My two cents on Geauga Lake

Give it time and I think that Geauga Lake will evolve into the anti-Cedar Point- an amusement park that is able to stand and succeed on its own merits and not just because it is part of the Cedar Point family. I won't pretend to know anything, but I'd bet serious money on the fact that there is a plan.

And lets be serious, the weather has been worse than last year for a regional park without a resort and they are missing half of the park.

Was it like this for all the other Cedar Fair parks? OMG attendance is down, they are soooo going under. My experience this year with GL has been FAR better than last year, we just havent had the weather to make the trip form Pittsburgh. We've gone twice, leaving a sunny Pittsburgh to go to the water park and its rained both times. *** Edited 8/23/2004 4:30:31 PM UTC by eightdotthree***

I've only made it to GL twice so far this year. I intend to go once more, mainly because I want to see the progress in the park from Opening Day.

The reason I haven't gone more? The weather. I bought my pass for the convenience (ie not in Sandusky) of the waterpark. I thought it'd be more fun than going to Dover Lake or any of the other "regional" waterparks in NE Ohio. But I haven't gone because it's either been raining or too cool. Plus, I really wanted to try out the stuff built in the last few years.

The rides (and park in general) are much better than what they were under SF ownership, but I still see areas where they need improved before they'll really drag my attention from CP. That isn't saying I won't go and ride them, but I am also expecting that things will be tons (compared even with now) better in a couple of seasons.

Laura

Cedar Fair isn't going to let this park go by the way side! There are alot of higher ups that have been move to GL. Cedar Fair had zero time to do any major changes. The ad's were thrown together faster then the sea world combination. Give CF time. I don't expect anything from the park for a few more years. The days I've been there the park is empty. However I have seen a lot of improvments from what we have witnessed over the past few years. The bathrooms seem to be a lot cleaner. The park is run a lot better. Give Cedar Fair some time. The park is headed in the right direction, but it will take time. There are many eye sores at GL that need to be taken care of. I'm not even sure that CF has a plan as to what to do with the place yet. Give it time and wait and see. Maybe next season we will see what that direction might be

i think attendance is down due to the season pass issue... granted, this year my family and friends did not buy season passes due. that totalled about 50 season passes and we went at least every other weekend last year. i have to wonder how many others felt the way we did and simply did not buy even before the talk of the buyout...

Yea, I'm glad nothing bad has happened at the park this year like Six Flags used to constantly do. You know like, a section of the log flume completely breaking off, Mr. Hyde's getting stuck and breaking halfway down the shaft, ride ops allowing people to reride when there's already someone waiting to ride, or ride ops dispatching a train without properly securing guests. But that just comes with a "first year experience" I guess...

I'll make a bet that Geauga Lake will never have attendance reach 1.7 million like SFO. That's a fair comparison since it's now owned by the magical Cedar Fair and neither include the Wildlife side.

Btw, the "record" attendance for the SF park was reached again in 2001 with 2.7 million when the park added the Wildlife side and X-Flight. Is anyone really surprised the attendance dropped in '02 and '03 since they added no major attractions and the weather was bad a lot of time? Dorney had a bigger drop than SFWOA in 2003, but no one said "Cedar Fair suxors" then...

+Danny, "The fun was never here" *** Edited 8/23/2004 5:19:54 PM UTC by +Danny***

I think there are several issues regarding GL's attendance this year. In my opinion, the biggest mistake that was made was not allowing people ot use Cedar Point passes at the GL. It seems like that move would have at least allowed some CP passholders who were curious about Geauga Lake take a trip over. I can understand CF not wanting people to be able to buy a $60 pass at GL and be able to use it at CP. But then my proposal would have been to alloow guests to pay an additonal fee to 'upgrade' your GL pass so you can use it at other CF parks. And if you didn't want to upgrade your pass then you could have a $60 pass you could use exclusively at GL.

The second problem in my opinion has been the weather. July and August have seemed incredibly cold. I've been at the park almost every day for the past two months and can't remember a single day when i was actually sweating a lot or complaining about the heat. Since GL relies on its waterpark so much to attract guests, it makes sense how cold weather could really hurt attendance.

In addition, I'm pretty sure that most of the GP doesn't even know that CF took over the park. There have been a ton of people who have come up to me on the Dominator and were puzzled by why it wasn't called Batman anymore.

