TopThrill182

If they were just crowded, that's great and certainly very exciting for the park. If they had a big group there though, and were expecting them, its a bit disappointing they didn't alert everyone of this beforehand so that the GP could decide whether they wanted to drive all the way up there to wait in line hours for rides. I'm sure the park was gridlock and pretty unmanageable.

You know Rob I've gotten to think the exact same thing. I always stuck up for CF with this park right until the bitter end. I always thought they had a plan, always thought they were just downsizing to have the park fit the attendance, but clearly I was wrong. I think when CF initially purchased the park they were just happy to get rid of the competition for CP. I don't really think were looking very far down the road and certainly weren't looking down the road in terms of what the future would hold for the park, etc. I think they were just seizing an opportunity to alleviate competition. The 2004 season begins, and since CF had virtually no time to work with the place prior to this, I think this was mostly just a "let's see what we've gotten ourselves into" type of a deal. So that season brings in 700,000, which obviously was a disappointment for CF. I don't think they really thought through the consequences of reducing the place to one park (well the combined amusement park and water park) through removing the animal side, I don't think they thought through the consequences of what SF did to the park, etc. I really don't think they thought anything through! I think they just took a step back and said "huh... I thought we'd get better attendance than this". So for 2005 they announce Wildwater Kingdom. It will be a "mammoth" two phase water park which will be one of the largest in North America, a premier water park, yada yada. I think they thought that by adding a new water park on the Sea World side, they would recreate the two park illusion, and regain all those lost people when they eliminated the animals. Last time I checked water slides and killer whales performing tricks don't exactly always attract the same clientele, but I think this is what they were thinking. As we know though, attendance didn't substantially improve, barely at all in fact. I think at this point CF took a step back and said whoa. What did we get ourselves into? Is this place really worth it considering CP is so close? What exactly do we want to do with this place? I think CF realized during this time they never thought this acquisition through and that they needed to take some time to do so. I think they came to the realization that they weren't going to turn this into a 2 million guests a year park overnight, and that it was going to take years to re-strengthen the place using careful investments, strategic advertising in correlation with CP, etc. And I think this is when they questioned whether or not they were really willing to do this. So they cancel the second phase of WWK, well not according to them but I don't count a wave pool as a phase. In any event, they take away the "plethora of tube and body slides" and the adult lazy river and all the other touted attractions for this "premier" water park. I think basically CF management said "this park needs to shape up or its not worth the trouble of keeping it". And then in mid-2006 there was the Paramount deal... and I think this is when GL's fate was really determined. There's no question that due to this deal they had a larger amount of debt than they wanted, and placed them a bit over their heads (at least more for their liking). When GL's attendance really didn't show stellar results halfway through 2006, the decision was made that they would begin shutting the place down. Steel Venom has an incident halfway through the season. There is a bit of work on it at first, but then all work stops and the ride remains closed for the rest of the season. Wait, isn't this CF? The company that prides themselves on always having their rides open, and if there is a legitimate reason one can't they immediately release some sort of a statement? Yup. But no statement here, and no work is being done. X-Flight and Steel Venom are removed at the end of the season. I really don't think Steel Venom was intended to be removed that season, I just think its incident triggered an early removal. However the removal work was sloppy and everyone could see that. The old water park continued to rot. Steel Venom remains were present throughout 2007 and looked quite bad (and yes they could be seen from the park). X-Flight was cheaply removed as well, with just another temporary fence put up to block its former path. Late in the 2006 season they decided to turn the old lazy river into a Koi fish pond. They put up signs to advertise this, yet all the signs mispelled "currently" as "currenly". Food stalls continue to be abandoned along the 50's Midway in 2006 and 2007. Other areas of the park continue to deteriorate. Skyscraper continues to sit idle, and for a "family park", that is one of the most family rides there! In 2007 the impending closure was very evident, and anyone that says it wasn't didn't visit the park. Raging Wolf Bobs has an incident in June. No work was ever really done, the ride remains closed for the season. Yet come auction time, there is no mention of any problem with the ride. It is capable of operating. So obviously the problem wasn't too severe. Light bulbs are burnt out all over. The last day of the operating season, if you looked around, you'd see that temporary construction lights were placed in the queues of Villain and Dominator, simply because all the lights were out. Head Spin's paint job was cancelled before the 2007 season as I mentioned. The only improvements for that season, Texas Twister paint job and video cameras for Thunderhawk, were coincidentally given to 2 of the 3 rides that would be moved to another park for the following season. And to top it off, at Octoberfest there were signs promoting the Platinum Pass, sign of a Geauga Lake pass even though one park passes for CP and KI had already been announced. CF says they closed the park due to lack of attendance. But frankly, for the "family park" they wanted this place to be, 700,000 is fine. They kept saying how it couldn't even get over 1,000,000 guests, but frankly, how many family parks do? Heck most of CF's properties at that point got one million or below. MiA gets 550,000 but you don't see them complaining about that. GL was very inline with their other properties, and its obvious lack of attendance wasn't the real reason. I think after the Paramount purchase the park was seen better as debt reduction than as a continued operation. The park was really "fluff", as they had now two other strong parks in Ohio, and I sim

