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2026 Grand Opening of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake

Blog Date
Author(s)
Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
Amusement Park
History
Parks

Sunday, October 25, 2026 - The Smith Family at the Grand Opening of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake
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Join us Sunday, October 25 from 1–5 p.m. for the Grand Opening of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake
Date: Sunday, October 25
Time: 1 p.m.- 5 p.m
Address: 1100 Squires Road


What to Expect:
- Explore Aurora's newest public park
- Ribbon cutting at 1:30 p.m.
- Browns game on big screen
- Family friendly entertainment
- Photo opportunities
- Music
- Food and beverages for sale
...and more!

Congratulations, City of Aurora, Ohio, for your impressive, new Aurora Park on Geauga Lake!! On Sunday, October 25, 2026, we attended the Grand Opening of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake with our sons, Kevin and Michael.

Our family has a personal interest in this city park, since we remember fun times at Geauga Lake Amusement Park and SeaWorld Ohio. Stuart remembers the last couple of times he was at SeaWorld, when, as a teenager, he used to volunteer to bring patients from the former Sunny Acres skilled-nursing facility for a day of fun at SeaWorld.

 

Sunday, October 25, 2026 - Kevin Smith's display at the Grand Opening of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake. Visit the KevinNEOmemories.com website to learn more.
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Geauga Lake: 1888-2007
SeaWorld: 1970-2006
Wildwater Kingdom: 2005-2016
Aurora

Kevin brought a small sample of his collection of Geauga Lake Amusement Park, SeaWorld Ohio, and Wildwater Kingdom memorabilia to the Aurora Park opening. He runs the Kevin's Northeast Ohio Amusement Memories website, with technical support from Michael. Kevin often displays his large collection of amusement park memorabilia at local venues (see his website for Past Events and Upcoming Events, where you can also subscribe to his calendar.) To learn more about what existed here before Aurora Park, see the Geauga Lake/SeaWorld/Wildwater Kingdom web page, which includes posts by Kevin and several guest bloggers. Anyone can submit their own personal memories of Northeast Ohio’s defunct amusement parks.

 

In addition to this blog post, we recommend taking a look at the photos posted by Drone Ohio on their Facebook page: Facebook.com/thedroneohio -- we see ourselves in some of the 75 photos in their Facebook post from the October 25, 2026, Grand Opening of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake.

We enjoyed attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony and afternoon of entertainment, and put this blog post together to share what we saw on this beautiful day. We highly recommend visiting the new Aurora Park at Geauga Lake.

 

 

Arrival and Ribbon Cutting

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to look more closely at the slides!!

 

 

Geauga Lake Amusement Park Time Capsule Opening

Amusement Preservation Museum
PRESERVING THE PAST FOR THE KIDS OF TOMORROW!

OUR GOAL IS TO PRESERVE AND SHARE HISTORY OF TRADITIONS GONE BY. WE HOST AND ATTEND MULTIPLE EVENTS EVERY YEAR WITH OUR LARGEST EVENT BEING OUR OPEN HOUSE. CHECK OUR "UPCOMING EVENTS" PAGE TO SEE A FULL LIST OF WHERE YOU CAN VIEW AND INTERACT WITH AMUSEMENT PARK HISTORY! IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO ATTEND ANY EVENTS PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL AND WE CAN SET UP AN APPOINTMENT. WITH ENOUGH SUPPORT, A FULL TIME MUSEUM LOCATION WILL HOPEFULLY BE ON THE HORIZON IN THE NEAR FUTURE!

Troy Parsh is a good family friend of ours, and is the founder of the Amusement Preservation Museum. He did an excellent job of conducting the ceremonial opening of the Geauga Lake Amusement Park time capsule. We really liked how he asked former Geauga Lake/SeaWorld/Wildwater Kingdom employees to be the first to take out items from the time capsule. The end of the following video shows the items that were in the capsule:

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to look more closely at the slides!!

If you are interested in "unique keepsakes of beloved park icons and coaster cars," Troy Parsh has an online Etsy store, called MidwayMarketplace, that has 3D-printed Geauga Lake items. "Every purchase helps support the Amusement Preservation Museum project!"

 

 

Entertainment, Fun, Nature, and the Future

ONGOING CONSTRUCTION MAY LIMIT ACCESS TO THE PARK OR AREAS OF IT.
PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS AND COURTEOUS AND OBEY ALL SIGNS.
Aurora Park at Geauga Lake is OPEN!
Phase 1A welcomes the public back onto the historic site and focuses on multipurpose spaces that encourage people to gather their friends and loved ones and spend time together.

