Conneaut Lake Park (CLP) Discussion Thread

[Dailey Enterprizes]

I'm going to my grandma's cottage at Canadohta Lake for a week in a couple of weeks, so I might head over to Conneaut if I have time.

[kidcoaster]

I dont know where I will be tomorrow. I have been between big rides and kiddieland. So just ask the dipper op. and watch name tags mine just says KEN. And says KIDDIELAND.

 

The Round Up is down.

 

And if when you arrive the Bluestreak is down do not worry it should reopen later in the day. This has been going on all week.

[FlyingScooter]

I looked for ya, but didn't see you.

 

yeah, the BlueStreak went down for a bit. The last car became detached fromt the front of the train. Looked cool. We were standing in line at the train when my daughter snapped a pick of it. Then we saw the last car coming over thr rise behind it.

I'll do a pick report when i get time.

[kidcoaster]

I was on the Trabant on saturday

Tilt a whril on sunday and Flying Scooters on monday.

 

I heard a bout the Streak loosing a car. I heard it came loose on the second hill.

[kidcoaster]

Erieview's quirky Fright Zone dark ride was sold intact to a Toledo antique dealer during the park's auction in October. It was then sold complete to a collector who in turn has donated it to Conneaut Lake Park for use at the park in 2007.

 

Originally, West View Park near Pittsburgh was considered home until they moved to Erieview Park in Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio. Built in 1963 at West View Park and originally called the "Haunted House", it scared its riders until 1977 when the park Closed forever. In 1979, Erieview Park purchased the ride, disassembled it, and moved it to Geneva-on-the-Lake where it operated until 2006. Sadly, Erieview Park closed and its contents were auctioned. The old Haunted House, then known as the Fright Zone, was no exception.

 

Right now, the spooks are seeking refuge in the home of a Conneaut Lake resident, Greg Sutterlin, who, along with Pittsburgh resident Todd Goodwin purchased them with the intent of eventually housing them at Conneaut Lake Park. Conneaut Lake Park has a place for them but it needs converted into an inhabitable living quarters.

 

Creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky, the Fright Zone dark ride at Erieview Park is altogether ooky.

 

It is also the last of it’s kind, evoking the kind of nostalgia reserved for carousels and vintage Ferris wheels.

 

After a dramatic week fraught with peril, the vintage dark ride will be fully restored and relocated to Conneaut Lake Park, Erieview owner Don "Woody" Woodward said.

 

CLP Website artical

Pics of restoration

Coasterfanatics artical

coasterbuzz artical

[coasterdude5]

It's great to see stuff like this happening, especially to Conneaut Lake.

[N'at Man]

I never suspected that CLP would get this dark ride since they already have Devil's Den. But it will help the park's lineup. Remember when the park was having a bad luck streak earlier this year? Now some good things are happening.

[FlyingScooter]

This is good news. I hope it runs well for them.

[coasterace]

DAFE has offered to help restore the ride too.

[exmouse]

DAFE would be a logical group to get in to restore it, they did some restoration work on it before so probably know the ride inside out.

[verticalzero]

Great news, but shame some of the models and scenes have to be re-done.

 

I would like to visit the park some day

[coasterace]

DAFE's goal is to restore it as close to the way it was originally, not "redo" the scenes in the sense of changing them around.

 

Sometimes the gags/tricks would not work at times when you rode through it at Erieview, so another goal is make sure everything is in proper working order.

 

coasterace

(DAFE member who has already offered to help work on the ride)

[TheGreatOne]

DAFE has offered to help restore the ride too.

 

...which is a great thing, because the ride was in sad shape when I rode it in August. Some scenes were covered up and the ride was too dark (specificallly, I could hardly make out some of the scenes and I have 20/20 vision). I'm glad Conneaut's putting this in their park, it's a logical fit. Where are they going to put it?

[Dailey Enterprizes]

Wow, I can't wait to tell my dad because he used to love that dark ride when it operated at West View.

[mombat]

As sad as I was to hear Erieview was closing, I'm so glad the rides live on. Now, I wonder what they're going to do with the Brat kiddie coaster...it would look pretty sweet in my front yard by the lake!

Erieview's Fright Zone-July 2006

[coasterace]

The speculation is that it will go next to the gift shop on the main midway and move some of the games to another spot on the midway.

[kidcoaster]

yeah it will go in between the gift shop and the skeeball arcade on the midway the building is all ready gutted.

[FlyingScooter]

http://www.meadvilletribune.com/local/l ... 23643.html

 

This isn't good. All i can say is, they were packed when i was there.

Camperland was also packed that weekend.

 

Debt climbs to $2 Million

 

11/01/06 — Conneaut Lake Park went in debt another $225,000 this year, taking the total amount of money it now owes from $1.9 million at the beginning of the year to $2.160 million.

A financial report filed Tuesday in the Crawford County Prothonotary’s Office shows the park’s loss from Jan. 1 to Oct. 15, which includes unpaid real estate taxes of $37,472.48.

 

The loss total may change by the end of the year when revenues are recorded from Sept. 16 through Dec. 30, according to LeRoy Stearns, court-appointed overseer.

 

“We projected a 15- to 20-percent loss in revenue because of the weather,” said Stearns, noting projected losses for Labor Day alone were $100,000 because of the rainy weather.

 

“At the beginning of the year, we hoped to make money or least break even,” he said. “By July, we realized if we broke even we would be doing well.” He is hopeful once the end-of-the-year receipts are totaled and the inventory is taken, it may show a brighter picture.

