Geauga Lake Discussion Thread

[Milkchan]

^

They would advertise the ride as the tallest, fastest, and steepest coaster in Michigan. I am still hoping that MIA would get a BRAND NEW B&M or Intamin.

[RedB]

 

Isn't Maverick's drop over-vertical, like the euro-fighters? By that logic, a eurofighter isn't unique either, so I guess it must be a prototype ride...

 

 

--- because screamscape is never wrong.

 

James Dillaman

 

Actually, from what I've seen of euro-fighters, they and Maverick are quite different. Besides the similar drop of course.

[RollerC]

^

They would advertise the ride as the tallest, fastest, and steepest coaster in Michigan. I am still hoping that MIA would get a BRAND NEW B&M or Intamin.

I doubt they would ever invest in a B&M or Intamin. They most you would see them get is a spinner or a Morgan hyper.

[coastrfreak2000]

^That was already pointed out 5 posts above yours.

[CP_RULES]

Sorry if this has been said before (as I didnt feel like reading all twenty-something pages in this thread), but why is Steel Venom still listed on the GL website if it is being taken out?

 

Is it even official that it is in fact being taken out? If it isnt, this thread is pointless. BUT, if it is official, then why is it still on the GL website when X-flight isnt anymore?

 

I really couldnt care less about SV (impulses dont do anything for me), but this just struck me as odd while I was browsing the GL website.

[RollerC]

They have yet to update the site. If you notice, the rollercoaster images are all broken.

[CP_RULES]

^Then why is X-flight gone from the site? (If it hasnt been updated yet.)

 

And what images are you talking about? They all seem to work for me.

[jamesdillaman]

^ It is official, yes. This thread is not pointless. It was announced at Eastcoaster I believe...

 

-James Dillaman

[kraxleRIDAH]

UGH! For the people that STILL can't give into the fact that Steel Venom is being taken out and sent to another Cedar Fair park, this should finally seal your trap :

 

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/geauga/117274215973470.xml&coll=2

[yankees15]

Screamscape has posted a rumor that Dorney has requested a height restriction change for two small areas of land. If you look at the picture the two areas circled are next to Laser where Skyscraper used to be. It looks like Steel Venom may be coming to Dorney.

 

http://www.screamscape.com/

[kraxleRIDAH]

^ Not the mention that new independant power feed brought into the park recently...

 

I think it's safe to assume Steel Venom will be on its way to Dorney Park.

 

However, it doesn't look like the ride will be up and running in 2007...according to a story done by Crain's Cleveland, the ride will be dismantled then STORED at its future location.

[yankees15]

^I totally forgot about the power feed. I think it is also safe to say it will be at Dorney, but for the 2008 season. The only thing that would keep this ride from coming to Dorney would be the residents that live right next to the park. They are very picky with sound and from what I've heard impulse coasters are very loud.

[Homer]

Wow, I remember when this used to be a mere rumor shortly after Cedar Fair bought Geauga Lake back in 2004. Then again, that said rumor's reason was "because Cedar Point had Wicked Twister," not," We are trying to shed our 'thrill/mega park image from the SFWoA days.'"

[kraxleRIDAH]

The only thing that would keep this ride from coming to Dorney would be the residents that live right next to the park. They are very picky with sound and from what I've heard impulse coasters are very loud.

 

Yeah. I was thinking about that too. But then again, Dominator is at Dorney Park. If a 200-foot tall tower ride that has a shrill hiss everytime a vehicle reaches the top isn't qualified as noisy, then I don't know what is. Impulse coasters can be noisy, but I don't think it's noisy enough to deter any plans Dorney Park has with Steel Venom.

[yankees15]

^ I never really realized how loud Dominator was until you pointed that out. Looking back on it, that is a very loud hiss. I think Dorney will end up with Steel Venom though, but I hope if they do get it they give the ride a total rehab.

[Ccron10]

According to Screamscape, it says that the park is planning on meeting with the township about rezoning. It also said that the coaster could go in the area where the Skyscraper used to be which is near the Laser.

