Magic Landing was a theme park located in El Paso, Texas, operating from 1984 to 1988. Magic Landing was one of two amusement parks operating in El Paso during the 1980s, the other being Western Playland.
Magic Landing opened to the public on July 4, 1984. It included the Old Galveston Railway, a narrow-gauge[1] railroad within the park, among other attractions.
The park had bought several items from a defunct arcade named Castle Park Arcade. These included Arcade Machines and props from the golf course as well as animatronics[2] that would play in the Bijou Theater.
During Magic Landing's brief run, rumors of various incidents were circulated, but one confirmed incident caused the park's attendance numbers to fall over the next three years and may have led to its closure. In the summer of 1985, Frank Guzman Jr, an 18-year-old male employee, was killed at the park.[3] 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 Army Medical Center and died three hours later. This incident made many people nickname the park "Tragic Landing".
In 1988, Magic Landing closed to the public mid-season due to low attendance and problems obtaining the $1 million insurance policy required by the state. (The high insurance rate stemmed from the above-mentioned roller coaster death.) There were attempts to reopen the park for the proceeding 5 years but they failed. Since its closing, Magic Landing's buildings have stood out in the El Paso desert, many of them falling apart, for over 20 years. (The rides, though, only remained until the early to mid-1990s.) In 2009, by the county's request, the remaining buildings and rubble on the property were demolished due to multiple incidents of vandalism and arson over the previous few years. CFI Trucking now uses the land as a lot for their trailers. The frame for the sign and the bases for the ticket booths are among the only remnants of the park. Western Playland, El Paso's only other amusement park, has since been relocated to Sunland Park, New Mexico.
| Old Galveston Railway | 1984 | 1988 | Train | The Old Galveston Railway would travel around the park. The train is now permanently located at El Paso Connection[4] | ||
| Wildcat | 1984 | 1985 | Schwarzkopf | Roller Coaster | This was a wildcat 65m model designed by Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH and manufactured by Schwarzkopf. The ride originally opened in 1973 at Six Flags Magic Mountain as Mountain Express before it was closed in the 1982 season.[5] It was than purchased by magic landing. The ride opened in the 1984 season sometime after the park was already opened. It was located near the back of the park. The ride closed after the 1985 accident and was left SBNO from 1985 to 1990.[6] The ride would then be sold to a park in Mexico named Bosque Mágico where it would open as Montaña Rusa.[7] The ride would eventually be scrapped sometime after 2006. | |
| Buck Sawyer's Mill | 1984 | 1988 | Arrow Dynamics | Log Flume | This was an Arrow Dynamics Log Flume Ride. | |
| Ferris Wheel | 1984 | 1988 | Ferris Wheel | When the park opened the Ferris Wheel was being advertised by Magic Landing as the "Largest Ferris Wheel in Texas". | ||
| Swinging Ship | 1984 | 1988 | Pirate Ship | |||
| Merry-Go-Round | 1984 | 1988 | Carousel | |||
| Rainbow | ||||||
| Wave Swinger | 1984 | 1988 | Swing Ride | |||
| Enterprise | 1984 | 1988 | Enterprise |
Guitarist Charlie Sexton performed in 1986 at Magic Landing[8]
The Herrera Family Collection, no. 9 - Magic Landing (1985)[9]