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Conneaut Lake Park (CLP) Discussion Thread


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Things seem to be going well at this 'lil place at least according to the state of PA. According to the state inspectors , they were "amazed" at the condition of the rides there. (other than needing a serious need of painting.) This is good for me to know as we are planning to hit CLP on the way to our Kennywood and Cedar Point trip this August. The newspaper link to the story can be found here http://www.meadvilletribune.com/news/local_news/inspectors-amazed-at-condition-of-conneaut-lake-park-rides/article_0a45d26e-14a6-11e5-887a-c7839f63fcbf.html

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I love that the inspectors were "amazed" that the rides were actually safe. Then again, I've now been to the park and totally understand their amazement.

 

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Maybe someone on here can help me with a few questions. I have called the park 3 times now(during business hours), and keep getting voice mail with no return call.

 

I am trying to find out if they still sell single ride tickets, or if you have to buy a wrist band. We are only going to be at the park for an hour or two, and not sure if a wrist band is the best option. If they do sell tickets, how much are they and how many per ride?

 

Does anyone know if they have fireworks on the 4th of July?

 

Last but not least, do they have a gift shop? I am mainly looking for a Tshirt of the park.

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I am trying to find out if they still sell single ride tickets, or if you have to buy a wrist band. We are only going to be at the park for an hour or two, and not sure if a wrist band is the best option. If they do sell tickets, how much are they and how many per ride?

Wristband only, it's $10 for access to all the rides.

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I am trying to find out if they still sell single ride tickets, or if you have to buy a wrist band. We are only going to be at the park for an hour or two, and not sure if a wrist band is the best option. If they do sell tickets, how much are they and how many per ride?

Wristband only, it's $10 for access to all the rides.

 

Dude, the park is in serious financial trouble, buy the wristband. And then enthusiasts complain when small parks shut down.

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Geauga gear was still in stock last October.

 

 

So was SlapChop .

 

 

Got a Conneaut / Carousel shot glass. They were out of Blue Streak shot glasses. Not certain on shirts but I'm sure there must have been 1 or 2. May have been a sweatshirt too IIRC.

 

 

 

{edit: photo resize}

Edited by ejot
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Honestly, $10 is a steal!

 

At that price, we may stay longer than an hour. Hell, I may even buy a Tshirt if they sell them.

The park has a lot of custom imprinted items for sale this year. They did a complete revamp of their custom merchandise inventory and that does include shirts.

 

Last year when I was at the park they also had shot glasses and souvenir sports bottles among a ton of Blue Streak magnets. I saw pictures on Facebook of their merch this year and it's even more extensive so you should be able to find a few goodies.

 

They also sell a lot of collectibles from other parks. I stocked up on a bunch of somewhat vintage park brochures from all over for 25 cents a piece during my last visit. I have a huge brochure collection so it really made my day!

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I think I'll be stopping at this park soon en route to Waldameer. I reckon I'll see for myself when I'm there but was a nice bit of progress made in the last year? I just really want this place to somehow turn it around. I'll hopefully be posting a quick report of my visit when I go.

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I wish I could see this park turning it around but I really don't think that's in the cards. It's just a matter of how long people are willing to keep it on life support. I hate to be a pessimist but I just really don't see much potential for this place. Hopefully I'm wrong though.

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  • 1 month later...

I read the park grossed $266,354 in 2014 which was their lowest ever reported. And now they report they are $359,961 in the hole for 2015. That does not count the $300,000 they got in May in loans to open the park. It doesn't count any of the bankruptcy debt which hasn't been addressed. The park has delayed writing their bankrupcty report twice now. Then the EPACC has charged the park $224,000 over the last year to run the park. Looking more and more that the writing in on the wall.

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There seems to be different stories floating around regarding the current state. All accounts suggest that the park has been operating at a loss but that it was due to the agency putting money back into the park for repairs and upgrades. Apparently they are working to improve the campground and stage in order to generate revenue outside of the normal operating season. Additionally there is some lakefront property that they are looking to sell that could fetch $1M or more. That could go a long way to pay off debt.

 

I'm not saying it's turned the corner or on a clear path to recovery but it definitely seems the outlook is different depending on the source.

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There's got to be more to the story... I'm seriously not understanding how the park is still operating unless there is some sort of financial incentive somewhere for somebody. You don't come up with all this money to keep going just by pitching a good story.

 

I still think the retreat center idea should be pursued.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I think they must get like 90% of their revenue for the year from Ghost Lake (total guess/exaggeration/but maybenot). It is wildly popular with the local community and draws absolutely massive lines - no joke.

 

Having gone last year, my recommendation would be to get there pretty early and be one of the first in line. I think we started waiting around 6pm, which was a little excessive, but we were first in the gate and it was cool getting all actors "fresh" and particularly enthusiastic. By 7pm when we actually went in, the line for tickets was probably already 45min. Those guests would have to wait in lines for each attraction, whereas we got a continuous experience. Better IMO, even though it wasn't as pitch black dark out to begin. The Blue Streak is the last haunt and on busy nights they apparently don't get everyone through until well after 2am. I think it took us about 2h without lines.

 

Also, the route to the different haunts is a little bit tricky. I happened to meet a group of enthusiasts who had done it before and they invited me along. The super early entry tactic was also their plan. Going through alone and unaccustomed would have been interesting, and perhaps a bit frustrating.

 

It is a unique attraction, very, um.... "genuine". I actually highly recommend it, but you have to have the right set of expectations. The full darkness BlueStreak ride is the highlight, and really was "one of those moments", completely sublime. Unfortunately, you generally don't get seat preference due to how intense operations are.

 

Oh, and if they have the soap out in this one walkthru, you're in for some fun. If you go on the last night when they need to get rid of all the soap, it's off the charts suds from floor the ceiling.

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