Geauga Lake Rocks! 09/04/05

Trip Report: 09/05/05
My brother and I finally made our first trip to Geauga Lake. Small crowd and virtually no wait for anything. It was a bit cloudy, but stayed at about 72 degrees the entire day. We arrived about 10:30am and we went to the closest coaster, Head Spin. I liked this one as I had only been on the inverted boomerang coasters. I thought it was pretty good. I would say it was a 7 out of 10. Next, we went over to Steel Venom and rode toward the back of the train. Pretty good launch and freefall sensation. The holding brake was not being used, but still fun. I would give it a 7 as I feel that Wicked Twister is a little better and I prefer the double twist.

After that, we headed on over to X Flight. This was the only coaster that I was actually nervous about. I was starting to get apprehensive when they leaned you back. I loved this coaster and I think it’s a 10. I don’t see how people say that flyers are boring. There’s nothing like that sensation of flying. My two favorite elements were the loop and double in-line twist.

After X Flight, we walked over to catch a lap on Thunderhawk and Dominator. I liked Thunderhawk and we both agreed that the best element is the first inversion (not sure what it’s called). I liked the pacing and inversions. Didn’t find it to be rough at all. I was surprised at how quiet the chain lift was. I thought it was an 8. Next, on to Dominator. I was looking forward to this one because not only is it a B&M, but it was my first floorless experience. This coaster rocked! The first drop in to that huge loop was awesome. Very fast coaster as well. I liked the interlocking corkscrews at the end. This coaster was definitely a 10. My only complaint is at the entrance, there is a really cool Dominator sign, but you could barely see it for the tarp in front of it.

We went to the Raging Wolf Bobs after Dominator. I have to say that this was the surprise coaster of the whole trip. This is a good example of why some smaller woodies are better than their larger counterparts. We especially liked two of the turns that start out wide and quickly get narrower. Definitely a 9. After that, we went to the Villain. This one was a pretty good coaster. Had some good air time. I thought it was an 8.

After that, it was on to the Double Loop. Nice pre-lift tunnel. Classic Arrow coaster. I would give it a 6. By the time we rode nearly every coaster, except Big Dipper, it was 12:30pm and we stopped for lunch. Can’t remember the name of the food stand, but we got a rather large hot dog and soda for seven bucks and change. Pretty good hot dog. Afterwards, we went over to the Big Dipper. I was ready for another wood coaster. This would be our only lap on this coaster for the day as it beat the crap out of me. When we got to the bottom of the first drop, I literally felt my spine compressing. I basically held myself up out of the seat to stop any further beatings. I couldn’t wait for this one to end.

Next, we took a break out in the parking lot. We got our hand stamp to return. When we started to head back in, I doused myself with another round of sun block. Much to my dismay, it had smeared my hand stamp and was worried about getting back in. I dug up my original ticket and intended to show them that I had been there. Went to the re-entry gate and the two ladies working we really nice and didn’t give me any grief over re-entering. I offered to show them my receipt and they said they didn’t need to see it. That’s when we met a higher up employee. Not sure if he was an area manager or supervisor, but he noticed my Dragster polo shirt. He was telling me that he was at CP the previous day and had just rode Dragster. We told him that it was our first trip there and he said, well, we’re no Cedar Point. I proceeded to tell him that we were indeed enjoying GL and were not expecting a CP type of place. We went on our way and proceeded to re-ride all of the coasters. Throughout the day, we sneaked in rides on Texas Twister, which I was surprised by. It does so much more than Tomb Raider:The Ride. My brother didn’t care for the self-adjusting restraints as it was a little too tight for him and hurt his shoulder. We went to the Haybayler for a spin. I liked it that I had seen these before, but never in a barn. The last flat we rode was the Time Warp. Pretty neat flat and we were laughing and having a good time.

I won’t bore you with how many laps we got on each coaster. Overall, I really liked the look of Geauga Lake. Nice theming and everything looked clean and well kept. Of course, you’ll always be able to find a little something that could be touched up here or there, but nothing major. And even though this was my first trip, it certainly won’t be my last.

Did you ride those BUMPER CARS?

One of the sweetest surprises of the season for me...bruises are almost gone now, LOL... :)

I had problems with my handstamp as well. Of course it was pouring rain at the time. I had my admission receipt ready to show and I didn't have a problem.

It's really interesting to hear people's opinions of Big Dipper and Villian. Both coasters are capable of some really great rides however Villians is not doing too well this year while I though Dipper was running great. A few years ago I found Dipper to be completly unrideable. Raging Wold Bobs is slowly becoming a halfway decent coaster. I'm very interested to see what they do with that high turn by the lake.

