WildWater Kingdom/ Geauga Lake Last Day Ptr

[nhman93]

As many of you may have heard this past season was the last for Wildwater Kingdom aka the last remaining piece of Geauga Lake and Sea World Ohio and I was fortunate enough to attend the last day of operation. Growing up in New York about 5 and a half hours from Geauga Lake I was unfortunately never able to make it to the theme park while it was still in operation (my father did ask when on a trip to Cedar Point in 2002 if I would have liked to spend a day at what was at the time Six Flags World's Of Adventure and give up a day at Cedar Point but being 9 years old and not knowing really anything about the park I immediately said no because I was so excited to go to Cedar Point and I already had Six Flags park's (Darien Lake, TGE and SFNE) nearby. after growing up and learning the amazing 7 year saga (2000-07) of the two parks I came to regret not taking the opportunity to visit.

 

So flash forward to 2016 and I finally got a chance to visit what was left of the park, I visited in July during a trip to Ohio which also included a trip to the Columbus Zoo/ Zoombezi bay and while Zoombezi bay definitely had a better selection of slides and pool's I actually enjoyed Wildwater more as Zoombezi just felt like a bunch of slides popped down on flat land with not many other buildings or landscaping (which I know will come in time as the park was built from scratch) while Wildwater had great landscaping and felt still more like a theme park then a water park. You could bring somebody to Wildwater who had no idea about the history of the property and between the parking lot, the main entrance and how the attractions were spread out they would be able to tell this was once part of something much larger. So when I heard the news that the Water park was also going to close for good I made plans to get back there one last time, It just so happened that the one day I would be able to go was Labor day which also the last day of operation. Now I am not normally one to take many pictures at Amusement Parks but with this being the last day of operation I arrived at the park with the intention to document everything not just the slides and attractions. I think this is important because one thing I've noticed when looking back at pictures of closed parks such as GL or Astroworld is that there is plenty of pictures of the rides but not half as many of the park's themselves and I think pictures of the midways, the shops and the scenery give you a much better feel for what a park was like then just pictures of the rides. So anyways enough with me rambling on... on to the pictures!

No better way to start the day then with some cheap beer

Cedar Fair's Signature Item also note Geauga Lake is still in the title despite being removed from the parks name around 2010, about half the cans had this sticker while the other half where updated with just Wildwater Kingdom

Looking Back towards the parking lot, this was the general lot and parts of it where in rough shape, one half of the lot looked like it had not been used in years, (it was opened due to the crowds on the last day) and near the back of the lot where you enter one of the big light post had its lights removed and they where sitting in a parking spot next to the pole, this was like that in July when I visited and it had not been touched when I came back in September, this part of the lot near the pole was also being used on the last day due to the large crowd. There is also a smaller lot near the main entrance which I believe used to be preferred parking when the amusement park was still in operation but was now the same price as the upper lot and usually seemed to fill pretty quickly

This was the old Seaworld lot

A little picnic area in the parking lot before you cross the road to the park

From the upper lot you walk along this nice little path to get to the main entrance

More of the path and Cedar Fair decorations

Rounding the bend towards the entrance

The entry plaza area, this is also what you would see first if you parked in the lower lot

A nice looking main gate, it's crazy to think that in 8 years from 2000-08 this gate had 4 different names attached to it. (Seaworld, Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure, GL/WWK and finally WWK

The entry plaza area, The building to the left used to be a gift shop and I know when they held the GL blowout sales they where held here so I am not sure when it Closed nothing much was inside except a few retail displays

It really was a nice looking park

The first place I ran to was The Wildwater Surf Shop as I figured they would be blowing out the merchandise and I was right, all merchandise except some name brands like quicksilver and under armour was 75 percent off. I made sue to grab anything I could with Wildwater Kingdom on it. I was even happier when I found a sign from the day before saying everything was 50 percent off, I will take the extra 25 percent any day!

To the immediate Right of the entrance is Boarders Surf Shop, here you could rent tubes as well as purchase flip flops and other souvenirs , There was not much worth buying left in this shop at this point.

The first sight upon entering the park

I am trying to lay these photos out in order the best I can so you can feel as if you where taking a loop around the park. So from the main gate we are taking a right. Liquid Lightning a proslide tornado is the first attraction we see. I really wish all parks had an elevator lift for the tubes on there tornado's it makes life so much easier and makes waiting in line much more manageable

Next we cross a bridge over Riptide Run the park's lazy river and get our first view of Thunder Falls

This was a really fun lazy river with a good amount amount of elements which all appeared to be working. I also like that they have three different sized tubes, It really seemed to help younger children and larger guest. Edit- That is all for now as I have to run to a beer league kickball game (don't laugh its a great time) but don't worry I have plenty more to come, hopefully you guys have liked what you've seen so far and will stay tuned for many many more pictures of this once great place!

