hershen family entertainment is a themed attractions corporation
host to 25 different properties including theme parks
water parks aquariums and much more based and operated in the united states
the company is the nation's largest family-owned themed attractions
corporation having been owned by the hershen family
since its inception as of 2019 the business entertains over
14 million guests each year by creating memories worth repeating in
a manner that is consistent with the family's christian values and ethics
despite owning a range of properties the chain is perhaps most famous for their
theme parks including dollywood wild adventures and
silver dollar city in fact it was the latter silver dollar
city that would spark the formation of herschen family entertainment over 70
years ago the origin of hershey can be traced back
350 million years ago to the formation of cabins within the ozark mountains due
to deposits of limestone one of these caves
eventually named marvel cave had been discovered numerous times
but it was in 1894 when the cave would open as a tourist attraction
half a century later in 1946 hugo and mary hershen visited the expansive cave
having heard that the doors of the original owner were looking to sell the
cave hugo negotiated a 99-year lease on the
land in 1950 becoming the owner in the process the
hershen company was born initially the family set about upgrading
and improving the caves in the attempt to improve visitor numbers
this led to a train being installed within the cabins which brought guests
from the depths of the cave to the surface
improving capacity and accessibility by 1959
65 000 people were visiting the property each year
generating over 200 000 us dollars in revenue
naturally it was time to expand the herschens created a small village near
the cave themed to an 1880s mining town by
building this the family wanted to create a living
community with a general store blacksmith shop ice cream parlor
authentic log cabins and a church the village was named
silver dollar city in reference to the decision to give
guests silver dollars as change to promote the new attraction by 1964
the themed park attracted over 450 000 visitors equating to 3 million u.s
dollars in revenues by this point in time both silver dollar
city and the marvel cave were being operated by hugo and mary's sons
jack and pete hirschend after a multitude of successes
and with jack as the ceo the brothers continued to expand their attractions
maintaining the christian values at the heart of the company
by 1976 silver dollar city saw over 1.4 million annual visitors
employing over 800 members of staff it was time for the hershey
business to expand away from its birthplace the brothers sites fell upon
a park in pigeon forge tennessee known as gold rush junction they
purchased the park for two million dollars in 1976
renaming it silver dollar city in the process though
the family found replicating the experience in a different region
initially challenging this ultimately discouraged the brothers from building
more silver dollar city parks keeping it to just too as a result the
company instead expanded into the water park industry for the first time
white water in branson missouri opened in 1980
consisting of multiple waterslides rides and pools
in the years following pershing would go on to open a further four
white water parks in oklahoma city grand prairie
garland and atlanta however over the next two decades
these four parks were gradually sold off to wet and wild premier parks
and six flags despite this the brothers gained a greater appreciation for
dealing with multiple properties in multiple states
to help sustain the growing business they also created a board of six people
only two of which would ever belong to the hershen family
by including external opinions on major business decisions
the brothers hoped to ensure all developments were a positive move for
the company although silver dollar city in tennessee
was initially successful the popularity of the park
soared after they secured a deal with dolly parton a well-known country artist
at the time dolly was made aware of the original
silver dollar city park in the early 1980s and after visiting
was inspired to open a park of her own in tennessee
instead the herschens approached dolly proposing a partnership between the two
to operate silver dollar city in pigeon forge tennessee
as a result the park became known as dollywood in 1986.
naturally the 1990s saw the chain grow further
investing in new and exciting properties in branson
they built the grand theatre palace in conjunction with kenny rogers
a 4 000 seat theatre this was followed by the grand village shops
an ozark-themed shopping complex near the palace and the debut of a second
theatre in pigeon forge however overwhelming costs led to all
three properties being sold in the years following
nevertheless by 1955 the company had become a big success
gaining over 100 million us dollars in profit and
attracting over 1.7 million visitors to their silver dollar city theme park
in 1998 they entered a partnership with the state of georgia to manage the
historical stone mountain park located near atlanta this was followed
by the debut of dolly splash country dollywood's very own water park in 2001
it was at this point that the company also partnered with ride the ducks
an attraction that used amphibious world war ii vehicles to take guests on water
tours they quickly went on to expand the
franchise to do cities before acquiring the business in 2004
a decade later in 2017 it was then sold to ripley entertainment
however during this time hershey saw a range of new ceos come and go from the
chain firstly as jack was getting too old for
the role they reached out to someone external from the family
carey summers a former bass pro retail executive
took on the position for seven years brokering several deals
including the one to operate stone mounted park this was followed directly
by mel bilbo a former disney executive who would go
on to add a new part to the chain's portfolio
one that ultimately didn't succeed in 1999
an amusement park named branson usa opened to the public
an 8 minute drive away from silver dollar city the park struggled upon its
debut eventually closing in 2001. looking to
expand their offering hershey and family entertainment
purchased the amusement park in 2002 with plans to redevelop and reopen it to
the public as a result the newly renovated
celebration city opened to guests in 2002 through a 40
million us dollar investment the park saw new rides firework displays
laser shows and a route 66 theme overall the company intended
celebration city to be a nightlife park attracting visitors to continue their
fun after visiting silver dollar city earlier in the day
to differentiate itself the park opened at 3 pm
and was free to the public operating a paper ride scheme
sadly it failed to catch on miscommunication about the payment
structure and the lack of popularity regarding the park itself
led to its demise ultimately in 2008 hershey enclosed celebration city due to
a lack of profits though before it opened to the public
mel bilbo left his role as ceo being replaced by joel manby in 2003.
