Revisiting SeaWorld Ohio (Part 1)

Being around for over fifty years now, SeaWorld Entertainment has developed quite the reputation in the amusement industry. The idea materialized in the 1960s by four UCLA graduates who wanted to invest in an underwater restaurant and marine life show.

Considering themed dining venues like these didn’t become big until the 1990s due to the emergence of the Landry's company, plans for the restaurant ultimately fell through, so the four decided to invest in a theme park instead.

The idea was to build a theme park that would double as a marine research center where guests could experience ocean life up-close and personal. The first park opened in southern California in 1964 under the name SeaWorld San Diego.

Upon the park’s opening, there were only around 45 employees, and the only marine life that could be seen there were dolphins, sea lions, and various fish and aquatic animals that could be located in one of the park’s two seawater aquariums. After its first year of operation, it was evident that the park was a financial success, reeling in guests from all over the country.

It wasn’t until 1968 when SeaWorld decided to offer its stock publicly. Prior to this, the marine park was classified as a private organization, which prevented the park owners from opening additional locations to expand the chain.

In the late 1960s, some businessman who owned a theme park a little bit north of SeaWorld San Diego scouted out some land in the sleepy area of Orlando, Florida. After his second park opened in 1971, Orlando became an ideal spot for a new SeaWorld location.

By 1973, SeaWorld had opened its third park, known as SeaWorld Orlando. The destination would eventually grow to become one of the most successful theme parks in the Orlando area, but not everything was a cakewalk, as proven by the company’s financial struggles and multiple controversies it has faced throughout the years.

Yeah, it’s pretty hard to deny that breeding large aquatic mammals like orcas in captivity, and training them to perform could be considered inhumane. After multiple incidents over the years of SeaWorld trainers being injured or even killed by these animals, the company has become the primary target of many animal rights groups and similar activist organizations.

Thankfully, the company has recently ended its killer whale-breeding program, and has slowly begun to focus more on the theme park aspect of the experience rather than promoting the captivity and training of its aquatic creatures. Think what you will about SeaWorld’s long and complicated history because today we’re going to forget all of that and instead focus on something SeaWorld wanted us to forget.

Remember how I said that SeaWorld Orlando was the company’s third location? A lot of people cease to recall that Sea World actually opened up a second park in 1970, three years before the Orlando location opened its gates. Where else would be suitable such a large-scale marine zoological park open you may ask? Try, of all places, Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1966, a man named Earl Gascoigne (Earl G?) caught word of SeaWorld San Diego, and became very impressed with the commercial success of the park. At the time, Earl was the marketing director of a growing amusement park and lake resort in Sandusky, Ohio called Cedar Point.

Earl spoke with the founder of SeaWorld, George Millay, and attempted to persuade him to build a second theme park near Cedar Point, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Millay initially declined the offer, but kept the idea on the table. Two years later, Millay would revisit the idea when he and his crew were searching for a new location for expansion in between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Millay saw the Midwestern states as prime real-estate for the amusement industry; it was the home of the majority of blue-collar workers in the country, and Millay believed that meant the area would be full of large families wanting to enjoy summer vacations with their kids. He quickly considered reconnecting with Earl G.

Earl G had since left Cedar Point and was working for a struggling amusement park just eighty miles down the coast in Cleveland, Ohio, called Geauga Lake. Geauga Lake had opened in 1887 and would be overshadowed by Ohio’s other tourist attractions, specifically Cedar Point. Throughout the park’s history, it would face low attendance, several re-branding, and constantly found itself in a state of financial distress.

Earl G believed that opening a second amusement park across the water from the main Geauga Lake area would help draw in more attendance to the area and therefore save the park. Millay took up on Earl’s offer, and by 1968, the SeaWorld Ohio project was officially announced to the public.

Construction on the park lasted for two years and cost around fifty million dollars. When it opened, the park took up fifty acres, but it would eventually reach 232 acres by the year 2000. It was located directly across from the Geauga Lake amusement park, which spanned 550 acres, making the Geauga Lake property the world’s largest amusement park by area.

On May 29th, 1970, the park finally opened under the name SeaWorld Cleveland. The park was an enormous success and more than 1.1 million guests visited during the first season, which doubled the seasonal attendance predictions.

When the park first opened, there were no rides, but guests could enjoy various aquatic exhibits and view live animal shows. Show venues included Shamu Stadium, a 4,000 seat open-air stadium where the park would put on their daily orca shows, and the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium, a 3,000 seat stadium where guests could experience performances by the aquatic mammals. The Sky Stadium, also known as the Baywatch Stadium, opened a year later facing the Geauga Lake shore for jet ski and water sport related shows.

Other exhibits included the Dolphin Pool, Seal Pool, Trout Fishing Pond, Alligator Enclosure, Hawaiian Punch Village, and the Japanese Village, where various Koi fish and Japanese deer species could be found. Dining options at the park included your typical line up of amusement park snacks as well as unique Polynesian dining venues.

The park would continue to operate like this for thirty years, and saw a plethora of exhibits and shows come and go throughout its history. Notable additions included the 1973 World of the Sea Aquarium, the 1985 Penguin Encounter, the Shark Encounter which was added in 1993, Carnivore Park, a walk-through attraction featuring various animatronic dinosaurs, and Pirates 4-D, a 1997 4-D film shown at the newly-built Harbor Theater.

By the time the new millennium came around, SeaWorld Cleveland was looking better than ever, it was just missing one key aspect that the other SeaWorld parks in San Diego, Orlando, and San Antonio were excelling in- rides. Due to a non-competition agreement with the neighboring Geauga Lake amusement park, SeaWorld Cleveland could not construct any roller coasters or thrill rides for guests to enjoy.

To make up for this lack of excitement, SeaWorld Cleveland would invest in 4-D shows and a 12,000 square foot motion simulator attraction titled Mission: Bermuda Triangle. It would become the largest investment made by the SeaWorld Ohio park and would be the only actual ride that ever existed in the park under SeaWorld’s ownership.

Unfortunately, this major investment would also be SeaWorld Cleveland’s last. Prior to 2000, SeaWorld Entertainment would combine with the Busch Entertainment Corporation- the company that owns the Busch Garden and Sesame Place Theme Parks. Currently operating as one body called SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the management behind the theme parks were changing drastically, and changes were required to be made in order to keep the company financially stable.

The 2000 season would end up being SeaWorld Cleveland’s last, as on January 10, 2001 a new company announced that it would be purchasing SeaWorld Cleveland and combining it with the neighboring Geauga Lake theme park for over 110 million dollars. As part of a plan to re-brand the area as a major summer destination, the park would reopen in 2001 under an entirely different title- Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.

That's all for this part of revisiting SeaWorld Ohio. Please stick around for part two, where we'll explore the inevitable fate of the marine park. Be sure to sign up and become a member of the blog, begin dicussions, and help the RetroPoint Adventures community grow!

Until next time. -Max