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Geauga Lake

Coordinates: 41°20′54″N 81°22′09″W / 41.34839°N 81.36919°W / 41.34839; -81.36919
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the adjacent lake, see Geauga Lake (lake).

Geauga Lake
Previously known as
  • Geauga Lake (1887–2000, 2004)
  • Six Flags Ohio (2000)
  • Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (2001–2003)
  • Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom (2005–2007)
Park entrance, 2005
LocationBainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio, United States
Coordinates41°20′54″N 81°22′09″W / 41.34839°N 81.36919°W / 41.34839; -81.36919
StatusDefunct
Opened1887; 137 years ago (1887)
ClosedSeptember 16, 2007; 17 years ago (2007-09-16)
OwnerFuntime, Inc. (1969–1995)
Premier Parks/Six Flags (1995–2003)
Cedar Fair (2004–2007)
Operating seasonMay through September
Area550 acres (220 ha)
Attractions
Total54
Roller coasters8
Water rides3
Websitewww.geaugalake.com (archived)

Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio. 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 – the Big Dipper – 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 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, and was renamed Geauga Lake once more. 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 being closed as well.

History

[edit]

Pre-amusement park era

[edit]

Geauga Lake was originally known as "Picnic Lake" or "Giles Pond" after early settler Sullivan Giles.[1] Giles built a home in the area in 1817, and later established picnic grounds, a dance hall, and other entertainment, all of which was conveniently located near a train station, which brought in many visitors.

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" and a "very popular place of resort during the summer months, for fishing, picnic, and excursion parties." It also noted that "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."[2] At the time, a full-sized steamboat circled the lake, towing a large scow, topped with a dance floor. In 1907, the boat was shipped by rail to Brady Lake near Kent.

1887–1968: Geauga Lake amusement park

[edit]

Geauga Lake park was established in 1887. Major league baseball games were played at Geauga Lake in 1888 by the Cleveland Forest Citys of the major league American Association.[3] In 1889, the park installed its first ride, a steam-powered carousel.[4] More rides would soon follow.

Big Dipper from across the lake

William J. Kuhlman expanded the park in 1925 and added the Big Dipper coaster and the park's Olympic-sized swimming pool, the latter of which stayed in operation until the mid-1960s. On July 11, 1926, Olympic medalist and Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller set a new world record in the 220-yard freestyle swim in the pool in front of 3,000 spectators.[5] Lake swimming also continued throughout the coming decades. A race track was added in 1931. A theater, dance hall, and bowling alley were also added around the same time. The park's dance hall and ballroom were major attractions, with live music performed by Guy Lombardo, Fred Waring, Artie Shaw, and other big names of the time. In 1937, the park's hand-carved 1926 Marcus Illions carousel was installed at a cost of $35,000, after having been located in Philadelphia and Birmingham.[6]

In 1942, a tornado hit the park, injuring six, destroying multiple buildings, and damaging the Big Dipper.[7] The park reported $50,000 in damages, but it rebuilt.[8] In July 1944, Viola Schryer took over management of the park after the death of her uncle William Kuhlman.[9]

In 1952, a fire destroyed the park's bowling alley, theater, dance hall and roller rink, with damages estimated at $500,000.[10] Due to this, the park became strictly a seasonal amusement park, beach, and swimming area. The Olympic-sized swimming pool was closed and razed in the late 1960s, but lake swimming continued. Park admission was free, and park guests paid per ride.

1969–1999: Funtime era

[edit]

In 1969, Funtime Incorporated purchased the park. The park's focus continued to be on rides and swimming. The race track closed in 1969. In 1970, a marine life park, SeaWorld Ohio, was built across the lake from the amusement park.

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. 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.

The Corkscrew coaster made its debut in 1978, making Geauga Lake the first amusement park in Ohio to have two looping coasters. Swimming in the lake continued to be popular at the park, so 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 first tsunami wave pool in the Midwest, opened.

In 1985, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, owner of SeaWorld, announced his intent to purchase Funtime and combine the two parks,[11] but the deal was never completed.[12] In 1986, more children's rides were added to a themed area known as Rainbow Island. Stingray water slides and the Euroracer Grand Prix rides were also added.

Raging Wolf Bobs, added in 1988, was added to celebrate the park's centennial anniversary.

