Geauga Lake was an amusement park in
Bainbridge Township and
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to
a lake of the same name. The first amusement ride was added in 1889, and the park's first roller coaster later known as the
Big Dipper
The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...
was built in 1925. The park was sold to
Funtime, Inc., in 1969 and was expanded over the years with additional rides and amenities. Funtime was acquired by
Premier Parks in 1995, and for the 2000 season, they re-branded Geauga Lake as Six Flags Ohio, adding four new roller coasters. The following year, Six Flags bought the adjacent
SeaWorld Ohio
SeaWorld Ohio was a theme park and marine zoological park, located in Aurora, Ohio. It was owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, formerly known as Busch Entertainment Corporation. The Ohio location was the second SeaWorld park t ...
and combined the two parks under the name Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.
The park changed ownership again in 2004 after a purchase by
Cedar Fair
Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included-w ...
. The park's SeaWorld portion was transformed into a water park in 2005, and together they became known as Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom. On September 21, 2007, less than a week after Geauga Lake closed for the season, Cedar Fair announced that the amusement park would be permanently closed. The water park continued to operate as
Wildwater Kingdom through the 2016 season, before meeting the same fate.
History
Pre-amusement park era
Geauga Lake was originally known as "Picnic Lake" or "Giles Pond." The Geauga Lake area was home to early
settler
A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...
s such as the Staffords, Mark Patterson, Capt. Simon Henry with his wife Rhoda Parsons and their children, Charles Swires, the Brewsters, and Bohan Blair. There is a city park and ballfields on East Boulevard in Aurora, named after this lake. Sullivan Giles chose this area for his log cabin in 1817. He later built a large frame home on the spot behind Geauga Lake depot on the north side of the lake. When the railroad came to town in 1856, it made a stop at "pond station". Giles took advantage of his scenic lake location and, in the last half of the 19th century, established picnic grounds, a dance hall, and other entertainment near his home for the all-day pleasure of residents and those taking the train to the country.
Geauga Lake opened for picnics and swimming in 1872. An 1880 history of Geauga County reported the Giles residence "being easy of access by rail, has become, within a few years, a very popular place of resort during the summer months, for fishing, picnic, and excursion parties" and "for the convenience of such parties, Mr. Giles has recently erected a hall of considerable size near the lake. The surrounding grounds are kept clean and attractive, and, without exception, this is the most charming place to spend a leisure day to be found in this section." At the time, a full-sized
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
circled the lake, towing a large
scow
A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...
, topped with a dance floor. The boat, first owned by William Banford and Rowe Fuller, was later purchased by the Kents. In 1907, the boat was shipped by rail to
Brady Lake near
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
.
1887–1969: Geauga Lake amusement park
Geauga Lake park was established in 1887. Three major league baseball games were played on Sundays at Geauga Lake in 1888 (plus a Thursday exhibition game) by the
Cleveland Forest Citys
The Forest Citys were a short lived professional baseball team based in Cleveland in the early 1870s. The actual name of the team, as shown in standings, was Forest City, not "Cleveland". The name "Forest Citys" was used in the same generic styl ...
of the major league
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
. By 1889, the park installed its first ride, a steam-powered carousel. More rides would follow.
William J. Kuhlman expanded the park in 1925 and added the
Big Dipper
The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...
and the park's Olympic-sized swimming pool which stayed in operation until the mid-1960s. On Sunday, July 11, 1926, Olympic medalist and Tarzan actor
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...
set a new world record in the 220-yard freestyle swim in the pool in front of 3,000 spectators. Lake swimming also continued over the coming decades. Many amusement parks at the time had race tracks, dance halls, and sometimes a theater and bowling alley, making them year-round attractions. The race track was added in 1931, although it closed in 1969. The theater, dance hall, and bowling alley were also added around the same time. In 1937, the park's 1926 hand-carved Marcus Illions Carousel was added, after having been located in Philadelphia and Birmingham, at a cost of $35,000.
At that point, the park's dance hall and ballroom were major draws, with big band music performed by
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer.
Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and othe ...
,
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...
,
Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...
, and other big names of the time.
In 1942, a tornado hit the park, injuring six, destroying multiple buildings, and damaging the Big Dipper. The park reported $50,000 in damages, but it quickly rebuilt.
In July 1944, Viola Schryer ("Vi") took over management of the park after the death of her uncle William Kuhlman.
In 1952, a fire destroyed the park's bowling alley, theater, dance hall and roller rink with damages estimated at $500,000. At that time the park became strictly a seasonal amusement park, beach, and swimming area. The pool was closed and razed in the early 1960s, but lake swimming continued.
