Conneaut Lake Park has been a huge part of my life. While Kennywood has always been my "home park," Conneaut is only about an hour away from me. In 2013, I made my first visit in September and returned in the fall of 2014 and 2015. The most memorable thing about these visits is that the park was completely dead on these weekends. I thought that it would be interesting to show some pictures of a surreal, desolate amusement park.
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| In my own world... |
Conneaut has low prices (given its few attractions), and on the second Sunday of the month, they've traditionally sold $5 wristbands. I've been on a summer $5 day twice, and the atmosphere then is the complete opposite of these pictures. Just take a look:
However, the first time my family visited, we got $5 admission for bringing a used coat!
There are several unique rides at Conneaut Lake Park, but the star attraction is the Blue Streak, a 1938 wooden roller coaster that is one of my favorite rides. The best thing about this coaster is the way it is buried in the woods, so it might require its own post in the future!
The history of Conneaut over the past 25 years has been a roller coaster itself, so hold on tight!
Conneaut almost closed prior to the Great Depression, but the state of the economy meant that redevelopment plans for the park fell through. After several decades of successful operation, plans were announced at the end of the 100th anniversary in 1992 for the park's rides to be removed or demolished, moving the focus to a family entertainment center. (Happy 100th...) There was an auction of all of the park's attractions, but local businessmen bought many of the rides and later purchased the land, keeping Conneaut alive.
The park lost money under the new ownership and closed in 1995. Reopening in 1996, Conneaut Lake continued to try unsuccessfully to find its footing. In 2007 and 2008, the park remained shuttered. However, most of the rides reopened in 2009, with the Blue Streak following in 2010.
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I loved this gift shop. They had tons of old Geauga Lake souvenirs and maps from parks around the country for a quarter! |
In 2014, Conneaut Lake Park's growing debt caused them to move toward a Sherriff's Sale. I didn't realize the severity of the situation at the time, but I now see that Conneaut came very close to finally closing forever. However, the park filed for bankruptcy and made improvements in their debt load through last year.
In late May, Conneaut the decision to cancel their 2020 season, citing that their "business model has been built on a crowded midway" and the open nature of the park's borders meant that it would be difficult to regulate attendance. Most other amusement parks in Pennsylvania did open this summer, so I do wonder if Conneaut called the summer off a little prematurely, especially with the park's precarious financial situation. I can only hope that they will open next year. In a way, Conneaut is a "zombie park" that has refused to die!
5 comments:
Andrew, I sure do hope Conneaut opens this year. It would be a shame to see all that wonderful history just come to a dead end. Please keep us posted.
Did you purchase any of the maps from the parks around the country, from the gift shop? What great finds did you bring home?
What parks are you planning/hoping to visit this new year?
Thanks for another interesting post - and Happy New Year!
Sue
I love all of the trees, especially the super tall ones in that first pic and the tree-lined walkway in the second pic.
When you say "open nature of the park's borders," does that mean that Conneaut does not have a fence around it?
It looks like you were gravitating toward the magnets (no pun intended) in that gift shop. Like Sue, I would love to know if there are any special souvenirs that you have purchased at the park, over the years.
Thank you, for another educational post, Andrew! I had heard of Conneaut, but knew very little about it. I hope it can survive being closed this past year and will continue to survive for many more decades!
Happy New Year, to you!
Several years ago, Sue, they cleaned up and remodeled the gift shop, so it just has Conneaut souvenirs now. The only weird things I remember purchasing are a map of Kennywood from 2007 and some copies of ACE News from the 90s!
Well, the ideal trip for this year would be a week in CA at Disneyland, Knott's, and Magic Mountain, but there's a good chance that won't happen, so I'm hoping to visit some parks in New England for the first time, like Lake Compounce and Canobie Lake. But either way, I'll definitely get to go to Cedar Point, Waldameer, and hopefully Kings Dominion, and that's good enough for me! I hope this year is a good one for you!
TokyoMagic!, Conneaut's midways are so wide because you used to be able to drive on them (while the park was open!) in its heyday. The picture with the "Ride Pricing" booth actually used to be a busy intersection! They tried gating the park in 1992, but people weren't happy about an admission charge, so they went back to free admission. Yep, there's no fence, which means you can drive up anytime and walk around. That certainly isn't good given the arson problems they've had in the past. I have a lot of Conneaut souvenirs. I might have to do more posts about my collections in the future! Happy New Year!
The Tumble Bug looks like fun!
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