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This place started as an interesting concept that had the unfortunate timing of Covid destroying its potential for a growing audience. Shame to see it go but I'm curious about the future plans for the site. It could make for a nice little outdoor FEC if given the right team.

You didn't, no worries. And you made a valid point......................I just don't remember the others being such a big deal, anticipation wise. BUT as you point out there wasn't the daily social media/drone footage blitz going on AND to be fair some of those were at a time in my life when I wasn't focusing that much on theme parks. IOA for example, truly one of my favorite parks now, opened when I was about 30...........establishing a career and heavily involved in a completely different hobby that took a huge time and money commitment. About ten years later I had stopped such a huge commitment to the other thing and was introducing my son to theme parks and rediscovering in myself a long lost love for them. So all of that played a part in my probably not well thought out comment

I still think there is a future for these interactive/immersive themed entertainment concepts sometime/somewhere in the future but first Star Cruiser closing and not this it doesn't really look good. Star Cruiser had the obvious issues with cost, this maybe some issues with location/concept, and both of them the timing of Covid I'm sure didn't help. Hopefully there's a future for the site as something as it did look like a pretty cool place.

It was on our 'possibilities' list! But we didn't quite make it over there. As I recall, there was some kind of 4D theater thing it was paired with, but that seemed weak. If it had been a proper flying theater, we probably would've done it.

it's taking me just as long. . . LOL.. I'm still 3 parks behind you! that "Bear Castle" reminds me SO much of the Deer enclosure at Marineland, Niagara. but they STILL use that one - even if the Government took away all the bears from the enclosure they had, so you no longer can feed them ice cream cones. as to the Helsinki Wheel? Jon and I DID ride that one (tho, no, we didn't do the Sauna car. that was extra).

We planned two days on our own in Helsinki, after the end of the TPR trip, in order to do Erik & Smisty things. And we did! Here are the less good ones. (I don't know, it just worked out that way.) 26: Cork Is Sorry Up bright and early, but it's hard to tell because our hotel is in Finland and that's where the sun lives. Gotta have some beans and a donut to get me going, though. Helsinki is nice, and I'm happy to spend time in pretty much any northern European city--or really almost anywhere that I've never been. But, having said that, it's no Stockholm. Ooh, a grocery store! Yes, we're easily amused. OR We're fun and you're the problem. Ever think of that?? This seems like an unhealthy selection of breakfast cereals even by American standards. And I eat beans and donuts for breakfast, Speaking of unhealthy and American: I'd been looking for this particular Ben & Jerry's flavor the entire trip, after having encountered it at Gröna Lund in 2019., and really enjoying it. (Apparently it's a UK "only" flavor.) Okay, now that you mention it, "baby back ribs" is a pretty weird name for a food already, but leaving the word 'back' out of it doesn't make it better. Helsinkians really provide for their seagulls. Helsinkites? Helsinks? (I would go with 'Hellions' if it were me.) Time to ferry about! No wait, ferries carry cars. Water taxi? We're gonna ride on a boat boat, is my point. "Switch costumes, you ignominious pretender!" If you understand this reference, congratulations! You are unique in all the world and also you're me and your brain is broken. We did not ride the SkyWheel Helsinki, so I cannot say whether or not licorice consumption is required onboard. But what I can tell you is that the single brown cabin is the world's only sauna on a Ferris wheel. Actually, I'm just assuming it's the world's only. Their website actually says, "world's first," which seems to imply that someone else has since built another one. However, I can find no evidence of this. Which forces me to consider the even more insane possibility that SkyWheel Helsinki was so sure someone else would immediately copy this idea that they just went with 'first' right out of the gate. And here we arrive at our destination: Korkeasaari Zoo, which is located on an island. Just to reiterate: this entire island is a zoo. Which is awesome. But, to be honest, it feel less like an island that they brought a bunch of zoo animals to, and more like an island that just kind of had some animals on it already, so they declared it a zoo. So, the location is cool, but is the zoo actually any good? Well, no. Did you not read the last caption? But perhaps I'm being too harsh. It does have this leopard. And a statue of a goat. Note the building in the background. Which is a restaurant named--and I swear I'm not making this up--Restaurant Pukki. Which did not make us vomit, I am happy to say. Probably the most interesting animals at Korkeasaari, Amur tigers. Other things of note: Korkeasaari is the largest zoo in Finland, was established in 1899, and is open year round. These are also animals of some kind. Karhulinna means "bear castle." Yep, that's a bear. The old, no longer in use, bear castle. You know, from back when people thought that bears would be more comfortable in a castle than surrounded by trees and stuff. And that they might like being stared at by a mural of a tiger all day. Look, I'm pro-zoo, but just tear this thing down and never speak of it again, you know? "I bless the herpetariums of Afriii-cAsia!" Pop quiz: Is this snake from Africa or Asia? If it helps, I 100% do not remember because I didn't take a photo of the sign and it's been like 10 months since then and this is easily the longest trip report I've ever done and I'm starting to have regrets. I guess there's more to a zoo than just animals. There's also wooden planks. They're not exactly the word leader in gift shops, either. Wait, you can walk on and off this island? Why did we take a boat?? At this point, I can't really even get off on a naked statue unless there's a seagull on its head. We wanted to visit Stockmann for a few reasons. For one, it was recommended to us by one of Smisty's co-workers who used to live in Helsinki. Two, it's the largest department store in the Nordic countries, and we like going to stores and malls and things when we're visiting new places. And three, it was a possible place I might find a little something I was hoping to track down while in Helsinki. That third thing didn't really work out. As while I was able to confirm that it existed (in an employees-only area), I was not able to actually see or experience it. I know, I know, I'm being terribly mysterious. But I won't make you wait long. Just until the next update. Oh, wait...that could actually be awhile at the rate I'm going. You'll probably have forgotten all about it by then. Big store. Lots of different stuff. I don't know. Things adults like. We found our favorite section, toys! This game sucks. Okay, I feel better now. Ultimately, it is just a really big department (and grocery) store. But we enjoyed checking it out. Back out on the street, we get one of those classic European "this would be a national landmark in the US, but here it's a transit center" buildings. The Three Smiths Statue is the metaphorical center point of Helsinki. I think you're supposed to see this one before the parody of it at Linnanmäki (Three Smiths on a Break). Just one more day to go! Will I get it done before the end of April?? I mean, I have to get it done before the end of May. I can't take a whole year to finish this thing. Actually, maybe I'll just quit now. That would be funny. The end.

