Anyone Else Miss Six Flags Worlds of Adventure?

When news cam last April about Cedar Fair buying SFWoA I couldn't be any more happier. But now with time passed I miss Six Flags, I miss the theme of the park, the DC Comics, everything. I mean it set itself apart from Cedar Point in many ways, and in 2003 you could easily pick out small things and evidence that the park was becoming better. Only 4 years being a Six Flags park is way too short. No offense to Cedar Fair but we already have Cedar Point and although it was stressed this wasn't going to be a Cedar Point II, it's just not the same. Dose anyone else feel this way?

Of course it's not going to be the same. Give the park a year, or two. Then form your opinions.

I'm not forming any opinons agaisnt Geauga Lake, I was just saying how I missed Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. I'm sure with a year or two [as you suggested] my opinons of missing Six Flags Worlds of Adventure will still be the same. Of course the parks won't be the same.

Nothing wrong with missing things. Heck, there are Disney Enthusiasts who are constantly living in the past and missing things with a passion.

I know I miss the tiger island, sea-lion show & the dolphin show already... I totally miss the really nicely themed Loony Tunes kiddie area, as well s the overall theme & feel of the park... with the floating boardwalk on the other side of the water... the park now felt "whole" since you could lap the entire lake. It felt like one of the best Six Flags parks out there back in 2003, since they offered such a variety of things to see & do.

I'll check up on Geauga Lake in 2005 when they really become what they want to be, as 2004 is too much of a transition year... but considering I've only been to there since 2001 when it was Worlds of Adventure, I don't have any nastalgia of Geauga Lake, so to me... it's like taking away something that was going great.
To the locals, it's like bringing something back what was once lost.

I miss the "Spinners" pastries and the Japanese gift shop at the end of the bridge over on the Wildlife side. Other than that...I'm content =)

Something I've been wondering is why the "fun is back" in a park where for many the fun was never there. Even several of the employees knew that when we went the other day. My friend and I went searching for this fun since we definitely weren't having any (it's much more fun to talk to the people working there about where the fun is than trying to have it on the rides) and we got some outrageous comments from workers and ride ops there. I really think Cedar Fair/Geauga Lake needs to check their employee loyalties as we got a lot of information about rides breaking down or "breaking" altogether (with pretty bad things about Pepsi Plunge and Mr. Hyde), telling us about how certain rides or things "sucked" at the park, how one couldn't wait to quit her job, and then having a deep conversation about the Intamin "pieces of $#!t" (Steel Venom and the Observation Tower) as someone there referred to them. They haven't been working properly either.

It was also nice to see how enthusiastic and happy the workers and ops were. Or not. Most of them looked bored or tired, they were loading X-Flight ever so slowly for something that already takes a long time, and the guys at Double Loop let a family reride in the front seat and made us wait another train. It was cool to hear the rumors floating about Steel Venom (and we got a couple X-Flight) leaving to Michigan's Adventure. Great job guys! Show them how Cedar Fair does.

I couldn't see anywhere where the park had improved. It actually seemed worse or equal for the most part.

Anyways, more fun was to be had at SFWOA IMO. I spent 6-8 hrs. there three times last year and I was done in an hour and a half the other night... but we decided to stay for 3 hrs. to find the fun. We eventually found it on the front seat on Dominator at 9:53 then on Villain in the back seat at 9:59... and again at 10:00 when it broke down on the lift for 10 minutes... and again when we got a re-ride since we got stuck (yay for Kristin's pouty face!). I enjoyed that day a lot. We *were* at Kennywood until 5 though. :)

Favorite ride op quotes of the day-
"The fun is when you go home."
"The fun is *in* the back (of the park). That's where we do the nasty."
"The fun isn't in the back seat, but the speed is."
"The pain is back."

+Danny

I miss Geauga Lake before Six Flags tried to install a rival to Cedar Point. No parking nightmares, less traffic insanity, no lines for restrooms and food. SFWoA has become an example of how not to expand a park and lost a lot of money because of it. I hope Cedar Fair can re-install some of Geauga Lake's lost charm, or at least provide more public facilities to balence out the thrill-ride focus of Six Flags.

