Originally posted: 3/23/2003

Last updated: 6/6/2004

  By Chris Cowan
  themeparks@insightbb.com 
 

  Geauga Lake 

1888:

Geauga Lake park opens in 1888, featuring the Kent House, a 75-room luxury hotel
 

1889:

A steam powered carousel, the park's first ride, is added.
 

1926:

The Clipper (John Miller wooden roller coaster) is added.
 

1927:

An Olympic-sized swimming pool is added.
 

1931:

Carousel is added.  It's a 1926 Marcus Illions model with 64 horses.
 

1941:

A tornado wrecks part of the Clipper coaster and destroys several buildings, causing over $50,000 worth of damage.  Six people are injured.
 

1952:

A fire burns parts of the dance hall, roller rink, theater and bowling alley, causing nearly $500,000 in damage.
 

1969:

Geauga Lake is purchased by Funtime, Inc.

The Clipper is renamed Big Dipper.
 

1971:

Ferris Wheel (Eli Bridge) is added.
 

1972:

Gold Rush (Arrow log flume) is added.

Merry Oldies (Arrow Antique Cars) are added.

Main gate is re-designed.
 

1974:

The Sky Scraper (Intamin Gyro Tower) is added.  [Note: this is an "observation" type ride, not to be confused with the Intamin Gyro Drop Tower.]
 

1975:

Geauga Dog, the parks' mascot, is introduced.
 

1976:

Cyclone (Pinfari Zyklon steel roller coaster) is added.

Matterhorn (Mack) is added.

Caterpillar is removed at the end of the season.
 

1977:

Double Loop (Arrow steel roller coaster) is added.

Music Express (Mack), a Himalaya-type ride, is added.
 

1978:

Corkscrew (Arrow steel roller coaster) is added.
 

1979:

Enterprise (Huss) is added.
 

1980:

Big Dipper undergoes a complete refurbishment.

Cyclone is removed at the end of the season and sold to Santa Claus Land (now Holiday World), where it begins operation in 1981 as Firecracker.

Round Up (Hrubetz), Paratrooper (Hrubetz) and Bayern Kurve (Schwarzkopf) are removed at the end of the season.
 

1981:

Yo Yo (Chance) is added.

Rotor (Chance) is added.
 

1982:

Admission this year is $8.95.

Super Cat and Rock-o-Plane (Eyerly) are removed at the end of the season.  Rock-o-Plane is relocated to Wyandot Lake.
 

1983:

A water park, Boardwalk Shores, is added and includes:

     o Neptune Falls, a tower complex with 4 slides.
     o Rampage, with 2 slides.
     o A sand beach.
     o Giant Slide is relocated so that riders end up in the lake.

Rocket Ships (Traver Circle Swing) and Flying Scooters (Rocco) are relocated to make way for the water park.

Fly-O-Plane (Eyerly) and the Giant Slide are removed at the end of the season.
 

1984:

The Wave, a 2 million gallon wave pool, is added to the water park.

Tilt-A-Whirl (Sellner) is relocated.
 

1986:

Rainbow Island, a new children's area featuring 17 kiddie rides, is added and includes:

     o Carousel (Herschell kiddle merry-go-round),
     o Century Cycle (Hampton Motor Cycle),
     o Critter Express (Venture Critter Track),
     o Flying Jumbos (Zamperla Mini-Jet/8 Elephants),
     o Guppys (Eyerly Bulgy the Whale),
     o Horseless Highway (Hampton Umbrella Ride),
     o Lickety Split (pony cart),
     o Pinwheel (Eli Bridge Little Eli Ferris Wheel),
     o Rainbow Racers (Eyerly Midge-o-Racers),
     o Salt Water Tugs (Herschell Wet Boat)
     o Smackers (kiddie bumper cars),
     o Space Patrol (rocket swing ride),
     o Star Shooters (Herschell Sky Fighters),
     o Toddling Turtles (Chambers kiddie tumble bug) and
     o Toot n' Hoot (Hampton Umbrella Ride).

A new restaurant, Sail Company, is added.

Admission this year is $11.95.

Calypso is removed at the end of the season.
 

1987:

Stingray Wet Slides, a new slide tower complex with 3 slides, is added to the water park.

Euroracers (go carts) are added.

Flying Scooters and Tilt-A-Whirl are relocated to make room for the go carts.
 

