Half of Geauga Lake Complex May Become a Public Park One Day

© City of Aurora Ohio

I saw this story forever ago (okay, it was June) and then lost track of it for a while but still want to cover it a bit here.  Mostly because the long story of Geauga Lake continues to go on even in current day, somehow.  

 

The mayor of the City of Aurora, Ohio, wants to purchase Geauga Lake (the lake itself) and 40 or so acres that was originally Sea World Ohio and later Wildwater Kingdom under Cedar Fair ownership.  The city has a page up about the plan here, and it made some news when it was announced.  Sadly, nothing has happened since, but more on that in a bit.

© City of Aurora Ohio

The City would purchase the land from Industrial Commercial Properties for about $4.5 million.  I'm guessing the developer couldn't get anything going on the site, so it decided it would sell the land cheap to the city.  Some houses we built adjacent to the water park's old parking lot, and a new car dealership along North Aurora Road, but not much else has changed per recent aerials.

The city would make the property a public park, utilize the old wave pool to be a pool once again, add docks for non-motorized boats, have pavilions to rent, restrooms and other facilities and walking trails.  The developer would also build a trail that completely goes around the lake, and then give that to the city to own and maintain as well.  It sounds like a really nice park option for residents, and a great way to get access to the lake again since the parks closed.

© City of Aurora Ohio

It is a pretty neat idea, considering this is how the old water park still looks today - just crumbling ruins and mostly bulldozed.  

So this plan was announced back in June when the mayor presented it to city council, but then no vote on the plan (essentially giving the mayor the go-ahead to buy the land and get things started) was done at the time.  Then no vote was taken again at the next meeting, then it was formally postponed at July and August's meetings.  So, it's a standstill for now.  But perhaps one day things will get moving again.

Geauga Lake Redevelopment Well Underway

© Fox8

None of this is new news or anything surprising, but I happened to notice a news article about the redevelopment of the land that was Geauga Lake (and the land around it) and thought it was worth sharing.  

Up top is a recent aerial of where Geauga Lake was, it's finally being fully flattened and beaten back down to just dirt.  For many years after the park closed most of the structures were removed but a lot of rubble and the like was still at the park.  There were a million urban explorer type YouTube videos of the park, along with drone flights over it.  Currently the park is being prepped for a large redevelopment which will include apartments, homes, retail, office space and other ameinities with a nod to the amusement park that once stood there.

© ICP

Here is a drawing of the redevelopment planned to surround the lake, most of which is on top of the amusement park proper but also wrapping around the lake (like when Six Flags connected the two parks!).  Industrial Commercial Properties is the developer behind the project, you can read more about it here.

© Google Maps

I also noticed that a separate project has houses already standing on the former parking lot area of Wildwater Kingdom, formerly SeaWorld Ohio.  That project even has a street named Dipper Lane.  So if you ever wanted to live in a development atop a former park's parking lot, here you go!  Also of note, the waterpark seems to still be standing, despite the development right next door.

Former Geauga Lake Property to be Become Multipurpose Development

 © ICP

After being for sale for many years, the former site of Geauga Lake amusement park (and the former Sea World Ohio, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and Wildwater Kingdom) has been sold by Cedar Fair for redevelopment to Industrial Commercial Properties.  The sale includes 377 acres of land, and the site will be transformed into a mix of retail, restaurants, residential and commercial spaces.

To be known as The Geauga Lake District, it will include design elements that pay homage to the parks that operated in the space, specifically Geauga Lake from 1887 until 2007.  In the concept art for the development up top you can see a faux roller coaster design that will be found just inside the main road to the area (known as Geauga Lake Boulevard).  The area immediately surrounding the actual lake will remain open for public use as well.

ICP Officials on site at Geauga Lake © ICP

"Many of us that grew up in Northeast Ohio have fond memories of the park, and it was important to our development team, the Trustees and the Mayor that we respect the remarkable history of the property and take great care in creating design elements like the signage, landscaping, lighting, and other public improvements at the site," said Chris Salata, ICP's chief operating officer.  