Since Cedar Fair has been doing such a good job of that at Cedar Point with adding Millennium Force, Wicked Twister, and Dragster... And if by charm you mean adding frequent attractions and upgrades like Michigan's Adventure and Valleyfair! does, then you should be more than satisfied.

+Danny

I'm not so sure about the locals being glad GL is back. While standing in line for X-Flight (one train operation) I heard at least ten or so people say that they wish SF would buy the park back because "Cedar Fair sucks".

I have been there twice this year, once in the beginning of the season and the second a couple days ago and it seems like Cedar Fair likes to change ride policies. At the beginning of the season you couldn't bring any bags on the Villain. Now you can. And you could bring bags with you on the Double Loop at the beginning, and now you can't. Is it really that hard to stick to the same ride policies for one season?

Also, I find it absolutely absurd that you cannot leave items on the platforms for the rides. Especially at Dominator where they tell you to put carry on items in lockers at the front of the park. I think this season is definately worse than any Six Flags year with rude employees on numerous occassions and other employees who have appeared to just not care about their jobs.

When I heard the news of SFWoA being bought by Cedar Fair, I was really excited and thought, thank goodness Six Flags is gone. But now I definately miss it and truly wish Cedar Fair had never bought it.

Also, has anyone else noticed that the park services people sort of congregate in the bathrooms. I seen groups ranging from 2 to about 7 just standing around in the bathrooms almost every time I went in.

Isn't this line of arguing very close to what closed down KoasterKing and brought us +Danny? What's to miss about SFWoA? The rides are still there, they don't work great, but they work better than they did under SF, and I still cannot for the life of me understand why some of you people let your enjoyment of a park ride on the attitude and demeanor of the employees. Just because you love amusement parks and think they're fun doesn't mean everyone shares that opinion, especially those that work there.

And at what point did Cedar Point ever advertise itself as the "family park" of the chain? Family friendly, sure, but the family park? Not a chance in the world. Can you honestly tell me that Cedar Point would be doing as good as it is by adding let's say two small flat rides and maybe a kiddie coaster instead of it's Intamin trio? That's family friendly isn't it? And while we're at it making money, let's put multi-million dollar investments into backwater parks that get small comparative attendance no matter what's there instead of pouring that money into the signature park that's a destination. Wow, sure making a lot of sense ... what's next, -Danny?

I don't understand why anyone who truly enjoys coaster riding (instead of coaster complaining) thinks that a park that's empty with no lines for some great coasters is a bad thing? The whole park was a rushjob, they had less than a month really to get the work done they needed done. In three months, they'll have a whole standard off-season to get themselves into the shape they want to be in. *** Edited 7/30/2004 2:34:15 AM UTC by Impulse-ive***

"Something I've been wondering is why the "fun is back" in a park where for many the fun was never there."

From a more historic perspective, the fun was there. As an early teen I lived within a mile or so of Geauga Lake (Aurora Shores for anyone who cares) and visited many times. I saved up my $5 and went as much as I could. I loved rainy days as the park might close a little early and provide rain checks for another day. Geauga Lake was fun, and it was small. They kept with the times within their budget and added Double Loop and Corkscrew. They kept what they had in good working order. They kept things clean and friendly. They brought us one of the last glimpses into what amusement parks used to be.

Enter Premier Parks and all of that changed. Premier and the ultimate Six Flag branding turned a charming, turn of the century trolley park into a corporate cookie cutter. Gone was the feeling we can still get at Holiday World and Knobles. In its place we got an environment of greed and corporate profit.

So, to wind up my rant of the moment . . .
Cedar Fair has the chance to bring the fun back, let's give them the chance.

On a side note, the FUN that is CF's NYSE ticker symbol comes from Funtime, the company that at one time owned Geauga Lake. So to be literal, CF has already brought the FUN back to Geauga Lake.

