As a friend of mine once said of such things, they're all "Six Flags Over Jesus."

of anti-science morons.

Supposed to read, "If 2 million visitors"

They haven't gotten a fraction of that.

even better

on Kim Davis and her hordes of ex-husbands and former/new kinfolks to fill the place. She lives only about two hollers over.

Kimfolks

was carved in days or that Adam and Eve had a pet dinosaur named Rex.

real

reality TV. Yabba Dabba Duh!

And they're allowed to discriminate?

I bet they didn't contribute to the local economy very much.

I lost a lot of respect for a relative of mine who recently took his wife there for their 30th wedding anniversary. I really thought he was smarter, but....

...for divorce!

of that paragraph. I guess it was a copy and paste error on the OPs part. The first word is 'IF 2 million people'. As far as we know only 5 people showed up last year, they refuse to release attendance numbers.

... just for the laughs but I couldn't bring myself to give them money.

Last edited Sun Aug 7, 2016, 07:53 PM - Edit history (1)

to see and hear the same bullshit you can hear for free at your church?

The patrons of the park are paying for the reinforcement of their world-view.

It's how you train Dumb Animals

That prices out a large portion of their potential visitors. Most are probably going to be part of discounted groups.

They really didn't use tax money. It was complicated , some secured loans and such. It was actually legit financially. You have no idea how much I was surprised by that. I hate to defend these grifters since they are fleecing the crap out of a lot of surprisingly nice people. Remember, most of the fundamentalist types actually mind their own business. My atheist ass gets on well with them for the most part. They cringe in contact embarrassment at the vocal fringe of their group just like I do at so called atheist spokespeople.
Common ground right there.

Any scheme that gives breaks to any business is, in fact, a taxpayer subsidy (i.e., "taxpayer money.&quot

I am so used to politicians in ky subsidizing any and all businesses just to get them to locate here, I guess I have become inured to it.

If the ark has less visitiors, then the sales tax rebate cost them less.

If the ark was never built at all the state doesn't collect that sales tax at all. Either way, both sides are probably coming out ahead, even though the expected return for both sides may be a bit smaller than expected.

Here are the four biggest items taxpayers are funding:

- The theme park's land was free
- Up to 25% of investments to be repaid from sales taxes (up to $18 million)
- Another $11 million in roads paid for by taxpayers
- Another $62 million in municipal bonds (guaranteed by taxpayers)

And, of course, only creationists can work there.

The fact is that, without taxpayers getting fleeced, the silly place would never have been built.

... especially those that have blatantly discriminatory hiring practices.

I wasn't saying that the park was a good thing or defending what it purports to teach. kind of getting the feeling folks think I am a secret fundie. And that hurts guys. I haven't been to a church service in 30 years.

Pretend it ain't so if you wish....everyone else reading this knows it is true.

guaranteed. Of course you have to wonder if they default, how having the community's name (even with the caveats) isn't going to lead to a lot of questions and even a lawsuit.

And the bonds themselves? If anything forces the ark to shut down, they’re only as valuable as the paper they are printed on, bond market experts say.

That’s because they are not guaranteed the way most so-called “church bonds” are, meaning the owners of the bonds absorb any losses and Answers in Genesis holds little risk.

The city of Williamstown, which issued the debt as municipal bonds on behalf of the ministry and the ark project, also did not guarantee them. That leaves the project's investors on their own.
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/06/23/who-pays-new-ark-taxpayers/85481082/

Even with under-12 half pricing, that's $200 for a family of two adults and six kids under 12. Ridiculous.

For the more detailed information. I had just heard a few stories about it on npr while driving. That's what I like about DU, you always learn something. Like I just learned not to ever even tangentially defend fundie woo peddlers on sketchy details or people will give you a good old fashioned butt Whuppin.

supposedly a Japanese innovation first used in their Yamato-class super battleships. They sunk as well.

Where is Kevin Costner, when you need him??

I even know what to name it: Genesis 19:13 Productions

anyone suspected."

How very biblical of them.

Okay, I had no idea the fundies had undertaken this folly. 100 million dollar monument to antediluvian flat-earth beliefs a failure? Go figure... I can't say I'm surprised after the level and quantity of ignorance I was exposed to during a recent sojourn from the admittedly insular west coast.
Or maybe they can turn it into a Wizard of Oz attraction. I'd pitch a 40 bill for that.

He thought the ark was cool looking. Not anything to see again.

I keep meaning to jump in my car and drive hundreds of miles for the thrill but there are so many interesting infomercials on TV nowadays

There is also a limit on those potential customers to those who can afford to go to a theme park at $40 per day. For comparison, Disneyland costs at least $95 a day ("peak" days cost $119 for admission). But unlike Ark Encounter, Disneyland changes all the time. Unpopular rides are discontinued or repurposed, other attractions rotate in and out. Ark Encounter is the same each and every time, as befits a static reading of isolated texts. You go there once, you've seen everything they have to offer, everything they'll ever have to offer. You think anything they have to do or see will be a "gotta go there again!" experience like Space Mountain?

So, with such severe limitations on customer base, repeat business, and so forth ("Hey kids, guess where we're going on vacation? Kentucky!&quot , it's not hard to figure that Ark Encounter isn't going to be a cash machine for Williamstown.

I am guessing this enterprise will be in bankruptcy/foreclosure as soon as the venture capital and donations dry up.

Get in the way of his grift.

First rule of the grifting biz: care but not to much
Second rule: never grift beyond your ability to control it
And three: always have an escape plan.

He failed all three. Amateur. He deserves all the grief he gets

... I'm surprised that was the chosen location. There's not much around there!

I think they would've been smarter to pick a more populated area in Texas.

will dig up the wasted remnants of this farce as proof of gods existence and the truth of the bible. And so the lie perpetuates.

...right.

according to the sacred scrolls.

but they're going to drown in red ink. Only one man can save their butts. I Noah guy! 😉

in West Virginia. It was either off of I68 or I81. All that was there was a sign saying the Ark was being built, and about 50 pieces of steel framing that had been erected.

I need to brush up on my Genesis. I didn't know that Noah contracted part of the work out to Bethlehem Steel.

Oh well, you know what they say; "everything is possible with God".

of WV were destroyed by mountaintop removal.

People will visit it once at most. And as word gets around as to just what a bore it is, attendance will plummet. The Air and Space Museum it isn't. And it costs big bucks - likely people will only attend with deep discount coupons. And one can only make so much money on gift shop T shirts etc.