.

On February 5, 2010, a massive mudslide occurred when retaining walls on the Ghost Town property gave way. Although there were no injuries, more than 40 homes had to be evacuated, and three homes were damaged around the mountain. The park itself is said to have sustained damage, but to what extent is not publicly known. This led to speculation that the park would not open at all for the 2010 season.[7][8] Steve Shiver announced on a local news program that the park was still slated to open on Memorial Day weekend, but this did not happen. Federal funding was granted to the park in the amount of $1.3 million for the clean-up of its main access road, Rich Cove, which was buried in the slide.

In early March, 2010, a judge ruled in favor of the park's largest creditors, SunTrust and BB&T, to proceed with foreclosure on Ghost Town and sell the property to begin paying off its $9 million debt to SunTrust and $5 million debt to BB&T. Ghost Town partners negotiated a separate deal with SunTrust and BB&T which gave them until May 31, 2010 to come up with an alternate plan, allowing the park to continue to operate if funding was obtained by the deadline. On May 4, a judge approved a takeover bid by American Heritage Family Parks. The company has pledged to pay SunTrust $7 million of its debt and BB&T its entire $5 million of debt, and $100,000 in back taxes to Haywood County. The park was said to be allowed to open for the season while details of the sale were worked out.[9] Instead, the park remained closed.

In April 2011, the bankruptcy administrator recommended dismissing the case citing the failure of Ghost Town partners to submit a sufficient re-organization plan to pay off its debts. This allowed foreclosure proceedings to continue as the park was no longer protected under Chapter 11.[10]

In February 2012, the park was purchased at public auction by Alaska Presley for $2 500,000 [11] a Maggie Valley business woman who has been involved with the park since its beginning, and is moving towards the goal of having at least a portion of the park reopened for the end of the 2012 season.[12]

On June 29, 2012, Ghost Town in the Sky's A-Frame Entrance opened to the public for the first time in four years, for gifts to be sold, leading to a full opening of the park coming up in the following months.

Visitors can ride the chair lift and tour the town, but action will not resume until 2013. Future plans call for a replica of Jerusalem called "Holy Land" opening in 2014 at the park's highest point.[5]

Although Alaska Presley opened the park in the summer of 2012 for tours and western town visits, the 2013 season was planned for a limited re-opening. During the 4 years of being idle the property was without security and much vandalism and theft occurred. For the 2015 season, building of the cross atop the mountain set aside for a Holy Land is planned. Plans have been drawn by professional engineers and permitting has been verbally promised by local authorities.

The massive requirements imposed by new laws cost millions in labor and time lost due to step by step state inspections. Wells for private water were condemned simply because they were too close to potentially unacceptable objects. Four new wells were drilled and all were failures except one of limited output. The option of city water was decided and virtually every piece and part of an old system had to be replaced...This new system is expected to be operational by early 2015.

The crowning touch for Ghost Town will be the addition of the cross near the highest point on the mountain. This cross height will be the highest elevation above sea level of any such structure in the western hemisphere. Named Resurrection Mountain, an old Jerusalem town centered on this cross will emerge and become a year round location for Christian events. It will operate separately adjacent to Ghost Town in the Sky.

In November 2014, Ghost Town was listed for sale in the amount of $3,000,000 by Action Creak Realty MLS #: 573956. The ad states: "Established in 1961 this approx 100 acre mountain theme park is now offered for sale with possible owner financing. Includes all rides, the largest chair lift in eastern United States. City water has just recently been installed to the entire park. Park was extremely profitable this last season and has much room for growth.".[13] The current owner purchased the note for Ghost Town in 2012 for $1,500,000.[11]

The sale of the lower half of the property which housed the western theme park was placed up for sale in hopes to gain investors for Alaska Presley's redevelopment of the upper portion of the property known as the "Holy Land replica theme park". On January 24, 2015 The listing was pulled stating "Ghost Town is no longer for sale. It has been removed from the market".[14] The removal of the property listing was prompted by major progress in the redevelopment of some of the other parts of the property and current plans are still underway for Presley's vision of "Resurrection Mountain".

