Went to Geauga Lake and WWK Sunday 7/1 with my family and friends: a total of four adults and four kids whose ages range from 3 yrs to 9 yrs old. We went last year around this time, and I wondered what the park had in store for us on this day.
At first, we spent a brief amount of time on the ride side, taking laps on the Villan, the Beaver Land Mine Ride, and a couple of other small flats. The Villan was running OK – I got some small jackhammering and shuffling during the morning, but perhaps because it wasn’t running super fast, it was a really good ride. Even my co-rider, who is not an enthusiass, commented that it was a lot of fun; I very much agreed. Lines from 10AM – noon were nonexistent.
We then spent several hours on the WWK side. Lines were extremely short (possibly because it was just a bit over 70 degrees out, a bit chilly for swimming). I rode pretty much everything, and got my first ever ride on Liquid Lightning (the Proslide Tornado) – that was pretty awesome. Also, Thunder Falls still completely rocks. The kids had a great time everywhere they could and as expected everything was lifeguarded well and clean to perfection. The number of lifeguards at every pool in WWK is astonishing – and it was apparent to me that every single one of them was dead serious about doing their job at all times - obviously a great thing. We had lunch at some point – pizza and fries. This was one of my complaints from a previous trip, where I rated the pizza “below average” and the fries as pretty bad. To my delight, the pizza was pretty good, and the fries were DELICIOUS.
We got cleaned up and headed back to the ride side. We walked past RWB, and I rolled my eyes after seeing the closed sign, as this was one of the things I was most looking forward to since my last trip. I had heard about the derailment several weeks ago, but had hoped it would be running. Oh well, only one thing to do – go straight to Dominator. I still put this thing in the exact same category as Raptor – an aging B&M that is running every bit as smooth and fast as the day it opened. Wow, without a doubt, it is still a world-class coaster. Took another lap on the Villan, and got significantly more jackhammering and shuffling as compared to the morning ride (silver train). I suspect that either it was because it was running faster later in the day, or they switched trains. Or both. Overall, wait times on the ride side ranged from zero to ten minutes, mainly because they were running only one train on all coasters. Ride ops were OK, I guess – I wouldn’t say they looked excited and motivated, but they weren’t terrible either. Good enough, I’d say.
One thing I did notice that was kind of interesting is that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cost more on the WWK side of the park compared to the GL side; I couldn’t figure out if it was a sign error, or a business decision. I then wondered if that situation applied to all food. Dunno.
Overall, every single person in our group had a SPECTACULAR time, and considering the discount ticket prices, I still think that the huge amount of day trip family fun cannot be beat anywhere in the northeast Ohio area. I did wonder, though, if the park is operationally sustainable at this attendance level, or if other ride removals and/or cuts would have to be made. I sure hope not, because I have a sneaking feeling that if that occurs, the whole park will eventually spiral into non-existence. I’ve got my fingers crossed that does not happen.
Nice TR! Geauga Lake is my favorite park for many reasons. I, too, hope it stays around.
The only thing I can suggest is to go there OFTEN! Spread the word to your friends and family about what a great value it is and how along with some great coasters, they have a totally AWESOME waterpark.
I don't think GL was ever really meant to be a record breaking theme park. But there are many reasons to enjoy this park for what it is!
Great TR. I'm thinking about taking a trip there this month.
It's called Millennium Force, not "Millenium" Force. Thanks.
I've shoehorned myself in the 'Dipper once for the "credit." I'm extremely tall, so I don't think I'll do that again!
I'm really sad RWB apparently won't be reopening this year. Since the rehab, it's my second favorite coaster at GL (Big Dipper still gets the most love.) In fact, I've put off going for myself -- and taking my daughter instead -- hoping they would get it fixed in a timely manner. Alas, that does not appear to be the case.
My author website: mgrantroberts.com.
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