Geauga Lake Discussion Thread

[Rollerman87]

The Villain photo makes me happy. Another crap ride that will not be missed.

 

Yep. Now if only Predator, SOB, J2, GhostRider, Voyage, etc. would join Villain in the coaster afterlife.

 

OK, out of all of those, I've only been on Villain, Ghostrider and Voyage. If you're going to insist on putting Ghostrider and Voyage in the same category of hell as Villain, then I shall be forced to refer to you, sir, as a nincompoop.

 

Maybe I caught Ghostrider on a good day. Yes, Voyage is too intense to ride 4,000 times in a row. But I wanted off the Villain before I even got to the lift. It was so bad it made me mad. My teeth ache thinking about it and I had low expectations to begin with.

 

I actually added Voyage to that list as a joke.

 

I was wondering. The Voyage is a new Gravity Group coaster. I haven't ridden it, but hey

 

As for Ghostrider (only one I've done), I would definitely put it up there with Villain. For a steel support strusture, I found Villain to be even more painful than Mean Streak at Cedar Point (which I hated). I was glad they had taken the trick track out before I came.

 

That is still sad to see this park going, especially since it really did have some potential. But Cedar Fair and the economy, what can you do.

[carolinacaniac]

So we know that Dipper is planned for being "rebuilt", Villain, Double Loop and likely Raging Wolf Bobs are scrap; Dominator, Thunderhawk, X-Flight and Steel Venom were relocated; and Head Spin is rumored to be heading to Carowinds. Has there been anything about Beaver Land Mine Ride yet, or is it an unkown dissapearance for now?

[jamesdillaman]

The Villain photo makes me happy. Another crap ride that will not be missed.

 

Yep. Now if only Predator, SOB, J2, GhostRider, Voyage, etc. would join Villain in the coaster afterlife.

 

OK, out of all of those, I've only been on Villain, Ghostrider and Voyage. If you're going to insist on putting Ghostrider and Voyage in the same category of hell as Villain, then I shall be forced to refer to you, sir, as a nincompoop.

 

Maybe I caught Ghostrider on a good day. Yes, Voyage is too intense to ride 4,000 times in a row. But I wanted off the Villain before I even got to the lift. It was so bad it made me mad. My teeth ache thinking about it and I had low expectations to begin with.

 

I actually added Voyage to that list as a joke.

 

You forgot Cyclone at SFNE... ouch...

 

-James Dillaman

[Goliath513]

Why? The Raging wolf bobs at Geauga lake was the first coaster i EVER rode, Double loop shortly after, my aunt took me on both when i was just barely tall enough

Dude, take it easy. My first coaster didn't even last 5 years. Windjammer is long gone and you don't hear me badmouthing Cedar Fair about that. Other things I dislike about Cedar Fair - yes. But for Windjammer, no negative feelings there.

 

 

 

The Villain photo makes me happy. Another crap ride that will not be missed.

 

Yep. Now if only Predator, SOB, J2, GhostRider, Voyage, etc. would join Villain in the coaster afterlife.

 

OK, out of all of those, I've only been on Villain, Ghostrider and Voyage. If you're going to insist on putting Ghostrider and Voyage in the same category of hell as Villain, then I shall be forced to refer to you, sir, as a nincompoop.

 

Maybe I caught Ghostrider on a good day. Yes, Voyage is too intense to ride 4,000 times in a row. But I wanted off the Villain before I even got to the lift. It was so bad it made me mad. My teeth ache thinking about it and I had low expectations to begin with.

Where is Mean Streak on this list? Have you not forgotten how terrible this ride is. I like what you said about wanting off the ride even before clearing the lift hill. I felt the same way about Mean Streak. Trimmed to death combined with insane levels of jackhammering make it a ride not even worthy of Cedar Fair having to pay money to demolish it. They could invite all us anti-Mean Streak people to pay them to have the chance to destroy it for them.