 

The figures don’t take into account any value of inventory of unsold items, such as gift items or food and alcohol.

 

In addition to the lost revenue, the park had approximately $137,000 in emergency repairs that were paid this year, said Stearns. Had those problems not surfaced, the park may not have had a loss, he said, but noted you can “always say ‘if.’ ” He said, however, reality is those factors have to be included.

 

Total income to date for 2006 is $1,987,791.47.

 

In 2004, the income from Jan. 1 through Nov. 17 was $2.4 million. However, that included income of $240,705 from the Beach Club.

 

Since the report was prepared, the park has received money from Pumpkin Fest and hotel rentals during that weekend as well as other income from Elizabeth’s Restaurant that hasn’t been included.

 

Based on the numbers in the report, profits for the year to date were from Camperland, midway food, picnics, rides, parking, games and Hotel Conneaut.

 

Losses were experienced in Elizabeth’s Restaurant and Spirits Lounge (both in the hotel), Dreamland Ballroom and the water park. However, the latter is misleading as income was based solely on individual tickets for that ride. Others who enjoy the water park do so with combination ride wrist bands, which weren’t factored into the income for the water park.

 

Among profits are:

 

–– Camperland, $85,649.43.

 

–– Midway foods, $149,189.80

 

–– Picnics, $78,960.64.

 

–– Rides and parking, $313,882.96, of which $53,270.12 was income from parking.

 

–– Games, $31,303.56. This number will increase as the cost of prizes still in inventory isn’t listed. The park spent $26,044.65 for prizes and some are still on hand.

 

–– Hotel Conneaut, $90,428.

 

Among losses shown are:

 

–– Elizabeth’s Restaurant and Spirits Lounge, $198,818.06. This loss could be reduced, however, in that no inventory was taken showing how much food and alcohol is on hand.

 

–– Dreamland Ballroom, $6,829.79,

 

Stearns said two areas that the park took back over this year to operate on its own rather than lease to private operators showed a profit — Camperland and the games. The park also took over the gift shop, which had expenses of $56,847.35 and income of only $54,122.14, meaning it showed a loss.

 

However, the gift shop also has inventory on hand, which must be calculated into the total cost.

 

Last year, the park leased Camperland for $25,000 and the midway games for $40,000.

 

The park leases the Beach Club and Down Under to Conneaut Concessions for $70,000 plus a percentage of all sales after a predesignated sales level is reached. To date, the park has received $77,600 from that contract.

Edited December 12, 2011 by larrygator

[Dailey Enterprizes]

Yes the amusement industry is unforgiving when you're a small park trying to survive.

[coasterdude5]

Hopefully the darkride they're adding will help out a bit.

[Airtime&Gravity]

I really hope this park can pull through since it seems like a nice family park. I've read stories on how much the area loves the park, but one town can't keep a small park open. Hopefully their new ride will help out, but at this rate, I don't see the park open in 5 years.

[N'at Man]

I'm not certain that this bad news is quite as bad as it sounds. Wasn't the existing debt to be covered by the eventual sale of land which allowed the park to open in the first place in 2006? Could the sale be enough to cover the current losses as well? Also, the figures did not include the Pumpkin Fest weekend and some other income.

 

The fact that the park lost money is an issue and will need to be corrected. But I think that people need to look at the $225,000 addition to the debt rather than the overall $2 million figure which was already known to be there. And again, I'd like to know if the sale of land will be enough to cover all of the debt.

[Bull]

I don't post here much, in fact this may only be my second post. However, I just wanted to offer my words about the current situation at CLP. It seems as if things are going in the right direction, which may not make sense being they are going more into debt. I have been a customer of the park since 79. I have seen the highs and lows of the park. It seems as if this is the first year that someone has realized the rides are the heart of the park. If the rides were not there, the park would not be there. This is the first year I have seen a true effort the get the rides back up and running, and I know for talking to other guests at the park I am not the only one that noticed that. A lot of people were commenting about how this it the first year they have seen most of the rides running in many, many years. Look at what happened this year. The Tumble Bug is back, it may not seem like much, but people do love it, as it always has a like. The train is back, another big family draw. The Tempest is back, and looks like new! There are more cars in the bumper car building. So while they went into debt this year, could that help them next year? I hope we get the chance to find out. I guess what I am trying to say is that while the debt is high, it seems as if it was spent in the correct places, to put the park in a better position for next year. They could have just left things go they way they were, and not opened any of the rides back up, not been as much in debt, and opened next year, with one or two less rides, and just keep up that nasty trend, until there was nothing.

 

Also, I wonder if the sell of the land will help more than we think? I hate to see land sold, but if it will save the park, I am all for it. I know from a previous article in the paper that there was effort to pay some back bills and taxes, but from what I gather they are not getting to far out of the hole, if at all because of the interest on the loans and penalties on the taxes. So will the sell of the land get them out of the hole, and create a better cash flow, because of less interest and penalties?

 

Sorry for the long winded responce, but that is what I have been thinking about today.

[pierced_b0i]

Last time I went to CLP it seemed to look alot better then previous trips..I hope it keeps progessing for the good its such a nice little park.

[coaster05]

I agree about the recent improvement it was so much better this year then it was 2 years ago. If the city understands that and keeps helping them I believe they can make it, the location is just so isolated that makes it tougher.