KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Site plans for the proposed Blue Ridge America facility hang on the wall behind developer Larry Vander Maten during a presentation of the proposal Tuesday.

Reviews were mixed from former directors of Explore Park the day after new details about its redevelopment into a family vacation destination resort were made public.

Three people who have run the park since its inception in 1987 had some decidedly different reactions to proposals made public Tuesday by developer Larry Vander Maten for the site he intends to rename Blue Ridge America.

Bern Ewert was the driving force in creating the park in the 1980s but now lives in Charlottesville. His plan centered on telling the story of Virginia's influential role in the development of the American West, historically rooted in the travels of Lewis and Clark.

He said that, based on a reporter's description of the latest plan, "I don't understand as a visitor or tourist, what's the story? Why am I stopping and what does the community get?"

Ewert's successor at the helm, Rupert Cutler, ran the park from 1991 to 1997, transforming it into a small living history museum and environmental education center.

He said his "naturalist bent ... points me in the direction of leaving it mostly undeveloped as a natural park."

He conceded, however, that "from an economic development standpoint, the plan Vander Maten proposed could be pretty attractive."

The park's most recent director, Debbie Pitts, who is currently a part-time employee of the park's governing board, had nothing but praise.

"I'm very excited and enthusiastic with what I saw in the new plan. I think for today, it represents what people want to do with their leisure time."

A similarly broad range of opinion was being expressed on The Roanoke Times' Web site, roanoke.com, in a message board attached to a story on the plan.

Vander Maten presented the latest details at meetings of the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority board, which governs the Explore Park site for the state, and the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors.

The plans contain a variety of uses and accommodations, geared primarily toward attracting families, empty-nesters and senior citizens to the site from spring through the fall.

A map of the proposed site includes hundreds of luxury hotel rooms, 100 cabins and 60 treehouses designed to blend in with the mountain and river scenery.

It also features restaurants, live theater, excursions to Smith Mountain Lake, an equestrian center, retail shops, a golf course, conference center and a spa.

The plan shows an overhead gondola system to transport visitors through the park and what's said to be the world's longest zip line -- consisting of a steel cable with a pulley visitors hold onto for a downhill thrill ride.

Although the latest plans include many elements of Ewert's original vision -- such as retail space, a large hotel and conference center -- he said it sounded like "a melange of activities," lacking a strong central theme.

And he said that the 1987 plan left about 90 percent of the park in its natural state.

"I still think that was a good plan," Ewert said, "although it will probably never happen. But what did happen is that there is a 1,100-acre park out there ... that will always be right there for Roanokers, and it's worth protecting."

Cutler said that ever since the state dropped its budget support for the park in 1990, his wish has been for the site to be taken into the state park system, with interpreters for its historical fixtures and protection of the park's natural features.

As an alternative, he'd like to see the park adopted as part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which it adjoins. The historical area could be run as a historical interpretation area much like Mabry Mill or the Johnson Farm near the Peaks of Otter.

Cutler said he thought Vander Maten's video depictions of "speedboats on Smith Mountain Lake, the golf course, and illuminated night fountains seemed exaggerated for what could be offered on that site."

"I'm just personally doubtful anything of that magnitude can go forward," he said.

Pitts, who ran the park for five years, said many of Vander Maten's ideas represent "things I wished for" but couldn't afford.

A campground for recreational vehicles, "camping, cabins, better river access, all those things ... would have begun to [help the park] become more self-sufficient."

She was particularly pleased, she said, to hear Vander Maten say he intended not only to keep the 19th century part of the historical area intact, but to enhance it to represent a true 1850s community.

"Just to have that in there is going to be an educational component in itself."

She also was delighted with the gondola plan. "One of the biggest problems at the park today is transportation. It is very hilly and geographically challenging to move people through the park," while keeping cars out.

The "gondola is great way to do two things: It's an attraction in and of itself, allowing people to experience the park in a way no one has, and it is a people mover."

"I think this is going to be a great thing for the community in a lot of ways. I want something good at Explore Park. There's been a huge investment of money, and of blood, sweat and tears."

Vander Maten's plan, she said, "seemed to balance all the concerns. It's ecologically sensitive, laying softly on the land, with all the elements that families look for in recreation and entertainment."