Geauga Lake Discussion Thread

[MagnumForce]

A bullet train eh?

 

Well the parks are about 70 miles apart straight line distance and a bullet train woudl cost about 20 million a mile by the time you figure river crossings, no at grade crossings, buying very valuable property, etc etc plus the added cost of the trains themselves.

 

I could really see them spending a billion and a half dollars on such a venture.

 

Honestly I think they need to take a Hershey/Dutch Wonderland approach with the whole thing.

 

Those two parks seem to work very well together, and many people go to both of them on a vacation.

[thepoint4life23]

will not that i know this nm. but for the coaster i could neaver see cp taking a coaster from anorther park that is not how they work

[thepoint4life23]

now knowing that i change my mind.and for cp move takeing a ride from gl i dont see them doing that thats now how they work

[FlyingScooter]

^What?

[coaster1]

Wow .. those two posts made absoutley no sense at all ...

[Homer]

http://www.geaugalake.com/public/news/announcements.cfm

 

Oh the irony...

 

If you heard the announcement and saw the concept art last year. Wildwater Kingdom was announced over the old "Wild Life/Sea World" side of SFWoA. A big piece of concept art was all over coaster fansites and looked like an overall better water park. We knew, 2006 would bring Phase II, which looked to be like a bunch of family slides and a new wave pool.

 

The announcement? A new wave pool. Then check out the season closure date at the bottom of the article. Guess theres no halloween event for the park this year. Thats just sad, especially for a park that has been running an event like that for years.

[PhishyBrewer]

^I wonder if my old office is still there? Sorry... just a random thought.

[SonOfBeastSucks]

I wasn't expecting anything for the park at all, and you don't live near the park anyway so I don't feel sorry for you. Actauly, if I was in charge at CF, I would have GL closed forever by now; the attendance is too bad to keep the park open. This is just me from a business point of view! I visited the park once when it was SFWOA. It was fun, but nothing to bring me back again anytime soon.

[robbalvey]

^ I agree. I'm wondering how much longer it will be before GL gets the Astroworld treatment.

 

Think about it - a new coaster for just about every other CF park!

 

CP can take Knight Flight & Villain

Dorney could get SUE

WoF could get X-Flight

Valleyfair could get the SLC

Michigan's Adventure could get the Boomerang

Knott's could get some of the flat rides

 

and there's a lot of water slides that can be split up between all the company's water parks too!

 

I originally only gave this park 5 years under CF management before it was closed and everything split up. Seems it might take a little longer, but I just can't see them keeping this park open forever.

 

--Robb "Sad, I know...." Alvey

[coasterdude5]

I've said this tons of times, I say the public is revolting because they took Shamu away!!

 

Seriously, I think this is where the park went wrong. (But CF couldn't have really done anything for that)

[GAcoaster]

I've said this tons of times, I say the public is revolting because they took Shamu away!!

 

Seriously, I think this is where the park went wrong. (But CF couldn't have really done anything for that)

 

They COULD have kept it an animal park (and they might have to in order to survive).

[Real]

Actually, GL reported lower attendance than its first year under CF. Is CF the cause? I dont think so. I just think being so close to CP does hurt attendance a bit.

 

However, I think NOT having any new rides kills it. The waterpark is a draw and helps with all parks but its not such a killer water park that people flock to it ala Holiday World.

 

 

so I think this was just a move to help increase profits.

[Kroger8]

If the waterpark is the draw then, why not close down the park, let the other CF parks benefit from the rides, and just make money off of a waterpark, and inclose it or something so it could be open year round.

[Real]

Beats me but its capital investment. Look at the Paramount parks. The money they rake in alone from the water parks is insane!

 

Same for HW. If you look at attendance, it increased every time they had a major water park expansion - not a new coaster (Though, voyage could do that on its own).

 

 

Im really not sure though Kroger. I do definatly feel that the move to shorten the season was due to lack of attendance and thus, losses for GL. I like GL and I think its a good park with a good selection of unique rides. Big Dipper better never be torn down. Im sure after its retracked, as long as they keep those trains it will be SWEET. Theres potential for tons of airtime once the tretrack gets done.

[Kroger8]

Yea I see what you mean, on a weekday in summer you can't even think about getting into Water Works at Carowinds, let alone on a weekend or next season when it becomes Boomerang Bay! Who knows though, it may just be a slow season and pick up next year.

 

This kind of reminds me of SFOG, though its not the same situation, but weren't they thinking about making a waterpark inside SF if the new waterpark complex there gets enough attention? Will they keep Whitewater on the other side of Atlanta or sell it off, because it is a HUGE money maker! I mean are they thinking of moving most of Whitewater's attractions to SF? I doubt it but who knows!

 

If they kept the waterpark open in its location and moved the park, which would cost a ton and may be more than its worth, or the opposite. They may need to focus on just one part of the park and see if it generates more money.

[Hercules]

I just think this was a really dumb move in the first place.

 

Anyway, going off of Robb's assumption, I could see Dorney getting that impulse. There have been rumors about it for a while now and it would probably take the place of Laser. I would rather see a wood, but I guess it would make sense. I wouldn't be that happy about it, but whatever.

