Les Jones

I can think of 2 in Tennessee that are not listed here. There was a place in Pigeon Forge that I believe was called Magic Mountain. I remember it, but not very well.

One I am very familiar with though is Hillbilly World which was located on the State Line Road near Hampton in Upper East Tennessee. Hillbilly World was sort of a nickle-plated, low rent version of Tweetsie or Rebel Railroad. It featured a couple of trains from the ET&WNC, East Tennessee & Western North Carolina railroad. Hillbilly World included a spur of the old line which ran through 3 tunnels made a loop and then returned to the park. Just like Tweetsie, along the way the train would stop and be assaulted by bandits, indians, Butch and Sundance, whoever.

Hillbilly World had an artificial beach with a small lake where people could swim. The rides were not for much, they basically were the kind of thing you see at a state fair.

The place sat empty through the 80s. Later it was bought by a group who converted it into a Christian camp for kids. Some of the trains and hardware have been restored.

My dad performed skydiving exhibitions and did trick water skiing at Hillbilly World in the late 60s and early 70s. Even as a kid I understood that it wasn't as cool as Tweetsie. But I still have pretty good memories of it.

There's a brief mention of Hillbilly World on this site about old trains:
http://www.bjwrr.com/ontrack/cfgreatamerica.htm

A little about the old Vulcan Locomotive they ran:
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr083.htm

I mentioned Hillbilly World earlier on LesJones.com
http://www.lesjones.com/posts/001583.shtml

You'd think I could actually Google something more substantial on it.

MAGIC WORLD WAS A SMALL PARK IN PIGEON FORGE. IT HAD A SMALL TRAIN THAT TRAVELED AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF THE PARK. IT ALSO HAD A DIVING SHOW. A MAN WOULD CLIMB UP A 100 FOOT LADDER AND DIVE INTO A 10 FOOT GLASS SWIMMING POOL. THERE WAS ALSO A FLYING SAUCER RIDE. THAT WAS BASICALLY A ROUND BUILDING MADE TO LOOK LIKE A SAUCER. YOU WENT INSIDE AND THEY HAD SENT UP A HELICOPTER WITH 8-12 CAMERAS IN A CIRCLE AND RECORDED THE MOUNTAINS ECT. THEN WHEN THEY PLAYED IT ON 8-12 SCREENS IN A CIRCLE IT LOOKED AS THOUGH YOU WHERE IN THE SHIP. THEY FILMED THIS BEFORE THE UFO WAS BUILT IN THE PARK SO WHEN IT TOOK OFF THE SHIP WAS NOT IN THE PARK WHEN YOU SAW THE MOVIE. PRETTY COOL. THATS ALL I REMEMBER

I remember Magic World, though I never went. There's a big fantasy golf course there now that's pretty fun.

DEFUNCT AMUSEMENT PARKS are a sad fact my favorite SALTAIR near salt lake city. its a sad fact the death of this beatuiful park was done finally in the horror movie CARNIVAL OF SOULS from 1962. i do now however feel SALTAIR should be rebuilt and run again to its former glory.

I went to Magic World. I liked the punching bags that they had hanging down. You could run through them and hit other people with them. I hate fantasy golf. Magic World was really cool and now I can't take my kids there.