I really apologize for the lengthy delay, but here is the second to last round of photos: As always, enjoy! This is mainly of the 50's Midway. The final round (next round) has some more pictures of the entrance area, along with a brief panoramic video of the entrance. One final look. Another look. Once a hopping game now... nothing. Long Range basketball game in the 50's Midway. One of the many games found along the 50's Midway. This path was a crossover to Time Warp (visible in the background), and Kidwork's Playzone to the right of Time Warp. Another look at the 50's Midway. 50's Midway themeing. JukeBox cafe bench in the foreground, with former climb the ladder game in the background. Notice Superman: Ultimate Escape / Steel Venom in the mural where the game once stood. The grassy area is where Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall stood. MHNF was an Intamin First Generation Freefall ride. The ride had a long history, being relocated to this park in 1997 after a death on the ride in its previous location. The ride was a constant maitenence headache (even more so then other first generation freefalls). The ride was extremely uncomfortable, as the brakes really slammed the car on the brake run. Overall it just wasn't a pleasant experience. Cedar Fair removed the ride in 2005 citing the lack of available parts, high cost to run the ride, lack of popularity, poor quality of ride, etc. They also wanted to use its parts to help keep Demon Drop running at Cedar Point. This is one attraction removal at GL I do NOT disagree with! Another look at Checkers and Big Dipper's initial turn around before the big first drop. This area was initially just a midway leading to X-Flight and the go-carts. However once Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall was removed (stood to the right with the tower standing where the row of tall trees is), the area became a large open space. CF decided to call it "Central Park". Some benches and garbage cans were added. Otherwise known as Checkers Drive In. Notice the nifty stools at the counter to the left. Again nice themeing for the smaller park. Food stand by Big Dipper. The go-carts. The go-carts were actually quite cool as they went directly under Steel Venom's launch track. The go cart's were originally quite long but shortened when coaster's and rides became more important. Three sets of go-carts were auctioned during the auction. Hopefully you'll see this view in a few years time at another park / location. The 50's midway was the best themed in the park. Another look at Big Dipper's lift, turnaround, and first drop. A 50's food counter is located to the left. El Dorado's exit was located to the right where the yellow caution tape is. If you look towards the bottom left of the picture you'll see the grassy / weedy island in the midway. This is where one of the monorail's supports. once stood. El Dorado in the center of the picture, with Big Dipper's lift and first drop to the left. Notice the large pine trees that were scattered all around GL. I never wanted to ride a Boomerang so much... While there was some head-banging, it was still a fun ride. Keep in mind this was NOT up for auction so it will most likely end up at another CF park. Head Spin's large queue. None of it was ever really used, as the line rarely went past the stairs in the distance. On Cleveland Clinic days though (when the park was bought out), substantial lines would form for all rides. The ride was lit heavily, but CF must have fired its light bulb staff because many of the bulbs (the ones aimed at the cobra roll) remained burnt out for years. Very un-Cedar Fair. The other side of the cobra roll with the space needle in the background. Head Spin's sign and cobra roll in the background. Head Spin Sign. The sign was added in 2004 after CF changed the name from Mind Eraser. Now, you'll notice quite the color scheme discrepancy between the sign (fluorescent and colorful), and the bland ride. During the 2006 off-season GL announced they would repaint Head Spin bright flourescent colors (green, pink, etc) to math the sign, and that they would also paint Texas Twister. Texas Twister received the paint, but they announced less than a month from opening Head Spin's paint job had been cancelled due to lack of time. Lack of time due to what? Other than Texas Twister's painting, corn-hole toss was the only thing added / done that year. And isn't CF the same company that miraculously repainted Thunderhawk in its entirety in those few short months before the 2004 opening? Strange they ran out of time... It also seems coincidental that Texas Twister is the ride that ended up at CGA the following year, and Head Spin is the one that still sits dormant. Or maybe its not a coincidence... Head Spin. This ride sat dormant quite often during the SF era. It ran pretty flawlessly with CF. A nice view of 50's Midway. The monorail station is in the distance. Again, loading / unloading to the left (exit ramp in view), and transfer track to the right. There were 2 trains on this monorail. Skyscraper is above the monorail, with the Lunch Basket food area underneath. A game stand in the 50's Midway area. Again, look at how the balls used in the game were just left there! Somewhat haunting really. A look at Headspin. Fool the Guesser game. Abandoned monorail station is in the upper left. As you can see by the auction number 26 on the game booth, and the shrink wrap, this was being auctioned. There hasn't been much word on where the games and other odds and ends ended up. This ride was not included in the auction, so again, it will end up at another CF park. Which one? Only time will tell... El Dorado. A great little ride. The Lunch Basket. The monorail station stands directly over it. Again, another instance of attraction removal without removing all of it (aka the station). In 2007 this area was really a ghost town. X-Flight was gone, so was Steel Venom, the monorail too, and Hurricane Harbor was long since boarded up. Very unlike CF to let things go like this, and, as evident by the closing the following year, I guess we know why. A look at Big Dipper racing above the nice Hurricane Harbor landscaping. This was the entrance area for Hurricane Harbor. As you can tell, Hurricane Harbor was really wound tightly around other attractions. Shipwreck Falls went over the lazy river, Big Dipper jutted through the middle of the place, Skyscraper stood basically in its entrance, the monorail went over it, and the road along the park stood directly (and I mean directly) next to it. It was a rather small and cramped place, and during the SF era, you could barely move in there. A look along 50's Midway. The monorail station and exit ramp is to the left. Mind Eraser / Head Spin is seen in the distance. To the right is the old monorail station. If you look up in the station (by the staircase, you can see even the turn style remains!). The transfer track was on the left hand side of the divider, and the loading area was to the right. The monorail was removed in 2006 along with X-Flight and Steel Venom. It didn't run at all in 2006, and not much (if at all) in 2005 though. CF cited its age and lack of parts available as the reason for its removal. There were also other problems however. Much of its course ran around Hurricane Harbor, which by 2006 was defunct, and was extremely unsightly. So there wouldn't have been much of a view from the monorail. Also the monorail's course was significantly modified to accomodate water park expansion (specifically the wave pool) which resulted in some really tight turns that the ride wasn't really designed for. As such it had to run quite slowly around the turns. All of this together made running the ride a bit of a headache. Below loading area for Skyscraper. The Skyscraper entrance and sign. I forget when exactly this closed, but it was not open for any of 2007. To the left is the facade for the wave pool in Hurricane Harbor. Directly in the center of the picture (behind the fence) is the old splash pool for Hurricane Mountain / Thunder Falls (renamed after it was moved to WWK). The fence covered the area in 2005 when the first phase of WWK opened and half of Hurricane Hannah's was still open (the transition state). Superman: Ultimate Escape / Steel Venom used to tower above the wave pool facade. It was removed in 2006. Skyscraper. That car has been parked up there for years. In the auction flyer it was reported the gearbox was in need of replacement. It was bought for $27,000 (one of the higher prices) by Cleveland Scrapyard. The entrance to the former wave pool. If you look closely in this pic you can see how little CF did with Hurricane Hannah's after it closed. The warning sign for Shark Attack is in the background, again with a life guard chair next to it. All of the queue railings were also still present. A look up inside Big Dipper's structure.

