The Forgotten Story of Pixieland: The Oregon Coast Amusement Park



The Oregon coast was once home to an amusement park that promised to be the Pacific Northwest’s answer to Disneyland. Despite the talent and heart that went into its development, the park shut down within just a few years. This documentary tells the full story of the defunct Pixieland park, from its earliest inspiration to its long-lasting impact on the local community.

Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
0:54 – Chapter I: A Successful Start
8:30 – Chapter II: Growing Ambitions
16:29 – Chapter III: Building the Dream
24:16 – Chapter IV: A Grand Opening
32:57 – Chapter V: A Twist of Fate
40:50 – Chapter VI: The End of an Era
48:31 – Epilogue
55:42 – Credits

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Learn more about Lincoln City:
https://www.lincolncity.org/visitors

Support the Lincoln City Kiwanis Club:
https://lincolncitykiwanis.org/

Visit the North Lincoln County Historical Museum:
https://northlincolncountyhistoricalmuseum.org/

Support my work by leaving a tip:
https://ko-fi.com/peterdibble

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This video is for educational purposes and is distributed for non-commercial use. It is not monetized or sponsored. All video footage, images and audio recordings are the property of their original owners and are used in accordance with Fair Use principles.

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Music:
“The Storyteller” by Kikoru
https://open.spotify.com/track/0K5B08xCCsOiDQIcRYZHoy?si=dbdd03b8629c43bf

“Tales From Wizardville” by Kikoru
https://open.spotify.com/track/5e0xcY3IPhRkfpgpkdEjCp?si=d494412fc31a406f

“And Champagne for All” by The Fly Guy Five
https://open.spotify.com/track/25G5bEe9qqztJMc1CTIRi6?si=5a85addb4607418c

“Swaying By” by Birdies
https://open.spotify.com/track/4yiSMUl5XlAcSqLKnLg8pY?si=2c85d78e3de44006

“Under the Marquee” by Guy Trevino and Friends
https://open.spotify.com/track/5PtWenLpx1i3U3L8rcEp7v?si=57ecf2df258f4bf4

“Hold the Elevator!” by The Fly Guy Five
https://open.spotify.com/track/3Ri442Ks39synwExMHonb8?si=1d00aee3fa45420c

“Querida” by Cornelio
https://open.spotify.com/track/2wG4sJAZcit0tfUpyJIuTf?si=4a6926b253224a3f

“I Fly With You” by Franz Gordon
https://open.spotify.com/track/3EZr7QTQPnvkgTRZVUyy9B?si=728c892360824127

“Our Early Years” by David Celeste
https://open.spotify.com/track/4FQGncdByeDYalZNsvM8HR?si=6bf71ed8c3ab450d

“Speedrunner” by Mac Taboel
https://open.spotify.com/track/0ChNA0rNTheEGUIuRtgOJs?si=a2f6842367ed456d

source

22 thoughts on “The Forgotten Story of Pixieland: The Oregon Coast Amusement Park”

  1. Put out a request in Amusement Magazine for the lost audio tracks. Midway of Fun and Haworth Family Shows might help. I remember Jo said that Shoot the Star out was from pixieland or something like that.

    Reply
  2. I am so happy I found this video. I remembered going to an amusement park when I was younger, but at first I thought it was the Enchanted Forest near Turner, OR. However, I remembered the place being called Pixieland and thought maybe the Enchanted Forest had been Pixieland, but changed its name. When I saw the title to this video, the name "Pixieland" immediately hit me. I still wasn't sure this was the place until the narrator mentioned "Grunykinland." YES!!! THAT'S IT!!! I still have home movies and pictures from my old B&W camera showing us standing in front of the Grunykindland sign. I remember riding through there where everything was lit up by black lights. My sisters and I always thought that was sooooo cool. One of my most enjoyable memories. It's a shame it had to be shut down….it was such a cool place. I'm very glad I was able to go there and enjoy all of the things it had to offer. There are times I wish I could go back in time to when things were much simpler and now extinct attractions were still in place. This place was an awesome attraction to take kids. It's a total shame it's not there anymore. I don't remember the restaurant at all or if we went there or not. However, the amusement park will forever be etched in my memory.

    Reply
  3. Oh, my goodness! I was just thinking about going to Pixieland as a child while we were recently driving by the location and wondered if there are any old photos of what it looked like in its prime. ❤️

    Reply
  4. WOW! I grew up in Utah and moved to Oregon in 1995. There is only ONE amusement park in Utah: Lagoon, and I lived about 15 miles from it. I remember when they installed the log flume and train and have ridden them more times than I can possibly remember.

    Reply
  5. I appreciate the sacrifice made by these people and those like them. That land is still available for me to visit and see it in it's natural condition. Sad that many had to lose much in order for this to happen, but well worth the price, in the long run.

    Reply
  6. Living in McMinnville, we were approached to buy stock! I bought one share at $25.00! Never could figure out how they would be successful with all the challenges! Did love the log flume ride!! Thanks for this incredible documentary!!

    Reply
  7. I wonder what it would be like to live in a country where you could own property.

    Pixieland was the story of a government official who arranged things where he could run a successful business, get some property, and make some money. That same government took all that back from him in the end.

    Reply
  8. You could fill 1000 pages with fawning memories of Pixie Kitchen from grown-up kids today. . Our family was at Neskowin every summer for decades. Mom knew we were NOT going home until we got a dinner at Pixie Kitchen. I don't know how many hundreds of pennies went down the Wishing Well! Even though the food quality declined after the Park's sold out, we still loved that place! It certainly brings a tear to my eye as I remember my parents. This time and place in Oregon was magical.

    Reply
  9. Oh man did this documentary make my eyes leak. I dearly loved Pixieland, I grew up in Lincoln City and remember this place very well. I became a good shot with a gun because of the shoot 'em up gallery and I adored doing the spin art pictures but by far my all time favorite part of the park was the live theater with the hero, damsel and villain dramas and those awesome can can girls – i loved their dresses and the way they were all in sink and the music I could watch that for hours if they would have let me. My family went to this place every chance we got and we lived pretty close to it in Neotsu but with 5 kids in my family money was not abundant but still we managed to go there many times while they were there and we all still reminisce about this place periodically. Thank you to the family that owned this place for making some of my happiest childhood memories and thank you for making this documentary, my daughter is excited to watch it since she's heard many of our stories of this mini disneyland that was in our backyard.

    Reply
  10. I went to Lincoln City starting in the 60s to see my sister but I don't remember this.. She lived in cutler city and had a band that sang in a club in Taft for 17 years and even though I wasn't old enough to go into a night club, they let me go in n sing with my sister every once in a while.. My sister's name was Joyce so if anyone reading this remembers her singing in I think Frank's Place, please leave a comment.. I wish I could remember this place.. The name ring's a bell but I know we never went there.. Wow, great documentary.. Thank you. 🤗

    Reply

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