 

The developers note that the "time is here to say final goodbyes to remnants of Geauga Lake Park and Sea World," sad of course, but it has been over a decade since the park last operated.  There is a chance that some old roller coaster cars from the park might be displayed in public spaces around the site.

The first company to sign on to The Geauga Lake District is Menards, a family owned home improvement store, which will take up 24 acre of the site.  You can read more details on the development in this news article from Industrial Commercial Properties.

From The Vault: Wildwater Kingdom 2011 Brochure

© Wildwater Kingdom

Let the good time flow!  This is Wildwater Kingdom's 2011 brochure, and while small it's still interesting to see a relic from a now closed park.  And not virus closed, really totally closed.  Wildwater Kingdom survived after the demise of Geauga Lake until the end of the 2016 season, when it joined Geauga in amusement and water park heaven.

The park opened on the former SeaWorld Ohio land in 2005, and was expanded in 2006.  With the lack of tourism to the area from Geauga Lake closing after 2007, it seemed the timer was ticking on the water park's life.  And indeed it was.

© Wildwater Kingdom

But while it was operating the water park offered some unique features, such as the extremely tall water slide complex Thunder Falls, and a lazy river/activity pool combination that utilized some of the rockwork from a former dolphin exhibit!  The park also offered a large wave pool, water fun house structure, tornado water slide and extensive lounging areas.

© Bing Maps

Here is what the park looked like when it was last operating.  I did not visit the park when it was Wildwater Kingdom (I did as SeaWorld Ohio though), but it looked like a nice property.  The fact that it was once a SeaWorld park probably had a lot to do with that.

© Google Maps

Here is the park in more recent times.  Everything has been removed as the park waits for its chance to be redeveloped into a housing complex, or maybe big box stores or who knows what.  Depressing! Speaking of that, here's a great video with an updates on the redevelopment plans for the park that have yet to materialize.

More Views of Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom's Demolition + Tornado Moves On

© Raiders of the Lost Parks

Back in September we featured a Facebook site, named Raiders of the Lost Parks, that was selling the slides, equipment and other relics from Wildwater Kingdom, the closed water park that was the last remnant of the Geauga Lake campus.

At the time the site was trying to find a new home for the park's large slide tower - more on that later - but we had also picked up on the news that some attractions had found new homes.  For instance, the Proslide Tornado was headed to Camelbeach Waterpark in Pennsylvania.  That ride has made much progress on its exit from the park, with a full refurbishment taking place on site in Ohio before the ride was shipped out.

© Raiders of the Lost Parks

All the fiberglass pieces were repainted, seen above, after being taken down.  It looks like the Tornado will retain its original colors, but looks fresh and new in its new home.  I haven't seen Camelbeach announce the new ride yet, so it's not clear if it will open in 2018 or later.

While the Tornado slide has been saved, the same fate was not in the stars for the 100 foot tall multiple slide tower that was one of Wildwater Kingdom's biggest features.  The author of the page notes that they contacted over 100 parks and sent bids to 19 of them, but no sale was made.  So sadly, the ride tower had to come down.  Here's a video the shared of part of the taller portion being pulled down.

And once most of the individual slides from the tower were down, the 100 foot tall main tower also had to come down.  Watch this one in full screen - that makes a heck of a noise when it lands!

© Raiders of the Lost Parks

When all was said and done the tower was reduced to a bunch of future-scrap metal on the ground.  Now, of course this is all pretty sad to see, but I'm happy that someone was there to document it for us.

And speaking of that, Raiders of the Lost Parks has also done several drone videos showing all parts of Wildwater Kingdom.  Scroll through their page to check them out.

Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom Relics Can Be Yours to Own

© Raider of the Lost Parks

Granted some of them cost an awful lot more than others, but fans of Wildwater Kingdom, formerly operating across the water from where Geauga Lake was, might be interested in some items from the park that are currently up for sale.

Raider of the Lost Parks is selling many items from Wildwater Kingdom on Facebook, including the well-known slide tower seen above.  Known as the tallest slide complex in Ohio, the 7 slide tower is still standing at the park while it waits for a new owner.

© Raider of the Lost Parks

But it sounds like it doesn't have much longer to wait, as the website reports that the park's owners are taking bids for its demolition.  They also estimate that moving the slide would cost about 40% less than a new slide tower of the same size, but that it will need plenty of refurbishments as well.  Sadly, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this one get torn down in the coming months.

However, it does appear as though some attractions from Wildwater Kingdom have found new homes.  The large Tornado slide was reportedly sold to Camelbeach water park in Pennsylvania, and the family water fun house structure went to an unnamed park.

© Raider of the Lost Parks

Outside of the water slides and attractions, pretty much everything else of value at the park is also on sale.  Above is a tree house relic that I think dates back to Sea World Ohio days.  There are plenty of other items listed on the Facebook site, including fire doors, a cash safe, water filtration systems and pumps, a pavilion and more.  So just like many of the rides from Geauga Lake live on at other parks, it seems some of Wildwater Kingdom will as well.

Cedar Fair Pulls the Plug on Ohio's Wildwater Kingdom

© Wildwater Kingdom

Cedar Fair has announced that Wildwater Kingdom, located on the remains of SeaWorld Ohio, will close for good at the end of the 2016 season - which is September 5th.  The park's closing will be the final chapter in the Geauga Lake/Six Flags/SeaWorld Ohio story.

The company posted a statement about the decision:

"Cedar Fair has been working cooperatively with both Bainbridge Township and the City of Aurora to redevelop the entire property into what will best benefit the surrounding communities. After examining its long-range plans, Cedar Fair has determined that the time is right to begin this transition and will continue to work together with community leadership in the positive future development of the property."

© Wildwater Kingdom

The history is a bit long to detail here, and has been done by other sites many times over, but Wildwater Kingdom is the result of a long and twisted story that involved several theme park operators.  Geauga Lake operated from 1887 until 2007 under several ownerships, including both Six Flags and Cedar Fair.  SeaWorld Ohio opened in 1970 across the lake from Geauga Lake, and was sold to Six Flags for the 2001 season.  After Six Flags combined the two parks into one and ran into financial trouble, they were sold to Cedar Fair in 2004.  Cedar Fair worked to turn the former SeaWorld Ohio side into a brand new water park (Wildwater Kingdom), which continued operating after they closed Geauga Lake for good in 2007.  Wildwater Kingdom made it another 9 operating seasons on its own.

The water park has a huge slide tower (seen above), large wave pool, Tornado slide, plus a water play structure.  Surprisingly, none of these items were included in any announcements for other 2017 Cedar Fair parks, so it remains to be seen if they will be relocated in the future, or sold.

A Future for the Former Geauga Lake Land?

Before anyone gets excited, the future for the land that makes up the former Geauga Lake does not seem to have much of a chance at ever coming back as an amusement park - let's get that out of the way now.

The city of Aurora, where the former amusement park sits, recently passed a measure to rezone the land for uses outside of the industrial category that it has held for years.  The industrial zoning is what held off development for so long, heavily restricting what could become of the 320 acres of closed park.

Now the land is zoned for a multitude of things, including "residential, recreational, entertainment, educational, retail and service activities."  There will be 180 day period that must take place before bids could be placed, and that's in order for the city to get all their ducks in a row, you could say.

And it sounds like they'll need them ready - there's already been about a billion times more interest in the land now that it has been rezoned.  While it has sat rotting for years since the park closed in 2007, it sounds like it won't be long until new projects are announced.

