Cedar Fair announces Geauga Lake will be water park only

I remember back in the day I was in a bad mood, I felt down. So I talked to my mom and she drove me over to a full day at SeaWorld. We saw Shamu, we saw the birds, and we had a great time. I remember those memories and will always have them.

My friends and I have said for awhile CF sucks, and thankfully everyone now understands why.

I think it probably has something to do with the situation CF is in. Had they not purchased the PP's, this probably would not have happened....but they did and they have a lot of debt now AND they have parks that (Kinzel has said this himself), are not "fixer uppers" they are ready to go and have high attendance.

So, in need of paying down the debt, keep investors happy, not touch the dividend, but still add to the other properties, they can now recycle rides, save on that Cap Ex, except perhaps for Knott's and CP, and use the savings to pay down the debt.

And then the big guy(CF) trys to go after the little guy(Kennywood)and gets their butt kicked,gotta love it. :D

Good job Kennywood,you and Waldameer have to be thrilled.

Wow, I didn't think the shrinkdown would be this much, this fast. I had been reading rumors over at Screamscape, but you always hold out for the best. In spite of our terrible weather, we still enjoyed our day at Geagua Lake. I liked the feel of the two parks linked together by the floating bridge and walk-around, and I'm really glad that I talked the crew out of leaving and not experiencing the waterpark side. Maybe it was the fact that I felt drawn to the waterpark side the whole time? I kept looking at the colorful array of slides that kept calling my name that were never to get ridden unfortunately.

Like Jason Hammond, I'm wondering what's to become of the flats that were moved over to WWK, and what about the 4-D theater etc? WWK could be become monster-sized if those were removed and the parking-lot in true Sea World-style is beyond huge. Build a bridge over the road to get to the entrance, and you've got even more room to work with.

It would absolutely depend on who I was with, but I can't imagine going on another trip to Cedar Point and making a special stop at GL's WWK, when I've got Dorney Park's WWK about two-1/2 hours away.

So this is how I see things: Dominator, Thunderhawk, and Headspin-definitely have new homes

Double-Loop-A small park might want it

Big Dipper-could become a star attraction at another small park or FEC

The Villain--When six people tell you a ride is utter crap and not rideable, that doesn't bode well for anyone wanting to buy it, but it could be taken apart easily and reassembled somewhere else. I just think the size of it though might scare anyone off from actually buying it.

Raging Wolf Bobs and Grizzly Run-bulldozer

Texas Twister--the first Top Spin in America and it runs a fairly good program-move it to Cedar Point since a lot of of the former Paramount and Cedar Fair parks already have Top Spins.

Haybaler/El Dorado/Time Warp/Starfish etc.-Any Cedar Fair park that needs more flats like KD

Beaver Land Mine Ride-I think it'll wind up on the WWK side if they have any rides at all. Otherwise, a great fit for any park without an intermittent step from kiddie coaster to big coaster.

Pepsi Plunge-Cedar Point is without a log flume, and here's the replacement.

Americana Ferris Wheel-Surely someone could use it, especially in the former Paramount parks.

Merrie Oldies-Is anyone missing their antique cars? Oh right, here you go KI.

Unsure-Kidsworks Play Zone/Shipwreck Falls/Skyscraper observation tower/Ripcord-anyone need a Skycoaster?/Dogems-does anyone not have bumper cars?*** This post was edited by Intamin Fan 9/22/2007 1:05:13 AM ***
*** This post was edited by Intamin Fan 9/22/2007 2:07:26 AM ***

Knott's needs the Merrie Oldies....they were ripped out for Windjammer.

