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42-526: Six Flags White Water was constructed by Silver Dollar City, a theme park company known today as Herschend Family Entertainment , as a corporate sibling to their White Water park in Branson, Missouri and their White Water (Now Hurricane Harbor Oklahoma City) waterpark in Oklahoma, and first opened in 1984. In June 1998, the park was the site of an E. coli outbreak, which sickened at least ten children, including

84-514: A connecting pathway between the open plan of AA and the WW park entrance. In an attempt to build attendance, the indoor mini golf course was removed to make way for an interactive "theater." Several years later (and for the same reason) the main building's central attraction, an antique carousel, was removed in favor of a four-story foam ball play structure appropriately named "the foam factory." When Six Flags acquired White Water in 1999, American Adventures

126-438: A consistently developed and promoted theme that appeals to the target market segments, "the fun factor in the overall decor". Parental concerns are also important. While children themselves rarely think of it, a major factor in the attractiveness of an FEC to parents is on-site safety and security, as adults may drop off older children at such an establishment to entertain themselves. An increasingly important factor for success

168-623: A converged outgrowth of theme restaurants that increasingly developed their in-house amusement features, small-scale amusement parks needing more offerings than just a few rides and midway games, and diversifying formerly one-attraction venues ( water parks , skate parks , billiard halls , bowling alleys , and so on). All three categories have moved over several decades continually toward stock, popular entertainment solutions supplied by third-party vendors. Chuck E. Cheese , opened in 1977 as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California ,

210-419: A large suburban area outside such a city. Their busiest times are weekend afternoons and Thursday through Saturday evenings. Because most of the attractions are essentially the same from FEC to FEC, two of the most important factors in a particular center distinguishing itself to potential customers are a highly visible location (hard to obtain because other uses for the land are often more competitive ), and

252-463: A lower per-person per-hour cost to consumers than a traditional amusement park, and not usually major tourist attractions, but sustained by an area customer base. Many are locally owned and operated, although there are a number of chains and franchises in the field. Some, operated by non-profit organizations as children's museums or science museums , tend to be geared toward edutainment experiences rather than simply amusement. FECs are essentially

294-401: A series of tickets to use the park (much like the old Disney ticket system.) Eventually visitors paid a single fee to play at the park. Unlike most parks, American Adventures did not have a gate. Visitors could enter the attraction of their choice simply by walking across the parking lot. White Water maintained a single point of entry and the two promoted each other often, to the point of having

336-516: Is built around an activity pool, which includes splashdown areas for the three Body Flumes, the two Rapids raft flumes, the Mutiny Chute plunge slide and Lizard's Tail kids' slides are also located here. The area's newest attraction is Typhoon Twister, a large water slide that consists of a 67-foot bowl. Pine Valley is home to the park's wave pool , the Atlanta Ocean, and its lazy river , known as

378-554: Is high-quality food and drink to attract parental spending as well as whole-family dining. Various major media and entertainment brands, including Disney , Lego , NASCAR , Sega , Sony , United Artists/Regal and Viacom , have been attached to family entertainment centers, often much less "traditional" than local and chain FECs, with custom-built, unique attractions, usually heavily branded, and most often located in major metropolitan areas. The first such urban entertainment center (UEC)

420-469: The Flash Pass at Six Flags White Water , and was the first water park in the world to feature the virtual queue system for their water rides . Six Flags White Water was the testing park of the new system and with huge success, nine more Six Flags water parks will be adding the system in 2012. For the 2013 season, White Water added Typhoon Twister, a five-story bowl slide. In August 2013, Six Flags announced

462-470: The 2016 season, White Water added a mat racing slide, Wahoo Racer. Six Flags White Water is made up of four separate sections, each with a number of attractions. When it first opened, the park consisted of what is today Wildwater Lagoon, Slippery Ridge and Pine Valley. Flash Flood Canyon was added in 1998, prior to the acquisition by Six Flags. Wildwater Lagoon includes the park's main entrance and its primary services, including Guest Service and First Aid. It

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504-656: The Dive Bomber, which shares a tower with the Run-A-Way River family raft slide. First opened in 1990, the American Adventures family entertainment center operated next door to White Water, even used the same parking lot. This facility included a number of small scale carnival rides, indoor and outdoor mini-golf, go-carts, games & video arcade, play area, and restaurant. All attractions were geared towards families with small children and originally visitors had to use

