My Amusement Park Obsession

I grew up in northeastern Ohio, where every summer there was a barrage of commercials about the fun to be had at the amusement parks in our state.  As someone who developed the travel bug early, along with an obsession with amusement parks, it was my mission to visit at least one (if not all) of those amusement parks over every summer break.

In the beginning: Geauga Lake and Sea World

My first memory of an amusement park was Geauga Lake, about an hour away in Aurora, Ohio.  I remember visiting with my mother and sister, and we brought along sandwiches and snacks in a red cooler with silver metal handles.  Back then you could bring your own food and eat it in a designated picnic area.  For free.  It wasn’t until I was grown that I learned my mother hated those trips, to any amusement park, but she knew how much my sister and I enjoyed them.

"Vintage" Poloron coolers. Ours was red, and it came with the small water jug that fit inside, shown in the blue cooler photo.
“Vintage” Poloron coolers. Ours was red, and it came with the small water jug that fit inside, shown in the blue cooler photo.

I remember one trip to Geauga Lake with friends, where I became separated from the group.  While other kids might’ve freaked out, it didn’t bother me a bit.  I remember getting in line to ride the antique cars, excited that I didn’t have to debate with anyone over who would get to drive.  To my dismay, when I reached the front of the line, they wouldn’t let me ride alone, so I had to wait for another single rider.  And when that single rider arrived, the park employee chose that person to be the designated driver.  This kid, who I’d never seen before in my life, started ramming the car in front of us, completely ignoring the sign on the back of the vehicle that said NOT to.  As a result of his actions, we both got banned from the ride for the day.

Antique Car ride, Geauga Lake. Photo courtesy of themeparkreview.com
Antique Car ride (in the foreground, Double Loop roller coaster in the back) at Geauga Lake. Photo courtesy of themeparkreview.com

Now less than a mile across the lake was another park called Sea World Ohio.  Yes, there used to be a Sea World in Ohio.  It was the second location for the company and opened in 1970.  The park operated under the Sea World name until January of 2001 when Six Flags bought both parks and they became Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.  At that point it was supposed to be the largest amusement park in the world, and I’m guessing that probably included the actual lake between the two areas.  I never experienced that version of the park so I haven’t bothered to verify the validity of that claim.

Sea World Ohio promo picture, courtesy of Cleveland.com
Sea World Ohio promotional photo, courtesy of Cleveland.com

Geauga Lake was cool, with all of the rides and my all time favorite, roller coasters, but Sea World became very cool to me after one particular trip in 1976.  Bear with me while I provide some back story.

I saw Jaws in the theater when I was a kid.  I don’t think my mom wanted to take me, but my theory is she really wanted to see the movie and couldn’t find a sitter.  I’ve never been able to confirm my theory though.  The few times I’ve mentioned being traumatized by the experience (especially when Ben Gardner’s head comes floating out of the bottom of his boat), my mom has simply laughed.  I assume that’s kind of like pleading the fifth.  I can’t say that I blame her, Jaws was the very first ever summer blockbuster hit.

Seeing Jaws at such a young age, on the big screen, left me frightened and fascinated with great white sharks, and obsessed with the movie.  To this day I can sit and watch that movie as if it’s my first time seeing it, and I actually went to the local theater last year to watch it on the big screen again to celebrate the movie’s 40th Anniversary.

Fast forward to a year after the release of Jaws, and my mom, my sister and myself are meandering through the park when we stumble across a frozen great white shark in a glass display case.  It was HUGE and I was mesmerized.  I remember being scared and trying to get up the nerve to move closer to the head end to get a picture with my 110 camera.  I kept imagining what it would be like to be crushed alive in its mouth, like Quint in the movie, as I stared at its jagged teeth.  Then my sister shoved me into the glass, pinning me against it and scaring the crap out of me.  To this day she swears she doesn’t remember the shark or her shenanigans.  I never did get a picture, but I found the one below, and the memory of that day still stays with me.