[FlyingScooter]

Geauga Lake topples a giant

Locals worry coaster's move portends end of Cedar Fair park Thursday, March 01, 2007John HortonPlain Dealer Reporter

The worker's power tool whirred from a perch high above Geauga Lake amusement park. It wouldn't be long now, crew foreman Bobby Fleek said between puffs on a cigarette.

 

Five minutes, Fleek guessed while looking up. Ten minutes, tops.

 

Then the thrill would be gone.

 

 

 

Some of the last remaining sections of the X-Flight roller coaster's track disappeared from the park's skyline Wednesday, hoisted down by a crane in preparation for a move 225 miles south. The ride is bound for Kings Island, another Cedar Fair LP park near Cincinnati.

 

In the next few months, another Geauga Lake giant - Steel Venom, just a few hundred feet from X-Flight along Ohio 43 - also will come down for relocation to an as-yet-unnamed Cedar Fair property.

 

The shrinking skyline follows three lackluster years at Geauga Lake, which straddles the border of Bainbridge Township and Aurora. Attendance remained stagnant last year at about 700,000 visitors, similar to the 2005 and 2004 seasons, park spokesman Bryan Edwards said.

 

During a February conference call to discuss Cedar Fair's fourth-quarter earnings, Chairman Dick Kinzel said that Geauga Lake made progress last year but still "fell below expectations." Kinzel said the park needed to reduce overhead costs and make adjustments to reflect visitation trends.

 

Edwards said Geauga Lake could not justify keeping X-Flight and Steel Venom - both expensive to maintain and operate - given the lack of use. Together, the coasters gave roughly 438,000 rides in 2006. By comparison, that's less than the least-ridden adult coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky.

 

The dismantling of the rides is causing some in the community to speculate that Geauga Lake is in a death spiral.

 

Customers at Sirna's Market and Deli across from the park's front gate have watched X-Flight get picked apart over the past few months. Assistant Manager Jerry Kotar said the consensus is that this is the beginning of the end.

 

"People think they're shutting the door on it," Kotar said. "That's what they see."

 

Local leaders - including Aurora Mayor Lynn McGill and Bainbridge Township Trustee Christopher Horn - acknowledge they have heard similar chatter but are convinced the park is safe. Edwards said that Cedar Fair is committed to Geauga Lake, which it purchased in 2004 from Six Flags.

 

On Wednesday, the park issued a press release touting the upcoming season's new offerings. They include a pair of shows; additional restaurants and food offerings; more "VIP cabanas" at the $30 million Wildwater Kingdome water park that opened two years ago; and a version of the popular game cornhole.

 

"When people come to the park this year," Edwards said, "they'll see that it has gotten better."

 

Cleveland Plain Dealer.

 

 

You sure can't see a postive differance when looking from Rt 43.

[Masked_Maverick]

It is these kind of pessimistic articles that really bother me. People see that a park is getting rid of a few rides and "Oh my Gosh they're killing off the park." I highly doubt Cedar Fair would dump $145 million for the purchase of the park and another $30 million for a brand new waterpark and making numerous improvements such as re-tracking,re-painting,new games and shows just to throw it all away in 5-10 years. Sometimes I feel like I was the only person listening when Cedar Fair announced that they were going to change the park. Now if say 10-15 years from now and CF is continuing to take things out and make just minor changes then I might be worried. However in the mean time people have faith in Cedar Fair because they obviously have more experiance in running amusement parks than all these people who are saying they are killing the park. /rant

[coasterdude5]

I don't really blame them, from an average person's point of view, it probably does seem as the park is packing up.

[FlyingScooter]

Last week, while my girlfriend at i visited her mom in Solon, we stopped for gas at the station across from the park.

The attendant told me that seven out of ten people that go there for gas and stuff ask him if the park is closing. Taking down rides and having an abandoned waterpark facing route 43 isn't a pleasant thing to see, especially after it's been rotting for three years.