 

As for Ghostrider, I disagree about it being a bad ride. I actually enjoy it. Although it is very intense, it is fast too unlike Mean Streak. It provides that real out of control thrill which woodies are known for. Mean Streak, well lets just say I got more of a thrill waiting to ride it than I did on it.

[verticalzero]

What I can't understand is why "Cedar Fair" did not give the "BD" away to any theme park who wanted it with no charge and "CF" can pay for moving and rebuilding it.

 

CF are a huge company and they can afford something like this if the so called " Historic" coaster is worth saving that much, everyone knew if the BD was sold in auction then it would have a 90% chance it would never run again.

 

Big Dipper's future in doubt; preservation plans momentarily derailed

 

Michael Dery remembers rumbling along the tracks of the Big Dipper for the first time as an 8-year-old.

 

"My cousin was telling me to scream, and that's all we did throughout the whole ride," he said.

 

Now 39, Dery said he probably has ridden Geauga Lake's historic roller coaster at least 100 times. But the Cleveland native is afraid he may never ride it again, now that any plans to preserve it seem to have derailed.

 

Like other Big Dipper fans, Dery was optimistic that the 83-year-old ride could be saved after it was bought at auction last month along with all other remnants of the Bainbridge Township amusement park. Geauga Lake shut down last fall when Sandusky-based parent company Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. announced the business was not profitable.

 

 

Tom Woosnam of Apex Western Machinery Movers in Akron made the only bid for the Big Dipper, buying it for $5,000. At the time, he said he was acting on behalf of a local company that wanted to move the ride and preserve it for historical purposes.

 

Woosnam said the buyer wished to remain unidentified until announcing plans for the ride and the Raging Wolf Bobs, a more modern wooden coaster he also bought at the auction.

 

But formal plans were never announced, and Woosnam apparently has tried to market the Big Dipper to ride-preservation groups. The Raging Wolf Bobs attraction appears to be a goner: Foot-long sections of its track are for sale on eBay.com for $250.

 

 

Making the move

 

Moving the Big Dipper would cost between $2 million and $4 million, according to the American Coaster Enthusiasts. Here's what's involved:

 

• The setup of the coaster would be well documented through drawings and photographs.

 

• All steel track would be removed and transported to a warehouse, as well as the motor, chain, chain trough, wheels, sprockets, cars, controls, brakes and other components.

 

• The frame of the coaster would be disassembled by crane. Any reusable wood would be bundled and shipped to be stored.

 

• A site similar to the original would be chosen for the ride and graded to match in contour as closely as possible.

 

• New and salvaged wood would be used to construct the coaster's frame. New concrete grade beams and footings would be needed

 

• The old steel track and components would be fitted to the rebuilt frame.

Members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts were skeptical of Woosnam's intentions from the beginning and upset that Cedar Fair's decision to auction the Big Dipper spoiled their own plans for the coaster.

 

Richard Munch and Carole Sanderson, ACE executive committee members and employees of Cleveland-based Herschman Architects, had joined forces with a "major local developer" to try to buy most of the Geauga Lake property and keep the coaster where it is. The group was one of four to put sealed bids in on the property that Cedar Fair began marketing after the park closed. The Big Dipper and a historic coaster museum would have been the centerpiece of a complex featuring shops, entertainment and dining set on the lake, Munch said. A portion of the 540-acre parcel would have included residential development.

 

But when the developer heard that the coaster had been auctioned, he withdrew his offer, Munch said.

 

Shortly after, Munch said, Woosnam offered to donate the coaster to ACE on the condition that his company would be hired to disassemble the ride for hundreds of thousands of dollars. That does not include the more expensive process of putting the ride back together. Munch said ACE does not plan to take him up on the offer.

 

Woosnam also offered to sell components of the ride, including the historic rail cars, for about $100,000, a sign that he isn't concerned about keeping the ride intact, Munch said. Someone claiming to be Woosnam also has marketed the coaster online. A message posted on the Web site of the National Amusement Park Historical Association shortly after the auction offered the Big Dipper to "any group or organization that can pay to have them removed from the park."

