Evermore Theme Park Officially Closes

Evermore, a theme park based in Utah that sought to bring worlds of fantasy to life in interactive experience, has closed. The park, which was announced in 2014 by DigiCert co-founder Ken Bretschneider, officially opened its doors in 2018, and has been a consistent curiosity since. The park featured live actors and renaissance and Victorian-themed buildings and attractions, although it never quite reached the ambitious heights it had set up for itself when announcing an attraction that was to rival the immersive experience and thrill of a Disney Park. There were signs that the park was struggling almost from the beginning, which only got worse after the COVID-19 pandemic started and the park was shut down in early 2020.

After weeks of nonstop rumors of closure (at one point early in the process, its entry on Google was marked "permanently closed," only to have someone adjust it back to "temporarily closed"), the park confirmed the news sometime this month. 

"It is with Deep Sadness and Gratitude that we announce the closing of Evermore Park," the park's website now reads. "The past decade has been filled with its share of trials and tribulations, but mostly Magic and Imagination."

Unlike many regional parks, Evermore was designed to be a year-'round experience, with new story elements added for different "seasons" of the park. While the original announcement promised immersive rides, the final park relied almost exclusively on a "quest" format, where the guest was driven around the park by stories and quests given to them by the park's characters.

By 2020, a number of contractors and employees had filed lawsuits against the park for lack of payment. The park continued to operate, but it was never fully completed, and fans took notice. Maybe the most visible Evermore ever got outside of Utah was a nearly four-hour video breaking down its history and controversies by YouTuber Jenny Nicholson (you can see that below).

Staying on YouTube, former employee "Bob at Evermore" shared a video earlier this year that claimed the park was preparing for a permanent closure, and since then, things have been spiraling. Employees responding to the rumors either confirmed closure plans, or simply didn't know anything one way or the other. Finally, Bob updated four days ago, confirming fully that the park was closed and including comments from investors and references to the newly-changed website, which admits things are over. 

According to Bob's latest video, it sounds like the current owner of the land plans to keep Evermore's buildings in place at least for now and build onto the park for a new attraction.

"It's our hope that the magical moments at Evermore Park continue on through the memories of the all the people who made it such a special place," the website now reads.