Didn't get to do the Bumper Cars. I did note, however, that it always had a line. That was something my bro and I discussed...the fact that it seems like no matter what park you are at, everyone loves Bumper Cars.

so did you happen to check out WWK? if your not into waterparks its cool, but i still say that place is worth a walkthrough. it's beautiful, and to think it's only half done.

Actually, that was something that crossed my mind, but I didn't do. I am kinda in to water parks and I am sure I'll be back next year to check out the completed WWK. I kept thinking all day that I should have brought swimming trunks.

I had the exact opposite reaction to the woodies. I enjoy Big Dipper a lot, but don't care much for RWB, and downright loathe Villain. The Villain beats the tar out of me EVERY TIME, and Big Dipper simply takes me on a fun ride.

To each his own, I suppose. Just odd.

I have been overwhelmingly happy with people enjoying what i would consider my home park. I dont know how many people were giving out trip reports before this year on it, but the response seems to be this park is pretty good. They do have some great coasters, but that wasnt really until six flags did alittle reworking. The thing is though, this park has come from little from when i first started going there, 88 or so, to what it is now. Its a great diversion in the state of Ohio, they have some quality rides there, and they make the best of what they have.

I however have over the years watched the steady decline of people come in the gates the last few years, cause when it was still six flags the crowds were there. I hope that with all of this positive work and people that do enjoy themselves that geauga lake resurrects the peoples intrest. I have to say since being so familiar that this place is one of my favorites, and like he mentioned about cedar point, the other of the chains park in Ohio, i can see why.

This wasnt a competitor but it has a lot of good things to do there, which makes it something of a gem to Dorney. I compare them alot in many different ways, but Geauga Lake seems more friendly in a lot of different ways. Thats just me, but its a breath of fresh air for the park. Now just need to get people in, and i cant wait for octoberfest, which is always a great time.

I found all the woodies at GL pretty satisfactory. The Villain was excessively bumpy, but had some good moments of airtime, and a good piece of trick track that sorta throws you out of your seat. But it could definitely need some retracking.

I was also suprised by RWB. I particularly liked the second drop - good laterals, good airtime. Otherwise, the retracking was good, but could have stretched a little further.

The Big Dipper was probably my fav woodie at GL. The airtime in the front and back was absolutely wicked.

Glad to see you enjoyed the park. I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who enjoys RWB.

RWB has (well, as of June) a solid beginning and a very fun ending. That middle section needs some work though....it'd be nice to have THREE good woodies in the park (and would help to differentiate the market from CP)...

Villain *is* aggressive as all get-out...could be fantastic if they kept the intensity but lost some of the bumpiness (I wouldn't say "rough" per se, but others have)....

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rollergator said:
Did you ride those BUMPER CARS?

One of the sweetest surprises of the season for me...bruises are almost gone now, LOL... :)

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Oh yesh, I got that on film :)

Or Tina did :)
Chuck

One of the main reasons I wanted to post a trip report was to let the people who haven't been there or those who haven't returned, know that it is a good park that is turning around for the better.

I loved those bumper cars, 4 guys RAMMING you from all sides......mmmmm mmmmm good!

I had bruises for 3 weeks from those, BEST bumper cars out there IMHO!

Katie, who loved her "head-on" with Gator!

^I had more fun filming the whole thing. I got bruises just from WATCHING!

Last May was the first time I had visited Geagua Lake since 2003. I was very impressed. Batmaninator was just......heavenly. X-Flight was awesome (once they got it running) and RWB is getting better.

I still can't handle more than one ride on Villian though. :-) Maybe it was because I already had a headache going.

They were have a "pre-Memorial Day" special of $19.99 or something like that. You ARE getting your bang for the buck, there.

Great TR! Glad you had fun.

-Tina

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coasterqueenTRN said:
You ARE getting your bang for the buck, there.

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Was *that* pun intentional? Just wondering...:)

Knoebel's Lusse Skooters and El Dorado at Coney are the only other places I can get THAT kind of "bang for my buck", LOL...;)

I purposefully avoided GL's Bumper Cars when I saw no regulation of one way driving. It's one thing for a group of friends to team up and BASH the daylights out of each other. But when you get abused by 15 people you never knew cause you were watching out for the one person you 100% knew was going to head on your car. It's not fun.

I mooshed her but I'd hardly call it a bang.

Chuck, considering this thread hijacked.

Moosh, bang, whatever you want to call it, I had bruises where the seatbelt was and bruises on my legs for weeks. Best time ever!

~Katie~

^I think "mooshing" should be an official word in Merriam-Websters dictionary...much like "ERT" and "enthusiass". ;-)

-Tina

*** Edited 9/15/2005 11:41:43 AM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***