Two more out the door at Geagua Lake?
Because they have a Boomerang, a hyper, a B&M inverted, a family spinner, a woodie, and a kiddie.
I mean even with these two additional coasters gone (if it does happen) I can't help but think Geauga in the short run is still way ahead as far as coasters go compared to their attendance.
Just sayin'. I'd like to think CF knows where attendance is going to be headed generally in the next few coming years. There's always time to add coasters back later if the market justifies it.
The trouble is, to the park visitor, they didn't do a @#$! thing. They moved the water park from zone A to zone B, then from zone B to zone Sea, then they expanded it and renamed it again. The companies spent a lot of money on what they see as capital expansion, but that the customer sees as moving around the stuff they already had. Did the waterpark relocation make sense? Oh, absolutely! But while the bean counters see that as a major capital expansion, the customers remember that Geauga Lake was one of the first amusement parks to include a water park. This is nothing new for Geauga Lake, and it doesn't even register as a capital improvement. People see the new waterpark and it registers as "cosmetic improvements"...you know, the code word for "we didn't buy a new ride this year". Then to add insult to injury, Geauga Lake yanks out a bunch of rides. Admittedly the Monorail had problems, Mr. Hyde's and the Enterprise are both "good riddance" attractions, and X-Flight really had to be moved, regardless of whether it stayed at Geauga or not.
In my opinion, the park needs a relatively cheap midway *expansion*. The only rides they should be thinking about taking out are the flume and the Boomerang. What they really ought to be doing is bringing in a Rocket Ship, a Flying Scooter (Premier version, please!), and a Himalaya and using those to revitalize the midway surrounding the Boomerang. It would cost less than it cost to remove X-Flight, and it would indicate to everybody that yes, they are serious about trying to revitalize Geauga Lake.
Personally, I have my doubts about this particular rumor. Too many things about it just don't make a lot of sense...
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
X Factor said:
FLYINGSCOOTER said:"They were popular coasters, but they weren't the most popular coasters there. We just think they'll be more popular and better utilized at other parks," he said.Regarding that quote, what do you think was more popular than X-Flight? My guess would be Dominator, Thunderhawk, and Big Dipper.
I think it would be different if it wasn't such a large removal, i.e. two coasters at once, as compared to a gradual removal over time.
X-Factor
X-Flight packed 'em in easily as much or more than Dominator in my opinion.
Dominator is the Star of the park as far as I'm concerned. Sure, Big Dipper is a classic, but from what i've seen and heard, Dominator is it.
X-Flight was great and usually had good lines. It was good to have that away from Dominator because it spread the crowds, (which they had under Six Flags) across the park.
My personal favorite was S:UE/Steel Venom. I loved the front seat on that one better all the others. There's nothing like feeling you've been shot out a cannon.
Great Lakes Brewery Patron...
-Mark
As for the fate of Dominator, I personally think it should end up at CW. That park has the highest attendance in the chain and also has very low capacity coasters. With the addition of Behemoth this year and then possibly Dominator next year, they really could turn that park into Canada's version of CP. If they don't send it to CW, could it possibly fill the void at CP for a B&M sit-down looper that they have always wanted??
I must admit that I am very sad to see GL heading in this direction as it was a very nice park. One of the first parks I ever went to as a matter of fact. I just think that the CF people feel that it is just too close to CP for it to actually survive as it is now. I mean it is only about an hour drive or so from Aurora to Sandusky via the Ohio Turnpike. So CF is probably going to try and turn GL into a waterpark and move all of the rides to their other parks that actually need them.
Seriously though...has this rumor even been confirmed? not hardly.All we have are "sources" claiming that these two rides may be removed & relocated to other parks,although in light of XF's removal last year followed by SV's removal this year I wouldn't be too suprised if it does come to pass.
But whatever happens... happens.
That statement, even though I really don't see any confirmation at all anywhere, should be like a wet dream to at least one member of this site :)
If the rumors prove to be true CF officials aren't going to be concerned in the least if a tiny handful of enthusiasts boycott GL next season so it's a wasted effort for them to behave as though the world is going to come to an end if these rides are in fact removed & relocated.
If Geauga Lake goes thru with these removals and mentions *nothing* about improvements, enhancements, or upgrades...I could see 500K in the gate in '08...