In 1988, Geauga Lake celebrated its centennial by introducing the Raging Wolf Bobs, a wooden roller coaster 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, and Grizzly Run, a water rapids ride designed by Intamin. These attractions opened in 1996, and Corkscrew was closed and sold and moved to Dizzee World in India the same year. The next year, the park expanded its water area by 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2) 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 from Time Warner. Serial Thriller, an inverted coaster later known as Thunderhawk, was added as well. The next year, Americana, Time Warp, and Skycoaster were added.

2000–2003: Six Flags era

[edit]
The logo when it was known as Six Flags Worlds of Adventure

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:[13] a junior coaster called Road Runner Express, a wooden coaster called Villain, a floorless coaster called Batman: Knight Flight and an inverted impulse coaster called Superman: Ultimate Escape. Also added was a new shoot the chute water ride named Shipwreck Falls and a new wave pool in the water park. The old wave pool was filled, and used for a new Looney Tunes themed kids' area known as Looney Tunes Boomtown.

Around this time, Busch Entertainment determined that its SeaWorld 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. Due to Six Flags Ohio's close proximity to SeaWorld Ohio, Busch approached Six Flags about buying the Six Flags park. Six Flags then made a counter offer to instead buy SeaWorld Ohio. That winter, Six Flags purchased SeaWorld Ohio 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.[14] 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 planned to construct a 200-foot tall coaster on the SeaWorld side of the park, but later abandoned those plans due to height restrictions and other conflicts with the city of Aurora.[15] The original amusement park area became known as the "Wild Rides" area and continued expansion with a Vekoma flying coaster called X-Flight. The original water park area also continued, so the park was marketed as "three parks for one price." In hopes to expand the water park, 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.

2004–2007: Cedar Fair era

[edit]
View of Thunderhawk (yellow), Dominator (blue), and Raging Wolf Bobs (white) with the ferry boats (then unused) in the background in 2006

Facing financial difficulties across its chain, Six Flags considered selling the park. Two months before the 2004 season, a sale to Cedar Fair was announced. The deal was finalized less than a month later for $145 million.[16] The Geauga Lake name was promptly restored to the park. To conform with copyright and trademark laws, all Looney Tunes and DC Comics branding was removed from the park. 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, including Six Flags Marine World and Six Flags Great Adventure.

Examples of name changes that took place include:

In 2005, Cedar Fair invested $26 million in Wildwater Kingdom, a new water park on the former SeaWorld site, which resulted in the park's name being changed to Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom. The Wildwater Kingdom side had 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, then located at Cedar Point.[17]

In 2006, Wildwater Kingdom was expanded to include Tidal Wave Bay. The Hurricane Hannah area was then shut down. The season was also scaled back, eliminating the spring and fall weekend operations, instead operating strictly between Memorial Day and Labor Day. At the end of the season, X-Flight and Steel Venom were removed. X-Flight was relocated to Kings Island and opened as Firehawk in 2007. Steel Venom was relocated to Dorney Park, where it opened for the 2008 season as Voodoo, and was later renamed Possessed.

Decline

[edit]

Combined attendance at both parks reached an estimated 2.7 million visitors in 2001.[18][19] By 2004, total park attendance had fallen to approximately 700,000 despite a $40 million investment on rides in 2000.[20][21] Citing the Cleveland area as their "most difficult market," Six Flags sold the park to Cedar Fair in March 2004.[22] 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.[21][23]

Closing and land redevelopment

[edit]
One of the last standing rides, Ripcord, pictured in 2011

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.[24] 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.[25] Cedar Fair also announced plans to move existing rides to other properties.[25] This led to efforts from locals to save Geauga Lake, especially landmark rides such as the Big Dipper and the Carousel.

Cedar Fair placed the amusement park side's land up for sale in 2008. The remaining rides and remnants were auctioned separately on June 17, 2008.[26]

In 2012 and 2013, Cleveland-based photographer and artist Johnny Joo visited Geauga Lake to capture the park in a state of decay.[27] These photos brought heavy local attention from families who had visited the park in its heyday.