 

Asked for updates on plans for the ride, Woosnam repeatedly has said he is not in a position to comment on behalf of the unidentified buyer.

 

Munch said it probably would take a miracle for things to turn around and for his project to go forward at this point. But he's optimistic that the ride, and maybe even part of the park, will be preserved, depending on who the final owners are.

 

He said ACE would continue to support the cause. "Personally, I wished that the local municipalities, boards, mayors and trustees would have been more involved in maybe saving the park or at least the ride," Munch said. "It's not every day that you lose a century of history because of a land deal."

 

The Big Dipper was the first major ride installed at Geauga Lake, which opened in 1888, Dery said.

 

"To me, the Big Dipper was always the ride that defined the park, even with all the newer stuff added later on," he said.

 

"I'd like to have the chance to ride it again. At the rate things are going, I don't think that's going to happen."

[robbalvey]

Looks like all that's left of Villain is the first drop and midcourse.

 

It's kind of weird how 2 of the CCI's built in 2000 are now gone (Villain & Hurricane) and I'd say Megazeph has very little chance of survival.

 

How many other woodies built in the past 30 years lasted less than 10 years? Is it a sign that CCI's really didn't perform well over time or just a coincidence?

 

--Robb

[ginzo]

It's kind of weird how 2 of the CCI's built in 2000 are now gone (Villain & Hurricane) and I'd say Megazeph has very little chance of survival.

 

How many other woodies built in the past 30 years lasted less than 10 years? Is it a sign that CCI's really didn't perform well over time or just a coincidence?

 

I'm blaming the G-trains.

[robbalvey]

^ Good point. And Twisted Twins (Sisters) is now closed too...also with the Gerstlauer trains!

 

--Robb "Why doesn't anyone ever spell out Gerstlauer?" Alvey

[carolinacaniac]

What CCI's are left that have the gerstlauer trains (Not including Twisted Twins or Mega Zeph since they are SBNO)? The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Cheetah in Wild Adventures.

[robbalvey]

^ Doesn't Medusa in Mexico have them also?

[carolinacaniac]

According to RCDB it does.

 

I remember going down to Myrtle Beach for New Years Eve 1999 (my family's first New Years Eve after moving from Washington State) and much of the Pavilion was covered in dirt at the time for construction of the Hurricane. We also went Memorial Day in its first year of operation (2000), but didn't get a chance to ride it. I did get a chance to visit the park in its closing season.

 

Until you mentioned it, it never really hit me how little time there really was between our New Years visit in 99/00 and the day I visited the park, which was only a bit more than a month before the last day of the park.

[verticalzero]

Nearly gone

[verticalzero]

2 track views of one of the roughest coasters on the planet.

[verticalzero]

A recent video taken from a Plane which shows what is left of the park:

 

http://www.wkyc.com/news/regional/akron_article.aspx?storyid=94444&catid=6

 

It's the end of the first week of August and the demolition of Geauga Lake amusement park is almost done.

 

Cedar Fair, the company that owns Cedar Point and dozens of amusement parks across North America, closed the park in September 2007, then auctioned off the rides and equipment this summer on June 17-18.

 

What's still standing? Basically, just the historic Big Dipper roller coaster, the Raging Wolf Bobs roller coaster, the Skyscraper observation tower and the main entrance building.

 

Last week, large, orange-colored, spray-painted "X's" appeared on most of the remaining buildings and large demolition equipment has arrived at the park.

 

The Americana Ferris wheel has been dismantled and moved to another park. The fate of the carousel is unknown but it, like the Americana, was not auctioned off.

 

The Big Dipper and the Raging Wolf Bobs were sold June 17 to the same unnamed buyer for $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.

 

Tom Woosnam, of Akron-based Apex Western Machinery Movers, made the successful bids on behalf of the unknown buyer.

 

Woosnam said the Big Dipper, built by John A. Miller, erected in 1926, and one of the oldest roller coasters in existence, would be moved to an undisclosed location.

