Abandoned - Geauga Lake 

"Thats false!" "That is not false, young lady, get security, get her out of here." That went fast.

We drive past there sometimes, and it's heartbreaking to see all the remnants of our childhood. Oh, well. Nothing lasts forever.

Fun fact: some of the trash cans from Geauga Lake can be found inside Michigan’s Adventure ticket booths. 🤣 Y’all don’t know how many hours I’ve spent zoned-out staring at a trashcan.

I went there wirh my Grandpa Gus in the late 1940's. To be precise, 1948. He was a carpenter. He went to the contest, "Drive The Nail Into The Log With One Stroke" He did. He got a prize. I got that prize. He was told, "One prize per season." He never went again with me. I never went again with him. Me and my family moved out of state in1951. I miss my Grandpa Gus who died in1973 in his 90's.

I was there 2 years before it closed. Looking at it now, I kinda want to cry...

Just a side note, Geauga Lake was just right down the road from another infamously abandoned place that was also covered in an episode of "Abandoned," the Randall Park Mall, which is actually now being turned into an Amazon distribution center

"Visit Ohio! The home of abandoned shopping malls & amusement parks! Our rivers aren't on fire anymore, we promise."

I just balled through this entire video my grandma went here when she was little then worked there then my parents worked there through school along with cousins of mine. My grandparents lived so close you could hear the joyful screams of people on the rides! Thanks for the video and making me cry 😭

I asked my first girlfriend out and kissed her for the first time on the boardwalk that connected SeaWorld and Six Flags. Seconds later they started shooting off fireworks I think to say that the park was closing. In the years after we had season passes every year. I come across videos like this every so often and it makes me sad that the generations coming after us won't get the know what he had in our back yard here in Northeastern Ohio.

I went there, I loved it very much as a child. Very sad what happened.

It is so sad to see one of my favorite child hood memories in such a state. I have memories of riding the big dipper, get off only to run around and do again with my grandpa. It was and still is one of favorite theme parks and to see it in the state it is in is almost physically painful. R.I.P. Geauga Lake.

I grew up about 40 minutes away from Geauga lake, and this still breaks my heart. Now I literally live down the street from it, and no matter how many times I drive-by, it always breaks my heart. I spent so much time as a child there and I have such great memories. It has such a great history, I wish something could be done to re-open it so my children could have the same memories.

This video really hit home for me. My father and I used to visit this park together when I was younger. We loved amusement parks and thrill rides. The more coasters the better. He unfortunately passed away a few weeks ago so the timing of this popping up in my recommended feed was bitter sweet.

LMAO THAT CLIP. XD "THAT'S FALSE!" "Security, get that woman out!"

We have so many abandoned things here in Northeast Ohio. I’d never been to Geauga Lake myself, but my mom grew up going to that park, season passes for her whole family. It’s sad to see the things that people love and cherish fall before your eyes

I say bulldoze all of it and return it to being a public nature spot. No, it doesn't bring in money but it doesn't take as much money to upkeep either.

The funny thing about this is that the reason it closed is often touted as 'it was out of the way with no real hotels nearby'... The same could be said for Holiday World just a few hours away, yet it does amazing business, despite not being near any major city at all, not being on an interstate, and there really only being 1 hotel and a campground in the area. Geagua lake was closed because Cedar Fair didn't want the competition taking away from Cedar Point, and through a lack of care and respect for the park. Iyt also did't help that they tried to make the park SO big. As a smaller family park, like Holiday World, it could have succeeded. From the sheer size of the place it looks to be as big or bigger than Cedar Point...

I remember going to Geauga Lake and Sea World when I was a kid. I loved it. Sad its gone.

My first coaster that went upside down was the double loop! Also went on my first date with this girl I liked and her family in middle school here. Good times. Sad that it looks like this now...

Wow! What memories! This is the first real amusement park I was ever taken to as a kid in the late 70s. I also went to Sea World in the 3rd grade; 1976. My first real roller coaster was the Cork Screw at GL and the Double Loop and the Big Dipper were also loads of fun. I loved that place!

