Tickets on sale for Land of Oz theme park, which reopens in June

The theme park, located on top of Beech Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains, has been out of commission since 1980 but has offered the public a chance to visit on select days for the past several years.

This year, access to the park will be available on June 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28 and on July 5.

At the park, June visitors will be able to experience the new "Journey with Dorothy" adventure, which is interactive and gives guests the opportunity to play characters from the classic story, including the Cowardly Lion and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Main attractions at the park include the yellow brick road and scale replicas of Auntie Em’s house and the witch’s castle.

After July 5, the park will close for the summer before reopening for "Autumn at Oz," according to the website. Those dates have not been announced.

Land of Oz opened on June 15, 1970, but was only operational for about a decade. According to the park’s website, one of the key figures behind the Land of Oz’s creation succumbed to cancer two months before the grand opening.

The company that financed the park went bankrupt in 1973, and a fire in 1975 destroyed the amphitheater inside the Emerald City as well as surrounding shops and restaurants. During the fire, many original film costumes on display in the park, including the iconic gingham dress worn by Judy Garland, were stolen.

A new management company took over in 1976, but the park eventually fell into disrepair and owners made the decision to close in 1980 rather than spend more than $3.5 million on refurbishment.