1972 and 1974 Ghost Town in the Sky

1972 - Ghostown in the Sky; Maggie Valley, NC

Wikipedia
Ghost Town Village (formerly "Ghost Town in the Sky) is a Wild West-themed amusement park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, United States that is currently on hiatus. An unusual aspect of this park is that it is located atop a mountain which can only be accessed by visitors via a 3,370-foot-long (1,030 m) chair lift or an inclined funicular railway. These start at the parking area beside Jonathan Creek at an elevation of 3,150 feet (960 m), climbing to the lower level of the park at 4,400 feet (1,300 m), a climb of 1,250 feet (380 m). The recreated "Ghost Town" sits at 4,600 feet (1,400 m), with the highest elevation in the park being about 4,650 feet (1,420 m). The park is located on a ridge extending from Buck Mountain border, an extension of the Chattahoochee Divide, to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park's entrance is located on U.S. Highway 19, the main road through the town. Ghost Town is promoted as "North Carolina's mile-high theme park."


The park is divided into several "towns" located at different elevations of the mountain, each with a different theme. Among these are the "Indian Village", "Mountain Town" and "Mining Town." The heart of the park is the recreated Old West town, complete with two saloons, a schoolhouse, bank, jail and church and various other businesses. Each hour, a gunfight was staged in the street, with visitors lining up to watch on the board sidewalks. The "Silver Dollar Saloon" featured hourly shows of Old West can-can dancers, while the "Red Dog Saloon" featured live country and bluegrass music performances throughout the day. "Indian Village" featured shows about Indian life in Old West days, including a deer hunt and a raid on a frontier settlement. "Mining Town" had areas where people could pan for gold and silver. It also had shows about life in mining settlements. "Mountain Town" featured shows about life in the Smoky Mountains.

At the terminus of the chairlift and incline railway is the "Heritage Town Square," a 2007 addition to the park. This area featured a museum chronicling the history of "Ghost Town", a restaurant, the Freefall, the casino and the Cliffhanger.

Originally opened in 1988, Red Devil was renamed Cliffhanger in 2007 and given a new paint job. The coaster is unique in that rather than boarding the train and being towed up the lift hill, its boarding station is at the top of the hill. Once riders boarded, the train rolled out of the station, around a 90-degree curve and then over the main drop and into its one inverted loop. The rest of the track extends over the edge of the mountain with great views of the surrounding mountains. Cliffhanger's reopening was pushed back through the 2007 and 2008 seasons because of necessary major repairs.

It opened on June 30, 2009, but was closed less than two days later after a ride operator detected something wrong with one of the train’s seats. State inspectors on site discovered a hairline crack in the seat’s frame next to a bolt that attached the seat to the rest of the car. Rotational Motion, who built the custom cars for Ghost Town, was tasked with finding a solution. The coaster began operating again during the last few weeks of the 2009 season with no reported problems.

During a test run the day before Ghost Town's 2010 season began, there was a problem with one of the train's wheel chassis. Contrary to reports, the train did not derail, but came to an abrupt halt. Shiver said that Cliffhanger would be closed until a new train was purchased.

The other roller coaster operating at Ghost Town is a children's small coaster, Tumbleweed. It was originally named Lil Devil, but received a name change along with Red Devil/Cliffhanger.

Above Ghost Town, a section of the park hosts a variety of standard amusement rides and the "Mountain Top Music Hall" and "Indian Dance Hall." All of the rides are situated at the edge of the mountain, with one ("The Gun Slinger") that swings out over the mountainside. A new feature in 2009 was "The House of Terror," a haunted house open during the Halloween season.

Ticket Office / Ski Lift & Train

We stayed at one of the motels across the street from Ghost Town. It was fun just watching the people ride the ski lift straight up the mountain. I don't remember staying in a motel before the first trip here. We shared a room with Mom and Dad (2 beds). The rooms at motels had access to the room from the outside, not the inside like fancy hotels. Of course, getting ice from the ice machine and buying cokes from the drink machine, going into the lobby with your parents when they did. That was fun. We had our own box of food so we didn't have to eat out as much. I'm pretty sure we had at least one hot meal a day. After parking and buying a ticket, visitors rode the chairlift or incline car 2/3 of a mile up the mountain, climbing more than 1,250 ft. in elevation. The chairlift could transport 1,200 passengers per hour!