I'm sort of amazed just how much this thing has progressed! It certainly seems like Southern Star Amusements is pretty confident all this will work out (as others have said though I'd prefer if we'd get a more official announcement). Still though its sort of exciting to see. I thought it would end up being like Geauga Lake and Astroworld and close down forever.

Nice TR! Too bad you didn't enjoy the park and the coasters more but not everyone will. As others have said the reduced capacity you were witnessing was due to the rain. Less trains on the track when it's slippery gives a little more of a buffer in case the brakes / kicker wheels don't slow it down / stop it as effectively. Annoying yes, but I guess better safe than sorry. Millennium Force won't be everyone's cup of tea. It was designed for height, speed, and floater air, whereas rides like Maverick were designed for ejector air, tight transitions, and a pace that never lets up. Depending on what kind of mood I'm in, sometimes I'll enjoy MF much more, sometimes it will be Maverick. They are just two totally different rides. I'd describe MF as a "flying" experience whereas riding Maverick is like riding a mechanical bull. Both are great to me. And I think there is some confusion in this discussion with rough vs head-banging. Maverick is actually, unless you get a bad ride, an extremely smooth coaster. Even the vibration from the launch is gone this year. Yet while the ride is smooth, the tight transitions will throw your head from side to side causing some head-banging. Although I've found that this is one time when you actually want to follow the proper riding position. I always ride with my head firmly up and back against the headrest, my hands holding on the grab bars, and my feet firmly planted on the floor. That actually makes it so my head never touches the restraints once. It does take a bit of practice though.

CNN has also run a story on how this appears to be a done deal. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/13/anheuser.inbev.ap/index.html I'm very interested to see what this means for the parks. I'd expect them to be spun off into their own company in the not so distant future.

Well not really compared to anything. Just great looking. I don't think there's a law out there that in order for a park to be aesthetically appealing it has to look like a forest. CP utilizes nice, colorful architecture, amazing looking rides, AND great landscaping to achieve the overall effect. The parks you mentioned, although I haven't been to all, are great looking, yes. I just got back from Busch Gardens Africa and its an amazing looking park. But frankly I'd still hold Cedar Point up there with it. Islands of Adventure had very few trees, and none that really provided any shade, but I don't see people complaining about how that park looks. It looks great but in a different way. There are plenty of trees and landscaping at CP, and even if there weren't, I don't think a park's aesthetics should be ordered in terms of tree count. And as to the garbage cans, I like the way CF does it. Other parks that have less garbage cans creates quite a pileup at the ones they have. It often results in more of a smell, and the nasty overflowing garbage can look. You're never going to see that at Cedar Point, and until one of those garbage cans is standing in the way of a new attraction, I'm not going to complain. I'm glad to hear that others have seen the added security and their more rigid policies (and that I wasn't experiencing a coincidental occurrence). And yes, when the rowdy group got ejected from Maverick's line the line started to cheer as well! Quite the line entertainment! And I really have to disagree with those that say there is nothing that can be done with CP's parking situation. As Gav said the reversible lane system is really not uncommon at all. All they do is put up lights in each lane telling drivers whether they can drive in that lane or not. No different than a toll booth really. If that light's red drivers know not to go on it. At midnight there just doesn't seem to be a need for 2 lanes of incoming traffic on the causeway. And even putting that aside, there are other things that could be done to improve it. Part of the problem is traffic backs up on the causeway due to the light at Cleveland road. At that time of night when the park closes, it should really almost be a constant green at the intersection for exiting CP traffic. And if not constant green; close to it. There was not that much traffic coming through there when I left. Also I think they should change how they let cars out of the parking lot. AT the moment it seems like they are doing a lot of "ok let 5 cars out of the Soak City Lot, stop that line of traffic, let 5 cars out from over here, 5 cars from the overfill lot" etc. I think it would go faster if they would just let Soak City cars leave for 5 minutes. Then switch and let another part of the main lot exit for 5 minutes, etc. The whole a little bit from there and then over here slows things down and less cars end up leaving at any given time. Sort of like a 4-way stop. There's just a lot of time lost in the whole stopping and going. Thanks for all the replies guys and swampfox, you'll love Cedar Point! It's a great park.

I agree about the thread being depressing... It was a great park. And skyscreems no one really knows what will happen to the side of the park just closed. All the rides are certainly being removed, but I think it depends on which bid CF selects for the land which will determine whether everything will be razed or not. ACE has a bid on it, and although I doubt it, should they get ahold of it some historical buildings (aka ballroom) may be saved. But you will most likely be right, everything will probably be demolished and razed. Now as to Wildwater Kingdom, nothing is being moved over there or built over there. I'm not sure if you were asking if stuff was... What's over there now (aka 2 slide complexes, a water tree-fort, lazy river, and wave pool) is all that's going to be there. Cedar Fair announced they have no plans for expansion at WWK, and most of the land around WWK is being included with the land on the former rides side, so any real expansion is unlikely. And given just how small the park is, I'd look for a closure. If GL wasn't worth their time, as obvious by the closure, I don't see how WWK is. And sorry for the delay on the final set of pictures. They will be up by tomorrow evening.

There used to be two parks surrounding the lake. One was an amusement park / water park (Geauga Lake) and the other was an animal park (Sea World). Premier Parks got ahold of the park in 1995, and later purchased all the Six Flags parks. They decided to rebrand Geauga Lake into Six Flags Ohio. In 2000 Six Flags Ohio opened. In 2001 Six Flags purchased Sea World Ohio which again, was across the lake. Sea World representatives cited the extremely short season for the park as well the difficulty in building rides in the park as they were doing in their other parks, as the reason for the sale. In 2002 Six Flags Ohio became Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. You had the amusement park and Hurricane Harbor water park on one side of the lake, and the marine life park on the other side. In 2004 Cedar Fair purchased Six Flags Worlds of Adventure from Six Flags. They immediately shut down the marine life side of the park, just to leave the water park and the amusement park. In 2005 Cedar Fair announced that they would be razing the remains of the marine life park, and building an all new water park (Wildwater Kingdom). Hurricane Harbor ceased operations in 2006, and the amusement park ceased operations in 2008. All that is left is Wildwater Kingdom (across the lake in the former marine life area), and there is a general consensus out there that Wildwater Kingdom won't last long either.

