The Interpreter Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 http://www.akron.com/akron-ohio-opinions.asp?aID=2645 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Seems I remember reading on another coaster site that attendance was really low for Memorial Day weekend. Of course, now I can't find a link to the discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrill_Biscuit Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Ultra XD on the Space Tower bit. Classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Now I have found the link in a trip report posted at CB. A user who goes by LdScotsman posted the TR and here's what was said about MD attendance. The most disturbing thing she (a 7 year employee) told us were the numbers. They expected 3,000 people opening day Memorial Day weekend, they got 130. Yes, 130. Granted it was not 92 degrees but 130??? The day WE were there it WAS 92 degrees and there MAY have been 500-1000 in the park. She said that "They want to make this the biggest waterpark in the Midwest but we need people!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 I don't think Cedar Fair has a single clue how much they antagonized the people in that area.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholderfield Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 2008 end-season announcement: Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kindgom closes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Such a sad story and a sad ending to such a great park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cormaster Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I thought they were going to keep it open as an "old Indiana" style place with classic fair rides and a waterpark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 13, 2008 Author Share Posted June 13, 2008 Nope...the rides are for sale...a waterpark is all that remains...and for how long? That remains to be seen. Even the Geauga Lake name has been removed from the preferred URL for the website: http://www.wildwaterfun.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterkidman Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Man. I went there on a sunday in July, and i have to say it was a pretty nice park! It had the rides I was looking for, it had a great atmosphere, it was a very nice park. Plus all rides were walk ons!! I just don't see why they HAD to close it! They bought it, hoping it could be an eastern CP, And it makes enough money to keep the place open, and they say, "Ohh, well, this place isn't a huge, high end, very big amusement park! It's a quaint little park with awesome rides and an amazing lake side feel to it. Shut it down!" I know thats not what actually happened but, i don't see what forced them to close it? O.K., and I guess what ****es me off most is that they don't relocate all the rides! They move Dominator to KD, X-Flight to KI, Steel Venom to Dorney, Thunderhawk to MA, and a lot of the kiddie rides to CP. And if that's not bad enough, they leave the water-park open, hopping that the water parkcould become a flagship property. Let's think about this, ehh CF? You aquire Geauga Lake, the biggest and only real amusement park in the Cleveland area. Beloved by the people who go. It's not huge, it's income isn't amazing. So, you shut it down. Relocate some of the rides and auction off everything else?! puh-leeze. So then what do you do? Keep Wildwater Kingdom open? Hello! This is a waterpark in Cleveland! It snows from September to April! You want to keep it open hopping that it'll make what? Twice as much, three times as much? I have familly in Cleveland. They HATE CF up there. I mean, GL was there only real amusement park. They loved it. It's been there since 1888! 1888! And CF barges in, and closes the park down in 4 years. What did they do in those 4 years? Relocate 2 of their best roller coasters! And now you think that they are going to support you in leaving the water park open? HELLO! Cleveland Post: September 21, 2008: In a sad story coming from Aurora, Ohio, Dick Kinzel, (Yes, the man who shut down GL,) announced that Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom will close down because of extreme lack of profit. "We thought it would be great." Says Dick Kinzel, CEO of Cedar Fair. "Our plan was fullpoof. Close down the side everyone loved and force them to reside to the often cold Waterpark!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I don't think Cedar Fair has a single clue how much they antagonized the people in that area.... That is very possible. But also, the weather has much to do with it. Memorial Day weekend, the temps barely hit 70. The normal highs are usually around 68, and in 2008 it was 65. And at night the temps went into the 50's. It really has been downright cold in this area. http://www.wkyc.com/weblog/weather/labels/may%20weather.html It has only been just over a week now that you could wear shorts comfortably on the shores of Lake Erie. Now if we could see what kind a attendence WWK has had for the last two weeks, that would be some good (and intresting) data. It has been downright hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Man. I went there on a sunday in July, and i have to say it was a pretty nice park! It had the rides I was looking for, it had a great atmosphere, it was a very nice park. Plus all rides were walk ons!! I just don't see why they HAD to close it! You said it yourself. You were there on a Sunday in July, and all the rides were walk-ons. If a July Sunday had all walk-ons, can you imagine what it was like during the week? Unfortunately, parks are there to make money. If a park has all walk-on rides on a weekend, in the middle of summer, it is quite obvious that they are not making money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 ^To add to that, GL had to be scaled down as it had become severely over-developed. Had SF installed these coasters with some years in between as opposed to nearly all at once, they may have been able to maintain or possibly increase the attendance needed to justify the installations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterkidman Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Man. I went there on a sunday in July, and i have to say it was a pretty nice park! It had the rides I was looking for, it had a great atmosphere, it was a very nice park. Plus all rides were walk ons!! I just don't see why they HAD to close it! You said it yourself. You were there on a Sunday in July, and all the rides were walk-ons. If a July Sunday had all walk-ons, can you imagine what it was like during the week? Unfortunately, parks are there to make money. If a park has all walk-on rides on a weekend, in the middle of summer, it is quite obvious that they are not making money. Yea. You're probably right. (Waiting for a time machine so I can go back and see those days! ) ^To add to that, GL had to be scaled down as it had become severely over-developed. Had SF installed these coasters with some years in between as opposed to nearly all at once, they may have been able to maintain or possibly increase the attendance needed to justify the installations. When I first read a GL timeline, I found it rediculous. They added: Villain, Batman Knight Flight, Serial Thriller, Mind Eraser, X-Flight, and Superman Ultimate Escape, all in a matter of 4 or 5 years. I bet that if they were to add each of those rides year by year, They could have kept GL alive for at least 3 more years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cormaster Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I've been to KI on a many sundays where all the rides were walk on's that doesn't mean that Saturday at GL wasn't packed like every other park. You gotta figure on Sunday most people stay at home, relax, and get ready for the work week to start. Typically KI isn't too busy on Sunday unless there is some event scheduled for it. Anyway, I do think its wrong in some sense what Cedar Fair did. They bought the park, and basically "stole" all the rides for their other parks. I mean its not stealing since they own them, but it is. I really believe the whole point of purchasing place was simply to get rid of a competitor. I really and truly believe thats the only reason they bought them. THey basically bought the park so they could shut it down. Kings Island is safe because its far enough away from Cedar Point, but GL was quite a bit closer. I mean its not wrong, because in the business world it happens all the time, but it is because something like this affects a whole community, while business mergers you just kinda shrug off. And I'm sure the thought is "well they can just drive to Cedar Point" but when gas is $4.19/gallon it makes it that much harder to go to a park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I've been to KI on a many sundays where all the rides were walk on's that doesn't mean that Saturday at GL wasn't packed like every other park. You gotta figure on Sunday most people stay at home, relax, and get ready for the work week to start. Typically KI isn't too busy on Sunday unless there is some event scheduled for it. Anyway, I do think its wrong in some sense what Cedar Fair did. They bought the park, and basically "stole" all the rides for their other parks. I mean its not stealing since they own them, but it is. I really believe the whole point of purchasing place was simply to get rid of a competitor. I really and truly believe thats the only reason they bought them. THey basically bought the park so they could shut it down. Kings Island is safe because its far enough away from Cedar Point, but GL was quite a bit closer. I mean its not wrong, because in the business world it happens all the time, but it is because something like this affects a whole community, while business mergers you just kinda shrug off. And I'm sure the thought is "well they can just drive to Cedar Point" but when gas is $4.19/gallon it makes it that much harder to go to a park. You have been to KI on a Sunday in July, and all the rides were walk-ons? I have been to KI enough since 1978 to know that is not true. And yes, even Saturdays at GL, the park was dead. A average Saturday crowd at GL is a typical Wednesday at most parks. And CF did not "steal" any rides. They purchased an already failing park from SF. It's not like CF took over, and then the park failed. And if GL was competing with CP, then why would SF sell a park that was such a cash cow? SF purchased GL with the intent of competing with CP, and they built it up so fast that the attendence could not keep up with the cost of ride development. Prior to SF, GL was a small park, maybe the same size as Kennywood. But in two years time they doubled their amount of coasters? What park has ever done that? And we are not just talking little coasters either. Look at it this way, KI has 13 coasters, in 2006, GL had 10, for a MUCH smaller and less popular park. If SF had not purchased Sea World, there would have been a chance that the park could still be around. But now we are getting into the hindsight of decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorba Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I was looking at the Auction site and they say all rides have to be removed by June 20th. How would anyone get any of the coasters, etc. out of there in 2 days? Even a lot of the flat rides would be difficult to pack up that quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 14, 2008 Author Share Posted June 14, 2008 Actually, it says for rides, boats and camping trailers, removal is negotiable with Cedar Fair officials: PDF file (do not download on slow connections or without Adobe Acrobat or Reader): http://www.nortonauctioneers.com/Auctions/...eaugaLake02.pdf Column 2, about 2/3 of the way down the page.