Geauga Dog

I would like to add one within the first five to six years after taking the park over. Have to figure out how I'll replace all the DC Comics characters and ride names. Justice League would be difficult to convert without scrapping it and starting all over again. Ninja and Boomerang would be removed.

Banshee seems to be the ride most go to in the morning therefore the lines are almost non-existent by mid-afternoon. Also take into effect that Diamondback's dispatches have been a little slower the past couple of seasons with an occasional three train stack every once in a blue moon.

Paragon Parks - taking over parks that have yet to see their full potential. Six Flags St. Louis Six Flags America Great Escape California's Great America Worlds of Fun Valleyfair

LOL. The track and supports are back to its original colors when it debuted as Mind Eraser at Geauga Lake in 1996.

My pick is lift hill. Love the sound of the anti-rollbacks as that's such a classic amusement park sound. I especially like The Beast's first hill and getting a good look around since you are going up so slow.

NO!! That would hurt Darien Lake more than it would help it. Build housing near the park and the next thing you know those residents will start complaining about the noise and traffic even though the park was there first. As Aurora and Bainbridge Township began growing closer to and around Geauga Lake that is what happened. Plus it won't guarantee an increase in attendance and it could increase the value of the property enough that selling it would be worth more than operating a park on it. Canada's Wonderland may be in a similar situation but that park is a big money maker for CF. One of the things that I like most about DL is that it has that secluded feel to it - no housing or shopping centers next to or across from the park itself.

Just wondering, that is, if they have released the B&M dive coaster - if you can do Immelmans, dive loops, in line twists, and zero-g rolls with it.

Thank you for the definition of an REIT. It makes a lot more sense now knowing what they do however this also pretty much says that there is no stability for said property an REIT owns. In the case of Darien Lake and the other former CNL properties they need a more stable owner to grow the parks instead of continuing to sell or transferl to another REIT.

Frontier City got Magic Springs' Zamperla Power Surge this year. They got a Larson Super Loop last year.

Thanks, Bill, for posting the above photo. In the lower left corner was the Paddlewheel Café. Right next to it would be the Frontier Lift station. Next to that was Monster and then Western Cruise. Also love how Gemini dominated the skyline in the photo. Memories!

I liked the Frontier Lift better than the Sky Ride back in the day, back when Millennium Island was barren with lots of trees. I also liked going over Mine Ride as you entered/exited the Frontiertown station. Actually the Frontier Lift midway station would have been closer to where Coasters is currently, more like between Coasters and the Luminosity stage. The Monster and Western Cruise would then be in the vicinity of the Luminosity stage and Iron Dragon's brake run. The Paddlewheel Café would have been next to the Frontier Lift about where Coasters is right now. The Frontier Lift was removed for Iron Dragon as it was a year or so after they removed it that ID was built.

Thanks for the TR. Went to Hershey 11 years ago and loved it! I'm waaaay overdue to go back, keep telling myself that I need to get back, yet the thought of driving the PA turnpike, which I totally hate driving on, has somewhat kept me from returning, even though it's only five and half hours from Cleveland. Though I do admit I love that little triangle in that part of PA - Hershey, Dorney, SFGAdv, and Knoebel's all within a very short drive from each other. Glad to hear that Lightning Racer and Storm Runner are still awesome rides, my two favorites there (probably would change if I ever get the chance to ride Skyrush). I also don't get the hate for Wildcat, which I rode with the original PTC trains - not as good as LR but IMO an all around decent ride. Now that it has Millennium Flyer trains, which are among my favorite trains, I'd like to see how it rides with them. BTW, the evening shots of the twisted mess of Skyrush at sunset are very nice.

So the lift is going towards Diamondback's second hill. With the new path for White Water Canyon right next to the lift that's going to be a great photo spot. I don't know why I thought the lift was going to be closer to the Race For Your Life Charlie Brown log flume and then head back over and through D-back towards Beast. It does look great but sad to see so many trees gone.

Six Flags may have over expanded the park, and I agree that is one of the causes for failure, but the park was still getting decent crowds to see Shouka in 2003. They may not have been getting the numbers they wanted but they were doing better numbers than when Cedar Fair took over. I'll never understand why they would buy the park, knowing there were animals and the fact that they don't operate animal parks, other than to destroy their competition. The fact that Dragster was a disaster in 2003, plus who can forget the commercials that "We drove past Cedar Point to go to Six Flags" that were airing at the time had of have really ticked off Dick Kinzel. One last thing - you can't expect to increase your attendance when you don't add anything significant to create that draw. in the three years CF owned the park (actually four but 2004 was an awkward transition year) they added nothing to replace the holes in the ride side. Sure they put fresh paint on the buildings, finished the retrack of Wolf Bobs (only to have it derail in June of 2007 and let it sit idle the rest of the year - hmm, that should have been a hint), and add cornhole and a 3-Point Challenge Game is it any wonder people didn't really come back? Did they seriously think they would be able to make a quick turnaround of the park in such a short time? That's bad business thinking. I have to actually agree with the final numbers in 2007. The park was much more busier that final year than it had been prior. Those were numbers that GL was used to prior to Premier's purchase in 1995. GL could have easily survived with that attendance if CF would have smartly downsized the park to what was feasible for them. After all they seem happy with a park in Michigan that draws less than what GL did in it's final days.