 

It's still there at Geauga Lake and Woosnam has offered the Big Dipper to anyone who wants to buy it.

 

Last month, one piece of the Raging Wolf Bobs' "extra" track was sold on eBay for $250.

 

Also on June 17, the 1974 Itamin Skyscraper observation tower was sold for scrap for $12,500. Now its owner is offering it on eBay for $50,000.

 

During the auction, Michigan-based Norton Auctioneers said the land needed to be cleared as soon as possible so all the rides were to be moved, removed or demolished.

 

The 600-acre park land is being sold for re-development. It was divided into three parcels and the 11-acre parcel with the Geauga Lake Hotel on it is under contract by a non-profit group.

 

The remaining acreage? About 110 acres on the west end of the park is under contract to an unnamed developer for retail development and the 440 other acres, between the 110 acres and the hotel, is under contract to an unnamed developer for a residential development.

 

As of today (Friday), a contractor continued to remove the steel tracks from the Raging Wolf Bobs to sell for scrap.

 

The Villain roller coaster is long gone.

[CoasterFanatic]

^ That video is incredibly depressing.

[montezooma]

 

It's kind of weird how 2 of the CCI's built in 2000 are now gone (Villain & Hurricane) and I'd say Megazeph has very little chance of survival.

 

How many other woodies built in the past 30 years lasted less than 10 years? Is it a sign that CCI's really didn't perform well over time or just a coincidence?

 

--Robb

 

That's not really a fair statement. Those two coasters you mentioned where not torn down because they didn't perform well. It is more of the parks they where in did not perform well. Had those coasters been in parks that are still operating, my guess is they would still be standing.

 

And as for Megazeph...it did survive one of the nations greatest natural disasters...I'd say that performed pretty well!

[ginzo]

That's not really a fair statement. Those two coasters you mentioned where not torn down because they didn't perform well. It is more of the parks they where in did not perform well. Had those coasters been in parks that are still operating, my guess is they would still be standing.

 

And as for Megazeph...it did survive one of the nations greatest natural disasters...I'd say that performed pretty well!

 

I think what Robb was suggesting was that the performance of the parks is influenced by the performance of their coasters, usually the biggest draw in any park. Of course, it's not fair to boil it all down to that because a coaster is just an inanimate object and it's ultimately up to management to see that people come in through the gate by hook or by crook.

 

However, there are a lot of examples of newish CCI coasters that have gone completely to hell. I rode Villain last year and it was easily a bottom 5 woodie because of its roughness. Is this because of park neglect, a poor product, or some combination of the two?

 

I'm still blaming the Gerstlauer trains. (Happy Robb?)

[ImagineIt797]

I'm going to have to go with park neglect. Any time I went to Geauga Lake and i've been there twice the park was just sort of run down and the employees acted like they could care less so I think that the park was deemed by Cedar Fair to be a lost cause without really trying. A little bit of money could have done wonders for the park I think.

[CoasterFanatic]

I can definitely see where Robb, gets his logic from. The only coasters built by CCI after 2000 that are worth a damn were either finished by the park themselves or had park owners smart enough to put PTC trains on them.

 

From my understanding, CCI owed PTC so much money that they would no longer deliver trains to any site for them. So park owners went and got them on their own and some didn't.

 

From 2000 on:

 

The Good:

New Mexico Rattler (Park finished construction, PTC)

Cornball Express (PTC)

Boulder Dash (PTC)

Legend (PTC)

 

The Bad:

Boss

Medusa

Cheeta

 

The Dead:

Hurricane

Villian

Mega Zeph

[KPfreak519]

Don't know if it has been mentioned or not, but according to rcdb the Beaver Land Mine Ride is going to a park in France for next year. Link

[verticalzero]

A section of the former Geauga Lake's Raging Wolf Bobs roller coaster and the chassis of an original coaster car became part of the Geauga County Historical Society's Century Village.

