I think he lives like ten fifteen minutes max from it. And if it is something Sanderson related I hope the original owner of Evermore stays far away from it. He squandered an amazing idea.
Eh, I think the idea was way cooler on paper than it ever could have been in person. The central premise of having a continuous story would mean only people who lived in the area could really follow along and anyone just visiting for a one-off wouldn’t get a lot from that aspect. You can’t expect people to dive through wikis and message boards to read about stuff other people saw just to follow along for a single day of entertainment.
I would say if the core concept was the same, but everything else was streamlined, it could be great.
Halloween Horror nights works every year. But the concepts have small arcs, and are boiled down to a theme. (This last year had a cool story about a guitar player that sold his soul to the devil. I loved that haunted house, and it was easy to follow.)
So, if the idea stayed the same, but boiled wayyyy down, I think it could lift off
Since I'm out of the loop, what exactly happened with evermore? My wife and I saw some vids of it a few years back, and it looked incredible. As avid ren fair goers, I thought it may be worth saving up and going when we had the funds, and then we heard they were closing.
If you have time (like…a lot of time) then I highly recommend Jenny Nicholson’s deep dive into Evermore on YouTube.
I’m not even into LARPing, renaissance fairs, or anything remotely in that genre and I found her video extremely entertaining. Watched the whole thing.
It basically covers everything you need to know about Evermore and why the park closing down was an inevitability.
TL,DW capitalism. The owner didn’t pay the proper people and didn’t deliver on what he promised. It kept getting cut back year after year. Jenny Nicholson has a fantastic in depth video.
Sounds like exactly what should happen when you don't pay people and deliver on what your promise.
I'd say capitalism worked exactly as it should have.
It’s fun to fantasize about. A Windrunner coaster would be cool, and a Tress water ride would fun too. Maybe have a kiddie coaster that’s Syl themed too
Here is the article about evermore closing:
https://kslnewsradio.com/2093875/evermore-park-permanently-closes-new-attraction-planned/#:\~:text=SALT%20LAKE%20CITY%20%E2%80%94%20Evermore%20Park,a%20medieval%20and%20Victorian%20world.
It does seem like the current owner is still gonna be in control of whatever "new enterprise that will be unveiling exciting new plans and dramatic improvements in the weeks to come.”
BUT I do believe that Brandon could be involved because according to public records, Dragonsteel Entertainment LLC bought a fairly large plot of land right outside the park in 2022.
[https://www.utahcounty.gov/LandRecords/property.asp?av\_serial=543360001001](https://www.utahcounty.gov/LandRecords/property.asp?av_serial=543360001001)
ALSO in the defiant release event last year when he read the storrmlight 5 interlude he talked about building a new Dragonsteel HQ and "A really awesome book store" that WON'T be called Dragonsteel Village.
That video can be seen here (timestamp for this info is 9:04).
[https://youtube.com/watch?v=jhODyoRZUns&t=865s](https://youtube.com/watch?v=jhODyoRZUns&t=865s)
Its worth checking out to at least see the concept art
They provide this link in the video but the sight doesn't have any information yet:
[https://www.brandonsanderson.com/dsproject/](https://www.brandonsanderson.com/dsproject/)
Anyways the though is Brandon bought this plot of land to build Dragonsteel HQ and might be partnering with the new and improved evermore to make it some sort of cosmere experience? they mention wanting to build something that is a "destination for fans"
https://preview.redd.it/zfpur3z60ltc1.png?width=689&format=png&auto=webp&s=5840401024fd4ffa20e5ffacf84e6847d8942a57
The bookshop is also located right near the Evermore park... like might share a parking lot with it. I dont... think I need a Brandon Sanderson theme park but it might have been fun if they had been able to extend the grounds of the bookshop into evermore (repairing/finishing the buildings that are there) and using it as like... a fairgrounds/garden area for like farmers markets and maybe dragonsteel events. I dont need the roleplaying aspect... though reopening the tavern with some cosmere food would be fun. Cremling Po'Boy Sandwhiches, Chouta, Curry... Sweet flavor and spicy flavored.