Wow, I'm jealous that you went to BGW, heck I'm jealous of anyone who lives within short driving distance from it. It's my favorite park - I always do two full days when I head down that way. The first time I rode Griffin back in 2012 I was also amazed at the spectacular view of the James River as you crested the lift. While Valravn also has a great view from the top it doesn't quite match it. I understand your immediate love of Griffin as that ride and that first drop are addicting. It was the ride I rode the most as I couldn't get enough of it. Alpengeist was my favorite invert for a long time (at least until Afterburn at Carowinds became my #1) but it still remains my favorite at the park. Did you have any issues with the belts? When I was there last I had some problems with the belts (never had any issues in the past) and I heard that they were shortened. Loch Ness Monster may seem overshadowed by the B&M's but you can't deny that it is the smoothest old school Arrow out there. That musty tunnel really adds to the nostalgia factor of the ride. It amazes me that for a ride as old as it is it still looks almost new, i.e. it never looks faded whenever I'm there. BTW I haven't been on Mach Tower yet either. It was down both days I was there back in 2012. Thanks so much for bringing back great memories and reigniting my desire to get back down there soon. That has always been a life saver at the end of the day and usually a good sized line by the time you get there. You also can't beat the ride from Aquitaine (France) to Rhinefeld (Germany) for the awesome views of Alpengeist, especially if you time it right as the train goes through the loop.

I'm sad to see it go but taer the ride down already! I had a lot of great memories and rides on it and considering the state its in now there is no use saving it. Funny how of all the rides and parks that have closed over the years it seems as if GL and Dipper ended up being one long soap opera.

Now that's an epic ending to your Kings Dominion saga. Glad that the rest of your visit wasn't a total waste after your injury. I give you a lot of credit for riding 305 as much as you did to end the night. It had to be more insane after being fully warmed up all day. Love the night shots from the Eiffel Tower.

Favorites: Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Hersheypark, Kings Island Least Favorite: I don't necessarily dislike parks, no matter how bad they may be, but I would have to say Conneaut Lake.

I really enjoy your TR's. You have a great way of describing your park experiences. Glad that you love Dominator. I very much miss it here (night rides on the shore of Geauga Lake, especially during Haunt, were near epic) though from my last rides on it at KD it did seem to have a little shake in the second half. Maybe that's been fixed. Your experience with I305 is close to what I had when I was there in 2012. I was in awe when I first came face to face with it - just love the look of the beefy track and supports. Since I no longer fit on Millennium Force it had been a long time since I've ridden a giga coaster so I was a just a tad nervous as we rocketed up the lift hill. The ride is fantastic and took my breath away. I also love that you liked Avalanche. That is sort of my "guilty pleasure" ride at the park. As you said it's nothing noteworthy but just a lot of fun especially through that twisty part after the straight section. When I read that Grizzly took a bite out of you I wasn't expecting you to crack a rib. I had thought that maybe you somehow hit your hand on the tunnel.

That's some pretty aggressive expansion plans for just two years. My question is what is their attendance like? Can it support this level of investment in such a short time? It's a stupid question but in comparison Tayto Park in Ireland, another brand new park that is expanding at a good rate as well, isn't even growing as fast at Energylandia. I didn't see the videos but I have always wondered what Vekoma could do with a hyper coaster. Nothing against Intamin, they build great rides, but based on what I've read the last few pages it seems they are more than capable of designing a kick butt ride.

I've seen this post for awhile and had to think about it a bit but the only thing that came to mind was Magnum's "pointy" return bunny hops need reprofiling - keep the airtime but make it so your man parts are not destroyed in the process. Plus if they could redo the trains to be more like Phantom's (no clunky lap bar) that would be a plus.

Didn't they already have a Galaxi-type coaster that lasted a year and then they removed it? They said it was a big announcement so I think it's something better than that.

I like that layout. I guess this is Intamin's first family suspended coaster - nice to see them add onto their expansive coaster portfolio. It would also be a good layout for an Arrow-style suspended swinging coaster if they were to ever be resurrected.

They've made such a big deal about Mean Streak closing on our local news outlets here since they announced it was closing. Feel bad for Tony as I'm sure he's tired of reporters asking for clues as to what will replace it. Channel 3 did a story on Henry today. Over 16,000 rides on that thing - I give him kudos for withstanding all that beating. The park is supposed to let him on the final ride tonight.

My guess is an S&S El Loco. Also I like the new logo. Looks much cleaner than the old one. Will your roadside sign get renovated to show it?