546-662: 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

588-715: The Herschend family, Dolly Parton co-owns the Dolly Parton's Stampede (formerly Dixie Stampede ) dinner attraction chain, which has locations in Pigeon Forge (opened 1988), Myrtle Beach (1992), and Branson (1995). A location in Orlando opened in 2003 and closed in early 2008. In 2001 a new water park was opened adjacent to the Dollywood theme park called Dollywood's Splash Country . Former Herschend employee William R. "Bill" Doyle, III

630-483: 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. HFE built several water parks in the 1980s which have since sold to other companies such as Wet 'n Wild , and White Water Bay . White Water Branson, built in 1980, was the forerunner and is still owned by HFE; while

672-554: The Little Hooch, named in honor of the nearby Chattahoochee River . Children can play in the Captain Kid's Cove Buccaneer Bay and Treehouse Island play areas, while their older siblings and parents can slide into the giant blue and yellow funnel of Tornado . In Slippery Ridge, visitors can experience the high-speed Dragon's Tail speed slides, or "compete" on the park's new-for-2016 Wahoo Racer six-lane racing slide tower, which replaces

714-628: The White Water parks in Oklahoma City (1981), Grand Prairie, Texas (1982), Garland, Texas (1982) and Atlanta (1983) have been sold. The 4,000 seat Grand Palace Theatre opened in 1992 by the Herschends. The theatre was co-owned by singer Kenny Rogers . Along with Rogers headliners were Glen Campbell , Louise Mandrell and Barbara Mandrell . In 1994 HFE entered into a ten-year contract with Radio City Entertainment. The Grand Palace Theatre would be

756-443: The addition of Hurricane Harbor, a seven-acre water park at Six Flags Over Georgia. When asked about the addition of a new water park when Six Flags already owned one in the area, communications manager Emily Murray replied, "With all the surveys that we’ve seen and the demand for a water park and the growth White Water has shown, White Water is still a large part of Six Flags and [Hurricane Harbor] will complement each other." As part of

798-520: The attraction was renamed Silver Dollar City Tennessee as part of a development plan to transform the property into a theme park patterned after the original Silver Dollar City in Branson. For the Pigeon Forge park, the Ozark Mountains theme of the original Silver Dollar City was slightly reworked to represent the Great Smoky Mountains and Appalachia culture instead, fitting the location in

840-430: 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

882-604: The costs involved, and instead install off-the-shelf systems provided and maintained by industry equipment vendors. Any given FEC may lean more towards outdoor activities, arcade gaming, or passive entertainment and dining. Each may cater to different age ranges, all the time, or during certain hours, e.g., children and entire families in the daytime, and teens to young adults in the evening, with specific promotional programs to attract different market segments at different times. FECs tend to serve "sub-regional markets", such as small cities, quadrants or boroughs of larger cities, and

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924-695: The dinner and theatre company Pirates Voyage Dinner and Show in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina , and Dolly Parton's Stampede (formerly Dixie Stampede). In April 2021, Hershend announced its purchase of the Vancouver Aquarium following the latter's severe economic losses during the COVID-19 pandemic . The Herschends extended their brand in 1976 upon purchasing a small tourist attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee , called Goldrush Junction. The following year

966-621: The famous Moose on the Loose Pony Tack ride. Family entertainment center A family entertainment center ( FEC ) in the entertainment industry, also known as an indoor amusement park , family amusement center , family fun center , soft play , or simply fun center , is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small children to teenagers, often entirely indoors. They usually cater to "sub-regional markets of larger metropolitan areas." FECs are generally small compared to full-scale amusement parks, with fewer attractions,

1008-525: The fiberglass coat covering the slide. Herschend Family Entertainment 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

1050-519: The first to host the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the world famous Rockettes outside of New York City ’s Radio City Music Hall . The shows were successful and led to Radio City Entertainment launching tours of their shows in other cities throughout the United States. HFE built the $ 10 million Grand Village Shops with Kenny Rogers adjacent to The Grand Palace Theatre in 1993. Ozark wares and English bone china filled

1092-450: The foothills of the Smokies. In 1986, singer and actress Dolly Parton , who grew up near Pigeon Forge, became a co-owner, and the park's name was changed to Dollywood , reflecting her involvement. At this point, the Pigeon Forge park was branched off into a separate division of HFE called The Dollywood Company, which oversees all the properties that Dolly Parton has interest in. Along with