And what of the class Big Dipper wooden roller coaster? Well it wasn't mentioned in the article as anyone's priority, so perhaps it will finally be time for that ride to come down as well.  Wildwater Kingdom still operates on the other side of the lake, and at least for now, it would appear as though Cedar Fair will continue to own and operate it.

From The Vault: Geauga Lake 2005 Fall Brochure

Once Cedar Fair took over the park it did add or expand existing fall special events to the lineup, including Oktoberfest and The Haunt.  This little brochure was made specifically to advertise those two events, which were held at the end of the park's 2005 season.

The fun doesn't stop just because it was fall!  That was the message the park was trying to get out.  Plus, admission was just $24.95, which really was a steal all things considered.  Oktoberfest was actually celebrating its 25th year in 2005.  The festive celebration included favorites such as authentic German food, music, dancing, glass blowing, grape stomping and even wine tastings.

Once Oktoberfest was over The Haunt kicked in.  Aside from some creative decorations, the event included several haunted houses such as Phobia, Big Top Terror and the Fright Zone.  There were also regular rides that took on a scary twist, such as the Haunted Ferry Boats and the Scary Oldies.  Kids (and big kids) would love to visit the Candy corral, or take in a showing of the Magic Show.

On another note - was that giant monster in the photo moved to Cedar Point when Geauga Lake closed, anyone know?  Just curious!

From The Vault: Geauga Lake 1996 Brochure + Map

Next up we have Geauga Lake's 1996 brochure and map.  During this time period the park was owned by Premier Parks, and they were by no means shy when it came to expansion.  Along those lines, two big attractions opened in 1996 at Geauga Lake.

A roller coaster, named Mind Eraser, and a river rapids ride, named Grizzly Run, were the featured rides for the year.

The Mind Eraser was a standard Boomerang coaster, and utilized the same name that Premier Parks used for that style of ride at several other properties.  Grizzly Run was an Intamin river rapids ride that featured "raging rapids, roaring rip ties, swirling currents and towering waterfalls" according to the marketing.

Since this was before the day of Cedar Fair ownership, the park still had a water park built along the shores of the lake.  That silly looking turtle was the mascot for that area.  This section of the brochure also advertises the coasters that could be found, including two wooden rides, Raging Wolf Bobs and the Big Dipper.

Outside of the water park and big coasters, there was still plenty more to do at Geauga Lake.  A wide variety of flat rides like the Texas Twister and Skyscraper Ferris wheel had guests covered, plus there was more fun with the Cuyahoga River Logging Company flume ride and the even slower paced 1926 Marcus Illions Carousel.

The park's calendar featured weekends in October when "Halloscream" took place, there were also fireworks on all the popular holidays.  Geauga Lake also held an annual Grad Night, staying open from 10 pm all the way through to 4 am.

I have to admit that this park map is both ugly and horribly done!  Sorry, but the map changes perspective several times which gives it a bit of a crazy warped feeling!  But it's neat to be able to look back and see what was offered in 1996.

From The Vault: Geauga Lake 2004 Ad

Looks like I've started a little From The Vault theme here - turns out I've got an awful lot of stuff from the last years of the park.  Let's just roll with it and keep looking back at the now closed park's past.

Below is an advertisement from when the park reopened in 2004, once again known as Geauga Lake.  Cedar Fair changed the marketing back to focus on the thrill and fun the property offered, moving far away from the Six Flags call for adventure theme.

"The Fun is Back!" was an appropriate way to get folks accustomed to the park being Geauga Lake once more.  The main advertising slogan for the park its first year under Cedar Fair was "it's gonna be fun," which was slightly more awkward.  At this point who knew that all three coasters you can see the the above ad would be gone within a handful of years!

From The Vault: Six Flags Worlds of Adventure 2002 Ad

The combination of SeaWorld Ohio and Geauga Lake into one gigantic park was exciting times, the future was full of potentially amazing attractions... well we all know how that turned out.