Promotional picture of a frozen great white shark at Sea World of Ohio (circa 1976). Photo courtesy of matrixres.com.
Promotional picture of a great white shark exhibit at Sea World Ohio in 1976.  Photo courtesy of matrixres.com, click the picture to read more about the park employee pictured.

Taking it to the next level

As we got older, my family ventured a little further on our summer trips, to Cedar Point and Kings Island, where the serious “grown up” roller coasters resided.  Since these parks were further away, and required more money, gas, and driving time, some creativity was required to visit if neither park was on my dad’s or my mom’s list of summer family fun (my parents divorced when I was three).

Cedar Point

Cedar Point was about two hours away, in Sandusky, Ohio, situated directly on the shores of Lake Erie.  One of the things I remember most about this park were the views from the Space Needle, which was one of the first rides you’d see when you walked into the park.

 

Image courtesy Pintrest (user unknown).
The Space Needle from sometime in the 70s. Image courtesy of Pintrest, user unknown.

 

I was saddened to find out the Needle was demolished in 2012 to make room for another ride.

The Space Needle after demolition. Photo courtesy of amusementtoday.com
The Space Needle after demolition. Photo courtesy of amusementtoday.com

When I say I developed an obsession, I’m serious, as this next story demonstrates.  I wasn’t above begging, bargaining, or hitching a ride with total strangers to get to any of the parks.  To this day I don’t remember how, but one year I found out a local church was planning a trip to Cedar Point.  It was a church I’d never been to before, but I knew enough to know it was full of people who didn’t look anything like me.  But I didn’t care, they were going to Cedar Point!  I brought the permission slip home and my mom signed it, thrilled that she didn’t have to be involved, and I don’t remember if she paid or the church paid but I was in.

I was expecting a school type bus, painted a different color with the church’s name on the side, but instead there was one van.  And I rode in that thirteen passenger van for two hours with people I didn’t know just so I could spend the day at Cedar Point.  Anyone who knows me will find this hard to believe, but I didn’t speak more than five words in that van the entire trip there and back.  In my mind, the arrangement was simply a means to an end.

The year was 1983, which I remember because the park had just debuted a new free fall ride called The Demon Drop (which remained in the park until 2009 when it was relocated to another park).  When the van doors opened, there was brief discussion on being back at the van by a certain time, and then poof, I was gone, wandering the park all by my lonesome.  I’d ridden every ride I wanted to ride, and eaten everything I’d wanted to eat before that meet up time started drawing near.  On my way to the front gate and the parking lot beyond, I was tempted with one last ride.  I don’t even remember which ride it was.  All I know is I underestimated the time it would take to get through the line, and that ride made me late.

I was never much of a runner, but when I thought about the beating I’d get if I called my mom and told her I needed a ride home from Cedar Point, I turned into Flo Jo.  Meanwhile, back at the van, the doors were shut, the passengers were buckled in, and the driver was ready to put the van in gear when someone said “where’s the girl who was sitting next to me?”  And it was at that very moment that I came running up next to the van, drenched in sweat, and completely out of breath.

Kings Island

I probably visited Kings Island (which was about three hours away) much earlier than my first memory of Geauga Lake, but I don’t have any specific, memorable stories from that park.  I can remember leaving my dad’s house at the crack of dawn so we could get there when the park first opened, kind of like the Griswolds in National Lampoon’s Vacation.  But unlike the movie, the park was always open and my dad wasn’t a hilarious idiot like Clark Griswold.  I have memories of the Eifel Tower (it’s a third of the size of the real one), and the fountains that lined the midway.  I remember the sky ride with its bucket shaped cars hanging in the air, and the fruit drink “sippers” that came in containers shaped like fruit; oranges for the orange drink, a bundle of grapes for the grape drink.

I definitely remember the year they opened the wooden roller coaster called The Beast (which is still in operation).  The teaser commercials leading up to its debut in 1979 were creepy (and so was the logo).  At that time The Beast was the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden coaster in the world.  I also remember wishing I lived closer when I was a teen because Kings Island had one of the best concert venues in the late 70s and 80s.  Imagine being able to see big name acts like Beyoncé and Foo Fighters at an amusement park.  Those were the same caliber of acts performing at the park back in the day.

