How Sid and Marty Krofft Built a Theme Park

TV Superstars, Aspiring Theme Park Owners

Children’s television in the 1970s was a trip.

Before the days of countless TV channels and streaming services to browse, many American households in the ‘70s had access to only a few stations. For kids, the options were slim, but what they had was a kaleidoscope of media ranging from educational to experimental.

Meet Sid and Marty Krofft. These brothers were superstars in the world of children’s programming, and for six short months in 1976, their world was more than a psychedelic fantasy on TV: It was a real place only a few hundred thousand guests got to visit. The duo opened a first-of-its-kind attraction in Atlanta, Georgia, but for the Kroffts, it would be their only.

This is the story of the whimsical and woeful World of Sid and Marty Krofft theme park in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The Rise of the Krofft Brothers

Cydus and Moshopopoulos Yolas—better known as Sid and Marty Krofft—were fifth-generation Greek puppeteers. The 200-year-old family tradition dated back to the 18^th century in Athens, Greece.

At least, that’s the story they went with for decades. Yes, the Canadian brothers were of Mediterranean descent and born under the Yolas family name, but the rest was made up by a publicist to make them seem more interesting. Though, the Kroffts were plenty interesting in reality with their entertaining shows of fiction.

Sid Krofft was the creative half who puppeteered; Marty was the business-minded half who pulled the strings. There wouldn’t be Sid without Marty, nor Marty without Sid. Together, they were the Kroffts: brothers turned business partners.

“All my life, I’ve been dreaming, and I have an incredible brother who gets my dreams done.”
Sid Krofft, The Atlanta Constitution, 1976

Sid got an early start, performing in the city and eventually as a teenage puppeteer for the Ringling Bros. Circus in the 1940s. In the following decades, the younger Marty worked as a car salesman; when Sid got a touring gig supporting Judy Garland of The Wizard of Oz fame, the business-minded Marty joined the unusual artistry of his older brother.

Behind the scenes, the two brothers didn’t always agree, but their collaboration was too special to pass up.

“Marty and I were oil and vinegar. We worked in different ways, but if you shook us up, we were a great dressing.”
Sid Krofft, The Los Angeles Times, 2023

Between Sid’s creativity and Marty’s entrepreneurship, the two produced their own puppet show: Les Poupees De Paris. The salacious production as well as their other live shows toured across the U.S. in front of millions of people throughout the ‘60s.

Sid and Marty also produced more wholesome acts, like the Kaleidoscope puppet show at Texas’ HemisFair 68. The dragon-and-witch production was somewhat of a precursor to their future work—more on that soon. This show in San Antonio caught the attention of the decision-makers at Six Flags Over Texas, which led the Kroffts to explore an amusing industry.

The Kroffts’ Early Theme Park Work

The Kroffts collaborated as creative consultants with the up-and-coming Six Flags theme park chain. The storytellers produced puppet shows, character costumes, and other experiences for the company’s early parks. Most notably, the Kroffts reimagined the Tales of the Okefenokee dark ride at Six Flags Over Georgia and created the dark ride for Six Flags Over Mid-America.

During this partnership, the Kroffts built an “entertainment factory” in North Hollywoodto fabricate elements for their theme park work. This added another feather to their cap and allowed the brothers scale up their productions. Krofft Productions, Inc. co-owned thespace with Six Flags until the brothers bought it in full at the end of their theme park contract.

The Krofft facility grew into a “show business factory” that they used for clients, creating everything and anything in the entertainment field. The show business factory was essentially the Kroffts’ headquarters where dreams were made reality—and the Kroffts had a lot of dreams.

Becoming a Household Name

Sid and Marty weren’t just making puppets and attractions; they were making a name for themselves, and the world was staring to notice.

Krofft Productions, Inc. was on the radar of the folks at Hanna-Barbera Productions, who were juggernauts in children’s programming. The producers of The Flintstones, The Yogi Bear Show, The Jetsons, and eventually Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!—just to name a few—hired the budding brothers in the late-‘60s to create character costumes for a new live-action show: The Banana Splits and Friends Show. It was a smash success, and the Kroffts got a glimpse at what their creations could become.

This opportunity and their motivation would be Sid and Marty’s launchpad for their rise to stardom as TV producers.

