Fairy Tale Forest: Abandoned amusement park

March 22, 2017 Jack Beckett

Fairy Tale Forest was once a popular amusement park in Oak Ridge, New Jersey. It was built in 1957, by German immigrant Paul Woehle who was inspired by his mother.

She read him old fairy tales and he made it his dream to bring those stories to life for the children of New Jersey. Photos by: Justin Gurbisz/Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0

Fairy Tale Forest was creation of the late Paul Woehle, who was affectionately known as Opa. Source — *Fairy Tale Forest was the creation of the late Paul* Woehle, who was affectionately known as Opa.

For decades this fairy tale based theme park had entertained young children in the most unusual fashion. The fifteen acres park contained various sets, each depicting their own fairy tale. Each cottage contained a fairy tale diorama-like “The Rabbit School”, “The Seven Kids”, “Cinderella”, “The Three Pigs”, “Hansel and Gretel”, “Pinocchio”, and “Peter Pumpkin Eather”.

For decades, the park was a beloved place for children and parents alike. Source — *For decades, the park was a beloved place for children and parents alike.*

Sculptures of bears in one of the cottages. Source — *Sculptures of bears in one of the cottages.*

Woehle created sculpture replicas of this characters and house them in authentic structures in line with those recalled in the fairy tales he heard as a child. Most of the sculptures and displays were mechanically animated and looked quite realistic. There were also kiddie rides, magic shows, story-telling and roaming costumed characters.

Woehle imagined most of the scenes, hand-carving many of the figures out of wood or creating them with cement. Source — *Woehle imagined most of the scenes, hand-carving many of the figures out of wood or creating them with cement.*

Each cottage had its own story. Source — *Each cottage had its own story.*

Some of the tales were dark, creepy and grim. Source — *Some of the tales were dark, creepy and grim.*

Inside the park, there is an abandoned town of fairy tale proportion, complete with its own miniature chapel, gingerbread houses, town square, and even a giant pumpkin.

A giant fiber-glass pumpkin, now faded to lught orange through years of neglect. Source — *A giant* *fiberglass pumpkin now faded to light orange through years of neglect.*

Frosty the Snowman at Fairy Tale Forest park. Source — *Frosty the Snowman at Fairy Tale Forest park.*

Paul Woehle died in 1994 and the park was given to his granddaughter, Christine VanderPloeg. She renovated it for the 40-year anniversary in 1997, but sadly, the park was destined to close again in 2005, almost half a century after it first opened in 1957.

Unfortunately, in 2005, the park closed for good. Source — *Unfortunately, in 2005, the park closed for good.*

The family’s special event consultant, Jean Ward, said at the time of Woehle’s death that he had given the gift of joy to thousands of children for almost a century.

The property is rumored to have a particularly vigilant security force. Source — *The property is rumored to have a particularly vigilant security force.*

Old Woman's Giant Shoe at the second entrance of the park. Source — *Old Woman’s Giant Shoe at the second entrance of the park.*

Some of the grounds have since been sold to self-storage company and used the Old Woman’s Giant Shoe to mark the facility’s entrance. Today, the park has been ransacked by vandals and the characters lie broken and shattered. Although the structures have been damaged by nature and vandalism, it’s quite surprising how much of the Fairy Tale Forest still remains.