Thought I would post this here since it is related to HFE-
From the Orlando Sentinel (
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-stampede0808jan08,0,1043987.story)
*************************Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede closed abruptly Monday afternoon when its owners told the staff of the giant dinner theater that they had sold the attraction's 13-acre site east of Walt Disney World to an undisclosed buyer.
Although rumors of a sale and layoffs had circulated among employees for the past week, the company had adamantly denied as recently as Monday morning that a shutdown was in the works.
The attraction's namesake and part owner, country singer and actress Dolly Parton, issued a statement saying the property's new owner had made a compelling offer. No sales price was announced, and the buyer was not identified.
The attraction's owners, who operate three other locations in the South, said they hoped to open elsewhere in the Orlando area but had not found a new location yet. In the meantime, they filed notice with the state that they were laying off 162 people starting immediately.
"We at Dixie Stampede have been blessed, but I am a firm believer in timing and opportunity," Parton said. "This was an opportunity we could not pass up. We're exploring our options now and we will be back better than ever!"
Since opening in June 2003, the Central Florida Dixie Stampede has mixed down-home dining with shows featuring horses, pigs, ostriches and a human cast of make-believe Civil War soldiers, antebellum belles and old-time zanies.
Dixie Stampede spokesman Pete Owens said the attraction had just completed its best Christmas season. He said the decision to close had nothing to do with a lack of customer interest.
"The real-estate deal wasn't completed until today," Owens said Monday afternoon. "We really couldn't communicate about it until now."
The attraction closed after Saturday's show for a scheduled weeklong refurbishment. Most of those on the job Monday were office workers, but other staffers began arriving after the announcement to pick up their things.
The attraction's giant lighted sign, which for nearly five years had caught the eyes of countless drivers from its high-profile location alongside Interstate 4, was dark Monday, and the theater's parking lot was nearly empty. One worker said the closing was hard to believe.
"We felt something was going on, but we gave them the benefit of the doubt," part-time auditor Hope Alberdeston said as she walked across the parking lot. "Even on the last show day this weekend, we didn't know. It's not right to do business like this."
Dixie Stampede LLC, the Pigeon Forge, Tenn.-based company that operated the 1,086-capacity theater, also has Dixie Stampedes in Pigeon Forge; Branson, Mo.; and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Owens, the spokesman, said those who had purchased advanced tickets would be notified of the closing and would be offered refunds or help with making other dinner-theater plans.
The company plans to give most of the 150 to 200 employees severance packages with as much as 60 days of compensation. Some would be transferred to other locations, he said, and the attraction's livestock and horses would also be moved.
Sarah Flatt, a server who had worked at Dixie Stampede for eight months, arrived at about 4:30 p.m. to retrieve some personal items. She said she wasn't pleased with the way the closing was handled.
"A company this large could have at least held a meeting Saturday night to tell us what was going on," she said. "Some people have been here five years, and they aren't at all happy. I mean, all we know now is that we don't have jobs."
By Christopher Boyd.*************************Very sad that all these people abruptly lost their jobs. I had read before that the Orlando location had attendance problems early on, but that they were doing well by the second year or so. The article states that "the decision to close had nothing to do with a lack of customer interest", so I assume they were given a cash offer on the property that they just couldn't pass up.
Show Posts
Off topic here, but I liked that comment. Kidsfest is one thing I wish Dollywood hadn't imported over from SDC...I remember when you could visit in the summer and just enjoy the park in regular mode without any tacky decorations or festival booths clogging up the walkways.