So far this year, I've taken two trips to Cedar Point. One of which was on the 22nd of June, the other of which was on the 4th of July. On the 4th I also took a chanceWhile I know its nearing mid-season already, this TR is going to focus mainly on my thoughts of this new season in comparison to last year's. Overall I am very impressed. Over the course of my last two visits, here is what I've gotten on (including some brief thoughts on it): Raptor (incredible ride that is the perfect invert), Millennium Force (unique ride that has an incredible lift, looking out towards the lake, and first drop), Mean Streak (boring, but not as rough as many say), Magnum (still an excellent ride, and the trims seem to be on less this year than last allowing for more ejector air), Disaster Transport (decent ride not deserving of all the complaints it gets), Wicked Twister (underrated ride that is thrilling from start to finish), Maverick (wow, just wow), Wildcat (fun ride for the family, and smooth), Top Thrill Dragster (one of the most thrilling rides ever created) Random notes / thoughts: Pros: - Last year I noticed that many of the misting fans were either no longer misting, fanning, rotating, or broken all together. This year I noticed that misting fans throughout the park seem to have been fixed. They now all mist, fan, and rotate, which is well appreciated on hot summer days. - Top Thrill Dragster, in particular, seemed to have received quite a bit of love. The ride was much smoother than I can ever remember, and faster than ever, which really added to the overall thrill. Last year I noticed that the signs within the queue with dragster facts were all looking pretty bad. They were all incredibly faded, were peeling, etc. This year it appears they were all replaced and now look much better and add to the overall nice appearance of the queue. The fences in the queue also seem to have been painted and cleaned, as they all look much better. Landscaping in the queue and around the ride continues to grow and improve overall aesthetics. Last year the countdown lights on the ride tower seemed to have problems. Half the covers were missing, which was subsequently fixed mid season, and many seemed to be burnt out or delayed in coming on. This year they are all working, and all seem very bright! You can easily see the lights throughout the park despite the missing covers (which are all still gone but I think it was a wise decision). The staging sign by the launch track now has all of its lighting working (last year some of it seemed to be out). The audio by the launch track of the motor revving is audible this year! Last year it seemed to fade in and out, or not be on at all, quite often. The station lighting, and tower lighting, once again looks great. The track looks to have been cleaned, as the black residue has now vanished from the one section of launch track by the motor room. The speedometer, removed on my first visit, was back in place for the 4th of July visit. Although not on Friday, they are obviously working on some problem it had but it should be on once again quite soon. - Disaster Transport was another ride that obviously received some touchup. The queue, while cheesy, cheap, and ugly, obviously received some dusting, and all the original effects seem to have been turned back on. The ride itself was also much improved! The lighting going up the lift hill and the overheating sign looked better, there was more lighting effects within the ride (including a strobe at one point), Alaska was lit, and space props were much more visible (and dusted). Overall I'd say the ride is somewhat cool, and even fun! I don't think its deserving of all the complaining, and definitely not worthy of being torn down. If they would spend some money to remove the cheap themeing in the queue, badly painted plywood to be specific, I may actually ride this ride more than twice a season! But overall, the ride was perfectly fine and I think it would be a mistake to remove it. - The Planet Snoopy area looked really nice. It looked quite modern which should save it from looking dated in a year or two. It also seemed to be really popular. Bravo CP on a successful new area! There was also more themeing than I expected. - Wicked Twister looked cleaned up. Yes concrete was added on the front launch area, which is unfortunate as the sand was sort of cool, but frankly you really only notice if you are looking for it, as the sand and concrete were very similar in color. There seemed to be excess warning labels on the trains last year, they looked to have been covered up by some sort of new support put on the back of the trains and thus a new label was put on. This year there was only one warning label per seat, and the trains themselves looked like they received a good cleaning. - There seemed to be a renewed emphasis on shows. My family said, I didn't actually see it, that Signed, Sealed, Delivered was the best CP show to date and had Broadway level talent. It looked as if, again I haven't seen it, that CP invested a lot in the All Wheels Extreme conversion, and while standing in line for Wicked Twister I heard TONS of screaming and applause. As people were exiting the theater I heard quite a bit of praise, again saying it was one of the better CP shows in a while. - There seems to have been a renewed emphasis on employee friendliness and helpfulness. All the employees I saw, with the exception of one employee over the course of two visits, were smiling and enthusiastic. Station spiels were once again very personable and borderline enjoyable / humorous to listen to at some points. We stopped to ask one employee on the 4th of July what time the fireworks were. Instead of simply replying 10pm and walking away, she was very informative and replied with the time, where they were being fired from, what time "the other great night show - Hot Summer Lights" was being done, etc. All with a smile. We also encountered a suit and tie employee who was very gracious, enthusiastic, and went above and beyond when answering a question. This was pretty uniform throughout the park, and was very noticeable. - On the 4th, when the park was packed (45 minute line for Wicked Twister for example), there were groupers at all the popular rides who were efficient in their job and helped things move faster. Very few empty seats going out. - There was smoke in Magnum's final tunnel on BOTH visits! - Security was very noticeable throughout the park. On my first visit, there was a large group within the old WWL station part of Maverick's queue. Two members of that group obviously just got in line, and went past everyone to join up with the group (the switchbacks by the entrance were not full, and the group had just entered the covered queue, so it wasn't quite as bad as it sounds). 5 minutes later, a security guard comes and talks to the two members asking them to leave. They refuse and deny their cutting. The security guard leaves, and comes back a minute later with two others. They dealt with the situation very well and efficiently, and removed not just the two cutters, but other members of the group who started making a scene and raising their voices. On my 4th of July visit, I see, while in line, a girl and her father leave the line. I presumed they just didn't want to wait that long or something, as it was moving somewhat slow, but maybe 5-7 minutes later they reenter the queue and go back up to their original spot which was now halfway through the covered part of the queue. Again, 5 minutes later, I see security show up and escort the two out of the line. - The smoking rule is actually being enforced! Over the course of my two visits, I encountered no people smoking in the queues, and only one or two groups smoking on the midway which were promptly told to put out their cigarettes by nearby employees. This makes for a much more pleasant day at the park and I was impressed with how strictly they were enforcing it (because last year was, well, a joke). - There are a lot of people out there who criticize Cedar Fair parks in terms of their appearance (too many garbage cans, no landscaping, too much concrete, etc, etc). Well I'm sorry, but Cedar Point looks great to me! Sure the Wildcat / Hot Summer Lights midway is a bit bare in the aesthetics department but thats really it. In every other area of the park there is lots of nice landscaping, plenty of trees, beaches, water, artistic signs and buildings, etc. It is really a great looking park, especially considering how little they have to work with in Ohio. And as to the garbage cans... I guess people would rather trash thrown about on the midways? - New ice cream shop looks very nice and seems to be popular. Cons: - Power Tower's lighting is still looking bad, and getting worse. - Millennium could use some paint badly (even if it were just the area of the track near the midway and queue). - I'm sorry to be complaining, and I realize it was a busy day on 4th of July, but the parking lot is a disaster. We got to the car at 11:20pm, and it took a full 45 minutes just to move from our parking space! It took another 15 minutes to get out of the lot and onto a main road. There are plenty of other parks out there, Busch Gardens, Disney, Universal, etc, which have larger crowds than CP and yet do not have such a mess. The parking lot was just plain gridlock, and it was really a bit ridiculous. They need a new system desperately. On the causeway at night, why do they need two lanes of incoming traffic to the park? Couldn't they cut that down to one and allow three lanes of outgoing traffic? I'm no traffic expert but something needs to be done, because as I could see from the faces of other motorists' faces, this end of the night mess quickly turned an otherwise good day pretty sour... - Soak City continues to age, and continues to be outdated. CP please, could we spend some money over here? I don't know how they expect to keep marketing this as a stand alone water park. Still, nice considering its free with a platinum pass. Overall I was very impressed with my two visits to CP. There seems to be a great attention to detail once again which is really nice. And as you can see, parking lot mess aside, the pros outweigh the cons by a landslide. Overall it was a great day at Cedar Point (the 4th), and it was nice to see the park so crowded.

