Evermore (first half)

Hey, Jenny, you are doing some fantastic quality analysis on themed attractions; as good as anyone I've read (hence me joining the Patreon), so I hope you can power through this one even if it's not so fun anymore. I wish professional outlets were paying you for this in-depth look. (You probably do too.)

Omg at 25 seconds in, that is Logan Long who competed on Face Off on SyFy! His IG is @Logan_Claybeard

Impressive wpm!

Revisiting the 1st half of Jenny's Evermore stuff and enjoying her delivery on Salt Lake City's hottest new entertainment center T H E V O I D

I did find it funny that they named it Pyrah, which means fire, and it turned out to just be a lazy way of trying to make pirates sound more ethereal/whimsical. Felt like a good microchosm of the parks issues.

This preview alone was totally worth upgrading to the next tier. As a long time Pro Gamer(tm), Bretschneider reminds me of Peter Molyneux and Sid Meier in terms of infamously overpromising and underdelivering on their ventures.

Joining Jackson on this!! I know this one is a ton of work, and I'm looking forward to the finish. Worth the wait!

Hey Jenny! In your most recent ramble you mentioned being tired of working on the evermore video and I just wanted to comment on this preview to say how excited I (and I'm sure everyone following the Patreon) is to see the video when it's complete and the time you've taken on it is really appreciated! I love your dedication and passion for topics like this and I can't wait to see the full project

Evermore is so weirdly fascinating to me. It's that combination of an idea I'm really into (a D&D LARP theme park) and terrible execution (poor planning and mismanagement). I can't get enough of it!

I just joined this tier of the patreon and have been fully convinced that evermore was a vampire diaries themed theme park this whole time so this was an exciting video for me

Still pining for part 2 of this video. Hope we get it someday. 💜

Was the second half ever posted? If it was I can't find it

"EverFear" cracks me up so much, the dramatic look in your eyes when you say it lmao

! I did the Star Wars VOID at Disney Springs!! It was neat!

That voice for the king's "most trusted advisor" was so spot on

new to jenny`s patreon here! sad to hear about the void, i went there in december 2019 in disney springs, it was pretty damn expensive but very cool & my dad who is a long time star wars fan was totally starstuck by the star wars VR they offered. if we ever go back to disney im gonna have some bad news to break to him :( but really it was the bad business management that led to it`s closing, for once i don`t blame disney for terminating their lease. glad i got to enjoy it while it was there.

I’m just now seeing this video as I am new to Jenny’s Patreon. I live 20 mins away from Evermore, and am an advertising student at a nearby university. I was on a team for a student spec ad campaign for D&D, and we tried every. Method. Possible. To get in touch with SOMEONE at Evermore to film there, as it would be the perfect location. We often never got replies from emails and forms, and when we did, they wanted $7,000 for us students to film in the tavern on an off day. So frustrating. Anyway, I’m looking forward to the rest of the review, but so far, everything checks out with what I know about that place.

Wow, this is crazy! Evermore is only 4 miles from my house and I didn't know most of the stuff. It's amazing how much of a failure this has been! Comic-con does amazing here, you have a huge population of fantasy loving families, college students, and church groups that are always looking for something to do on the weekends! This should not be as much of a failure as it is.

why did i think this was about taylor swift's evermore?

i can't stop thinking about how there were at least 93 bullet points on that lawsuit

wait at first i thought the dragon puppet was some bizarre social media advertisement for the park but then i listened more closely and holy shit was that kevin perjurer??????

I produce and run weekend LARPs and the entire story of Evermore gives me stomach grinding anxiety and frustration

I'm watching this over a month late, having just jumped to a higher Patreon tier, and it's riveting! I'd never heard of Evermore, but (as Nick Holland described it above) the promise of a "PG rated Westworld" had me excited until you laid out all the missteps. I was a little worried about spoiling the full version for myself, but now I'm looking forward to re-watching this part all over again. Nice job!

Well this is quite an adventure! I can’t wait to see more, lol. It’s such a great idea, shame about, you know, everything else.