Still, you can get a sense of that anticipation in this ad from the park's 2002 season:

I always liked the park's logo, too, shame it never got to stick around.  The catch was that the property offered three parks for one ticket - a wildlife park, ride park, and water park.  The year 2002 featured the new Tiger Island exhibit, one of the last big additions to the park before it was sold back to Cedar Fair.

Also a head's up - things will be quiet from me this week as I will be traveling.  Scott and Carol are hitting up IAAPA, though, so watch for exciting coverage from them!

What's Going on with Geauga Lake? Nothing.

A Bing image of the park

Five years after the park closed for the final time, the activity that has taken place on Geauga Lake's site can be summed up in one simple word: nothing.

And that's something that local residents are getting upset over, not only because the property sits as wasted space that's no longer generating tax revenues, but also because it is unkempt and an eyesore - so they say.

The 500 acres that the park sat on has been for sale since it closed, but Cedar Fair has not had any bids that they made moves on.  Most of the rides and structures were removed shortly after the closure, but some still stand, slowly rotting away.

The above linked story reports that Cedar Fair has a company working with local authorities on rezoning the site, which could draw in different businesses that may want to operate there.  It sounds like both sides, owner and township, agree that they want to land to be sold in a few large chunks, not many smaller pieces.

The article also reports that Cedar Fair immediately responded that they have received no official concerns about the status or appearance of the property, but would respond quickly if they had.

Personally, I can't believe that five years has already passed since we were all wondering and speculating about the future of the park. 

From the Vault: 1998 Geauga Lake Advertisement

The following Geauga Lake advertisement is a bit sad all things considered, but that's not where we are headed with this.  I actually featured this ad here on NPN some five years ago, but the photo quality was poor at best.  Hey, I tried!

With improved technology I thought it was worth another glance, if for no other reason to act as a segue for next week's Vault.

Serial Thriller:  It thrills again and again and again.  How silly.  It was a fun idea, though, and naturally we know that some folks wouldn't agree that the ride was much fun. If you'd like to test it out you can simply visit Michigan's Adventure where the coaster is now Thunderhawk.

As for why this advertisement leads to next week's Vault, that's because it is from a visitor's book from Sea World Ohio, remember when that existed?  We'll head back in time to check that out next week.

Aerial Antics: The Weeds Grow At Geauga Lake

I hate to beat a dead horse, or theme park you might say, by revisiting Geauga Lake, but I was playing around on Google Earth and noticed that some new aerials from last Summer had been posted of the park.  Well, I should say of its remains.  The time feature on the program lets you make great comparison shots, so I couldn't help myself.  The before shots are from 2006.

The Southern end of the park was a hub of activity - roller coasters, rides, a water park, children's area - it was all packed in here.  In the after shot - not much at all is left.  The Big Dipper still stands, but almost all other buildings and structures are down.   Several rides here found other homes, but others weren't so lucky.

I was always fond of the entrance area that was added to Geauga by Premier, with the buildings framed by the Ferris wheel, as in the logo the park used at the time.  When the bulldozers were done with this area only a few of the entrance buildings remained, and couple gift shops.  The location of the Ferris wheel is rather odd looking, with piles of rubble around it.

Here are two coasters that didn't make the cut, and were demolished at the park and sold for scrap.  The Villain and Double Loop were situated in the area, but in the after shot only some of their footers remain.  Villain's footers, especially, remind me of neatly planted rows of crops of some type!

Another of Geauga Lake's wooden coasters was the Raging Wolf Bobs, which looks just sickly in the after photo here.  The ride is faded, chipped, missing supports and track in some sections - and the station looks like it was stepped on by a giant.

Wildwater Kingdom lives on, but some of the old Seaworld property surrounding it isn't looking so hot these days.  The water park actually absorbed a little more space behind that huge slide tower by adding a beach and Little Tykes play area.  The section beyond it looks to be in a state of disrepair, though.

