New South Wales’ iconic Fantasy Glades theme park is for sale, complete with its own castle, tiny church and the boot-shaped house of the ‘old woman who lived in a shoe’.
The holiday destination of Port Macquarie closed in 2002 after 35 years of operation, but the current owner was determined “to restore it to its former glory” before selling it on.
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When Jeff Crowe “stumbled upon” the unique two-acre investment with his cousin in 2015, he told Sunrise she had to buy it.
“We looked at the property and found that there was a castle and some other small buildings on it and I fell in love with it,” he said.
During operation, the castle was painted pink and filled with life-size mannequins telling the story of Cinderella.
Meanwhile, a human-powered monorail pushed guests around the property, which also hosted other popular storybook locations, such as the boot-shaped house of the “old woman who lived in a shoe.”
It was created by George and Rose Whitaker, both of whom lived with dwarfism.
Crowe said the mammoth refurbishment of the property had been his “eight-year commitment” and he was pleased he had achieved his goal of restoring the property to its former glory.
is that now the most viewed property in the statewhich Crowe says is “out of this world.”
He’s taking offers and said he’ll “see what the market brings” but confirmed the current price is “up there”.
The unique property is likely to be sold to buyers with business ventures – it has DA permits for a castle café and nine self-contained cottages.
“There will be nine cabins at the back of the property, so there will be a deal with the cabins and also a deal with the lock, and you’ll be able to live down here, too,” Crowe told Sunrise.
The advertisement was made to promote Fantasy Glades, which closed in 2002.
The property is also just meters from Shelly Beach and has two frontages overlooking the native rainforest.
McGrath real estate agents Nathan Owen and David Geary said they look forward to Crowe’s hard work paying off.
“We are very pleased to see this project come to life for the seller who has put so much time and effort into restoring the property and paving the way for a developer with a vision for an eco-friendly project,” they said.