Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort has been a Wisconsin Dells mainstay for over forty years. Located off of Interstate 90/94 on sixty acres, there are 250 campsites, 50 rental units, and room for group camping for over 1000 people. Recently, I had the chance to spend time with owner Brent Gasser, whose family brought one of the first Jellystone Park™ campgrounds to life.
Tell me a little about how things all began Brent. Are
you originally from the Dells?
BRENT GASSER: I’m actually third generation from this area. My grandfather
was a farmer on this land where we’re sitting today. My father did asphalt
paving, it was a three state asphalt paving company, and then our family formed
this off of our farmland. We created the concept in 1971when the franchise
company came to us to purchase the land. They wanted to buy the land and build
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™. It was a brand new franchise concept by Columbia
Screen Gems, now known as Warner Brothers. Instead of selling the land, my
parents decided to build the property into their own resort in 1971 and became
a franchisee. There are now eighty in the United States and Canada.
They came to you because you had the property here?
Correct. They came to us looking for land to purchase and
instead my family decided, with the disintegration of the family structure, and
with the need to have more options for families to spend time together
outdoors, they decided to build the property themselves. Manage it and own it
wholly, just paying a franchise and licensing fee.
So before then it was just a forest?
Actually it was vacant farmland. We had a landscape
architect transplant 3000 trees to this property to make a forest. When we
built the park, there weren’t any trees. Everyone said you are crazy building a
campground on the interstate with no trees, but it was a brilliant strategy
because the location couldn’t be duplicated. It took time, but look what it
looks like forty years later.
Was this the first Jellystone Park™?
No, we were the third operation built. The franchise company
built the original one in Sturgeon Bay, WI, and the second one was in Orlando,
FL.
I’m guessing you were a Yogi Bear™ fan back then?
As a child I grew up watching Yogi Bear™ cartoons, along
with The Jetsons, The Flintstones. If you look around the office here you can
see it’s decorated with most of the cartoon artwork. Being a baby boomer, it
was a natural fit for our family, because it’s a very family friendly cartoon
character.
Speaking of family, tell me a little about yours.
My wife, Cate, is a school teacher at the Baraboo High
School. She teaches food service there. Our oldest daughter, Katrina, is in
Minneapolis, at a production company called Bebe Bella; she just graduated from
college and has a job there. We have identical twin sons, Brennan and
Christopher that are eighteen months younger than our oldest daughter, and they
are seniors in art school in Minneapolis. Our youngest still works here in the
park, her name is Natalie, and she is in her senior year of high school.
So, has it always been a family run business?
It’s always been run by the family. I was thirteen when I
started working here, when we were building the park actually. I helped do some
of the construction of the park, and then throughout my high school years I
worked here every summer. I went to college at the University of Wisconsin,
Madison. Got a degree in business, minor in Psychology, and an emphasis in
Spanish. I came back here and assumed the role of the manager.
Eventually, about ten years later, purchased the property
from my parents, So, I’ve been the owner since approximately the early 80s. It
was an interesting journey to say the least. (laughs)
I’m assuming you started off small and then expanded over
the years?
Yes, it started off with strictly camping and a small store,
and a small concession stand. Today we now have a five thousand square foot
retail store with Warner Brothers Yogi Bear licensed goods, only available at
this park. We have a water playground on site, which has twenty-five water
features, a structure with four water slides, an activity pool with a yellow
spiral slide twenty-five feet high, and also a hot tub on the property.
We created this concept, my parents and my family, so when
we built the property, we knew what we owned and we wanted it to layout to the
interstate to get maximum visibility. My mother was a great visionary, in which
she understood what mothers were looking for, and more specifically, what she
wanted for families. My dad was the construction engineer, so they created all
this. At the time there were zero plans for building a Yogi Bear’s Jellystone
Park™, because there only had been two built. So they looked at the one in
Sturgeon Bay, they looked at the one in Orlando, and then figured it all out
themselves.
This entire park was built in sixty-three days from start to
finish, almost impossible! (laughs) It’s since been expanded. The pavilion has
been added, the bar, the gate house, the water area as I mentioned. We added
onto the store, and a zillion campsites and a zillion cabins. The original
concept is still very much like it was.