1969–2000: Geauga Lake amusement park (Funtime era)
In 1969,
Funtime Incorporated purchased the park. Funtime was formed to purchase Geauga Lake by former managers of
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Opened in 1870, it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point is owned and op ...
, Earl Gascoigne, Gaspar Lococo, and M.P. Jacobson. The focus continued to be rides and swimming. The racetrack closed and was razed in 1969. In 1970 a marine life park,
SeaWorld Ohio
SeaWorld Ohio was a theme park and marine zoological park, located in Aurora, Ohio. It was owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, formerly known as Busch Entertainment Corporation. The Ohio location was the second SeaWorld park t ...
, was built across the lake from the amusement park after Funtime persuaded SeaWorld to build the marine park on the other side of the lake. SeaWorld and Geauga Lake were friendly neighbors for 30 years working together to become a regional destination. SeaWorld focused on marine life and shows, while Geauga Lake focused on thrill rides and swimming. SeaWorld was purchased by
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City an ...
in 1976 and later by
Busch Entertainment Corp
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates thirteen recreational destinations in the Unite ...
in late 1989.
In 1972, the Gold Rush log flume water ride was added, and two years later Geauga Lake added the Skyscraper, which took passengers up 21 stories for views of the park. Admission to the park was free until 1972. Until then, rides on various attractions were purchased on a pay-as-you-go basis. Beginning in 1973, the park converted to an admission charge with a pay-one-price for all the rides and attractions. The Geauga Dog became the park's mascot and would remain so until 1999. In 1976, the park added the Wildcat compact steel roller coaster, and a year later the park added the
Double Loop, a looping steel coaster. For a time, the park ran a short-lived series of TV commercials featuring Geauga Dog and a singing, dancing adolescent boy performing a song about the park. The boy's off-key singing and awful dancing were deliberate, a means of getting viewers to notice the ad. It succeeded.
Corkscrew coaster made its debut in 1978, making Geauga Lake the first amusement park in Ohio and one of the first amusement parks anywhere to have two looping coasters. Swimming in the lake continued to be a feature at the park, and in 1983, the park added Boardwalk Shores, which featured a paddleboat marina, a new bath house, a children's swimming pool area and water slides. A year later, The Wave, the only authentic tsunami wave pool in the Midwest at the time, opened to rave reviews.
In 1985, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, owner of SeaWorld, announced their intent to purchase Funtime and combine the two parks, but the deal fell through. In 1986, more children's rides were added and themed as Rainbow Island, a children's dry ride area. Stingray water slides and the Euroracer Grand Prix rides were added.
![Raging Wolf Bobs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Raging_Wolf_Bobs.png)
In 1988, Geauga Lake celebrated its centennial by introducing the
Raging Wolf Bobs
Raging Wolf Bobs was a wooden roller coaster located at Geauga Lake amusement park in Ohio. Designed by Curtis D. Summers to resemble Bobs, a popular roller coaster at the defunct Riverview Park in Chicago, Raging Wolf Bobs was constructed by t ...
, a
wooden roller coaster
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...
with a hybrid twister/out and back design modeled after the original ''Bobs'' roller coaster at Chicago's defunct
Riverview Park. Two years later, the park re-themed the children's water area as Turtle Beach, which was advertised as the ultimate children's water playground. Geauga Lake expanded its midway with The Mirage and the $2.1 million Texas Twister in the early 1990s.
A corporate deal in 1995 saw Premier Parks acquiring Funtime, giving Geauga Lake a new owner. Premier Parks invested $9 million in new rides, including the
Mind Eraser, a steel looping shuttle coaster designed by
Vekoma
Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld.
History
The company originally ...
, and Grizzly Run, a water rapids ride designed by
Intamin
Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement ins ...
. These attractions opened in 1996, and the Corkscrew was closed and sold and moved to
Dizzee World in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The next year, the park expanded its water area by with Hook's Lagoon. Several new water slides were also added. Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall, an Intamin first generation freefall ride was also added in 1997.
In 1998,
Premier Parks purchased
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...
from
Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
. Serial Thriller, later known as
Thunderhawk, was added. The next year, Americana, Time Warp, and an up-charge attraction Skycoaster were added. Premier Parks re-branded Geauga Lake in 2000 as Six Flags Ohio.
2000–2004: Six Flags era
In 2000, Geauga Lake received a $40 million expansion and became Six Flags Ohio. As part of that expansion, the park received 20 new rides, including four new roller coasters.