 

The 16-foot long by 9-foot wide by 5-foot high section of track and the coaster car were donated by Ray Edgehouse Jr.

 

On July 8, Edgehouse bought the Raging Wolf Bobs from Apex Western Machiner Movers, the Akron-based company that bought the coaster for $2,500 at the Geauga Lake auction in June.

 

Edgehouse was also selling parts of the Wolf Bobs on eBay.

 

Apex's Tom Woosnam represented the actual, still-unknown buyer of the Wolf Bobs and the Big Dipper at the June ride auction at Geauga Lake.

 

"I want nothing more than to preserve a section of this ride for my (children) and everyone else's children," Edgehouse told Channel 3 News.

 

The society said ARMS Trucking and Ronyak Paving Company, both of Burton, donated their time and equipment to bring the section of track and the coaster car to Century Village on East Park Street in downtown Burton.

 

The car will need renovation and the society is seeking donations for this purpose.

 

The society was also recently given the building that housed the Hay Baler ride at the former Geauga Lake.

 

It's developing plans to reconstruct this building at Century Village to house a welcome center, museum store, exhibit hall, offices and storage for the museum's 15,000 artifacts.

 

The society also hopes to develop a "Geauga Lake Amusement Park" exhibit in the Hay Baler building over the next few years with Edgehouse's gifts being the centerpieces of the exhibit.

 

A funding plan is currently being developed.

 

The society bought Geauga Lake's Palace Theater and its contents and a pavilion.

 

The Palace Theater is where magic acts were performed in the later years of the park.

 

The society plans to add a second floor to the theater and use half of the first floor for a Geauga Lake museum, offices and the second floor for storage of Geauga Lake items.

 

The Hay Baler building was the home of the 1976 Mack Himalaya Matterhorn ride and was donated to the society.

 

The Palace Theater was purchased for $1,000 and was the main reason the society went to Norton Auctioneers' Geauga Lake auction June 17-18.

 

The pavilion cost $4,500, all of which was funded by a grant.

 

Both the Palace Theater and the pavilion have already been moved to the historical society's Century Village in Burton.

 

The pavilion will be the base for the new Ohio Maple Museum.

 

The society is looking for donations to pay for the reconstruction of the buildings.

 

In 1988, as part of its centennial celebration, Geauga Lake Amusement Park unveiled the Raging Wolf Bobs roller coaster.

 

The $2 million wooden coaster was 3,506 feet long and reached a height of 80 feet above ground.

 

With the cars obtaining speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, the ride took 2 minutes to complete.

 

It ceased operations in June, 2007 shortly before Geauga Lake Amusement Park closed for good in September 2007.

 

In existence since 1938, the society is the only living history center in Geauga County.

 

Through its role as curator, it supports the Century Village Museum, consisting of 22 historic buildings and 6 support structures in downtown Burton.

 

The museum provides tours to more than 5,000 school children from 60 schools each year and hosts numerous major annual events highlighting various cultural aspects of the Western Reserve.

[robbalvey]

 

It's kind of weird how 2 of the CCI's built in 2000 are now gone (Villain & Hurricane) and I'd say Megazeph has very little chance of survival.

 

How many other woodies built in the past 30 years lasted less than 10 years? Is it a sign that CCI's really didn't perform well over time or just a coincidence?

 

--Robb

 

That's not really a fair statement. Those two coasters you mentioned where not torn down because they didn't perform well. It is more of the parks they where in did not perform well. Had those coasters been in parks that are still operating, my guess is they would still be standing.

 

And as for Megazeph...it did survive one of the nations greatest natural disasters...I'd say that performed pretty well!

What I was saying, to make it a little more clear, is that had those two coasters been highly ranked at the time of their closure would more parks had been chomping at the bit to try to move them?

 

Villain dropped from #17 to #116 on Mitch Hawker's Poll. Had it still been a top 20 ranked coaster when it closed would we see it in the scrap pile or being moved to another location as a marketable new attraction?

 

That's more what I was getting at.