I remember Magic World fondly. There was so much more to it than mentioned here. My parents would take me there every year. The entrance was a giant dinasaur and you walked in over a bridge with waterfalls all around. That is all you could see from the parking lot. Once inside you could roam around the cave entrance where they had fake cavemen and holes you could look in with fake scenes of prehistoric things inside. They had a very small train made up of single cars that looked like rocket ships that took you around a course which was full of fake dinesaurs. They had an awesome haunted house you rode through which was similar to Disney's Haunted Mansion. They also had a dive show and magic show. In the late 70's they had a clown and a woman dressed as a belly dancer that walked around that you could get your picture taken with. They had a room filled with things to take pictures with like a giant King King head. You could stand in his curled hand and it looked like he was holding you. There was also a Jaws shark you could put your head in to take a picture. They had a really cool ride called the Magic Carpet ride which was my favorite. The cars looked like magic carpets and they hung from the ceiling. As you rode through this enclosed dark ride the scenery on the ground below got smaller which made it look like you were climbing higher and higher over the Aladian like city below. Very similar concept but much better than Disney's famous Peter Pan ride. They did have the spaceship simulator ride mentioned before but even for a 70's ride it sucked. Later they tried to gear the park to kids. I went one day and there was only me and 1 other kid in the entire park! We had a blast that day!! They added bumper boats and a kiddie dragon coaster. They also added these towers made of rope that you could climb and get a good view of Pigeon Forge. It was a small park and even in the 70's Silver Dollar City (Dollywood's predicessor) surpassed it but it was cheaper and never crowded so it was always fun to go. They had a tilt a whirl and a mirror maze too. I miss Magic World and Silver Dollar City too.... Dolly has added a lot but she destroyed the Flooded Mine ride and that was a classic.... anyone else remember Gus and his donkey? They were always at the entrance and kids could sit on the donkey and get a picture taken.... those were the days. I couldn't even find any pictures on google of Magic World. I guess it will only live on now in the memories of those of us that got to go there. I can say that my parents have pictures taken there on their Honeymoon and that was June 1969. I am unsure exactly when it was built but I know it was open from at least 1969 to 1994.

I loved Magic World as a kid, it was a great family place with an excellent theme. Dollywood to me is out priced, and something you have to make a day out of. On vacation it was fun to go to magic world for a few hours maybe half a day, but the place was a lot of fun. I am disappointed it is gone. I'm also disappointed that you can't find any pictures on the web of the place. I was thinking of starting a website to remember Magic world but unfortunately the lack of pictures out there make this not possible. Never to be forgotten, Magic World is missed.

i remember magic world,growing up my parents took us every year.i am very disappointed to find out that it is closed down,i would loved to been able to take my kids there,just to have some old memories.i remember how exciting it was to first arrive there,the big dinosaur and the ship,to bad small places like that cant stay in business.

I have almost too many memories of Magic World to count, considering I've been there 100 times! Pigeon Forge is just a 35 minute drive from my house, so my family and I got passes every summer. There was a giant dinosaur in front of the park, a T-Rex I think, but the front gate where you paid for your tickets was a pirate ship. You climbed up through a cave behind a waterfall and surfaced in the park right in front of a bridge. Near this bridge was a little ampitheater that had at least two shows that I recall. "At The Hop" was one of them. It was a 1950s musical, similar to "Grease" where the performers wore period costumes, danced and sang early rock-in-roll classics. The other show they had there was a BMX bicycle and skateboard stunt show with ramps and everything.
At the northern most end of the park, was "Merlin's Magic Show". It was really awesome! Merlin (a guy in a costume) and his two assistants would perform illusions that Harry Houdini made popular. The female assistant was very beautiful (like a Disney princess) and she sang a song that went something like this: "Its a magic world, where miracles will astound you. It's a magic world, just take a look all around you. Take a walk in a daydream or a jog in the rain. Its a magic world, Its a magic world, its a magic world...if you believe." I wish to God I could remember what her name was, she gave me chills...
To the left of "Merlin's Magic Show" was another show called "The Confederate Critters". There was a huge tree trunk with double doors that opened and these three animatronic characters came out and performed for you. They sang and played their instruments and did songs like "The South Is Going To Rise Again" and "Moonshine Whiskey". The second went something like this: "Moonshine whiskey, moonshine whiskey. The sweetest little nectar in the land. Moonshine whiskey, moonshine whiskey. Stay away from moonshine whiskey, if you can." There was an actor who wore a union army uniform that interacted with the critters. They would trash him at every corner, just like Cher would do to Sonny Bono! After the moonshine whiskey song, he would say "I prefer soda pop myself." They critters would then call him a wuss or wimp.
To the right of "Merlin's Magic Show", was the Arabian Area. This area had such classics as the Moutain Glider Ride, Aladin's ice cream shop, Ali Baba's Maze, the ball room and of course the Magic Carpet Ride! Between shows you could catch Merlin in there occasionally and get your picture taken with him.
If you were heading north toward the magic show, you could vear off toward the left and head down another path. This path took you to the "Dinosaur Walk" with the trams. It was a 1970s attempt of Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park". Further down, was the Haunted Castle Ride with all of its animatronic ghouls, vampires and zombies. (The Magic Carpet Ride also had animatronic characters in it.) The diving show that everyone seems to recall was named "The Great American High Dive". It had both matinee and evening performances. The matinee show had alot of comedy. The evening show was really spectacular! It had a human-torch stunt!
Before you got to the "Kid's Kingdom", which was added in the 1980s, you first came to the Flying Saucer Ride and a giant catepillar that you could crawl through. The Kid's Kingdom had the following attractions: the Dragon roller coaster, the Spinning Spider, slides, punching bags, a gymnastic air bag and the net climb! The net climb, the Spider and the Dragon were my favorite three things in the Kid's Kingdom! The slides would burn your legs and palms on a hot day if you were wearing shorts!
There were other things about Magic World that I remember: like face painting (I think the clown and belly dancer did this.) and a clogging review/demonstration. (A girl in my grade at school named Apryl was involved in this.) I did some googling and I think the Dragon roller coaster is still operating at another amusement park called "Pixieland" in Pennsylvania. I seriously miss Magic World. It was a part of my childhood that cannot be replaced. I hope this has helped some of you remember.