H.R. Pufnstuf and the Kroffts’ Big Break

Sid and Marty get their big break in 1969 with their own children’s TV show on NBC: H.R. Pufnstuf. The show followed the adventures of Jimmy: a boy shipwrecked on Living Island, where everything was alive. Living Island’s friendly dragon of a mayor, H.R. Pufnstuf, helped Jimmy protect his magic flute against the show’s villain: Witchiepoo.

The $3 million show went a little over budget, but for good reason. H.R. Pufnstuf was as bizarre and entertaining as The Wizard of Oz with characters that did not look like stringed marionettes, but like real cartoons. For anyone familiar with the old Kaleidoscope puppet show, this was no surprise, but the country at large was finally getting to see that signature Krofft look.

In fact, the Krofft look was so good, McDonald’s took clear inspiration from H.R. Pufnstuf for its McDonaldland marketing campaign; the courts ruled in the Kroffts’ favor in a hefty copyright infringement case.

H.R. Pufnstuf was a spectacle of 87 characters that spawned an album, a feature film, and plenty of merchandise.

“What Mickey Mouse is to Disney, Pufnstuf is to us.”
Marty Krofft, Atlanta Magazine, 1974

Needless to say, Sid and Marty’s debut as TV producers was a success. H.R. Pufnstuf aired for only one season with 17 episodes, but that short run was a testament of what the brothers could accomplish. H.R. Pufnstuf was just the beginning. Kids connected with the vibrant style, and the major networks wanted more.

Krofft-palooza took off in the ‘70s, producing an abundance of hit TV shows. Some highlights included Lidsville, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Land of the Lost, and Wonderbug.

“I guess the networks just believe in a couple of crazy guys.”
Sid Krofft, The Los Angeles Times, 1970

Behind the scenes, the rise of Sid and Marty Krofft was partially thanks to their production facility, which was built during their partnership with Six Flags. The warehouse—along with the duo’s creative vision—elevated Sid and Marty Krofft as household names.

Sid, Marty, and hundreds of employees used the old Six Flags show business factory plus other facilities to create costumes, puppets, props, and sets for their productions. However, they hadn’t fully moved on from producing attractions too. Sid and Marty were looking to expand their entertainment empire. For their next side project, the brothers revisited a familiar industry: theme parks.

“We’re going into the amusement park business.”
Sid Krofft, The Los Angeles Times, 1970

An Amusing New Project

The trend of modern American theme parks was fairly new in the 1970s. Disneyland Park opened only a few decades prior, and regional parks were popping up all over the country in the ‘60s and ‘70s. These destinations were a level above the trolley parks of yesteryear. Themed attractions were more popular than ever before.

“Let’s face it: [Disneyland] is the Bible of the business.”
Sid Krofft, The Courier-Gazette, 1968

Sid and Marty were talented entertainers, storytellers, and promoters—so the theme park industry was right up their alley. The Kroffts were almost the next best thing to Disney when it came to theme parks; they picked up commissions here and there to produce animatronic displays and other entertainments for various clients. The two kept up with some theme park work, including a puppet theater show, Circus 70, at Coney Island in Cincinnati, Ohio.

However, as early as 1969, the two were planning their own attractions.

“After several years of building rides and dolls for other people, we’re building them for ourselves.”
Sid Krofft, The Los Angeles Times, 1970

On the side of their newfound success producing TV shows, the brothers were busy developing a chain of children’s shopping centers with amusement elements. They started in Mexico City with plans for a shopping center called El Mundo Infantile, which translates to Children’s World; its alternate name was El Mundo Sid and Marty Krofft.The Kroffts assessed other regions—such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles—for their chain ofamusement centers and children’s fairs known as The World of Sid and Marty Krofft.

Their solo theme park ambitions were a work in progress. In the meantime, the Kroffts were still on track making attractions for clients. They developed a ride for Cincinnati’s Coney Island, tentatively called Time Machine, which went through moments in history like prehistoric times with dinosaurs and ancient Egypt.

The Kroffts spent five years developing a dark ride for the Fisherman’s Wharf area in San Francisco. The Enchanted World opened in June 1971 and took riders on a seven-minute journey that celebrated The Golden City’s past. The ride’s mini cable cars rode along 850 feet of track through 14 scenes such as the Gold Rush era, the 1906 earthquake, an uplifting ending. The ride featured 150 animated characters and was yet another spectacular example of what the brothers and their team were capable of.

Seeking a Theme Park Home

Sid and Marty put together a colorful portfolio of theme park work for other companies, usually putting their own attractions on hold. However, it was finally time for people to experience the world of Sid and Marty Krofft in person.