 

--Robb

[verticalzero]

It's been just over 60 days since Geauga Lake amusement park's Big Dipper roller coaster was auctioned off for $5,000, although it will take about $1 million to dismantle and move it.

 

Sandusky-based Cedar Fair Entertainment owns Cedar Point and Geauga Lake, among many other amudement parks.

 

Cedar Fair's chief executive told financial analysts Thursday that two of the three bids for the three parcels that make up the 550-acre park were not high enough to make their sales worthwhile for Cedar Fair.

 

Those two parcels make up all but 11 acres of the property.

 

"We think the land is worth more," Kinzel said. That means that the sale of the park land is on hold indefinitely.

 

That could be good news for those trying to save the Big Dipper roller coaster.

 

While all but one of the other rides sold at the auction have been removed from the park, no one, including Cedar Fair, has learned who the real Dipper buyer is.

 

The Big Dipper stands untouched and in "limbo" in the park, with no new destination in sight where it would stand unoperating as a "nostalgia piece" or be put back into operation.

 

The undisclosed buyer's bidder at the on-site auction, Tom Woosnam of Akron-based Apex Western Machinery Movers, said June 17 that the buyer would be revealed in about two weeks.

 

But that has changed and, since a July 11 email to Channel 3 News, Woosnam has said that the buyer has changed his mind and will not be disclosing his name.

 

It's now Woosnam, the only visible face on the fate of the coaster -- not Cedar Fair or the unnamed buyer -- at the center of the firestorm about the ultimate placement of the historic roller coaster.

 

Posters on amusement park fan and ride Web sites still upset that Cedar Fair closed the park at all now worry that this "undisclosed buyer" doesn't even exist at all.

 

Woosnam sold the Raging Wolf Bobs to Clevelander Ray Edgehouse Jr. on July 8 and Edgehouse began selling the Bobs piece by piece on eBay three weeks ago. Edgehouse, who contacted Channel 3 News Thursday, also donated a section of the track and a coaster car to the Geauga County Historical Society.

 

American Coaster Enthusiasts, a fan organization, got worried in July when someone who claimed to be Woosnam began offering the Big Dipper for sale on a Sandusky Web site.

 

The only ride or item in the June 17-18 auction that required Cedar Fair's approval of the buyer was the Big Dipper.

 

If they didn't and still don't know who bought it, how can Cedar Fair spokesman Robin Innes say "it's a very special ride. We want to make sure it has a proper home" and make sure it is taken care of if they had and have no idea who bought it?

 

"We based it on his intention that they were going to keep the ride intact," Innes told Channel 3 News last week.

 

Keeping the historic 1926 roller coaster ride intact and not demolishing it, whether it operated again or not, was ACE's hope.

 

With today's news from Kinzel, bulldozers don't seem to be headed towards bulldozing the land anytime soon.

 

Colliers International was marketing the parcels and is moving forward with the third bidder for the 11-acre parcel where a non-profit group wants to buy all 11 acres and the small Geauga Lake hotel on the property.

 

The bidder for the parcel where the Big Dipper stands wants to develop the land for mixed-use retail/commercial.

 

Innes said last week that there is "no rush" to clear any of the land quickly and that the remnants of the park buildings and facilities are also still being dismantled.

 

Innes also commented on the fate of two other park rides that were not included in the auction -- the 1926 Illions carousel and the Americana ferris wheel.

 

"The carousel is still at the park and it will soon be transported elsewhere for rehabilitation and it will be put in another Cedar Fair Park," Innes said.

 

"The ferris wheel has been dissembled and transported to another location and will be put in another Cedar Fair park," he added.

 

Innes declined to name the park or parks the two rides were destined for.

 

Of the two rides that were auctioned off, the Big Dipper and the Itamin Skyscraper are still in place at the park. Innes said of the Skyscraper, "Eventually, it will be removed."

 

The Skyscraper observation tower ride was sold for scrap at the auction but the buyer resold it on eBay for $50,000.