1134-469: 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

1176-399: 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 concrete walkways. A cable train was installed in 1958 to ferry guests out of the depths of

1218-476: The older 100-Meter Splash slides. Raft riders can enjoy the enclosed Black River Falls and Gulf Coast Screamer slides solo, or share the experience at the Caribbean Plunge. The Bahama Bob-Slide uses large round rafts with up to six riders at once, while the adjacent Tidal Wave body flume lands in a splash pool connected to the Little Hooch lazy river. Flash Flood Canyon contains the park's tallest single slide,

1260-499: The other. Six Flags White Water is one of five stand-alone Six Flags water parks, and the only one of the group to not use the Hurricane Harbor name. In late 2010, Six Flags began the process of removing licensed themes from attractions. They terminated several licenses including their license with The Wiggles . Wiggles Water World was rethemed to Buccaneer Bay in time for the 2011 season. In July 2011, Six Flags introduced

1302-568: The property back over and now uses the property for trainings, HR, storage and the employee cafeteria. One of the rides, the Scrambler was removed and taken to Six Flags Great Adventure and renamed Déjà Vu in 2012. March 2016: Two individuals broke into the park, went past three fences, and skateboarded down the Tornado water slide as a half pipe. They were arrested on felony charges of criminal damage to property, causing an estimated $ 20,000 in damages to

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1344-662: 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

1386-477: The same announcement, Six Flags plans to expand White Water's popular "Dive-In Movies" program, where films are shown on a screen to guests in the Atlanta Ocean wave pool, and add a stage at the wave pool for daytime concerts and music events. The stage was completed midway through the 2014 season. Six Flags also announced the creation of their Instagram page that will share photos of guests at White Water. To be featured, guests must use geotag Six Flags White Water. For

1428-407: The son of then- Atlanta Braves baseball player Walt Weiss . In May 1999, the park was sold to the group of limited partners that own the nearby Six Flags Over Georgia theme park, with the park becoming "Six Flags White Water," and, like its sister park, being managed by Six Flags Theme Parks. Today, the two parks operate together, despite being roughly 15 miles apart, with each offering promotions for

1470-414: The twenty six New Orleans themed shops. HFE later bought out entertainer Kenny Rogers and sold The Grand Palace in 1996 and The Grand Village in 2005. American Adventures, a children's theme park opened alongside White Water Atlanta . The park was sold to Six Flags in 1999. In 1994, The Dollywood Company constructed a large music theatre in Pigeon Forge called Music Mansion. Headlined by James Rogers,

1512-510: 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,

1554-676: 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

1596-425: Was included in the purchase, and the park was considered one of Six Flags' minor parks. However, in June 2008, the park was leased to a new operator, Zuma Holdings, which no longer co-branded the park with Six Flags White Water. In 2010, American Adventures closed its doors for good, citing "circumstances beyond our control." After the closing of American Adventures by Zuma Holdings, Six Flags Atlanta Properties took

1638-646: Was one of the earliest widely known examples of these in the United States. Most FECs have at least five common major or "anchor" attractions, to provide diverse patrons (often in large parties) at least one to two hours of entertainment, to encourage repeat visits, and to reduce time spent waiting for any given attraction. Some of the more usual attractions include (depending upon size, climate, etc.): The most common anchor activities are miniature golf, kart racing, arcade and redemption games, and food & beverages, according to industry specialists StoneCreek Partners. FECs rarely use custom-built attractions, because of

1680-651: 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

1722-674: Was the Sony Metreon in San Francisco, California (1999–2006). Some nonprofit, educational installations, such as the Exploratorium in San Francisco, also have aspects of FECs in format and atmosphere, but with activities geared toward learning and experiencing rather than simple entertainment. Some for-profit enterprises also use this model, or mix edutainment with simpler amusement attractions. The main national industry group in

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1764-643: Was the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, California , which opened in 1993, linking several Universal properties. Including various retail outlets, restaurants, and attractions, the CityWalk created a great deal of "sustained buzz" in the retail real estate industry, which began "embracing the notion that Universal Studios, Sony, Disney, and other entertainment companies could create new anchors and entertainment programs for shopping centers". Another significant UEC

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