As late as January 2013, the amusement park side was still for sale, and projects similar to Crocker Park in Westlake, Ohio were being considered.[28] Bainbridge Township and Cedar Fair hoped to have it resolved by the end of 2013.[29] 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.[30] Several companies showed interest in the land.[31][32] On September 17, 2017, a plaque was unveiled in memory of the park.[33]

On August 25, 2020, it was announced that PulteGroup, a home construction company, would be building a housing development on the site of the Wildwater Kingdom parking lot.[34] PulteGroup acquired the 245 acre portion of the property for $2 million.[35] The development, known as Renaissance Park at Geauga Lake, included street names like "Carousel Court" and "Dipper Way" to pay tribute to former Geauga Lake attractions.[36][37] In October 2020, developer Industrial Commercial Properties bought the remaining 377 acres of the property with plans to build homes, restaurants, and retail establishments.[38]

On September 17, 2024, Aurora City Council unanimously voted to purchase 48 acres of land, along with the adjacent lake, from Industrial Commercial Properties. The land was acquired for a total of $5.3 million, including $1.3 million of stimulus money from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The city of Aurora plans to develop this newly-acquired property as a public park, which may include amenities like a beach, pool, and a place for boating. The city council had announced their plans for this land in spring 2023.[39]

Fate of Geauga Lake's coasters

[edit]
What was left of the Geauga Lake entrance as pictured in 2011

Past coasters and attractions

[edit]

Below are some of the park's former rides that have been removed or are now operating at another amusement park.

Roller coasters

[edit]
Ride Manufacturer Model Year Opened Year Closed Description
Big Dipper John A. Miller Wooden 1925 2007 After this coaster opened, Geauga Lake officially became an amusement park, and the ride formerly stood by the park entrance gate. It has also been known as The Clipper and Sky Rocket. It was demolished in 2016.
Wild Mouse Schiff Wild Mouse coaster 1958 1971 Relocated to Chippewa Lake Park in 1972 and closed in 1978. It was torn down in 2013.
Little Dipper NAD Comet Jr. Wooden family roller coaster 1952 1975
Cyclone Pinfari Z47 portable coaster 1976 1980
Double Loop Arrow Dynamics Double looping steel coaster 1977 2007 Demolished.
Corkscrew Arrow Dynamics Corkscrew steel coaster 1978 1995 Relocated to Dizzee World and renamed "Roller Coaster" in 1995.
Raging Wolf Bobs Dinn Corporation Wooden twister coaster 1988 2007 Closed on June 16, 2007 due to a train derailment. Demolished between 2011 and 2014.
Head Spin Vekoma Steel boomerang coaster 1996 2007 Formerly known as Mind Eraser, now operating at Carowinds as The Flying Cobras.
Thunderhawk Vekoma Steel looping coaster 1998 2007 Formerly known as Serial Thriller, now operating at Michigan's Adventure.
Beaver Land Mine Ride Zierer Steel kiddie coaster 2000 2007 Formerly known as Road Runner Express, now operating at Papéa Parc in Yvré-l'Evêque, France as "Roller Coaster."
Dominator Bolliger & Mabillard Floorless steel coaster 2000 2007 Formerly known as Batman: Knight Flight, now operating at Kings Dominion.
Steel Venom Intamin Impulse steel coaster 2000 2006 Formerly known as Superman: Ultimate Escape, now operating at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom as Possessed.
Villain Custom Coasters International Wooden/steel hybrid coaster 2000 2007 Demolished.
X-Flight Vekoma Flying Dutchman 2001 2006 Relocated to Kings Island as Firehawk. Closed and demolished in 2018 to make room for Orion.