The Kroffts were serious about creating a theme park of their own. From puppeteers, to TV producers, to theme park pioneers—Sid and Marty were taking a ride in a growing industry.

The brothers dusted off their old plans for city-based amusement centers. Sid and Marty spent much of their successful careers entertaining in cities, so they began searching for a downtown area to build their future attraction.

“We have been in clubs and theaters our whole lives; we are city people, and I really believe that if the city dies, so does the world.”
Marty Krofft, The Atlanta Constitution, 1976

They considered a few major markets and landed a tentative agreement in New York City with the owners of the illustrious Madison Square Garden. That deal unfortunately fell through.

The Krofft brothers did not give up finding a location.

Around 1973, the Kroffts reached out to an old colleague from their time at Six Flags, J. Alton Alsup. The vice president of Six Flags connected the brothers with commercial developers in Atlanta: Maurice Alpert and Tom Cousins of International City Corp.

Georgia’s capital city needed some work in the early ‘70s; International City Corp. was developing a megacomplex in hopes of reviving a section of the metropolis. The location was along the lines of what the Sid and Marty were looking for.

The Krofft brothers were eager to take center stage in Atlanta.

“Atlanta is the best city possible to build the park…If the park won’t work here, it won’t work anywhere.”
Marty Krofft, The Atlanta Constitution, 1974

Fixing Atlanta’s Gulch

In the 19^th century, parts of Atlanta’s railroad system clustered up in a specific area. By the 20th century, the shift of car and pedestrian traffic caused the railroad tracks to increasingly become a public safety issue. The city of Atlanta in the early 1900s addressed the issue by constructing elevated bridges and pathways over the tracks.

The tracks were mostly removed over the following decades, leaving behind vacant lots. This area was known as The Gulch and was in desperate need of redevelopment after the mid-century.

The city itself by the early ‘70s was labeled as the murder capital of the U.S., and developers wanted to revive Atlanta’s reputation. The goal was to improve undeveloped areas and add indoor amenities; this could attract businesspeople for conventions and families from surrounding areas for leisure.

“We have an attraction that will bring Atlantans back downtown.”
Maurice Alpert, The Atlanta Constitution, 1976

Developers Alpert and Cousins of International City Corp. had a solution: the Omni megacomplex. This 5.5-acre multi-use megastructure in the heart of downtown Atlanta would have it all: a hotel, a sports arena, restaurants, retail locations, office space, and entertainment venues.

“We are witnessing today a most important step in the continued renaissance of our inner city.”
Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, The Atlanta Journal, 1976

The Kroffts Take Center Stage in Atlanta

The Krofft brothers were in talks to open an amusement center at the Omni, but not inside the complex. Originally,the Krofft world would be built on two floors atop a nearby parking deck; plans changed, however, during development.

On Christmas Eve, 1973, the Kroffts were invited to move their park inside the Omni complex. The building’s international trade pavilion, which would be a major tenant, moved to another address, sothe Omni suddenly had a large vacancy to fill: amulti-floor space in the complex’s 14-story atrium.

The newly available indoor space could be an improvement for the Kroffts, instead of their current spot on the parking deck. The area wasspaciousand climate-controlled for all-day, year-round enjoyment—Georgia’s seasonal weather would not be a worry. However, building afirst-of-its-kind, larger-than-planned entertainment park across multiple floors inside a megacomplex would be challenging.

At first, the Kroffts were not thrilled by the multi-level venue but quickly realized the possibilities.

“If we can make it work up and down, we can go anywhere with it.”
Marty Krofft, Atlanta Magazine, 1974

The venue was settled. Sid and Marty Krofft were finally opening their own theme park, and the Omni in Atlanta would get the honor, as announced in 1974. The Kroffts partnered with the Omni’s developers after a year of negotiations, making the upcoming theme park a 50-50 venture. Krofft Productions, Inc. and International City Corp. joined for the project as Krofft International Corp. The Kroffts handled the park’s design, entertainment, and management whileInternational City Corp. brought the financing.

The attraction was originally planned as a kiddie park, costing around $10 million. However, being entirely kid-focused left some potential on the table. The investors anticipated the attraction could be a strong source of income for the property, with possibilities of filming Krofft TV productions on location.

With that confidence, the Kroffts and their development partners agreed to upgrade the upcoming kiddie attraction as a more sophisticated family entertainment park.