I just had to add an update. The Dragon roller coaster is currently operating in "Pixieland" amusement park, but its not in Pennsylavania. It is in Concord, California! Magic World closed in 1994 and the Dragon (now referred to as "the Flying Dragon" opened in Pixieland in 1995. I think it is the only one of Magic World's rides that is still in existance!

I remember Magic World very well..I grew up there, so to speak. My Mom and Dad would take me there every summer, and I have such fond memories of the place. The thing I remember the most is the Confederate Critter Show...probably because I had a crush on the "Yankee"..but hey..I was only 14! The Magic Show was always awesome..I can still hear the theme song to the show in my head.."It's a magic world if you believe..." I think I can remember the whole song, actually. Does anyone else remember the Clyde the Camel Show? A very loud mouthed (but funny) Camel who would pick on the audience. And how about the maze? Magic World changed constantly there for a few years, always adding things, like the high-dive show, and the musical revue. I miss Magic World so much. I had pictures of the place, but they were destroyed in a flood. But I guess the photos in my mind will just have to do.

Now that you mention it, I do recall Clyde the Camel. Thank you. I remember wanting to see the show, but we always got to the park at the wrong time or we were already doing something else. He was in the Arabian section, probably before they put in the Mountain Glider Ride!

How about those GIANT Catfish! Those things were huge!

PS: David, Garlena was the name of Merlins female assistant.

I remember magic world. It was the most wonderful place in the Smokies. I went every year with my class from school from 2nd grade until it closed. Our teachers would always tell us that we were going to see the dinosaurs. It was a much better place to take children than Dolly Wood because it was smaller. However, it was just as fun. My favorite ride was the magic carpet. However, I have fond memories of all the rides. I remember my mom riding the spider with me when she went with my class. She got sick because it was a spinning ride and had to lean over the side to vomit. I was so embarrassed. I have been looking for the pictures we took of Magic World, but I can't seem to find them. I looked on google but there aren't any. I couldn't believe nobody posted any pictures of it. It was such a big deal back then. I still can't believe that they put a fantasy golf place in its place. Magic World was so much better. I wish I had been older the last time I went so that I could remember more. It makes me sad that I will never be able to see it again.

this website has a few pictures of Magic World, although it doesn't show the landscape or rides, there is a picture of a magic show and some places to pose for pictures:

http://oldgatlinburg.fortunecity.com/homepage.html

the above mentioned website now has some new magic world pictures