Entering the park, you will enjoy a reimagining of the former SeaWorld of Ohio and WildWater Kingdom ticket and turnstile buildings into an open-air plaza and gathering space. Along with less exciting but necessary elements including parking, restrooms, and walkways, this phase includes an area for food trucks to offer concessions during events and a number of backdrops for scenic photos.

Large, grassy lawns usher people down to the Lakefront Terrace to take in the views of Geauga Lake, a spring-fed glacial kettle lake with a rich history. A variety of seating opportunities allow visitors to relax and take in the scenery, and the renovated Sunset Pier and pavilion bring people even closer to the water.

Accessing the water at this phase of development is available through our self-serve rental kiosk. Single and tandem kayaks, standup paddleboards, and required life vests are available for rent. Hand-carried kayaks and SUP are also welcome. Rules are posted and use is seasonal and at user risk.

When looking at our photos from the day, please note the following:

  • Both the Raging Wolf Bobs roller coaster car (1988-2007) and the Rocket Ship (1924-1995) were purchased by the City of Aurora in 2025 from The Euclid Beach Boys collection. They were restored by Troy Parsh and his father, Rob Parsh, of the Amusement Preservation Museum.

  • As we mentioned above, our son, Kevin Smith, set up a small display with just a few items from his large memorabilia collection of items from the former amusement park.

  • At the grand opening, we saw a variety of entertainment -- stilt walker, magician, bubble act, jugglers, puppeteers -- provided by Flower Entertainment.

    We had a chance to talk to the featured hula hoop/bubble act performer, Juliette Antony - stage name "Ruby Rabbit." We were able to confirm with her that she had performed at BubbleFest Cleveland 2024, which we had attended thanks to an invitation from Steve Presser of the former Big Fun store. (See our BubbleFest Cleveland 2024 blog post.) Stuart has talked to Ruby Rabbit's performance partner, Matthew "Major Scales" Edick, at several venues where he has performed. He is mentioned in three of our past blog posts.

    At the end of the event, we talked to the puppeteers and learned that they are with the Great Lakes National Puppet Theater.

  • The park is absolutely beautiful! We love the colors used in the main picnic pavilion, which used to be the entrance/ticketing area. We loved that the park offers self-serve kayak rentals and a dock. There is also a large, covered pier (Sunset Pier with pavilion) at the edge of the lake. The water and weeping willow trees are gorgeous.

  • Be sure to pause the video to zoom in and look closer at the display boards that show the plans for the future of the entire park and details of the playground area. What opened on Sunday, October 25, 2026, is just the first phase. More development of the park will be completed in the coming years.

  • We got a nice photo of our family (Stuart, Julie, Michael, Kevin) with the Parsh family (Rob, Patty, Troy).

  • After the grand opening festivities had ended, we were surprised to see a powered paraglider fly over the park. Another interesting use for this new park!

  • We want to thank the park's security guard who invited us beyond the security fence to see the former Wildwater Kingdom wave pool. This area will become a public swimming pool and splash pad.

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to look more closely at the photos and to read any interesting facts that are in the slides!!

 

 

History

SeaWorld Ohio was a theme park and marine zoological park located in Aurora, Ohio. . . . opened to the public on May 29, 1970 . . . On June 17, 2005, a new waterpark named Wildwater Kingdom opened on 17 acres of the former SeaWorld Cleveland site. . . . Cedar Fair announced on August 19, 2016, that Wildwater Kingdom would not reopen for the 2017 season.[16] The waterpark closed permanently on September 5, 2016, after eleven years in business.[17] Demolition occurred in November 2017.

What follows are two screenshots of Google Maps from Monday, November 9, 2026, and some of the YouTube videos about the history of the park. As we have done in some of our other past blog posts, we also have embedded a current Google Map. That way, you can compare the screenshots which show a view of Aurora Park before the grand opening with the current Google Map that will update over time to reflect all the improvements being done on the property.