The whole project was partly an attempt to revitalize Atlanta and partly a creation of fantasy grander than anything the brothers had ever dreamed of. Sid and Marty’s team had their hands full engineering brand-new rides, fabricating detailed character costumes, and producing a theme park stuffed with entertainment.

“We wound up being the Tiffany’s of entertainment parks.”
Marty Krofft, The Atlanta Constitution, 1976

This fantasy had a hard reality: It was risky. The Kroffts and developers admitted as much, but the brothers had a track record of putting on a good show. Marty Krofft predicted the park could pay for itself in as little as two years, while the investors believed it might take up to a decade. The risk was worth its ballooning $14 million price tag.

“We’re betting our whole company on this.”
Marty Krofft, The Atlanta Constitution, 1974

Building a Krofftian World

The World of Sid and Marty Krofft—as the park would be called—was coming along. It was a “culmination of a lot of dreams,” as Marty Krofft put it, with a blend of original ideas and concepts from their TV shows.

In the early plans, guests would enter through a curtain of leaves hung from giant mime statues, which would pull away to reveal the park. Other unused concepts included thrills like a junior roller coaster with spectacular views of Atlanta’s skyline, as well as more tranquil rides themed to garden creatures like caterpillars, frogs, and butterflies.

Even though some ideas never made it off paper, other exciting attractions that reached new heights were under construction—such as a record-breaking escalator, a human pinball machine ride, and an H.R. Pufnstuf ride.

Sid and Marty were going to great lengthscreating a Krofftian world, but they couldn’t do it alone. Off site, hundreds of employees at the Krofftshow business factory in North Hollywood were fabricating the World, its attractions, equipment, and scenic elements. The park’s engineering director, Bob Symons, headed up a team of 35 former aerospace engineers.

The project designer, Steve Ehlers, had the task of decorating the brutalist downtown building with the signature Krofft look. Ehlers lost his eyesight due to an accident during development, which inspired the 1978 movie Love’s Dark Ride, but the team continued his creative vision.

“We have a lot of wonderful people…You could not have built this world of fantasy here in Atlanta without creativity.”
Marty Krofft, WSB-TV, 1976

The creations were shipped by way of about 200 trucks from California to Atlanta where they were installed in the Omni by fall 1975.

The Krofft brothers could imagine wacky stories and characters, but the challenges of building a theme park went beyond their imaginations. Construction on the “high-rise world of fantasy” was hectic; the oncoming park’s progress had setbacks due to design changes earlier in development and a labor strike in Atlanta. Some stories suggest the park’s employees did work here and there prepping the park.

The World of Sid and Marty Krofft missed its once-scheduled opening date of January and later spring of 1976.

“In my wildest dreams, I didn’t think it was going to be this tough.”
Marty Krofft, The Atlanta Constitution, 1976

Once work resumed, finishing touches were made such as blocking off sunlight into the park’s dark rides and painting the transition areas between floors for a consistently colorful experience. No detail was too small at this point as construction continued until the park’s opening.

Press for The World of Sid and Marty Krofft was also ramping up ahead of its debut. The theme park newcomers launched a $1-million-plus joint marketing campaign with other nearby attractions: Six Flags Over Georgia and a safari park, Kingdoms 3.

“If Atlanta succeeds, we all succeed.”
Spurgeon Richardson, marketing director of Six Flags Over Georgia, The Atlanta Constitution, 1976

They promoted the park around the community with small events such as H.R. Pufnstuf being the grand marshal in a local Easter parade; ribbon cuttings; holiday productions; and a Krofft-designed mascot named Scorchy for an Atlanta Flames NHL game, which didn’t go over well with hockey fans.

As The World of Sid and Marty Krofft was nearly ready to make its debut, Atlanta was more than ready to experience it.

Previewing The World

The World of Sid and Marty Krofft held a dress rehearsal on Saturday, May 22, 1976. Workers and their families were invited to test out the park ahead of its grand opening.

The park hosted an exclusive preview following day, Sunday, May 23. The formal occasion featured a live orchestra performance and Olympian Peggy Fleming ice skating for the VIPs in attendance, such as Georgia’s governor and Atlanta’s mayor. Lyn Martin of The Atlanta Constitution said the new theme park transformed its high-profile guests into “delighted children.”

“The World of Sid and Marty Krofft surely is the most fantastic thing that has ever hit any downtown in the world.”
Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, The Atlanta Constitution, 1976

After years of development, $14 million, and a wealth of imagination, The World of Sid and Marty Krofft was all set for its grand opening.

CONTINUE TO PART II