Dorothy’s House and The Land of Oz

When in Kansas, you can’t miss a visit to Dorothy’s house, right?

Well, maybe this one you could.

While the house itself seemed like a good replica and the tour was interesting, the rest of the tour in the Land of Oz was disappointing.

Let me start with the part we did enjoy, the house itself.

Leading up to the house was the yellow brick road, engraved with the names of donors to the site. Amongst the crowd, we spotted Dorothy’s name as a testament that she had been there and was a supporter of the site… naturally. 

You know who else’s names we saw scrawled on the bricks? Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland. The Reagan’s names can also be found here as they donated to its cause while he was President.

A statue of Dorothy stands in the center of the lot with her little dog Toto.

The tour of the house led us through rooms with historically accurate pieces. Dorothy showed us a stereoscope that made a 3D image out of two simple 2D images, an old style toaster and iron that were heated on the wood burning stove, 

and a pair of ruby red slippers that were a favorite of hers.

But once we reached Oz, things got a little too eccentric.

The recreated cutouts, statues, and models were a far cry from any kind of familial resemblance to the original characters.

The story was retold with forced and hurried dialog.  

My best comparison is to relate it to a halfhearted high school drama project.

There’s so much they could have done with this attraction, but underwhelming is an understatement.

At the end of the walk-thru, we were led to a room that contained many Wizard of Oz and Frank L. Baum museum pieces. 

The Oz Museum in Northeast Kansas may be a better roadside stop than the one here in Liberal.