The Geauga Lake story has made a Chicago paper.

I know this story has been beaten to death, but this is a nice , lengthy read about the park, why it closed, statements from both sides of the issue, etc.

It made a Chicago paper which surprises me in itself.

Click here.

Love how SLade without actually bashing them said the same things I said.

NOT PROFITABLE ENOUGH FOR A COREPERATION!

Chuck

I guess people care so little about the closing of Geauga Lake that news of it made a paper in a city hundreds of miles away?

As a human interest story a month later.

Doesn't matter. If there was no interest, it wouldn't have been published. I'm sure it's not the only human interest story in the entire city of Chicago.

You're trying to declare absolutes again. Of course some people care, or it wouldn't be the dead horse of CoasterBuzz. It doesn't mean enough people cared to visit the park when it was open.

I can't believe they'd publish the asinine claim that the park was bought to be closed, so Cedar Point would make more money. It's like saying Toyota will stop making the Camry because it's cutting into revenue from the Corolla. Stupid.

Why is it an asinine claim? Just because some people are firm in their belief that the park wasn't purchased to be closed doesn't mean everyone subscribes to that kind of thinking. There are those that believe the opposite of what's being said and that's their right, as well as a good indication there are people that think Cedar Fair is full of it.

The Toyota Camry is a mid/full size family sedan while the Corolla is a small/mid size sedan aimed at younger people and those that can't afford a Camry. The two cars compete in two different parts of the market, while Cedar Point and Geauga Lake competed in one market. Besides, Toyota isn't going to kill off either of its most popular models, despite the fact they're both snoozefests. It's not unreasonable to think many people in northern Ohio made a decision at some point... the decision being Cedar Point of Geuaga Lake.

*** Edited 10/25/2007 1:40:04 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

I didn't say there was no interest, but the facts haven't changed. The article isn't proof that there is going to be some big "fall out" for Cedar Fair (and neither is getting thumbs-up from the masses at Cedar Point for wearing a Geauga Lake shirt).

I didn't say that. I said there is enough interest in the story for it to make a paper in a major city that's nowhere near Geauga Lake. You're putting the rest of the words in my mouth.

So the question in your original post wasn't rhetorical?

No, it was sarcastic.

Very good article. I'm impressed that a reporter from Chicago found the story interesting enough to write about.

I guess there will always be some people who can't or refuse to "get it" and some that do.

Yes, it's an asinine claim. No one said they didn't have the right to think it, but it's incredibly stupid because it suggests the company wouldn't want to make money with both parks. In light of all the accusations of the greedy "COREPERATION" that's pretty ironic.

Seriously, Cedar Fair failed, and that's that. Probably the only thing everyone can agree on is that it's time for regime change.

"Cedar Fair failed"? Watch out, you might have to ban yourself. :)

When did Cedar Fair become the largest regional park operator? Doesn't Six Flags still have many more parks?

It is stupid to suggest the company wouldn't have wanted to make money from both parks, but I think it ties in with your comment about it being time for a regime change. While it's a long shot, it is possible this was about pride and legacy.

Kinzel's name is synonymous with Cedar Point- he's going to go down in history as the man that built the park into one of the largest regional theme parks in the world with rides like Magnum, Raptor, Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. I think he felt Geauga Lake to be a threat on some level and that guided many of the decisions made with that park. Maybe I'm way off base, but unless someone's figured out a way to get inside the guy's head anything is possible. There are plenty of CEOs driven by ego- Jobs, Eisner, Weinstein and Welsh are just a few that come to mind. And when you're at the top, it's easy to pass off ego-driven decisions as ones that make sense.

For those of us who have one, it's going to be a long offseason, isn't it? :)

Ray P.

* edited to denote that some folks don't have an off-season *** Edited 10/25/2007 2:20:42 PM UTC by ProgRay***

Sure, I'll be the first to stand up and say that Kinzel has an ego, but it doesn't make the position that they bought GL to close it any more plausible.

For fun, imagine the business case. First off, you'd just close it, not "pretend" to try and run it for four seasons. After all, public companies don't exist to pacify hurt feelings.

Second, there's no business case for it. Tens of millions of dollars worth of interest payments for the financing, along side millions of annual taxes, plus the operating loss itself, is not going to justify even 200,000 extra guests at Cedar Point. Besides, we've been over it many times that CP's best years in recent memory were 2000 and 2001, the same years that Six Flags had their highest count. Clearly people do not go to one place or the other.

Yeah, it's easy to pass off decisions as ego driven, but in this case not beyond the original purchase driving that ego.

Oddly enough, in the interview I did with Kinzel in 2000, he said:

---

A lot of people think we put the rides in because of ego, to say we’re the biggest and the best, but that’s not really the truth. The truth is they’re good business decisions to put those rides in, and the timing has to be right.

---

I'm pretty sure it's as simple as the park wasn't profitable enough - like the article alludes to. If it wasn't run but a big company like Cedar Fair, it would have worked. Everyone claims it has never worked, but it wouldn't have been open for so many years if it never worked. Stacy Frole said the park was expensive. So, make it less expensive and you still have a customer-base of 700,000 people. Last time I checked, 700,000 people was a LOT.

Cedar Fair is selling it for the same reasons the other groups sold it. They are able to make more profit from selling it than operating it. That doesn't mean they didn't make a profit operating it. It just means they made MORE by selling it.

In the article, it says the little boy and his family went to Cedar Point 2 weeks ago, because they couldn't go to GL. It seems like CF's plan is working, and if this family is any indication, then CP's attendance will be going up quite a bit in 2008.