Geauga Lake operated as a favorite Ohio amusement park for over 100 years. This year, it's closing for good. What led up to this once-thriving attraction shutting down?
i have gone to disney world 9 times this year, and universal orlando 4, and sea world orlando 5 all of them combined will never live up to the memories and childhood amazement i had while living in ohio and going to geauga lake every spring around april for my birthday
sugarbxrry do you mean as a “Monument” or as a “Memorial” or in “Memoriam?” Just wondering cause I’ve noticed your post several times and the word you are using “Momentum” means the impetus gained by a moving object or the speed something gained as it went down hill. Movement. That rollercoaster “shell” is not going to be doing any movement except, unfortunately, when they rear it down and move it to the dump!
BandVines actually you wouldn't want to know if you knew you would know it was not Cedar Fair don't you dare blame Cedar Fair it might seem like Cedar Fair to the person who doesn't know anything but it was not Cedar Fair.
Living within 10 miles of the park from age 7 to marrying a young lady who worked there, and then getting season passes for my children and taking them for years. And my mom loved SeaWorld so much she bought passes for her adult children and for 6 grandchildren totaling 14 season passes to SeaWorld every year. This little video brought a tear ti my eye. I drive passed every now and then. But this took me back inside. Anyone remember hearing "Sister Christian" every 8 mins on TV screans everywhere in the park?? 😄
It probably could have lasted another hundred years as a nice, medium-sized alternative to Cedar Point if it had been given a few upgrades and left alone (AND admission prices held down). But people put tons of money into it (and too many rollercoasters) expecting to get more tons out. Location, location, location!
it is not that the park did not make money. They did not make 'enough' money. See, Cedar Point used to be a family park too. Then they got greedy and let investors in. So, now all they care about is their profit margin. It is not enough that these companies make profit. No. They need to make a lot of profit. Geauga Lake made money. But it was not enough for the greedy stock holders.
I'm a huge theme park fan, and it's so heartbreaking to see any theme park close (Six Flags Ohio/Astroworld/New Orleans, Sea World Ohio, Opryland). You start wondering about the "what ifs" and who's to blame. They're so enjoyable and to see a community lose such a valuable and unique recreational asset is beyond sad to me. Cleveland especially. They lost 2 major theme parks (Six Flags and Seaworld), a major aquarium (Seaworld), and major waterpark (Wildwater Kingdom) almost all in one big swoop.
Too bad we dont live in a place where we could vote to save such timeless landmarks. We only get to "vote" on what is shoved in front of us whilst ignoring ACTUAL relevant things.
This is sad what happened to this park. Poor management and business decisions with Sea World, Six Flags and Cedar Fair. You cannot have a huge property with no updated park layout and expect the park to survive with multiple changes.
Sea World could not survive due to the harsh winter weather in NE Ohio. If Seaworld wanted a midwest park they should have put it in Columbus or Indianapolis the winter weather is a little more mild there.
@@dvferyanceDid the weather get worse in N.E Ohio?.Since it opened in 1970 it seems to survived some of the hardest weather for 30 years including the blizzard of 78.
My favorite place to go! We always went for plant picnic every summer when I was young. I had season passes as an adult for my children and myself. It took us about 45 minutes to get there from home. I rode the Big dipper and introduced my children to the rotor and the man that still rode it! I especially liked the fireworks in the evening. I've watched the drone videos that made me sad. Then I found videos of the times I was there enjoying the park. Thank you for posting this!
My Ohio cousins spent many a summer weekend at Geagua Lake (it was MUCH closer than either Cedar Point and especially Kings Island); Kennywood is the third amusement park in Pittsburgh. In any case, too bad.
Me too, well Kennywood is basically in my backyard and i still enjoy it but as a kid i absolutely loved g-lake and sea world both! Cedar Point was one i enjoyed more as i got into my teenage and young adult years more. It wouldve been nice to have those same memories for my kids.
It was a fantastic alternative to Cedar point. As a kid in the 80s and 90s it was nice to have a park that wasn't as expensive and less crowded. You felt relaxed and not rushed..you didn't have to wait in lines for 1 to 2 hours. Great amusement park for families. It's sad they couldn't just leave it as a smaller alternative instead of trying to compete with CP.
I lived in Eastlake Ohio went there along between 1977to1987 loved it. I also went to manakiki golf course in the winter time to sled great,great times. Cedar Point was the place too go though. Sandusky Ohio what a place. I think it was about $11.00 for Geauga Lake and $13.00 or $15.00 that was a lot of money when you are taking a family of 5 or 6 and to eat a hot dog was $2.50. Now it's like $6.00 buck's or more.