[Dailey Enterprizes]

This is big news around here since Geauga Lake is one of Kennywood's major competitors. I personally liked most of the rides at Geauga Lake and was really hoping for major improvements, but it's a tough business. It's going to suck if the park does get the "Astroworld" treatment. Buyers for Geauga Lake anyone... please.

[lapseofreason]

^ I agree. I'm wondering how much longer it will be before GL gets the Astroworld treatment.

 

Awww, that would suck... I grew up in Cleveland and that was the first park I ever went to; I still love it.

[CoasterFanatic]

I'm wondering how much longer it will be before GL gets the Astroworld treatment.

 

I really hope that it does not come to that. Geauga Lake is a fairly strong park with close proximity to Cleveland and one of the few places that many local families travel too. I think their construction of the new waterpark is evidence alone that they plan to root themselves at that location.

 

The park has a great history and doesn't really belong in the same category as Astroworld. Geauga lake is somewhere around 120 years old! It has roots as a traditional Amusement Park.

 

What I really want to see is Cedar Fair use it as an experiment. Just take a page from the Holiday World book. Get the woodies in tip top shape, offer free parking and raft rental and see if it actually turns it around. You just might find that people will come back if given the reason.

 

This isn't to say that the park is BAD. They have made great improvements over the last two years and ride operations are better than they have been in 10+ years. It is just that the place could be really special.

[Mind Eraser]

Hurricane Hannah's is the worst name I've ever heard. The whole complex deserves to be shut down because of that name alone.

[lapseofreason]

Hurricane Hannah's is the worst name I've ever heard. The whole complex deserves to be shut down because of that name alone.

 

I know... that and the whole rest of the park. Everything SF built, they gave a halfway decent name. Now they're all really lame. I mean, look at it:

 

Beaver Land Mine Ride (um, I think that was Road Runner Express)

Dominator (Batman Knight Flight. On a side note, I've heard that they play Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine" in the queue nowadays... can anyone vouch for this?)

Head Spin (Mind Eraser)

Steel Venom (Superman Ultimate...Flight? It's been a while)

Thunderhawk (Serial Thriller)

 

Obviously I didn't include goodies that didn't have a name change:

Big Dipper (awesome at night, especially when it's slow or just before close, they send you through twice)

Villain (take my word for it...NEVER ride this in the rain)

Raging Wolf Bobs (sometimes shaky, sometimes not... go figure)

Double Loop (what a great, classic 90 second ride by Arrow)

 

...and the almighty X-Flight, which I'm hoping Tatsu will somewhat resemble.

 

Oh, and gone but not forgotten, my first coaster (at 9 years old)... that awesome corkscrew one that they took out to build Mind Eraser. What a lame tradeoff, IMHO!!

 

 

-amanda

[OzCatter]

WOF could afford the flyer!

 

Lovely idea Robb

[EastCoastn07]

I'm appalled at how little some of you guys actually know about this park. Astroworld treatment? Come one guys, in the third quarter earning it was even stated that Geauga Lake's attendance has been improving since WWK was put in. Even if the locals are mad they took the animals out, it was still stated that attendance has rosed somewhere around 19% from last season (2004). I mean read this:

 

"In addition, results at Geauga Lake continued to improve as the park’s new water park area grew in popularity as the season went on."

Source: http://www.cedarfair.com/ir/press_releases/index.cfm

 

"In August, attendance at our seasonal parks was led by a 7% increase at Dorney Park, a 23% increase at Michigan’s Adventure, and an 8% increase at our five seasonal water parks, two of which continued to benefit from the hot, dry weather in the Midwest. In addition, attendance at our newest park, Geauga Lake, was up approximately 19%, or 33,000 visits, from August 2004, as the park’s new water park continued to gain in popularity."

Source: http://www.cedarfair.com/ir/press_releases/index.cfm

 

Obviously WWK is helping the park out a lot but it's cuts like this that aren't going to help the park. Someone mentioned above that the park is going to need new rides every year or two to keep people interested. But this park is not going to end up like Astroworld, Cedar Fair would not give up on a park they spent 145 million to get ahold of and 18+ million on WWK. I don't know why you guys are planning where the coasters are going, because GL isn't going anywhere...as long as they show some sort of increase in attendance CF isn't going to give up on the park.

 

Besides, you act as if the entire CF park hasn't been slacking. GL and MiA by that press release are the two parks that have been having the most increase in attendance, I mean the chains pride and joy park, Cedar Point is down 2% in attendance, so are we going to be saying that omg it's going to end up like Astroworld as well? Just because there were cuts on WWK doesn't mean the company is giving up on the park. Companies make cuts all the time so I don't know why you guys are making such a big deal over this about. GL is not going anywhere.

[PhishyBrewer]

It is also rumored that Bart Kinzel, VP of Food Op and son of Dick, is going to try and open a TGIFriday's in the park.

 

WWFD? (What Would Falfas Do?)

[EastCoastn07]

Hmm, seems like GL got rid of most of their chain restaurants in the park. I don't know about that. I'm just curious if they are putting any shops at all in Phase 2 of the waterpark.