Geauga Lake: Where have all the people gone?

I think the $5 guessing game is a chain-wide price for CF parks.

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I don't see why CF has to be given all kinds of slack while some people round here were beating SFWOA management with a cat-o'-nine-tails for years.

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Because they're cleaning up the mess. This season is a mulligan. Next year they start catching crap like SF.

SF had that park for 4 years and it got progressively worse as time passed. CF has had it for less than two months and has been forced two tear the place apart - essentially taking two steps back before moving forward. I'd expect things to slowly take shape over the course of this season and by opening day 2005 things better be spotless, flawless and running smoothly or the cat-o'-nine tails comes back out.

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So, instead of the prize being worth $1 it is now worth $2? Well, that certainly changes things.

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What do you suggest the profit margin be? I don't understand. Are they supposed to break even? Lose money? Is the stupid guessing game sooooo fun that we're miffed that $5 is too much?

It wouldn't matter to me if it were $1, $5, or $10 a guess - I'm not playing.

Seriously though, what is a 'fair' price to you guys?

On game pricing related note - in front of Garfield's Nightmare at Kennywood there is a new water gun game called "Lights Up!" that is a dollar a play with 5 wins getting the biggest prize. A dollar a play sounds sweet, but in the long run if you go five for five, you spent $5 for a prize on the same level as you'd get at a CF guessing game. Basically that's the going rate for a decent mid-sized plushie at the parks these days - $5.

*** Edited 5/11/2004 1:30:08 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

I guess I haven't waste my money on park games in a while so maybe I am outta touch. No wonder the per cap keeps going up even though attendance remains flat or declines.

I would be curious to know if they ever explored the possibility of buying a "gaming card". Something parents could preload for their kids instead of carrying cash around. I would be tempted to buy something like that if I got some kind of deal that was a buy 4 games get one free or something like that. I would also be more tempted to give my kid a card instead of a wad of cash.

That's actually a decent idea. A lot of FEC's use gaming cards like that. I like them. Keeps things simple. No messing with money, trying to get/find change, wads of cash (as you mentioned).

What ever happened to all these "smart cards" we were supposed to see? Something like a season pass that could be credited with money to be used within the park would be huge. Slap a few buck onto your kids' season pass and let them go nuts. They can get into the park, eat, drink, play games, buy merch - all with their season pass.

I haven't seen or heard any advertisement for GL except one. On Q92.5 in Canton they are advertising their Grad Night celebration. Q92 radio, JD Byrider and Geauga Lake are teaming up to give one lucky senior a brand new car.

CoastaPlaya said: "I don't see why CF has to be given all kinds of slack while some people round here were beating SFWOA management with a cat-o'-nine-tails for years."

I've kept mum on all of the discussion About Six Flags Worlds of Adventure ( formerly known as Six Flags Ohio, formerly known as Geaugua Lake, now known as Geaugua lake again) because, bottom line, it really didn't concern me all that much. Having never been to the park, I'm not qualified to talk anything about it.

HOWEVER...

Keep in mind that Six Flags had a few years to get their act straight at this park. Cedar Fair has only had a few months.

The only thing that I question about this is the timing. Take over at the end of a season and have the entire off season to get ready... not near the beginning of the season only giving yourself a few weeks to get ready. Take the time and do the job right.

Of course, not knowing the nature of the "deal", not sure if CF had known about the sale at the end of last season or could have waited until the end of this season.

Hahah, Wahoo Skipper. :)

CPLady and I were at GL talking with an off-duty "Guess the...?" employee. Since we had him there, I asked him how old he thought I was. He guessed me 10 yrs older than what I am. He guessed CPLady to be 21 years younger than she is!

You could go to town on cheap prizes if you wanted them. Haha.

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midwave said:

There was NO crowd at GL, and I don't think there were 300 people in that park! NEVER, EVER, did Six Flags have such a pathetic turnout, even on a cold November final weekend! It was 82 degrees, and the park was EMPTY!

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Midwave,

Not to nitpick, but I have been in SFWOA when it as completely empty. Walk-ons on every ride. We were not sure that Superman was open because there was no one waiting on the platform for quite a long time.
how can you prove tha six flags "NEVER, EVER" had a turnout like that?

I am not in defense of CF, but it is one of my pet peaves when people use terms like Never or Always without definitive proof.

On my trip last year from California at just about this time of year, I went on a Saturday, and the park was not very crowded.

Like I said, lets wait until the summer (or even *gasp* the end of the season before we evaluate GL's attendance).

And one more thing- I bet operational costs have dropped since they don't have to deal with the animals and all of the staff that they required. So even if there are less guests, they are still probably better off financially than they were with SF.

Ummm...It was Mothers Day. Parks are generally not busy on Mothers Day. It's a good time to go to ANY park.

A lot of people don't even know yet that CF bought the park. Even if attendance IS low, It may be because people don't want to visit SFWoA (as opposed to the NEW GL), ESPECIALLY if CF is not yet ready to market the park.

In the near future, I am sure that CF will make this park even better than what SF had. It can't be done over a few weeks; it's going to take longer than that. In the longrun, GL will be a much better park. I think that what's going on here is that some of us are worried that GL will turn out just as bad as SFWoA. Come on, this is just NOT going to happen.

Some of what I said in this post may have been obvious to some; this is for those for whom it wasn't.

I can't say for certain but I am pretty sure I was told of some days in the past couple of years where WoA had less that 400 people go through the gates. It isn't unheard of.

Cedar Point doesn't get huge crowds in May. That is why it is a great time to go and why the hotels offer package deals. If they could fill the rooms without the packages I guarantee you they would do so. Either way, that doesn't really matter. What matters is how the parks do from late June to Labor Day. That will tell the real story.

