New partners in Edaville Family Theme Park are planning some changes.
The Carver amusement park — with its train ride through cranberry bogs, Thomas Land, and other attractions — was up for sale this spring. It has not been sold, but two new partners are investing in the park.
Operations partner Brian Fanslau said Edaville will reopen for the holiday season Nov. 10 with a European-style Christmas market in addition to rides, lights, and trains.
“We're going to change the pricing structure, so that it's more affordable and more accessible multiple times,” he said in an interview. “We're already getting stuff set up for Christmas now … and we're very excited.”
Edaville announced on its Facebook page last week that Fanslau, of Alna, Maine, and managing partner Shervin B. Hawley, of Sudbury, were joining the park to work toward its long-term success as “a traditional family park centered on its historic steam locomotives and family-oriented activities.”
Fanslau owns Maine Locomotive and Machine Works and makes his living repairing steam trains around New England, including the ones at Edaville.
Trains at the park will be as important as ever, he said.
“One change we're going to have for this Christmas season is, we want to have steam trains all the time,” he said. “Our plans are essentially to get Edaville back to its original roots — local themes, steam trains.”
Edaville also plans to add more activities that appeal to adults, such as couples’ events, and possibly ice skating or other things, he said.
“We've got a whole host of things in our head,” he said. “And a big one for us is hands-on activities that engage families, more so than just the train ride and the amusement rides — things that can actually be done for multiple generations.”
The partners plan to make more decisions about the park’s future after the holidays, he said.
The Edaville Facebook page says neither Thomas Land nor Dino Land will open for the holidays, “as we concentrate on how to make the Christmas Festival of Lights one to remember for our 75th anniversary.”
