Geauga Lake was a rich part of Ohio amusement park history

Captain Hawkeye said:

The problem was too much overhead for the attendance.

I voted up your post for understanding a key component of the failures, but at same time, I am not aware of any amusement park that has significantly downsized and lived to tell about it. It's a given that adding new attractions (or at least replacing attractions) is just a fundamental requirement for parks to stay competitive and relevant.

Captain Hawkeye said:

I maintain that 1 Park, 1 Admission, 1 Overhead would have worked--as it had from 1887 until Sea World opened in 1970. The key would have been matching the Overhead to the Admissions.

I agree, and I will also point out that this is exactly what they are doing right now.

Fun said:

Pick a theory, any theory:

• Sea World was smart to get out
• Six Flags's poor operations permanentely damaged the parks reputation
• Six Flags should have left them as separate parks
• Six Flags was smart to get out
• Kinzel bought it just to close it
• Cedar Fair should have known better than to buy
• Cedar Fair paid too much
• Cedar Fair gave it a good effort but couldn't save the park
• Cedar Fair cared about it until they bought Paramount
• Cedar Fair lied about closing the park, doesn't care about history, blah blah blah.
• Cedar Fair is still trying to sell it, they should have just kept it open

I'd like to add one more:

• Keep the ride side open or cut down more trees.

[insert lightening bolts and Kinzel with evil laugh]

Here is footage from a drone flying over the property including several shots of Big Dipper

I normally went to Cedar Point more often than Geauga Lake but I liked the place. The Six Flags switch happened right at the time in my life that I took a bit of an amusement park hiatus because of pregnacies and small babies but I was there at least once during the Six Flags era and I can't say I was impressed. The whole park just had a weird feeling too it. I'm not even sure how to describe it other than disorienting and tacky. I was used to GL being a bit small and second rate but this just felt different. It's my only Six Flags experience so far and it didn't leave me wishing for another. After Cedar Fair bought it we went a few more times and our kids really liked it. When we were there in 2007 we had a great visit and I was looking forward to going again. So much for that. This year was the first time I've been out there since closing because a stand alone waterpark just really doesn't keep my attention like an amusement park but my kids have been wanting to go for so long. The park there now is cute and really nicely landscaped but I really don't get why they moved the waterpark across the lake instead of just revamping what was already there because like has been mentioned before that would have been less overhead. It would also have been easier for guests to come and go between the waterpark and the regular rides by not having to walk all the way across or around the lake. When I was younger we used to go back and forth between rides and the beach and all the other water stuff a few times per day. Once you put that distance between them you were forced to make a choice between one or the other for a larger block of time.

LostKause said:

Now that it is closed, it just sits empty, and money still has to be spent for upkeep, insurance, and taxes. It's losing money now.

True, but those costs are likely considerably cheaper on unused land. Warning, made up numbers ahead: I'd rather lose $1,000 a day than $10,000 a day.

It's my understanding that Busch's interest in selling Sea World wasn't so much the need to care for animals year-round (presumably they could be moved to other Sea World parks during the off-season?) as that the other Sea World parks were in locations that could operate year-round, and that could add rides. Between Sea World of Ohio's lease for the land, dating back to Funtime, not allowing the park to add rides and Bainbridge Township's various restrictions on height, etc., adding rides wasn't an option.

Geauga Lake was one of my favorite parks. I can remember my family's first visit to the area, to go to Sea World. I was entranced by the park across the lake, with the roller coasters.

I do think that 2000's $40 million dollar investment in the park by Six Flags was too much, all at once. And combining the two parks just created a park with an awkward, hard to navigate, layout.

I think SeaWorld would have helped keep the park alive, honestly. They often shipped animals to other parks for the winter to cut down on costs.

But with that in mind, combining the parks under one (cheap) gate price was a significant problem. I'm not sure how much Six Flags did the research on the numbers, but a significant portion of Geauga Lake attendance numbers were SeaWorld customers from outside the local market. Rapid over-expansion really hurt the park. As exciting as the Six Flags rides were, it no longer felt like Geauga Lake.

I didn't mind the Cedar Fair downsizing. But once the animals were gone, so was 1+ million per year in animal park attendance. I don't see that as a reason to "close" the park, or why they bothered to move the waterpark to the south side of the lake. And now we've got a rotting piece of prime recreation property alone the north side of the lake.

I don't recall ever having something I said over two years ago get replied to. That throws me off. I don't remember what I was talking about back then. Thanks for the reply. LOL