Herschend Family Entertainment: Тарихы мен қызметтері

Private entertainment company

Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) is a privately owned themed entertainment company that operates several theme parks and tourist attractions within the United States, and as of 2021, one aquarium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded by Jack and Pete Herschend of Branson, Missouri, in its early years HFE was simply known as Herschend Enterprises. In the 1980s the name was changed to Silver Dollar City Inc., and in 2003, the company gained the current name. HFE is currently headquartered in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. The company says its mission is to "Create Memories Worth Repeating” in a manner “consistent with Christian values and ethics.”

HFE traces roots back to Hugo and Mary Herschend from Chicago, Illinois along with sons Jack and Pete. The family vacationed in Missouri's Ozark Mountains region and fell in love with the nature the area offered. In 1951 Hugo obtained a 99 year lease on a Branson, Missouri area attraction called Marvel Cave. Hugo suffered a heart attack and later died in 1955, however Mary along with her two sons continued to improve the cave attraction by installing electric lighting and building cement walkways. A cable train was installed in 1958 to ferry guests out of the depths of the cave upon the end of the tour. The attendance nearly doubled and a small frontier town was erected to entertain visitors as they waited for their cave tour. In order to increase attendance, a gimmick was used by naming the village "Silver Dollar City" and distributing silver dollars as change to every visitor in hope that when they would spend the rare coins they would tell people where they had got them from. The idea was a success, and the Herschend family soon found themselves involved in the theme park business. In 1969, Silver Dollar City drew national attention when producer Paul Henning brought the cast and crew of the popular Beverly Hillbillies television show to the park to film five episodes. In 2010, Herschend Family Entertainment was featured on the reality TV series Undercover Boss. The company also co owns and co operates with partners Dolly Parton and her company The Dollywood Company, the dinner and theatre company Pirates Voyage Dinner and Show in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Dolly Parton's Stampede (formerly Dixie Stampede).

Name Location Year Opened Year Acquired Notes Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tennessee 1961 1976 Sold stake to Dolly Parton in 1986 Kentucky Kingdom Louisville, Kentucky 1987 2021 Owned by the Kentucky State Fair Board but operated by HFE Silver Dollar City Branson, Missouri 1960 Wild Adventures Valdosta, Georgia 1996 2007 Purchased for $34.5 million ($ in dollars)

Former Herschend employee William R. "Bill" Doyle, III was hired as the President & CEO of Callaway Gardens in June, 2015. Doyle resigned effective July 8, 2019 after four years on the job to return to Herschend. He continued as a trustee of the Ida Cason Callaway Foundation and assisted in the search for a new president. Herschend began managing Callaway Gardens in 2020. Two years later, they purchased most of the assets, including The Lodge & Spa, Golf: Lake View Course & Mountain View Course and conference center. Herschend will lease and manage the Ida Cason Callaway Foundation's Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center, Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, Ida Cason Memorial Chapel and the gardens. Callaway had about 500 employees. the highly successful theatre was operated by HFE until 2001, when it was sold to Anita Bryant. In 2005 the theatre was sold again and converted to a WonderWorks location. A Music Mansion Theatre was planned for Myrtle Beach, but never materialized. In 2003 the Dollywood Company opened a new Dixie Stampede location in Orlando, Florida along Interstate 4. The location operated until early 2008, when the property was sold to Simon Property Group for an undisclosed amount. The building was torn down, and an extension of the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets was built on the land. HFE has plans to build another Dixie Stampede in the region at some point, though specific plans have not been disclosed. In 2004 HFE purchased the Hawaiian Falls water parks located in Dallas, Garland and The Colony, Texas. In 2006 all three parks were sold. In 2004 HFE purchased Ride the Ducks. In 2017, HFE sold Ride the Ducks to Ripley Entertainment and shut the operations down in 2018 after the deadly sinking in Branson. Due to unreliable peak season water access, Ride The Ducks in Memphis closed in 2007. 2 years later, Ride The Ducks in Baltimore shut down due to safety concerns. Celebration City in Branson closed on October 25, 2008. Herschend also briefly operated Six Flags Darien Lake from 2012 to 2014, installing the famous Moose on the Loose Pony Tack ride.