Other attractions

[edit]
Ride Year Opened Year Closed Description
Americana 1999 2007 Ferris wheel. Moved from Old Indiana Fun Park in 1997, opened at Kings Dominion in 2009.
Bayern Kurve 1974 1981 Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve
Bel-Aire Express 1969 2006 Monorail
Big Ditch 1973 1985 Boat ride
Black Squid 1970 2007 Eyerly Spider. Relocated to Kings Dominion, but was in too poor of condition to be reassembled.
Boardwalk Typhoon 2007 Eli Bridge Scrambler. Sold to Schlitterbahn water parks.
Bounty 2001 2007 Chance Sea Dragon. Sold to Schlitterbahn water parks.
Bug 1977 Traver Tumble Bug
Calypso 1975 1986 Ramagosa Calypso
Carousel 1937 2007 Marcus Illions Grand Carousel. Relocated to Worlds of Fun in 2011.
Casino 1991 1999 Chance Casino
Dodgems 1983 2007 Bumper cars
El Dorado 1991 2007 Weber 1001 Nachts pendulum ride. Moved to Kings Dominion in 2009 but was closed in 2011 to make room for WindSeeker.
Euroracers Grand Prix 1987 1999 Go-karts
Ferris Wheel 1969 1998 Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel
Ferry Boats 2001 2005 Two ferry boats operated as Cuyahoga Queen and Aurora Belle
Fly-O-Planes 1952 1985 Eyerly Fly-O-Planes
Flying Scooters 1958 1999 Flying Scooters
Geauga Lake Stadium 1975 2007 Lakeside stadium originally built to host SeaWorld's water-ski shows.
Geauga Queen 1980 Boat ride
Giant Slide 1980 Sack slide
Grizzly Run 1996 2007 Intamin water rapids ride
Harbor Theatre 1998 2007 4-D cinema
Hay Baler 1976 2007 Mack Matterhorn
Kidworks Playzone 2000 2007 Kiddie rides area formerly known as Looney Tunes Boomtown, rides relocated to Cedar Point in the Planet Snoopy section of the park in 2008.
LEGO Racers 4-D 2007 2007 4-D cinema film
Lighthouse Cruise 1985 2000 Boat ride
Merry Oldies 1972 2007 Arrow Dynamics Antique Cars
Mission: Bermuda Triangle 2000 2004 Simulator film
Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall 1997 2005 Intamin first generation freefall. Scrapped, parts salvaged for Demon Drop.
Muzik Express 1978 2002 Spinning Himalaya-type ride
Palace Theatre 1977 2007 Entertainment venue which was previously a funhouse from the 1940s through 1976.
Pepsi Plunge 1972 2007 Log flume. formerly known as Gold Rush.
Pirates 4-D Adventure 1998 2004 4-D cinema film
Pirates Flight 2002 2007 Zamperla Balloon Race with pirate theme.
Power City Stage 1993 2007 Amphitheatre formerly known as Gotham City Stage.
Ripcord 1999 2007 Skycoaster
Robots of Mars 2005 2006 4-D Cinema film replaced by LEGO Racers 4-D.
Rock-O-Planes 1953 1982 Eyerly Rock-O-Planes
Roll-O-Planes early 50's mid 70's Eyerly Roll-O-Plane
Rotor 1981 2000 Rotor-type ride
Shipwreck Falls 2000 2007 Shoot-the-Chutes water ride. Relocated to Celebration City in 2008, and closed the same year.
Silver Bullet 1976 2003 HUSS Park Attractions enterprise ride
Skyscraper[49] 1974 2007 Observation tower, dismantled.
Starfish 2003 2007 Spinning family ride
Texas Twister 1993 2007 The first HUSS top spin in America. It was relocated to California's Great America as Firefall in 2008. It was removed in 2016.
Thunder Alley Speedway 1998 2007 Go-karts
Time Warp 1999 2007 Chance Inverter thrill ride
Yo-Yo 1981 2007 Chance Yo-Yo chairswing ride. Was operational at Carowinds from 2008 to 2022.
Tilt-A-Whirl 1999 Operated at Wyandot Lake (Columbus Zoo) from 2000 to 2017, relocated to Funtimes Park for 2018.

Looney Tunes Boomtown

[edit]
Six Flags name Cedar Fair name Description Now Known As:
Taz's Twister Mad Whirl Zamperla Mini Tea Cups Woodstock Whirlybirds
Daffy's Deep Diver Dippy Divers Zamperla Crazy Bus Snoopy's Deep Sea Divers
Tweety's Club House Tree Hopper Zamperla Jumpin' Star Kite Eating Tree
Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster Hot Air Express Zamperla Samba Balloons Flying Ace Balloon Race
Yosemite Sam BoomTown Express Half Pint Express Snoopy's Express Railroad
Speedy Gonzales' Trucking Company Road Rally PEANUTS Road Rally
Marvin the Martian Rocket Ship Ride Rocket Relay Snoopy's Space Race

