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| Location |  |
| Coordinates | 41°21′05″N 81°22′41″W / 41.35125°N 81.378194°W |
| 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
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]
After Premier Parks purchased Six Flags from Time Warner, the company began a phased rebranding of their major parks under the Six Flags umbrella. In December 1999, it was announced that Geauga Lake would gain a $40 million expansion and would be rebranded as Six Flags Ohio for the 2000 season with the major addition of the DC Comics and Looney Tunes licenses. The expansion included over twenty new rides including four new roller coasters, a new water attraction and a larger wave pool in the water park; of which the older wave pool would become the site of a new children's area - Looney Tunes Boomtown. The expansion was made for the park to compete with major rival Cedar Point.[3]
In 2001, Busch Entertainment began the process of rebranding their SeaWorld parks as proper amusement parks and removing the educational aspects. SeaWorld Ohio was not big enough to add roller coasters or flat rides, so Busch offered Six Flags to purchase Six Flags Ohio, but Six Flags counter-offered to purchase SeaWorld Ohio; and officially made the announcement on January 12, 2001.[4] Now conjoined, the parks opened under the name Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.[5] The creation of Worlds of Adventure not only formed the largest Six Flags park but the largest theme park of all time.
Following the 2003 season, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure was struggling with low attendance as Six Flags faced financial problems. The main issues went towards guests being worn-out from exploring the massive 700-acre park.[6]
In March 2004, two months before the 2004 season, Six Flags announced they would sell Worlds of Adventure to Cedar Fair for $145 million.[7] After the sale was complete, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure reverted back to the Geauga Lake name which also brought along many changes. The DC Comics and Looney Tunes attractions were debranded and rebranded under generic names; while all other occurrences were replaced with the Peanuts franchise; with Snoopy becoming the park's new mascot. The Hurricane Harbor Water Park became Hurricane Hannah's, while the "Wild Life" animal area was removed entirely with the animals relocated to other Six Flags parks.
In November 2004, Cedar Fair announced that the former SeaWorld Ohio/Wild Life site would become home to a standalone water park named Wildwater Kingdom for the 2005 season, costing $26 million to construct.[8]
Beginning in the 2006 season to avoid competing with Cedar Point, Cedar Fair downsized and restructured Geauga Lake as a family-friendly alternative. This included the removal of the Hurricane Hannah's area (which had been sealed off), major attractions such as Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall and the removal of the Halloween Haunt event to concise with a shorter season 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 that Geauga Lake would only operate as a water park from the 2008 season onwards, effectively closing the amusement portion for good.[10] Cedar Fair kept most of the rides and relocated them to their other parks; with Cedar Point getting most of the children's rides. An auction sale for the rest of the rides 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)
Closed attractions
References
- ↑ "Favorite family place gears up for the 1990's". The Akron Beacon Journal.
- ↑ "3 Theme Parks Sold To Premier". The Daily Oklahoman.
- ↑ "Geauga Lake to Expand and Become Six Flags Ohio". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Six Flags acquires SeaWorld of Ohio". Chillicothe Gazette. 2001-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- ↑ After the purchase was completed, Six Flags merged the two parks together under the name of Six Flags Worlds of Adventure; being branded as "Three Parks for the Price of One". The amusement park area became "Wild Rides", the water park area became "Hurricane Mountain" and later "Hurricane Harbor", and the former site of SeaWorld Ohio became "Wild Life"."Six Flags Buys SeaWorld Ohio To Combine Parks". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "How Six Flags Built & DESTROYED the World's Largest Theme Park". Airtime Thrills.
- ↑ Cedar Fair, L.P. completes acquisition of Six Flags Worlds of Adventure - Amusement Today (Wayback archive)
- ↑ "Geauga Lake plans expansion".
- ↑ "The Rise and Fall of Geauga Lake, Sea World, and Wild Water Kingdom in Ohio". cleveland.com.
- ↑ "Geauga Lake silences rides; water park remains".
- ↑ "Geauga Lake auctions off an era of thrills".
- ↑ Cedar Fair Pulls the Plug on Ohio's Wildwater Kingdom - NewsPlusNotes
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