1988:

Raging Wolf Bobs (Curtis Summers wooden roller coaster) is added.  The ride is built at a cost of $2 million and is patterned after Chicago's Riverview Park Bobs.

Admission this year is $12.95.

Trabant is removed at the end of the season.
 

1989:

Turtle Beach, a children's area, is added to the water park.

Matterhorn is renamed Yukon Yahoo (not sure of exact year).
 

1990:

Turtle Beach is expanded.

Admission this year is $13.50
 

1991:

The Mirage (Huss 1001 Nacht), an Arabian-themed "flying carpet" ride is added.

The Spider is renamed Black Widow and relocated near The Mirage.

The Casino (Chance Casino) is also relocated near The Mirage.
 

1993:

Texas Twister (Huss Top Spin) is added for $2.1 million.  It is the first Top Spin ride built in North America.

Admission this year is $15.95.

Sky Glide (Hopkins sky ride) is removed at the end of the season.
 

1994:

Stage Coach Theater, an amphitheater, is constructed.

Gold Rush Theater is converted into a video arcade.

Enterprise is renamed Silver Bullet (not sure of exact year).

Admission this year is $17.95.
 

1995:

Geauga Lake is purchased by Premier Parks, Inc.

Butch Hightide's Playpark is added to Rainbow Island.

Corkscrew and Rocket Ships are removed at the end of the season.  Rocket Ships are placed in the park's ride graveyard.  Corkscrew eventually is relocated to India.
 

1996:

Mind Eraser (Vekoma Boomerang steel roller coaster) is added.

Grizzly Run (white water rafting ride) is added, replacing the picnic grove.

The entrance area and main gate are re-designed.

Gold Rush is renamed Deer Park Plunge.

Admission is $19.99.  Parking is $4.00.

Rampage water slides are removed at the end of the season.
 

1997:

Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall (13-story Intamin first generation Freefall) is added.  This ride was originally built in 1984 at Great America (Chicago), then went to Rocky Point Park (Warwick, Rhode Island) before being purchased in an auction in 1996 by Premier Parks.

The area to the right of the park entrance is remodeled with a 1950's theme.

Hook's Lagoon (interactive water play area) is added to the water park in the area formerly occupied by the Rampage slides.

Admission this year is $21.99.
 

1998:

Serial Thriller (Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster) is added at a cost of $10 million.

Improvements are made to the parking lots and new toll booths are added.

Admission this year is $22.99.  Parking is $5.00.

Premier Parks, Inc. purchases Six Flags.

Ferris Wheel (Eli Bridge) is removed at the end of the season.
 

1999:

Americana (Giant Ferris Wheel) is added.

Time Warp (Chance Double Inverter) is added.

Geronimo Sky Coaster (100-ft upcharge attraction) is added.

Red Canyon (climbing wall upcharge attraction) is added.

Admission this year is $25.99.

The Wave (wave pool), The Mirage, the Flying Scooters, Tilt-A-Whirl, the Casino and the Scrambler are removed at the end of the season.  Tilt-A-Whirl is relocated to Wyandot Lake.

  Six Flags Ohio 

2000:

The park is renamed Six Flags Ohio.

Batman: Knight Flight (B&M floorless steel looping roller coaster) is added.

Superman: Ultimate Escape (Intamin steel launched inverted Impulse coaster) is added.

Villain (CCI wooden roller coaster) is added.

Roadrunner Express (Zierer steel family roller coaster) is added.

Shipwreck Falls (Intamin shoot the chute water ride) is added.

Loony Tunes Boomtown (children's area) opens on the former site of The Wave and includes 7 rides manufactured by Zamperla:

     o Daffy's Sub (kiddie flying carpet type ride),
     o Marvin the Martian's Rocket Ships,
     o Speedy's Big Trucks (4x4 ride),
     o Taz's Twister (teacups)
     o Tweety's Treehouse (Frog Hopper),
     o Wile E. Coyote's Balloons and
     o Yosemite Sam's Train.

Yukon Yahoos is renamed The Hay Baler and relocated near the Double Loop with new theming.

Euroracers is renamed Thunder Alley Speedway and the track is changed slightly and shortened.

The Stagecoach Theater is renamed Gotham City Stage and features the Batman Stunt Show.

The Boardwalk Shores water park is renamed Hurricane Harbor and given a new entrance.  A new, smaller wave pool is added.

