The petition
Cedar Fair, it is time that the public speak out, and say just how they feel about your handling of Geauga Lake. We are extremely disappointed in how Geauga Lake was handled by Cedar Fair during its short life. When Cedar Fair purchased the park from Six Flags in 2004, they promised everyone that the park would be turned around and brought up to Cedar Fair standards. With the recent announcement of the park’s future, or lack thereof, it has led us to believe, along with many other people in the community, that Cedar Fair never had any intention of turning Geauga Lake around.
Cedar Fair’s lack of interest in the park during the 2007 season was especially noticeable. While Cedar Fair is usually meticulous with its properties, the old Hurricane Harbor water park was still standing, rides like Raging Wolf Bobs were being shut down for the season due to a single issue, and many areas of Geauga Lake still had the dilapidated Six Flags look to them. All of this combined with the removals of X-Flight and Steel Venom the previous year, make Friday’s announcement no surprise.
On the Cedar Fair website it says, “Cedar Fair Entertainment Company is firmly committed to the principles of honesty, integrity and fairness in all aspects of its business relationships with vendors, customers, employees, investors and others.” Frankly, we can’t see how you met any one of those goals with Geauga Lake. First let us touch on the issue of honesty. When rumors started flying around last year regarding the possible removals of X-Flight and Steel Venom, many people began to ask the park what was going on. The public was assured that they had “no current plans to remove X-Flight and/or Steel Venom”. Merely two weeks later, however, the park announces that they will be removing the two rides. This is not what any of your formerly loyal patrons consider honest. Cedar Fair knew that the two rides were going to be removed, as construction had started numerous weeks before hand. The public should have known.
Fairness is another quality which we do not think Cedar Fair exhibited in its operation of Geauga Lake. Geauga Lake has a rich 119 year history. People who have been apart of that history deserved to know that Oktober Fest was the final weekend they would have to visit the park. Does the company truly think it fair that they close the park without giving people a chance to head over there for one last visit, without getting some final pictures or souvenirs, and without saying goodbye to a park that has been loved by all for 119 years? All of this is really what makes up Cedar Fair’s integrity. Frankly, as far as a lot of Geauga Lake fans are concerned, you don’t have much of it left. The quick closing of Geauga Lake after the park had looked busier than ever, the cancelling of phase two of Wildwater Kingdom, it has all affected the way in which I view Cedar Fair. We speak for many in the Geauga Lake community that Cedar Fair’s deceitful, uncaring, and greedy actions in regards to Geauga Lake has led to a complete lack of trust in any further statements, acquisitions, and actions that Cedar Fair will take in the future.
Sincerely,
Patrons Seeking “FUN”
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UPDATE: (10-8-07)
I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who has supported this petition. It has certainly beat my most wild expectations and it really shows how much this park was loved. The petition was even highlighted in a recent article in The News-Herold, as well as other papers.
I would like to announce that the petition will be sent to numerous parties, including the head of Cedar Fair (Richard Kinzel) once we hit 3,000 signatures. I can tell that won't take long. Any response to the petition will be posted here.
Thank you all again for your support. It means a lot to me, and everyone else who has fond memories of this great park.
UPDATE: (9-25-07)
I would like to thank everyone for their amazing support for this petition. It is gaining a lot of momentum, as signatures are coming in by the dozen, and it was even quoted in an article in the Plain Dealer today.
I just wanted to tell everyone that the petition will eventually be sent to the head of Cedar Fair entertainment company (Mr. Richard Kinzel). I am sure that with all these heartfelt comments it will go a long way to letting CF know how we feel about this move (and it may even save Big Dipper). Thank you all again and keep up the good work!
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