RGB, I was wondering the same thing about the times. I was looking at when people were first posting and it was at 2 a.m. in the morning. Not only that, it was on the 19th of September. I've been checking everyday about the GL topic, and was trying to figure out how I got so far behind!:)

Sad news, but why would I not go to Dorney because of it? I might as well enjoy the rides I love there as well as a little gift from Geauga Lake (Steel Venom). I think it's silly to "not visit any CF" parks because of this. I understand your anger, but I'm sure there are rides that alot of you have ridden at CF parks you enjoyed and might miss out on. Also sure the parks are all owned by the same company, but all are still separate parks. Why "shun" the entire bunch. I guess if you really have your reasons, but I wouldn't want to miss out on DP being as it's only 45 mins away.

I did want to visit this park sometime and it's a shame, but I love waterparks so I look forward in seeing how this will shape out.
*** This post was edited by P18 9/22/2007 2:34:06 AM ***

Well since everyone else has griped, complained and strolled down memory lane, I guess it should be my turn even though I rarely post on here and yes this will be lengthy!

It all started on a cold spring day....not really...make it a great Ohio summer 20 years ago. My family took me to Geauga Lake. This is when I remember the park to be booming with rides for us small kids, rides for the big kids, and yes Turtle Beach! Then slowly rides disappeared over time. The Rotor, Tilt-A-whirl, that little ferris wheel over in the kiddy land stuck in the bushes even. Then those silver spaceship things that use to be over by the needle. The Corkscrew, muzic express, those colored buckets that went over the edge of the lake over by the great Wave Pool. How can you leave out the wave pool, nothing will ever compare to it. The Monorail, scrambler(yeah i know they moved it but let me remenise here). Mr. Hydes, X-flight, Superman, the cork screw, and now the rest of the park. From Geauga Lake to Sea World with Shamu, Mamu, Dolphin cove, shark encounter, the penguins, ski shows, sea lion and walrus show, the diving pearl lady, and all the other things that came and went in the park. It just all too sad to see all of this coming to an end. Big Dipper, RWB, Villian, Serial Thriller (First Upside down coaster..i skipped the Double Loop), Batman, Mind Eraser, The Log ride, the smoldie oldie cars, Texas Twister, and of course Oktoberfest and it's 27 year tradition along with the King and Queen of the festivities..they all will be missed!

One hundred and Twenty Years...thats 3 centuries (19th, 20th and 21st for those who are questioning this), 21 sitting presidents, Half of this nations age, numerous trials and tribulations of this great country all going down the tubes for a water park. Honestly aren't there enough friggin water parks around this area as it is? It's sad to see something being flushed right out of hearts and Cedar Fair wanting us to feel that it's ok becuase they'll take away a few coasters to give us a waterpark for the Geauga Lake tradition to be experienced "in a new and exciting way". Bull Tuckey. I know I won't be experiencing it. Why would I pay who knows how much they will want to ride a few slides and float in a lazy river, when I can drive to lake erie, blow up an inflatable boat, and float in a lake for FREE!

When each of us went through those gates of Geauga Lake we were paying for an experiece, a memory, a family get together, a corporate event, a day out with friends, an event with your classmates. A day of leaving all our worries behind and not looking back. Sure we will always have our cherished memories of Geauga Lake and Sea World, at that, that can never be taken away, but the pain that people cause other's just to make a quick buck in today's society is rediculous.

I vowed not to go back to Cedar Point after TTD opened and the seat belts were shortened to discriminate agaisnt heavier guests and haven't gone back since. Now I'm making a vow to not return to another Cedar Fair Park. And I will put the blame of the park closing all on Cedar Fair and "you can buy out my company but not get rid of me" Kinzel. The have had numerous chances to turn the park around, but when your main focus was a water park and why not let the other side rot and die a slow death? So I do see Kennywood becoming my next park of choice. Sure its a drive to Pittsburgh from Akron, but if they want to actually keep investing in a park that has history and wants to please the guests I would rather waste my gas and give my money to that person, than to the one who is closer and is just looking to make that quick dollar.

From the gentleman who worked there for 25 years, to all of us that have visited there for decades, I would like to say Thank You. Thank you to the employees that did make our day out fun. Thank you to the visitors for helping to keep the park alive. And Thank You to Cedar Fair for screwing us over royally and making the Cleveland area deeper in the hole for unemployment, less revenue and one less attraction to get people to SPEND MONEY HERE!

