Movieland Wax Museum

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Sign of Movieland Wax Museum

Movieland Wax Museum, with over 300 wax figures in 150 sets, was the largest wax museum in the United States. Located in California, it was one of the most popular wax museums in United States for decades. Allen Parkinson founded the museum on May 4, 1962, but sold it to the Six Flags Corporation in 1970.

In 1975, Six Flags Corporation opened the Orlando location called "Stars Hall of Fame." In 1984 after a drop in attendance, the museum was closed and sold to publisher, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Having no interest in the museum but an interest in the land alone, he sold off the exhibits to the American Musical Academy of Arts Association and turned the property into a showroom for his company's educational materials.^[1]

On April 1, 1985, the Six Flags Corporation sold the California based Movieland Wax Museum to Fong & Paul Associates, the owners of the world famous Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf. However, on October 31, 2005, after forty-three years in business and 10 million visitors, Movieland closed.

Several actors and actresses attended the unveilings of their wax likenesses, and even went so far as to donate costumes to be worn by their likenesses, accompanied with sets replicated from well-known movie scenes. Movie themes and sound effects also added to the authenticity of the museum. A clapboard on each set included the name of the wax figures and facts about the movie, props, costume, and the person whom the wax figure was modeled on.

Many of the wax figures and sets from the Movieland Wax Museum were auctioned off in March 2006. [1]

The Movieland Wax Museum property was purchased by the City of Buena Park in May 2007.