Celebration City Closes, Possible Redevelopment Planned

[Jason]

Herschend Family Entertainment Closes Celebration City,
   Explores New Development Concepts in Branson
   
(Branson, MO 10/24/08) Due to a shift in business strategy, Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) announced today the closure of Celebration City in Branson, Missouri.  The company is already exploring various new development concepts for the site including an aquarium, other family attractions, re-theming the current park and also, destination retail and dining. The park will close at end of day on Saturday, October 25, the last scheduled operating day of the season.
 
HFE properties in the region employ more than 2,000 year-round and seasonal positions.   Approximately 18 full-time positions are directly impacted by the closure, and the company is able to find new roles for most of those individuals.     Seasonal employees will have the opportunity to interview for 2009 seasonal positions at Silver Dollar City, White Water and the Showboat Branson Belle.

   “As with businesses across the country, we have had to carefully examine our future strategic plans.  We need to make smart, forward-thinking decisions in a tough economic climate.  HFE has operated attractions in Branson for nearly fifty years and our businesses there have continued to expand with the market growth. We are confident Branson will continue to grow as one of America’s premier vacation destinations for the long-term.  As we plan the re-development of the Celebration City property, we will focus on projects with strong appeal to new and returning visitors to the market,” said Joel Manby, president and chief executive officer for Herschend Family Entertainment.

[Swoosh]

So I guess we know where the new rides for 2009 are going to come from.
How sad.

[sdcforever]

This is distressing news.

On the website they've already announced the 2009 dates for Moonlight Madness and KidsFest at SDC, along with the deal to buy 2009 season passes before December 30, 2008 at the 2008 pre-season price.  So, expectedly, ticket prices are going up and all they have to show for it right now are the 2009 Moonlight Madness and KidsFest.  Interesting marketing strategy.

I feel bad for the CC employees, who get to compete with the returning seasonal employees of SDC, WW, and the Branson Belle for jobs next year.

Check it out for yourself here.  They list Moonlight Madness and KidsFest under "2009 News", followed by an invitation to get your 2009 season passes.
http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/sdcattractions.aspx

[Dukefan]

Ehhh, not really a surprise.  Honestly I never expected much out of this park from the moment it was announced.  Still said to see it go...well at least in it's current form, anyway.

[StaceySue]

Dang!  Now I'm depressed.  If I had known it was the last time I would've been at CC last weekend, I would've spent more time there.  We probably saw the fireworks and laser show for the last time.  Man, this is sad.  You know, my husband and I spent our wedding night there with our friends and family.  I know it wasn't open that long, but we made lots of memories there, including last weekend for our adult-only trip.  Well, I guess we'll see what happens. . .

[saladdays]

I'm going there tomorrow.  The first time I've gone this year, and the last time I'll ever go.

[shavethewhales]

I knew the place was doing somewhat poorly, but I never expected this, at least not this early. This really seems like a wild swing to take, the park needed more time to really prove itself.

I can only hope that they'll keep OzCat as a side attraction to whatever else they throw in there.

Thinking about it more though, the park really was struggling, and it needs a re-organization if it's going to be profitable. I don't think they're necessarily talking about gutting the park completely at this point - just turning it into more of a Wild Adventures type of place that's less like an amusement park and more of an unique attraction. I'm pretty confident OzCat will stay where it is, and that's honestly all I'm concerned about.

I am disappointed that CC didn't work though. I've always said that if the park were in a different location, it'd be one of the most highly prized little parks in the world.

[Swoosh]

Accompanying the official press release from HFEC, Lisa Rau, Director of PR for Silver Dollar City Attractions issued this statement...

"As you read the release on the closure of Celebration City this weekend (its last scheduled weekend of the season), you'll see that this is a redevelopment plan for our 110 acres on Branson's western edge of the 76 strip. 

Studying the opportunities for the site of Celebration City is something we've been looking at for quite some time now.  Of course, the current economic conditions of this country have had a role in our final decision, as the economy is clearly affecting decisions in most every business and within most every family in America.

In the future, we'd like to create an anchor destination for Branson's western edge that might include an aquarium, family attractions and retail and dining. 

Those of you who know us, and know our 5-decade history, know we strive to make the most accurate of announcements, therefore, as noted in the release, these are some of the ideas we are studying. " 

She also commented that as of now, no rides will be removed from CC as they study other ideas for that area.

[History Buff]

Wouldn't making such changes reflect an even greater need for capital?  I wonder if, in their attempt to bring income to the site, they would move to a more ticketed ride system.  An aquarium would seem to require a greater investment, but with their recent aquarium experience, perhaps they are seeing a nice payoff in that area.

[Swoosh]

I wondering if they won't go to more of a "Wild Adventures" type of park as that was one option in that survey awhile back on what would you like Celebration City to become.

[History Buff]

They should stay open for two more weeks to catch some last minute crowds.  Wouldn't a lot of people want to visit before the closure?

