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'Adventures' park sold for $34.5 million

• The Valdosta theme and water park Wild Adventures sells at auction to a company that is involved in 17 other theme park operations.

Susan McCord

VALDOSTA — The company responsible for Dollywood and Stone Mountain Park was the winning bidder at auction Tuesday for Wild Adventures Theme Park, park officials announced Wednesday.

Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation, which owns, operates or is a partner in 17 attractions in seven states, including Silver Dollar City and White Water parks in Branson, Mo., Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash Country in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, agreed to pay $34.5 million for Wild Adventures, Valdosta’s 166-acre theme park, Herschend spokesperson Valerie McCarty said.

An operating partner with Dolly Parton in Tennessee’s Dollywood and with the State of Georgia in Stone Mountain Park, Herchend extends its reach further into the Southeastern market with Wild Adventures, McCarty said.

“The Southeast is definitely a region the company is very comfortable with,” she said.

Officials have sought to ensure a smooth transition for park patrons since owner Adventure Parks Group LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2006.

Wild Adventures employs 600-700, depending on the season, to entertain the more than 1 million who visit the park each year, said Wild Adventures spokeswoman Sara Sumner.

Valdosta businessman Kent Buescher bought Wild Adventures for $7 million, according to wire reports.

Buescher abandoned early plans for a horse farm on the property when he discovered his wife was allergic, Sumner said. “From there it just blossomed,” she said.

Wild Adventures today boasts nine roller coasters, hundreds of animals and a water park.

Adventure Parks Group purchased Cypress Gardens in 2004 with plans to restore Florida’s oldest theme park to its “former prominence,” according to filings in Middle Georgia District bankruptcy court.

The group’s largest creditors include Falcon Mezzanine Partners LP, Cascade Investments LLC, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and David and Jane Motley of Valdosta, according to court papers.

The bankruptcy court is expected to approve Wild Adventures’ sale to Herschend this week, Sumner said.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay creditors as the court dictates, she said.

Cypress Gardens also sold at auction Tuesday for $16.8 million to Land South Holdings of Mulberry, Fla., according to wire reports.

The Ledger of Lakeland, Fla., said Buescher planned to stay on as CEO of Cypress Gardens.

“It’s the close of a big part of my life,” Buescher told The Ledger. “I’m apprehensive, but they’ve offered me a wonderful opportunity.”

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