Monday, November 9, 2026 - Google Map screenshot of the Aurora Park area on Geauga Lake. Note the Meijer store and VC Park at Geauga Lake apartment complex to the west. The wave pool, pier, and entrance gate (now picnic pavilion) to the east are being incorporated into the new Aurora Park.
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Monday, November 9, 2026 - Google Map screenshot of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake. Note the wave pool, pier, and entrance gate buidings are being incorporated into the new Aurora Park.
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ABANDONED AMUSEMENT PARK - Geauga Lake, Sea World, Wildwater Kingdom exploration
lyd wetzel
. . . Jun 24, 2025 AURORA
Come with me as I explore my childhood stomping grounds Geauga Lake. On this urban exploration, we discover the remains of the old amusement park and water park, including some remnants of attractions. The area is being redeveloped into condos and apartments, as well as the wave pool area being reused and turned into a park.

Geauga Lake operated form 1887-2007. It began as a park with a carousel, picnic ground and a dance hall. Many attractions and roller coasters were added throughout the years. The first coaster was Big Dipper in 1925. Sea World Ohio opened in 1970 and closed in 2000, when it merged with Six Flags to become one giant Park with animals, rides and a water park.

At one point, Geauga Lake had 10 roller coasters to chose from. I remember the old Wave pool that had a 6 foot wave every 15 minutes instead of small choppy waves; that was the most hardcore wave pool of all. The anticipation was palpable.

In 2000 that was demolished for Loony Toons Boomtown. Six Flags added lots of Marvel and Loony Toons themed rides. The Batman, The Villain, Superman, The X-Flight were top quality coasters added at that time.

In 2004, Cedar Fair bought Geauga Lake, so all the old Loony Toons and Marvel was changed over, which everyone was originally excited about. But at the end of the 2007 season, it was announced Geauga Lake would not reopen. The employees and guests were both blindsided by the news.

 

SeaWorld Ohio: The Largest Forgotten Theme Park in America
Where We Played
. . . Jul 22, 2026 #SeaWorldOhio #Abandoned #KillerWhale
SeaWorld Ohio: The Largest Forgotten Theme Park in America

Everyone thinks the killer whales of SeaWorld Ohio were left behind to rot in their tanks. They weren't. The truth about what happened in Aurora, Ohio is stranger, and quietly sadder.

In 1970, a company built a full marine park, killer whales and all, in the middle of landlocked Ohio. For thirty summers, more than a million people a year came to watch Shamu perform across the lake from a skyline of roller coasters. Then it was sold, renamed, and slowly swallowed by weeds. This is the story of the ocean America built where it was never meant to be, where the whales actually went, and why the park was doomed long before the concrete ever cracked.

If you grew up on these shores, or you worked at SeaWorld Ohio, tell us what you remember in the comments. Some of this history only survives in the memories of the people who were there.

Subscribe for more forgotten places left to rot. The next abandoned world is already waiting.

Sources & further reading: reporting and records from Cleveland-area outlets (WKYC, News 5 Cleveland, Cleveland 19, Fox 8), SEC filings, National Geographic, and NPR, plus the before/after photography of former SeaWorld Ohio trainer Nico Maragos. Full source list available on request.

DISCLAIMER: This video is a documentary retrospective made for educational and historical purposes. Archival and third-party footage is used under fair use for commentary and criticism. All rights belong to their respective owners.

 

Geauga Lake: The Largest Abandoned Theme Park in America
Where We Played
. . . Aug 2, 2026 #GeaugaLake #AbandonedPlaces #Ohio
Geauga Lake: The Largest Abandoned Theme Park in America

On Sunday, September 16th, 2007, families walked out of Geauga Lake and into the parking lot planning to come back in May. Five days later, a press release announced the park would never reopen.

There was no farewell season. No last ride. No final photograph at the front gate. A hundred and twenty years of Ohio summers ended without a single person inside that park knowing it was happening.

This is the full story of how the largest theme park in the world by area became an empty field in Bainbridge Township, and why the ending had nothing to do with a scandal and everything to do with a clause nobody thought about for thirty years.
. . .

 

 

 

 

Kevin's display is shown in this video:

 

 

We also want to share the FROM SEAWORLD OHIO TO WILDWATER KINGDOM website that has some great historical maps of the area that are worth seeing, including:

 

Related Blog Posts

We always like to include in our blog posts a list of related posts and blog categories that may be of interest to our readers:

 

To see our blog posts that relate to the type of performance done by Ruby Rabbit, please read our thirteen blog post mentioning "circus" performers. Her performance partner, Matthew "Major Scales" Edick, is mentioned in the following blog posts:

 

We plan to return to enjoy Aurora Park again, and hope that this blog post encourages you to visit the park soon.

Thank you for reading our blog post. You can learn about our travel journeys and the venues we explore in Cleveland and Akron at: sosAssociates.com/Blog