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By Patrick Thomas Geauga Lake was a 119 year old amusement park. Geauga Lake dug its roots in as an amusement park. For you to think that you tried your best with the rides side of the park is laughable. You put basically no capital into that park with no new rides, no real visual improvement over what Six Flags left you. You removed rides yet you increased ticket prices. You offered little to no diversity in your food selection yet prices overall for food in the park was often above what you charged at Cedar Point. You said you wanted it to be a regional amusement park yet you bled your core customer base dry with your non-proportional pricing. You cancelled the complete Phase Two of the water park after you already rolled out concept drawings out to the public. You promised to bring Geauga Lake Park back to its glory days. You promised a lot of things, that behind closed doors, you agreed weren't going to happen. The despicable actions you have taken with this park, rich in history, memories, and overall atmosphere, are just plain disgusting. I hope you can sleep at night knowing that you have taken a treasured Northeast Ohio jewel and thrown it away to make a buck to put a dent in the debts that you have irresponsibly put upon your company. Your upper level executives laugh at Six Flags, saying that Six Flags is a joke, yet that company gave its patrons a chance to visit their parks before they closed them. Isn't it ironic that the company that is your main competition, the company you claimed took the fun out of Geauga Lake, the company that is actually showing improvement, is what you are becoming? When you bought Geauga Lake I'll admit I cracked a smile. I thought that you of all people knew how to run a park but after being in your employ for two seasons and seeing all of the underhanded tactics you have used have turned my opinion of you completely around. You say "if people want to ride coasters, they'll come to Cedar Point". That statement alone proves to me how far removed you are from the people of Ohio. Geauga Lake and Cedar Point have co-existed with each other for over 100 years. Geauga Lake provided a reasonably priced attraction for families who could not afford to make the trip to Cedar Point. For me, that's a two hour trip. When I was growing up my family trip to Geauga Lake was the highlight of my summers. I didn't even know Cedar Point existed until I was about twelve. My family simply could not afford to go to Cedar Point as we were a family of six and that trip just wasn't happening. Geauga Lake was a sure thing. We could afford it and it was a great place to take a family for a day of entertainment. But you, Cedar Fair, have greatly underestimated the value of that property and sooner, rather than later, you will realize this. Then what will you do? The clock is ticking, Mr. Kinzel. Do you honestly want to have the same regrets you had when Geauga Lake was first offered to you and you didn't take it? The difference between then and now is, it's not going to be there later; you will not get a third chance.
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