Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom

Amusement park in the United States
(Redirected from Geauga Lake)


Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom
Location
Aurora, Ohio, USA
Coordinates 41°21′05″N 81°22′41″W / 41.351250°N 81.378194°W / 41.351250; -81.378194
Status Defunct
Operated 1887 to September 16, 2007
Owner Cedar Fair
Previous names Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, Six Flags Ohio

Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom was an amusement park in Aurora, Ohio, USA. First opening in 1887 as a local recreational area; Geauga Lake would gain its first ride, a steam powered carousel, in 1889. It closed on September 16, 2007. The water park continued to operate until September 5, 2016.

History

The entrance in 2005
View of Thunderhawk and Dominator

In 1969, a group of former Cedar Point executives formed Funtime Parks and purchased Geauga Lake.[1] The company owned the park until August 15, 1995, when it was sold to Premier Parks as part of a $60 million deal in which it acquired Geauga Lake, Darien Lake, and Wyandot Lake.[2]

The park was renamed Six Flags Ohio in 2000, when Six Flags purchased the park in order to compete with Cedar Point.[3] In January 2001, Six Flags purchased the nearby SeaWorld Ohio with plans to merge it with Six Flags Ohio.[4] Now conjoined, the parks opened under the name Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.[5]

Following the 2003 season, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure was struggling as Six Flags faced financial problems, and guests were often worn-out from exploring the massive 700-acre park.[6] In 2004, the park was sold to Cedar Fair.[7] The DC Comics and Bugs Bunny franchise were replaced by Peanuts franchise, and some of the rides were renamed. The SeaWorld area was also removed, and Hurricane Harbor became Hurricane Hannah's.

In 2005, Wildwater Kingdom opened in the former SeaWorld area.[8]

Starting in 2006, Geauga Lake began to downsize the attractions, as Geauga Lake was never meant to be so large, and Cedar Fair wanted Geauga Lake to become a small family park. Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall was dismantled prior to the 2006 season. In addition, the Halloween Haunt event was removed and Geauga Lake began to run from Memorial Day weekend to mid-September.

After the removal of several major rides and the SeaWorld area, visitors were unhappy about the quick and confusing changes made, and attendance flatlined.[9] Geauga Lake's final operating day was September 16, 2007. Five days later, Cedar Fair would publicly announce the park's closure on September 21, 2007. The rides were dismantled and sold to other Cedar Fair parks. However, Wildwater Kingdom remained open until 2016.[10] An auction sale was held on June 17, 2008.[11]

On August 19, 2016, Cedar Fair announced that Wildwater Kingdom would close on September 5 and would not reopen for the 2017 season.[12]

Former roller coasters (14)

Name Manufacturer Type Opened Closed Fate
Beaver Land Mine Ride Zierer Sit-Down 2000 2007 Relocated to Papéa Parc
Big Dipper John A. Miller Wooden 1925 2007 Scrapped
Corkscrew Arrow Dynamics Sit-Down 1978 1995 Relocated to MGM Dizzee World
Cyclone Pinfari Sit-Down 1976 1980 Relocated to Holiday World
Dominator Bolliger & Mabillard Floorless 2000 2007 Relocated to Kings Dominion
Double Loop Arrow Dynamics Sit-Down 1977 2007 Scrapped
Head Spin Vekoma Shuttle 1996 2007 Relocated to Carowinds
Little Dipper National Amusement Device Company Wooden Family 1952 - 1962 1975 Unknown
Raging Wolf Bobs Dinn Corporation Wooden 1988 2007 Scrapped
Steel Venom Intamin Shuttle 2000 2006 Relocated to Dorney Park
Thunderhawk Vekoma Inverted 1998 2007 Relocated to Michigan's Adventure
Villain Custom Coasters International, Inc. Wooden 2000 2007 Scrapped
Wild Mouse B. A. Schiff & Associates Wild Mouse Unknown Unknown Relocated to Chippewa Lake Park
X-Flight Vekoma Flying 2001 2006 Relocated to Kings Island

