LOST VEGAS: The O.G. ‘Wizard of Oz’ Display
Posted on: August 20, 2025, 11:58h.
Last updated on: August 20, 2025, 01:16h.
- The Venetian is promoting the reimagined “Wizard of Oz” film opening at the Sphere later this month
- The MGM Grand, however, is the first Vegas hotel to lay out the yellow brick road for visitors with its original “Wizard of Oz” themed hotel
- The unsuccessful concept lasted from 1993 to 1996
Much ado is being made about The Venetian’s “Wizard of Oz” display, which advertises the reimagined take on the classic film opening at the Sphere on August 28. Much of that ado consists of complaints about its temporary displacement of the casino resort’s beloved “LOVE” sculpture photo op.
But millions of us alive from 1993 to 1996 remember a much more impressive, if ill-conceived, tribute to the 1939 cinema classic — one staged by the first corporation to make a connection between the most classic children’s movie of all time and, err, a Las Vegas casino.
Somewhere Over the Top
MGM Resorts basically built the second MGM Grand (the first is today’s Horseshoe) as the Wizard of Oz Casino Resort. It wasn’t called that, but there was no branding differentiation.
Visitors entered the property through a living storybook. Beneath a seven-story atrium featuring projections of lightning and rainbows, they followed a yellow brick carpet past a towering Emerald City, then through a cornfield, apple orchard, and haunted forest.
Along the way, they encountered an animatronic Dorothy, who for some reason looked nothing like Judy Garland, as well as the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” the robotic feline tried convincing passersby.
Actors were also employed to portray the main characters, so guests could pose for the photos they weren’t allowed to get with their arms around dangerous robots.
The animatronic characters — which also included both good and wicked witches — all moved and talked. Not in a way that resembled human beings, but even the Roomba wouldn’t be introduced for nine more years.
Check out this home video from YouTuber @B Pintar. And please keep in mind, this was the ‘90s. The Excalibur had a moat with a dragon, and Treasure Island had a pirate battle…
Lions and Tigers and Comps, Oh My!
The attraction ended in “The Wizard’s Secrets,” a short magic show featuring more bad animatronics in a small theater. Then you were, of course, invited to visit the Oz Gift Shop, a casino featuring Oz-themed slots and décor, and the MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park out back.
But those visits didn’t add up to the kind of profit MGM Resorts had promised its shareholders. So it clicked its ruby slippers and escaped.
The MGM Grand was de-Ozzified, rebranded to cater strictly to fantasies of an adult nature. The Emerald City Atrium was demolished, and all its contents placed into storage or the trash.
The underperforming amusement park stuck around until 2000, the gift shop until three years later. The only thing remaining today is the color MGM Grand founder Kirk Kerkorian chose for his shiny new hotel’s exterior …
Emerald green.
“Lost Vegas” is an occasional Casino.org series spotlighting Las Vegas’ forgotten history. Click here to read other entries in the series. Think you know a good Vegas story lost to history? Email corey@casino.org.
Last Comment ( 1 )
MGM should never have done away with the whole Oz theme. The lions fit it, it was fun. It has been searching for itself ever since.