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Geauga Lake Rocks!


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Trip Report: 09/04/05

My brother and I finally made our first trip to Geauga Lake. Small crowd and virtually no wait for anything. It was a bit cloudy, but stayed at about 72 degrees the entire day. We arrived about 10:30am and we went to the closest coaster, Head Spin. I liked this one as I had only been on the inverted boomerang coasters. I thought it was pretty good. I would say it was a 7 out of 10. Next, we went over to Steel Venom and rode toward the back of the train. Pretty good launch and freefall sensation. The holding brake was not being used, but still fun. I would give it a 7 as I feel that Wicked Twister is a little better and I prefer the double twist. After that, we headed on over to X Flight. This was the only coaster that I was actually nervous about. I was starting to get apprehensive when they leaned you back. I loved this coaster and I think it’s a 10. I don’t see how people say that flyers are boring. There’s nothing like that sensation of flying. My two favorite elements were the loop and double in-line twist.

After X Flight, we walked over to catch a lap on Thunderhawk and Dominator. I liked Thunderhawk and we both agreed that the best element is the first inversion (not sure what it’s called). I liked the pacing and inversions. Didn’t find it to be rough at all. I was surprised at how quiet the chain lift was. I thought it was an 8. Next, on to Dominator. I was looking forward to this one because not only is it a B&M, but it was my first floorless experience. This coaster rocked! The first drop in to that huge loop was awesome. Very fast coaster as well. I liked the interlocking corkscrews at the end. This coaster was definitely a 10. My only complaint is at the entrance, there is a really cool Dominator sign, but you could barely see it for the tarp in front of it. We went to the Raging Wolf Bobs after Dominator. I have to say that this was the surprise coaster of the whole trip. This is a good example of why some smaller woodies are better than their larger counterparts. We especially liked two of the turns that start out wide and quickly get narrower. Definitely a 9. After that, we went to the Villain. This one was a pretty good coaster. Had some good air time. I thought it was an 8.

After that, it was on to the Double Loop. Nice pre-lift tunnel. Classic Arrow coaster. I would give it a 6. By the time we rode nearly every coaster, except Big Dipper, it was 12:30pm and we stopped for lunch. Can’t remember the name of the food stand, but we got a rather large hot dog and soda for seven bucks and change. Pretty good hot dog. Afterwards, we went over to the Big Dipper. I was ready for another wood coaster. This would be our only lap on this coaster for the day as it beat the crap out of me. When we got to the bottom of the first drop, I literally felt my spine compressing. I basically held myself up out of the seat to stop any further beatings. I couldn’t wait for this one to end.

Next, we took a break out in the parking lot. We got our hand stamp to return. When we started to head back in, I doused myself with another round of sun block. Much to my dismay, it had smeared my hand stamp and was worried about getting back in. I dug up my original ticket and intended to show them that I had been there. Went to the re-entry gate and the two ladies working we really nice and didn’t give me any grief over re-entering. I offered to show them my receipt and they said they didn’t need to see it. That’s when we met a higher up employee. Not sure if he was an area manager or supervisor, but he noticed my Dragster polo shirt. He was telling me that he was at CP the previous day and had just rode Dragster. We told him that it was our first trip there and he said, well, we’re no Cedar Point. I proceeded to tell him that we were indeed enjoying GL and were not expecting a CP type of place. We went on our way and proceeded to re-ride all of the coasters. Throughout the day, we sneaked in rides on Texas Twister, which I was surprised by. It does so much more than Tomb Raider:The Ride. My brother didn’t care for the self-adjusting restraints as it was a little too tight for him and hurt his shoulder. We went to the Haybayler for a spin. I liked it that I had seen these before, but never in a barn. The last flat we rode was the Time Warp. Pretty neat flat and we were laughing and having a good time. I won’t bore you with how many laps we got on each coaster. Overall, I really liked the look of Geauga Lake. Nice theming and everything looked clean and well kept. Of course, you’ll always be able to find a little something that could be touched up here or there, but nothing major. And even though this was my first trip, it certainly won’t be my last.

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I never got the whole "we're no Cedar Point", "we're no Disney World", etc. deal. When I was at Kennywood, I was talking to a couple of employees who recognized my PKIC shirt. One of them said, "We're no PKI, but I'm sure you can find some stuff to do around here." I thought he was nuts. Granted, almost everything about PKI outweighs Kennywood, but KP does pack a per capita bunch that PKI never will. To me every park is unique and his its own brand of entertainment.

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Glad to hear you enjoyed Geauga Lake. I enjoyed my first trip there since the Six Flags take over in early August and like you was pleasantly surprized by the park. With regard to the flyer thing, I actually find the Vekoma fliers more intense and exciting than the B&M flyer that I rode at SFOG, so maybe it's just a B&M thing.

Also surprized to hear you enjoyed Head Spin, I hated it when I rode it, but in all fairness I was feeling a little dizzy at the time so it surely didn't help. Also, you found Big Dipper rough while you enjoyed Villian? I thought Big Dipper was very smooth with some great air and by far the best woodie at Geauga Lake. Villian on the other hand was like how you described Big Dipper. I can truely say that Villian is the roughest coaster I've ever been on and made SOB feel like a B&M. I don't know I rode it twice in around the middle both times, maybe you rode in a different spot?

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Maybe I caught Big Dipper on a bad day? It did bring some pain to me while Villain was pleasant.

Yeah Ryan, I didn't get the whole "We're no Cedar Point" comment. Since I had never been, I didn't go in with high expectations. I wasn't expecting CP. If I wanted CP, I'd go to CP. I went to GL to experience something different.

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^PKIBeast, you may have talked to Bill Spehn (Vice President/General Manager) as he's ALWAYS walking around the park talking to park guests about their park experiences or what ever!

Steel Venom is more thrilling that Wicked Twister IMO because of the holding brake. I'm sure you noticed those terrible ripped/duct taped up seats on them due to poor Six Flags maintenance and the fact that Geauga Lake had to scratch off the superman logos.

I also can't believe you liked Head Spin, I hate that ride, same with the Villain this year as it has become SoB rough dry.gif

It's not just you, The Big Dipper is now as rough as CP's Blue Streak. Their is good news as a GL maintenance supervisor informed me that the Raging Wolf Bobs will finish it's final year of retracking this off season, The Villain will receive a retracking, the Seel Venom seats will be replaced with band new ones, and Grizzly Run will receive a major refurbishment.

The first inversion on Thunderhawk is called a pretzel loop. ThunderHawk runs way better this year after it's rehab and the new paint job looks amazing.

Why did you skip the Dodgems (bumper cars). They are way better than PKI's and CP's as with their recent rehab, their REALLY fast. It's good to hear you like Texas Twister as it's actually the first Huss Topspin EVER and is one of the best.

Too bad you didn't visit WWK as it's the best water park in Ohio. I very glad to hear you liked my homepark (Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom) and will be returning as we need the good publicity!

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Yeah, Skippy, I should'nt have skipped the Bumper cars. And, I'm really glad to hear of all of the improvements for next year. Steel Venom was looking bad and the brakes were squealing rather loudly. Also, some of the seats were taped off. I will definitely be back next year so I can enjoy WWK. I actually prefer Head Spin to Face/Off. I know, some people probably are shocked by that. As I said, I really liked the Raging Wolf Bobs. It turned out to be the surprise ride of the trip.

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