Wildwater Kingdom at Geauga Lake closes permanently

I imagine that's correct.

And who's saying anything about salvaging it? Ok, some (still) are, but not on here so much.

I've always seen that situation as a back-burner project, and the money won't be spent to demolish it until it's absolutely necessary.

Jeff-

What you said is what I was trying to say. Cedar Fair absolutely made the best business decision by doing what they did.

As for not spending money to demolish, I get the impression safety concerns on the property may have them ready to make that decision now. Of course on the fanboy site, folks are still talking about getting the Aurora Home Depot donating lumber and folks loaning their time and pickup trucks as a viable option to reopen the ride.

This is a great location for residential homes, a lakefront (Leisure) park, golf course, community (wave?) pool, etc. I suspect we'll see more business than residential though. Just about anything is better than a depressing wasteland and constant reminder of its former existence.

It doesn't matter what they THOUGHT people would/would not do. They have a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder returns--they should have at least solicited offers. As it is, right now they have $0 in return. Less after taxes.

Now, maybe they did offer it and the bids were too low or nonexistent.

http://m.chagrinvalleytoday.com/mobile/communities/bainbridge/artic...1b6ba.html

Without subscription I can only read the first part of this. I loved that park. I loved that coaster. But it is beyond time to do this.

After today's post full of anger and hate and complete inability to accept the end from the Geauga Lake page on facebook I'm wondering are there any pages or groups on facebook where people are sharing pictures and memories without all the argument, hate and denial? I would really enjoy having some nostalgia show up in my feed once in a while but anymore that's not happening. Being informed about current events and the possible impending demo of Dipper is one thing but the constant tirades and rants are getting old.

Maybe there will be some good old-fashioned fun like chaining themselves to the structure or something. One can hope.

Go on there and casually mention it, Paisley, see if you get any takers.

Oh that would make some good entertainment, wouldn't it?

There are people who still can't let go of the end of Euclid Beach, unfortunately. I bet they're a real blast to hang out with.

Right. It makes you wonder what happens when there's finally no one left alive who ever went there.
I also wonder what some of these parks would be like if they were open today. Most were small places with a handful of rides and one or two roller coasters. And that was all visitors back then demanded or expected. They contained vintage flats and dark rides and those would be nice to have, but we've all seen what eventually happens to them as time takes its toll and modern attractions come along to replace. Parks like Knoebels and Kennywood, that still maintain a balance between the old and the new, are a rarity.

Some of the Euclid Beach guys are ok, I met them at a pop up museum similar to what's happening for Idora and their remaining fans. They are dedicated to (obsessed with?) the preservation of ride vehicles, signage, games, and other memorabilia. The Humphrey company is still in business and I can get their popcorn balls at my grocery store to this day. The EB carousel has been restored and operates at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland and that's a great thing.
Now, if there are folks out there who bemoan the fact that Euclid Beach is closed and still get all butt hurt about it then that's too bad. And a little strange, too, especially when you consider that small local parks, in the face of urban land value and competition from behemoths, were destined to be lost anyway.

Yeah, the Euclid Beach guys are fine. They are mainly about preserving memorabilia from the park to help preserve it's memory, there is no bitterness about the park closing like there is with Geauga Lake. I've been to a number of their displays when they had them at a local mall and it was interesting and nicely done. There is also a Rocket Ship car that was converted to an automobile that gives rides at various events.

The people in the Geauga Lake camp are the direct opposite, lots of bitterness and unrealistic expectations that the park can be resurrected. It would be much better if they took that negative energy and developed something like the Euclid Beach guys did. That would be an asset to the community, instead they waste all their time capitalizing Dick Kinzel's first name over and over in various negative posts on Facebook.

There is a group that actually works with the Euclid beach guys for their events. They are called North Ohio Classic Parks. If you have been to any of the Euclid beach events and saw Geauga lake stuff, it was them. Very good bunch of people that share memories from the park. They even have a time capsule that was buried at Geauga Lake in 1999.

Must be who I saw, as there were items from several parks. Sal was there, too. It was years ago now, and I can't remember where it was. Maybe the Cuyahoga fairgrounds in Berea.

I got a chuckle (as well as many, many occasions to roll my eyes) reading the Geauga Lake FB page. Somebody posted a picture of the mobile Rocket car claiming it was from GL. It's clearly from EB, that ride had only 3 rockets that were really long. Besides, GL's shorter cars are used at Cedar Point at Halloween. One is on the trail all steam-punked out and the othe one has aliens in it.

Anyway, the Rocket car is cool as hell. There's also one that uses a restored Thriller car or two on a flat bed. I loved seeing those, and Pete is right. It's the best way at this point to relive memories while making new ones, too.

Yeah the Geauga Lake page has been really whacked lately. They've turned their anger to the girl that posted the pictures from on top of the Dipper saying she caused the rise in trespassing and in turn is causing the Dipper to be demolished.

I'm about to unfollow those Geauga Lake pages. It's run by really bitter idiots who can't let go of the past and places all the blame on Cedar Fair and Dick Kinzel. Those pages are full of drama.

Now, they are claiming that cedar fair created a "monopoly" when they bought all the OH parks up and closed GL.

These people, man.

I miss seeing pictures posted instead of tirades and rants. If they don't pull themselves together soon I'll probably quit following too. I figure the page will probably be one of the first places to hear that the demo has taken place so I'll probably stay on long enough to see the end and the ditch out. Someone needs to start a new page dedicated to park memories that is run by someone more emotionally stable. Hate to put it that way but whoever is running the page lately has some serious anger issues.