[gadvfreak99]

I was reading an article on screamscape about Steel Venom being taken down. It says in the article that it may come to Carowinds. What do you guys think of this?

I think it would be a great addition.

<a href='http://www.screamscape.com/html/geauga_lake.htm' target='_blank'>My Webpage</a>

[Jonathan]

I was about to post this here. Kind of funny since I just mocked the idea of an impulse being built at Carowinds in a thread earlier this afternoon, and now this. I think Lance is just saying "Carowinds would make a good home" because it his home park; from what I have heard Dorney Park is where Steel Venom is likely to go. If they were sending it to Carowinds they would not have made the 2007 announcement excluding it.

[bgwfreak]

Yeah that's the way I read it as well.

If they do remove SV though, it seems like they are headed to selling off Geagua Lake altogther.

What a waste. If they didn't want the park, they shouldn't have bought it to begin with. <_<

[swampfox43]

What a waste. If they didn't want the park, they shouldn't have bought it to begin with. <_<

Maybe they're using the park for spare parts....

Geauga Scrap Park!

[coasterbruh]

I dont think they brought it to scrape it I think they brought it as in investment for the chain. They probably figured they could get a good collection of rides for very cheap then sort them around the chain. Also I think, from what I hear, the waterpark is where it is at at this park so why not stick to the areas where you are strong. I personally never understood the purpose of having 3 major parks in virtually the same place. I mean it works for fla and ca but not OH.

[swampfox43]

Well, CP & Geauga Lake have been amusement parks since the late 1800's. It's amazing that they survived this long. Maybe they should focus on the waterpark since that seems to be the bigger draw....

[bgwfreak]

I hope they don't sell the place before June. I wanted to visit the place.

Now I'm down 2 credits. <_<

They should take out Raging Wolf Bobs instead of SV. lol

[montumax]

While, Superman, I mean Steel Venom would be nice, send the Villian, retracked of course, or Batman Knight Flight, or whatever its called today. That's my wish list from Geauga Lake.

[Edwardo]

Freak, I doubt Venom will be open at all this year after last year's accident.

And although I won't say Dorney won't ever get Steel Venom, Their next coaster WON'T be Steel anything .

[gadvfreak99]

The only reason they are moving Steel Venom and X-flight are because they will do better in one of newly bought Paramounts parks. They can move those two coaster to one of the Paramounts parks to make money for the Paramounts parks.

Now if you are fimilar with the layout of Geauge Lake, you know that X-Flight are Steel Venom are right next to each other (well were). So I have heard that tehy are clearing that space for a brand new coaster of some sort probally in 2008. That is why they are getting rid of XF and SV.

[Jubilee]

I don't think that they are going to sell GL. They even said they don't buy amusement parks with the intention of selling them. I think they are just sort of undoing what six flags had done to the park, and they are trying to make it an overall better place that can be profitable.

[gadvfreak99]

Their building another coaster where X-Fligt and Steel Venom were.

[bgwfreak]

Well we can speculate all day, we'll just have to wait and see I guess.

If Venom did come to Carowinds though I'd be OK with it. Although I'd rather have Dominator. lol

Carowinds: The used coaster capitol of the Carolinas.

[bgwfreak]

This was on one of those silly "log in only" sites. <a href='http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070205/REG/70202030/1071/2020' target='_blank'>http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.d...02030/1071/2020</a>

So I copied and pasted here for your reading pleasure. They are saying it's "going in storage at another park".

The thrill isn’t gone, but some of it is going.

Three seasons into its ownership of Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom, parent company Cedar Fair says the changes at the Aurora park are by design as it ships out two high-profile roller coasters and strives to create a more intimate, family-centered image for the property.

In the two seasons that previous owner Six Flags operated the park, it upped the adrenaline quotient at Geauga Lake by adding five roller coasters. Two of those, X-Flight and Steel Venom, are headed for other Cedar Fair destinations: The bright green twists of X-Flight’s track will be reconstructed at Kings Island, while the red spires of Steel Venom are destined for storage at another park, said Cedar Fair chief operating officer Jack Falfas.

Aesthetics, operating and maintenance costs and stagnant park attendance all factored into pulling down the coasters and the park’s monorail, Mr. Falfas said. Geauga Lake also removed the towering Mr. Hyde’s Nasty Fall ride from the same part of the park before last summer.

Mr. Falfas said the presence of several big rides near the park’s entrance made it “not as inviting” as a Cedar Fair park should be. As for the monorail, it toted passengers over land where Geauga Lake’s original water park once stood, and Mr. Falfas likened that part of the park to “scars on the earth” that he’d rather visitors not see.