You know this is so incredibly sad. Why couldn't geauga lake remain what is was from the beginning ?? And sea world. My family went here all the time when I was growing up and I would've loved to have taken my son. Why in earth would this ever be sold to cedar fair!! They are so money hungry .. the ticket prices are ridiculous to go to cedar point. I liked the smaller feeling of geauga lake ... a place that was affordable , family fun where you don't wait three hours for one ride .. too bad someone couldn't buy this and refurbish it back to the original . So so sad 🥀
You're kidding right? You can purchase a ticket to Cedar Point AND King's Island for $67. That's a STEAL. You can get a season pass for an initial payment of $21 and then 8 monthly payments of $14.50. If you think those prices are ridiculous, you live in a fantasy world stuck in the 1970's.
Yeah you are right. I have never gone, but would have liked to go there when six flags was caring to the park, not when cedar fair owned it as a cheap source for rides. Maybe, since six flags exited Bankruptcy in 2009, they have the choice to repurchase geagua lake and re-establish Worlds of Adventure
Jeremy Fridy : I had 1 too in the 80's!! We were going at the same time!! We should have some kind of reunion for everyone who has fond childhood memories of Geauga Lake!! Bring pics, any remaining souvenirs & memories!!! I think it'd be fun!!!
If only I were a billionaire I'd rebuild it to its original glory!! Don't forget about the boat ride that was all the way back to the left when you walk in. I was also in the arcade that was at the bottom of the needle you rode in to check out the view when it was hit by lightening. That was cool!! And loud!! I could go on and on. I pretty much lived there in the 80s!!! I miss you Geauga Lake!! Maybe I'll swing by for memories with my 14 year old. We only live 45 minutes away!!
This was the first amusement park I had ever gone to. Sure, I was too small to ride any of the rides, but I had a ball at Sea World. I'm 20 at the moment, and I can still remember my mom making me pet a stingray! I was so disappointed when they closed it down.
Wouldve been the best six flags, even though i never visited, my dad lived in ohio for a couple of years and help built some construction near there. probably one of the best six flags parks!
It was a dreamland back in the 1960s. My grandmother worked for Luberzal and they gave all their employees piles of free tickets for their family. We would spend a packed day on those great coasters, simple rides, the turntable, mirrors, cheap pizza, hot dogs, and beer for dad, and just pleasant. Then it oversized and died.
Sad indeed. I lived in Aurora when Sea World and Geauga Lake were still going strong. I live in TN now but have been by the old parks a few times since its closing. Like a ghost town. I am really surprised a developer has not taken a look at that property. Its in a beautiful area and could be turned into something nice again.
Your history is well stated quickly. This place, however, so much like Euclid Beach had a more profound heritage. Granted, one could do a two hour video on this parks history from many perspectives. Perhaps you could do this. Thanks for sharing, -Mark
I went to Sea World as a kid and Six Flags Worlds of Adventure as one of the first adventures with my wife. Six Flags was a joke and I remember thinking how bad the staff was. So sad to think of the memories that are gone. It would have been nice today to take a day trip there with the kids. I miss a lot of little parks that were once around.
Randy West Miss Geauga Lake Forever in Aurora, Ohio USA 🇺🇲 & Randy West Have My Childhood at Geauga Lake in 1980's / 1990's & Randy West Last Time at Geauga Lake Forever in 2006. & R.I.P. Geauga Lake 1887-2007 & R.I.P. Wildwater Kingdom 2005-2016.
A perfect example of why corporate America sucks. They only think of profits and "what is good for business." They care nothing about tradition and only what is good for profit. They are NEVER happy just having a good company. They need to have a high margin or profit. A typical small business is happy just paying the bills and serving the community. All big corporate knows how to do is down size quality and quantity and find a way to raise more and more money. But the more and more dependent society becomes on their services the more power they have. If anyone here is to blame it is the public. You empower them. What do you expect when you have everyone doing everything for you and providing everything for you. You start to lose your power!
I wish they could make another amusement park their, I grew up in Ohio, As a kid my family always went to Cedar Point. I never got a chance to go to Geauga Lake. It makes me sad to see it all go.
Still breaks my heart that Geoga Lake and Sea World closed i would have loved to take my little ones there as it was one of my favorite parks to go to as a kid.
Breanna Johnson : I'm positive that something died inside all of us when it was struggling then closed. I kinda still feel like crying like it was a close relative that passed.
More problems than recealrd here or just not in depth enough. When Six Flags made the purchase and combined both parks into one tickets prices rose to compensate. Due to the size of the park people didnt want to pay the price to go for one day. Seasonal tickets became insanely expensive due to this and locals didnt go as often. Tine of operation was also an issue. Geauga Lake would open at 10am and close at 10pm, later if it was friday ir saturday night. The night time was special when the lights came on and really gave you that local fair feel. Six Flags closed at 8pm, 9pm on Friday and Saturday. Locals really felt betrayed when bringing your own food in a cooler was basically banned when Six Flags bought it and the day of a fun picnic was gone. No longer could a guy take his date to Geauga Lake on a Saturday and spend the day together, it cost to much. They pushed locals away and became all about money to compete with Cedar Point and Disney.