Hurricane Harbor

[edit]
Ride Year Opened Year Closed Description
Shark Attack 2003 2005 3 raft slides
Hurricane Mountain 2003 2005 America's largest water slide complex at the time.
Stingray Wet Slides 1987 2005 Speed slides
Neptune Falls 1982 2005 3 body slides
Hook's Lagoon 1997 2005 Water tree house
Turtle Beach 1989 2005 Kids play area
The Rampage 1982 1996 Water tobbogan, replaced by Hook's Lagoon.
Hurricane Bay 2000 2005 Wave pool
Calypso Creek 2000 2005 Lazy river
The Wave 1984 1999 Wave pool, removed to make way for Looney Tunes Boomtown.

Previous names and management

[edit]

The park was originally two parks: Geauga Lake and SeaWorld Ohio. Geauga Lake became Six Flags Ohio in 2000 and for the 2001 season, SeaWorld Ohio was purchased by Six Flags and the entire complex was combined and renamed Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.

Amusement park Marine park
Year Name Owner Manager Name Owner Manager
1872 Giles Pond / Picnic Lake Sullivan Giles N/A
1888 Geauga Lake Alexander G. Kent
1925 William J. Kuhlman
1945 Carl Adrion, Harvey Schryer, & Charles Schryer
1968 Funtime, Inc. Gaspar Lococo, Earl Gascoigne, Dale Van Voorhis, & Milford Jacobson
1970 SeaWorld Ohio SeaWorld Milton C. Shedd, Ken Norris, David Dement, and George Millay
1976 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
Combined amusement and water park
1983 Geauga Lake Funtime, Inc. Gaspar Lococo, Earl Gascoigne, Dale Van Voorhis, & Milford Jacobson SeaWorld Ohio Anheuser-Busch Daniel Trausch
Fall 1989
1996 Geauga Lake Premier Parks Gaspar Lococo
1998 Geauga Lake Six Flags
1999 SeaWorld Cleveland
2000 Six Flags Ohio Six Flags Jack Bateman, Daniel Trausch, Joe Costa
Combined amusement, water, and marine park
Name Owner Manager
2001-2003 Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure Six Flags Rick McCurly
Combined amusement and water park
Name Owner Manager
2004 Geauga Lake Cedar Fair Bill Spehn
2005–2007 Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom

See also

[edit]

