The Wizard of Oz Museum’s iconic yellow brick road is stretching from West U.S. Highway 192 to the sandy shores of Cocoa Beach.
Fred Trust, owner of The Wizard of Oz Museum, has made a change and will be moving his attraction from Cape Canaveral to Cocoa Beach and not to Kissimmee as was announced 14 months ago.
“The land we previously acquired there is now for sale as we excitedly move forward with our Cocoa Beach plans,” a post on the museum’s website announced. “The Wizard of Oz Museum is still operating in our beloved Cape Canaveral location and will continue to welcome guests here until at least May 2026 and possibly longer, depending on the final build-out of our new Cocoa Beach home.”
Interviewed this past week, Trust said he could not make the Kissimmee deal work due to the lack of support.
“I spent two years trying to figure out how to make things happen, and at this point, it’s way too long for me to go and make it happen,” he said. “The only thing I’m doing is paying taxes, and I could not put anything on the property,” Trust said.
Trust said he tried to put a sign on the Kissimmee location to let potential visitors know the museum was coming, but he was denied permission to do so.
“In Osceola, I was all by myself,” Trust said. “I did not see a whole lot of excitement from the county perspective. There was no guidance telling me, like, ‘Hey, what else can we do? How can we help you make it happen?’” A note on the museum’s website said the land it acquired, on the north side of U.S. Highway 192 across from Medieval Times, had significantly increased in value, and selling that land will make it possible to own its new home in Cocoa Beach, a former medical complex not far from the iconic Ron Jon Surf Shop.
“It means we have no limitations on our capital expenditure, allowing us to invest significantly in the visitor experience. We’re doubling the size, but more importantly, we’re introducing new elements that were simply impossible in our current leased space,” the note says.