On October 22, 2015 park management announced the rebranding of the park to Ghost Town Village, and is set to open June 1, 2016. The rebranded park will feature gunfights; chair lift, gift shops, zip lines, a museum, a paintball course, arcade, horseback riding and more.[1] The park has stated its rebranding was due to the park's inability to reopen any of its former roller coasters and rides as the repair costs were too high.[15]

Features

The park is divided into several "towns", which are located at different elevations of the mountain, each of which has a different theme. Among these are the "Indian Village", "Mountain Town", and "Mining Town". The heart of the park is the re-created old Western town complete with a two saloons, a schoolhouse, bank, jail, and church, and various other businesses typical of the day. Each hour, a gunfight is staged right in the street, with visitors lining up on the board sidewalks to watch the action. The guns that the cowboys use can cause a serious powder-burn at a distance of 10 to 12 feet (3.0 to 3.7 m). Jimmy Wayne is one of the world-famous bad guy cowboys and is easily a crowd favorite. Robert Bradley plays "The Apache Kid", an iconic figure he created and has played since the park's inception. In the "Silver Dollar Saloon" there are hourly shows featuring old west can-can dancers, while the "Red Dog Saloon" features live country & bluegrass music performances throughout the day. "Indian Village" featured shows about Indian life in the old Western days, including a deer-hunt and a raid on a frontier settlement. "Mining Town" has areas where people can pan for gold and silver. It also has shows about life in mining settlements. The most popular one features a fight in the town after a miner finds a bunch of gold. "Mountain Town" features shows about life in the Smoky Mountains.

At the terminus of the chair lift and incline railway is the "Heritage Town Square", which was a 2007 addition to the park. This area features a museum chronicling the history of "Ghost Town", a restaurant, the Freefall, the Casino, and the Cliffhanger.

Cliffhanger originally opened in 1988 as Red Devil. In 2007 it was renamed Cliffhanger and given a new paint job.[16] The coaster is unique in that rather than boarding the train and being towed up the lift hill, its boarding station is at the top of the lift hill already. Once riders board the train, it rolls out of the station, around a 90-degree curve and then straight over the main drop and into its one inverted loop. The rest of the track flies out over the edge of the mountain with great views of the surrounding mountains and an extra feeling of excitement due to the proximity to the mountainside. Cliffhanger's re-opening was pushed back through the 2007 and 2008 seasons citing major repairs needed to get the coaster in operating condition. It opened on June 30, 2009 but was closed less than two days later needing additional major repairs and inspection to reopen.

The day after the coaster opened a ride operator detected something wrong with one of the coaster train’s seats. The state inspectors were still on site so they were called to check it out, and they discovered a hairline crack in the seat’s frame next to a bolt that attached the seat to the rest of the car. It fell upon Rotational Motion who built the custom cars for Ghost Town to come up with a solution. The coaster began operating again during the last few weeks of the 2009 season with no reported problems. Cliffhanger is currently SBNO (standing but not operating). During a test run one day before Ghost Town's 2010 season began, there was a problem with one of the train's wheel chassis. Contrary to reports, the train did not derail (that is, come off the tracks) but came to an abrupt halt. Steve Shiver said that Cliffhanger will be closed until a new train is purchased.

The other roller coaster operating at Ghost Town is a small kiddie coaster, Tumbleweed. It was originally named Lil Devil but received a name change along with Red Devil/Cliffhanger.[17]

Above the Ghost Town itself is another section of the park, which hosts a variety of standard amusement rides, as well as the "Mountain Top Music Hall" and "Indian Dance Hall". Here, you can see many bands like the Jeff Treece Band. All of the rides are situated at the edge of the mountain, and one, "The Gun Slinger", swings out over the mountainside giving riders an extra sense of exposure when riding. There are many great views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains from the top of the park as well.