The water park is also permanently closed now. :(

Amazing how much growth can creep in to a place after only nine years. Nature always reclaims what was taken from it.

This park was a staple of my childhood. I'll never forget the good times I had there. I was able to go as a child, and take my son when I grew up. This really hurts, but its life I guess.

That was always the best park. So many great childhood memories there. Wolf bobs was my first coaster, I remember riding the double loop a bunch of times with my best friend because there was noone waiting to get on so the operator just kept asking "wanna go again?" and many many more. Thank you for making this bittersweet but wonderful video

I just binge watched all of the abandoned videos and let me just say, I'm so impressed with the updates in intros over the span of the videos. Great Job XD

I'm from Akron, Ohio and I always thought Geauga Lake was better than Cedar Point. Not a popular opinion but there was so much more to enjoy!

The Double Loop was my first coaster when I was like 5. My dad had me put boosters in my shoes so I could ride and held me down during parts because I was so skinny. I remember going so many times after that and It's where a lot of my family grew up. I miss this place so much but I am so grateful for all the memories of me and my dad that were here. It was the place where I rode my first coaster and he rode his last. RIP T-Bone.

I remember going to this park in the 90s. There was a cool ride where the floor fell out and you stuck to the wall but the thing I remember the most was that the wave pool was terrifying. Instead of just a lot of medium waves coming over time, there would be one huge wave and a very wimpy mini waves that followed. The first wave would knock you on your ass and you would try to recover before the itty bitty waves came at you.

My grandparents used to take us to Geauga Lake when my brother and I were kids. We definitely had fun, but Cedar Point was right across the lake and we would always ask to go there. it took a few years of begging but we finally got to go. Cedar Point was definitely better, but, in this day and age, CP has gotten too big and way to expensive, and not worth the money since you cannot ride every single ride in one day on a weekend due to the egregiously long waits in line. I'm glad CP sets world records, but, I'd much rather have fun in shorter lines and less (but still fun) rides at the less popular parks like Geauga, Kennywood, or Conneaut Lake Park. Less money spent as well. R.I.P Geauga Lake.

I live 20 minutes from Geauga lake I miss that place every summer

Never visited Geauga Lake, but the story reminds me somewhat of Crystal Beach across Lake Erie in Ontario; at the time it closed (mid-80s) it contained the 1916 "Giant Coaster", which was the oldest operating coaster on earth at the time (and a chiropractor's delight!). In its final years you could go there and find virtually no lines for either coaster (the other was the steel-framed "Comet")...and they didn't care if you took a camera along (this long before the days of cellphone cameras), so I've got pix from all the way round both coasters. The "Comet" was relocated Stateside after the park closed, but the "Giant", as far as I know, was razed. The Geauga name is familiar to me for another, almost-related, reason. In Geauga County there used to be a collection of vintage military aircraft on a former farm property; it had an abandoned look to it but it was a treasured collection. The gentleman who owned the planes passed away in 2010 and most have since gone. Fascinating place, and you'd doubtless have loved it!

I'm 42 I'm from Cleveland my mom took me to this place at least 20 times I will forever miss that place.

I live near the old Geauga Lake Park and drive by it all the time. It is awful how cedar fair has left the land. It is an eyesore and they should be forced to clean it up. Also the comment about it making sense why it closed is bull crap because the park was completely supported by local people visiting it for over 100 years and it was small and family friendly and that's the way everyone liked it! We could afford to go there many times a year but Cedar point is so expensive now and farther away so we only go once a year. Cedar fair should have returned it to the local gem that it was and promoted it as a family friendly place and it would have flourished as it did when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's. How could you say a place is not a viable business when it succeeded for so long. That's why no one from around here believes that and we know cedar fair closed it because it was good competition to Cedar point. So sad... If any rich investors are reading this, please buy Geauga Lake and reopen it! All of us that grew up there would be so excited to take our kids there.!