[verticalzero]

Since the final closing of Geauga Lake amusement park by its owner Cedar Fair in September 2007, the fate of the Big Dipper roller coaster has attracted much attention. As its final day of operation dawned on September 16, 2007, the Big Dipper stood as the 12th oldest operating roller coaster in the world and the 7th oldest in North America, older than all 17 roller coasters at Cedar Point, Cedar Fair's other northern Ohio amusement park. Dating back to 1925, it is one of the last of hundreds designed by John Miller, a prolific inventor whose innovations such as the safety chain dog and underfriction wheel are used on virtually every new roller coaster being built today.

 

When the remaining rides and remnants of Geauga Lake amusement park were auctioned on June 17, 2008, the Big Dipper was the only ride sold subject to Cedar Fair's approval of the buyer. As a Cedar Fair spokesman stated at the time, "It's a very special ride. We want to make sure it has a proper home."

 

After some auction day controversy, involving a statement by Norton Auctioneers that the Big Dipper had previously been offered for free to the American Coaster Enthusiasts (a claim unanimously disputed by the group's leadership), the roller coaster was sold at auction to Tom Woosnam of APEX Western Machinery Movers of Akron, Ohio. According to Tom Woosnam, he purchased the ride on behalf of an unnamed buyer who planned to preserve it, perhaps as a non-operating "nostalgia piece", although other statements also seemed to hint that it might possibly run again. Cedar Fair was apparently satisfied that the buyer would provide a "good home" for the ride because the sale was approved that same night. With the word that the Big Dipper would be preserved, the public relaxed.

 

Tom Woosnam indicated at the June 17 auction that the plans for the ride would be announced in about a week. The end of June came and went, and no plans were announced. Demolition of the rest of the park began.

 

On July 9, the Aurora Advocate reported that Tom Woosnam had informed it that plans for the Big Dipper would be announced "by the end of the week." The end of July came and went, and no plans were announced. The fate of the Raging Wolf Bobs, another roller coaster purchased by Tom Woosnam at the auction, did become clear, however, as pieces began appearing on ebay. The Raging Wolf Bobs will not run again.

 

Cedar Fair, Tom Woosnam and the unnamed buyer could reap years of goodwill by saving the Big Dipper. Cedar Fair has the resources to relocate it, and in fact has done so with many other Geauga Lake rides. Keeping the ride on site in conjunction with Cedar Fair's Wildwater Kingdom water park (built in 2005 on the site of the former SeaWorld Ohio) or as part of a scaled-down entertainment district remain possibilities. Two other structures that are over half a century old, the park's Ballroom and Palace Theater (originally a Fun House built in the 1940s) could also be incorporated into future development on the site, if they are preserved. Nevertheless, fears are growing that the Big Dipper will become yet another victim of this age of disposability.

 

Cedar Fair has enjoyed very little positive press in the wake of closing Geauga Lake forever after the end of the season without advance notice. As the world awaits the fate of the Big Dipper, rumors of protests and boycotts circulate in corners of the Internet. It is certain that images of the destruction of the ride, or its aftermath, would circulate far and wide. The future of the Big Dipper was the most widely covered aspect of the Geauga Lake closing, and its final fate will certainly attract widespread media coverage.

 

In the meantime, those wanting to see the ride preserved can only hope that Cedar Fair's actions will ultimately be consistent with its statement that "It's a very special ride. We want to make sure it has a proper home."

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

I can't understand why Cedar Fair said "Cedar Fair's actions will ultimately be consistent with its statement that "It's a very special ride. We want to make sure it has a proper home."

 

If they think the ride is so special why has the coaster not been sent to one of the other Cedar Fair Parks.

 

They will leave it at GL for a few years then tell everyone "We will have to raze the BD cos it's cheaper to do this rather than save it". everyone get pissed at CF and boycott's Kings Island and Cedar Point for a year in protest.

[robbalvey]

Here is another article on the state of GL from October 2008:

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=99111&provider=top

 

Some photos below: