Neverland Ranch

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Since we were in the area this past weekend celebrating the Fourth of July, I just had to drag my fiance out to Neverland Ranch yesterday to stalk pop star Michael Jackson’s former home.  I had actually stalked the Ranch once before, back in November of 2007, but I wanted to stop by once again to see what sort of pandemonium would be taking place there due to the pop star’s recent death.  Even though MJ hadn’t lived on the property since 2005, the home has been a mecca of sorts for the music legend’s fans ever since his sudden passing on June 25th.  Michael purchased the 2,600 acre property, which at the time was known as Sycamore Valley Ranch, from resort and golf course developer William Bone in 1988.  It was on this land that Jackson built his fantasy home, comprised of two railroads, a zoo, a ginormous swimming pool, a lake, a ferris wheel, a carousel, bumper cars, numerous other amusement park rides, an arcade, a private movie theatre, and a whopping twenty-two buildings.  He dubbed the property Neverland after the home of his favorite storybook character, Peter Pan, aka the boy who wouldn’t grow up.  In 2005, after being acquitted of child molestation charges, Jackson vacated the property and vowed never to return.  He said that during the police investigation, the officers who searched his property for evidence had “violated” it and he no longer felt at home there.  The property narrowly escaped foreclosure a few years later in May of 2008 when Jackson sold his loan and a part of his property rights to an investment company named Colony Capital LLC for about $35 million.  The land is currently owned jointly by both Colony Capital LLC and Michael’s estate.  At this point it is not known what is to become of the King of Pop’s former home, but there are talks of turning it into a sort of Graceland/Michael Jackson museum, which I think would be absolutely incredible to visit!  But, yesterday, I had to settle for just stalking the Ranch’s exterior.

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Neverland Ranch Figueroa Mountain Road

On the way to Neverland, I started to get a little nervous that due to massive crowds we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near the property.  About four miles away from the Ranch, the above traffic sign was posted which blinked the warnings “Slow Traffic Ahead” and “Caution: Congestion Ahead”.

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The city had also placed countless “No Parking” signs along the five mile stretch of rural road which leads to MJ’s former home.

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Thankfully, while there were a lot of people paying their respects at Neverland Ranch yesterday, we were still able to stalk it quite easily.  As you can see in above photograph, there were a ton of media vans and reporters on site staked out to cover the goings-on at the Ranch.  Police were also on duty, patroling the area.

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The media crews were camped out in front of the property to stake out their section of land , much like was the case over at Forest Lawn Memorial Park where Michael is set to be buried.

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Also much like at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, CNN had apparently decided that they didn’t need to actually physically be on site to stake out their claim on a section of land, but that a set of cones would do.  LOL  I was so tempted to move their cones!  🙂

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In anticipation of the many visitors to the Ranch, numerous porta-potties had been set up by the city, which I was very grateful for.

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A few entrepreneurial individuals were actually selling Michael Jackson memorabilia, like t-shirts and buttons, out in front of his former home.  What’s even more amazing to me is that people were actually buying the stuff!  Nice, huh?

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The entrance to Neverland Ranch looked much different yesterday than when I visited it in 2007.  In an ironic juxtaposition, while the last time I visited the Ranch when Michael was still alive, the property was quiet and almost barren, yesterday it was full of life and absolutely crawling with people.    I’m guessing there were about fifty fans outside of the Neverland gates who had come to pay their respects to the singer.   While there, my fiance spoke to two gentlemen from Spain who had flown all the way to California just to visit the Ranch and pay their respects to Michael!  Not everyone was there for the pop star, though.  At one point, a man in an SUV drove up to where my fiance was standing and asked him what all the commotion was about.  My fiance was like “Um, this is Michael Jackson’s house.”  The guy, who had obviously been born under a rock, had absolutely NO idea that he was driving past one of the most famous celebrity homes on earth.  LOL LOL LOL

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Practically every square inch of the Ranch’s front entrance was covered over with personalized signs, balloons, stuffed animals, and flowers that people had left for Michael.  Signs had even been hung from the trees!  It was absolutely incredible to see!

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As I mentioned the last time I stalked the place, unfortunately there isn’t a whole lot of Neverland to see from the road.  But my fiance managed to snap a few pics through the entrance gate.  There seemed to be quite a few people on duty at the Ranch, including gardeners, security guards, and what looked to be ranchers of some sort.

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Because the perimeter of Neverland isn’t really fenced in, floodlights had been set up to ward off nighttime trespassers.

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Los Olivos, the sleepy town where Neverland Ranch is located,  is no stranger to the spotlight.  The tiny town, which is made up of only one main street that stretches four short blocks, stood in for Mayberry in the 1986 made-for-TV movie Return to Mayberry.   And a small local restaurant named Los Olivos Cafe was the spot where Miles, Jack, Maya, and Stephanie shared a romantic meal in the 2004 movie Sideways.