I can't wait for the rest of this video!

Thanks for creating this video. It’s interesting to have all the history of Evermore collected in one place. I live in Salt Lake about 40 minutes North of Evermore. I’d been following their progress since it was first announced in 2014, it sounded like an ambitious and interesting concept. When they opened, I went down once each season with a group to see how it was working and, apart from one or two interactions, was mildly disappointed that it didn’t live up to expectations, but like most locals have commented figured they’d get it sorted eventually. Then, we just happened to go down for the evening known as “The darkest night”. The clips of people running and screaming don’t really give a true feel of the evening. In reality, the effect built over the course of the evening and that bit at the end where people were being ushered out of the gates came across as the culmination of the evening rather than a surprise out of the blue. Discussing it afterwards in our group we all thought “Yup, they finally nailed it as an immersive experience”. I was surprised to learn later that it didn’t go down so well with some. That evening encouraged me to go back weekly for the next season in costume (something I had never done anywhere before). I think that the Lore and Aurora 2019 seasons were as close to being a PG rated Westworld type experience that you could have expected. However, I did wonder how they could be making money. They had a cast of 50 or more front line actors plus all the support staff, and the experience seemed not entirely targeted at a casual audience. Next time I went back was, I think, maybe the same weekend that Jenny was there. The same group of friends went, and it just wasn’t the same place. We were quite disappointed. There were maybe a third of the staff, less intricate plot, and overall, it did feel targeted more at the local casual family guest. From reports I have heard it does appear like that approach may be working for the park though. It seems they are getting more people to go. It also sounds like they have been adding more plot back in too. Maybe it will allow them to remain viable and eventually have as much depth as it once had. Who knows? I do intend to go back maybe once each season again to see how it’s going, but I’m really glad I got to experience it at what may have been peak immersion.

Jenny, I CRAVE the rest of this video. As a long-time immersive experience fan and creator, I've always been interested in the twisting tale of Evermore's history. I've watched the first hour of your video 3 times now, and every rewatch I get more baffled at how strange the decisions have been from upper management. 95% of these weird missteps could have been avoided with the SMALLEST tweaks. The park has quite beautiful bones, with so much potential for incredible experiences. I can't wait to see the rest and your first-hand experience at the park! <3

These previews are immersive non-theatrical experiences 🎭

It's pretty sad that so many of this park's problems should be resolved by common sense. I mean the founder should have some inkling of customer service for all of the haunts and VR sets he's hosted/founded. It's a shame because otherwise the park is a fantastic idea. It just needs someone with a little more experience designing a theme park like this. Maybe some day, a former Disney imagineer or someone of similar caliber can work for them and give them tips on how to make it a better experience. EDIT: okay, I've gotten to the Taylor Swift part where a dragon puppet is unironically discussing the ways in which she violated Evermore's copyright. These guys are toast unless the CEO sells it and new park owners save it.

It honestly took me way too long to realise that the dragon reading the legal jargon was not a weird social media post for the park

So incredibly pleased by this video! I have been curious about Evermore for a while, and so glad you're taking it on as a topic. Really grateful for how much work you've put into this from research to high femme costume looks to editing, this is just such a gift honestly.

Huh. I live in Utah and have also never heard of Evermore. And in Pleasant Grove?! Absolutely awful choice. We have Lagoon in Farmington, which is an actual amusement park, so it seems quite ambitious to think he could rival a popular local park that's been open for over 100 years. Now that I know it exists though, I'll probably drag a friend there during Fall just because of your video Jenny!

Jenny I am just here to say I am delighted the big spider got a flower crown.

The medieval manuscript people in the title card for part 3 (at 8:22) using VR gear lol. A nice touch!

*starkid dumbledor voice* what the hellll is a evermore?

Theatre kids and their consequences

I've been wondering: who is the guy in the top hat? The "You're gonna get off the boat" guy. Early on I thought he was the same guy as Bretschneider but now I'm pretty sure he's someone else.

