This photo shows the Wawona Hotel General Store Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Yosemite National Park. A new concessionaire takes over Tuesday at the park and many of the landmark places will have name changes at least temporarily because the old concessionaire lays claim to the names. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP) LOCAL PRINT OUT (VISALIA TIMES-DELTA, REEDY EXPONENT, KINGBURG RECORDER, SELMA ENTERPRISE, HANFORD SENTINEL, PORTERVILLE RECORDER, MADERA TRIBUNE, THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FRENSO); LOCAL TELEVISION OUT (KSEE24, KFSN30, KGE47, KMPH26); MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The prices of Yosemite National Park souvenirs have been slashed in half, and road signs directing visitors to iconic attractions have been switched.
Among the changes, the historic Ahwahnee Hotel became the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, and Curry Village campground was renamed Half Dome Village. Badger Pass Ski Resort became Yosemite Ski and Snowboard Area.
The changes took place at midnight Monday amid a bitter legal dispute between government officials and Delaware North, which operated many of the popular attractions from 1993 until Monday when competitor Aramark took over.
As part of the vendor change, the National Park Service is required to pay Delaware North for the value of many of Yosemite's trademarked names for sites that the company managed and maintained.
Delaware North sued the Park Service after the two sides couldn't agree on the trademarks' value.
Court filings show the Park Service valuing the trademarks at $3.5 million while Delaware North puts their worth at $51 million.
The two sides say they remain far apart in negotiations. So the Park Service said it was compelled to change the names.
Park Service spokesman Scott Gediman said temporary signs were used in the hope that a settlement will be reached.
Delaware North spokesman Glen White said Park Service officials turned down the company's offer to let the park keep using the trademark names until the legal dispute was resolved.
Gediman, however, said agreeing to the offer would acknowledge that Delaware North owns the names.
Mark Bartholomew, a State University of New York Buffalo Law School professor who teaches trademark law, says Delaware North might want to preserve the value of the names that will lose value if no longer used.
"I think all sides will ultimately come to an agreement after some more posturing," Bartholomew said.
Meanwhile, an historic sign welcoming visitors to the Ahwahnee Hotel was stolen over the weekend, Gediman said.
"It's part of the park's historic fabric," Gediman said. "And we are taking this seriously."
Steve Cleary, left, and his wife Rocky Cleary, right, shop for T-shirts as tourists grab items in the Yosemite Village gift shop where apparel and other souvenir items with the name Yosemite National Park is being sold at half price Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Yosemite National Park. A new concessionaire takes over Tuesday at the park and many of the landmark places will have name changes at least temporarily because the old concessionaire lays claim to the names. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP) LOCAL PRINT OUT (VISALIA TIMES-DELTA, REEDY EXPONENT, KINGBURG RECORDER, SELMA ENTERPRISE, HANFORD SENTINEL, PORTERVILLE RECORDER, MADERA TRIBUNE, THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FRENSO); LOCAL TELEVISION OUT (KSEE24, KFSN30, KGE47, KMPH26); MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
Tourists shop the gift store in Yosemite Village where apparel and other souvenir items with the name Yosemite National Park is being sold at half price on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Yosemite National Park. A new concessionaire takes over Tuesday at the park and many of the landmark places will have name changes at least temporarily because the old concessionaire lays claim to the names. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP) LOCAL PRINT OUT (VISALIA TIMES-DELTA, REEDY EXPONENT, KINGBURG RECORDER, SELMA ENTERPRISE, HANFORD SENTINEL, PORTERVILLE RECORDER, MADERA TRIBUNE, THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FRENSO); LOCAL TELEVISION OUT (KSEE24, KFSN30, KGE47, KMPH26); MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
Michaelyn and her mother Sherri Newberry of Arlington, Ga., background, shop in the Yosemite Village gift store where apparel and other souvenir items with the name Yosemite National Park is being sold at half price Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Yosemite National Park. A new concessionaire takes over Tuesday at the park and many of the landmark places will have name changes at least temporarily because the old concessionaire lays claim to the names. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP) LOCAL PRINT OUT (VISALIA TIMES-DELTA, REEDY EXPONENT, KINGBURG RECORDER, SELMA ENTERPRISE, HANFORD SENTINEL, PORTERVILLE RECORDER, MADERA TRIBUNE, THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FRENSO); LOCAL TELEVISION OUT (KSEE24, KFSN30, KGE47, KMPH26); MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
File - In this March 24, 2014 file photo, the historic Ahwahnee Hotel is lit up as dusk falls over Yosemite National Park, Calif. A new concessionaire takes over Tuesday at the park and many of the landmark places will have name changes at least temporarily because the old concessionaire lays claim to the names. The famed Ahwahnee Hotel is set to become the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. (John Walker/Fresno Bee via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this March 29, 1999 file photo, a couple look though a window at The Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park, Calif. A new concessionaire takes over Tuesday at the park and many of the landmark places will have name changes at least temporarily because the old concessionaire lays claim to the names. The famed Ahwahnee Hotel is set to become the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
The Associated Press
An Aramark van arrives at Yosemite Lodge as concessionaire services prepare to switch from Delaware North to Aramark in Yosemite National Park, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Yosemite National Park. A new concessionaire takes over Tuesday at the park and many of the landmark places will have name changes at least temporarily because the old concessionaire lays claim to the names. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP) LOCAL PRINT OUT (VISALIA TIMES-DELTA, REEDY EXPONENT, KINGBURG RECORDER, SELMA ENTERPRISE, HANFORD SENTINEL, PORTERVILLE RECORDER, MADERA TRIBUNE, THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FRENSO); LOCAL TELEVISION OUT (KSEE24, KFSN30, KGE47, KMPH26); MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press