Tell me a little about the accommodations you offer.
Rates start as low as $25 a night for a family of four,
which is a phenomenal value. We now have six styles of camping and six styles
of lodging available for our guests. The choices would be, budget tent
campsites, water and electric hook-ups for all types of camping units, RV
campsites with 50 amp electric, water & sewer for the big rigs, package
sites such as Red Carpets, where they can get free unlimited mini-golf and
boats with their site, a paved site, a grill, a patio, and personal visits by
Yogi Bear. Then there are theme sites, similar to what you have at Disney
World, with characterization on your site. Special checkerboard picnic table,
again comes with free amenities – mini-golf and boats free – we have
paddleboats & canoes on beautiful Mirror Lake, and they also get a photo
with a character for free.
There are six styles of cabins. Yogi™ Yurt has two queen
beds and are a modern adaptation of the ancient shelter used by Central Asian
nomads. Cindy Bear™ rustic cabins which sleep four, Yogi Bear™ bungalows which
sleep six and have air/heat, TV/DVD & Boo Boo™ Chalets. There are three styles
of chalets. The 4 and 6 sleeper chalets have full bath, full refrigerator,
and microwave. The 8 sleeper has Master
Bedroom with its own TV, kids room with 2 bunk beds, living room with another
TV & futon for a another couple. This unit also has full bath & kitchen
and comes complete with cooking utensils and all bedding. We also have lodges
on the property that sleep six people with full kitchen, bathroom and living
room and are centrally located near the water playground. These units also have
cooking utensils and bedding included.
All units have porch with swing, BBQ grill, fire ring and picnic table
for outside dining!
Sounds like you have something for everyone’s lodging
needs.
Yes, we built the park in phases. In 1993 when we built the
first cabins, no camp ground in the United States had them yet. I decided to
test market the concept because I knew they were becoming popular in the
industry in Europe, so we built three. They were very successful and we
continued building for the next 20 years.
Today we even have free WIFI throughout the entire 60 acre resort.
So after your guests arrive, what are some of the unique
things that they can do here for entertainment?
We do twenty weeks of special events. The big thing we do
different here is that every week there is a different theme. This week for
example, today starts our Hawaiian Paradise week. The whole property will be
decorated Hawaiian. On Saturday night we’ll have a party around the pool with
Hawaiian dancers that are in full costume. Fire and knife juggling, singing,
music, we’ll have about 1500 people attend that event. In addition, we have
free hors d’oeuvers specially prepared by my wife, a large task for that volume
of guests. In fact, this weekend has been so popular, we created a second week, called the Caribbean Getaway Week which will give the guests a Caribbean
vacation experience. These events are only for our guests on the property and
these events are all free. The events change weekly, and you can find them all
on our website, http://dellsjellystone.com/events/.
Other popular events are our Christmas Week in June,
Halloween in July, Mardi Grai in August, and our Chocoholics Anonymous Week. We
also have one birthday for every character every year. A new one this year is
our Jr. Ranger Safari Week. We recruit all the children to help be Junior
Rangers and then they took a safari through our golf cart trail where there
were “live animals” that they could view and visit.
Another thing that was new this year, that was different
then the past, is that we recreated the 1958 Yogi Bear™ Ranger Smith™ Chase.
Yogi Bear™ is known for stealing picnic baskets, as you probably know if you
watch the cartoons, and he will go throughout the park walking. Then, at the
point where Ranger Smith™ sees him, Ranger Smith™ will then grab Yogi Bear™
arrest him and take him off to jail. All the kids are helpers and are given Jr.
Ranger badges beforehand. It’s an extremely popular event because the kids are
engaged in the activity of helping catch Yogi Bear™, and helping keep the park
safe.
Sounds fun! It seems like there is a lot more going on
here then what I originally thought.
Many people are surprised, that’s why we are a resort and
not just a campground. Other things we do different, that many people aren’t
aware of, is that we do wake-ups with Yogi Bear™. Yogi Bear™ will come to your
campsite, bring a bowl of cereal and milk, and wake up your children. We also
do birthday parties on site where you can get a birthday hat, a cake, and Yogi
Bear™, Cindy Bear™ and Boo Boo™ will come to your site and bring a little gift
for the children.
How many characters do you have?