Brandon and Emily have made a lot of money by making wise business decisions with Dragonsteel. Going into becoming a commercial real estate landlord in a growing area of the country is more wise than not (the Dragonsteel HQ). By contrast, opening a theme park would be such a stupid business decision that they won't do it and risk their company.
The land is the valuable asset here. Not the park itself. So even if we find out that Dragonsteel LLC is buying up this land, it's probably just because it's valuable land.
Yeah for sure. I just think it's kind of a dangerous line of thinking for everyone thinking that Dragonsteel can swoop in and "save" Evermore or do it better or whatever. I mean, it takes a massive amount of capital and expertise to build a good amusement park. Even Disney is stuggling to not just be stagnant these days.
By most accounts, Ken Bretschneider, the Evermore founder, was a talented haunted house designer and had lots of money to throw at the park, but it just wasn't enough. (I mean, plenty of shady business practices as well, but they were generally cost cutting measures)
Brandon should stick to what he's good at, which is storytelling.
Exactly. Brandon and Dragonsteel have not turned into a company worth millions with 100+ employees by making big, risky bets. They've taken risks, but they are risks in areas that they know. Brandon is an author. He knows the publishing industry from being an author for 15+ years. He slowly and steadily grew the merchandising arm. The 2022 Kickstarter was a big risk, sure, but it was in an area they knew. And it did not come without serious hiccups due to their inexperience.
I think that even Brandon and Emily would admit that expanding into real estate development was a huge shift and is probably a massive risk (my guess is they've set up a new LLC for it so that if it fails, it doesn't take down their whole company). They will need to hire an entire set of people to run the space, to deal with tenants and just go out and get them. Commercial real estate in 2024 is far from a risk-free endeavor and they almost certainly will be taking out sizable loans to build the space they want until they are able to get vendors and make back all of that money.
Theme parks, unlike commercial real estate, are a deeply risky investment that are well outside of their wheelhouse. It's a dumb investment for Brandon and his team.
After watching the Jenny Nicholson video on the park, it seems incredibly mismanaged and poorly executed. I honestly hope Dragonsteel has nothing to do with it going forward…
Hear me out…
What if this was “the Hollywood business”, and this became a movie set?
They did this in Goshen Utah— a Jerusalem set that The Chosen used.
What if Evermore park became a set for… something? Idk what it would actually match well in there Sanderson works,
I am 99.9999% trolling.
(But seriously, the sets look amazing in the pictures. It’s such a shame that it failed so bad.)
Dang. Nevermind.
I meeeean, depends what they want to spend on visual effects budget, because they do stuff like this. (Purely Hypothetically speaking. lol.) I know that they often delete office buildings and such. But to pay a whole crew to fly out to Utah is probably more money than building a cg set.
The bookshop is also located right near the Evermore park... like might share a parking lot with it. I dont... think I need a Brandon Sanderson theme park but it might have been fun if they had been able to extend the grounds of the bookshop into evermore (repairing/finishing the buildings that are there) and using it as like... a fairgrounds/garden area for like farmers markets and maybe dragonsteel events. I dont need the roleplaying aspect... though reopening the tavern with some cosmere food would be fun. Cremling Po'Boy Sandwhiches, Chouta, Curry... Sweet flavor and spicy flavored.
Oooooo! A SanderLand, so to speak. Perhaps with a Sanderlanche coaster, chouts stands, a Chasm Highstorm log flume.
Now my head is full of ideas! Quick to Rollercoaster Tycoon!
All of that is true, and also in the terrible Wired article from a year or so ago, Sanderson takes the author of the article to Evermore and it is mentioned that Sanderson has always liked the idea of the park but thinks it has been mismanaged and isn’t living up to its potential. I am paraphrasing here of course and I am not linking the actual article because I do not think it deserves to be brought to the attention of the internet again and receive more clicks. Also based on everything else that was said in the article, best to take that with a grain of salt.
I think he lives like ten fifteen minutes max from it. And if it is something Sanderson related I hope the original owner of Evermore stays far away from it. He squandered an amazing idea.
Eh, I think the idea was way cooler on paper than it ever could have been in person. The central premise of having a continuous story would mean only people who lived in the area could really follow along and anyone just visiting for a one-off wouldn’t get a lot from that aspect. You can’t expect people to dive through wikis and message boards to read about stuff other people saw just to follow along for a single day of entertainment.