I'm sure there are a ton of people that can give better Disney advice than I could, so I won't even try... I would like to say something about Knott's though. Don't get too bogged down with all the park's negativity on these boards. There are a lot of people, including me, which love the park, so I'd encourage you to keep an open mind when visiting it. I'd definitely say allow for a full day at Knott's. If you end up hating the park, you can easily leave and find something else in the area to do. But if you only allow the park half a day, and end up loving it, it's hard to add more time. This park really blew my expectations out of the water. It's really a nice, nice looking park, and there are lots of great attractions (not to mention Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant which is also excellent). Perilous Plunge, Bigfoot Rapids, Xcellerator, Timber Mountain Log Ride, Ghostrider, Sierra Sidewinder, Montezooma's Revenge, Supreme Scream, Riptide, Silver Bullet - I'm going to stop making a list of "must sees" because really there isn't anything I'd recommend skipping. Lines can get pretty long, and if the park is crowded, here's what I'd plan on based on my July / August trips. Boomerang and Ghostrider generally have lines a little over an hour. Xcellerator, Perilous Plunge, Timber Mountain Log Ride, Bigfoot Rapids, and Sierra Sidewinder have lines usually in the 45 minute range. Silver Bullet's line generally hovers around a half hour. Supreme Scream, Jaguar, Montezooma's Revenge, and Riptide generally have lines 20 minutes or less. No clue about Pony Express. Again, thats for a crowded summer day. You may end up waiting a lot less which would be nice. Still, I really like Knott's, and as others have said, there is a lot to do there, so I'd plan on at least 3/4 day and would really recommend a full one. Hope you have a great trip!

Although I didn't have a chance to ride the rapids at Hershey, I can certainly understand their dilemma. On the one hand I love water parks. They are a ton of fun, and really help to increase attendance these days (as it did at Hershey). I went last year and wanted to enjoy the Boardwalk, but couldn't. It was just way too small, and everyone was crammed into the small little place that it was. They desperately needed new attractions. While its disappointing there are no slides included in this (as those will still retain long lines), this is a great start, especially considering you don't have to wait to get in wave pools or lazy rivers. On the other hand I love rapids rides, and I really mean that. They really can rank up there with the coasters with me for the most fun things to do. So I, of course, hate to see one bite the dust. Either way something was going to suffer. Hershey chose to go the water park route, and considering that is going to bring the most new life into the park, I guess thats for the best. The Boardwalk was just way too small, and it would have been a waste of what was already there to leave it that way. It had to expand, and unfortunately the rapids is the ride to suffer. Still, the best plan would to forsee this before the built the water park in the middle of a congested amusement park. If the water park wants to expand again, I think more attractions will go unfortunately.