the after the company officially gained the name we know today
progressing from herschend in 1950 to silver dollar city corporation in 1980
and finally hershey and family entertainment in 2004.
more recently in 2015 joel manby stepped down as the ceo to become ceo of
seaworld entertainment allowing for andrew wexler to take his
position prior to the closure of celebration city in 2006
jack and pete herschend both retired from the company
upon leaving the brothers expressed their faith in the leadership team they
had created and their hope for the business to
remain family owned the following year saw a major expansion
for the chain acquiring three new attractions they
purchased both newport aquarium and the adventure aquarium
as well as wild adventures a theme park in georgia
the park became the chain's third and smallest featuring a distinct focus on
animals though after the failure of celebration
city in 2008 the chain decided against investing in
large parks and attractions instead opting to expand their smaller
offerings in 2010 the company continued to invest
constructing dollywood cabins a lodging location in pigeon forge tennessee
by this point in time the herschen chain as a whole had an annual attendance of
9.6 million from attractions in a handful of
different states nevertheless the business continued to expand they
entered a deal with c l lifestyle properties to operate both
darien lake and e-lich gardens in new york and
colorado respectively though these contracts were short-lived
as operations of english gardens were transferred back to c
l lifestyle properties in 2013 while darion lake was sold to premier parks in
2014. hershend also took an interesting step
at roughly the same point in time by purchasing the harlem globetrotters
an american exhibition basketball team when asked about the decision ceo joel
manby stated that it fit perfectly into the company's
family orientated operations most recently the chain has continued to
expand their attractions offerings mostly in the form of new accommodation
dollywood's dreamworld resort a 307 room hotel and spa designed around
family togetherness and the smoky mountains
opened to the public in 2016. whilst in 2019
they reached an agreement to operate and manage the callaway resort and gardens
in pine mountain georgia as of late august 2020
hershey family entertainment now owns or operates over 25 different properties
which employ 10 000 members of staff and attract 14
million visitors annually most of these properties can currently
be seen on screen now from the chain's three theme parks to their diverse range
of accommodation offerings you can view a standalone image of all
of hershey's properties via a link in the description below but
since we're big fans of theme parks let's explore just those attractions in
more depth since its opening in 1960 silver dollar
city has continued to expand gaining new roller coasters and distinct
areas located in branson missouri the park's hillside forest setting
provides a fantastic backdrop for its 31 different
attractions being the company's oldest theme park
it's seen many changes over the decades which have helped to refine the park's
identity and atmosphere today silver dollar city offers a wide
range of rides and roller coasters for all the family to enjoy
as well as immersive and unique experiences themed to an 1880s ozark
village despite its long history it's arguably
the last decade that has placed the park on the theme park map attractions such
as outlaw run the world's first wooden roller coaster to feature multiple
inversions and time traveler the world's first
double launched spinning coaster have allowed silver dollar city to stand
out on a national stage since purchasing the park in 1976
herschend has continued to expand dollywood at a rapid pace
located in pigeon forge tennessee it's become larger than the chain's original
theme park featuring more rides and attracting a
higher number of annual visitors this in part has been due to the partnership
with dolly parton and her involvement within the theme park
currently dollywood features over 50 different rides and has always been
eager to invest in exciting and unique roller coaster attractions
this includes tennessee tornado often considered to be one of aerodynamics
best looping coasters mystery mine a thematic roller coaster
experience wild eagle america's first wing coaster
and lightning rod the world's first and only launch to wooden roller coaster
similar to its sister park the quality of the attractions available to guests
have placed dollywood on the theme park map
pershing's most recent theme park acquisition came in the form of wild
adventures in 2007 since then the zoological theme park
located in claytonville georgia has opened a whole host of new
attractions guests can not only experience a range of roller coasters
but also see an assortment of animals though on a different scale and level of
quality to both silver dollar city and dollywood wild adventures charm and
small town atmosphere attracts many guests from the local area
as a family business rooted deeply in christian values
hershey's attitude is different to most companies the business will only
progress in line with their values which focus on four key areas
we greatly exceed guests expectations we serve
others we create emotional connections and
we constantly improve all four of these greater areas
along with their mission statement creating memories worth repeating
steer the company in a positive direction hersh and attractions have
something for everyone they help to serve the greater community
around them they hope to bring families together
and they invest in both people and properties to grow
by doing this they aim to not only create an atmosphere that serves as a
place for fun and entertainment but also craft an experience that is
memorable for all ages for years to come at a regional level hershey and family
entertainment are one of the leaders within the industry for providing
immersive family experiences though it doesn't seem that hirschender
looking to acquire any new major attractions anytime soon
the attractions they do operate are expertly run
and well maintained their flagship theme parks silver dollar city in dollywood
are well loved by all feature an atmosphere unmatched across
most of the united states and continuously seen new investments
silver dollar city saw the debut of mystic river fools
a highly themed river rapids ride in 2020
while dollywood built an entirely new family themed area of the park
wildwood grove in 2019 hershey's values and attention to detail
almost guarantee success with the attractions they already own and operate
well into the future thank you for watching and
we'll see you all next time if you enjoyed this brand new series please
consider subscribing also which theme park company would you