Geauga Lake: The Funtime Years 1969-1995

by Arcadia Publishing

Overview

Images of America: Geauga Lake: The Funtime Years 1969-1995 captures the park's transformation and some of the countless memories that resulted from Funtime's 26-year ownership.

In 1968, three businessmen left their jobs at Cedar Point in Sandusky to purchase Geauga Lake Amusement Park. Geauga Lake had been a summertime escape since the 1870s, but by the 1960s it had fallen on hard times. The businessmen's company, Funtime, Inc., transformed the aging facility into a modern amusement park and established a reputation as an innovative operator in one of the nation's most competitive amusement park markets. Geauga Lake became the first park with two looping roller coasters and the first to integrate a full-scale water park, Boardwalk Shores. The company broke even more new ground in 1988 when it resurrected a classic roller coaster design to construct Raging Wolf Bobs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467113892
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	06/01/2015
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Jim Futrell, historian for the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), has studied the amusement park industry for over 30 years. Futrell has conducted extensive research and written five books and numerous articles on the subject, including Images of America: Waldameer Park. Dave Hahner is a historian for American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE). An avid amusement park and roller coaster enthusiast, Hahner has written Images of America: Kennywood, featuring his hometown park in Pittsburgh.

Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Acknowledgments 7

Introduction 8

1 Prologue: 1870s?1968 11

2 A New Era Dawns: 1969?1976 27

3 Getting Loopy: 1977?1982 43

4 Making a Splash: 1983?1987 59

5 Raging into Its Second Century: 1988?1995 75

6 A Whale of a Neighbor: SeaWorld Ohio 1970?2000 91

7 Epilogue: 1996?2007 109