PhantomNik
Posts: 515
Registered: 6/6/2002
Rank: Gold Critic
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 10/1/2004 11:24:39 AM
Ever since I had heard that Cedar Fair was taking over the former Six Flags Worlds of Adventure park in Aurora, Ohio and bringing back the name we had all known before, Geauga Lake, I wanted to go out there and check out the park. I have been to 2 other Cedar Fair owned parks, Dorney Park and the mama of the chain, Cedar Point. I have nothing but praise for both parks.  They are both well-run and meticulously maintained. It seems to me that Cedar Fair goes that extra mile to make their parks a pleasant experience with the type of atmosphere that makes you want to return. Overall, I will say that Geauga Lake did that for me as well, for the most part. There are some things they need to work on, but I give them tons of credit for what all they’ve accomplished considering they’ve only owned the park since April. I have a good feeling that by 2005 and 2006, this will be another top-notch Cedar Fair establishment.
Now, I had never made it to the park when it was under Six Flags control, primarily because of horror stories I heard from many people I know who had been there. Rides and coasters are nice and all, but if I’m going to spend my money to go to a park, I want the whole experience to be worthwhile. The two main complaints I heard were that the park was filthy and that the rides, in particular the coasters, were poorly run. Well, I will say that those two issues have been greatly improved! The park itself is immaculate. I found Geauga Lake to be quite clean and very well landscaped. I do wish they had a few more trees, but some spots are very nice and well-shaded. In regards to ride operation, the coasters are all run efficiently and although the park was relatively dead both days we were there, the main coasters were running 2 trains. Others were running just one, but lines were so short that it didn’t matter. Now some of the flats seemed to have rather disinterested and lethargic crews. That is something the park needs to address. It’s not all about the coasters; the other rides count too!
I do also hope that Cedar Fair does something with the former Sea World side of the park. As it is now, all the thrills are packed on one side, while the other side has such a "blah" feeling to it. The employees over there, naturally, seem quite bored and some just mope at their ride. I’m sorry, but for goodness sake smile! As it was we made only one trip all the way across the floating bridge to that area of the park. It just seemed as though that side was forgotten.  I realize this is billed as a "Family Park", but a couple thrills would do wonders over there to balance things out. If I were to suggest anything, it would be a hypercoaster, a family mouse/spinning coaster, and an S&S Combo Tower ride. A large games area would also be nice over there. Similarly, a few more flats on the "coaster-packed" side wouldn’t hurt either. Those are just some of my observations, and that’s just my opinion. Now, onto the actual trip!
Day 1 (9/4):
We arrived at the Geauga Lake Hotel around 9:30, having made it in a shade over 2 hours. The GL Hotel was very nice and we were impressed with having such a nice, yet affordable, hotel just a quarter mile from the park. We got our season pass certificates (part of the package we got), and we were off to the park. As we drove down the road a short way, suddenly a couple bright red spikes of track appeared above the trees. Like any other park, it’s always exciting when you first see a coaster peek out from the distance.  Driving along, it was weird seeing the back spike of Steel Venom. The only other Impulse I had seen was Wicked Twister, so I was used to seeing the double twisting towers. The straight back spike on SV looked very cool!! Then, X-Flight made its appearance before us! I had seen pics of it, but it is just amazing to see in person for the first time. At this point I was getting very pumped! 
After snapping
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Red Rascal
Posts: 7284
Registered: 1/28/2003
Rank: Croatian Critic
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10/1/2004 1:07:27 PM
Quote:
...Does this thing normally have waterfalls?... |
It did. When they rebuilt some of the canyon wally, the concrete settled in, blocking the waterfalls from pouring. I don't know if this makes sense to you, it's kind of hard to explain. In my opinion, the ride is such a waste. There's only two waterfalls(in both tunnels), and nothing in the canyon. Plus, the water is disgusting.
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