Plain Dealer: Park dismantling coaster for move

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-28/116418647144830.xml&storylist=cleveland

I'm not sure what they're thinking. That was one of the few reasons to go to the ride side of the park.

Wow. Here's a similar article from Akron Beacon.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16073445.htm
I'm actualy pretty suprised about this. It seems to me that moving a ride wouldn't be very cost effective. But then again, what do I know.

Now that it's offical, I would have to say that I hope this leads to a better entrance way into the park. It always bugged me when Six Flags encroched into the parking lot like that. The whole parking lot seems to bottleneck into the entrance. With the removal of Monorail and X-Flight, and with the old Hurricane Hannah waterpark gone, the front-right side of the park is going to be pretty empty.

Now that we know it's being removed, where does everyone think it will go. I think it's safe to say it's not going to Carrowinds. And even though they don't have the same type of flyer, I doubt they would send it to Canada's Wonderland either. It would be sort of funny if it went to Paramount's Great America seeing as how it was theirs that went to Carrowinds.

Even though it is another park which is very family oriented and has more focus on the water rides than the park rides, I think it may go to Michigan's Adventure. However, it wouldn't suprise me if Cedar Fair has been planning this for a few years. Maybe this with the eventual removal of Demon Drop and with the use of the small section of parking lot at the front of the park, maybe they will bring it the short trip to Cedar Point in 2008.

*** Edited 11/22/2006 1:06:07 PM UTC by Jason Hammond***

IN all honesty, this is just what Geauga Lake needs. :) I've been saying it for quite some time. Maybe a couple of other not-so-suited-for-a-traditional-style-park rides will follow suit.

Good riddance.

I think we are looking at the beginning of the end of the "dry side" as we know it.

This is a wild theory, but:

Maybe the X-Flight removal is a long term plan for Cedar Point. This might mean that Cedar Point is getting a B&M Flyer for their next roller coaster, and they didn't want Geauga Lake competing. Since CP probably won't get a new coaster for a few years now, removing X-Flight now would make it look like it wasn't being removed for CP's benefit.

If X-Flight were announced to be removed in 2009, and a week later, Cedar Point announced a new flying coaster, Geauga Lake fans might get even more discouraged and cause bad publicity.

-Just a thought

I hope it's going to Michigan's Adventure. I realize that probably won't happen, but I can hope. :)

This also takes away the argument for CP getting a flyer of "Well there's one an hour away at their sister park!" *** Edited 11/22/2006 2:13:45 PM UTC by bholcomb***

Well, I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand XF is my one of my favorite coasters at GL, so I will miss it.

However, IF CF replaces it with a couple of family friendly flat rides, I think it is a good idea. GL is obviously being marketed to families, and X-Flight is not a family ride.

I think it is a good move, but only if other improvements are made to increase the Family aspect of the park.

I actually hope it is going to CP, as I have Maxxpass......

The capacity on X-Flight is absolute crap. I would be shocked if it went to Cedar Point, because even there, the line would never move.

I guarantee that it's not going to CP. My guess is Michigan's Adventure. They make the most sense, because Valleyfair is getting a new coaster this year, Worlds of Fun got a new coaster last year, Dorney has had a couple new rides over the past few years, Carowinds already has a flyer, Great Adventure had one and got rid of it, Kings Dominion has a bunch of coasters already, and Canada's Wonderland has a Zamperla flyer. Seems like Michigan's Adventure, it is.

my theory is that when CP finds a buyer for Demon Drop,they will demolish/re-locate DT, then put a re-named X-flight in its place or a big new record breaking B&M flyer also did you notice that the ABJ article says at the bottom "Information from the plain dealer"

Just a theory
*** Edited 11/22/2006 2:52:27 PM UTC by alx p***

The ride isn't going to be replaced. They need less rides at GL, not more. Six Flags tried to build the park into the next Great Adventure and it was never going to achieve that kind of attendance.

One thing's for certain: getting rid of a major ride and not replacing it is not going to lead to an increase in attendance. They'll be lucky to stay flat at 700,000 next year. :(

There was a van from a surveying company from Cincinnati in the park recently, so that may indicate that the ride is going to Kings Island.

You're right, it probably won't make attendance go up. But it will make the park lose less money. It will cost less to operate the park. However, if it gets moved to MiA, it may be the best investment in that park since Shivering Timbers. There's a lot of land between where the train at MiA begins and where it ends back by Grand Rapids. It could be a very interesting ride up there. Give it a new color scheme, a better name, and a good placement on the site, and voila - huge attendance boost for Michigan's Adventure.

Here's hoping!

Does anyone else believe that this whole deal is remniscient of the Stealth/Borg Assimilator deal in '03/'04?

Here is the information I received from Geauga Lake:

We have begun dismantling the X-Flight flying coaster at Geauga Lake. The ride will be removed and reintroduced at another Cedar Fair Entertainment Company park in the future.

The new location for the ride will be announced at a later date.

A second ride, the Bel Aire Express monorail, will also be removed from the park. It will be retired and is not designated to be sent to another park.

We are excited about the upcoming 2007 season. Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom has a diverse entertainment package that includes 41 rides, including nine roller coasters, live shows, kids' areas, special attractions and the 17.5-acre Wildwater Kingdom outdoor waterpark. Our guests will have plenty to see and do next summer.

We have added more than $30 million in capital improvements to Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom in the last three years. In 2005, the park introduced Wildwater Kingdom. Last summer, the $5 million Tidal Wave Bay, a 30,000 square-foot wave pool, was added to the facility.

Someone else from the GL area mentioned this morning there was a Mason, OH survey truck at the park earlier. If that's the case, it does look more like a move to PKI.

I was hoping for something a bit more exciting for MiA which hasn't had a new coaster since Timbers.

It seems kind of low on the part of Cedar Fair not to have said anything prior to the park closing for the season... but maybe that's just me. I agree with Ensign, without something big to counter the effect, I can see this leading to a decline in attendance at Geauga Lake.

They don't need anything big to counter this, and attendance won't go down because of it.

Mostly everyone knew X-Flight was a POS, and it was ugly as hell in the front of the park. If anything, it gives GL a more attractive roadside "curb appeal" if you will, that will really clear the park of it's former "flagging".

If you think about it, the most memorable thing they did to that place was the giant, ugly green monstrosity that dominates over the parking lot. As I've said before, I'll say it again... Good Riddance.