A
junior roller coaster
The Vekoma Junior Coaster is a model of steel roller coaster built by Vekoma. It is commonly referred to as a “roller skater” due to the roller skate shaped cars found on some of the installations, and is credited with greatly influencing th ...
called
Road Runner Express, a
wooden roller coaster
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...
called
Villain
A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
, a
Floorless roller coaster
A Floorless Coaster is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them, allowing their feet to swing freely just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster model began ...
called
Batman: Knight Flight and an
Inverted impulse roller coaster called
Superman: Ultimate Escape. Also added was a new
shoot the chute
Shoot the Chute is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume or super flume, which generally seats up to eight passengers, a modern-day Shoot the Chute ride ge ...
water ride named Shipwreck Falls and a new wave pool in the water park. The old wave pool was razed, filled, and used for a new
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. themed kids' area known as Looney Tunes Boomtown.
Busch Entertainment
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates thirteen recreational destinations in the Unite ...
determined that its
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...
parks should feature roller coasters, water rides, and other attractions to supplement the marine displays and shows, and the company began de-emphasizing the educational aspects of its parks. They began modifying their
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
,
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, and to a lesser extent their
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
parks to reflect this. Due to Six Flags Ohio's close proximity, as well as the fact that the SeaWorld side of the lake had height restrictions, Busch approached Six Flags about buying the Six Flags park. Six Flags then made a counter offer to instead buy
SeaWorld Ohio
SeaWorld Ohio was a theme park and marine zoological park, located in Aurora, Ohio. It was owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, formerly known as Busch Entertainment Corporation. The Ohio location was the second SeaWorld park t ...
. That winter, Six Flags purchased SeaWorld for $110 million in cash, merging the two complexes into one, and changing the entire complex's name to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. By combining the parks, Six Flags created the largest theme park in the world to date, at 700 acres.
The SeaWorld side became known as the "Wild Life" area and remained primarily marine life shows, with a few portable children's rides placed throughout. In 2001, the park had plans to construct a 200-foot tall hypercoaster on the SeaWorld side of the park, but later abandoned those plans due to height restrictions and other conflicts with the city of Aurora. In 2002,
Shamu
Shamu (unknown – August 16, 1971) was a captive orca that appeared in shows at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid/late 1960s. She was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female. She was caught in October 1965 and died in August 1971, aft ...
was replaced by Shouka, who came on a breeding loan from Marineland in Antibes, France. The original amusement park area became known as the "Wild Rides" area and continued expansion with a
Vekoma
Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld.
History
The company originally ...
Flying roller coaster
A flying roller coaster is a type of roller coaster meant to simulate the sensations of flight by harnessing riders in a prone position during the duration of the ride. The roller coaster cars are suspended below the track, with riders secured s ...
called
X-Flight. The small water park area also continued, so the park was marketed as "Three Parks for One Price".
In hopes to expand the water park area, the addition of Hurricane Mountain, the then-largest water slide complex in North America, occurred in 2003 and the water park area was later renamed
Hurricane Harbor
Hurricane Harbor is a chain of water parks that are part of the Six Flags theme park chain. Although the parks are not identical, common features include a variety of body slides, speed slides, tube slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, and shopping ...
.
2004–2007: Cedar Fair era
![Thunderhawk06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Thunderhawk06.png)
Facing financial difficulties across its chain and high debt, Six Flags considered selling the park. Two months before the 2004 season, a sale to Cedar Fair, owner of
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Opened in 1870, it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point is owned and op ...
located away, was announced. The deal was finalized less than a month later for $145 million. The Geauga Lake name was promptly restored to the park. To conform with copyright and trademark laws, all
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. and
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
branding was removed from the names of rides, roller coasters, and attractions, as well as walk-around character costumes which were replaced with
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...
characters (other Cedar Fair parks began doing it in 2010 replacing
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
characters). The Looney Tunes Boomtown kids area was renamed Kidworks. The Hurricane Harbor water park area was renamed Hurricane Hannah's Waterpark. The marine life portion of the park was closed and demolished, and the animals were relocated to other Six Flags parks such as
Six Flags Marine World
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (formerly known as Six Flags Marine World, Marine World, The New Marine World Theme Park, and Marine World Africa USA) is a 135-acre (55 ha) animal theme park located in Vallejo, California, off of Interstate 80 ...
and
Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located in Jackson, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelphia and includes a water park named Hurricane Harbor. It first ope ...