PKI was definitely crowded on mother's day so that's not necessarily true. I am hoping to make a trip up to GL this summer, might be better if it stays not so crowded.

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CoastaPlaya said:
I don't see why CF has to be given all kinds of slack while some people round here were beating SFWOA management with a cat-o'-nine-tails for years.

Kids don't give a rat's hoohah about management changes or licensing. They're kids. Tell that story to a eight year-old and see how long they sit through it.

Playa, you absolutely could not be more right. 3 words, Cedar Fair Fanboys. Its like Yankees fans...who doesn't want to be a Yankees fan, they always win! (Well, except the past 3 years...suckers) What loyalty is required to defend a team/company that is always on top? None. Why should CF get slack for not being up to par? Cause they're CF, and thats what these CF fans say. Its only been a month, but we'll see. No matter what amount of time I still think its unnacceptable for the park to be as messy as it is when it seems SF never had it down to those standards.

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As for PKI...PKI's season pass holders are NUTS!! PKI season pass holders would come to the park if you tell them the world is ending today. That is the only park that I know that gets busier when it rains :) It's simply mind boggling how that park draws in so many people so fast, and no one cares about the weather. If it's even remotely sunny, it will look like the 6 closet states decided to leave home and come to PKI. With that said, Mother's Day at PKI was if you have a Gold Pass (which at least it seems that half the state does) you got to the bring a friend free. So you got half the state with passes bringing the other half of the state in with them. That's a lot of people :)

I don't think there was any other parks around with BOGOF coupons..SFKK might of had one for Mother's Day.

...I also own a PKI Gold Pass along with my wife, because it was such a good deal...and yes, I took 2 friends on Mother's Day ;)
*** Edited 5/11/2004 10:20:21 PM UTC by RollerCoasterGod***

Yeah, but it's funny how Cedar Fair found time to put seat belts on the Dipper though.

Wood Coaster Fan Club - coming to a park near you

longhairedspaz,

I'm not a CP fanboy, I am an ex CP ride op. I would want to give any business a chance if taking over Six Flag's biggest flop ever. They only had a few weeks to get the park ready to open. The man who makes signs for the park can only work so fast. The team who's involved with design can only do so much at a time. If you bought a house, it would take a while to move in your furnture and wall hangings.

I respect your opinion and feelings on the current state of the park; That's just not how I feel...

...I feel like the park was a lost puppy and CP has just adopted it. The puppy is still undernourished, weak, and has fleas. Give it something to eat, take it for a walk, give it some flea pills, and keep doing these things, and sometime soon we will see a very loved dog. Maybe after the dogs health improves, CF will teach it a new trick or two (new rides and attractions).

imho, imho, I M H O!

EDIT-thrillerman, That may have to do with insurance.

*** Edited 5/12/2004 1:20:29 AM UTC by dexter***

Your opinion tastes like chicken :)

DollywoodRideOP

Jeff, thanks for the remarks...What I'm saying is that CF chose not to use their licensed Peanuts/Snoopy gang stuff that would have made the now-generic looking Kidworks Playzone look alot more friendly and appealing. They could have at least put in Snoopy & Woodstock to cover up the large holes and voids in the kids area....and that music is sickening that they are playing, and both of the kids I took (ages 6 and 11) couldn't stand what the park was playing...And yes, these kids do care about the way that section looks, cause they've been going there for the past 3 1/2 years, and they know what it looked like.

As for the folks who have questioned my remarks, I've been a season pass holder for SFWoA all 3 years, and I've visited the park 21 times in 3 1/2 years and have spent over $4000 in that amount of time. How many of you take at least 2 guests each visit and spend most of your money on them, and not yourself? How many of you are married with kids and went to SFWoA at least 5 times a season? I'm not going to debate with someone who can't relate to this.

As for the work that needs done in the park, the only maintenance I saw was 10 men with 2 supervisors in the Wave Pool, getting it ready for Memorial Day weekend, 3 weeks in advance. When there was a problem in the park, it was Bill Spehn at the controls getting the problem resolved...He was at the up-charge go-cart tower for a problem they were having.

Wahoo...I did play the "Guessing Game'' for the kids, and they won, but I lost...but at 5 dollars a guess now, that won't be a regular game anymore as in the past.

They didn't have time to post height sticks at the ride entries, but they did have time to add seat belts to the Carousel! LMAO!

*** Edited 5/12/2004 7:06:46 AM UTC by midwave***

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midwave said:
What I'm saying is that CF chose not to use their licensed Peanuts/Snoopy gang stuff...

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You don't know if that's true either. I recall hearing in a conference call a couple of years ago that applying the Peanuts theme to a new property involves an approval process with UFS, perhaps more royalties as well. That doesn't happen over night.

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...I've visited the park 21 times in 3 1/2 years and have spent over $4000 in that amount of time. How many of you take at least 2 guests each visit and spend most of your money on them, and not yourself? How many of you are married with kids and went to SFWoA at least 5 times a season?

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You assume that you're the typical passholder. I don't have data, but eyeballing it, I would say you were far from typical in the last few years (especially considering the fleet of minivans and SUV's in the drop-off lane every day).

Jeff is correct about the Peanuts characters. You will recall that the characters have not been introduced into all of the Cedar Fair parks at the same time.

I don't know what, if any, concern there will be that Snoopy, et al are running around in a park a couple of hours away. Maybe it doesn't matter. The other issue is the survey they put out about Geauga Dog.

I wonder if CF has ever given thought to creating and licensing a new character for all of the Soak City's? I thought the Turtle that represented the old Turtle Beach at Geauga Lake was pretty cute.

Jeff, I never assume anything...just pointed out my perspective :)

I know I'm not typical anything, and I'll never understand why anyone wants my opinion or survey, cause I'm almost impossible to categorize in any group.