Ehhh, i hope you guys arn't taking the "im going to tip Dominator into the Lake and the im going to burn Thunderhawk down and sprinkle its ashes around the park" statements seriously...i mean...come on
BATWING FAN SFA said:
^^You know,over at the GLT forums some posters there are thinking about taking things to the extreme over these rumored relocations & in a way it's starting to get out of hand.If the rumors prove to be true CF officials aren't going to be concerned in the least if a tiny handful of enthusiasts boycott GL next season so it's a wasted effort for them to behave as though the world is going to come to an end if these rides are in fact removed & relocated.
SK610 said:
If they don't send it to CW, could it possibly fill the void at CP for a B&M sit-down looper that they have always wanted??
If the folks running CP "have always wanted" a sitdown looper in the style of the ride at GL they would have built it. It's not like CP didn't have the cash, or knowledge, or willpower if that were the case. But instead they've built all sorts of other rides, so obviously, if CP really did want a ride like this, they must not have really wanted it that much because I don't see what was stopping them from building it.
Of course, if they want Dominator *now* that's a whole different story but I still would not understand the business sense behind it. Of all the parks in the chain there's plenty where Dominator would be a star, maybe even signature attraction.
You would never believe it, but they were actually playing "Fake Empire" when I was at Kings Dominion last weekend. Best in-park radio ever.
You should check out my site in my profile if you like to talk indie music. *** Edited 8/31/2007 6:39:31 PM UTC by +Danny***
+Danny said:
Even as a teenager or young adult who regularly visits the park, I'd be pissed if Cedar Fair turned the Six Flags extreme megapark into a local swimming hole, so I don't see them as enthusiasts to be totally off base with that segment of the GP.
I don't either. I realize enthusiasts tend to get a little worked up over stuff like this, but I hardly think their feelings are isolated. I seriously doubt we are the only ones that give a damn about Geauga Lake.
Suppose Cedar Fair shuts the park down. At one point, the park was getting more than a million people... it's settled at what?... 700K/year? Why would Cedar Fair willingly give up those customers? There is no way that by elminating Geauga Lake, Cedar Point attendance is going to increase by 700K, 500K or even 250K. Since GL fell from grace as a major destination, I'm betting the majority of guests come from the Cleveland/Akron area, and even though those cities aren't exactly packed with people boasting huge amounts of disposable income, I hardly consider it a dead market. There are a lot of people within a short drive of the park and I think it'd be foolish to give up on that market.
Maybe I'm jumping the gun a little... it's just that while some are convinced the park is going to live on in a different form, I'm seeing the writing on the wall and assuming Geauga Lake is going to be gone within a few years... if not sooner. We're still talking rumors, but it all seems so obvious.
I would hope if CF does announce they intend to remove the coasters in question they also mention what their intentions are for the park. Nothing too detailed, but something like "we're getting rid of the park" "we're changing the focus of the park, which we intend to do by removing these coasters and installing _______ (fill in the blank)," or "we decided to just go with a waterpark." Anything as general as that will do.
They can't just say that they know what they're doing (we're the business experts) but won't tell anyone. The shareholders have the right to know what they're doing at Geauga and why and what the implications of that are.
(added 3 of these '^' to reference the correct post) *** Edited 8/31/2007 10:04:10 PM UTC by RatherGoodBear***
+Danny said:Even as a teenager or young adult who regularly visits the park, I'd be pissed if Cedar Fair turned the Six Flags extreme megapark into a local swimming hole, so I don't see them as enthusiasts to be totally off base with that segment of the GP.
Thank you very much. IMHO Enthusiast conjure the good, bad, coasters, operations ect.
As a guest, I only care if the park is fun. Sorry but if you say you like it better now than in the SFWOA days. Well Im sure your in a huge minority.
Chuck
You can only expect them to lose attendance, especially that whole teenager/young adult segment who don't care about the waterpark, year after year if you're removing those attractions. I'm certain a lot of people have gone to the park this year not realizing two of their favorite coasters were already gone. They may hold onto some more of those people again next year if the news doesn't reach them. I don't actually believe they have a plan to revitalize the park anymore and if they did, they would be adding minor attractions to capture the attendance of their target audience like RideMan listed.
I agree with RGB that if they do indeed remove Dominator and Thunderhawk, it's essential for them to give an idea of what the future holds for the park. They've had four years to act like they know what they're doing, so it's time to actually start doing it... And well, maybe the slow dismantling of the park is that master plan. I don't think they have much of an audience left besides really bored locals who are tired of going to the movies and bowling. *** Edited 8/31/2007 7:19:12 PM UTC by +Danny***
Had someone told me four years that the old waterpark would still be standing today, I would've told them they were nuts.
Like CF would let an eyesore like that be in public sight...
For four years? Wow.
Great Lakes Brewery Patron...
-Mark
Closed topic.