“Our intent is to clean up that whole front area,” he said. “They have a large number of roller coasters and rides in there. It’s more than what the guest demand is (justifying) right now, particularly the way we’re going.”

Since buying the former Six Flags Worlds of Adventure for $145 million in the spring of 2004, Cedar Fair has tinkered incessantly and added a full-fledged water park but seen zero attendance growth: Geauga Lake drew roughly 700,000 visitors in 2006, the same number as in each of the previous two summers.

Mr. Falfas says it has become clear that Geauga Lake’s appeal lies as a cozy, regional attraction rather than a thrill-seeker’s paradise.

“I think at first, some people assumed — and maybe we did ourselves — that Geauga Lake was ‘Cedar Point East,’” he said, referring to the Sandusky park’s reputation as a coaster capital. “It’s not going to be a Cedar Point East. It is a local park, it’s a great picnic park, it’s a community thing.”


While Cedar Fair has removed the X-Flight coaster, the company’s chief operating officer, Jack Falfas, says it isn’t abandoning the park’s ride side.
Photo credit: GEAUGA LAKE TODAY 


Riding the water park wave

In a conference call last November, Cedar Fair CEO Dick Kinzel said while the company has made progress at Geauga Lake, from a fiscal standpoint, “the park still has a footprint too large for its attendance.”

While Cedar Fair has trumpeted an $83 million spending plan for its 12 amusement parks, six water parks and six hotels this offseason, about $61 million of that is tied up in major projects at five amusement parks.

Among the big projects is Maverick, a $21 million roller coaster at Cedar Point. Kings Island near Cincinnati, Kings Dominion in Richmond, Va., Valleyfair in Shakopee, Minn., and the year-round Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., are receiving between $7 million and $11 million each in additions and improvements.

That leaves $22 million to be split among the remaining properties. Cedar Fair is not releasing a dollar figure for Geauga Lake’s planned offseason capital improvements, though park vice president and general manager Bill Spehn says the spending will “focus on guest service” as opposed to big-ticket attractions.

Such improvements include doubling the number of cabanas available for rent alongside the wave pool, offering new food and games and spiffing up one of the amusement side’s main eateries. The park’s Palace Theater variety show also will be replaced with a magic show.

Not that the attractions will be ignored completely: Two thrill rides will get new paint jobs, one will have cameras installed in every seat so visitors can buy a video memento of their ride and a movie/simulator ride is being re-themed.

David Sangree, president of Lakewood consultancy Hotel & Leisure Advisors, sees the logic of Cedar Fair’s continued emphasis on more family-oriented activities, particularly Geauga Lake’s $24 million Wildwater Kingdom.

“You can do a lot of different (water) rides for that amount of money, when it may cost that amount for one roller coaster,” Mr. Sangree said. “They have publicly admitted they have plans to make Geauga Lake more of a local draw, and for a local draw, a water park does fit a bit better.”

It won’t hurt that Cedar Fair will have the area’s only such attraction: Dover Lake Waterpark in Sagamore Hills didn’t open for the 2006 season and was sold in November for $500,000 to neighboring Brandywine ski resort. Boston Mills/Brandywine marketing manager Kim Laubenthal said the company has no interest in re-opening the 54-acre water park.



On the benchmarks

Mr. Falfas notes that Cedar Fair isn’t abandoning the rides side of Geauga Lake: He notes that the company has invested in a lot of repainting and sprucing up of existing rides and has rebuilt the Raging Wolf Bobs coaster. He also says there are plans for new attractions, but wouldn’t offer any details.

Geauga Lake also is working with a short calendar: Cedar Fair ended the park’s Halloween Haunt weekends last season, and at 101 days, the 2007 operating season will be among the shortest in the Cedar Fair family. (Two more days are set aside for private corporate events.)

Despite Geauga Lake’s flat attendance, Cedar Fair insists there’s reason for optimism: Company spokeswoman Stacy Frole said with fewer operating days in 2006, Geauga Lake brought in the same number of guests as in previous seasons — something the company sees as a mark of growth.

The park’s manager, Mr. Spehn, mentioned other benchmarks.

“We’re pleased with growth in the heart of the season, which is in June after schools have let out to our last day in the third week of August,” he said. “We’re pleased with our growth in season passes, and we’re pleased with the growth in our group sales bookings with new accounts.”

[Jubilee]

I would guess since they haven't made an announcement for a relocation this season that Steel Venom will go to Dorney in 08.