Edited October 11, 2016 by nhman93

[Philrad71]

Thanks for posting this...any report that starts with beer (I actually didn't realize that they still made Honey Brown - lol) is a-okay in my book. Looking forward to the rest.

 

PS - Beer kickball sounds like a ton of fun!

[nhman93]

Part 2

Another shot of the river

The entrance to Riptide Run

This stand sold ice cream, I think Cedar Fair built this and it was not part of SeaWorld but I could be wrong

This activity area was actually my favorite attraction at the park. It featured a really cool whirlpool and also had a basketball hoop, It actually had a second level which contained seats in the water and the water here was very warm. The area was actually a SeaWorld attraction called Dolphin Cove and you can still see the original rock work around the "Cove"

Coral Cove

You can see the rock's here were all part of the SeaWorld exibit and I think Cedar Fair did a great job repurposing much of the cove

Looking from the Cove towards Thunder Falls

This bridge crosses the other side of the lazy river on your way to Thunder Falls

Thunder Falls was actually added by Six Flags In 2003 and moved over to this Side of the lake in 2005 it includes 4 tube slides and three speed slides.

The path to the right of thunder falls leads to whats left of the old Happy Harbor area and includes the Happy Harbor cafe one of the parks two main eateries

Seating Area

Old SeaWorld building in the background

Path around the back of the Cafe

More Seating

Inside the Cafe, At least Cedar Fair Invested in some LED screens

This is what I got when I ordered a Yuengling it was the at the bottom of the keg so it's safe to say I had the last Yuengling at Happy Harbor Cafe, they would not give me a discount so I had them fill a smaller soda cup with Bud Light to make up the difference.

Leftover from SeaWorld?

That treehouse looking thing is a leftover from one of the old simulator rides. I poked my phone through the fence on the right and took some pictures

Through the fence

According to a 2002 Six Flags map the small green building was a gift shop while the big building was the parks shark exhibit

The old SeaWorld Happy Harbor restrooms, on both my trips this year these restrooms where pretty dirty

Thunder Falls from the back

A little known fact is that in 2016 the park actually expanded back into some of the old Happy Harbor area. Before 2016 you would have to walk down that sidewalk to little tykes town (which in itself was added after it became only a waterpark and before that it was a dead end after the restrooms)and that path to your right was walled of, well surprisingly the park expanded in it's last year which added a lot more seating. They even added a little fountain and repaved some sections of the path. When I visited in July the area was dead with only a few people, it was a little more busy on the last day due to the larger crowds. I actually liked this area as it was a nice quiet peaceful place to lay and get away from the crowds.

the area in 2014

and the expanded area in 2016

The "new" area

I really think that if Cedar Fair had kept the few flat rides on this side of the park and the huge climbing net structure in the long run it would have helped the waterpark and made people a little less bitter about losing the rest of the rides.

You can see some of the new concrete they added

Some spots where still very rough and not the most fun to walk on with bare feet

New Sidewalk Heading to little tykes town. The Round ride pad was home to the Turbo Bungee trampolines

The Round thing was turned into a small fountain

The Fence roughly bordered the area where the old happy harbor nets used to be

Looking towards the area know as "The Beach" this was also added a few years after the amusement park closed and was made using land the park used to sit on. The round ride pad was home to the Huss thriller bees flat ride- which on a side note was bought by Darien Lake but has yet to be installed.

The beach area had a few games as well as a sandy area with chairs

This was added a few years after The Beach

"The Beach"

A view of thunder falls from the bridge which leads from the beach towards the old ski stadium which is now another seating area.

This is the bridge you can see in the last photo, once grabbing a tube you have to walk across this to get to the Thunder Falls entrance.

A little out of order but I figured I'd include these pictures of little tykes town

Back to The Beach this is looking to the left at the old Aquarium building

And I will end this update with a picture of the soon to be demolished Big Dipper. That does it for this side of the park the next update will follow the lakefront back towards the wave pool and we will circle back around from there back to the entrance. Hope you guys are enjoying it so far and let me know if you have any questions or request for pictures as I have a ton more that will not make it into the Ptr. Hopefully this makes it to the front page!

And as a bonus for comparisons sake this is the area in 2007 the last year of the dry rides

Edited October 12, 2016 by nhman93

[nhman93]

Bump: I realize now I uploaded my part 2 before I was done and only a few pictures where in it I added over 50 more let me know what you guys think. Thanks-Nate

[coasterbill]

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

[grsupercity]

Very nice trip report. I do wonder where the slides will go

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Very nice trip report. I do wonder where the slides will go

 

My only guess is California's Great America to expand/revamp Boomerang Bay

[michaellynn4]

Great report! Thunder Falls seems like a pretty bad ass slide complex. It'll be interesting to see where it ends up. I can't imagine Cedar Fair would scrap it.