Here is the problem. Last year Magnum had an incident during the rain. One train was able to get through the brake run and bump into the train in the station, and CP blamed it on the rain. In normal weather conditions, the park, along with manufacturers, know what its going to take to stop a train. Rides like Magnum, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, etc, all have brakes that make physical contact with the trains to stop them. Rides like Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, etc, all have magnetic brakes that slow down the train, and kicker wheels that actually stop the train. Let's take Millennium Force as an example. Let's say, I'm not sure how accurate this is but it doesn't matter, that there are 10 magnetic brakes and 2 kicker wheels before the exit station. In the exit station there are 8 kicker wheels before the loading station. Again, let's say that one train is in the loading station, one is in the exit station, and one is coming down the final brake run. In normal weather conditions, CP is certain that those 10 magnetic brakes will slow the train down enough so that those 2 kicker wheels will completely stop it. But then throw in some rain. Yes those 10 magnetic brakes will slow the train down to the same extent, but now those 2 slippery kicker wheels aren't as effective as they are when dry, and may not be enough to bring that train to a stop before colliding with the train in the exit station. To account for this, they take off a train in the rain. In this case, you would have one in the loading station and one coming down the brake run. But instead of that train only having 10 magnetic brakes and 2 kicker wheels to bring it to a stop, it has 10 magnetic brakes and 10 kicker wheels. Now that train would have to go through both kicker wheels before the exit station, and all 8 in the exit station before colliding with the other train. What they are doing basically is adding a buffer. There really isn't a huge margin of error allowed on these rides when running full capacity, and they are decreasing the capacity to bring about a greater margin of error. Is CP being overly cautious? Hard to say. I don't think anyone knows enough details about the rides to know whether CP is wrong or not. Don't get me wrong - the policy is as annoying as heck because the park does get a lot of rain, but I just don't think they are doing it to annoy people. There has to be some reasoning back there that supports this. Sure, they may be being too cautious, but I'd rather have it that way than under cautious.

As others have said I'm really wondering what will happen to Beaver Land Mine Ride. At this point I don't think anyone knows for sure... Sorry for the delay, but here is another round of photos (the final set will be up tomorrow): One of the many clever themeing signs in Hurricane Harbor. Really was a nicely themed water park. Big Dipper through the overgrown trees in Hurricane Harbor. The really well done and impressive wave pool facade. The wave pool is in the back of the photo. Notice the old wooden life chair still there (sort of creepy). Yes this water park has been closed for years - CF just didn't touch much of it. The pool to the very right was the splash pool for Hurricane Mountain / Thunder Falls added by Six Flags in 2003. The mammoth slide tower now is in WWK. The old Shark Attack slide complex. SF added this complex in 2002 I believe. They were relocated from another park when SF added them, and now another park in Oklahoma paid big money to get this complex. For some reason, the white slide (middle one) very rarely operated. The other two were mediocre at best, and always looked somewhat 2nd hand. The slide complex always had a long line though. It, along with the wave pool, remained open for WWK's inaugural year. Since WWK was very small, CF thought they would keep a portion of Hurricane Hannah's open until WWK's fictional phase 2 came into fruition the next year. Phase 2 never came to be, and a wave pool was the sole phase 2 attraction. Overall there was a net loss of slides and attractions with the move from Hurricane Harbor to WWK. The Skyscraper ride. The ride was closed all of last year, and I believe the year before that too (or at least most of it). In the auction flyer it was revealed that the gearbox had broken. CF did not fix any semi-major problem that cropped up at GL in all the years they ran it. If a problem came up the ride closed. Sign of things to come? One of Big Dipper's hills taken from within Hurricane Harbor. Hurricane Mountain / Thunder Falls was located just to the right of me. Notice the nice Hurricane Harbor-esque landscaping. Also notice how lifeless this once thriving water park looks. Chairs were placed in the expansive pathway in front of you. The Big Dipper queue. Notice the Big Dipper warning sign was removed. The queue was extremely tight and navigating these switchbacks was tough (luckily I never experienced having to use all of them). In the SF era, the large trees and shrubs in the background extended out into the queue and were really overgrown. Many people thought the ride was closed because the shrubs blocked the ramp leading to the station and it was hard to get past. CF came in and quickly cut things back. The famous path leading under Big Dipper. This is actually where the park entrance once was, many years ago. A large Big Dipper sign was placed on the structure here, but it was removed at some pont in the off season (hopefully to protect it and give it more life in the years to come). The ride stood towards the left of the photo. It actually stood right above the lazy river, which is the area right in front of the row of trees and shrubs in the very back of the photo. To the left, the large cone roof, is Beach Combers. This gives you and idea of how compact Hurricane Harbor was. Another look. Big Dipper came quite close to the station and queue (left). If you look in Shipwreck Falls' station you can see even the loading gates are still there despite the ride's removal. The Shipwreck Falls station. The ramp to the left in the photo was the exit ramp and splash bridge. The ride really had some nice themeing and landscaping as evident from the photo. Other than the removal of the ride, and the switchbacks to the right of the photo, everything else remains amazingly intact. One of the game stands located to the right of Big Dipper's station. It was always somewhat busy due to its proximity to Big Dipper. Notice the 10 cent signs even still hanging. The entrance ramp to the left and exit to the right. Big Dipper had a separate load and unload area. So many memories... And such a great ride. A look at Big Dipper's station with a car sitting out front. Big Dipper went for $5,000 and will be reconstructed as a "nostalgic item". The ride was roped off and guarded, so getting photos was tricky. Note the large weeds already growing in the queue to the left. The Shipwreck Falls water ride. One of the Intamin big splash rides. The ride was removed a few months ago and sent to another park. The ride's themeing however, and much of its queue, remains intact. Despite its small size you got very wet on this ride, just as much as the larger ones. There used to be a large boat to the left of this photo fitting in with the shipwreck theme, but CF quickly removed it due to its "unsightliness". The path, over the old lazy river, leading to the Beach Combers restaurant. The restaurant, although I never tried it, was apparently pretty good. The restaurant is in the back of the photo (the building towards the left). It was actually an expansive building with an outdoor section with a bar and waiting area. After Hurricane Harbor closed, however, the restaurant rarely had very much business. The lazy river also housed a koi fish pond for a brief two year period after the closing of the old water park to spruce up the area. Another look at the restrooms / changing facilities. A look up the path leading up from Kidworks Playzone. The building atop of the hill housed restrooms and a changing area for the old water park. This was the only changing area, and it wasn't very good, which was one of the pains with the old water park. An old Hurricane Harbor shop. A look at the Geauga Lake picnic pavillions. This area was actually part of the old water park. Hook's Lagoon was in this area with the Neptune's Speed Slides in the very back of the photo closest to the lake. There was a lunch buffet in here that (although I never tried it) was apparently a good value. I think these pavilions would look nice replacing the aging CP ones.