Another new feature for 2009 was "The House of Terror" during the Halloween season. For a ticket upgrade you could tour the haunted house featuring several actors used to scare the visitors.

Rides Company Description
Bumper Cars- SBNO (standing but not operating) Bertazzon The Bumper Cars closed in 2002 and reopened in 2007.
Chair Lift The Chair Lift's re-opening was slightly delayed when the park opened in 2007 after a 5-year hiatus. The Chair Lift is now fully operational and the only method to get to the park other than the narrow, steep road since the Incline Railway is still not in operation.
Cliffhanger- SBNO O.D. Hopkins The park's original steel loop roller coaster and was operated from 1988 until the closure of the park in 2002. It was originally scheduled to re-open in the 2007 season but was delayed until 2009 due to safety and State code updates. The ride fully reopened June 30, 2009 but was closed two days later when state inspectors found a hairline crack on one of the new train's frames. It re-opened during October 2009, but closed again few days later after more mechanical issues. The Cliffhanger features only one inversion and travels at a top speed of around 40 mph (on the first drop). The lift hill is unique in that it is located at the end of the ride. (The coaster was originally called the Red Devil when it first opened.)
Sea Dragon- SBNO Chance Sea Dragon The Sea Dragon opened in 1995 and operated until the park's closure in 2002. The Sea Dragon reopened in 2008 after a year of being SBNO(standing but not operating)
Dream Catcher- SBNO Hrubetz Paratrooper The original paratrooper was operated until park closure in 2002. Reopened in 2007 as "Dream Catcher" featuring a new wooden floor and enclosing fence.
Geronimo Drop- SBNO Fabbri Drop Tower Drop Tower was bought from Libertyland and opened in May 2007 as new addition to the park.
Gunslinger- SBNO Chance Yo-Yo The original gunslinger was operated until park closure in 2002. Reopened in 2007 with a new red and yellow color scheme.
Incline Railway- SBNO Originally set to re-open for the 2007 Season after the park's 5-year hiatus, safety and code delays prevented this from happening. As of July 2010, the Incline Railway is still not in operation.
Silver Bullet- SBNO Flume on Rail/Prototype ride The Silver Bullet never opened as during a test run, one of the carts came flying off the new rail track and was destroyed. The entire ride was a custom built in house ride. You can see some of the images of the ride on old souvineer mugs that were sold at the park.
Merry-Go-Round- SBNO The Merry-Go-Round operated from the park's opening until it closed in 2002. It reopened in 2007.
Round Up- SBNO Hrubetz Round Up The original Round Up operated until the park closure in 2002. Reopened in 2007 with a new color scheme and a new underwall.
Monster- SBNO Eyerly Monster The Monster opened in 1992 and closed in 2000, two years before the park closed. Monster suffered from numerous mechanical breakdowns and hasn't been reopened since 2000 and is still SBNO, although many doubt it can be operational again since it hasn't been touched since 2000.
Train- SBNO The Train was originally set to re-open with the park in May 2007 after the park's 5-year hiatus. This opening was delayed for over 2 years. The Train reopened September 2009, but then closed along with the rest of the park in 2010.
Tumbleweed- SBNO Schiff Kiddie Coaster Opened as Lil Devil[17] in 1992 and operated until 2002. It reopened in 2007, although it was SBNO for three weeks after a mechanical malfunction.
Mining Town Swing- SBNO Sellner Swing The Mining Town Swing opened in 1966 and operated until the park's closure in 2002. The Mining Town Swing reopened in 2007, but was shut down in 2009 after a mechanical malfunction caused several riders to be injured.
Tilt-A-Whirl- SBNO Sellner Tilt-A-Whirl Tilt-A-Whirl operated from 1961 until the park's closure in 2002. It was SBNO from 2007 through 2009. It reopened in 2010. but was SBNO for two weeks after more mechanical problems. It is now operating again.
Casino- SBNO Chance Trabant Casino opened in 2000 and operated for only two years before the park closed in 2002. It was SBNO for one year before reopening in 2008.
Undertaker- SBNO Big Eli Scrambler The original indoor scrambler called Black Widow was operated until park closure in 2002. Reopened in 2007 with a new color scheme and moved to an outdoor location. Has been renamed as "Undertaker".

Rides no longer in use.

Rides Company Description

In popular culture

Maggie Valley, North Carolina, viewed from the summit of Waterrock Knob. The incline railway path that leads to Ghost Town in the Sky is visible left of center.

In October and November 2006, a movie was filmed at the park. The film, titled Ghost Town: The Movie,[18] was directed by Jeff Kennedy and Dean Teaster and starred Bill McKinney and Herbert Coward, DJ Perry and Princess Lucaj and featured appearances by Rance Howard and Stella Parton (Dolly's sister). The movie is based on the legend of Harmon Teaster, a Haywood County, N.C. native. It premiered at the Eaglenest Entertainment Center in Maggie Valley on June 2, 2007.

Two independent films were filmed at the park, in 2008 Mandie and the Secret Tunnel and in 2010 Ringside Rosary.

Ghost Town "The Movie", later titled "Dean Teaster's Ghost Town" at the time of release was listed number one most rented western film by "Rentrax" reporting service. This position held for sixteen weeks after its release. The rename was due to Paramont releasing their movie titled "Ghost Town" one month earlier than this film. Dean Teaster's Ghost Town is still listed on Xfinity Pay per View and Netflix. Dean Teaster's Ghost Town was released on the Lionsgate label and brokered by Barnholtz Entertainment of Woodland Hills California. The production company "Collective Development Incorporated of Lansing Michigan sought arbitration in 2007 due to lack of revenue returns to the production company.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.ghosttownvillage.com/press-releases.html
  2. 1 2 Themountaineer.com, Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
  3. 1 2 Bill Studenc, "Maggie Valley Considers Loan for Ghost Town," Asheville Citizen-Times, May 14, 2009.
  4. 1 2 Andre Rodriguez, "Ghost Town Back in Business," Asheville Citizen-Times, May 28, 2009.
  5. 1 2 Jason Sandford, "Ghost Town in the Sky, one of WNC's most unique tourist attractions comes back to life", Asheville Citizen-Times, July 7, 2012.
  6. ↑ Andre Rodriguez, "Struggling Ghost Town Files for Bankruptcy," Asheville Citizen-Times, March 12, 2009.
  7. ↑ Morrison, Clarke; Ball, Julie; Ostendorff, Jon; Fraser, Thomas (2010-02-06). "Maggie Valley residents recall horror of landslide". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  8. ↑ Ostendorff, Jon (2010-02-14). "Maggie Valley landslide leaves more questions than answers". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  9. ↑ "Company makes bid to buy Ghost Town," Asheville Citizen-Times, 2010-05-04.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Becky (2011-04-20). "Ghost Town bankruptcy hits dead end". Smoky Mountain News. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  11. 1 2 http://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/6231-resurrecting-a-ghost-town-alaska-presley-hopes-to-revive-maggie-valley-by-reopening-the-once-popular-ghost-town-amusement-park
  12. ↑ Morrison, Clarke (2012-02-10). Asheville Citizen-Times http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120211/NEWS/302110025/Ghost-Town-Sky-sold-auction. Retrieved 2012-02-12. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ http://www.beverly-hanks.com/search/detail/573956
  14. ↑ Stone, Jessi (2015-01-28). "Ghost Town not for sale". Smoky Mountain News. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  15. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1163742070319921&set=p.1163742070319921&type=3&theater
  16. ↑ http://www.rcdb.com/234.htm?dt=126&d=242
  17. 1 2 http://www.rcdb.com/674.htm
  18. ↑ Ghost Town: The Movie at the Internet Movie Database

External links

Coordinates: 35°31′44″N 83°06′09″W / 35.528769°N 83.102378°W / 35.528769; -83.102378

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