Movieland Wax Museum facts for kids

The Movieland Wax Museum was a very popular wax museum in Buena Park, California. It was once the largest wax museum in the United States. The museum had over 300 wax figures. These figures were placed in 150 different movie-themed scenes.

History of Movieland Wax Museum

Starting the Museum

The Movieland Wax Museum opened its doors on May 4, 1962. It was started by a person named Allen Parkinson. The museum was located north of Knott's Berry Farm on Beach Boulevard. In 1970, Allen Parkinson sold the museum to the Six Flags Corporation.

A Museum in Florida

In 1975, Six Flags opened another wax museum. It was similar to Movieland. This new museum was in Orlando, Florida, and was called "Stars Hall of Fame." It was close to SeaWorld and Walt Disney World. However, fewer people visited the Florida museum over time. It closed in 1984. The exhibits were then sold off to other groups.

Later Years and Closing

On April 1, 1985, the Six Flags Corporation sold the California Movieland Wax Museum. It was bought by Fong & Paul Associates. They also owned the famous Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Movieland Wax Museum stayed open for 43 years. Over 10 million people visited it during that time. But on October 31, 2005, the museum closed for good. Many of its wax figures and sets were sold at an auction in March 2006.

What Made Movieland Special?

Lifelike Figures and Sets

The museum was known for its very realistic wax figures. Many famous actors and actresses even came to see their own wax figures. They sometimes gave their real movie costumes for the figures to wear. The museum also had sets that looked just like famous movie scenes. Special movie sounds made the experience even more real.

Each movie set had a clapperboard. This board showed the name of the wax figures. It also shared interesting facts about the movie, props, costumes, and the person the wax figure looked like.

Talented Sculptors

A well-known Spanish sculptor named Antonio Ballester Vilaseca helped create many of the early wax figures. He started working on them in 1960. He made figures of stars like Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and Charlton Heston. He also created famous art scenes, such as Don Quixote and Miguel Angel's David.

What's There Now?

Changes to the Area

The building that used to be the museum's gift shop is now a Starbucks Coffee. The museum also had a "Starprint Gallery." This gallery displayed handprints and footprints of celebrities in cement. These prints dated back to the early 1980s. The gallery was removed when the main museum building was torn down in 2016.

The museum also had a very tall tower sign. It was the tallest sign in Orange County, California. This sign was taken down on July 30, 2018.

New Uses for the Land

The City of Buena Park bought the Movieland Wax Museum property in May 2007. In 2013, the city leased the land to a company called Premier Exhibitions. This company used the space to show items from the RMS Titanic. They also displayed exhibits like Bodies: The Exhibition.

The main Movieland Wax Museum building was finally torn down in October 2016.

Figures Displayed

The Starprint Gallery

This gallery featured handprints and footprints of many celebrities in cement. It was a special part of the museum for many years.