[nhman93]

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys it's much appreciated. I hope to have the rest of it done in the next few days. As far as the slides I am not sure where they will end up. Knotts also removed there Tornado slide this year so Cedar Fair has two extras lying around now

[djcoastermark]

Alas, good bye old friend. You were the park I grew up with since the late 1960's. ( both Sea World and Geauga Lake) Thanks for posting the last gasps.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Great report! Thunder Falls seems like a pretty bad A$$ slide complex. It'll be interesting to see where it ends up. I can't imagine Cedar Fair would scrap it.

 

It honestly shocked me that Six Flags didn't clone that slide complex around their parks. My only guess is that Six Flags didn't like Whitewater West (Which explains why they didn't add more of those spinning rapids rides)

[nhman93]

Great report! Thunder Falls seems like a pretty bad A$$ slide complex. It'll be interesting to see where it ends up. I can't imagine Cedar Fair would scrap it.

 

It honestly shocked me that Six Flags didn't clone that slide complex around their parks. My only guess is that Six Flags didn't like Whitewater West (Which explains why they didn't add more of those spinning rapids rides)

 

Honestly the slide complex looks a lot better then it actually was, The 4 tube slides were average and none really stood out. The speed slides were definitely the best aspect, the green speed slide in particular was really good and didn't rip up your back like a lot of these plastic speed slides. I still wish they made speed slides with foam padding like they used too, my local waterpark Enchanted Forest in upstate NY has a 30 year old speed slide with the foam padding and its smother, faster and more enjoyable then any other speed slide I have been on which is a pretty long list.

[Philrad71]

Thanks again for posting this report...I think that the Lazy River looked like one of the better ones out there. Reminiscent of the "newer" one at Soak City, but with more greenery and foliage.

 

I like the sounds of foam on the speed slides! Not to get off subject, but I have never been to the water park at Enchanted Forest (or Enchanted Forest for that matter), but have driven by it in the past. I have a friend of mine that lives in Old Forge, so hopefully I might be able to visit within the next few years...the water park looks pretty sweet!

[nhman93]

Thanks again for posting this report...I think that the Lazy River looked like one of the better ones out there. Reminiscent of the "newer" one at Soak City, but with more greenery and foliage.

 

I like the sounds of foam on the speed slides! Not to get off subject, but I have never been to the water park at Enchanted Forest (or Enchanted Forest for that matter), but have driven by it in the past. I have a friend of mine that lives in Old Forge, so hopefully I might be able to visit within the next few years...the water park looks pretty sweet!

 

No problem and there is still more to come only about half the park has been posted I've just been very busy with work and preparing for my upcoming move to Buffalo in November. The lazy river was really good and your pretty spot on with your comparison to the newer one at Soak City, it's just not as wide and WIidwater's had a much nicer look to it with the fake rocks and whatnot. And yeah Water Safari is definitely worth checking out. The park has the front part you see from the road which is crazy older slides from the 80's, it has the Enchanted Forest which is very similar to the one in Oregon it also has a newer water park section built in the back as well as a section of classic flat rides (no credits) which are a ton of fun. I think its safe to say it's New York's best waterpark and one of the better overall parks in the state.

[scubaski]

Great pics. I went to the amusement park many years ago after a trip to Cedar Point but when we got there it was pouring and lightning and thunder so we didn't even go in. After that the next time I went that way it was already closed. Sorry I missed it.

[Philrad71]

Good to know about EF...really need to make it out there.

 

Also, a pre-welcome to Western New York! Buffalo gets a bad rap for weather and crime, but it's really coming along nicely. Lot's of good food and beer out here!

[nhman93]

Good to know about EF...really need to make it out there.

 

Also, a pre-welcome to Western New York! Buffalo gets a bad rap for weather and crime, but it's really coming along nicely. Lot's of good food and beer out here!

 

Thanks for the Welcome! I am from the Utica area so I am used to the Weather and the crime already lol. Also a big thank you to Robb for putting this up on the front page, I was so happy when I opened the site today!

[MIAfan88]

When both sides were open, I bet the view from Thunder Falls was impressive. Now, it's probably sad looking at the decay of the theme park side.

[jconsolmagno]

These are great photos. Do you think I could have a ZIP or download of them for safekeeping since this was one of my favorite parks?

[djcoastermark]

To all the haters of the park, here's an analogy of why some of us miss the park.The passing of the park is sort of like what I found out today about my grandmothers house in Cleveland Ohio. Her house wasn't anything spectacular, but it was where I grew up, similar to the Big Dipper. (where my love of coasters began) The house was in Slavic Village, built in 1870, and has now been torn down. It was familiar, comfortable and full of good times past. At least I have lots of good memories.