PLEASANT GROVE - After heavily publicizing the opening of a new theme park in Utah County, the creators of the concept of Evermore say the project is on hold for now.
The 45-acre Evermore theme park was scheduled to open this fall. Creators promised it would boast Victorian-themed villages, rides and creatures--and they said the park would rival Disneyland. But recently, co-founder and CEO Ken Bretschneider says the company has not received the financial backing they need and the property they planned to build on simply wouldn't work.
"Because it's a physical park, we couldn't be in a situation where we were too close to residential units," Bretschneider said.
Now, instead of Evermore, they have plans to build a virtual reality entertainment center called Void, or Vision of Infinite Dimensions.
"The idea behind it is that we basically merge virtual-reality and physical reality together, so when you touch a wall virtually, you're also touching the wall physically," Bretschneider said. "We created a completely immersive experience. It's like living in a movie or living in a video game."
Bretschneider says, while he is excited about the construction of Void, he is sorry his plans for Evermore are not working out. But he says they are finding a way to make it a possibility.
"In the meantime, we're looking at other parcels of property," he said. "We're probably looking to acquire more--like 100 acres."
Mayor of Pleasant Grove Michael Daniels says he is confident Bretschneider's plans will be a success and looks forward to the concepts he's bringing to the city.
"I would think that if someone's going to invest in a multi-million dollar theme park, they're going to take their time and really do it right," Daniels said.