Black Widow is relocated to make room for the new wave pool.

Silver Bullet is SBNO for most of the season.

Admission this year is $30.99.

  Six Flags Worlds of Adventure 

2001:

In January, Six Flags purchases Sea World of Ohio (on the other side of Geauga Lake) for $110 million.

In February, Six Flags Ohio is combined with Sea World and renamed Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.

The Mirage, re-themed as a car and renamed El Dorado, is re-added to the park.

Turbo Bungy (upcharge attraction) is added.

The park "inherits" two attractions with the purchase of the Sea World park: the Pirates! 4-D movie and the Mission: Bermuda Triangle motion simulator movie, along with several animal shows.

A walkway is added between the two parks, now called "Wild Rides" and "Wild Life".

Four new dolphins are added.

X-Flight (Vekoma Flying Dutchman steel roller coaster) is added and opens in June.

The Batman Stunt Show is moved to the Wild Life section of the park.

In June, a floating bridge is added between the Wild Life and Wild Rides areas.

The park introduces the Fast Lane system in June.

In July, the Scrambler (Eli Bridge), now renamed as Typhoon, is re-added to the park in the Wild Life section along with Bounty (Chance Pharaoh's Fury), a swinging "pirate ship" ride which is relocated from Six Flags New England.

Also in July, two ferry boats ("Geauga Queen" and "Aurora Belle") are added to transport guests between the Wild Rides and Wild Life sides.

Admission this year is $37.99

2002:

In March, Shouka, a killer whale, arrives at the park from Antibes, France.

Four Bengal tigers are added.

Virtual Quest Interactive Theater (virtual reality upcharge attraction) is added.

Metal detectors are added to the front gates.

Black Widow is moved to the Wild Life side and renamed Black Squid.

Pirate's Flight (children's flat ride) is added in Wild Life.

Yo Yo is relocated to Wild Life.

On June 10th, a power outage forces the park to close early.

On June 25th, a 59 year-old park employee dies from heat stroke.

Admission this year is $39.99.  Parking is $7.00.

El Dorado is SBNO this season.

A Casino ride is installed at Enchanted Village (Seattle, WA) this season and may be the one removed from Geauga Lake in 1999.

2003:

Two new water slide towers are added to Hurricane Harbor:

     o Hurricane Mountain, a ten-story tower with 4 tube and 3 body slides.
     o Shark Attack, a four-story tower with 3 slides.

Thriller Bees (Huss Bee Bee) is added to the Wildlife side of the park after having been relocated from Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.

The Starfish is added to the Wildlife side.

Peg Leg's Paddle Boats (upcharge attraction) is added on Geauga Lake.

Admission this year is $39.99.

  Geauga Lake 

2004:

On March 10, Six Flags announces that it is selling Worlds of Adventure to Cedar Fair (owner of nearby Cedar Point) for $145 million.  The park's name is changed back to Geauga Lake.

Portions of the Wild Life side of the park are closed and all of the animals are moved to other Six Flags parks.

The Wild Rides side of the park is now referred to as the North side, while the former Wild Life side is called the South side.

Cedar Fair officially takes control of Geauga Lake on April 9th.

Batman: Knight Flight (B&M Floorless) is renamed Dominator.

Mind Eraser (Vekoma Boomerang) is renamed Head Spin.

Superman: Ultimate Escape (Intamin Impulse) is renamed Steel Venom.

Serial Thriller (Vekoma SLC) is renamed Thunderhawk.

Deer Park Plunge (log flume) is renamed Pepsi Plunge.

Roadrunner Express is renamed Beaver Land Mine Ride.

Looney Tunes Boomtown (children's ride area) is renamed Kidworks Playzone, and the rides are renamed:

     o Daffy's Sub (kiddie flying carpet type ride) becomes Dippy Divers.
     o Marvin the Martian's Rocket Ships is changed to Rocket Relay.
     o Speedy's Big Trucks (4x4 ride) becomes Road Rally.
     o Taz's Twister (teacups) is now Crazy Carver.
     o Tweety's Treehouse (Frog Hopper) is renamed Tree Hopper.
     o Wile E. Coyote's Balloons is changed to Hot Air Express.
     o Yosemite Sam's Train is now Half Pint Express.

Hurricane Harbor water park is renamed Hurricane Hannah's (after one of Cedar Fair CEO Dick Kinsel's grand-daughters).