Notes on the Dynamic History and Demise of Geauga Lake

Seven years after Geauga Lake aka Six Flags Worlds of Adventure aka Six Flags Ohio shut down as we knew it, the community of fans and historians remains strong nationwide. Closer to home, of course, the Geauga Lake remembrances are vivid and frequent.

Last week, Brian Krosnick published the sort of comprehensive history of Geauga Lake that we all need to read now and then — the necessary fuel for our nostalgia. It's not a happy tale.

A brief excerpt:

It was unthinkable and somewhat mind-boggling that Six Flags Worlds of Adventure could exist at all, so perfectly and romantically divided into a “Wild Rides” and “Wildlife” section, each on opposite sides of a beautiful lake. In other words, they couldn’t have built the park more conceptually interesting if they’d tried. Instead, everything simply fell together in a really picturesque and wonderful way in theory.

It was dizzying.

It was doomed.

The whole story — and the lively comments section — is worth a read today.

While we're discussing such matters, does anyone know what Rotor Man is up to these days?