Geauga Lake Trip Report 08/12-08/13/06

Well, my brother and I made our 2nd annual trip to Geauga Lake over the weekend. We left on Friday and spent the day riding Saturday. We first went over to X Flight and they were actually using both loading stations. I really like X Flight and enjoyed yet another lap on this great flying coaster. Last year, they were only using one side of the loading station and I had never seen how the track flips for the dual load...interesting. After that, we hit up Head Spin. There’s just something that I like better about Head Spin than Face/Off. After that, we decided to head over to the Big Dipper. Now, last year, I rode back seat and had a terrible ride. Very rough and basically crushed my spine. Not this year. We rode towards the front and that seemed to solve the problem. Great air time to boot!

We then headed over to Thunderhawk and Dominator. We get in line for Thunderhawk and get about two trains away when they announced that Thunderhawk was having technical difficulties. So, after a twenty minute wait, they finally started cycling trains again and we were able to ride. I love this coaster. Very fast paced. Next, it was on to Dominator. We were not being picky about where we wanted to sit and got right on in the middle of the train. Another great B&M except this time, I could feel the vibrations that I have heard others talk about, but never experienced. It was not painful, but a bit annoying.

After that, we headed over towards the Villain and Double Loop. We rode Villain first and got a great ride. There are some parts that were a bit rough, but it was still very enjoyable. I think that the trick track is a neat part. So, then it was on to Double Loop. Classic Arrow but not very fun. Not one that I would re-ride. Afterwards, we went over to the Raging Wolf Bobs. Last year, I thought that it was the surprise of the trip. Great fun and now that the re-tracking is complete, it was pretty smooth. My only problem with it is the transition that is in the middle of the circuit. It just doesn’t seem to make any sense at all. Still a good coaster, though.

Next was on to the Texas Twister and Time Warp. Texas Twister was a great ride and I love how it flips you five times in a row. Much better than Tomb Raider: The Ride. We strolled on over to Time Warp where we waited only one cycle. Classic flat, lots of fun. At that point, we stopped for lunch. We ate a packed lunch out in the car. After we went back in, we took 2nd and third laps on all of the coasters. Later, about 9:00, we decided that we had enough and were ready to crash for the night.

Day Two: Spending the Day at Wild Water Kingdom. We pondered the night before whether or not we were really going to do the water park the next day. We had considered driving back and stopping at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, but opted to go ahead to the water park. It has been many years since I spent any time at a water park. In face, it had been so long that the last time I visited a water park was Water Works (now Crocodile Dundee’s Boomerang Bay at KI). So, before we did anything, we went to liquid lightning, the pro tornado slide. The line was really short, which was great. However, we had not even got the least bit wet and that water in the funnel was ice cold. Next, we headed over to the tower with seven slides. I went on a body slide and had a great time. After that, we hit up the lazy river, which I had never done before. Very relaxing and the water was very warm. We spent a little time over at the Splash Landing. Lots of stuff to keep the kiddies occupied. Me, I am a good sport, and I don’t care if some kid is spraying me down with one of the water guns. Anyway, what I was really waiting for was the huge bucket of water that dumps down. I saw a couple of kids get washed away as that water dumping was pretty strong. We ate lunch at an open grill, which I can’t remember the name right now. We had a bratwurst, chips, and drink. The price was actually reasonable.

Finally, we decided that since we were already dressed for the occasion, we would go over to the park side to hit up Pepsi Plunge and Grizzly Run. But first, I had to satisfy that jones I had for riding Dominator and Villain one more time. Then, we got in line for Grizzly Run. Maybe I am spoiled by Kings Island’s White Water Canyon, but Grizzly run was absolutely terrible. Takes forever to load and unload, not to mention that I barely got wet at all. So not like White Water Canyon. After waiting forever for Grizzly, we were pretty much done for the day and decided to skip Pepsi Plunge. But, before I left, I was determined to grab a stick of the .25 cotton candy. I can’t explain it, but I always have to get some cotton candy before I leave. Wonder who thought to take sugar, heat it up and spin it onto a stick. Brilliant!

Crowds were light day one. Day two, crowd was light until about 1p, then it was very busy. Hardly any room to move at all. *** Edited 8/15/2006 3:19:11 PM UTC by Coasterbuzzer***