I grew up in Youngstown. When Idora Park closed down, Geauga Lake became the summer park for everyone in the area. It was affordable and close by. So many good times there even through all their changes..:(

From warren here... Left ohio in 1998 but went here almost every summer of the 80s. Some of my best memories. GM company picnics. I can still smell hear and have flashbacks while watching this. Thank you for that.

I rode my first roller coaster here when I was five years old....The Double Loop. I have alot of memories here. Geauga Lake will be forever missed. Thanks for making this video. I appreciate it.

I dont understand how Six Flags Worlds of Adventure wasnt a huge hit. It was a massive park with a ton of content for one ticket price,equivalent to visiting a Disney park but for cheaper. I have very fond memories of Six Flags Ohio and Sea World Ohio as a kid.

August 19, 2016. Today cedar fair announced that it will close wild water kingdom (the water park) for good. The last part of this great park will be gone. Sad time for northeast Ohio. I went to the amusement park when I was younger but I don't remember much. I did go to the water park for years after and have great memories there. Now the entire park is gone and only lives in the memories of the people it touched for generations.

I miss it and cannot believe it still was unloved so much that it was just another take-out by Cedar Fair. I have been a Cedar Point fan and season pass holder since 1986, but Geauga Lake was the place for family. Cedar Point was for those with money, and they had the attitude of it from the 80s to the mid 2000s. I will never forget the Best Oktoberfest's in Cleveland, all at Geauga Lake....RIP!

Any other locals watch these sometimes to remember? I grew up in Aurora, I watched every single change happen and I worked at the water park as did most of my classmates. This was a huge part of my childhood and now it's an abandoned forest...

Been watching your videos for a while but I don't think I've really commented on how much I enjoy this series. I love that there are history lessons given to the areas which adds to how their areas make an impact on them being abandoned. To me, the history of the company/building is just as interesting as exploring them and you've done a great job telling their stories.

I went there probably every year from the time I was born, 1977, till it closed. Six Flags fucked it all up. It was just never the same after that. My favorite rides were The Double Loop, Raging Wolf Bobs, and The Rotor (spins really fast, and the floor drops out as you stick to the wall). What a sad thing to happen to such an iconic place. Oddly enough, there was another park abandoned well before Geauga Lake right up the street from me that was called Idora Park. Any how, thanks for the video, and cheers to you!

I love rewatching! Brings back a ton of memories growing up!

Great video. I think about the parks I take my kids to while they're young, and envision what it would be like if those parks looked like this or Nara Dreamland in 20-something years. It's an incredibly sad feeling. The passage of time is hard enough in itself, but it's starkly different if the setting of yours' or your children's memories are left in abandoned squalor after all of that time has passed.

What's the random woman drinking ice tea at 7:17 have to do with this story?

One of the best parts on growing up in NE Ohio...RIP old friend

Ok this is so old u prob wont read it... But awww man.. Good video!! I hate abandoned vlogs where they just show u a bunch of well abandoned shit with no back ground history... Im frm Youngstown ohio and grew up at the park, my first coaster was the double loop with my best friends mom. Haha.. So i really appreciate all the info, i had no idea it changed hands so many times. So interesting.. Anyway just needed to say that ur vlogs r soo good. It def shows all the hard work u put into them... Great content.

The Six Flags curse strikes again. Being so close to Cedar Point and only a couple hours from King's Island didn't help.

Went there for our senior day (class of 1998). I loved it and miss that place!!! So much gr8 memories!!

As someone who has worked for cedar fair, and seen how they've turned around kings island (after buying it from paramount) I can't really hold this against them. They did a great job renovating and restoring kings island. Our carousel is over 100 years old, and we finally got a new antique music box put in it to replace the CD track that was put in after the original broke. They've also done a lot to honor the parks' legacy, like renaming and themeing rides in homage of rides that had to be removed (Son of beast and the bat). They're not a perfect company but, at least in my interactions with them, they do a good job (or try to). Especially in comparison to the way paramount treated the park. It took me a while to adjust but honestly the park is so much better off without all the paramount licensed rides.

