Mystic Motel - A Homemade Dark Ride

[Satans Hockey]

Guess he hasn't heard of Mystic Timbers at Kings Island or he would be suing them too lol

[KBrylczyk]

Ah, the inner wackadoo awakens.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I feel like this lawsuit will be dropped in November. The timing seems...awfully specific. It screams publicity stunt.

[tinaalsgirl]

OMG, y'all. I found all the documents regarding various TM/patent complaints that this guy's company, Adrenalin Attractions LLC, is involved with....

 

They filed against Kings Island for "Mystic Timbers" on the 11th of this month. I also see nothing regarding SDC. Now, according to this guy on his Facebook page (which hadn't been updated until I made a now-deleted [i did it] comment on their prayers video), it's SDC suing them because they sent SDC a letter trying to protect their trademark....

 

Maybe you guys can better parse some of the info available, as I know literally nothing about legalese.

 

http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pnam=ADRENALIN%20ATTRACTIONS,%20LLC%20%20

[sdcfan88]

LOL this will be an open and shut case. Just some fool wanting hush money and their 15 minutes of Fame.

[larrygator]

https://www.ocregister.com/2019/10/31/missouri-theme-park-sues-orange-county-man-who-built-dark-ride-in-his-garage-over-trademark-infringement/

 

Missouri theme park sues Orange County man who built dark ride in his garage over trademark infringement

Silver Dollar City has asked the U.S. District Court to declare that the Missouri theme park owns the trademark rights to the Mystic River Falls name.

PUBLISHED: October 31, 2019 at 6:54 am | UPDATED: October 31, 2019 at 11:49 am

 

It’s a story as old as David and Goliath, but in this case Goliath has responded to David’s stones with a lawsuit.

 

A Missouri theme park that attracts more than 2 million visitors per year is suing an Orange County man who built a homemade dark ride in his garage for Halloween over who owns the trademarked name for a theme park attraction.

 

But the Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson, Missouri, didn’t throw the first punch. That surprising first blow was delivered by Scott D’Avanzo.

 

“I’m confident we’ll win in the end,” said D’Avanzo, 45, of Ladera Ranch. “We’re small and they’re big bullies.”

 

For the past few years, D’Avanzo has built a theme park-style dark ride in the two-car garage of his Ladera Ranch home and welcomed thousands of visitors at Halloween to take a spin on his handmade creation.

 

D’Avanzo called the ride Mystic Motel and dreamed of building bigger theme park attractions one day — so much so that he trademarked the Mystic Motel name for theme park attractions in 2013. He even founded a company called Adrenalin Attractions to develop his dream of one day building a theme park with the Mystic Motel ride as its centerpiece.

Scott D’Avanzo’s children, Brayden and Ava, then 6 and 4, respectively, pose in one of the Mystic Motel ride carts in D’Avanzo’s Ladera Ranch garage in 2015. (File photo by Nick Agro, Orange County Register/SCNG)

 

That’s where Silver Dollar City comes in. In August, the Missouri theme park announced plans to build the $20 million Mystic River Falls river rapids ride in 2020 as part of a new themed land.

 

D’Avanzo’s attorney sent a letter to Silver Dollar City in late September demanding that the park change the name of the Mystic River Falls ride because it infringed on the Mystic Motel ride’s trademarked name. Silver Dollar City responded with a 16-page lawsuit that accused D’Avanzo and Adrenalin Attractions of trademark infringement, unfair competition and an implied legal threat.

 

Silver Dollar City has asked the U.S. District Court to declare that the Missouri theme park owns the trademark rights to the Mystic River Falls name. And one more thing: Silver Dollar City wants D’Avanzo to change the name of the Mystic Motel dark ride in his Ladera Ranch garage.

 

The civil lawsuit states that Silver Dollar City acquired the trademark for the Mystic River Falls name from the U.S. Patent office in September and never heard any opposition from D’Avanzo during the months-long process.

 

Silver Dollar City declined to comment due to the legal nature of the situation, said theme park spokeswoman Lisa Rau via email.

