LeSourdsville Lake closed indefinitely

This picture sums it all up:

It's a sad day at LeSourdsville Lake

It's kind of strange how so many people were hoping to ride Screechn' Eagle years in the past, then it closed down. It reopened so everyone was happy and got to ride it. Yet, there were those who said they would make it there, "next year," and once again it's closed. The good news is, I feel like this park hasn't seen it's last day yet.

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"The Future of Roller Coasters"
-RollerCoasterGod
LeSourdsville Lake Pictures and Information

If the park itself weren't in such good shape I'd be concerned it would not open again. The truth is, the park is in excellent shape with the existing rides in pretty good shape. The park will open again, it's the management that is in bad shape. (well, if there WAS a management that is)

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- John

You said it RollerCoasterGod. I live in Northeast Ohio and I couldn't make it down last year, so I figured I would just drive down there this year once I got my licence. Sure enough, got my licence in August and was planning this little trip out and then they close. I really hope they open it back up next year. I was looking foward to riding Screechin' Eagle

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"Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter. Wait. It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail" -Jack Handey

I know it's not popular to say this among enthusiasts, but what real shot does this park have at surviving long-term? We can all agree on the fact that this, and many other small parks, are charming and have some great rides.

But joy joy feelings don't sustain a business. What business plan (you know, where you decide how you're going to make money) will sustain the park long-term with PKI down the road?

Not meant to be a flame toward anyone, just asking.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

Run it like Holiday World with FREE parking, FREE unlimited soft drinks and FREE suncreen. There you go. That is how you run a park. You can tell HW cares about customer service when they decides to get ride of the single G-train on Legend and buy TWO PTC trains to increase capacity. You can tell HW cares about ride experience when the ride mechanic is complaining about the ride being too slow and even then is more intense than most parks. Now I will admit that LeSourdsville Lake is better run than most large parks. Their gate w/rideband I think was under $20 and I think the parking was $4 but maybe it was less. The food prices were compable to a normal fast food joint. But promoting the free stuff will give people reason to see that they are getting a good deal. A price hike of $3 could cover the free parking, drinks and sunscreen. Also spend about $5 million on a CI Cyclone clone or a different small wood twister(may require buying the neighboring defunct Fantasy Farm park) would help.*** This post was edited by Pink Floyd Fanatic 4/28/2003 8:04:08 PM ***

You can call it free if you like, just remember how much HW's admission went up when they started offering "free" soda...

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

Lesourdsville primarally is supported by corporate picnics that cant afford to have their events at parks like PKI and Cedar. Both LL, Strickers and Coney Island flurished on this concept. So I most definatly believe they have a furture, plus, you have the race track next to the park that helps with maintaining a clientel. LL should remain a 3-day a week operation and they should cater more to the water section

Jeff if you noticed I've said a $3 price hike may be needed to cover the freebies. HW may had gone up as much as $5 when they added the free sodas but still is under $30, at least $2-3 less than Valleyfair and VF still charges $7 for parking, excessive prices on food. Of course I won't need to worry about parking with my parking pass. I got a 2 for 1 (@$25) so I am giving the other one to the world's sweetest woman. I understand that VF may need some of the money from food to pay for SV but anyway you look at it HW has one onthe best deals around. True their overhead is much lower than VF but still a better deal than VF. Yet I am looking forward to my first impulse ride a week from this Saturday.

I never said that HW wasn't a good value... don't read into things.

Regardless, John pointed out the business plan I was looking for, so I'm satisfied. Here's hoping they get some people to manage things right.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

Heres hoping too, Jeff! They definatly have the people coming in the gates, Jerry Couch knows that, but he also knows that he, himself, can't run the park properly, so until he finds someone who can, it will stay closed. He would rather do things right or not do them at all. Personally, I don't blame him one bit!

I wonder if Jerry knows Ralph Stricker, and can get some possible canidates through him. After all, Ralph knows several in the business.