I remember going there when I was about 7 years old. Good memories. When you showed the classic Geaugu Lake map, tons of memories flooded back of looking at the map trying to find which ride to go on next.

Back in the 70's my grand father was a Summit County Deputy Sheriff and he would work a second job as night security at Geauga Lake. That meant we got FREE tickets. I spent many days there. Great childhood memories! It's really sad to see it now. I still live nearby there.

I've lived in Ohio literally all my life and literally never knew there was ever a Seaworld

I used to love going to this place as a kid, so many fond memories...

I moved away over 36 years ago but I think this is the same place we went in 1978 or 1979, we drove all the way from Pennsylvania to go there for the day. There was a whole gang of us. If it’s the one that had the corkscrew roller coaster...😵 I rode that with my eyes closed. I am not a roller coaster fan and I got dragged on there. But I survived. We had a great time there that day. Lots of fun memories. But like most everything we boomers grew up with, they go the way the wrecking ball. Part of a different era. Pre-computers, lol. LOVE this channel, Jake, you’re amazing, thank you. 🙏🏻

You should do an updated video, now that Wild Water Kingdom is closed!! I used to go to Geauga Lake every year for my grandpas company picnic. it was always so much fun and relatively close to where I live. It’s very disappointing seeing such a fun and memorable place turn to rubble

I have never been to Geague Lake but the way you say the history of it makes me want to cry. 😭

I live about 40 minutes from this place and every time I try to get in there are police patrolling it. Eventually it will just become another chippewa lake

My stompin ground from 78' to 84'. I have so many memories! They have all been erased. All the local malls there are gone now. Only memories remain

Went there in 1997 when my son was just little with my in-laws for their company picnic. Had a great day, but when we went out to the parking lot to leave our minivan had been stolen, with all the baby stuff, toys and CDs in it. Fortunately we could get a hold of the inlaws to rescue us and get us back to our hotel. Cleveland police found the van emptied but otherwise OK a few days later. Gang of teens and adults was busted at the park a few days later trying to steal other vehicles.

It is so sad how Geauga Lake was treated! The owner didn't want to support the park as it was! That is horrible! I grew up (I guess I still do I'm 16) near there. And I loved it! I went to the auction with my aunt because not to sound snobby but we are very wealthy, I forgot what she bought but she sold it. I miss that park!!!!

"I would expect more from the people who own Canada's Wonderland... *oh wait*..." As a Torontonian, this was a fucking amazing line to me

I love all the history your videos provide. Thank you!

Geauga Lake is where I spent many summer fun filled days! It was where all my friends had jobs in high school!! So many good memories there!!

crazy remembering my grandpa taking me here at 8

THAT'S FALSE!

Ive been in both parks. Each time it was winter and we broke in. It was February and my gf and i at the time went there. We climbed over the fence near the front entrance. The fence was not chain link. It was metal poles with styled spikes at the top. It was also 12-15 feet high. I climbed trees a lot, so i was comfortable climbing the fence. I pulled myself up and there was a tree on the opposite side. I pulled her up and we jumped down since there were no branches. There was about 2 feet of snow on the ground so the fall wasnt bad. It was pretty cool, i climbed almost to the top of the big dipper roller coaster, and we walked along the side. It was pretty slippery and the wood looked horrible, but it felt sturdy. The rest of the park is cool. you get a weird feeling-you can feel the energy from the past. Millions of steps walked over your very point. So many experiences have been had there. And several more will be had there. I lost my virginity right after we left. It was an awesome day. Ive also been in wild water kingdom.It was winter again, so the park was closed. My friend and i parked in a neighborhood that was behind wildwater kingdom. And there was what must have been a service road for the park. But there were two fences, one that was 8ft tall and chain link and it had the covers for the gaps. And then a 6 foot chain link exposed with barbed wire at the top. No bigger we are both athletic. We walk about .5 miles up the road and we come in through the back of the park. We went into the wave pool which was empty. We were climbing around on the ladders. We went to the large yellow attraction that is a very large cone shape. We climbed to the top of this and walked into the large cylinder it was pitch black, but dry with only a thin piece of ice running down the middle. We reached where it drops off. It was soo cold, both if our phones were barely working. Our hands were numb. We jumped and slid down the slide into the bowl. We were going soooo fucking quick it was super awesome. After that we walked around a little more and then left. We knew a girl whos dad worked on the security system for the park. He received alerts that an alarm was set off. We never got pulled over it was very Nonchalant

Love the historical shots. Great drone work for the present-day video too!