We have Yogi Bear™, Boo Boo™, Cindy Bear™, and Ranger Smith™
– that’s the Jellystone Park™ family. Yogi Bear™ is the boss of the camp
resort. Boo Boo™ is his conscience and best buddy; he helps keep Yogi Bear™ out
of trouble. Ranger Smith™, of course, is the guy that keeps the park from Yogi
Bear™ antics, and Cindy Bear™ is girlfriend of Yogi Bear™.
What’s your favorite character?
I really don’t have one. I like all of them because I think
they are all very positive for children. I think today’s cartoon characters tend
to focus on the negative and cynicism. Yogi Bear™ only focuses on the positive,
making people feel good about themselves. As well as Boo Boo™, Cindy Bear™, and
Ranger Smith™ – they are all very good role models for children, unlike today’s
role models. That would be true of the whole Warner Brothers cast of
characters, of which there are several hundred.
Can you tell me a little about how the whole concept of
Jellystone Park™ originated?
Jellystone Park™, the way it was created, was by Mr. Bill
Hanna, who I have personally met on many occasions. He has since past. His
creative partner was Mr. Joseph Barbara, who I have also met once. They created
the concept because one of their best friends was a baseball player; you might
recognize the name Yogi Berra? They went out to
Yellowstone Park on an excursion once and came up with the idea that they
should create a fictional Jellystone Park™, inspired by the real Yellowstone
Park.
So, it was based off Yellowstone Park and translated to
Jellystone Park™. They trademarked it through Columbia Screen Gems, who was the
original film producer. It’s been bought and sold like six times that I can
remember, but currently owned by Warner Brothers - which has been a great
combination because Warner Brothers is huge.
Does Warner Brothers have a lot of input, let’s say if
you wanted to do something with the characters, do you have to run it by them
and make sure it’s OK?
Absolutely. As this is a licensed property by Warner
Brothers, we are one of the worldwide trademarked license holders. On this
property, every time we use the image in marketing or any product that is
produced by our franchise company for resale, it all has to be approved by
Warner Brothers in California. It’s an excellent concept in that they keep the
integrity of the character very true to the 1958 origins. They are very
specific in how it is licensed and how they want the character to be portrayed,
so we follow it very stringently.
Have you ever have any problems where you wanted to do
something and they said no?
No, in fact, they have been very creative with the
character. We are licensed as Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™, but also known as
Yogi Bear’s Camp Resort and Water Playground, because we have a water
playground, unlike many of the others in the United States. Being in the
Waterpark Capital of the World, we felt that was critical. We have been able to
utilize the image in very creative marketing venues, such as a digital
billboard which has been used in Milwaukee. They have a very excellent
department at Warner Brothers that helps approve all of it.
Is it something that happens quickly, or is one of those
drawn out things where you have to wait months?
It depends. Most of our approvals are very expeditious,
because we have been doing this for so many years, and they are very familiar
with our product. They are very happy to know that we’ll make sure it’s being
implemented correctly. We are the only Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort
in the United States that has been run and owned by the same family since the
inception. We literally created this concept with them, and built the image
over forty-three years, helping expand the whole eighty park system. We were,
for example, the ones that created the Red Carpet campsite, as well as the
themed campsites. I could list a dozen things here on the property that we have
created that they now use. Wake up with the bears, the birthday parties, they
use those nationwide now. The most notable addition has been the Club Yogi™
Rewards which rewards the guests with 5 points for every dollar spent. I am
very proud to say that as chairman of the Yogi Advisory Council, my team helped
develop this very important program that was the first and only rewards program
in the camping industry.
With having so many things on property, how many
employees do you usually have to have each season?
Around fifty employees.
Do you have a lot that return year after year?
Many of our staff and managers have been with us for a long
time. Ten, twenty years is not uncommon here. Then of course we hire many
college students. A new concept here that we started three years ago is that we
have been hiring Navigators. Navigators is a branch of campus ministry. They
came to the Wisconsin Dells to form Dells Summer Ministry, and in addition to
furthering the ministry of Christ, they also work five days a week on
properties in the Wisconsin Dells area, which were one of the first businesses
in the Dells to partner with them. The kids are all college students from the
Midwest area, very hardworking, very smart, very dedicated, very honest, and
they have made an excellent fit for our business. We have around nine of them
this year.