If you do not have Google Earth you can still check out the current aerials of the park here.

Rejected Amusements: Villain at Six Flags Ohio

Debuting in 2000, the Villain was a CCI-built wooden coaster added for Six Flags Ohio's opening year. Built as a 120-foot tall hybrid coaster (steel supports with wooden coaster track). The track layout was unique, in that the coaster did not cross over itself at any time during the almost 4,000-foot long track.

The ride received retracking attention in the off-season, most notably in 2006 when the trick-track section after the second hill was removed. Each of the Villain's twelve drops received new wood over the life of the coaster.

A mid-course brake was planned, but shelved due to tight time demands. Villain would never run with three trains efficiently as a result. In 2003, the Villain lost one of it's three Gerstlauer-built trains to the nearby Raging Wolf Bobs coaster.

When Geauga Lake closed in 2007, the ride was put up for sale. Without a buyer, the ride was sold for scrap. The trains from the ride are currently at King's Island.

Big Dipper To Be Demolished

Geauga Lake's Big Dipper will soon be demolished, according to this article from the Aurora Advocate. The classic roller coaster was recently for sale on EBay, but it did not receive any bids during the auction.

Aurora Advocate reports that the ride's owner plans to demolish the coaster since "the deadline for the sale of the Big Dipper cannot be met." The Big Dipper opened at Geauga Lake in 1925, and was designed by John Miller. Only a handful of John Miller designed wooden coasters are still operating in the country. The ride last operated in 2007, when Geauga Lake was permanently closed.

The Big Dipper Is For Sale On eBay

The Big Dipper, still standing at the former site of Geauga Lake Amusement Park, can now be yours for a starting bid of just $9,500 via this eBay auction. The coaster has been for sale for some time, but there has not been much movement as far as legitimate interest goes.

There have been many chapters in the ride's story since the park closed, and this is just the latest one. It does, however, open the door to a possible buyer for the ride who would have no intention of moving/rebuilding it. I would think if someone was really interested in getting the ride back up and running the gears would have already been in motion at this point - we're nearly three years out since the park closed.

You can be sure I'll watch the auction to see if anyone bids, though.

Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom Update

Summer's here, and that means trips to the local swimming hole. Or, as probably in our case, local water park. A reader was nice enough to let me use some photos he took on a recent visit to Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom for this update.

The water park is all that's left of the former Geauga Lake/Sea World Ohio complex, and has been growing with small additions each year. No new slides or real water attractions yet, but if the park continues to prosper I'm sure they'll come in time.

Many thanks to Ryan for use of his photos.

The Beach is the new addition this summer. It's a family play area that, as the name would imply, does indeed have sand, but no waves.

Here's a nice view of the entire Beach area. On the left we see the sandy area filled with some lounge chairs - but you can't go in the lake. On the right is the giant chess board, cornhole game, tether ball, and arcade. The circle that the chessboard is on is the foundation for the Thriller Bees flat ride. They also have a game called "Bear Pong."

A nice view of the giant chess board. I have to wonder if these very small budget expansions are a sign of larger ones to come, or the park struggling to keep people interested.

Here's a shot of last year's new addition, Little Tikes Town.

Now for some interesting shots of the former Geauga Lake areas. Here is where Happy Harbor was, which included the big net climbs, kiddie rides, and more.

The Beach area would be located to the left of this section of the former park. The ride pad on the left was for the Yo-Yo. Other pads for flat rides can be seen in the back as well.

Moving further to the right from the photo above we see more gutted park - the first building on the right is the closed Harbor Theater which used to house 4-D shows. Back beyond it is the building for the Dino Island II simulator.

Raging Wolf Bobs is still standing, though not looking in great shape at this point.

And this view gives a good impression of how the parts of the property that were Geauga Lake currently stand.

Thanks again to Ryan for use of his photos! Check out his complete gallery of Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom photos.