So is the water park worth it? It looks fun between Deluge, Tornadoe, and the new bowl slide (the wave pool and lazy river also look good). And does anyone know of anything else in the vicinity that could be added on to time at the park?

I will be up in Louisville on August 7th for business. Noticing that SFKK is so close to the airport (real close), and considering the fact I have a SF season pass I thought I may as well pay the park a visit. Now, I have never been there before, so I really don't know how much time I would need. Obviously there isn't a ton to do, but does the place get crowded? I was also hoping to go to the water park and do Deluge and just spend some time in there. I also don't know what the park has in the way of decent flats, etc. I will be able to get to the park around 1pm on Friday, August 8th. I see they will be open until 8pm that night. I can either fly back at 2:55pm Saturday, or early Sunday. I figure I may be able to get to the park for an hour or two Saturday considering the airport is right next door. Would Friday afternoon - evening be enough time, plus maybe 2 hours Saturday morning, or do I need to fly back Sunday? Thanks for any advice (and I'm welcome to other advice for the park). TT182

Then the Norton auctioneer should have held himself to the same standards. Many of his comments had nothing to do with the auction and were just plain counter-productive. What did the comment about enthusiasts not being able to afford this - don't even try - this coaster was generously offered by CF to ACE - have to do with anything? He should have just said "Big Dipper is a historic coaster" and started the bidding. And frankly, I see nothing wrong with the ACEr's comment. They are really being made to look bad because of this (if their side of the story is correct and I don't know if it is). And while maybe it would have been better and more professional to talk to CF behind the scenes, many people would have done just what she did. And based on the fact that security didn't remove her from the park, I'm thinking some other people there agreed the auctioneer was out of line.

This really seems like a nice idea. I'm just wondering how successful it will be.

Thanks for the TR. I really enjoyed it and a lot of your photos had nice unique views. Out of curiosity how are crowds for the park these days? How long was the line for Firefall?

Wait I'm confused. What actually happened? The story made it sound like they had to evacuate riders mid-tower or something.

^ Actually Head Spin is still there, in its entirety. I have some pictures of it but they will be in the next round. It was not up for auction, and the auction flier said that anything not up for auction would be used at another CF park... So I guess we will be seeing Head Spin show up somewhere else. I am really glad everyone is liking the photo tour, and thanks a lot for all the nice comments. I really enjoy putting it all together, and it sort of brings a sense of closure to the park instead of it getting sold and torn up without anyone noticing. I agree with all the comments about Sea World. I can vividly remember watching the night show and staring across the lake at the park. And, again, as someone else said its amazing how two such great parks have been turned into a small water park in such short time.

Sorry for the delay. Since I had a busy work weekend, and am going to Cedar Point tomorrow, I was only able to upload 30 photos this time. There are about 90 photos left for upload, probably Monday afternoon. More photos: The other entrance to Kidworks Playzone. One of the former ride locations is in the background. I'm surprised CF didn't ship the old operator booths to CP! One final view of Rocket Sled Slides. There were also a few dry fort sections surrounding the slide complex. Notice that the area was becoming a bit dated and in need of a refresh. A look inside the Kidworks Playzone shop. Again, other than the removal of merchandise, the store looks just as it did last season. A look down the floating bridge from its final GL location. It really was a nice bridge with benches, lamposts, and fish feeders allowing guests to feed the mammoth carp in the lake. WWK is seen in the background, including the record breaking crowds in "one of America's largest water parks". If you detected sarcasm, you're right. This landing has a lot of history. Originally the landing was designed for the ferry boats to dock at, which they did during the SF era. The dock was right beside the Neptune Falls slide complex in Hurricane Harbor. After CF took over, they still used the landing for the ferry boats, until they were discontinued. CF later moved the floating bridge (then by Raging Wolf Bobs), to this location, creating a more direct path between WWK and the ride side. This is the North Geauga Lake Landing. Another Geauga Lake Landing, the South one, is over on the WWK / Sea World side. Raging Wolf Bobs as seen from Geauga Lake Landing. A large, colorful Kidworks Playzone store in the background. Geauga Lake landing is on the left. Other than crucial sign changes to avoid copyright infringement, CF did very little with Looney Toon's Boom Town in its conversion to Kidworks Playzone. Rocket Sled Slide entrance to the right with warning sign. Another look at the Rocket Sled Slides exit. The elevator (surrounded by blue tarp) can also be seen. Notice how the pink slide was quickly fading, as with most other paint in Kidworks Playzone. Rocket Sled Slides. You got quite wet on these. The small yellow rafts were carried up to the top again via elevators. Spectators could shoot riders with geysers for FREE, which meant you were guaranteed to get soaked on this ride. Old Looney Toon's Boom Town rides. Most rides from Looney Toon's Boom Town were moved to Planet Snoopy at Cedar Point for this season. Despite the missing rides however, Looney Toon's Boom Town was the best looking area in the park! It still looked presentable. Another water play area in the foreground. Rocket Sled Slides and other play areas in the background. Gotcha Games Ball Factory. A REALLY fun place to be regardless of your age. Notice the bleachers in the front so that parents could watch their kids but be somewhat distant from the wildness inside. A large water play area in the entrance plaza of Loony Toon's Boom Town. Gotcha Games Ball Factory is in the background. Ramp leading down into Looney Toon's Boom Town (I'll refer to it as this since it still looks it). Kidworks Playzone (aka Looney Toon's Boom Town with a different sign). Entrance to Time Warp with warning sign. Back to Time Warp. Due to limited demand, the front side was used much more frequently than the backside. To the best of my knowledge, the backside was not in use for most, if not all, of CF's run. Interior of Jukebox Cafe. It remains untouched other than the shifting of some tables. The food here was actually quite good. The deserts were quite large. Jukebox Cafe. The Cafe was actually renovated (more 50's artifacts added) the last season of operation. CF was able to recoup this expenditure in the auction. Coincidence? Time Warp. Such ride signs were NOT being auctioned off a la carte. Note that the Americana ferris wheel was not up for auction, meaning it will appear at another CF park. Americana sign and warning sign with a carriage in the background. Note the nice weather and clear blue sky for the day. The ride had spectacular views of the whole park, and the Sea World / WWK side of things, but especially had a nice view of the nearby Thunderhawk. The Americana ferris wheel. It was spinning throughout the day (due to the wind, not actually being run like I thought when I pulled in the parking lot). Another look at the All American Grille. Notice, again, the brick pavers to the right which have been knocked over. Probably due to them trying to get to buried cables. The All American Grille. No the food was not very good. But hey - it was all American! Ring toss game. One of the few game stands in the park to still have the actual game there. Some of the rings were even still there! Another look at the Dog Pound Derby game. One of my favorite photos from the day.

