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“We’re talking about all sorts of add-ons inside that facility,” he said. “Things like cafes, banquet halls, ball rooms and the idea of a spa has even crossed the desk of the designers.”

Work is expected to be completed in 2020.

Alongside renovations, the park intends to add new events and programming after regular admission ends Sept. 3.

“There’s likely to be more activity in the park in the winter, fall and spring than ever before,” said Dalgleish.

One of the major changes will be a complete overhaul of the park’s Halloween event.

“What you want in a scare attraction is to move somebody to near tears,” said Dalgleish. “It’s a lot more than just frightening someone from around the corner with a scary costume.”

Rather than only running certain weekends in October, the new scare attraction would run for several weeks.

To generate revenue during the winter, Dalgleish said winter camping along the river valley is being researched, as well as digital mapping, which would use advanced projection systems inside the fort itself to transform it into an interactive experience.

“We really have to think about abandoning the need to earn all our revenue on folks coming through the gate and focus on profitable revenue with these new and rich products that we’re talking about,” he said.

Dalgleish suggested admission could drop to between $5 and $10, but that “there’s still a lot of math to be worked out.” Current admission fees are $27.50 for adults and $21.95 for children and youth, ages three to 17.

“We want to create relevant experiences to bring people into the park and that will help enable that price to be adjusted,” he said.

Transportation to and from the park, as well as better accessibility for the disabled, will be a focus of the new strategic direction, said a news release.