Did they hire Richard Branson to design the interior? These looks like a ripoff of Virgin Las Vegas, just at a healthier price point.

Evermore Park has officially announced their permanent closure... https://www.evermore.com/ End of an Era The Portal has Closed it is with Deep Sadness and Gratitude that we announce the closing of Evermore Park. The past decade has been filled with its share of trials and tribulations, but mostly Magic and Imagination. Our History Evermore started in the late 2000's when our Founder, his family and friends created a Home Haunted Adventure during the Halloween Season, where the public enjoyed an elaborate Ghost Pirate adventure in exchange for a donation to the Utah Food bank. Every year this event grew bringing thousands of visitors to their home. Then an idea came to create and develop a year round theatrical theme park with unique seasonal events. In 2014 the concept of Evermore Park had its debut at the Fan-X convention in Salt Lake City, Utah with an amazing two story booth designed as an Old World Tavern. The booth featured amazing set designs, lighting, music, actors, costumes, and a model of the grand vision of Evermore. Next came a popup event on the eventual park ground (we called it Pumpkin-Fest), where we presented an immersive and Magical Gothic Halloween experience. Design and Construction of the Park started in 2016 and opened in the fall of 2018. What Evermore Was To us Evermore park was an amazing place where Artists/Creatives from all walks of life came together to deliver a Magical Story and an escape from reality. We have seen many Miracles happen in Evermore Park with hundreds of thousands of people visiting throughout the years. Some visitors just came to stroll the village and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere and entertainment, while others visited the park in elaborate costumes developing their own characters and fully immersed themselves in the story and events. Many visited Evermore from all over the US and around the World bringing other unique personalities and perspectives to the park. Evermore Park captured the attention of the world being featured in many magazines, news publications, and featured videos. We won several lifestyle and themed industry awards including being selected by Time Magazine in 2019 as one of the top 50 places in the world to visit. Evermore was an inclusive, fun, and safe place for people to be themselves (or to play a character) and experience a moment of Imagination. The Magic Continues 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. A local news station shared more details regarding the land owner and investor behind Evermore Park... Following the eviction of the park's original operators, it sounds like they intend to unveil plans for the property for the future. Brandon Fugal's portfolio of other projects includes a number of office venues and mixed-use shopping complexes... https://kslnewsradio.com/2093875/evermore-park-permanently-closes-new-attraction-planned/ Evermore Park has announced the closure of its operations. This comes after years of struggling to sustain its business model. The immersive fantasy adventure experience was located in Pleasant Grove, Utah, The park, founded in 2012, sought to welcome visitors to a medieval and Victorian world. They wanted to bring interactive experiences and themed attractions to Utah. However, despite efforts to engage guests with storylines, puzzles, and live performances, Evermore faced many financial difficulties. “[Evermore] has struggled over the years to make their business model work,” said Brandon Fugal, owner of Evermore Park Investments LLC, “between COVID and challenges with their operating model, they have defaulted and have been evicted from the property.” “In the wake of these challenges.” said Fugal, “I am confidentially working with a new enterprise that will be unveiling exciting new plans and dramatic improvements in the weeks to come.” This doesn’t mean that the park is going anywhere. Fugal plans to bring in a new tenant to revive the park and bring new life. “I would say anyone who follows what I do in the commercial real estate business knows that I don’t do anything halfway, and I have a track record for representing the most upscale projects in Utah, and this will be no different.” Although it seems like even though Evermore is “nevermore,” the future of the 12.75-acre, 27-building lot is bright.

Jumping Donkey Kong coaster!

Sorry I didn't mean to come off as being rude or cynical, but I do think there's a fair amount of recency bias with this project since there is so much information on social media with construction updates and speculation and the official press releases from Universal's official accounts. As far as the scale of the project to me it's not that much different than IOA when it opened? Both had similar number of lands and major attractions and rides. Spiderman, Hulk, Dragons, Stun Show, Poseidon Show, Popeye, Ripsaw, Jurassic Park, Camp Jurassic, Cat n Hat Ride, couple of flats and Starfall Racers, Mario Dark Ride, Donkey Kong, Monster Dark Ride, Monsters Coaster, Dragon Coaster, Dragon Show, flat ride and splash battle, whatever is in the new Potter land. Also don't get me wrong here, I am VERY excited to check this whole place out eventually, really really excited about it, but also don't know if there's anything that's goin to be truly ground breaking or revolutionary or "game changing" as so many fans keep referring to it as.