No Longer In Kansas

Six Flags Great Adventure

I remember when I got stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and I learned that we were less than a thirty minute drive from Six Flags Great Adventure.  I was so excited.  Being that close to an amusement park meant we could get annual passes and go whenever we wanted!  I was also thrilled at the thought of creating the same type of childhood memories with my kids that my parents created with me!  Boy was I in for a big disappointment.

First of all, we were broke (I was married when I lived in NJ), and the cost of living was ridiculously high and so were those park passes.  Second of all, I learned a really hard lesson.  I had no idea of the caliber of parks we had in Ohio until I actually visited Six Flags GA for the first time.  I remember looking at my then husband and saying “where’s the rest of the park?  Is this it?”

The park was much smaller that the ones “back home,” so there were less rides, and the only two coasters I remember were Batman, a suspension coaster which was pretty fun (and is still there), and I want to say Superman, but not the one that’s listed on their website today.  The coaster I remember as Superman was an “out and back” dual or side by side coaster.  I remember it being a short but very intense ride, taking you to the top of this ninety degree track, leaving you hanging there for a moment, then suddenly (and without warning) flinging you back to your original starting point.  I also had the opportunity to work at the park for a day, which is a story for a different blog posting.  Overall, the experience made me appreciate what I’d grown up with.

Walt Disney World

For as long as I can remember, my goal in life was to make it to the mecca of amusement parks, Walt Disney World.  I can remember watching The Wonderful World of Disney tv show on Sunday nights, and they would show the old Disney cartoons with Donald and Goofy and Chip and Dale, and sometimes they’d even show clips from the park.  I would daydream that one day my mom would surprise us and say we were going to Disney!  In reality, I knew my mother couldn’t afford a trip like that.

Imagine my excitement when I was able to scrape enough money together for a trip in 1996, roughly nine months after my daughter was born.  I watched and researched and lucked up on a sweet deal through the WDW website. I can even remember calling to make sure it was legit and not some sketchy travel agency.  I booked a room at Disney’s All Star Movies Resort for four nights and five days, with park tickets, for a little over $500.   We (I was still married at the time) drove down and back since we couldn’t afford airfare, and we asked my father and step mother to keep the kids.  That trip was the ultimate for me, the “Everest” of amusement parks, and it was everything I’d imagined it would be and then some.

This is what Cinderella Castle looked like the first time I saw it in 1996 (and I didn’t even care!).  It was decorated like a birthday cake for Magic Kingdom’s 25th anniversary.  Photo credit: Yesterland.com

When my kids were older, we managed to take a trip once a year for several years (we being me and my kids, I was divorced by then).  I became addicted to the challenge of finding the best deal, and I got really good at it.  What that initial trip taught me was the Walt Disney World experience is very different from the amusement parks I grew up visiting.  Aside from the fact that it’s much bigger than any Ohio park, Walt Disney World isn’t about thrill rides or roller coasters.  It’s about being completely immersed in an experience, and it’s an experience for people of all ages, not just kids.

UPDATE (12/21/16):  Here’s a fun fact I learned after I wrote this.  The entrance to Geauga Lake was inspired by the entrance to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.  Take a look for yourself:

On the left, Geauga Lake (photo courtesy of themeparkarchive.com). They must’ve been in transition because the sign is missing from brick square in the center. On the right, the entrance to Magic Kingdom (Disney World).

Where are they now?