Closed attractions

Name Manufacturer Type Opened Closed Fate
Americana Chance Rides Ferris Wheel 1999 2007 Relocated to Kings Dominion
Bayern Kurve Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve 1974 1980 Unknown
Bel-Air Express Universal Design Monorail 1969 2006 Scrapped
Black Squid Eyerly Aircraft Company Octopus 1970 2007 Relocated to Kings Dominion (not used)
Boardwalk Typhoon Eli Bridge Company Scrambler 1977 or earlier 2007 Sold to Schlitterbahn Water Parks
Bounty Chance Rides Pirate Ship 2001 2007 Sold to Schlitterbahn Water Parks
Carousel Marcus Illions Carousel 1937 2007 Relocated to Worlds of Fun
Dippy Divers Zamperla Junior Flying Carpet 2000 2007 Relocated to Cedar Point
Dodgems Unknown Dodgems 1983 2007 Scrapped
El Dorado Weber Flying Carpet 1991 2007 Relocated to Kings Dominion
Grizzly Run Intamin River Rapids 1996 2007 Scrapped
Half Pint Express Zamperla Junior Railway 2000 2007 Relocated to Cedar Point
Hay Baler Mack Rides Matterhorn 1976 2007 Scrapped
Hot Air Express Zamperla Samba Balloon 2000 2007 Relocated to Cedar Point
June Bug Jump Zamperla Junior Jets 2002 2007 Relocated to Knoebels Amusement Resort
Mad Whirl Zamperla Junior Teacups 2000 2007 Relocated to Cedar Point
Merry Oldies Arrow Dynamics Track Ride 1972 2007 Scrapped
Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall Intamin Free Fall 1997 2005 Scrapped
Pepsi Plunge Sansei Technologies Log Flume 1972 2007 Scrapped
Pirate's Flight Zamperla Balloon Race 2002 2007 Sold to Schlitterbahn Water Parks
RipCord Sky Fun 1 Inc. Skycoaster 1999 2007 Unknown
Road Rally Zamperla Track Ride 2000 2007 Relocated to Cedar Point
Rocket Relay Zamperla Junior Jets 2000 2007 Relocated to Cedar Point
Shipwreck Falls Hopkins Shoot The Chute 2000 2007 Relocated to Celebration City
Silver Bullet HUSS Enterprise 1979 2003 Scrapped
Skyscraper Intamin Observation Tower 1974 2007 Scrapped
Starfish Chance Rides Trabant/Satellite 2003 2007 Sold
Texas Twister HUSS Top Spin 1993 2007 Relocated to California's Great America
Thriller Bees HUSS Ramba Zamba/Swingaround 2003 2007 Relocated to Antibes Land
Thunder Alley Speedway J&J Amusements Go-Karts 1998 2007 Scrapped
Tilt-A-Whirl Sellner Manufacturing Tilt-A-Whirl 1970 1999 Relocated to Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Time Warp Chance Rides Inverter 1999 2007 Sold to Schlitterbahn Water Parks
Tree Hopper Zamperla Junior Drop Tower 2000 2007 Relocated to Cedar Point
Tumble Bug Traver Engineering Tumble Bug 1930s 1977 Scrapped
Yo Yo Chance Rides Waveswinger 1981 2007 Relocated to Carowinds

References

  1. "Favorite family place gears up for the 1990's". The Akron Beacon Journal.
  2. "3 Theme Parks Sold To Premier". The Daily Oklahoman.
  3. "Geauga Lake to Expand and Become Six Flags Ohio". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
  4. "Six Flags acquires SeaWorld of Ohio". Chillicothe Gazette. 2001-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  5. "Six Flags Buys SeaWorld Ohio To Combine Parks". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
  6. "How Six Flags Built & DESTROYED the World's Largest Theme Park". Airtime Thrills.
  7. Cedar Fair, L.P. completes acquisition of Six Flags Worlds of Adventure - Amusement Today (Wayback archive)
  8. "Geauga Lake plans expansion".
  9. "The Rise and Fall of Geauga Lake, Sea World, and Wild Water Kingdom in Ohio". cleveland.com.
  10. "Geauga Lake silences rides; water park remains".
  11. "Geauga Lake auctions off an era of thrills".
  12. Cedar Fair Pulls the Plug on Ohio's Wildwater Kingdom - NewsPlusNotes
Amusement parks operated by Cedar Fair
Amusement parks operated by Six Flags