Shady GoFundMe for Big Dipper at Geauga Lake

https://www.gofundme.com/cvpgyuws

Anyone interested in throwing some money away?

No. But I would like to meet Michael McDaniel who apparently has 250 bucks, the largest donation so far, and tell him the mo' better ideas I have for his money. We'll start at the casino where the odds of return are much, much better.
This is so bad it's hilarious. The description made me cringe, and come to find out it's the version that's already been edited for clarity. He seems to have a few supporters, but my guess is they're all part of this group.

See, it's stuff like this that give Geauga Lake Fans a baaaaaad name. :)

Ha! I wanted to meet Mr McDaniel as I have some lovely oceanfront property in Kansas to sell.

I'd like to think that Mr Muniz's heart is in the right place. But the random Capitalization Of words, the run-on sentences that don't stop for punctuation of any kind for any reason ever, the bad grammars, the apparent lack of understanding of the actual costs involved and the apparent lack of understanding of Big Dipper's current ownership situation...

What is sad is you have folks like this Michael McDaniel who will blindly throw money at something like this without any regard to reality.

I contacted "Faith" a month or so ago after reading some of her wild posts on the GL facebook page about "saving" the park and asking for donations. When I asked where the funds would go, I was told I was being rude for asking. When I asked if she had been in touch with Cedar Fair, the townships of Aurora and Bainbridge and the like she called me out for being mean. She later clarified they would need money for things like starting a community fund to get the Aurora Home Depot to donate lumber to rebuild the coaster. And that she had friends with pickup trucks who would be helping with the project. I kid you not. All of the posts have been long taken down, but that is the kind of operation this is.

I was the biggest Geauga Lake/WoA fan there was growing up. I lived 20 minutes from the park and was there weekly from the early 90s until college. That park was the cornerstone for my love of theme parks and coasters, and it still hurts sometimes that it's gone. I shed a few tears when they announced the closure. But that's life. These butthurt folks make me cringe, and the fact that it's closing in on a decade now and they won't give up.

Fascinating. Why would one need a fund to "get" Home Depot to donate lumber?

I would rather live in a world that still had a Geauga Lake, but I don't. Borrowing a phrase from Stephen Sondheim, "you have to move on." Chicago's iconic Marshall Field's department store was renamed Macy's in 2006, and there are still people campaigning to have the name changed back, which is likewise not going to happen. Move on.

I'm not all that familiar with GoFundMe, but it seems I should start one up for myself. You know, groceries to buy, bills to pay, amusement parks to visit, worlds to save, stuff like that.
But my question is this. If a GoFundMe project fails to reach its goal or goes belly-up, what happens to the money donated? Or is it just pledged at that point? I'm not saying these good hearted yet misguided people are scammers, but couldn't any fund like this be ripe for it?

I'm pretty sure with GFM, money is given to the starter, regardless of amount pledged. I know with Kickstarter, you don't get any money unless you reach a certain percentage of your funding goal.

I checked the GoFundMe site:

What if I don't reach my goal?

No problem. With GoFundMe, you keep each and every donation you receive. Reaching your goal is not required.

Oh, my.
Well, this gives me an idea...

You and me both :-)

slithernoggin said:
Fascinating. Why would one need a fund to "get" Home Depot to donate lumber?

She said something along the lines of she needed funding so the entire project (reopening Big Dipper and a portion of the park) would be a "non profit project" - it made no sense. And any time I asked if she had contacted Cedar Fair regarding the current status of the availability of the land and coaster I was told to stop talking to her and to stop being so negative. I obviously was asking the questions with full knowledge she hadn't done anything, but at the same time they were all valid questions even if it had been a legitimate situation.

And yes, I am thinking of starting a GoFundMe to finance a summer vacation. Because apparently I can.

BrettV, please stop being so negative in your responses :-)

I kind of want to start a GoFundMe so that I can go to ACE's CoasterCon this year. As you say, because apparently I can.

I've seen a fair share of GFM pages over the past two years, most worthy of asking for money, others just laughable. This one is up there with a kid I went to high school with wanting something like $250 for a traffic ticket (turned left on red cause he was "late" for class) and a new tire for his car.

These have gotta be the people who support Donald Trump. It's the only thing that makes sense.

At one time, you could make pledges on GFM without actually giving the money, so there's a chance that $250 donation doesn't really exist.

The best GFM I've ever seen on Facebook was from someone I went to high school with that burned down the front porch of her house with a discarded cigarette. She was asking for $1000 to rebuild the porch because her landlord was making her and she couldn't afford to do so on her disability only income.

Jeff said:
These have gotta be the people who support Donald Trump. It's the only thing that makes sense.

Not unless they actually intend to use the funds to build a giant wall around Big Dipper that will actually keep those who donated from riding...

I propose they move the Big Dipper to the new Frozen section of Epcot and rename it "Let It Go."

I can't see this not being a scam. Only other explanation would be the person seriously has no grip whatsoever on reality. To counter Jeff's opinion, it seems to me most GFM's are started by the Bernie Sanders voting types. "Please, give me some of your hard earned money so I can have something nice without having to work for it."

That being said, there are plenty of worthy causes on GFM too. I donated to the Universal guy who got stabbed. It seemed like a worthy cause. I didn't donate to the person who spent their entire savings on Powerball tickets and now can't pay their rent. Yes... I know... Here, let me save you the trouble: http://www.snopes.com/2016/01/15/gofundme-for-powerball-loser/

Tommytheduck said:
I can't see this not being a scam. Only other explanation would be the person seriously has no grip whatsoever on reality.

Sadly I do think it is the latter in this case. Based on some of the folks on the Geauga Lake FB page, they honestly believe they are going to sit in board meetings and get folks to sign online petitions for the park to reopen. They have no grasp on the reality that the park itself is gone, and it's just a giant vacant lot with some rotting wood in the shape of a coaster.

What irks me the most is the mob mentality online. Just like the Dorney thing. Folks share things like this Go Fund Me without doing any actual research to check legitimacy, etc.

Can it be renamed GoFu**Me? Or would that be not so family-friendly?

If I were Cedar Fair even if they did raise the money I'd be all I"'m sorry it's not for sale."