Continued: Cedar Fair announces Geauga Lake will be water park only

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/363624/salt_water_pools_the_wave_of_the_future.html

I guess there's benefits to a salt water wave pool.

http://www.salchlorusa.com/pools.html *** Edited 10/2/2007 6:13:39 PM UTC by FLYINGSCOOTER***

I'm not sure how corrosive salt would affect the pieces parts associated with wave making equipment.

Would CF want to put the demolition project up for bid? Or would they just call whoever was listed first in the Yellow Pages and ask for a price while the guy was on the line? Prospective bidders wouldn't need to visit the site to see exactly what the job entailed, would they?

Wouldn't they require an insurance certificate from the contractor's carrier? Perhaps a bond? What about a contract?

Yeah, I suppose all of this could be done within 12 hours. Two or three people here will tell us so-- so I guess it must be so.

---

Rob Ascough said:
Aside from waterpark attractions, Cedar Fair added nothing to Geauga Lake...

---

You see what you want to see. They spent millions on bringing up that side of the park. They painted two coasters and Texas Twister, retracked Wolf Bobs... nevermind. I don't why I bother making this list again. You'll see whatever you want to see.

So why did you bother?

Do you seriously think that repainting three rides and a years-long retracking of RWB (that was probably first started by Six Flags) qualifies as reasonable investment over a four-year period of time? And how does all that cost millions? I'm beyond the debate over whether or not Cedar Fair intended to close the park when they bought it so this has nothing to do with that. This is about what amounts to minor detail stuff that improves the experience but hardly qualifies as significant effort.

We all know the list, and it is unimpressive. Wolf Kabobs retracking was a Six Flags project that Cedar Fair took far too long to finish. Villian, once an excellent coaster, suffered from neglect. Repaintings and such are really just maintenance items. For reasons nobody is able to explain, the path behind Wolf Kabobs was closed and the floating boardwalk was moved to that side of the lake. Then the path was reopened and the baordwalk was moved to the middle of lake.

Ferry boats removed, X-Flight removed, Steel Venom removed, Monorail removed, Mr. Hyde's removed, Skyscraper mothballed, Band organ silenced, Half-hearted retheming of Six Flags elements, food and game stands empty and often boarded up, water show on the lake discontinued, and Halloween event taken away. But hey, Texas Twister has a new paint job! Fantastic!

If Cedar Fair tried really hard to "turn the place around", I would sure hate to see something they neglect. I'd love to see about a dozen things removed from Cedar Point and an advertising campaign focused on a new paint job for the scrambler and see how that would go over.

They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on improvements for this season, Rob. What more do you want? A $15 million coaster that can't pay for itself? They took out two coasters last year because the cost-per-rider was astronomically high.

Tell me, what should they have spent more money on? Furthermore, how would it have impacted attendance, the very thing that put the park out in the first place?

What were these "improvements?" More high priced cabanas and crane rental for removing the coasters? Or did they get royally ripped off on that cornhole game?

Hundreds of thousands of dollars is vastly different than millions of dollars, Jeff. Which is it? $500,000 or $5,000,000?

I never, ever suggested a $15 million coaster was the answer. All along I have maintained that the removed coasters should have been replaced by more family-friendly attractions. Instead of creating negative word of mouth by removing stuff, positive word of mouth could have been created by making tangible additions to the park. After all, wasn't the intent to make Geauga Lake something different from Cedar Fair? A few new flat rides or a small steel coaster would have done a lot. I have no idea if it would have fixed the problem but it would have been a better effort than the one put forth.

*** Edited 10/2/2007 6:37:08 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

You can't look at the park in a vacuum. It is easy for us to do so as less than well-versed enthusiasts...but it isn't the way Cedar Fair or the business community operates.

"They didn't get new rides (in fact took some out) therefore, the attendance suffered."

What does that NOT take into account?

The "on life support" economy of Cleveland and its inability to bounce back while other areas of the country are, in fact, recuperating.

The less-than-stellar PR decisions Cedar Fair made in the beginning and their long-term impact.

The purchase of the Paramount Parks and the success of their integration into the chain.

The changing nature of the Cedar Fair Board of Directors and it's unitholders. (For the first time in...well...I don't recall another time when I heard specific criticisms of operations by institutional investors on the investors conference call but those criticisms were happening of late).

We call all lob accusations and insults at Cedar Fair as it comes to Geauga Lake I think the blind approach many of you are taking is disingenuous.

Rob, I understand your point of view in regards to "hey, at least put in something family friendly."

But, if the expenses were SO out of whack that it necessitated unprecedented ride removals then pumping more money into new rides (and maintenance thereof) would hardly fix the situation. I suspect Cedar Fair was trying to not necessarily right the ship...but at least make Geauga Lake buoyant.

But, for the reasons I mentioned above that buoyancy never materialized.

What some would consider unfair and disingenuous, others would consider to be constructive criticism, or at the very least, logical complaints. Throughout all these discussions, Cedar Fair has taken a lot of shots from people such as myself but I don't think much is out-of-line. Just as the company has a duty to do right by the shareholders, the customers have a right to critique what was done... or in this case, what wasn't done.

As for taking other things into account, you're entirely right- but I'm not looking at this from the position of some kind of financial analyst, I'm looking at it as a customer. I saw rides removed and not many positive changes made, so I have every right to question their strategy.

That you do.

...Oh, and the '07 Yankess season will be done in about a week and a half to two weeks.

If so, they won't fall at the hands of the Indians. We'll take care of Cleveland while Boston and Anaheim beat up on each other and then crush the Sox when they emerge victorious. Perfect plan ;)

I *was* hoping for a Subway Series...

Then the Mets took the D-train...went down faster than Geauga at a CF Board meeting. ;)

Indians/Cubs World Series. Indians in 6.

(I've never been right about a sporting event in my life.)

^ In that case, keep hoping for the Indians and Cubs ;)

^^ So was I. I remember the whole area being electric in 2000!

^ And here we thought Fahrenheit was the blue and orange colored thing with the fastest steepest drop in the country. :) Go Phils!

Here's what I'm not following-- people are saying that the economy of the area has dropped and that it's not capable of sustaining an amusement park. On the other hand, a number of posters are talking about using the vacated land to create an upscale marketplace or condos.

So if NE Ohio is full of unemployed mullet-heads on meth who can't afford a park ticket, who's going to be sipping the $8 lattes while shopping for $300 shoes?

^Their Dealers?
;) couldn't resist... *** Edited 10/2/2007 8:44:36 PM UTC by FLYINGSCOOTER***

Goodbear, you make a good point about the economy and it is something I've wrestled with too. The "haves" that might have gone to GL will now just go to Cedar Point, King's Island, Disney, etc. The "have nots" who used to be able to swing a trip or two to Geauga Lake are the one's that will be out of luck.

I guess the "haves" just can't get enough malls though. My wife is not necessarily a "have" and she isn't a "have not" but...have mall will travel is her motto. Now, I think Macy's at mall A, B or even C is enough of a choice but she is always ready to check out Macy's in the brand new mall D.