 

Adrenalin Attractions is in development discussions with investors and amusement park vendors to build a Mystic City theme park at an undisclosed location in California, D’Avanzo said. The $2 billion theme park will feature 35 attractions including dark rides, roller coasters and a water ride, he said.

 

“We just don’t want to have 14 different attractions with Mystic on them,” D’Avanzo said in a phone interview. “It just muddies the waters.”

 

Adrenalin Attractions also sent a trademark infringement letter earlier this year related to the name of the $15 million Mystic Timbers roller coaster that opened in 2017 at Kings Island, D’Avanzo said. Lawyers for the Ohio amusement park told D’Avanzo’s attorney that they considered the matter closed, he said.

 

D’Avanzo built the Mystic Motel dark ride with his son, Ashton, now 15, in the garage of their suburban home in Ladera Ranch, a master planned bedroom community in an unincorporated part of Orange County near Mission Viejo.

 

Set in an abandoned 1955 desert motel along Route 66, Mystic Motel takes visitors through the decrepit interior of a deteriorating motor lodge and into its haunted basement. Along the way you peek into a bustling casino, explore derelict motel rooms and step into a diner for a refreshment. There’s even a TV news broadcast playing on a video screen that explains the haunted history of Mystic Motel.

[Jew]

Adrenalin Attractions is in development discussions with investors and amusement park vendors to build a Mystic City theme park at an undisclosed location in California, D’Avanzo said. The $2 billion theme park will feature 35 attractions including dark rides, roller coasters and a water ride, he said.

 

Anyone want to buy my oceanfront property in Arizona? LOL.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Well, that's really not a fair headline, since D'Avanzo threatened to sue HFE first. They named Mystic River Falls after the Mystic River Passage that has been part of Marvel Cave tours for decades. He doesn't have a leg to stand on in this, and frankly his calling HFE "bullies" just makes him look pathetic. As we say 'round these parts, his claim's a hollow log without a single rabbit in it.

[sdcfan88]

As I stated before I get the feeling this was all a publicity stunt for "free advertising" or to get "hush money".

[parkjunkie]

As I stated before I get the feeling this was all a publicity stunt for "free advertising" or to get "hush money".

Exactly, if he had such a problem, how come he didn't say anything about Mystic Timbers when it opened. He may have dug a hole for himself though, legal fees won't be cheap

[Coasterguy21]

He is now attempting to pursue action against Kings Island/Cedar Fair.

 

Not only that, but he is going after anyone using the words "Mystic". He had filed action against Mystic Lake Casino and all of their properties using the name "Mystic" previously.

 

I also wonder how far these will go. But this story keeps getting crazier.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Coasterguy21

[robbalvey]

Wow! Holy shit! I put this in the "batshit crazy" category. I'm going to pull any videos I had of their attractions off our socials. Don't want any part of this weirdness!

[Coasterguy21]

Upon further inspection, it actually appears Hollywood Casino originally went after him for the name "Hillbilly Hollywood". After that, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community went after him because of their Mystic Lake Casino, in which he ended up then petitioning their trademark. This seems to be a never ending battle that has since had him decide he wants to protect the name "Mystic" just like they have attempted to. Here's a summary of all filed protests for Adrenalin Attractions: http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pnam=Adrenalin%20Attractions,%20LLC%20%20

 

Note the case for Mystic Timbers is now listed as "Cancellation Pending". http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=92072576&pty=CAN

 

He's saying he is just trying to police his trademarks and that he has sent dozens of letters similar to the one he sent to Silver Dollar City. Usually the company would then call and they would work out parameters, but he is shocked to be sued by Silver Dollar City.

 

In the end, I believe this will be dropped and they'll both be able to keep their names. But, this is the world we live in after all. I don't believe anyone would be confusing a lot of these brands.

[DirkFunk]

I looked a little harder and this dude got brought to court by Pillsbury because he tried to copyright "Dough-Boy" for casino games he was designing. He's a wannabe patent troll.