I told the attendant about the Cornhole thing they're putting.

Here was his comment: What the hell does Beavis and Butthead have to do with a park? What's next, SouthPark: A-Probe, the Ride!

 

Heck, the people i work with ask me if the park is closing. Their thoughts are if they're removing rides and only replacing them with either temp stuff (cornholing) or water rides, that the place is going down.

Hard to convice them they're wrong.

 

One other thing: The perception of people around here is: Fine, first they get rid of the animals, then they chuck a few coasters. What's next? Liquidation? When more and more parks are getting coasters, Gl is removing them. Great stragedy. Not. And while they're at it, they're increasing the gate cost?

[Masked_Maverick]

I see people's points and concerns about Geauga Lake but just think about this. They have only owned that park for 3 years. It is going to take at least another few years to not only finish cleaning the mess that SixFlags made but to also to make the park into what they have in mind.

[FlyingScooter]

Just only 7 years ago: This was the big problem:

 

 

Six Flags: a red flag

Theme park seeks more parking after Sunday's traffic nightmare

 

By JARROD ZICKEFOOSE and BOB SANDRICK

Staff Writers

 

June 8, 2000

 

 

BAINBRIDGE — For people who live near Six Flags Ohio, Sunday was the realization of a long-feared nightmare.

 

Patrons of the park got stuck in traffic and ditched their cars wherever it was convenient to walk to the park.

 

The resulting random scattering of cars and confused traffic patterns trapped nearby residents and business owners for most of the day.

 

Solon Police Chief Wayne Godzich said he received a call at 11 a.m. regarding heavy traffic backed up on eastbound Route 422. Traffic was moving, but slowly, on 422, and on southbound SOM Center Road between 422 and Solon Road.

 

However, Godzich said there was no gridlock.

 

"They were backed up because the influx of traffic was so heavy they couldn't get off the ramps and onto SOM Center Road very quickly," Godzich said.

 

Around noon, traffic started backing up at the park entrance on Aurora Road, stretching west to Liberty Road, he said.

 

By 1 p.m., Six Flags staff was directing traffic toward its last 500 spaces.

 

They shut down the parking lot at 3 p.m. That's what caused people to park on the side of the road, mainly in Aurora, Godzich said.

 

People were parking on side streets and walking through residential lawns, he said.

 

Traffic remained sluggish until about 3:30 p.m.

 

Geauga Lake Road resident Julius Ferencie said he wanted to go get gas for his chain saw Sunday. "But after a while I just said forget it," he said.

 

"It was a disaster. You couldn't move. You can't imagine where they were parking. They were parking on lawns. They were parked everywhere," he said.

 

Ferencie has feared such a scenario since Six Flags announced its intention to expand last December. And though both Bainbridge Police Chief James Jimison said it was the first time he had seen anything like it, Ferencie believed it won't be the last.

 

He said upcoming picnics for the likes of Stouffer's, the United Auto Workers and the Cleveland Clinic will be repeats.

 

Jimison said the bulk of Sunday's complaints came from businesses in the area whose lots became overflow parking for Six Flags.

 

The owners of Sneakers Bar & Grill, on Aurora Road in Solon near the Bainbridge border, complained to Solon police that numerous cars on their way to Six Flags parked in their lot and walked to the park.

 

Solon police towed five cars in the area of Sneakers because they had parked on the road or by fire hydrants.

 

In Bainbridge, cars were parked alongside Aurora Road all the way to the park, Godzich said.

 

Jimison said some business owners started charging for parking after realizing they would not be able to conduct business Sunday.

 

Jimison said it was simply a matter of too many people headed for the park via a too-narrow road. He said many of the patrons had driven long distances to get Six Flags and were frustrated that they couldn't get in once they reached the home stretch.

 

Ferencie said Bainbridge police have been a constant presence in the area since the park opened.

 

However, they do not have the authority to tow vehicles illegally parked near the park. They only can write parking tickets and issue speeding violations.