A lot of Cedar Fair's policies can probably be percieved as bad customer service by the GP. Take the no-carry on item policy for example. For the past 4 years people have been able to take whatever crap they want and throw it on the unload side of Batman. Now GL tells them that they can't take anything up there, and that they have to go all the way back to the main gate to get a locker for it. For a lot of people this is a huge inconvinience, and I understand why so many people get irritated. Its already the end of August and Dominator still doesn't have any lockers people can use to put their loose stuff in.

As for poor ride operations and whatnot, I think it needs to be taken into account that in the beginning of the year, GL was starting off with mostly people Six Flags had hired. Once staffing became a problem they had to get who they could. Cedar Point has an advantage having dorms and being able to get more mature college kids to work for them. Working 60-80 hours a week is tough for most high school kids, so I give them credit for the job they did.

I think a new ride or attraction would be nice to draw new crowds, but just giving the new park time will help too. Its only the first year, no need to be so pessamistic.

Just my opinion---but I'm not sure Cedarfair wants huge attendances at this park. By huge, I mean numbers that could in any way lead to a decrease in attendance at their park 90 minutes down the road. At 2.7 million visitors a year, it just does not sound TRADITIONAL to me. I thought they wanted to return this to a traditional park. Most people, I believe, associate traditional parks with smaller crowds, shorter lines, wooden coasters, spin and pukes, wild neon lighting, friendly staff, and most importantly---GOOD FATENING FAIR FOOD! GL has a perfect setting for a traditional feel with the lakeside setting. A new major coaster is the LAST thing they need. I’d prefer a Zipper and Tilt-A-Whirl. A ride-through haunted house would be a dandy addition too.

I’m still in the camp of armchair quarterbacks that thinks GL needs to pull some of the steel coasters out of their line-up. The floorless and flying models would make better additions at their more urban regional parks. I think they need to cut operating costs and concentrate on customer service, food, and a fair-like nighttime atmosphere. On previous posts some people had good takes about waterpark additions, which would make sense for keeping the daytime guests entertained. At night, this park could come alive. It could be a neat little nighttime diversion for locals and the Cleveland market, who are tired of a movie or baseball game. To me, nothing makes a traditional park come alive like fried cheese and running lights on the out-and-back. A true Coney Island feel is what I’m imagining.

My vision does not gel with 2.7 million per…

You make some great points, Jeffrey (check your Private Messages, by the way). I don't agree that large attendance numbers at GL will have an impact on CP's numbers but I do agree with pretty much everything else you said.

What is the best way to survive in a market with Cedar Point?

By being something other than Cedar Point!

A wooded, lakeside setting. Picnic groves. Classic rides mixed in amongst the high-tech rides already in place. How about a darkride or a Cuddle-Up or a train around the lake? Cedar Point has the thrill ride market nailed... how about going after a demographic that is more interested in a park that the entire family can enjoy without being bombarded with excessive crowds and record-breaking coasters around every corner?

The potential is there... the right people just need to realize that.

Since Cedar Point clearly doesn't have any trees, classic rides, a dark ride, train, and is nowhere near a lake. The crowds never seemed excessive at SFO/SFWOA and definitely not at GL. I would rather see quite a few people walking around than *maybe* finding a couple around a corner. Hopping midways don't have to mean horrid lines. They need to get the midways hopping IMO and have employees be a little more enthusiast and proud to work there.

+Danny

I don't think Geauga Lake will ever sustain even 2 million a year. I just don't see that kind of draw. They need to figure out how to price the park right, how to position it, and how to sell it with Cedar Point. Once they figure all of that out, I'm sure they'll settle on a fairly consistent number they'll hit. Look at Cedar Point... I doubt it will ever do much over 3.3 million and I wouldn't worry about the park unless it went below 2.8.

I say that GL markets themselves with CP as one large family vacation! Spend a whole week in northern ohio. Sandusky(CP,the lake, soak city,challenge park adn more) Then you have cleveland(lake erie, rock and roll hall of fame, etc and GL) If CF can find a way to draw the CP crowd to GL then their in business. Say you go to CP and then there is a sign that says:"Buy your CP Gold season pass and get free access to GLP and surrounding CF parks.$99.00 Which means:

1. Larger families will just buy season passes for $400...vs. Paying $60 for 2 day passes. and they also get to make a 1hr trip to cleveland and visit GL.(already paid)

2. More CP pass holders will travel to GL. thus giving them more opportunities to see other CF parks.

3. More annual visiters will come to GL(thus increasing attendance)

4. It's a win-win situation. CP gets visiters from GLP and GLP gets more visiters than before.

If Geauga Lake passes were good at Cedar Point I know that instead of me and my sister getting GL passes, my dad would get one to, and we would go to Cedar Point alot!