Magic Landing
Encyclopedia
Magic Landing was a theme park
located in El Paso, Texas
. It opened July 4, 1984 and closed mid season of 1988. Magic Landing was one of two amusement parks operating in El Paso during the 1980s. The other amusement park was Western Playland
. Magic Landing opened its doors to the public in the summer of 1984. 30,000 people attended the opening on July 4, 1984. During the time that Magic Landing was open, Western Playland was receiving a lot of competition, possibly due to Magic Landing being larger and having more concert venues compared to Western Playland.
During Magic Landing's brief run, there had been rumors of various incidents, but there had been one confirmed incident which caused Magic Landing attendance numbers to fall over the next three years, and which may have led to the park's closure. In the summer of 1985, Frank Guzman Jr, 18, a young male employee was killed at the park. He was asked by a patron to retrieve his baseball hat for him from off the roller coaster track. The teenager climbed up the track and rested his arm on the active part of the track. Within a few minutes, the roller coaster went down the track and cut his arm off. After an hour on the track the young man was rushed to William Beaumont Medical Center and died three hours later. In 1988, Magic Landing closed its doors to the public due to low attendance numbers and problems obtaining the $1,000,000 insurance policy required by the state. Since its closing, Magic Landing's buildings are still standing out in the El Paso desert. Many of them are falling apart and have also been vandalized. The rides remained at the park until the early to mid 90s. Western Playland, El Paso's only other amusement park, has since been relocated to Sunland Park, New Mexico
.
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
located in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. It opened July 4, 1984 and closed mid season of 1988. Magic Landing was one of two amusement parks operating in El Paso during the 1980s. The other amusement park was Western Playland
Western Playland
Western Playland is a amusement park located in Sunland Park, New Mexico. It was located in Ascarate Park in El Paso, Texas from 1960 until 2006, but after conflicts with the county of El Paso, owner Pat Thompson decided to move it across the Rio Grande to Sunland Park where the owner of Sunland...
. Magic Landing opened its doors to the public in the summer of 1984. 30,000 people attended the opening on July 4, 1984. During the time that Magic Landing was open, Western Playland was receiving a lot of competition, possibly due to Magic Landing being larger and having more concert venues compared to Western Playland.
During Magic Landing's brief run, there had been rumors of various incidents, but there had been one confirmed incident which caused Magic Landing attendance numbers to fall over the next three years, and which may have led to the park's closure. In the summer of 1985, Frank Guzman Jr, 18, a young male employee was killed at the park. He was asked by a patron to retrieve his baseball hat for him from off the roller coaster track. The teenager climbed up the track and rested his arm on the active part of the track. Within a few minutes, the roller coaster went down the track and cut his arm off. After an hour on the track the young man was rushed to William Beaumont Medical Center and died three hours later. In 1988, Magic Landing closed its doors to the public due to low attendance numbers and problems obtaining the $1,000,000 insurance policy required by the state. Since its closing, Magic Landing's buildings are still standing out in the El Paso desert. Many of them are falling apart and have also been vandalized. The rides remained at the park until the early to mid 90s. Western Playland, El Paso's only other amusement park, has since been relocated to Sunland Park, New Mexico
Sunland Park, New Mexico
Sunland Park is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 14,106 at the 2010 census. Though it lies directly across from El Paso, Texas, being in Doña Ana County makes it instead a part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area, some 30 miles to the north.The...
.
External links
- Satellite Image from WikiMapia, Google Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Magic Landing in Ruins