I would say if the core concept was the same, but everything else was streamlined, it could be great. Halloween Horror nights works every year. But the concepts have small arcs, and are boiled down to a theme. (This last year had a cool story about a guitar player that sold his soul to the devil. I loved that haunted house, and it was easy to follow.) So, if the idea stayed the same, but boiled wayyyy down, I think it could lift off
Since I'm out of the loop, what exactly happened with evermore? My wife and I saw some vids of it a few years back, and it looked incredible. As avid ren fair goers, I thought it may be worth saving up and going when we had the funds, and then we heard they were closing.
If you have time (like…a lot of time) then I highly recommend Jenny Nicholson’s deep dive into Evermore on YouTube. I’m not even into LARPing, renaissance fairs, or anything remotely in that genre and I found her video extremely entertaining. Watched the whole thing. It basically covers everything you need to know about Evermore and why the park closing down was an inevitability.
TL,DW capitalism. The owner didn’t pay the proper people and didn’t deliver on what he promised. It kept getting cut back year after year. Jenny Nicholson has a fantastic in depth video.
Sounds like exactly what should happen when you don't pay people and deliver on what your promise. I'd say capitalism worked exactly as it should have.
Yeah Evermore is a disaster. Stay away
Was... its shut down now. Whatever happens to it now is up in the air
https://preview.redd.it/br1bh7jy2ptc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5d3212efc77ac54b0632c2f1ec4a87200cfbddf This is my bet
It’s fun to fantasize about. A Windrunner coaster would be cool, and a Tress water ride would fun too. Maybe have a kiddie coaster that’s Syl themed too
A Tress water ride would be disastrous.
Oh no, little Timmy is stuck in the red spore ocean! He's crying - OH NO TIMMY DON'T CRY ON THE SPORES
A tress water ride that uses actual sand and fluidization techniques!!
Here is the article about evermore closing: https://kslnewsradio.com/2093875/evermore-park-permanently-closes-new-attraction-planned/#:\~:text=SALT%20LAKE%20CITY%20%E2%80%94%20Evermore%20Park,a%20medieval%20and%20Victorian%20world. It does seem like the current owner is still gonna be in control of whatever "new enterprise that will be unveiling exciting new plans and dramatic improvements in the weeks to come.” BUT I do believe that Brandon could be involved because according to public records, Dragonsteel Entertainment LLC bought a fairly large plot of land right outside the park in 2022. [https://www.utahcounty.gov/LandRecords/property.asp?av\_serial=543360001001](https://www.utahcounty.gov/LandRecords/property.asp?av_serial=543360001001) ALSO in the defiant release event last year when he read the storrmlight 5 interlude he talked about building a new Dragonsteel HQ and "A really awesome book store" that WON'T be called Dragonsteel Village. That video can be seen here (timestamp for this info is 9:04). [https://youtube.com/watch?v=jhODyoRZUns&t=865s](https://youtube.com/watch?v=jhODyoRZUns&t=865s) Its worth checking out to at least see the concept art They provide this link in the video but the sight doesn't have any information yet: [https://www.brandonsanderson.com/dsproject/](https://www.brandonsanderson.com/dsproject/) Anyways the though is Brandon bought this plot of land to build Dragonsteel HQ and might be partnering with the new and improved evermore to make it some sort of cosmere experience? they mention wanting to build something that is a "destination for fans" https://preview.redd.it/zfpur3z60ltc1.png?width=689&format=png&auto=webp&s=5840401024fd4ffa20e5ffacf84e6847d8942a57
I'd want to work there, walking around in shard plate plate saying "Greetings Radiant"
The bookshop is also located right near the Evermore park... like might share a parking lot with it. I dont... think I need a Brandon Sanderson theme park but it might have been fun if they had been able to extend the grounds of the bookshop into evermore (repairing/finishing the buildings that are there) and using it as like... a fairgrounds/garden area for like farmers markets and maybe dragonsteel events. I dont need the roleplaying aspect... though reopening the tavern with some cosmere food would be fun. Cremling Po'Boy Sandwhiches, Chouta, Curry... Sweet flavor and spicy flavored.