.
Examples of name changes that took place include:
* Batman: Knight Flight lost the Batman theming and opened in 2004 under the name of
Dominator
* Mind Eraser was renamed
Head Spin
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may n ...
* Serial Thriller was renamed
Thunderhawk
* Superman: Ultimate Escape was renamed
Steel Venom
* Road Runner Express was renamed the
Beaver Land Mine Ride
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
In 2005, Cedar Fair invested $26 million in
Wildwater Kingdom, a new water park on the former
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...
site, which resulted in the name being altered slightly to Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom. The Wildwater Kingdom side had about six water slides and a children's water play area. The Hurricane Hannah area remained. Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall was closed at the end of 2005. Usable parts were salvaged for
Demon Drop
Demon Drop is a drop tower amusement ride at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Designed by Intamin, it is a Freefall model that was originally located at Cedar Point when it first opened to the public in 1983. It was ...
, then at Cedar Point, and the rest was scrapped.
In 2006, Wildwater Kingdom was expanded to include Tidal Wave Bay. The Hurricane Hannah area was then shut down, leaving Wildwater Kingdom as the remaining water park. The season was also scaled back, eliminating the spring and fall weekend operations and opening strictly between Memorial Day and Labor Day with one last weekend in mid-September. At the end of the season, the X-Flight roller coaster was removed, as well as
Steel Venom (formerly Superman The Ultimate Escape). X-Flight was relocated to
Kings Island
Kings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park first opened in 1972 by the Taft Broadcasting Company. It was part of a larger effort to move and expan ...
and opened as
Firehawk in 2007. Steel Venom was relocated to Dorney Park, where it opened for the 2008 season as Voodoo, until 2009 when it was renamed Possessed.
Decline
Combined attendance at both parks reached an estimated 2.7 million visitors in 2001.
By 2004, total park attendance had fallen to approximately 700,000 despite a $40 million investment on rides in 2000.
Citing the Cleveland area as their "most difficult market", Six Flags sold Worlds of Adventure to Cedar Fair in March 2004.
Speculation that the amusement park side would eventually close began after Cedar Fair relocated two major roller coasters – Steel Venom and X-Flight – to other parks prior to the 2007 season.
Closing and land redevelopment
![Geauga Lake Ripcord 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Geauga_Lake_Ripcord_2011.jpg)
In 2007, the summer-only operation of Geauga Lake continued. The annual Oktoberfest festival weekend held in September every year concluded on September 16, 2007, marking the amusement park's last day of operation.
On September 21, 2007, Cedar Fair announced that the ride side of Geauga Lake would permanently close, and that the water park side would continue to operate the following season as Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom.
Cedar Fair also announced plans to move existing rides to its other properties.
This led to efforts to save Geauga Lake, especially landmarks such as the Big Dipper and the Carousel, through an online petition and letters to public officials.
Cedar Fair placed the amusement park side's land up for sale. The remaining rides and remnants were auctioned separately on June 17, 2008. Many returned to the park for one last visit preview and auction days.
In 2012 and 2013, Cleveland-based photographer and artist
Johnny Joo
Johnny Joo is an American photographer. He photographs urban decay in abandoned and historic structures.
Work
Joo photographs abandoned and derelict buildings. He has taken photographs of the abandoned Land of Oz theme park on Beech Mountain, ...
visited Geauga Lake to capture the park in a state of decay. These photos brought heavy local attention from families who had remembered the park in its heyday.
As late as January 2013, the Geauga Lake side was still for sale and projects similar to
Crocker Park
Crocker Park is a lifestyle center (retail), lifestyle center and mixed-use development in Westlake, Ohio. With the first phase opened in 2004, the center comprises of retail, 650 residential units, and of office space.
History
The $200 million ...
in
Westlake, Ohio
Westlake is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland located 12 miles west of downtown Cleveland. The population was 34,228 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Westlake is located at (41.454439, −81.928657).
Acco ...
were being considered.
Bainbridge Township and Cedar Fair hoped to have it resolved by the end of 2013.
In March 2013, Cedar Fair announced that they were putting Geauga Lake's property up for sale again. Unlike before, they were willing to sell the land in parcels.
Several companies showed interest in the land.
On September 17, 2017, a plaque was unveiled in memory of the park.
On August 25, 2020, it was announced that
PulteGroup
PulteGroup, Inc. is an American residential home construction company based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The company is the 3rd largest home construction company in the United States based on the number of homes closed. In total, the compa ...