It hurts how cool this place sounded 😭 we can dream I guess. I also feel the need to say that I genuinely love a numbered list 😊

I can't get over how poorly thought out this was. Utah has about 3 million people, which is your population base for a modest theme park as it won't draw people from elsewhere. You might get some tourists but the problem is the tourists come to that part of Utah in the winter for skiing when the park is closed. That population is not enough to sustain a park like this. To draw people to the region you really do have to make a Disneyland scale park. Even then I don't think it would be sustainable. It really just goes to show that tech millionaires/billionaires think they are smarter than they actually are because they got lucky and made some money.

TELL ME WHY THE WINDCHIME MUSIC TOOK ME OUT

THE GRID seems like it could have easily been a home run? I know the combination arcade/VR experience is really popular in tourist areas of Japan, although I can't say whether they're actually profitable. When the Void popped up I was excited to see that concept arrive in the US but alas... This dude Bretschneider seems really dedicated to overpromising and under-delivering.

WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT THE GRID!!

It's the Fitzcarraldo of theme parks

This is such a fascinating "what not to do" of executing and promoting an ambitious creative endeavor. One has to wonder if Mr. Bretschneider is surrounded by yes-men who endorse his every bad idea or if there really is some evil vizier lurking somewhere. As always, very well considered and delivered content!

Maybe it was only me because no one else seems to have mentioned it but you're 100% right that the "night evermore went dark" clips are jarringly reminiscent of real life attacks. To the point that hearing them without warning shook me up a bit. I listen while I'm doing other things so I don't know if you had a visual warning on screen but a bit more notice might be nice. I'm probably just especially sensitive but I thought I'd mention it. Love the video so far and I can't wait to watch the whole thing!

I don't understand why Bretschneider just didn't shake it off

This is SO good!! As someone who watched both parts of the initial Evermore previews the new additions are SO good I love it! This is VERY unrelated, but have you heard of Other world? It's a cool art experience in Columbus Ohio that you can like wander around and apparently there's a whole story to it if you figure it out...? It's pretty big because they took over a big portion of an abandoned strip mall to make like these like 40 trippy crazy set playground spaces. It's really cool, I don't know if it's worth coming out all the way to Columbus Ohio, but it's something to think about if you're ever trapped in the Midwest. There's even a mascot plush named Snort and I'm obsessed with him.

Looking great so far!

It took a while to settle in my brain that the Evermore guy's name is Bretschneider and not Brett Schneider. I'll often get absorbed while watching the longer previews and half forget that there won't be a proper conclusion, so when I suddenly remember near the end or the video stops on a cliffhanger I feel a bit like letting out a Captain Kirk "Khaaaaaan!" scream. It's going to be interesting seeing how Jenny's visit to the park went given the ominous foreshadowing so far!

I love how what started as a shorter vid to tide us over until the Barbie movie review has evolved into a multi-hour takedown of a theme park I had never heard of. Very on brand. *chefs kiss*

THIS NEEDS TO BE ON PODCAST: THE RIDE!!! Hot takes from Jenny and the Good Boys!

Also, "Lobby". That is truly hysterical :)

I'm torn between genuine sympathy for the dream that would not be, and feelings of repulsion about the entrepreneur. Dude gives off a weird dark vibe. That guy on the radio interview describing the holodeck? That shit was ten times more horrifying than Lore 2017.

Maybe it's just 'cause I recently watched "The Greatest Showman" for the first time, but I'm getting more of a P. T. Barnum vibe than a Walt Disney vibe from Bretschneider, in spite of him clearly wanting to be associated with the latter. ... IN MY OPINION.

This is fantastic, and I'm so excited to see the rest! Also, I am low-key dying at how they misspell Pleasant Grove in the Contact Us page of their website.

That’s Perj doing the voice of the dragon, right???

When I got to your impression of the evil advisor to the king I nearly died laughing lo. Really amazing work! Even if your videos take a little longer, they're still *so* good

Gosh now I get to repeatedly listen to this super cut in anticipation!! I’m so happy you decided to upload another preview!

