SeaWorld Ohio

In 1966, Earl Gascoigne, marketing director at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, was impressed by the success of SeaWorld San Diego and eager to form a partnership with the park's founder, George Millay.

The company was looking for a location between Detroit and Pittsburgh, as the land spanning between the two cities was the largest and highest-paid blue-collar population in the United States.

[3] Earl Gascoigne had recently left Cedar Point to redevelop Geauga Lake, a struggling amusement park near Cleveland, with Gasper Lococo.

Now working with Funtime Inc., Gascoigne convinced Millay to build the second SeaWorld park adjacent to Geauga Lake.

[2] SeaWorld Cleveland, originally referred to as Sea World of Ohio, opened to the public on May 29, 1970, after nearly two years of planning and construction.

[2] Located approximately 20 miles southeast of Cleveland, in the Western Reserve city of Aurora, Ohio, the 25-acre marine park had over 5,500 guests on its opening day.

[6] Six Flags announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase SeaWorld Ohio from Busch Entertainment Corporation on January 10, 2001, for $110 million.

The park was ultimately sold due to a competitive restriction clause with Geauga Lake that limited the growth of SeaWorld Cleveland under Busch Entertainment ownership.

[2] Six Flags president Gary Story announced that a five-year plan for the Ohio park included submarine, volcano, and rain forest attractions, as well as a monorail system for transportation.

Six Flags stated that the sale of the Ohio property would allow them to pay down debt and pursue other opportunities in North America.

[14] On September 21, 2007, Cedar Fair announced in a press release that the Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom would become exclusively a waterpark for the 2008 season.

Dick Kinzel, president and chief executive officer of Cedar Fair at the time, stated that Wildwater Kingdom was the attraction's most popular attribute.

When SeaWorld acquired the Aurora property in 1970, the company agreed to a competitive restriction with Geauga Lake, which prevented them from adding roller coasters or water rides.