GL 2005 Construction Update 10/24/04

I was at GL this past Sunday and seen some signs of construction/rehab in progress. I have 4 pictures of my findings, all of which are now only about 250KB in size. Here they are :

The first three are of photos of work on the play area of Happy Harbor. One thing to note is how they are starting to cover the structure in tarps. I think this is to sandblast the old paint off, but I could be wrong. I remember a few years back when a local bridge by me was getting repainted, they had to cover the surrounding area with tarps and then sandblasted the paint off. This may be what they are doing, but I have never seen the park in the off-season so this could just be something they do every year. The fourth picture is of the Black Widow. My last 2 visits to the park this ride was completley torn down. Now the ride is strangely reconstructed(weird because there is only 1 weekend left). One last note, only the arms are up on the widow, not the tubs that sit on them.

http://rcmadiax.tripod.com/gl2005_construct_0005.jpg

Picture five is of Steel Venom's new sign. The signs colors hint to a repaint of this coaster for 2005. I can see it with silver supports and pink track. I find the new sign not as nice as say ThunderHawk and HeadSpin, but still it's a sign.

Remember to check out http://geaugalake.coasterbuzz.com in the upcoming weeks for a section devoted to 2005 construction.

Thanks! *** Edited 10/25/2004 10:36:38 PM UTC by razore86*** *** Edited 10/25/2004 10:47:43 PM UTC by razore86***

Kennywood Team Member Since 2003 Kennywood is CLOSED

What section of the park is that in? Its hard [for me] to tell from the pics what I'm looking at or when it is.

Happy Harbor

Kennywood Team Member Since 2003 Kennywood is CLOSED

< risks sounding stoopid

I checked the park map at the park's website to see if I could figure out where the heck "Happy Harbor" is but it didn't help. For those [like me] who do not frequent the park would you mind explaining further what the first three pictures are of?

Sure. The first three pictures are of the huge play structure located on the former Sea World side of the park. The structure in the pictures is located right beside the rides on that side. In fact this play structure was open during the 2004 season, but just recently closed for "rehab". Also located within this structure is 2 kiddie rides, I believe from Zamperla, located within the structure. Since this area is now blocked off to the public, I coudn't get photos of those rides for reference. I refer to the area as "Happy Harbor". I think that is what it is called but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Hope this helps! *** Edited 10/25/2004 10:42:06 PM UTC by razore86***

Kennywood Team Member Since 2003 Kennywood is CLOSED

(Striker's) Happy Harbor is a kiddie section of the park constructed by Sea World, and located more or less right behind Raging Wolf Bobs. The centerpiece is a gigantic climbing structure with a large climbing net and related stuff to crawl through. 'Moosh's kind of attraction, perhaps. :)

It was originally called "Shamu's Happy Harbor", then the name "Shamu" was dropped for obvious reasons. When Six Flags obtained an orca, I took to referring to it as "Shouka's Happy Harbor" after the new resident in the whale tank. When Cedar Fair bought the place, I figured to keep up the tradition it deserved the name of Cedar Point's late dolphin... :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

If you also look very close in the first three pictures you'll notice that some pieces of crawl tubes in the structure are wrap in plastic. I'm not sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me but when I looked at it they appeared to be either brand new or recently repainted.

Kennywood Team Member Since 2003 Kennywood is CLOSED

My guess would be they are brand new.

But thats just "my guess" lol.

Well the pics don't look like the tubes are new, although the picture quality is "decent" its hard to tell, I think I can see most rides getting a repaint excpept for villian, double loop, and X-Flight, they might get a new coat of the same colors who knows!

Thanks, Everyone. And no, Dave...its not my kind of attraction.

The 4th pic is of The Black Squid, an octopus-style flat ride. The concrete pad was completely empty when I was there on October 10th. All the bits and pieces were in a fenced-off section between the concrete pad and the Yo-Yo's. I was worried they were ditching it. This ride's twin at Calaway Park (www.calawaypark.com)was one of my favorites flats growing up.

Normally, if you want to see where things are in a park, I would direct you to www.themeparkbrochures.com/maps, but their latest Geauga Lake map is 1996 and ends with Raging Wolf Bobs. (If you look at that map, imagine the lake is a clock -- the group of 5 small flat rides and the kids play are at approximately 10 o'clock, just past RWBs.)

I'm sorry for the me getting the name mixed up. I don't know why I keep on calling it the Black Widow. The place that you said had all the parts during your visit is the same place they were during my last 2 visits. They only things there now are the tubs for the Black Squid ride and the watercrafts from the show. *** Edited 10/26/2004 3:48:21 AM UTC by razore86***

Kennywood Team Member Since 2003 Kennywood is CLOSED

Another thing I seen and found quite funny was that there was a red pick-up truck that still have the old GL logo from back before the SF/PP merger.

Kennywood Team Member Since 2003 Kennywood is CLOSED