I loved the atmosphere of the park, it was a slow down from the usual larger park but still had some great rides. I will miss this park and probably not visit it again as my wife doesn't really care for waterparks....

Cedar Fair pretty much bought this park to run into ruins. Look, they could have made one decision, bring back the marine life, and this park could have succeeded. Roller Coasters, Flat Rides, Water Parks and Marine Life seems to be a winning formula in at least three major cities in the United States. They bought the park for pennies on the dollar, to eliminate the competition. They could have sold the rides side if they wanted to, but they are choosing to eliminate the competition. Cleveland isn't a small city. It's big enough to support the NFL, MLB and NBA. It will one day host Major League Soccer. It is home to the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame, on the banks of The Great Lakes and the National Football Hall of Fame isn't that far away.

I'll give Cedar Fair some credit, they did go the coward route and wait till just before closing on a Friday night to make the announcement. How many of you lamenting about the park closing are going to sale your stock at opening bell on Monday morning? That would be another way you could show Cedar Fair your peeved about that decision. Of course, investors will like the decision and the stock will go up on Monday and I'm sure you want to profit on the decision. ;)

So, how many of you are truely going to abandon Boo Buzz to make your point?*** This post was edited by coasterguts 9/22/2007 8:15:53 AM ***

"I think it's silly to "not visit any CF" parks because of this. I understand your anger, but I'm sure there are rides that alot of you have ridden at CF parks you enjoyed and might miss out on."It's a matter of how pissed you are versus how much you like the parks you're not planning on going to now. Let me say - I don't really plan on flat out avoiding CF parks because of this, but if I were it wouldn't be a great loss. The nearest one to me is Dorney - possibly one of my two or three least favorite parks I've ever been to. So no biggie, I happily drive by there pretty often with no desire to go. My next options are KD which has a couple coasters I really like but I'm not crazy about the place. I love Cedar Point with all my heart but I'm not close by. So personally for me it would be very easy to say "I'm not going to CF parks" because I'm not really going that often anyway. No big loss. Same way I tend to not go to SF parks. I don't really want to go to most of them so it's not exactly a struggle or anything.
*** This post was edited by matt. 9/22/2007 8:56:42 AM ***

Yeah, they gave us Cornhole alright. They gave it to us real good.
It's such a neat trick to see a park draw 1 - 1.7 million visitors a year go down the crapper in less than five years.
I felt this was coming when they didn't bother fixing RWB.

I guess we can close the book on the never-to-be Hyper for GL.

I can't believe I'm going to say this: I seriously miss SFWOA. The best park times my kids and I had were there.

Sell my units? Not not likely. If anything I'll use this opportunity to buy more units at a better price than I have been getting it in recent months.

Because even though (as a fan of the park) I'm disapointed about the park closing, from a business standpoint I understand. I don't think they made the decision lightly. If they thought there was a way of making it profitable, they would have done it. How long can you truely expect a company to run a business at a loss. *cough* Conneaut *cough*

The fact that they want to continue to run WWK eliminates the possibility of selling the park to someone else. You'd just be creating more competition that you don't need. In their eyes, that only left them with one option.

Everything at this point for me is wait and see. Next year could be pretty bad PR-wise. No matter how much it's in the news, your still going to get the people showing up to go to the park, and it just won't be open. IIRC, that happened with Sea World too.

In the short term this will peobably hurt attendance. I'm just hoping, that in the long run, they made the ride business decision.