"That is not false young lady, get security, get her out of here." I would have paid a dollar to see Paul Blart, mall cop drag the woman off screaming.

Anyone else catch the “it’s just a prank bro” thing? Holy crap I laughed more than I should have.

OHHH MYY. Im new to the channel and you do great work and This one hits home literally. I remember this place soo much i had season passes for 3 years in a row and i miss it everyday.

I remember going there when I was little. I still have the photos, I went there 6 years ago and seeing how much it’s decaying. It’s heartbreaking.

We used to go there every year when I was a kid. I remember riding the Big Dipper over and over again. When it changed to Six Flags Ohio, it was all downhill. Sure, it got a handful of fun steel coasters, but when they stopped playing nice with Sea World it was like they didn't care about the customers. Six Flags is a horribly run company. Six Flags America (just outside of D.C.) has a roller coaster celebrating it's centennial this year and the company didn't do anything to make it look like they cared outside of putting up a couple signs with some history tidbits. The coaster looked like it was in bad shape, and it was kinda scary riding it because it felt like it was going to fall apart at any point. They didn't replace any of the wood, or even bother to repaint the ride. Fuck Six Flags.

I loved this place as a kid!

I lived two towns (in Kent) over since I was a kid in the 80s. I remember when the Rt 43 was backed up 5 miles or more from the park gates to my town. I loved that park, it's where I could ride coasters all day and the season pass was 50 bucks a year. I had a friend's dad who went to that auction trying to win something, anything, to remind him of the park where he went of dates with his later wife, and took his family so many times. At its largest size it had a larger footprint than the Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld.

My family was season pass holders for multiple years i remember the park going through every change you talked about in this video and also went to sea world every year for my birthday as a kid now as an adult i sit back and remember all the great times we had at both parks and wish i could do the same now its a tragedy to see it in its current state i wish they would at least clean it up and do something with the land.

It's sad to see it go. I'd been to Geauga Lake several times, even during its transition into being Six Flags. I had a lot of fun there, mainly in the water park portion. I just didn't like roller coasters, and didn't feel like waiting in the massive lines for them, but my family and friends loved going too. I guess maybe the recession had something to do with this. It's easy to blame the recession for just about everything, but when the economy goes to crap the first thing to go are vacation spots and higher-end entertainment. Sure, it was still around after the initial hit, but we're still recovering to this day, when it comes to the economy. I don't think we've fully bounced back yet. Man, I still have pictures of old friends and me at the park - the place actually used to have photographers that would stop you at the end of the bridge, and let you get a photo-op, where you can get it developed with a Geauga Lake border around it... and I remember so much about the place. Going there now would probably be hugely depressing for me, lol.

Can we order a t-shirt that says "probaby"?

I was lucky enough to visit both parks when I was very young, then again in the late 90's. Lots of good memories. Too bad both had to close down.

So many memories. I loved that place. My school picnics were there growing up. I remember all the changes from the 80’s on. So sad 😞

Can you do one of these about kiddieland.

2019 and watching this. Disney's river country is actually getting removed so let's see if this gets it's revamp

I went there for years. I remember when the Wave and Raging Wolf Bobs opened. I remember one trip when the lines were so short, and few friends rode both the double loop and the cork screw over and over and over. I'm very sad to see how a beautiful area of Aurora, OH could wind up today. Even driving up the road to the Outlets doesn't give you the same feeling and excitement. Of course, I don't live in Ohio anymore...thank God. Oh well.

