Shireland Dragonwood

Shireland was an amusement park (of sorts) in the suburbs of Chicago in 1988 and again in 1991. Its concept revolved around "magical" shire horses, similar to the Budweiser horses.

One of the attractions was a ride through the "enchanted" Dragonwood, home of (I think he is saying) Crack Dragons. In the end, a Shireland Knight rides in on (what else) a Shire horse to save the day.

Seeing videos like this takes the wonder out of why Shireland was only open for two years.

YOu can learn more about Shireland at http://shireland.tripod.com

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Shireland
• Shire
• Marengo
• Smrt
• draft
• horses
• amusement
• park
• defunct
• Illinois
• Chicago

[specterman2000]

I remember back in the 80's I use to get the "Shireland" news letter and I loved the comic strip "The Adventures Of Super Shire". I wish I could have visited it before it closed down because I love horses!

I also heard from someone who knew and worked for the owner say he was, to put it mildly, a 100% Jerk.

If he's going to keep treating his employees that way he deserves to fail!

Maybe if treated his people with dignity and respect, his beloved "Shireland" would still be open.

[jameala]

WOW! You actually read "the Adventures of the Super Shire"? Shireland was a pretty corny place, but my daughter, who was 10 at the time, liked it. She was scared while we were in Dragonwood, a place my wife and I still laugh about.

Smrt was (is?) a volatile man, but obviously very intelligent with a passion for many number of things.

Shireland, I am afraid, was doomed to fail. It was a "one-joke comedian". Not too many people are that interested in plow horses.

[falconer02]

I had the opportunity to check this place out as it is now...and it's very eerie to see this video when compared to what I saw. A lot of the props and stuff in the video are still there, but it's all scattered and there's brush all over the roads. Some of the stables and mideval houses are still standing. I wish they'd turn it into a forest preserve or a paintball field or something. That would be neat.

[jameala]

I don't recommend you go back there. It is trespassing, which is against the law and the owners take a very dim view of people who they have caught on the Shireland property.

[pahlorstoker]

this guy took cheesy to a whole new level. god this is bad!

[jameala]

It is (was?) cheezy, but when you think that it was some guy's vision who lives in Marengo, IL to create it and not some mega entertainment consortium's it makes it refreshing. I also liked the fact that the magician was a local entertainer, who got to work as an entertainer and not in a hardware store. The place was unbelievably corny, but it was heartwarming to watch someone doing something because he wanted to and not because he could get a good return on his investment on it.

[74evenflow]

What a dump...

[pariskt]

@specterman2000 To call the owner a 100% jerk is putting it mildly. I used to work for him, too.

[KranarDrogin]

You know, I went to this place as a kid, and I tell you that looking at it from an adult point of view now it is corny. As a kid though, it was great fun, and something different. We spent the entire day there, and boy I wish I could find out pictures from it. Ah well.

[HattieLovesCattie]

I am new to posting on You Tube.I am really enjoying seeing old parks,malls etc on here.There is one place that closed but is running again,Ghost Town In The Sky in the NC Mountains in the town of Maggie Valley.Some small parks are still open in the USA.

[08dannj]

As far as I know, he is still alive. He lives like a hermit in a geodesic dome about 5 miles from the park. He was a gazillionaire before he opened the park and he still is. He invented a system for painting lines in parking lots. He has more money than Davey Crockett (to quote Forest Gump).

[HattieLovesCattie]

Is the owner still living?That park probably make him end up broke.

[falconer02]

Who said I went in? I walked around the fence line.