Trying to accept what's happened and move on, I'm now hoping they'll keep the focus on the water park, but have some rides over there too. Nothing to elaborate. They have the opportunity to start from scratch here. Turn this into a small family amusement park with a kick butt water park as the main attraction. There's tons of proporty on the South side of the lake they havn't even touched yet.
*** This post was edited by Jason Hammond 9/22/2007 9:11:52 AM ***

I'm with JRS. I'm really saddened, but I see the business decision. In an alternate universe, when CF didn't own the park, I suspect it would remain open as a wet-dry park. Did CF intend to shutter the thing from the get-go? Maybe. Who knows? Given that nearly all of the investment was on the waterpark side, perhaps. Will they retain the land on the dry side of the lake for future expansion? We'll see. I'm really glad I got to visit the park for the first time this year---and for several days at that.

However, I'm with Wahoo on Soak City. It's important to CP Resorts to have a second gate, because it helps put heads in beds and extend the average guest stay.

I honestly don't know a single person that does not miss SFWoA...

CF sucks for what they did. They failed, plain and simple. Ugh.

For every problem that bringing back marine life would have solved, it would have created 5 more. If Sea World was doing 2 million plus in attendance and considered it a good thing, then why would they have gotten out?

Face it. While people did enjoy Sea World, it made absolutely NO sense to run a marine life park in the middle of the Snow Belt. I'd bet that Sea World was hardly turning a profit because of the fact that they had to do so much in the winter to make the animals safe. On top of that, Cedar Fair doesn't know a whole lot about operating animal attractions. It was the RIGHT decision to remove the animals.

The water park is beautiful, and if combined with the proper investments over the next few years, could have a huge market in the area. I will miss the ride side of the park, but Cedar Fair made the right decision.

NOBODY was given the opportunity to get that LAST RIDE on their favorite ride, NOBODY got to say Goodbye. THIS shows just how much respect they had for the fans of the dry side of the park, for the 1st (?) ACE CLASSIC COASTER Big Dipper, and the ACE members that celebrated its classic thrills. And the many other HISTORIC rides and attractions that populated Geauga lake are just GONE! No goodbye, no Last Ride opportunity just SORRY.

This should UNDERLINE just how much CF truly thinks about their Coaster Club fan base. Our undying support should now be considered strangled to death. Not being allowed a weekend to say goodbye is probably the worst slap in the face one could imagine. Even Six Flags had enough respect to allow Astroworld to have a proper goodbye period.

REMEMBER 9/21

Sure, make a waterpark only out of it. Give them two sucky summers with rain and watch the doors close on that, too.

Why did the waterpark do okay this summer? It was drier than a normal and i have the water bills to prove it just trying to keep my grass/garden alive.

Unless they dome it, or build an indoor area that can be open 12 months a year, I don't see it working at all for the long run.

But hey, there's a bright side: At least now they'll have to take down the dead waterpark area. I'm sure the citizens of Aurora will be happy for that.

This "business decision" would be a lot more easy to take if Cedar Fair had actually TRIED to make this park work. They should have fixed what Six Flags did to the place back then. But all they did was add a water park, remove rides, and magically expect things to improve. Where was the massive advertising? Where was the proper downsizing of the park to create the small successful park of many years ago? Where was the needed drop in prices (Other than admission) to make the park more affordable to cash strapped families? They made no real attempt to make this park profitable. As some have said above, their true intentions have come out, to prevent competition with CP.

You know, I have visited nearly 40 amusement parks this year, including several Six Flags and Cedar Fair properties. And I have to say that in general (if you do not count Six Flags America!), Six Flags is getting better and better while many Cedar Fair properties are getting worse. I have experienced friendlier employees and a strongly enforced non-smoking policy at most Six Flags parks. At Cedar Fair parks, the non-smoking policy is a joke with no real enforcement. I have met sour employees and have seen bad operational moves at the CF parks. It seems that Cedar Fair could find itself where Six Flags was a few years ago, having the parks with the worse operations and visitor experience. (Cedar Point is still good, but I am talking about their other parks).

I am great saddened by this move. But I do not accept that it was an inevitable business decision after Cedar Fair tried to save the park. They did little to really try to save it. I will miss this place so much...

This was such a good idea. I mean just look at how the other waterparks in NE Ohio have faired...I give WWK 2-3 years tops before the whole park is shut down....