Someone mentioned Evermore today at work and I launched into a recitation of everything I’ve learned in your previews and was met with blank stares. My social cred is ON. THE. RISE. ✨

I did see some of this in an earlier video but I have to say, it did really surprise me to learn that the guy in charge of Evermore also created The Void. I honestly had always assumed Evermore was just a permanent Renaissance Faire and thus was created by some Ren Faire folks.

Wow, I had already forgotten about the whole Taylor Swift album lawsuit thing, and I say this as a decently big Taylor Swift fan!

What is up with that knapped stone knife in the lower right? Tip pointing at Jenny,

I feel like I just listened to an hour of dubstep and got cut off one second before the beat dropped 😆

You made my Alexa turn on my lamp even though my lamp's name is definitely not "Gamer Lights."

This is already so good that the ending of this was practically a cliff hanger

there's a clip missing at 58:21 i think

*evermore insta and Twitter hasn’t been active since Jan 5th/6th respectively* Omg please tell me this is unrelated to something else that happened on Jan 6th…

Keeping the elf ears on with the hoodie and baseball cap was brilliant...IN MY OPINION

Is filming of the second half completed? just wondering

Ken Bretschneider's hair looks incredible

Love this, can't wait for the full video

The defunctland cameo really threw me

i tend not to think things are worth the wait; this was *well* worth the wait

Video looking real good so far. btw at 58:20 the video briefly goes black for a second or two

it's so easy to update web pages, it's not computer science, it's end user stuff...

As someone who lives in Utah, I can confirm that I had never heard of Evermore until the first preview video

I don't care about true crime documentaries but I'm super invested in the intrigue of this weird theme park I will never visit.

It's The Griiiiiid!!!!!

So excited for the full video!!

I am, indeed, impressed by Jenny's WPM and lack of typos in her re-enactment of her email to Evermore. I had to correct no fewer than seven typos in this comment before posting, so, go Jenny.

Jenny, you are the only person who can make me so interested in such a unknown train wreck like this. Can't wait for the full project. <3

The puppet dragon reading legal complaints brought me more joy than anything has in weeks. And then the puppet put on reading glasses, and... [chef's kiss] beautiful.

1:06:20 Impressed ;) Edit: Seriously tho, can't wait for the 2nd half. (Hope we'll get some Evermore found footage horror stuff).

My night is really made with this post! The spoiler warning about the staff is sad to see though and has piqued my curiosity even further about a topic I'm obsessed with anyway.

This is looking amazing so far!! I love the longer videos and have watched the VPD one multiple times too. I love the touches on the title/part cards (like the googles on the one for the void). Your attention to detail is marvellous as always.

Just me waffling back and forth over whether to watch it now or wait for the whole thing to release

Cliffhanger, how delicious

So good so far! Can't wait to see the rest 💕

This is so awesome! Can’t wait to see the final product, take your time because the quality is really shining through!

I am far too invested in this park I will never visit

"This lawsuit was not only a bad move, it was probably the worst and stupidest financial decision that could have ever been made." I was half-expecting that to be followed up with an 'IN MY OPINION'.

Was the "IN MY OPINION" text a suggestion from your lawyers? I'd be so curious to know what legal experts had to say about the legal aspects of making this video.

I like your Midsommar getup

LOVE the long formats!! Thanks for all your hard work, content like this has honestly made covid so much more bearable 💕

Oooh I’m gonna wait for the whole thing!

One hour for just the first half. Majestic.

Ooh boy it's like a birthday present! This definitely gonna be longer than the VPD video though huh? (I mean this positively) Having one large video definitely makes more sense then several parts, esp. with the chapter breakups on the video progress bar (time bar? idk what to call it)- those make it a lot easier to rewatch

Whelp, I'm sleeping late.

I've loved the first few parts and I am SO excited for the full thing 😁😁

I almost exclusively watch long videos for all the reasons you've mentioned here and on Twitter. Take your time to finish it up! Can't wait to see the whole thing! (I'm still going to watch this preview, but only cuz I'm weak)

omg wasn't expecting this :D