Wildwater Kingdom (Ohio)
Wildwater Kingdom was a water park located in Aurora and Bainbridge Township, Ohio, United States. Owned by Cedar Fair, the park opened in 2005 as part of the larger Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom resort. The site was previously the location of SeaWorld Ohio (1970–2000) and later served as the marine life section of the larger Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (2001–2003). Worlds of Adventure was purchased by Cedar Fair in 2004 and the marine life area was converted into a water park for the 2005 season. Cedar Fair closed the Geauga Lake amusement park following the 2007 season but kept the water park open. It was first known as Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom, and the name was later shortened to Wildwater Kingdom. Its normal operating season extended from late May to Labor Day each year. The park featured 15 water slides including Thunder Falls, which opened as the tallest water slide complex in Ohio. On August 19, 2016, Cedar Fair released a statement announcing the permanent closure of Wildwater Kingdom. Its final day of operation was September 5, 2016. History Background Wildwater Kingdom was located on the former site of SeaWorld Ohio. In January 2001, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment sold SeaWorld to Six Flags, who combined the former site with Six Flags Ohio to form Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. Six Flags sold Worlds of Adventure to Cedar Fair in 2004, resulting in the removal of all Looney Tunes and DC Comics branding from the park and the Geauga Lake name being reinstituted for the park. Wildwater Kingdom Demolition of SeaWorld began in late 2004. Cedar Fair made plans to convert the site to a new water park. On November 11, 2004, Cedar Fair unveiled the new park as Wildwater Kingdom, announcing that it would open in 2005 upon the completion of the first phase of construction, which would include attractions such as ProSlide Tornado, an activity pool, an action river and a new children's area with a multistory play structure. The Hurricane Mountain water-slide complex at Six Flags would be retained but renamed Thunder Falls. The amusement and water park complex would be rebranded as Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom, connected by a floating bridge running through the middle of the lake. The construction project was conducted in two phases, with the first costing $16 million and the second costing $8 million. The second phase began the following offseason with plans to be completed in time for 2006, involving the addition of a wave pool, an adult pool with whirlpool spas, a swim-up bar, and two more water-slide towers. There were also plans to add an open-air auditorium and reopen a play area called Happy Harbor. However, only the wave pool was built. If the second phase had been completed, Wildwater Kingdom would have encompassed to become one of the largest water parks in the United States. Instead, it was only expanded to . Before Wildwater Kingdom, Geauga Lake had its own water park which operated for more