Thanks for your videos! I read some of the comments, and I thought I'd add something I did not see anyone mention. And that is the 1980's were a special era in some way. I grew up near Geauga Lake, and my Senior Prom was held at SeaWorld (we rented the entire Asian Village where the Pearl Diver's were located). Maybe the 80's seem special compared to how our society has changed; or maybe it's just being a teen. But think about all of the classic 80's movies about High School and that awkward phase of life. The list of great films is long, and teens today (12/7/2018) tell me they love those those films. And you know what? That is what growing up in the 80's was like for me (I graduated H.S. in 88'). So Geauga Lake for me was like living in an 80's movie...free from parents for a while, the adventure and thrill of rides, wandering the park on a constant quest for cute girls, and just tons of fun. But the fact is, Cedar Point is the most Amazing Park in the world, and when Sea World pulled out, Geauga Lake was doomed. So, for those of us 80's kids...a night a Geauga Lake was like living in a John Hugh's film...we just didn't know that at the time. And I'll tell you a secret! With the adrenaline pumping from roller coasters, the neon lights of the park at night, the freedom and safety of being in the park...it was really easy to meet girls and do some kissing and life was that simple.

Spent many Summer days at Geauga Lake. My parents employers had their company picnics there. I now live in PA. and found Kennywood, which has that Geauga Lake "feel"to it. Sad to see Geauga Lake look like this.

They just announced Wild Water Kingdom is closing after this 2016 season

I've called Dayton my home for 27 years now, but I grew up about 25 minutes away in Bedford. My first date was at Geauga Lake, and my first summer job after getting my license was at Sea World... This place was so much a part of my teenage life.

We went there and SeaWorld as a family in the 70s. Got splashed by shamu. Always wondered what the story was about why it's all gone. Nicely done. I think it should be returned to it's natural state. But we know that could never happen.

I remember my parents telling me about going to here all the time, then the water park closed

No kidding, this made me cry. Geagua Lake has always been a family favorite of mine. My mother went there when she was a child, I went there every summer everyday. I was there on the last day it was open. /: I have a pearl necklace from the seaworld show still. Geauaga Lake wasn't just some theme park for me, it was aplace I spent most of my childhood,I was hoping to take my child there .obviously not.

In my fictional world, this place never gets abandoned and still successful

Thanks for creating this video - very impressive research! I loved this place so much as a kid

The BOY at the auction (is that a Cedar Fair executive?) gets yelled out as a liar - which in fact was correct. He as a proven liar in that claim

Hey Jake! I know it's not theme park related, but would you consider doing an Abandoned episode on the "Hudson River State Hospital?" I lived right next to it for a nearly a year. The place is just teaming w/ history & there's tons of pictures of it online. It'd make a fantastic episode! Thanks!! I love your channel & videos!!! 👍👍

Loved this park. Went almost every summer as a kid. Raging Wolf Bobs was one of my favorite coasters ever, and I still recall the long, lonely stretch of walkway from Grizzly Run, into the forest, to get to the coaster. Always loved standing on the edge of the lake and wondering what was happening at Sea World, or listening to the echo of the Shamu show. Loved going in the wave pool; seeing footage of it in your video really brought me back. The stuff they added with the Six Flags revamp was really cool. I actually went the very last year it was open, 2007, and it was weirdly sad and telling to see all the branding had been removed. I think that year I felt the park's time was up. I'll never forget it.

One of my favorite rides there was the Raging Wolf Bobs. Right after we got married (1995), my wife & I went up there every chance we got. So many memories there & very sad that its gone. They did eventually tear down The Big Dipper. Wanted to get some drone shots of what was left but never got the chance. Thank you for making this video. 😊

i went to sea world in 1995 i was 6 years old kinda breaks my heart.....cuz I think the water park that took seaworlds spot is also closed now and abandoned...you should do an updated one on this place too

Great video as always!

It broke my heart when they announced the closure. I had just had my daughter and was looking forward to taking her there as a small child, as I was. Just gutted. So many memories.

Used to go to Geauga Lake every summer in the 90's and 2000's. Lots of great memories there. So sad to see it in such conditions.