By 1963, further financial issues led the owners to sell off a portion of Freedomland's site to a pension fund of the Teamsters, as well as close off a section of the park.

[7] Early the next year, a site was selected: a portion of a 400-acre (160 ha) plot owned by Webb and Knapp in the northeast Bronx section of New York City.

[40] Advertising agent Edward Weiner wished to invite politicians such as the administration of U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower; all members of the U.S. Congress; the governors of all 50 U.S. states; and United Nations delegates to the park's opening.

[41] The opening was postponed to July 1 so the park could be ready for the expected crowds, then rescheduled again to June 18 due to high excitement generated by the marketing campaign.

[51] To draw more visitors, Freedomland started a second advertising campaign on that day, targeting ten major populated areas within a radius of 125 miles (201 km).

[24][51][55] On opening day, one security guard was quoted as saying that the drinking fountains were non-functional, the restrooms were few and far between, the concessionaires were poorly equipped for operation, and many exhibits were not yet painted or decorated.

[45][61] Under Wood's leadership, Freedomland's designers created a history-themed concept, divided into seven themed areas based on the history of the United States.

Of the 16 areas and attractions announced in an August 1959 press release, 12 were operating on opening day, some of which were themed to a completely different time span than in the original plan.

[2][44] The premises included 8 miles (13 km) of navigable waterways and lakes, 10,000 newly planted trees, more than 18 restaurants and snack bars, and parking for 7,200 cars for guests and 1,800 for employees.

[19][20][63] Furthermore, the presence of several highways, such as the New England Thruway, made the site accessible from the surrounding New York metropolitan area, whose population exceeded 10 million.

[72] The Little Old New York section, at the north end of the park, was closest to the main entrance and contained an information booth, stroller rental, and lockers.

[73] Attractions included: Restaurants and refreshments included Borden's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor;[78] F&M Schaefer Brewery, an old-fashioned brewery sponsored by Schaefer Beer;[79] Kandy King Candy Shop;[80] Lipton's Inn and Lipton's Tea House;[78] New York Coffee House;[78] and Welch's Grape Juice Bar, a beverage bar located near the New England vineyard.

[98] There was also the Santa Fe Opera House and Saloon, a soft drink bar that featured a 30-minute stage show with a four-piece band, showgirls, singers and comedians.

[131] Zeckendorf also hired Art K. Moss, a marketing expert, who cut costs by decreasing the $150,000 weekly payroll by 20% and forbidding employees from collecting overtime.

[30][61][58] To entice visitors, Freedomland started to add more traditional amusement rides, such as the Moon Bowl dance floor, as well as expanded its schedule of performances.

[116] To combat the park's declining reputation, Moss announced that taxicab drivers of New York City and their families would be able to enter Freedomland for free.

[148] The park also offered concerts, which featured acts such as Louis Armstrong,[149] the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Benny Goodman, and Paul Anka.

[154][155] As Webb and Knapp's financial troubles increased in the 1960s,[156] the firm placed the site of the proposed Freedomland Inn for sale at an auction in July 1963,[157] with a minimum asking price of $2 million.

Webb and Knapp faced serious financial troubles of its own, in part because of declining revenues from its hotels, prompting the firm to write off its entire investment in Freedomland in 1963.

[171] Zeckendorf was also considering ways to keep Freedomland open year-round, proposing ideas such as a ski slope, a horse-racing track, a bowling alley, and a series of Christmas events.

A third factor was Freedomland's weak sense of identity, as people wishing for more traditional attractions could go to other places like Coney Island or Rye Playland.

William Zeckendorf said in 1970 that Freedomland was a "placeholder" to obtain land variances to permit more lucrative residential and commercial development of the marshland; the durability of the amusement structures obviated the need to undergo a proper monitoring period of 15 to 20 years.

Subsequently, Prestige Properties and Development Company proposed redeveloping part of the site as a commercial and office complex in 1990, following the completion of the adjacent Bay Plaza.

[203] Furthermore, most of the attractions were themed on the American frontier,[65] a factor influenced by Wood's and Raynor's respective upbringings in Texas and Chicago,[204] as well as Zeckendorf's grandfather's adventures in Arizona Territory.

For instance, at the groundbreaking ceremony, writer Gay Talese observed that the park, characterized by its backers as the future "'greatest outdoor entertainment center in the history of man'", was to be built on such a "vast wasteland".

[26] Historian Walter Muir Whitehill described Freedomland as an operation with a "veneer of pseudo history" whose main purpose was to make money.

[207] Time magazine wrote of the simulated attractions in the park, which included "an electromagnetic dragon [and] real buffalo grazing the prairies", as well as so-called "birch-bark Chippewa war canoes" that were actually fiberglass Cherokee ships.

Miller praised Freedomland as "an open-air theatre [that] promised not historical truth but national myth, infused with a spirit", while he questioned whether Disney's America was "a theme park or a bad night on PBS".

[110][211] In nearby neighborhoods such as Williamsbridge, motels built primarily for Freedomland remained operational, despite the death of visitor attractions in the northeast Bronx.

[221] The Crystal Maze, Danny the Dragon, an interior diorama of the Mine Caverns, the Tornado dark ride, and the King Rex Carrousel were moved to The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom, when it was owned by Charles R. Wood and known as Storytown USA, in Lake George, New York.