Follow the yellow brick road. The Land of Oz is real and hidden in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But the Land of Oz’s popularity was short-lived. The 1973 oil crisis was disastrous for the park. Families could no longer afford gas for the long drive to visit Dorothy Gale, the Tin Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow. The park is at least two hours from Asheville, Knoxville, and Charlotte. By 1975, the owners filed for bankruptcy, and at the end of 1975, vandals set fire to the Land of Oz and pillaged items from the site, including a bronze statue of Judy Garland and one of the five original blue gingham dresses that Garland wore in the movie. The statue and dress are still unaccounted for, and the hooligans who set fire to the park have yet to be apprehended. A documentary is currently being made about the theft and the fire.

“It remains a mystery,” Barrett said as he walked the famed yellow brick road while giving a tour last month. “We’ve been down so many rabbit holes looking for answers to who set the fire and stole the dress. Someone knows something, but we have yet to figure out who knows the exact answer. It’s little bits of truth. So you have to sift through all of it.”

Just six years after its dazzling debut, Oz was in shambles. The park’s stock of costumes, the sound system, the amphitheater, and even Emerald City were charred ruins. It was as if the Wicked Witch of the West lit her broom and tried to destroy it, leaving a burnt mess. New owners bought the park, and it reopened in 1976. But the Land of Oz was not only a victim of the fire. Changing tastes were also at play. A homespun park that hadn’t been updated in years, based around a 1939 movie, was not what Americans were looking for in the flashy late 1970s, and the park shuttered at the end of 1980.

Not even a pair of ruby slippers or Glinda the Good Witch’s wand could save it, and contrary to Dorothy’s optimistic warbling, the park’s troubles did not melt like lemon drops away above the chimney tops. This is the part of the story when you can start singing Elton John’s "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

Eventually, the Land of Oz became famous for something else, as it sat empty through the 1980s. It became a creepy and chilling example of an abandoned amusement park. The iconic yellow brick road was covered with dead branches and debris, while Dorothy’s house fell into decay, and the witch’s castle was reclaimed by nature. Vandals began sneaking in and snatching yellow bricks while lovers of ruin porn took photos and videos. To this day, some still think the park is abandoned, thanks to eerie pictures of the park that went viral in 2016.

But because this is a story about Oz, there needs to be a happy ending, and fortunately, there is one. The Land of Oz has been staging a slow, steady comeback for more than 30 years. After former park employees (known as Ozzies) began holding reunions, a plan was hatched to reopen the park, at least for a day, and on July 4, 1991, 4,000 people showed up to return to Oz.

Since then, the park has slowly yawned, stretched, and returned to life. In 1993, the Land of Oz began hosting an annual one-day Autumn at Oz festival. By 2017, the one-day Oz Fest became a multi-weekend event. This month, Autumn at Oz happens over three weekends: Sept. 6-8, Sept. 13-15, and Sept. 20-22. During these weekends, actors fill the park to perform in character and guide guests. And yes, pose for pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. The yellow bricks get a fresh coat of paint every year.

Tickets are $60, and many days have already sold out.

“You can only go to Oz once a year, and if you don’t get a ticket that year, you have to wait a whole year to go back,” Barrett said. “I think it’s what makes it special and alluring.”

The logical follow-up question is: If the park is being restored and there’s an audience, why not reopen full time? The answer is not so straightforward. The Land of Oz is located at the top of the Beech Mountain Ski Resort. At over 5,500 feet above sea level, it’s the highest town east of the Rocky Mountains, and the weather is temperamental. The park was initially conceived as a way to draw visitors to the mountain during the summer, and the “Wizard of Oz” theme was picked because the craggy, unique Blue Ridge landscape reminded Charlotte-based park designer Jack Pentes of Baum’s phantasmagorical Oz.

“Ultimately, the goal is to keep Autumn at Oz an homage to the original park developers,” said Francie Leidy, one of three siblings who own the Land of Oz. She said reopening the park full time is not a viable business model, and Autumn at Oz is “a nod to the era when the park was fully operational.”

As a result, the Land of Oz is a quirky anomaly. Many who attend are either Oz fanatics or people who visited the park as children and now want to share the experience with their children and grandchildren. Most performers come back year after year. There are former Dorothys who are now Glindas and Tin Men who have grown into wizards. The “Let’s put on a show” mentality of the production is an homage to people’s affection for the 1939 film and a nice throwback to the Garland and Mickey Rooney movies of yore.

Even though Baum’s first Oz book was published 124 years ago, and the movie is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, love for “The Wizard of Oz” has yet to abate. Local author Gregory Maguire had a bestseller in 1995 with “Wicked.” The book was adapted into the record-breaking musical, and the musical has been adapted into a film, part one of which arrives in theaters this November.

The stewardship of the Land of Oz couldn’t be in better or more experienced hands — Barrett, the artistic director/wizard of the operation, has been an Oz groupie since he was a small boy.

“I was 5 years old during the 50th anniversary of the movie, and they did a huge merchandise push,” he said. “There was Oz stuff everywhere. So for Christmas, birthdays, and good report card grades, every gift was ‘Wizard of Oz’-related. So I had all the dolls, action figures, and costumes.”

Behind the scenes, he’s working with the staff to ensure the 5,000 plastic poppies are placed on the grounds, checking on character wardrobe with former “Project Runway” designer and Oz fan Austin Scarlett, who has stepped up to create several new costumes. He’s also trying to figure out how to deal with the park’s Fountain of Youth, which was destroyed in a storm over the summer. On a walkthrough, he checks in to see if a hole created by a raccoon in the witch’s castle has been repaired.

“The movie means a lot to people,” Barrett said. “And this place means a lot to people. It doesn’t matter who you are. Everyone has some connection with ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in their lifetime. I think that’s why people are so interested in Land of Oz. Also, how could you not be interested in a ‘Wizard of Oz’ theme park with a dark, juicy backstory? This is just a fascinating place.”

Christopher Muther can be reached at christopher.muther@globe.com. Follow him @Chris_Muther and Instagram @chris_muther.