The last time I visited Geauga Lake was 1989, and I left Ohio in 1991.  After over one hundred years of operation and several changes of ownership, the park formerly known as Geauga Lake closed permanently in 2007.  All that remains are concrete foundations where buildings once stood, concrete pillars where roller coasters once towered, and overgrown weeds.  For some reason there’s one lone wooden coaster still standing, The Big Dipper.  The other coasters were removed and relocated to other properties shortly after the park closed.  Click here to see video footage of the property captured by a drone back in February.  It’s downright depressing for anyone who has memories of the place.  ***UPDATE:  Due to an increase in trespassers, The Big Dipper was torn down on October 17th.  See the drone footage here.***

As for the Sea World side of the lake, the most recent water park that operated in that space (Wildwater Kingdom) closed permanently roughly three weeks ago on September 6th.  Sadly, the fates of both pieces of land are continually being debated.  There’s a page dedicated to the memory of Geauga Lake located here.  The site contains pictures, park maps, and even some photos from Sea World Ohio.

The last time I can remember visiting Cedar Point was in 1990, a year after the Magnum XL-200 debuted.  At the time, it was the tallest (200 feet), fastest (72 mph), and steepest roller coaster in the world.  I was so worried about getting up the nerve to ride it, and not freaking out in front of my then boyfriend, but as it turned out the ride was experiencing problems and they shut it down for the day.

Today, Cedar Point is billed as “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World.”  As of this writing, they have a total of seventeen coasters (including two kiddie ones).  The park continues to thrive and is even adding a water park in 2017.  Here’s an interesting bit of trivia for you.  Cedar Point was named Best Park in the World fifteen times in a row by an organization called Amusement Today (from 1998-2013), until a new contender, Europa-Park (located in Rust, Germany), took the crown in 2014.

Cedar Point 1990
Me at Cedar Point in 1990, wearing one of those goofy, expensive souvenir hats that you bought and never wore again.

The last time I visited King’s Island was also in 1990, and I’ve told my kids since they were in middle school that “one year” we’d make it to the park so they could experience it.  They’re young adults now and we still haven’t made it.  We just had too many other things going on during the summers.  I always point it out though, as we drive by it on our way to visit relatives, and I reassure them that I had good times there as a kid.  Today, the park continues to flourish and has become more resort-like, with “partner” hotels nearby that offer room and park packages.  One of the hotels even has an indoor water park.  Kings Island is also home to a unique exhibit called Dinosaurs Alive! that displays over sixty-five life-sized dinosaurs, many of which are animatronic.

Six Flags Great Adventure is still alive and kicking, and judging by the website, they’ve expanded quite a bit.  Even so, I can think of no reason to re-visit the state of New Jersey (other than to see a friend who still resides there).  No offense to any “Jerseyians.”  🙂

The last time I visited Walt Disney World was in 2011.  I convinced my dad and step mother to join me and my two kids, and we brought along my niece and my oldest nephew.  One of my sisters also joined us, and it was an awesome trip.  WDW is a great place.  Sure it’s expensive, but it’s so worth it, even if you only do it once.  The best advice I can give is have a plan, it’s not a place you go to all willy nilly.  There is a system, and if you don’t know it or understand it, you’ll hate yourself (and the parks), and you’ll come home worn out and needing a vacation from your vacation.  It helps to be slightly obsessed (or know someone who is), and to bookmark several fan sites to keep up with all the changes, deals, and discounts.

What’s next?

Honestly, I don’t know.  As I explained, Walt Disney World truly was the top of the mountain for me.  We’ve done Universal Studios Orlando, as recently as last year.  I’ve considered the West Coast versions of the Orlando Parks (Disneyland and California Adventure Park, and Universal Studios Hollywood), or even some of Disney’s other parks in other countries (Japan, France, and two in China).  I even checked out that Europa Park, seeing as how it’s dethroned Cedar Point as The Best Park in the World.  It actually kind of reminds me of Walt Disney World, and they even have a “mouse” as their mascot.  Hmm.

What I do know is I’ll always be a theme park enthusiast, which is the “politically correct” term for someone obsessed with amusement parks.  I can’t do the spin-ny flip-py type of rides anymore, they mess with my equilibrium and make me nauseous, but I’m always up for a trip to an amusement park and a ride on a roller coaster.  Anyone care to join me?

Angela