Inside abandoned theme park ghost town with scattered tickets and rusty rides

Ghost Town in the Sky, located in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, was a popular destination that attracted an impressive 620,000 visitors annually when it first opened its gates in 1961. The park even had the honor of hosting famous Western television stars like those from “Laramie” and “Wagon Train,” adding to its allure.

However, as the years passed, the park faced numerous challenges under new management and a lack of proper maintenance. Reports of broken roller coasters and malfunctioning rides began to circulate, dissuading visitors and leading to a decline in attendance.

By 2008, the park’s annual visitor count had plummeted to 340,000, a significant drop from its heyday. Financial troubles plagued the park’s owners, resulting in employees going unpaid and exacerbating the park’s downward spiral.

Ultimately, at the end of the 2009 season, Ghost Town in the Sky closed its gates for good. Since its closure, the fate of Ghost Town in the Sky remains uncertain.

As of 2023, the park is embroiled in a legal battle to determine its future ownership, with the lawsuit expected to conclude in July of that year. In the meantime, the once-vibrant park now stands as a haunting reminder of its former glory.

Ben James, a visitor from Cambridge, England, recently explored the abandoned park and captured its eerie atmosphere through a series of photographs. These images depict empty streets, scattered tickets, and dilapidated buildings, such as the general store and saloon.

Sharing his experience on TikTok, Ben’s video garnered over 3 million views, with viewers sharing their personal connections to the park. Many reminisced about their first dates or honeymoons spent there, while others revealed they had worked at the park in the past.

For Ben, the experience was bittersweet. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness as he wandered through the silent park that had once been filled with laughter and joy.

The stark contrast between the park’s history and its current state of decay left him with an eerie and surreal feeling, he revealed. He likened the atmosphere to something out of “The Last of Us” or an apocalyptic setting.

During his visit, Ben played on the abandoned stalls, still full of prizes that sat untouched on the shelves, despite the games no longer being operational.

Ben’s TikTok video struck a chord with viewers, who shared their own memories and experiences at Ghost Town in the Sky. It became a space for nostalgia, with people recounting their cherished moments spent within the park’s walls.

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