*** Edited 7/30/2004 3:19:48 AM UTC by CoasterDad64***

Because it's the same park as last year... Without the Wildlife side (this is listed as one thing, but it's a huge deal), superhero and Looney Toons theme (not to mention decent names), great atmosphere (IMO), Six Flags, ambitions to be the best park in the region, competition with CP, etc.

Arguing about what? I went to the park for the first time this year a couple days ago and I was telling what happened and why I liked SFWOA better. The rides were either working the same or worse. Mr. Hydes and Pepsi Splash were closed due to "accidents" this season. Steel Venom was making hissing and clunking noises I don't remember from last year (of course, it was closed for a long time at the end of the season). X-Flight was one-train op. All the lines were short, just like last year. Why would I wish, want, or like a park that was less than what it was? It's missing over a dozen attractions it had last season.

I commented about CP with thrill rides because rc-madness said "thrill-ride focus of Six Flags". I was showing that SF wasn't the only chain that had a thrill ride focus and not the entirity of either chain does. Who knows if CP would have done better adding flats or family attractions than some big coasters? Kings Island sure turned some heads when they rethemed a log flume and added a kiddie invert. They had a nice attendance increase and have been awarded Best Kids Area three years in a row. Six Flags was much more family-oriented with Worlds of Adventure than CF was with Dorney, Knott's, or CP lately. Look at all the animal exhibits they had been adding plus the family flats.

I didn't care about employees bored or not having fun, but if they're making me wait another ride because someone wants a reride, that's wrong. The bored employees were the best ones about asking where the fun was and they made my visit better by making me laugh.

And if you're asking me about -Danny, you completely missed the +Danny side of the joke. Koaster King was a name that had to do with one of my favorite steel coasters, King Cobra, and after so many people knew my real name, I just wanted to use that in my screen name. I made up all that silly hoopla about changing names for the fun of it. :)

+Danny
"I never made a scene. I didn't have to. They came to me."

I am really hoping that CF didn't just go into this thinking that their name alone in the northern Ohio market would bring the crowds in.

That obviously hasn't happened with all the TR's and other reports I have been hearing regarding this park being consistently dead when it comes to attendance. While it's great for coaster enthusiasts, it isn't great for business.

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Impulse-ive said:I don't understand why anyone who truly enjoys coaster riding (instead of coaster complaining) thinks that a park that's empty with no lines for some great coasters is a bad thing? The whole park was a rushjob, they had less than a month really to get the work done they needed done. In three months, they'll have a whole standard off-season to get themselves into the shape they want to be in.

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Is it not possible for someone who enjoys riding coasters to also enjoy being treated like an actual human being?

I miss SFWOA so much, I made a website for both it and the former Sea World Ohio. http://www.seaworldohiomemories.us

I would like to thank you personly for makeing that site. Thank you for makeing sure the SF and SW ara will not be erased by Cedar Fair's Geauga Lake.

:)

This change is for the better. Rides break down. The lines move better. The park is cleaner, the crowds are happier and more content. Traffic is more controlled. Management is actually on the Midway where they belong, and X-Flight is not moving to MIA

One point i would like to make about all of this is employees. I'm starting to think it doesn't matter what company owns what park, if the fan base is not there, the employees are going to suck. Cp and much of the greater Ohio outskirts are filled with avid fans that find it a privilege to work at a world class resort. Out in Valencia, fan base is small, people that work there figure its just another job, it doesn't matter if its owned by CF or SF. I think i solidify this point by hearing employee bashing of a new ownership park, GL. Obviously its early, but fanbase must be small in that area, thus putting the "its just another crappy job i have for the summer" attitude in there heads as well. The point of my post is this: company ownership possibly has little or nothing to do with its employees, people who aren't excited about being at an amusement park in the first place, aren't going to change their attitudes when they work there.

As for GL, i hope the pace picks up. Although i favor SF over CF, it's never a good thing to hear unfavorable TR's. We all have to pull for the entire industry.