Incidents at Geauga Lake

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Wilson, Marcelle; Richard Fetzer (2007). Images of America: Aurora. Arcadia Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-0738550558.
  2. ^ Pioneer and General History of Geauga County. Historical Society of Geauga County. 1880. p. 143.
  3. ^ The Plain Dealer. August 27, 1888. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ Francis, David; Diane Francis (2004). Cleveland Amusement Park Memories. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-886228-89-4.
  5. ^ "Swim Record Set by Weissmueller". Cleveland Plain Dealer. July 12, 1926. p. 15 – via Newsbank.com.
  6. ^ Francis & Francis, p. 62
  7. ^ "6 Injured as Storm Rips Geauga Park". Cleveland Plain Dealer. August 23, 1942. pp. 1, 13 – via Newsbank.com.
  8. ^ Francis & Francis, p. 65
  9. ^ "Geauga Lake Park's Owner Dies in Crash". Cleveland Plain Dealer. July 27, 1944. p. 1 – via Newsbank.com. Active direction of the park will be taken over by Viola Schryer, Kuhlman's niece, who has acted as his secretary for some time.
  10. ^ Francis & Francis, p. 68
  11. ^ Staff, Vicki Vaughan of The Sentinel. "HBJ WILL BUY WATER PARK NEAR OHIO SEA WORLD". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "Geauga Lake: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of the World's Largest Amusement Park". Coaster101. October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Geauga Lake to become Six Flags Ohio". The Vindicator. December 8, 1999. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  14. ^ Krosnick, Brian (September 10, 2014). "5 Tragic Reasons Why the World's Largest Theme Park Stands Abandoned in Ohio". themeparktourist.com. Theme Park Tourist. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  15. ^ "Six Flags Plans 200-Foot Tall Coaster for Ohio Park". Ultimate Roller Coaster. June 27, 2001. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  16. ^ "Six Flags agrees to sell Ohio park for $145M". Pittsburgh Business Times. March 10, 2004. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  17. ^ "Geauga Lake Park Maps". GeaugaLakeToday.com. 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  18. ^ Horton, John (December 22, 2003). "Thrill isn't gone, but fans fading at Six Flags". Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on December 22, 2003. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  19. ^ "Geauga Lake gets facelift to shed its Six Flags name". The Morning Journal. April 30, 2004. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  20. ^ Hamill, Sean D. (October 23, 2007). "Park closing doesn't thrill fans". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  21. ^ a b Labbe, Dan (September 22, 2007). "Comment: Geauga Lake packs up its rides". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  22. ^ McKinnon, Julie (March 11, 2004). "$145M sale of Six Flags solidifies Ohio market; Cedar Point's parent company to buy Cleveland-area competitor". The Blade. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  23. ^ Booth, John (February 5, 2007). "Geauga Lake's new twist". Crain's Cleveland Business. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  24. ^ Bhatia, Kabir (September 18, 2017). "Ten Years After Closing, Geauga Lake Amusement Park Ready For New Purpose". WOSU Radio. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Hovey, Brent (September 26, 2007). "Geauga Lake silences rides; water park stays". Aurora Advocate. Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  26. ^ "A Final Goodbye". GeaugaLakeToday.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  27. ^ "Geauga Lake: From Icon to Eyesore". WKYC. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  28. ^ Lahmers, Ken (October 3, 2012). "Mixed uses for Geauga Lake land suggested in city master plan". Aurora Advocate. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  29. ^ Arnold, Dave (January 15, 2013). "Bainbridge Township residents complain about abandoned Geauga Lake eyesore". WEWS-TV. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  30. ^ Bullard, Stan. "Geauga Lake land will be sold -- in pieces". Crain's Cleveland Business. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  31. ^ Tye, Chris (June 1, 2015). "Meijer superstore in talks to build on Geauga Lake land". wkyc.com. WKYC. Retrieved July 13, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  32. ^ Bullard, Stan (May 11, 2014). "Developers are sizing up massive Geauga Lake land". crainscleveland.com. Crain's Business. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  33. ^ Bhatia, Kabir (September 18, 2017). "Ten Years After Closing, Geauga Lake Amusement Park Ready For New Purpose". WOSU. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  34. ^ "Pulte Homes Announces New Geauga Lake Community". Yahoo Finance. Yahoo Finance. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  35. ^ "Pulte plants flag at former Geauga Lake amusement park". August 14, 2020.
  36. ^ Wright, Matt (August 26, 2020). "New housing development planned for part of former Geauga Lake site". fox8.com. fox8.com. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  37. ^ "Pulte Homes Announces New Geauga Lake Community". businesswire.com. businesswire.com. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  38. ^ Heisig, Eric (November 2, 2020). "Developer unveils plans for Geauga Lake amusement park site, including new Menards, homes, restaurants". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  39. ^ Sims, Megan (September 17, 2024). "A new chapter for Ohio's famed Geauga Lake". Cleveland.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  40. ^ fr:Papéa Parc
  41. ^ "Roller Coaster - Papéa Parc (Yvré-l'Evêque, Pays de la Loire, France)". rcdb.com. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  42. ^ Grzegorek, Vince (September 8, 2010). "Big Dipper, Famous Ohio Rollercoaster, For Sale on eBay". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  43. ^ Glaser, Susan (October 19, 2016). "Geauga Lake's Big Dipper roller coaster comes down". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  44. ^ "RCDB". Duane Marden. Rollercoaster Data Base. 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  45. ^ "Cyclone". POP World Media, LLC. 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  46. ^ Wendel, Kim (October 22, 2008). "Geauga Lake: Where is it a year after closing? | wkyc.com". WKYC. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  47. ^ "Burton: Century Village gets section of Geauga Lake Raging Wolf Bobs, coaster car". wkyc.com. August 22, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  48. ^ John Matarese; Abby Anstead (September 27, 2018). "Farewell, Firehawk: Kings Island announces roller coaster will come down". WCPO. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  49. ^ Wendel, Kim (October 2008). "Geauga Lake: Where is it a year after closing?". WKYC-TV.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Smolko, Tom; Joe Taylor (2014). Geauga Lake: Sunrise to Sunset. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Landmarks Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0-936760-36-0.
[edit]
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