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Neverland Valley Ranch (thoughts, opinions and more)

frozenray

frozenray

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Greetings everyone,

in the last few weeks I have been thinking quite a lot about the ranch and what it once used to be. To both Michael and the fans/the public. I looked up the forum. There are a few threads on Neverland, but couldn't really discover one about how you actually think or feel about this place. I would like to start this thread, so we can share our thoughts.

I have never been someone, who thought Neverland was a strange place and why there was a grown man living in an amusement park. I actually find it quite interesting. We know Michael was missing things while beeing young, while beeing a child. And it in some way fascinates me, how he managed to help his soul in some kind of way, by creating a world around him, where he could just be himself.

It truly must have been a magical place, when I look at pictures of the lake, the train etc. But at the same time it also reflects sadness and makes me think about how he must have felt on the inside, to really have that much motivation and well, carrying quite a lot of lonelyness to create a place like Neverland.

Is there any information about expanding Neverland? I remember Michael telling a kid in Living with Michael Jackson, that they were planning to "build a water park on the other side of the mountiain" and I somewhere read about Neverland 2? Was Michael actually planning to build a second Neverland? Maybe someone has some information about what was true and what wasn't.

Thanks.
 
Interesting topic.

There's a lot to say, but to start with, I think he underestimated the cost for upkeep of the ranch. It was a massive property and he added carousels, animals and all sorts of stuff over time. Building that train station, cinema. It was a money sink for sure. I get the impression since he had the Beatles catalogue and made a lot from the Bad Tour, he was financially secured for life. But it put him in a vulnerable position. From my understanding, Neverland was not bought entirely with pocket money, a pretty large chunk of it was made from loans and mortgages. I read somewhere that he was already in debt by around 2 million in the very early 90's.

But.... we are talking about Michael Jackson. He wanted it larger than life, and while he had experience living at the Lindbrook Condo in the early 80's, this was naturally not something he planned to do for the rest of his life. Sure, he could have gotten a New York penthouse like David Bowie (or similarly), and maybe that would have been better for him. Neverland was very isolated, and he felt very lonely at times. Unless you didn't bring people there, you would essentially live like a recluse. Instead, he opted for spending the time outside the property itself, often travelling. And then allowed people to spend time there in his absence. From my understanding the amusement park and his estate was separated. And Michael was rarely seen by the visitors. So it seems to me it was a very selfless act. He did not just sought ways to erase his loneliness, but he wanted his visitors to have a good time. Neverland, in his view, was for everyone!

He wanted to make it the perfect dreamworld. And maybe that's where he wanted to invest his time fully, if it weren't for the allegations. Would he be done after the Dangerous Tour? He said he would be done after the Bad Tour, but that did not materialize. Would there be a HIStory tour without the allegations? In the sense that he wanted to prove himself to the world again. After the History Tour, Michael was fully invested in life as a father, spending more time at Neverland. He was raising his new family. Until tragedy struck again in November 2003...
 
Michael4MyLife said:
Interesting topic.

There's a lot to say, but to start with, I think he underestimated the cost for upkeep of the ranch. It was a massive property and he added carousels, animals and all sorts of stuff over time. Building that train station, cinema. It was a money sink for sure. I get the impression since he had the Beatles catalogue and made a lot from the Bad Tour, he was financially secured for life. But it put him in a vulnerable position. From my understanding, Neverland was not bought entirely with pocket money, a pretty large chunk of it was made from loans and mortgages. I read somewhere that he was already in debt by around 2 million in the very early 90's.

But.... we are talking about Michael Jackson. He wanted it larger than life, and while he had experience living at the Lindbrook Condo in the early 80's, this was naturally not something he planned to do for the rest of his life. Sure, he could have gotten a New York penthouse like David Bowie (or similarly), and maybe that would have been better for him. Neverland was very isolated, and he felt very lonely at times. Unless you didn't bring people there, you would essentially live like a recluse. Instead, he opted for spending the time outside the property itself, often travelling. And then allowed people to spend time there in his absence. From my understanding the amusement park and his estate was separated. And Michael was rarely seen by the visitors. So it seems to me it was a very selfless act. He did not just sought ways to erase his loneliness, but he wanted his visitors to have a good time. Neverland, in his view, was for everyone!

He wanted to make it the perfect dreamworld. And maybe that's where he wanted to invest his time fully, if it weren't for the allegations. Would he be done after the Dangerous Tour? He said he would be done after the Bad Tour, but that did not materialize. Would there be a HIStory tour without the allegations? In the sense that he wanted to prove himself to the world again. After the History Tour, Michael was fully invested in life as a father, spending more time at Neverland. He was raising his new family. Until tragedy struck again in November 2003...
Click to expand...

You might be right. Well not only Michael himself but Neverland sure invited attention back then, when the ranch reached to its peak. $5 - 6 mio annual expenses to keep the ranch running was pretty wild imo. But I guess they somehow got to manage that. Michael had up to 180 workers over there at times. Thinking about that, it must have been nice, to be part of the whole thing. I mean, I wouldn't have mind waking up and leave home as an Neverland employee. šŸ˜„

Does anyone know when this concept was created?

i92yrh6nd23a1.jpg
 
Think it was a beautiful addition to m career, his well being and to his assets. Until they raided it and searched for things which weren't there.
But to begin I would like to think it was a very magical safe spot. I loved the giving tree idea. Welcome back @frozenray
 
He did a lot obviously but it was already a beautiful ranch before MJ; that's why he bought it in the first place. I think George Lucas having his 'Skywalker Ranch', Spielberg's property and Walt Disney having a train in his backyard helped too. And maybe that it resembled the Old English vibes of Hayvenhurst perhaps..?
 
I believe that life on the ranch isolated him even more. On the other hand, he could be himself there, far away from the press.
 
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