[bgwfreak]

<a href='http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771002134' target='_blank'>http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll...ID=200771002134</a>

MAGGIE VALLEY – Ghost Town in the Sky has a new leader, and he plans to make some changes at the Wild West theme park.

Kevin Bailey, named this week as the park’s general manager, promises that next year’s visitors can expect to find more restaurants and shows by big names in bluegrass, gospel and country music.

Bailey, 39, former assistant general manager at Ghost Town, replaces Bob Cordier, who has accepted a position as general manager of a water park in Destin, Fla. Bailey’s experience includes a five-year stint at Tweetsie Railroad near Blowing Rock.

“The biggest challenge for Ghost Town is to fully open the park,” Bailey said.

A new ownership group reopened Ghost Town, which had been closed since 2003, on May 25. Before that, workers had about 6 months to make repairs and meet state inspection standards at the theme park, which was built in the 1960s.

Three major attractions — a small train that circles the park, the roller coaster and incline rail — couldn’t be fixed in time for this season, which will end late this month or in early November.

Ghost Town economics
Despite some bobbles — which included other rides not working on opening day and a lightning strike to the chairlift some two months later that left visitors temporarily stranded — Bailey and David King, the park’s sales and marketing manager, characterized the opening season as a success.

“It was definitely a learning year,” King said. “But the ownership is very pleased — it exceeded their expectations.”

Measuring the theme park’s success independently is difficult because Ghost Town declined to release visitation or financial numbers. King did say that 16,000 tickets alone were sold through a program in which about 80 hotels, motels, real estate offices and other companies sold Ghost Town passes at a discounted rate.

“It was astonishing,” King said.

The Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce reported a 40 percent increase in visitors this summer over last year, and Executive Director Lynn Collins said Tuesday that hotel and motel association members reported 20-40 percent increases.

“It has been a really good summer,” she said. “Our numbers in the valley are up considerably. I think, for the most part, Ghost Town has met everyone’s expectations.”

Richard Boris, owner of Maggie Country Store, a gift shop featuring leather goods and crafts, said Ghost Town has fulfilled another critical role: Families — and not just retirees — are now shopping and staying overnight in the tourism-dependent town, he said.

“We’ve picked up a whole new generation,” said Boris, who also operates a campground behind his store on Soco Road.

Tom Stratton, owner of Rocky Waters Motel, which is within walking distance of the theme park, agreed.

“It seems like it is back to what it used to be,” he said.

In its heyday, Ghost Town had up to 10,000 visitors a day. Cordier said in previous interviews that 200,000 people were expected to visit Ghost Town this season.

What’s next?
King and Bailey said that the winter would give them time to do some planning, a critical element that was in short supply this year.

Entertainment will be lined up ahead of time, King said, and the park plans to target marketing areas that showed promise this season. These include attracting more groups such as churches, continuing to offer coupons and selling more season passes.

Bailey said a couple of new rides would be added in 2008, but he declined to identify what they would be. The new general manager also said the 650-seat country music hall in Ghost Town will open, allowing the theme park to bring in more entertainment.

From a marketing standpoint, King said, growth is vital to the theme park’s future success.

“We do need to keep things fresh to add more excitement and keep the buzz,” he said.

Glad to hear they did so well. Can't wait to get the coaster going and the pirate ship too.

[Thriller]

I did not visit this year b/c the coaster was not open, so next year I will be goign for sure!

[wdwspider]

^^ Ditto.

I am planning to go once the coaster is working.

They do not mention it, but I have heard the bumper cars are coming back next year also. I did not realize the Pirate Ship was too.

From what I have seen. the park did a fantastic job repairing, repainting, and recreating the park in a bigger and better way. They seem to have lots of ideas to plus it and make it even better. The movie, the trading cards, the restaurant, and the possible Halloween events in the future are great new ideas.

I can easily see a Log Flume or a Wild Mouse being added with some great results too.

[Jonathan]

I was impressed with the park. Once they finish everything and get the coaster open, all they need to do is put in a good woodie and they've probably got one of my favorite parks in the country. B)

[coasterbruh]

^ becareful what you wish for

[bgwfreak]

It would be kinda cool if they coulds somehow do a log flume down the path of that ride that never opened "Silver Bullet" I think it was called.

It's kinda below Cliff Hanger and you can see one spot where it was .

Cliff Hanger is a short ride, but still looks really fun.

[swampfox43]

The latest "Our State" magazine has a great article on Ghost Town. Talks about the former owners, how he chose some Hollywood producer to design the park in the 60's, up until the re-opening of the park. Some pretty nice pictures to go along with the article too.