We also hire about fifteen international students. We choose
to only hire from Turkey, as we find them to be the most fun, friendly, helpful
and excellent salesman skills. I actually go overseas to do the hiring and to
handpick the best that speak English, the friendliest people, and most helpful
people. We’ve had great success with that. It’s been an interesting concept and
combination of have a Muslim staff from Turkey and a Christian staff, because
we also house most of our employees that come from oversees and around the
country. They are living next door to each other and sometimes in the same
housing unit. It’s created a lot of
long-term friendships, a lot of discussions about different religions, and
actually a lot of insight to other people. I am sure in a very small way, it’s
really helped global peace.
Our main objective is to have fun, friendly, helpful
employees, which we have, and to entertain our guests.
What’s your favorite part of running Yogi Bear’s
Jellystone Park™?
It’s always enjoyable to see the smiles on the children when
they see Yogi Bear™, or Boo Boo™, Cindy Bear™, or Ranger Smith™ – any of the
characters. Seeing them interact with the water playground, the hot tub, the
waterslides, doing any of the arts & crafts or sports games with their
families, or just seeing them around the campfire, enjoying the outdoor
hospitality of family and friends.
People form lifetime friendships when they stay here. What
we do most is create lifetime memories, because they actually camp right next
to each other outdoors. It’s very common that we have multiple family reunions
that come back year after year – so it’s a great family experience. And now, it’s
always interesting to see the grandparents with their grandchildren and to hear
the stories of the grandparents coming here as children!
It sounds like you really have a lot going on here. I bet
you have a lot of guests that never even leave the property.
Well, of course being the Waterpark Capital of the World,
they come to the Wisconsin Dells to see the Wisconsin Dells. While they do find
a large amount of amenities and activities to stay here, many of our guests
venture out to see Wisconsin Dells. Things like the Tommy Bartlett Water show,
which is a partner of ours with Passport to Savings (a discount savings program
for Dells attraction tickets), The Original Wisconsin Ducks, Noah’s Ark, the
Jet Boats, Ripley’s – all of those are partners, just to mention a few. We also partner with Kalahari and package
their theme park tickets with our chalets. For the Mom’s we also have a
ShopNStay package for our cabins or ShopNCamp package for our campsites which
includes a Tanger Mall gift card.
Of course, the families loved being entertained at the park,
but also the opportunity to go out. That’s what makes this park different then
the eighty others in the United States that we are located in one of the top
tourism destinations in the United States.
So, they have the double advantage of enjoying the amenities
here, as well as in the Wisconsin Dells area. That’s why we have a very high
repeat clientele, and a very high referral rate, because they know what they
can expect coming here.
Can you tell me of any future plans?
We would like to continue to expand our rental
opportunities. Those tend to have very good success and have a very high sell-out
rate every weekend, because they are great value for the families. We are going
to continue to expand our special events venue, and most likely expand our
music festivals. We are also working now to expand more vacation bible schools,
week long camps for people to come here. We have a lot of day cares that come
here for the day. We have several hundred of those that come, and we’d like to
continue to expand on that because there are many midweek days that are good
for them to enjoy the facilities inexpensively.
Also, next year we plan to have tents already set up, so
people can just come and check in, without having to set anything up. The new
generation of campers is not interested in doing a lot of work. They want to
check in, check out. It’s all about convenience.
Well, it sounds like you have created a very unique asset
to share with the visitors of the Wisconsin Dells for years to come. Thanks for
taking the time to show me around and sharing your story!
The Dells really is a great place. I certainly have had a
lot of opportunities in my life to do other things, but I choose to stay in the
Wisconsin Dells because of the tremendous opportunity in this town. I’ve
enjoyed seeing the incredible growth in this town since the seventies, and I’ve
been happy to be a part of it. All the families that have been here have
expanded and built beyond their original family’s businesses and have created
phenomenal resorts, attractions and restaurants for family entertainment. I’ve
been very proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish, and what they have
been able to provide our guests as an entertainment venue. It’s quite an
incredible story.
YOGI BEAR and all related
characters and elements are trademarks of and © Hanna-Barbera. (s13)
