Celebration City closing for good
Herschend-owned property to be redeveloped; strategic and economic factors cited.
Well, crud.
Just landing in our inboxes, Herschend Family Entertainment has announced the closure of Celebration City, effective at the close of business tomorrow. Strategic and economic factors were cited, and officials say they'll seek to redevelop the property on Branson's Highway 76 strip as another family-oriented destination.
Herschend Family Entertainment also owns Silver Dollar City, Showboat Branson Belle and White Water in Branson, as well as other properties worldwide.
Let us know your thoughts on the closure in the comments below.
Matt Lemmon, web editor
[Begin full press release]
(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.
[End press release]
Reader Comments:
Maybe if they wouldn't have beed so against a casino coming to town thing might have been better. KARMA....hehe
Because casinos are apparently immune to economic turmoil.
Oh snap! You need money to spend at a casino!
I hope SDC stays open a lot longer into the night now that Celebration City is closed.
HFE owns many theme parks ect. in other states. Standing against a casino coming to the area has nothing to do with the success of HFE. Here's the deal though. All it would take is one casino getting it's foot in the door and others would follow and ruin Branson forever. I live here, we don't want them. If you like the casino environment, go vacation someplace else!
sdc is the greatest place on earth!! need more resturants/lodging near it-possibly celebraton city ? need redlights in branson
would be nice to see a resort focused on SDC. Wouldn't have to get into all the traffic on the strip. SDC needs extended hours.
We loved visiting Branson and bringing our family to Celebration City. Many special memories were made there. This news absolutely devastated me. I am so glad that we got to attend 1 last time! Our kids will really miss this place.
And we hope the casino's never come to Branson like they have come to our hometown, Tulsa, where we have seen increased crime, decreased quality of life. That is why we loved going away to Branson! Please build something even better in place of Celebration City!
My family attended Celebration City on the first day it opened for business, and we have returned each year since. I'm sorry to see it close, and hope that SDC will operate with extended hours and continue to add more major rides for older kids and adults.
My family really enjoyed Celebration City and I found it to be much more reasonably priced than SDC. I hope that SDC does stay open later, but it would be nice if it was more economical as well.
Bad news for Celebration City and Branson. With the country in recession, people aren't going to be taking so many vacations or going to amusement parks. Celebration City is first on the Herschend chopping block; look for White Water to fold next. If Silver Dollar City shuts down, then we're in worse trouble than we know!
Casinos are bad news! The people trying to get them built are telling lies and taking your money!! Branson is THE best Vacation spot around for good family fun. Bring a casino in and something special will be lost!! Thank You HFE for taking a stand!