[mike_kelly87]

I don't understand is how the HFE parks are doing so poorly and chains like CF can hand out distributions to thier shareholders. This is pretty sad and means they are serverly out of touch with their customer base. Not to mention out of whac on some of thier marketing. Here are some examples from several of thier parks:

1. Celebration City, what kind of park is this? For they longest time they have touted "have fun at SDC durring to the day CC is the night spot". What is SDC typical closing time? 7-8pm in the summer, CC cities is 9pm sometimes 10pm. So I leave SDC at 7pm spend the :30 minute drive to CC (if you can ake there in that time becuse of traffic). That leaves me n hour and a half at CC. Most of the go-cart track in Branson are open until at least Midnight. This has been my big compalint with CC since day one. It is supposed to be a nighttime destination and they really aren't open at night. Even WOF and SF have midnight madness why couldn't they do this here?

2. How much expansion have they done since opening worth talking about? 1 Ride that they bought from a closed park? You could say they added a ride in 2007 but they took one out in 2006. Too keep repeat visitiors interested you have have to keep upating and changing. Without this why would someone want to travel here from KC or STL?

3. Let's raise prices and take away from the visitor. My example of this was the fact that an all cities pass would get you in to Dollywood for free in 2007. This was reduced to a measly discount in 2008. If I purchase a CF Platinum Pass for $150-$160 depending on which park you buy from, or a SF Pass for $60 not only do I get into ALL the parks, I also get waterpark access. FYI My all cities pass this year was $140 yeah they are open for Christmas, but that is only 1 park and it's really that big of a deal? (By the way Six Flags in Dalls is open for Christmas).  My point is all cities should mean all parks all locations especaily since they are charging as much as CF does and they own the Roller Coaster Caiptol of the World.

4. Let's pick on White Water for a moment. Where do I begin on this one. Sheesh, the cement at the wave pool and lazy river are crumbling, bad. If you noticed the park's cement areas look like they were painted by a 3 year old with ADHD. Dive in Movies and concerts used to be a BIG draw, they have been gone for several years. They took out the tall water slide only to replce it with the same thing only a little taller, yeah I know they added the racing slides. You know the ones they spent a bunch of money to put timers on this year they that don't ever use... Other than that the only other "new" ride they have done was to take out a rapids and body speed slide and put in 2 prosildes. Looks like a downgrade to me considering there is one less item there and you have put in sldes similar to what you already had.



Ok, I could keep going on about this and everyone here knows what I am talking about. Don't get me wrong here I like the parks and have always bought passes. MY point is they should have been expanding in the "good" years so they could keep the numbers up in the bad. It's my opinion that CC hs been stagnat since they year after they openend it and never had a real direction of wether or not they wanted a kiddie park with limited attendance or a World Class theme park. I have the same opinion of SDC but the question is, do they want to cater to the much older generation that can't walk up the hil, or appeal to the < 50 crowd. We have become a world of adrenaline junkies. My fear is that they have waited too long to make some important decisions and unless the economy turns around the whole corp may be doomed.


Just think of it this way, we may all know what the Officail decision is in 1 week. After all if the "new" concept is opening next eason and will have a season pass available for entry, they go on sale Nov 1....

If they try to jack the prices way up for 2 parks, I will go without. May do that anyways becuse I want to take a midwest coaster tour again next year since all the other parks have new rides/coasters from this year and next.

[History Buff]

I think the problem with CC was stated:  they want it to be "an anchor destination for Branson's western edge" and clearly it is not.  Selling season passes is a great way to make money up front, but until there is something inside the park to get money out of visitors' pants, the cash is really not flowing.

Marketing to a younger crowd means you can sell a few souvenirs and cheap trinkets and carnival food, but where are the quality items that you can't get anywhere else?  Where is the really nice restaurant and really quality shopping areas that people would actually pay admission to shop and eat in?  Rides are attractions but they only sell tickets - they don't invite people to open their wallets once inside the park.

I think that's what they are investigating with this move.  They should have researched it better before they bought Branson USA.  They started correctly with the retooling they did before the first year, but they dropped the ball when they just focused on bringing in used carnival rides.

That's not to say the whole thing is dead.  I don't think HFE plans to lose money on this.  That one statement - "an anchor destination for Branson's western edge" - gives me some real hope that we may see something worth visiting in the future.

[marolinesdad]

I did notice that Moonlight Madness is happening July 21 through August 9, 2009 and those days they are open from 9:30AM - 10:00PM..  That has really extended that time from a few days.  This must be a new festival instead of just a 2 or 3 day deal that they have added.

[shavethewhales]

Gah, I hope that it's just an extension of hours and not the whole MM package. That'd be a huge step towards SDC abandoning what they are altogether. It's nice to see that SDC can go back to long hours if they want though.

I definitely need to contact them for more on this. Anyone know more?