, a home construction company, would be building a housing development on the site of the Wildwater Kingdom parking lot. PulteGroup acquired the 245 acre portion of the property that is in the city limits of Aurora, Ohio for $2 million. The development, known as Renaissance Park at Geauga Lake, would include street names like "Carousel Court" and "Dipper Way" to pay tribute to former Geauga Lake attractions. PulteGroup said that homes will be available for sale by March 2021. In October 2020, developer Industrial Commercial Properties bought the remaining 377 acres of the property with plans to build homes, restaurants, and retail establishments there.
Fate of Geauga Lake's coasters
![Geauga Lake entrance 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Geauga_Lake_entrance_2011.jpg)
*
Beaver Land Mine Ride
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
: Sold to Papéa Parc amusement park in Yvré-l'Evêque, France.
*
Big Dipper
The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...
: The roller coaster was listed for auction on
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
in 2010 but failed to receive a bid; it was demolished in October 2016.
*
Dominator: Relocated to
Kings Dominion
Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia, north of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 ri ...
.
*
Double Loop: Demolished, sold to Cleveland Scrap for $25,000.
*
Head Spin
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may n ...
: Relocated to
Carowinds
Carowinds is a amusement park located adjacent to Interstate 77 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, with a portion of the park located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. However, it has an of ...
as
The Flying Cobras.
* Cyclone: Renamed Avalanche and travels with Amusements of America.
Removed in 1980.
* Little Dipper: Removed in 1975.
*
Raging Wolf Bobs
Raging Wolf Bobs was a wooden roller coaster located at Geauga Lake amusement park in Ohio. Designed by Curtis D. Summers to resemble Bobs, a popular roller coaster at the defunct Riverview Park in Chicago, Raging Wolf Bobs was constructed by t ...
: Demolished. Purchased for $2,500 at auction; some wood and track sold in online auctions;
steel track, station, and all mechanical elements removed in 2008; part of track and car donated to Geauga County Historical Society. Two of the original red PTC cars acquired in 2017 by the Coaster Universe Preservation Museum, and are now fully restored.
* Steel Venom: Relocated to
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located between Allentown and Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The park features 64 rides, including six roller coasters, other adul ...
as
Possessed
Possessed may refer to:
Possession
* Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else
** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body
*** ...
.
*
Thunderhawk: Relocated to
Michigan's Adventure
Michigan's Adventure is a amusement park in Muskegon County, Michigan, about halfway between Muskegon and Whitehall. It is the largest amusement park in the state and has been owned and operated by Cedar Fair since 2001. As of 2022, Michigan' ...
.
*
Villain
A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
: Demolished, sold to Cleveland Scrap for $2,500.
* Wild Mouse: Relocated in 1972 to
Chippewa Lake Park. It closed in 1978 alongside the park, and it was eventually taken down in Spring of 2013.
* X-Flight: Relocated in March 2007 to
Kings Island
Kings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park first opened in 1972 by the Taft Broadcasting Company. It was part of a larger effort to move and expan ...
as
Firehawk. It closed on October 28, 2018. It was demolished and removed from Kings Island after the 2018 season.
Past coasters and attractions
The number of former attractions at the park reflects the different visions each of the owners had for the park. Below are some of the park's former rides that have been removed or are now operating at another amusement park.
Roller coasters
Other attractions
Looney Tunes Boomtown
Hurricane Harbor
Previous names and management
This property has changed hands several times, although there were only four ownership changes in the 124-year span from 1872 to 1996.
The park was originally two parks: Geauga Lake and
SeaWorld Ohio
SeaWorld Ohio was a theme park and marine zoological park, located in Aurora, Ohio. It was owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, formerly known as Busch Entertainment Corporation. The Ohio location was the second SeaWorld park t ...
. Geauga Lake became
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...
Ohio in 2000; before the 2001 season SeaWorld was purchased by Six Flags and the entire complex was combined and renamed Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Official Site of Wildwater KingdomAurora Historical Society, has a large collection of GL and Sea World items and historyGeauga Lake Park 1888-2007 Geauga Lake Park, Today and Forever. Photos and maps
*
{{authority control
Amusement parks in Ohio
Buildings and structures in Geauga County, Ohio
Buildings and structures in Portage County, Ohio
Tourist attractions in Geauga County, Ohio
Tourist attractions in Portage County, Ohio
Cedar Fair amusement parks
1887 establishments in Ohio
2007 disestablishments in Ohio
Defunct amusement parks in Ohio
Aurora, Ohio
Funtime, Inc.