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The town is something of a celebrity hotspot, as well.  A few years ago, my fiance ate lunch next to Jennie Garth and her husband Peter Facinelli at Los Olivos’ Panino restaurant.  But while I’ve been to Los Olivos quite a few times, sadly I’ve never encountered a celeb there.  🙁

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The above sign, which I spotted in a gift shop window yesterday morning, pretty much perfectly sums up the tiny, sleepy town.  🙂

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For those fans who would like a more in-depth view of Neverland, you can read an AMAZING article and see some INCREDIBLE pictures taken by a photographer named Jonathan Haeber who snuck into the Ranch back in December of 2007 here.  TMZ also posted  some great pics of the interior of Michael’s actual home which was located on the Neverland Ranch property.  Matt Lauer also  gave viewers an indepth tour of Michael’s home just a few days after his untimely death, which you can watch here.  And finally, you can see a video Larry King posted of the Neverland property here.  My dad and I had the pleasure of stalking the Michael Jackson Exhibit by Julien’s Auctions earlier this year.  My photos of the exhibit, which included all of the pop singer’s Neverland Ranch furniture and much of his music memorabilia, can be viewed here.

It was very nice to be able to pay my respects at the Ranch yesterday, especially since I was not one of the chosen few who received tickets to Michael’s memorial at Staples Center.  🙁   I had so been hoping to win those.  So, instead I will be watching the event live at home, along with the rest of the world.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Neverland Ranch is located off of the 154 Highway at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road in Los Olivos, about 30 miles north of Santa Barbara and about five miles Northeast of central Los Olivos .

The Michael Jackson Exhibit by Julien’s Auctions

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As I’ve mentioned once before, even though he has some major issues, darn if I don’t love me some MJ!  So when one of my readers, Amanda, posted a comment this morning about the Michael Jackson Exhibit that is currently being held in Beverly Hills, I just about had a full blown panic attack right there in my own living room.  HOW IN THE HECK HAD I NOT HEARD ABOUT THIS???  LOL  I immediately called my dad, who also loves himself some MJ, and the two of us headed right over to Beverly Hills to check out the exhibit. 

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The Michael Jackson exhibit was originally slated as an auction to be hosted by Julien’s Auctions company.  Michael Jackson himself hired the auction house, which specializes in entertainment memorabilia, to sell off virutally all of the contents of his now defunct Neverland Ranch.  At the last minute, though, MJ changed his mind and decided to cancel the auction and buy back all of his memorabilia from Julien’s.  But he did agree to go through with the scheduled exhibition of his valuables, which is open to the public now through April 25th.  And I am so glad he did, as my experience there today was nothing short of incredible!!!!!

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I was literally on the edge of my seat for the entire drive to Beverly Hills!  And the exhibit did not fail to disappoint!  The first thing you see when walking up to the exhibition area is – are you sitting down for this??? – the famed NEVERLAND RANCH GATE!  I have wanted to see that gate for as long as I can remember and was so disappointed when I stalked Neverland Ranch back in 2007 and discovered that it wasn’t visible from the  street.  I was so floored to see that gate in person, in fact, that I couldn’t imagine there’d be anything inside the exhibit hall that could top it!   But, boy, was I wrong!  The Neverland gate was just the beginning!  🙂

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In a very lucky twist of fate, after asking a security guard a question upon entering the exhibit, I was referred to a man named Michael Doyle.  Well, it turns out that Michael is the administrator of the entire exhibit and a SUPER nice guy.  After I told him a bit about my blog, he ended up taking me on my own mini private tour of the exhibit!!!!!  Unbelievable!!!!!  🙂  According to Doyle, the 30,000 square foot, 1,400 lot exhibit took over nine months to coordinate.  The removal of the items from Neverland Ranch alone took ninety days!   Doyle was at the ranch during that entire ninety day period and got to see up close and personal how the King of Pop lived.  What an experience!  When I told Doyle that I had actually been to Neverland Ranch, he said “Oh, you were invited there?”  LOL  I had to clarify and tell him that no, I had not been invited to Neverland Ranch, but had stalked the outside of it for my blog.  LOL  LOL LOL  While I was speaking with Doyle, he got a call that Sharon Osbourne would be touring the exhibit later that day.  I guess even celebs are fascinated with the King of Pop.  🙂

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The entire exhibit, which feels very much like a museum, is set up in such a way that visitors feel as if they are actually stepping inside of the real Neverland Ranch.  Before arriving, I was nervous that cameras would not be allowed, as I knew that I’d want to take pictures of EVERYTHING.  Well, I really needn’t have worried, as cameras are not only allowed, but encouraged!!!  The ultra-friendly security guards and docents kept telling us to be sure to take a lot of photographs.  And my dad and I sure complied!!  The two of us took over 200 pictures while there!   Obviously I can’t post all 200 pictures here, as this post would be never-ending.  So, I had to choose a few of my favorites.  🙂

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On display are numerous costumes that the King of Pop wore during performances.  Seeing them in person I could not believe how tiny MJ is!  According to one of the docents, he has a 28 inch waist!   I took the above photograph for comparison –  now, I am a small girl (a size 2 usually) and look how much smaller Michael is than me!  He’s like half my size!!!

