Julie's Vacation on a Stick Photo TR - Day 3

July 12th

I'd planned on sleeping late this day because Geauga Lake was the only thing on the plan, and by all accounts, including Kevin's, this was not a park I was going to need to hit at opening just to get all the coasters done before closing. I rolled over at about 8:30 and decided that since breakfast was included with my room, I'd go get breakfast then go back to sleep for a bit. I had a bowl of frosted flakes, a "hot and delicious, hot and delicious cinnamon roll, cinnamon roll" and a small omelet as well as a glass of apple juice. To have been included with the room, and to have gotten the room at an employee discount, I was very pleased with breakfast! When I was done, I laid back down for a bit, but I knew coasters were calling my name, so I got back up after about 45 minutes.

I quickly showered and headed out for the park. Due to a train blocking one road and a detour around another road, it took me about 45 minutes to make the 10 minute drive to the park! I ended up parking at the waterpark entrance somehow, which had a very small entranceway, so there was no huge "welcome to the park!" feeling. The waterpark looked pretty nice, but I'm not a huge waterslide fan, so I passed on it.

My first ride was Raging Wolf Bobs, which was a pretty nice coaster. Felt like a woodie should...not overly rough, but just a little. They had a "Raging Wolf Bobs" train on the storage track, yet were running some futuristic looking train for the guests. I thought the themed one looked better because it had a little more attitude to it. Credit #105.

The next ride I came to was Dominator, the floorless coaster. It was a great ride! I'd definitely like to have a floorless in one of my home parks. The coaster had that loud B&M roar to it...seemed a little louder than most B&Ms, but it added to the atmosphere I thought. Credit #106.

As I passed a snack stand (which was so obviously themed as Batman!) I noticed that they sold "Pickle on a stick"! Yeah! Had to get one. As we've already ascertained, I love pickles, so I greatly enjoyed it. Wish it had been cold though.

I decided to conquer Thunderhawk next since it was probably not gonna be that pleasant. I ended up waiting maybe 15 minutes for it, which was the longest wait I had all day. And of course it beat the s**t out of me, which was no surprise. Credit #107.

While I was in the area, I took in the Beaver Land Mine Ride, which was a decent little coaster. Credit #108. Villain was next, and my friend Kim from Pittsburgh says this is one of her favorite woodies. It looked pretty good...but of course, it also successfully beat the s**t out of me. The first half was horrible...absolutely shaking me to death, but the second half seemed to be retracked. It was quite a bit more tolerable and some of the wood looked new. If they do to the first half what they did to the second half, this would be a good woodie. But until then, nope. Credit #109.

I went to ride Americana, their Ferris wheel, next so I could get some aerial pictures. I got a great shot of Thunderhawk...it's such a pretty coaster...too bad it sucks so badly. While I was in the area, I went to ride Double Loop. There was almost no one in the station, and there were maybe 4 or 5 ride ops standing at the console joking and laughing loudly. Then out of nowhere, one ride op laughs into the microphone that they are closing the ride and to come back later. Of course I don't know what was really going on, but it certainly looked like the ride ops were having too much fun with each other to operate the ride! Everyone in the station was like "Are they serious? Are they just shutting down so they can go on break?" So we all turned around and left.

I headed over to the far side of the park next to grab those credits. On my way, I passed another place that sold cheese on a stick, so I decided to finally try some. The first one I got was hot on the outside but still cold and not melted in the middle. So I had them make me another one, but it was exactly the same, so I just got my money back. I got some fries, but they were really greasy and not that great.

Next I decided to tackle Headspin and get that out of the way. Of course it was just as terrible and rough as any boomerang out there. Credit #110. Steel Venom was running, but I don't count it as a coaster and didn't care to ride it, so I skipped it. I rode the little monorail next, which was a nice little ride. It went at a normal speed for a while, then slowed down to a crawl right near the wave pool. I thought that was strange. Was it an opportunity to check out the sunbathers? Then I skipped over to Big Dipper. Kevin said this was the second best coaster in the park in his opinion. It wasn't bad, but it was pretty darn rough too, though not half as bad as Villain or Mean Streak! Credit #111.

I'd saved X-Flight to last, thinking it would be my favorite in the park. Superman: Ultimate Flight at SFOG is in a three way tie for my favorite coaster, so I was assuming that I'd really love X-Flight. Boy was I completely wrong! This ride is a total pile of crap with almost nothing fun or entertaining about it! First, the restraints made me feel extremely claustrophobic. They were very heavy on my chest, and pinned my legs in a very uncomfortable way. The hand holds were also in a very uncomfortable position. Second, the lift takes you up on your back...so your facing up towards the sun, with your hands restrained almost to the point that you can't shade your face. Not to mention that I don't like not knowing where the top of the lift hill is. Third, during the ride, it seems to point your head too far towards the ground, so you can't see in front of you, only straight down. Even despite the excessive restraints, I still felt like I was going to fall out, so I ended up hanging on WAY more than I normally would on a coaster. What a disaster of a coaster. Still, it was credit #112.

I felt like I was beginning to overheat at that point, so I bought another big snow cone and sat down in the shade. There seemed to be almost no place to go inside and get out of the heat...all the food places seemed to be walk ups, and the arcades and shops were all open air. I'm sure there were some indoor places, but I never found them. The snow cone was good though, and cooled me down pretty well.

I was just about ready to go back to the hotel for the evening, so I dragged myself back to Double Loop, and prayed that my ears would survive the ride. It was also horribly rough, just like most of the coasters had been. Credit #113. I went back to the main entrance and walked out of it so I could get a few pictures of the main entrance, then came right back in. I found a long sleeve t-shirt that I liked in a gift shop, so I got it, then began the walk back to the waterpark side.

