MJ’s children busy restoring their dad’s beloved Neverland Ranch home

Photo by: Jeff Rayner/Coleman-Rayner

Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch is looking better after his children began restoring the infamous 3,000-acre estate near Santa Barbara.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Four years ago, Neverland lay in ruins after Michael Jackson’s death. The fair rides were rusting away, the staff had been dismissed and the grounds were abandoned.

But thanks to the efforts of Michael Jackson’s children, the 3,000-acre site is well on the road to recovery.

Photo by: KIM KULISH/AFP/Getty Images

Michael Jackson with then-wife Lisa Marie Presley and kids at ranch in 1995.

According to sources close to the estate in Los Olivos, Calif., the family has taken little interest in Neverland and not one person has visited it since his death in 2009 — apart from Prince, 16, Paris, 15, and Blanket, 12.

Photo by Jeff Rayner/Coleman-Rayner

Neverland has never looked better, says one source.

Paris spoke out last week about her heartbreaking visit to Neverland two years ago to find it in ruins, saying she is determined to rebuild Neverland to its former glory so that underprivileged children can enjoy it.

Photo by Jeff Rayner/Coleman-Rayner

Estate is looking how it always should have, source said.

Pictures prove the children have won the battle of wills with the Jackson family.

At Neverland last week, household staff and security said that Jackson’s siblings or parents have never bothered to visit Neverland since his death. But they only had words of praise for the children, with one security guard saying: “Neverland has been completely revitalized. There’s a full set of staff and people in charge who care about the place.”

Photo by: Michael Hickey/WireImage

Michael’s daughter Paris Jackson.

The bright yellow flowers spelling Neverland have been restored next to the main house, but this time flowers shaped in a butterfly have been added to one bed. There’s also a new section in the gardens of an image of a boy in a moon, similar to Peter Pan — the favorite fairy-tale character of Michael Jackson and his children.

Photo by Jeff Rayner/Coleman-Rayner

Aerial view of the grounds of the lush, 3,000-acre estate. The grassland is now mowed and irrigated daily.

The bustling fairground has been replaced with a tranquil “Zen garden.” The Ferris wheel, swings and other fairground rides have been removed, and expert horticulturists have replaced them with a calm seating area surrounded by lush topiary carved into animal shapes.

Photo by: LOIS BERNSTEIN/AP

Neverland Ranch in 1995.

Red tail kites, brown eagles and turkey buzzards are nesting in the grounds and grassland, which are irrigated and mowed daily. The fountains and pool has been filled with water again.

“Neverland has never looked better,” said a source. “More staff have been employed — they’ve got full-time gardeners, household staff, proper security and people are now looking after the house like it should have always been when Michael was alive.”

Source: New York Daily News / MJ-Upbeat.com

Please Note: The ranch was already being restored well before this. Tom Barrack and his Colony Capital company have been hard at work restoring it for the past few years. - MJ-Upbeat.com

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