Sigh... Why is this not a surprise? The Norton people were incredibly rude. It was really sort of surprising that someone would want them to run an auction. They obviously all hated to be there, as evident by them trying to get everyone out of the park and close it at "5:00pm" (when it was actually 4:30pm). They were obnoxious to the guests within the park, and I heard countless people commenting on it at the end of the day. They also missed a lot of possible registrations, because they shut everything up and left the park well before the posted closing time! Even GL employees, who were sent out in herds by the Norton people to get people out of the park and shoo them to the exit, were apologizing to guests for the way in which everything was being handled. And that auctioneers behavior was completely uncalled for. I could see if the woman started punching others and tried to light Big Dipper on fire, fine, call security. But for her saying "that's false", his response was not only rude, it was borderline abusive. Both Norton and CF knew that after their quick closure of the park, without a chance for people to take pics and say goodbye, there would be "sentimentals" at the auction. They needed to plan for that, and be sensitive to that. He clearly does not want to be there, and is desperate to throw anyone who isn't willing to plop down a million dollars on auction items out of the park. His comments are really derogatory to anyone there that might have felt a connection to the park. Yet another fire to further burn the already charred CF reputation. You would think that after the GL PR nightmare they would have tried to use this as an opportunity to undo some of the damage. Instead, they were money greedy and insensitive, and I really think this will come back to them.

More Pics: Restrooms by Americana Ferris Wheel. A note in the auction flyer warned patrons these had already been decommissioned. Americana Ferris Wheel raising up towards the sky. Seating for the food court was located in the center of the photo (under the pavilions which are again as you can see up for auction). Dog Pound Derby game. I don't know that this was for auction... Any predictions what park it will go to? Coyote Creek midway adjacent to Pepsi Plunge. Villain in distance. You won't get wet on my ride but I can look scary! Rip Cord safety sign. More landscaping behind Grizzly Run. Backside of Grizzly run. Many rocks within the park, and trees, were being auctioned. Another overview. Raging Wolf Bobs entrance beneath another turnaround. The path to the water park side / Happy Harbor is just to the left. Trams were added to this path last year. Raging Wolf Bobs sign. Raging Wolf Bobs entrance plaza. Unfortunately, this has been dead since last June when the ride closed due to an incident involving the track and structure. Raging Wolf Bobs. The old entrance to the floating bridge which connected the rides side to the animal / water park side is right at the base of the turn-around. A look down the path to Raging Wolf Bobs. Dominator's interlocking corkscrews were just to the right of this picture. Supposedly, CF turned off the water effects due to the lack of seat belts in the rafts. People commonly stood up and moved whenever a water fall loomed ahead. CF later added seat belts (final season of operation), but these were cheap and didn't work well. Flooding on the path between Raging Wolf Bobs and Dominator also occurred when water effects were turned on, which is believed to have contributed to their decision. This meant that only your back would get soaked on the ride. Boats passed right in front of here (and slowly I might add which was perfect for geysering - if thats a word). Grizzly Run station. The tunnel in the center of the photo also had water effects (some of which were actually on once or twice late in CF operation). The old geyser posts are seen in the foreground. This canyon used to house drenching water falls under SF operation. This was taken from the viewing platform. You could spray the passing boats with geysers here for a quarter. The lift is seen in the background (which is at the very end of the ride). Due to limited capacity in the station and slow loading, you would have to sit on this lift for 10-15 minutes before being allowed to get off in the station. Grizzly Run. The shack in the distance had some of the best rapids on the ride, and used to house a large waterfall when operated by SF. Backside of Raging Wolf Bobs (which coincidentally closed about a year ago - mid June 2007). Another view of Dominator's station. Looked like they removed a back wall to deconstruct it. Backside of Grizzly Run. One of the tallest things still left in the park. Rip Cord / Skycoaster ticket booth. Never did this one. The high prices combined with its smaller size didn't make it seem worth it. Power City gifts (which housed Dominator's photo sale center). This was the last thing I remember about my closing weekend visit to GL last year. Power City food court. Easy to see how it transcended from Gotham City. Quite sad. This was the most destruction anywhere in the park though (luckily). Scycoaster / Rip Cord (the big white thing) which surprisingly sold for $85,000. Dominator's photo shop / Power City gift shop is below it. Power City Section. The building is where pizza was served along with other food. The large bare area to the left housed many patio tables and chairs. Many would sit ear waiting for companions to exit Dominator. Remaining footers. Notice that all of the queue was removed (probably recycled). Amazing to think such a mammoth coaster once stood here. Not much left. What's left of Dominator / Batman: Dark Knight's station. Notice the charring and damage in the upper left from the fire during dismantling of the ride. A nice view of Villain in the distance with the remains of Beaver Land Mine Ride in the foreground. Another view of the plethora of garbage cans after their off-season cleaning. Another pavilion. All of these garbage cans were being auctioned off (in large lots keep in mind). Wouldn't you like a fleet to set up in your own backyard? Chuckwagon Cookhouse. Notice the cookout supplies within the pavilion up for auction. Coyote Creek picnic area. This area was much more extensive than I remembered. The long path leading back to Grizzly Run. Not much to see back there (luckily since it was blocked off).

Below I have posted the third installment of photos. This pretty much concludes photos from the Coyote Creek / Power City secion of the park and half of the main entrance plaza. Tomorrow and Thursday I will upload photos from the other side of Americana, KidWorks Playzone, 50's Midway, and yes, the old water park! Thanks for reading, TT182