Kevin had said to make sure to catch the Robots from Mars show since it was indoors and a good way to cool off, so I did that on the way out. The storyline was lacking a bit, but the graphics were great...crystal clear, with no ghosts. And there were plenty of water sprays and fans during the show to get you cooled off. I wish this had been on the other side of the park because I could have really used a break like that earlier. When I left, I found more cheese on a stick, so I tried it again. This time it was much better, but I really don't like corndog batter, which is what it was covered in, so I probably wouldn't get another one.

It was around 5:00 or so by this point, and I headed out for the day. On the way back, I managed to take the direct route to the hotel, so it only took a few minutes. I got a call from my friend Jason once I was back at the hotel so I chatted with him for a few minutes. I went to get directions to the nearest Walmart so I could go ahead and get my Cedar Point and Geauga Lake digital photos printed, and also found an Outback Steakhouse there. Having never been to an Outback, I thought that sounded like a great choice for dinner. I found the Walmart easily, and got my prints started while I went to dinner.

At Outback, I ordered a chicken ceasar salad, and it was great. The dressing was very spicy and peppery. The chicken was just a tad under done though, so I asked the waitress to have them cook it some more. Well, her reaction seemed like she wanted to preemptively prevent me from complaining to a manager, so she was overly apologetic. I wasn't gonna say a thing because underdone chicken happens, and it's no big deal. A few minutes later the chicken came back and it was just fine, but the girl said the manager was gonna come check on me in a bit too! The manager came by a bit later and I assured her that I wasn't upset about the chicken and that it was great. Geez, so much attention just over some slightly underdone chicken!

I went back to get my pictures and they turned out fantastic! I absolutely love my new digital camera. I bought it specifically for this trip, and I've yet to find a negative thing to say about it. It's a Kodak Easyshare LS753, and it’s a fantastic camera. I went back to the hotel to turn in for the night, and called Kevin once I got there. We chatted for quite a while, marveling at how Geauga Lake can have such rough and crappy coasters. I ate some of my salad leftovers right before going to bed, and I was asleep by around midnight.

This road brought to you by Vekoma!

Arrow Loopers! They'll knock your socks off!

First aid right next to the Vekoma Boomerang...ironic, yet appropriate!

Julie finally eats Cheese on a Stick!

Julie dominates Pickle on a Stick

I love pickles. No more comments neccessary.

Raging Wolf Bobs. Why is one guy holding his nose and another holding his head???

A panoramic photo of Geauga Lake - full size version available on my website.

*sigh* everytime I read a report on GL I keep hearing about how bad Villain is. I do believe you friend in Pittsburgh, though...it was a GREAT woodie...at one point. I mean, even in 2003, when we last rode it, it was rougher, but it was rideable (at least once or twice). It really annoys me that most of the CCI's have gone to crap. I know it's not all the ride's fault because the parks need to keep them up too. But it does seem as though they need a LOT of work.

In 2000, Villian was right up there at top of my favorites list and in 2003 it dropped quite a bit. Now, I'm afriad to ride the damn thing!

Did Wolf Bobs seem smooth the whole way through? I know in 2003 it was the weirdest feeling since they had only re-tracked half of the ride. 1st half was rough and bouncy as hell, and then suddenly the 2nd half was smooth as glass! It was weird, but funny!

Great pics!

--Robb

These TRs are great, and the pickle domination picture RULED!

dt

That TR was awesome. I loved the panoromic view of the park. I don't think it was ironic that first aid was right next to the boomerang!

The panoramic photo of Geauga Lake brought back a lot of memories for me. That was the view I saw everyday from my office when I worked at SeaWorld Ohio.

I'm really sad now.

Of all food on stick products, pickle on a stick is definitely my favorite!

Mark "Needs to get to Knoebels for some pickle on a stick!" Luskus

my kids and i found that the only way to comfortably ride the X-Flight is to let go and be craddled by the restraints. When i used to try and hold on to the bars, i'd get bruised shoulders.

Another Great TR!

And again, great photo TR. I really like your panoramic photo! Pickles on a stick??? I have never seen that before, but it sounds good! I really like pickles! However, up to the next TR...

--Sören

LOL, I'm still laughing about first aid and the boomerang!

Elissa "off to read all of the others!" Alvey

Robb,

I was at GL in late May and had THE PERFECT ride in the back seat. The pull-overs were amazing, mooshing was had, and there was airtime.

Wolf-bobs has been re-tracked ALMOST all the way. The first half and second half is done, and the middle is washboard central. Which I thought was hilarious. When it get's completely re-tracked should be a decent woodie.

Julie, sorry your ride on X-Flight was bad. I had the same experience when I first rode. If you wear sunglasses with the strap that helps sheild the sun. Unfortunetly, you have to let go and enjoy the ride, let the restraints hold you in. If you hold on your will get locked muscles, as they are no fun.

Glad you had a decent time though!

Katie

I agree with Kate about Raging Wolf Bobs. For the most part it was quite comfortable...second best in the park to me, right after Dominator. It felt like a woodie should...jostles you around a bit, but wasn't uncomfortably rough. I'd definitely ride it again, which is more than I can say for many of the rides there!

And as for Villain...the second half did appear to have had some track work done. A lot of the wood looked new...so maybe they did half this year and will do half next year? The second half was *much* smoother than the first. I can see how it could be a really good coaster...but until it's fully retracked, or *something* is done about the jackhammering on the first half, I wouldn't ride it again.

-Julie