Geauga Lake is the head water of Tinker's Creek which empties into Cuyahoga River.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geauga_Lake_(lake)

Petition has reached over 1,500 signatures

http://m.cleveland19.com/19actionnews/db_330498/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=Ksm6qxFX

Sent from the cellphone Zach Morris used in Saved By The Bell using Tapatalk

It wouldn't matter if it reached 1.5 million signatures. At all.

Internet petitions aren't worth the paper they're written on.

The e-paper hehe

Sent from the cellphone Zach Morris used in Saved By The Bell using Tapatalk

Yet, in 2004, Cedar Fair acquired the entire property for a song - less than was spent acquiring SeaWorld Ohio a few years earlier.

Not to mention the value of the amusement park and the cost of adding five new coasters in 2 years, among many other capital improvements.

Forgive me for asking this...

But couldn't the decline between the 2 years and park owners come down to advertising and such?

I remember growing up Geuga Lake/Sea World, Cedar Point, KK, and Americana had adds or Coke cans etc in the Cincy area (not to mention KI). Yet now, I barely see a CP ad and hat could be that they don't want to canabalize the market and that may have hurt GL too?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have seen a total of one CF on TV and it was for CP. One, that's it, the whole 16 months I have lived in Columbus. I think we have received one or two direct mail pieces and I have seen some posters in the grocery stores for tickets. If it were not for that I wouldn't even know the places existed.

I have seen a total of one CF on TV and it was for CP. One, that's it, the whole 16 months I have lived in Columbus. I think we have received one or two direct mail pieces and I have seen some posters in the grocery stores for tickets. If it were not for that I wouldn't even know the places existed.

I see them all the time in TV for KI.

Might just be the channels you are watching.

^ That and maybe my cable provider WOW. I don't watch much network TV anymore and now that H2 is gone mostly just cable news unless I happen to see a discovery/history channel show I like.

Have they announced where the 'assets' are going?

The park's Facebook page is gone: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aurora-OH/Geauga-Lakes-Wildwater-Kingdom/319835339639

Wow. Either they got a lot of negative attention, or they want to prevent it.

Wow. Either they got a lot of negative attention, or they want to prevent it.

I feel like this entire situation has been nothing but negative attention. Handled very poorly from the beginning.

Yep.

But when would you say was the beginning?

Terp -- who likes to ask questions.

The negativity started with the animals leaving in 2004.

Yep.

But when would you say was the beginning?

Terp -- who likes to ask questions.

 

I guess Six Flags? Maybe Sea World? Whenever the groundwork was laid for the parks over expansion. But I guess I wouldn't consider that negative attention, just poor decision making. As far as the actual negative attention, that goes to the Dick at Cedar Fair who handled the parks closure very, very poorly. It was obvious that a park that size couldn't draw a crowd for a park, well... of it's eventual size. With rumors swirling about the parks closure and rides being ripped out and relocated (Hi, Firehawk), it's disturbing now to look back and see how much these claims were venomously denied. Up until GL's final day of operation. And then it was announced that it would reopen the following season as a waterpark only. Woo. Hoo.

 

This left people with a sense of confusion and betrayal because, well, from a certain perspective it looked as though Cedar Fair bought the park with the intention of closing it. This may or may not be true. We may never know. But certainly the general attitude from Cedar Fair gave that impression. For example:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjz9IY5eP84

 

"Bake sales and Car Washes"...? Salt in the wounds, dude. Was that necessary? Yes, I know this guy is no longer alive. So this isn't a time to talk bad about him, but I feel like that entire video is a perfect metaphor for how poorly the entire closure was handled.

 

There were a number of different aspects that one could say led to the parks demise. For me, I'd venture to say that It just  got too big for it's britches, so to speak. Is that Cedar Fair's fault? Probably not. I'd think that the decline in revenue, attendance etc. was obvious for a significant amount of time. The area couldn't support a park of that size.  Sadly, nothing is forever. Not even Kings Island. Not Dinseyland. Everything will come to an end in one way or another. This way Geauga Lake's fate. There was no saving it.

 

But.

 

It's closure was botched. Look at the Big Dipper. Look at all the enthusiasts who were denied last rides on their favorite rides. Look at the general public, who's historical relationship with the park was ended for no apparent reason. Look at the video above. No one was going to be happy about this happening. Cedar Fair could have at the very least let the park go out with a bit of dignity while showing an appreciation for the parks long time lovers. It only got/gets worse over time. The Big Dipper rots. History is lost. The land sits in despair. What's going to desecrate the space? Meijer? Another big box store? What do the people of Aurora want? Do they care?

 

What a mess. There's the negative attention, in my opinion. Granted, this happened when i was like... what? 13? So time may have skewed some of this information. But regardless... What. A. Mess.

I was there closing day 2007, I spoke to Bill Spehn an hour before closing. The only indication of anything was the statement that the park attendance did not justify it's current size. That was the explanation for losing two major rides. An hour after that conversation, the rides were closed for good.

Related: I spoke to Dick at Cedar Point on opening day 2006 (next to Skyhawk, behind the Town Hall Museum). He stated that there were exciting plans for the future of Geauga Lake. I even thanked the man for returning the park to it's legacy name, and for removing the corporate mess that was Six Flags.

Exciting for him, maybe.

Kinzel never said he didn't like Geauga Lake, there was no need to buy a park that was loosing money, Dick obviously saw an opportunity, but some things in life don't work out and fall flat 

Except the employees that I am friends with mentioned 2007 was the busiest summer they had seen since Cedar Fair took over the park.

The https://www.wildwaterfun.com website is now gone; replaced with a blank page.

Except the employees that I am friends with mentioned 2007 was the busiest summer they had seen since Cedar Fair took over the park.

...which isn't saying much. Once the animals left, the fate of the dry park was essentially sealed. And the person who proudly proclaimed Cedar Fair not to be in the animal business and who decided not to acquire the fishies was...

That's absolutely true. GL was only about 1M per year with Sea World next door. Removing the (extremely unique) animal park removed the potential guests to visit both parks.

Looks like The BIg Dippers days are numbered.. http://www.auroraadvocate.com/news%20local/2016/09/21/safety-is-issue-when-peopletrespass-on-cedar-fair-land?utm_source=ITPS+Amusement+INdustry+News&utm_campaign=f8b3996c60-Wednesday_9_21_169_21_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_51d9c64022-f8b3996c60-231732257

Didn’t want to create a new topic

This fits in here:


https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/10/aerial-footage-of-former-geauga-lake-and-sea-world-ohio-parks.html?fbclid=IwAR3vijz93gfHP3NF8f7nR8HYcWtWTnDXJAE2p3QEasZMa4YhmUhelR7z9BA


Also hello! It’s been awhile. Good to see you all have kept this place clean and tidy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk