Is GL still as horrible as it was back when it was called Six Flags?

Now I know that they're under new owners now, so maybe everything is much better and I should check the place out, but man oh man, I went to Geauga Lake back when it was called Six Flags and I don't think I was ever treated so badly by a company's employees. Ferinstance:

- The parking lady who we gave the parking money to not only did not say "Thank you," but she also lazily moved her hand away, signalling where we were supposed to park without even saying a word, as if we're supposed to know a half-hearted point means "Park over there, sir."

- When my dad ordered a hot dog, the vendor accidently dropped the hot dog on the dirty germ-infested counter, and still the vendor attempted to serve the hot dog to him. My dad actually had to ask for another hot dog!

- This must have been the first year Six Flags took over, because EVERYONE (including us) was trying to bring in their coolers filled with all the snacks and sandwiches so they could eat them at the pavilion near the Double Loop as they had always done. Well (I guess in an attempt to drive up their food sales), the employees wouldn't even let us bring the coolers into the park!! We had to sit there away from the park, eat half of our sandwiches on the uncomfortable sidewalk near the parking lot while inside the park all the picnic pavilions were near-empty. What's the point of having picnic pavilions if you can't even have a picnic?

- You'd see these trash buckets that were all totally overflowed with garbage, but nobody would ever empty the trash!!

That's all I can remember now. But anyway, on our ride home, we were so angry with the way were treated that we seriously considered writing a letter. We made a long list of all the things we hated about the trip (much longer than this), but in the end we ditched the idea. We vowed never to go there ever again, though.

So my question is, were we just having a bad day or was it always that bad?

It's all better now.

No, it wasn't just a bad day, it was pretty terrible when Six Flags owned it.

When I was there last time (it was SFWoA at the time), on top of the dirty conditions and nasty employees, I had a rather terrifying experience on the Big Dipper. Somehow as we hit the brake run, our seat came loose or something, and threw us into the restraint and our knees smashed against the seat in front of us. We had trouble wiggling out of the car when we got to the station. We told the ride op something was wrong with our seat and showed it to her. So what did she do? She threw it back in place, looked at us as if we were a bother, and allowed the train forward to load more riders. For some reason we didn't go to guest services that day, and looking back we definitely should have, but we sent them two letters and an email in the following week and never received a response.

So I'm going back to the park now that CF owns it, just to see if it's really cleaned up.

I don't remember it very much from when it was Six Flags but it seems fine to me now . On most of the rides, only 1 or 2 trains are running so the lines move slowly.
*** Edited 8/9/2007 12:02:32 AM UTC by maver07***

Yeah, I remember it being that bad every time I went when Six Flags owned the park. I've pretty much been there at least once a season for the last seven or eight years, and the only time I ever encountered rude or curt staff under Cedar Fair was the first year of their ownership (probably a seasoned, grumpy, former Six Flags employee). The park is much cleaner now, and staff is courteous and friendly. certainly much better.

The only time I ever went was when it was Six Flags. I liked the park but it didnt seem like they maintaned it very well because about every other line we went into, we had to end up turning around due to

^Due to what?

The cleanliness and service is leaps and bounds better- the product isn't near as good when it was Six Flags, there was tons more to do.

Is it as horrible? No. Can it still use a lot of improvement? Yes.

Unfortunately, I think that after the first year or two under Cedar Fair ownership, some things have gone downhill. When Cedar Fair first bought the park, I took a seasonal job there, and it was obvious that the company was investing money in the park to make it much better than it was under Premier/Six Flags.

But with attendance being so low, it is now obvious how the park seems to be cutting back. Removal of rides, job cuts, etc. are all pretty obvious, and while some of these things may be necessary for profitability, they do show the park taking a few steps backwards.

Hopefully the attendance will rebound, and the park will have a bigger budget to work with, but with Cedar Fair's massive debt load, I don't see much happening in terms of improvements that they aren't sure will result in huge payoffs.

To me, the park is in a sad state, and only increased attendance will fix that. They need to be profitable in order for the park to survive, and I don't know how profitable they currently are.

But the park is pretty clean most places, with the employees friendly most of the time. The lifeguards are top notch, and the coasters are fun.

