SANDUSKY, OHIO, September 21,
2007 – Cedar Fair Entertainment Company announced today that Geauga
Lake & Wildwater Kingdom in Aurora, Ohio, will become exclusively a
water park attraction beginning with the 2008 season.
“After four years of operating Geauga Lake as a combined water
park/amusement park attraction, we have concluded that its future
should be entirely as a water park,” said Dick Kinzel, chairman,
president and chief executive officer of Cedar Fair Entertainment
Company. “Visiting Geauga Lake is a 119-year-old tradition in
northeastern Ohio. That tradition will continue, but in a new and
exciting way.”
“Geauga Lake’s Wildwater Kingdom has been recognized as one of the
finest water parks in the country,” Kinzel said. “Over the past
three seasons, we have invested approximately $25 million to create
and develop the premiere water park in northeastern Ohio. Since its
opening in 2005, Wildwater Kingdom has been the park’s highest rated
attribute.”
Geauga Lake’s Wildwater Kingdom attractions will include Tidal Wave
Bay, a 30,000 square-foot wave pool featuring seven different types
of wave patterns; Liquid Lightning, a 60-foot-tall tornado slide;
Thunder Falls, Ohio’s tallest water slide complex; an activity pool;
an action river; and a multi-story play structure. The park will
also provide a catering facility and picnic pavilions for group
outings and poolside cabanas will be made available for daily
rental.
Water parks are very important to Cedar Fair. In addition to parks
where the water park is incorporated into the amusement park, the
company owns and operates five separately gated water parks: three
in California, one in Ohio (Soak City at Cedar Point) and one in
Missouri.
Kinzel added, “Water parks traditionally draw from a closer
geographic market than amusement parks, and we believe Geauga Lake’s
Wildwater Kingdom will continue to be successful in drawing visitors
from the greater Cleveland, Youngstown and Akron-Canton areas.”
Geauga Lake’s 2008 operating schedule, admission pricing, group
programs and other operating details will be announced at a later
date. However, the water park season is traditionally Memorial Day
to Labor Day.
As part of the changeover to exclusively water park attractions, a
number of the rides at Geauga Lake will be introduced at other Cedar
Fair parks.
The property not necessary for the operation of the water park is
being reviewed for other uses and development.
Geauga Lake’s Wildwater Kingdom is owned and operated by Cedar Fair
Entertainment Company, a publicly traded partnership that is listed
for trading on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FUN.”
In addition to Geauga Lake’s Wildwater Kingdom, Cedar Fair owns and
operates 11 amusement parks, five other water parks, one indoor
water park resort, and six hotels. Cedar Fair also owns and operates
Star Trek: The Experience, an interactive adventure located in Las
Vegas, and operates the Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy,
Calif. under a management contract.