The Ski Lift
Dad and Paula

The ski lift was a blast. I enjoyed riding it each time we went. I'm pretty sure I rode up and down the first time and for convenience sake may have taken the train down the 2nd time. Nothing spectacular about the train. It was just quicker. Of course they took your picture near the top ad we purchased the pictures. I was 14 here and Paula was 9. Mom was 31 and Dad was 34. WOW! So young.










Mom and Charlotte

Mom looks very relaxed but she, like I, do not like heights. But I loved the ski lift, as long as it didn't start rocking too much. There were signs "Don't rock the chair". I just prayed everyone paid attention to that. The view from the chairs going up was interesting, but the view coming down is awesome! We had on our traveling clothes. I love that Mom was wearing a dress.... on vacation.... in a ski lift chair that you had to jump out of before the chair would go sideways and sling you around. That was always a stressor. I feared my shoe laces tripping me. There were always 2 men to help you off the chair. I do remember one time there being a stop of the chairs for a few moments. Gotta love the mountains.





Park Map

The Ghost Town complete with cowboys and gunfights, Saloons, etc.

Ghost Town was divided into several "towns" with different themes, including Indian Village, Mountain Town and Mining Town. The Old West Street is still fully intact, and all the buildings still have their original furnishings. Extra ghostly!

If you want to see it on the big screen, seek out the 2007 movie "Dean Teaster's Ghost Town". Two other films, "Mandie and the Secret Tunnel" (2008) and "Ringside Rosary" (2010) were also filmed there.

The Silver Dollar Saloon

This was always good for some fun. I was reminded of Gunsmoke (TV Show) when I was in the Wild West Town. I don't remember the mining or Indian Land. I know they were there, but just don't remember. Of course, that was 44 years ago. Yikes!





Saloon Girls Dancing

Gunfight

....But those view though....

Looking at these pictures, I can smell the clean fresh air of the mountains. Crisp clean summers. Ice cold water in the springs. How do I know? I step into one once and thought my feet would freeze of (this was at a rest stop).






The Amusement Park

I remember riding the roller coaster called cliffhanger, the scrambler, and a few kids rides. The scrambler was frightening. I would whip you out over the mountain side. Paula was so skinny that she slid across the seat toward me, and then away (centrifugal force) I feared she would fall out. I wrapped my arm around her, my other arm I wrapped around the handle in front, and of course a death grip with my left hand / arm on the handle/rod. I'm almost certain I had my right leg over her legs with my foot pressing the floor on the other side, and my ass cheeks were most definitely keeping both of us in the seat. Once was enough. Never again.... It was scarier than the roller coaster.



The Mystery Slant house

There was no picture of this Ghost Town house on the internet. I found another house that was similar. It looked like a run down shack. It was deceptive as the floor was slanted yet the house appeared to be plum. When you walked inside you were leaning forward and it looks as though you are defying gravity. It was one of my favorite things to do. Mom sat and laughed at us until I thought she'd be sick with asthma. She really loved that house.

These are not people who visited when we did. These people are at another location - looks like the 1950s also. This is what we looked like (slanted) walking through the house. It was truly fun!

Train or Ski Lift?

The Ride Down

I know I've said it before, but the Ski Lift (even with the anxiety of heights and jumping off) is the way to go. Now I will never go skiing. It's ok. When i was young, it hurt my feelings to think about not going skiing....but now I'm ok with it. I don't like snow or ice. I don't like freezing cold. I don't feel like doing anything but drinking hot chocolate, but dang it, I love riding the ski lift in the mountains, during the summer. Sigh.





The Train Ride

The first year we went to GTINS, as evidence by the pictures above, we rode the sky lifts up to the top. I think my mother was not fond of it. My sister was young. The 2nd year they chose to ride the train up. It was much quicker than the ski lift so they were waiting for us at the top. The ski lift was interesting. It was only scary when the lift went over the wheels or pulleys at the top of the poles. There was some shuttering and it made me feel uneasy. Otherwise it was a nice pleasant ride. The ride down was an awesome feeling. The scenery was gorgeous looking out at the mountains. The trip up was not as majestic. I think I remember riding the train down on the 2nd year, to save time I guess.

Buy It!
The 250-acre Ghost Town property went up for sale in May 2017 with NAI Beverly-Hanks agent Billy Case that grew up nearby and worked there as a kid. The park is listed for $5,950,000, including 40 buildings on four levels, furnishings and parking for 700 vehicles! There have been many recent upgrades and there are many development possibilities. https://www.romanticasheville.com/ghost_town.htm