NEWS: Hersheypark owner signs deal to purchase Dutch Wonderland Clark family to sell park, 70 acres
JackTheRipper
Hersheypark owner signs deal to purchase Dutch Wonderland Clark family
to sell park, 70 acres
P.J. Reilly
04/27/2001
Intelligencer Journal Lancaster, PA
Page A-1
(Copyright 2001 Lancaster Newspapers)
The owners of Hersheypark on Thursday announced an interest in buying
Dutch Wonderland.
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Co. and Earl Realty Inc., which owns
and operates the Dutch Wonderland complex, signed a letter of intent
to formally explore the sale of the complex.
Under the proposed sale, Earl Realty would sell 70 acres along Lincoln
Highway East. Hershey would acquire the 48-acre amusement park, Old
Millstream Camping Manor, Discover Lancaster County History Museum,
Wonderland AMC Theater and Cyber Warehouse Computer Outlet Center.
Neither side would disclose the sale price.
Earl Realty, run by brothers Murl and E. Bradley Clark, would keep The
Amish Farm and House and Weavertown One Room Schoolhouse.
"We are confident we will reach an agreement (with Hershey Resorts),"
E. Bradley Clark said. "We've always enjoyed Hersheypark. We've been
friends more than competitors over the years."
By signing a letter of intent, Garrett Gallia, director of corporate
relations for Hershey Resorts, said his company will begin studying
the transaction "to make sure it's a good fit for both parties."
If the company decides to move forward with the acquisition, the two
sides would then negotiate a sale agreement.
Neither side could say when the Dutch Wonderland complex might change
hands.
"The study process will take as long to go through as needed," Gallia
said. "We don't want to rush anything, but obviously we aren't going
to waste time either."
Gallia said the Clark family will continue to operate Dutch
Wonderland, the campground and the museum through the 2001 season,
which began April 14.
Cyber Warehouse and Wonderland Theater are leased by Earl Realty to
other companies. For the time being, they will continue to operate as
they have in the past.
Gallia could not say what might become of the two businesses if the
sale happens.
"As part of our study, we will look at the lease agreements and
operations of those businesses and make a determination about them
after that time," he said.
Beth O'Brien, marketing director for Dutch Wonderland, said the
decision to sell the complex was made after some of the Clark family
members expressed an interest in pulling out of the company.
"Some of the family members wanted to move on and it was decided that
to refinance and restructure without them would have been a major
task," O'Brien said. "So the Clarks looked into selling to the Hershey
folks. They've both been in the same business for years and they have
common business philosophies."
Dutch Wonderland Family Amusement Park was founded by Earl Clark,
father of Murl and E. Bradley, in 1963.
The park and Castle Gift Shop opened on 14 acres and featured four
rides.
Though Earl Clark died in 1993, his wife, Molly, continues to serve
the family company as corporate secretary, while Murl is president and
E. Bradley is vice president.
According to E. Bradley, Murl has been involved with the park since it
opened. The park was open two years before E. Bradley was born.
"I've been involved with the park my whole life," he said. "We
definitely have a lot of history here."
For the first few years of operation, the Clarks worked hard to get
the park off the ground.
Earl and Murl would go to the park twice each night to change
sprinklers and irrigate the lawn and gardens.
During the winter, the Clarks attended travel shows throughout the
Northeast to spread the word about Dutch Wonderland. Earl made it a
policy to add one or more new attractions each year.
Over the years, Dutch Wonderland grew. The park's trademark monorail
and botanical gardens were added in 1966, the museum in 1969 and the
Double Splash Flume in 1977.
More recently, the park added the Sky Princess Roller Coaster in 1992,
the Pipeline Plunge Water Coaster in 1996 and The Joust Family Roller
Coaster in 1998.
This year, the owners of the park plan to invest over $1 million in
improvements and additions.
A noticeable addition will be the Dragon's Lair, which is a 28-
foot-tall mountain featuring a 20-foot waterfall that will be visible
from Route 30.
Situated next to the castle, the mountain, which will serve as home to
Dutch Wonderland's mascot, Duke the Dragon, will be part of the log
boat ride.
The 48-acre park features more than 50 attractions, including 28
rides.
"Certainly, parting with a place like Dutch Wonderland is always
tough," E. Bradley said. "But we feel very good about selling to
(Hershey Resorts)."
Brad Brubaker, president of the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention &
Visitors Bureau, said the Clarks couldn't sell to a better outfit.
"It will be an absolute positive to have (Hershey Resorts) in town,"
he said. "Hershey and Lancaster share many of the same visitors each
year."
Coincidentally, Brubaker said, television commercials produced by the
visitors bureau this year featured both Hersheypark and Dutch
Wonderland.
Brubaker called Dutch Wonderland "a hallmark attraction to Lancaster
County" and he credited the Clark family for their contributions to
the county's tourism industry.
"The whole family seemed to have that keen idea of what travelers
wanted from Lancaster County," he said. "They could always put a smile
on a kid's face, and even more important, knew how to draw those kids
and their families back to Lancaster County year after year.
"No doubt, they have been instrumental in solidifying and elevating
Lancaster County as a tourist destination."
After deciding to focus its investments on its home operations,
Hershey Resorts sold off all of its resort properties in the early
1990s. Hershey Resorts had previously owned ventures in Texas,
Connecticut and Philadelphia.
Gallia said the company hadn't been looking to acquire any properties
or ventures away from its core location before the Clarks came
calling.
"Once we were approached, we couldn't not consider it," he said.
"Dutch Wonderland is a premiere family attraction in Lancaster County.
There's already that great brand name that exists down there."
Gallia said it's too early for Hershey Resorts to know what changes,
if any, the company might make to Dutch Wonderland and its adjacent
operations.
Old Millstream features 200 campsites, a pavilion, game room,
playground and paddleboats.
The museum features 32 life-size scenes with wax figures depicting
life in Lancaster County since the 1600s.
It would not be unusual for Hershey Resorts to own a complex like
Dutch Wonderland, which features retail ventures and tourist
attractions, Gallia said.
"We have retail businesses attached to our park now," he said. "And we
used to run a movie theater before."
Though the finalization of a sales agreement, should Hershey Resorts
decide to push for one, is still some time off, Gallia said the
company wanted to announce its interest in Dutch Wonderland to the
public.
"As we conduct our study over the next few months, we're going to be
down there asking questions and looking over the surrounding area," he
said. "We didn't want people wondering what we're doing and making
speculations, so we decided to go public.
"We think this is an extremely exciting story."