 

Jimison said he was talking with trustees about changing road signs in the area to read "Vehicles illegally parked will be towed."

 

Even prior to Sunday's fiasco, residents of Geauga Lake and Brewster roads in Bainbridge have complained of illegal parking.

 

Godzich said Solon will discuss placing no-parking signs on Aurora Road at tonight's meeting of City Council's Safety and Public Properties Committee.

 

Additionally, Jimison said he was meeting with business owners in the area to encourage them to tow vehicles illegally parked in their lots. He said he planned to advise them on what the Ohio Revised Code read about private towing.

 

But it's not just Six Flags that worries those who live near the crossroads of Bainbridge, Solon and Aurora.

 

Ferencie said if Heritage Development Inc. builds a shopping center on Aurora Road near the park, the situation will be exacerbated.

 

Heritage has three proposals on the table for that shopping center.

 

"There is no way anyone could have gotten into a shopping center Sunday," he said.

 

Bainbridge trustees will meet today with representatives from the state and county to discuss the Heritage project and, among other topics, state funding that might be available for road improvements.

 

Jack Bateman, vice president and general manager of Six Flags, told Godzich the park had a labor union picnic at the park Sunday. He theorized to Godzich that families took separate cars instead of all riding together.

 

A large crowd had been was projected for Sunday, but not an extremely large crowd. No other groups were scheduled Sunday.

 

Bateman told Godzich that Saturday's attendance was comparable to Sunday's. On Sunday, he said the park attracted only a few hundred more people. Yet they came in a lot more cars.

 

Godzich said because overflow parking was all the way to the east, in the back of the park, traffic patterns might have been disrupted once the main lot filled. Not only were there a lot of cars, they were being directed to different parts of parking lot, he said.

 

Additionally, people walking through traffic caused stops and starts, he said.

 

"It all contributed," Godzich said.

 

Bateman was not available for comment. His receptionist directed reporters' calls to Shannon D'Sidocky, public relations manager for Six Flags.

 

She said officials were actively looking at options for parking. Primarily, they are focusing on directing patrons to lots at Silverhorn Camping Resort and the Aurora Woodlands Hotel, then shuttling them to the park, she said.

 

Both facilities and Six Flags are owned by Premier Parks Inc.

 

She said this expanded parking would be available as soon as possible, but no date was available.

 

"We're going to be very proactive," she said.

 

She said the park might install signs along Aurora Road notifying patrons of parking conditions as they approach the park.

 

Jimison said it was the first time in his experience there was not enough parking at the park.

 

Godzich said Solon police got only two complaints from people driving to the park on 422. They called on their cellular phones to find out what the problem was.

 

Godzich said no complaints came from Solon residents on Aurora Road, who often get blocked by park traffic in the summer.

 

© 2000 Sun Newspapers

 

 

Seems funny looking backward. Six Flags could pack 'em in.

[ECZenith]

I think it's funny that they try to make up for the fact that they're losing two coasters by telling everyone there's going to be new shows, food and... cornhole.

 

X-Flight > Cornhole...

 

Hopefully that whole area that's being emptied out will become the spot of one major new ride in the future, that place needs a solid new thrill ride.

[DarkMeasures]

I still don't know what a cornhole is.... I can only think of bums....

[cjeagle35]

I don't think you can blame the average person for thinking that the park could be closing soon. They don't see the business side of the issue. They don't realize how much Steel Venom and X-Flight cost to operate. They don't see this will help the park's profits so much by not having these large coasters to run. All they see is that coasters are leaving, and nothing is going in to replace them. So they just think that logically, the park will be gone soon. I think this is a smart move for Cedar Fair, it will obviously help the park's profits. But they had to see the bad publicity they were going to recieve. They couldn't have expected to get rid of the park's 2 biggest rides without making people think they were "liquidating" the park. I just hope CF's next investment into the park is something that will help the park return to its "local family park" roots. Guess we will have to just wait and see.