Port Macquarie’s ‘Fantasy Glades’ theme park hits the market after being restored to former glory

A once iconic theme park known for its Snow White Cottage, Cinderella Castle and Dragon Cave has hit the market after eight years of renovation.

Fantasy Glades, a sprawling two-acre estate in Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast, closed in 2002 after 35 years of operation.

The theme park was opened in 1968 by George and Rosemary Whitaker, who both lived with dwarfism.

In the theme park’s heyday, thousands of excited families flocked to the tourist attraction to spend time in fairy tales brought to life.

In 2015, Fantasy Glades was sold to Jeff Crowe and his cousin, who quickly set to work restoring the forgotten theme park to its former glory.

Mr Crowe told Sunrise that he “fell in love” with the property as soon as he saw it.

“We looked at the property and found it had a castle and a few other small buildings on it, and I fell in love with it,” he said Wednesday.

Set on just under two acres of bushland in Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast, Fantasy Glades closed in 2002 after 35 years of operation

The Disney-esque theme park was opened in 1968 by George and Rosemary Whitaker (pictured), who both lived with dwarfism

The unique site, which has DA approvals for a café in Cinderella’s pink castle and nine self-contained cottages, is best suited to a buyer with a business venture.

The small churches and mini houses have been restored and the extensive lawns and surrounding bushland are well maintained.

The former theme park offers bushwalks over rustic bridges and babbling brooks, and is just meters from Shelly Beach and the surrounding rainforest.

Previous owners Shane and Karen Hay put the theme park on the market for $560,000 in 2015, after six years of restoring and modernizing the site.

“We wanted to bring it back to life, and it was a matter of taking it into the new era to make it digital and more modern,” Hay told Daily Mail Australia in 2015.

“My father was a builder and he was going to help us, but he passed away and unfortunately we have to move on,” he said.

The theme park operated for 35 years before ceasing operations in 2002

The unique site, which has DA approvals for a café in Cinderella’s pink castle and nine self-contained cottages, best suits a buyer with a business venture

The small churches and mini houses have been restored and the extensive lawns and surrounding bushland are well maintained

Fantasy Glades had deteriorated over the years, vandalized by graffiti and attacked by natural elements, requiring a fair amount of remediation

Fantasy Glades had deteriorated over the years, vandalized by graffiti and assaulted by natural elements, requiring a fair amount of remediation.

Mr. Hay said that he and his wife both had fond memories of Fantasy Glades, and that his wife’s favorite attraction was Cinderella’s Chapel and Castle.

Popular attractions included Snow White’s cottage – complete with dwarfs and beds – the old lady who lived in a shoe, the crooked house, a monorail, Humpty Dumpty, Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother’s house and many others.

The Hays had made plans to import modern dinosaur figures, to add to the original figurines, which have now been sold and held in storage.

The former theme park offers bushwalks over rustic bridges and babbling brooks and is just meters from Shelly Beach and the surrounding rainforest

Fantasy Glades was built by George and Rosemary Whitaker

In the theme park’s heyday, thousands of excited families flocked to the tourist attraction to spend time in fairy tales come to life

They had finally managed to sell the park to someone who would be passionate about the site and interested in restoring it to its former glory.

“My wife has always wanted to refurbish it, and we would like to see it sold to someone who wants to preserve the heritage,” said Mr Hay ahead of the sale.

‘We’ve had quite a bit of interest, and some from local groups wanting to use it as a community site for gardens and sculptures.

‘Port Macquarie really needs something like this. I’m sure there’s someone out there, someone younger than us.’

McGrath’s real estate agents, Nathan Owen and David Geary, said they were looking forward to seeing who would benefit from Mr Crowe’s restorative efforts.

“We are so excited to see this project come to life for the seller who has put so much time and work into restoring the property and paving the way for an environmentally friendly project for a developer with a vision,” they said.

Snow White’s cottage had dwarves and beds for the characters to sleep in

Previous owners Shane and Karen Hay had made plans to import modern dinosaur figures, to add to the original figurines, which have now been sold and held in storage.