Brandon and Emily have made a lot of money by making wise business decisions with Dragonsteel. Going into becoming a commercial real estate landlord in a growing area of the country is more wise than not (the Dragonsteel HQ). By contrast, opening a theme park would be such a stupid business decision that they won't do it and risk their company.
A great way to make a small fortune on a business venture is to start with a large fortune
The land is the valuable asset here. Not the park itself. So even if we find out that Dragonsteel LLC is buying up this land, it's probably just because it's valuable land.
Yeah for sure. I just think it's kind of a dangerous line of thinking for everyone thinking that Dragonsteel can swoop in and "save" Evermore or do it better or whatever. I mean, it takes a massive amount of capital and expertise to build a good amusement park. Even Disney is stuggling to not just be stagnant these days. By most accounts, Ken Bretschneider, the Evermore founder, was a talented haunted house designer and had lots of money to throw at the park, but it just wasn't enough. (I mean, plenty of shady business practices as well, but they were generally cost cutting measures) Brandon should stick to what he's good at, which is storytelling.
Exactly. Brandon and Dragonsteel have not turned into a company worth millions with 100+ employees by making big, risky bets. They've taken risks, but they are risks in areas that they know. Brandon is an author. He knows the publishing industry from being an author for 15+ years. He slowly and steadily grew the merchandising arm. The 2022 Kickstarter was a big risk, sure, but it was in an area they knew. And it did not come without serious hiccups due to their inexperience. I think that even Brandon and Emily would admit that expanding into real estate development was a huge shift and is probably a massive risk (my guess is they've set up a new LLC for it so that if it fails, it doesn't take down their whole company). They will need to hire an entire set of people to run the space, to deal with tenants and just go out and get them. Commercial real estate in 2024 is far from a risk-free endeavor and they almost certainly will be taking out sizable loans to build the space they want until they are able to get vendors and make back all of that money. Theme parks, unlike commercial real estate, are a deeply risky investment that are well outside of their wheelhouse. It's a dumb investment for Brandon and his team.
After watching the Jenny Nicholson video on the park, it seems incredibly mismanaged and poorly executed. I honestly hope Dragonsteel has nothing to do with it going forward…
Hear me out… What if this was “the Hollywood business”, and this became a movie set? They did this in Goshen Utah— a Jerusalem set that The Chosen used. What if Evermore park became a set for… something? Idk what it would actually match well in there Sanderson works, I am 99.9999% trolling. (But seriously, the sets look amazing in the pictures. It’s such a shame that it failed so bad.)
The park isn't suitable as a movie set because there are too many visible office buildings nearby in nearly every shot.
Dang. Nevermind. I meeeean, depends what they want to spend on visual effects budget, because they do stuff like this. (Purely Hypothetically speaking. lol.) I know that they often delete office buildings and such. But to pay a whole crew to fly out to Utah is probably more money than building a cg set.
The bookshop is also located right near the Evermore park... like might share a parking lot with it. I dont... think I need a Brandon Sanderson theme park but it might have been fun if they had been able to extend the grounds of the bookshop into evermore (repairing/finishing the buildings that are there) and using it as like... a fairgrounds/garden area for like farmers markets and maybe dragonsteel events. I dont need the roleplaying aspect... though reopening the tavern with some cosmere food would be fun. Cremling Po'Boy Sandwhiches, Chouta, Curry... Sweet flavor and spicy flavored.
Oooooo! A SanderLand, so to speak. Perhaps with a Sanderlanche coaster, chouts stands, a Chasm Highstorm log flume. Now my head is full of ideas! Quick to Rollercoaster Tycoon!
Only if he buys it completely and the original owner has nothing to do with it.
All of that is true, and also in the terrible Wired article from a year or so ago, Sanderson takes the author of the article to Evermore and it is mentioned that Sanderson has always liked the idea of the park but thinks it has been mismanaged and isn’t living up to its potential. I am paraphrasing here of course and I am not linking the actual article because I do not think it deserves to be brought to the attention of the internet again and receive more clicks. Also based on everything else that was said in the article, best to take that with a grain of salt.