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Michael had 114 arcade games at Neverland Ranch, all of which are in working order and on display at the exhibit.  Apparently, when the auction was still set to happen, the arcade games were garnering the most attention.  Not from Michael Jackson fans, though, but video game enthusiasts.  🙂

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On display were both a personal letter from then-president Ronald Regan offering his condolences after the pop star’s accident while filming a Pepsi commercial,

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and the original contract MJ signed with the William Morris Agency on May 21, 1970.  As an actress, seeing his agency contract absolutely fascinated me! 

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Numerous awards were also on display, including a fairly banged up American Video Award for “Beat It” from 1983.

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 Countless Disney items were featured, most of them presented to the pop star from Disney themselves, including several animatronic window displays which were located at the entrance to Neverland’s movie theatre.

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Also on display was a huge collection of the singer’s blinged out clothes;

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and sparkly gloves;

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including THE glove;

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his wax figure from Madame Tussauds in London;

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his household furniture, including China, silverware, and glasses;

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hundreds upon hundreds of statuaries;

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a huge collection of cars, including three limousines, a Neverland Ranch firetruck, and several mini-cars that look like they might have once been part of a Disneyland ride;

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and his tour bus complete with a ginormous plasma TV and a huge marble bathroom with a bidet.

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But my absolute favorite part of the exhibit was the large stage set up in the main room that featured a huge movie screen  that played the Michael Jackson: Live In Bucharest  DVD on loop.  It was amazing to be walking around what basically amounts to a replica of Neverland Ranch while listening to music from the pop star himself.   My dad pretty much stood mesmerized watching that DVD for a good 45 minutes.  🙂

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And, of course, I just had to do the Thriller  dance.  🙂

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I cannot recommend stalking the Michael Jackson exhibit enough!!  If you are at all a fan of the pop star, or are enthralled with celebrity in general, you MUST stalk the exhibit.  It was an AMAZING experience for me – a once in a lifetime, really – and I can’t even believe I got to see it all with my own two eyes.  BIG THANK YOU to Amanda for letting me know about the auction!!!! 

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: You can visit the Michael Jackson Exhibit by Julien’s Auctions through this Saturday, April 25th in the old Robinsons-May building, which is located at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, directly next door to the Beverly Hilton Hotel.  The exhibit is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Admission is $20 per person.   Parking is $10.  I’d allow yourself a minimum of two hours to see the exhibit.  Ladies, if you carry expensive purses, I suggest you leave them at home as you will have to check all bags at the door.  Cameras, however, are welcomed and encouraged!  🙂  You can visit the Michael Jackson Exhibit website, where you can watch videos about the exhibition and browse through the five auction catalogs, here.

Never Never Land

Now, even though he has some issues – I do love me some MJ. So I was quite distressed to find out last weekend that MJ’s ranch, Neverland, is in a state of disarray and might be sold and torn down. I just happened to be spending a couple of days in Santa Barbara, so I figured I better go check the place out while I still had the chance.  I dragged my poor boyfriend 45 miles north of SB to Santa Ynez to stalk at the famed gates of Neverland Ranch.

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Even though it wasn’t the greatest stalking location and there wasn’t much to see – I was still pretty excited to be able to do the Thriller dance right on MJ’s property! 🙂

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I thought for sure I’d get to see at least the very tip top of one of the roller coasters, or maybe the roof of the mansion, or at the very minimum the famous golden gates with “Neverland” written across them that the media always shows on newscasts about the pop star.  Unfortunately, none of that can be seen from the street.  All that is viewable to the public from Figueroa Mountain Road is a guard house and a simple wooden gate. 

The Guard Shack

The guard house does look like it is straight out of Fantasyland, though – exactly like Snow White’s Castle, but with a Direct TV dish on the roof! 

 Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It:  Neverland Ranch is located at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road in Los Olivos, CA.  It is waaaaaaaay out there in the middle of nowhere and I wouldn’t recommend driving all that way just to see a Disney-esque guard shack.  I would suggest instead doing your stalking from home on this one- armed with your laptop and live local search – you get to see a lot more that way!