If it isn't broken, don't try to fix it. That's what happened to this and other entertainment parks. This method has also been used in many products. They are sold to new owners, formulas reformulated till the product is unrecognizable Then the obvious happens, there is a closure or if a product, you get a discontinued product.
jacktheripoff1888 wow that's right I forgot about him he would ride that ride every time. they would kick other people off but he was allowed to stay on. He had that crazy hair and he was a little special but he sure did love that ride
He became Yukon Yahoo Fred and later Haybaler Fred (after they uninstalled the Rotor and rethemed Yukon Yahoo into Haybaler) but I heard rumors he was treated like crap by ride operators so he stopped coming to the park.
Now all the rides and buildings have been ripped out leaving only concrete foundations. Even the waterpark that replaced SeaWorld is concrete foundations and footers. Those will be ripped out someday too. Sad.
Six flags ruined this park by overexpansion,not just at the park itself but their entire chain as well. At first people were hoping for cedar fair to add new rides that six flags wasn't able to afford to do at the time but unfortunately that didn't happen. Cedar fair was looking for a cheap source of new rides for the newly purchased paramount park's instead.
I have to disagree. Six flags had other parks that was bringing them into debt, not just Worlds of Adventure. Cedar fair is responsible because they shut down half the park, closed XFLIGHT and Steel Venom, and removed the Halloween events. But why did they close it? It's 80 miles away from Cedar Point!
Giles Pound and Geauga Lake and Sea World of Ohio and Six Flags Ohio and Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and Geauga Lake Family Amusement Park and Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom and Geauga Lake 's Wildwater Kingdom Water Park and Wildwater Kingdom Water Park and Geauga Lake Amusement Park History in Aurora, Ohio USA 🇺🇲.
@@markjones5757 Universal and especially Disney don’t really cater to thrills there mostly theme rides. Great adventure, magic mountain, Cedar point provide for the thrill and are very big which is what World of adventure was.
@@lamaripiazza5226 True, universal and Disney are not "catering" to roller-coasters. When it comes to "fame" though...I think it's pretty well known that Disney and universal are the two giants. Actually, I believe one of the reasons parks like Ceder point and especially the six flags parks have been on the decline the last few years is mainly because they focused way too much on roller-coasters instead of themes. In my opinion universal/Island of Adventure is just a much better park by far.
It would have survived had they kept the name Geauga Lake, had Solon-Bainbridge Twp-Aurora come together and improve the roads and build hotels, and planned the whole 3 parks in one concept better and more training.
I'm but your facts at the end are wrong. One, The wildlife part of the ride was not abandoned but re-purposed into Wildwater Kingdom in 2005, not after the park closed. Two rides were removed at the beginning of the 2007 season, Steel Venom and X-Flight. Dominator the ride you have in the picture with that false statement wasn't removed until after Cedar Fair closed the park. Also 9 years later not 10.
new theme park pokey park. atracttions that are going to be at pokey park; roller coasters; a roller coaster exactly like nighthawk at carowinds called X, a roller coaster exactly like red fire at viasea turkey called dragster, a roller coaster exactly like wicked twister at cedar point called voodoo, a roller coaster exactly like iron dragon at cedar point called serial thriller, a roller coaster exactly like mantis at cedar point called chang, the former road runner express at six flags kentucky kingdom called swamp buggy, the former greezed lightnin at six flags kentucky kingdom called tooligan. rides and atracttions; a vekoma d ride interactive dark ride called catastrophie transport, a ride exactly like demon drop at dorney park called demon drop, a vekoma mad house called the haunted mine, a ride exactly like jimmy neutrons atomic collider at nickelodeon universe called zydeco zinger,
MrLadiesman216 yes! It was a perfect example of getting too big for it's britches. It should have never ever been sold to six flags. If it would've stayed a small park with water attractions, it would still be flourishing
I grew up at Geauga Lake, we went every year in the 90's and 2000's... So much better than Cedar Point, in my opinion. Anyone remember the "Rotor Guy"??
The clientele changed. No one is brave enough to say it but I will. The discount season tickets to inner city youth destroyed the family atmosphere that was Geauga Lake. Unsupervised disrespectful kids with season passes chased us away. Nothing like a 13 year old kid threatening your wife because he jumped the line and got called on it. I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what his background was. I’ll just say that the likelihood of him having a father in the house was less than 30%. We know who ruined it. My children loved going there. We quit going because it wasn’t safe.