-Sam

I have been to GL several times this year. I have to admit, it was kind of sad to see that empty lot of land where Xflight used to be. It also looked very strange having Headspin sticking out over 43 instead of Steel Venom. I understand why they removed them, but I still was disappointed. (no worries, we are going to KI this weekend and my son can right xflight for the first time!) Anyhow, the park is always clean. It really does feel like a family park and it is much easier to do everything in a day than at CP. I have to admit, I really wish they would add more water slides. Maybe just some basic racer slides or something. Why don't they take some of the slides in decent shape from the other side and brng them over? Shark attack, etc? Just a thought! I have found this year that the employess are nicer, but I certainly wouldn't go to the extent of calling them a pleasure to do business with. We went on El Dorado and right after we loaded the girl working it saw a daddy long legs in the operator's booth. She was screaming and running in and out of the booth and wouldn't start the ride. I mean, could you act any more unproffesional? It isn't going to kill you for pete's sake.
I have to say i have found a new love for Big Dipper. Last year I felt like it rode extremely rough and I couldn't enjoy it. This year it is running much better and I can actually enjoy the airtime. Does anyone know if RWB will be repaired this year? I always loved that ride. It is really sad to see it just sitting there.
I wish they would add the waterfalls back to Grizzly Run. I mean, isn't that the point? I really think they need some sort of mass transport to the other side. It is such a long walk to the water side, especially with small kids. The stupid "tram" aka golf cart they have to take you doesn't really do much when it can only carry 6 people! What about a monorail or ski lift system to the other side? That would be cool!!!! I rode the Villian once this year, that was plenty. Even after the trick track was removed, it still was wayyyy too painful to ride more than that! Dominator in the front is probably one of my favs there. Such a different feeling being floorless. A 500 foot floorless... how cool would that be LOL Ok, well I suppose I have rambled enough! *** Edited 8/9/2007 8:52:18 PM UTC by KidsRRT***

^ 500 foot floorless??? Ha!

It's typical. All rapids rides always seem to shut off their waterfalls sometime. Hey, but at least Thunder Canyon doesn't!:)

It would be REALLY funny if they kept the waterfalls on for Halloweekends...

New for 2007 at Halloweekends: Werewolf Floodzone! This year not only will werewolves be lurking in the path, but now guests will have to fight the torrential water flowing right down the path!

I have heard from a couple of different folks now that the Geauga Lake numbers are actually moving into the positive for the first time since the purchase.

That is a good sign to me, particularly when you consider the NE Ohio economy really hasn't rebounded yet.

I never thought GL was horrible and I've been going there for many years. The park is what you make it.

^yeah. And Six Flags made it a heap of garbage.

I love Geauga Lake! I never went there when it was Six Flags, but I can assure you it's better now that what I've heard it was.

My family loves going there for a number of reasons. Last year when they had the Bring a friend Season pass offer, each of my kids brought a friend and they all had the time of their life!!! They are all STILL talking about it and thanking me for bringing them along...1 year later!

I hope they do that offer again!

ya, pretty much so . I think that this place really needs some cooler rides . A family coaster or a big steel coaster. they took out two of these coolest coasters and didnt replace them. Its really a dead end park as far as im concerned.

Six Flags Worlds of Adventure was a pretty horrible park.

When Six Flags announced they were purchasing Geauga Lake, we were very excited. We remembered having great experiences at Six Flags Over Texas, and were hoping Six Flags Ohio would be the same.

Unfortunately, Six Flags did very little to promise a good park experience. While they did invest quite a bit of money into things (attractions, roller coasters, etc), they did very little to upkeep the things already in the park. Many rides were commonly broken, no money was spent on improving or at least maintaining the park atmosphere, and the employees were incredibly rude.

As MrSnrub said, many employees were literally too lazy to communicate verbally. So instead of speaking to guests, they would use hand or head motions instead. Usually I think Six Flags is given a bad rap for employee attitudes. Sure there are some bad employees, a lot of times more than a few, but usually it is still quite easy to run into a friendly one. At Six Flags Ohio though, a friendly employee was hard to come across... Never have I seen employees so universally bad. It was clear they were disinterested. I distinctly remember watching ride-ops yawning and gazing idly as they were operating rides. Most other employees were generally rude and disinterested in other areas of the park too.

The Sea World side of the park never really got too bad, or at least that I can remember, but they never had time to destroy it. This was the saving grace of Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, and was the one part of Six Flags people still miss.

I was thrilled when Cedar Fair announced their takeover, as I knew Cedar Point was run well. Is the Cedar Fair Geauga Lake perfect? No. Is it substantially better? Yes. You can still occasionally run across a not so friendly employee, but nothing like the rude Six Flags Employees. The first year of Cedar Fair's management, I don't know how many times I would listen to a conversation between a current employee, and a just fired one telling how "mean" Cedar Fair is... Geauga Lake is just not as busy as Cedar Point, and as such, employees usually retain a slightly more laid back attitude.

Cedar Fair has also gone a long way to improving the park. Yes they removed two coasters, but let's face it, the park isn't nearly as profitable as it once was, and the footprint of the park is just too big for 700,000 guests. Now I must say I will be very surprised if attendance didn't dramatically increase this year. Cedar Fair repainted almost everything, added landscaping all around the park, and just improved the overall atmosphere of the park. Wildwater Kingdom is also a great addition, and is one of the nicest water parks I have been to. Once they add some more attractions, it will be great. It is much better, and spaced out, than the cramped Hurricane Harbor.

I've been wondering if Geauga Lake is a dead end park for a long time. When I was a really young child I enjoyed the rides(mostly junior and kiddie), but from what I hear more and more these days it lacks quality thrill rides. My family would be at the park and the older members wouldn't shut up about Cedar Point (Rightfully so), and some of them even suggested we go across the lake to Sea World (back in the day) since they were bored. I think the next 5 years will determine the livelihood of GL. I'll make one more visit to give it a fair chance, but your much more likely to catch me in Sandusky. No Suprise.

Ride Maverick!