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cormaster Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Ok So they expanded too fast... so why didn't Cedar Fair, just undo what Six Flags did and return the park to its pre Six Flags days? Honestly I find it kind of sad myself that everything's gone. Never been to Geauga lake but I have gone to Sea World of Ohio several times as a child. I'd always look over and see the "double loop" coaster and wish I was over there riding it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorba Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Actually, it says for rides, boats and camping trailers, removal is negotiable with Cedar Fair officials: PDF file (do not download on slow connections or without Adobe Acrobat or Reader): http://www.nortonauctioneers.com/Auctions/...eaugaLake02.pdf Column 2, about 2/3 of the way down the page.... Ah, I mis-read that. I read that to mean that revomal durring the auction was negotiablle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Ok So they expanded too fast... so why didn't Cedar Fair, just undo what Six Flags did and return the park to its pre Six Flags days? They did try with the removal of 2 coasters prior to the 2007 season. But even with that, the cost of maintaining and staffing the park were too high vs. the amount of people that actually came to the park. Too little, too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Ok So they expanded too fast... so why didn't Cedar Fair, just undo what Six Flags did and return the park to its pre Six Flags days? They did try with the removal of 2 coasters prior to the 2007 season. But even with that, the cost of maintaining and staffing the park were too high vs. the amount of people that actually came to the park. Too little, too late. Well when SF stopped investing in new rides for the park I think it sort of turned the locals off even more to see CF come in there & remove rides that were already there thus giving people less to do than before & even less of a reason to return. Of course what's done is done & we can't change it...it's sad that CF didn't try harder by giving the guests what they wanted instead of taking even more away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoor Man Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 one thing I will never understand. I get the closing of the park- although with the creative minds and resources that CF has i can't believe that they could not make a park work in a metro area that consisted of Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron, Canton, Columbus, and Pittsburgh all within easy driving distance. Another is why even after they made the decision to close why they wouldn't open for 1 or 2 more weekends after announcing the "swan song" to get a few more large paydays from the park- all the while offering a bit of goodwill to the residents, faithful and enthusiasts.... CF certainly is above my scrutiny and petty questioning- but I cannot figure that out. in a few short weekends they could have made more money than in the entire auction. Someone explain that logic. I don't need the symantecs of why close the park- that's sort of an easy one. So hows the waterpark holding up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 By all accounts, not at all well. Attendance has been, according to locals, very, very low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erosarrow05 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Interpreter, I think you will agree your statement is totally objective. In my opinion anyone trying to judge what GL's attendance is like, might be naive - and heres why... The footprint has shrunk at least 80 percent, so who knows what a "good capacity" day is? Admittedly Cedar Point is have a slow summer courtesy of the economy... Keeping the economy in mind, did Cedar Fair plan on having a slow start to the summer at GL... For all we know they could be right on task, or they could not, but who knows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 So how does less than 200 people on a Saturday grab you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zl422 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 okay lets not get feisty, its gone, so long, lets focus on America and our current events Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 okay lets not get feisty, its gone, so long, lets focus on America and our current events No...Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom is NOT gone. At least not yet... Where'd you get THAT idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zl422 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 OH MY GOODNESS, cool those jets mister, i must have "mis-interpreted" you. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erosarrow05 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 It grabs me like this... I have been at the beach multiple days this year when there have been (what i would say) less than 200 people there. I enjoy my season pass to the Beach and go regularly... Should I interpret that as the park owners are going to sell because of a few days with low numbers? For all you know, 200 people for what ever saturday you claim to have seen around 200 (becuase of course none of us are privvy to actual attendance) or less in the park, might have been close to what the attendance predictions were... Again, we just dont know ... I would expect that business kicks up in July ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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