Edge Scrapped

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 3:59 pm

According to the Wikipedia article on (the Gurnee) Great America, the Edge has been removed from Six Flags Ohio (i cannot spell its new name) and has been scrapped.

Glorfindel7 · Post by **Glorfindel7** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 5:58 pm

jon, I don't see ANYTHING about that on the wikpedia site. Was that the water park in Ohio?

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:10 pm

Glorfindel7 wrote:jon, I don't see ANYTHING about that on the wikpedia site. Was that the water park in Ohio?

I didn't either, yeah that water/theme park thats now Geauga Lake:

http://www.rcdb.com/qs.htm?quicksearch=Six+Flags+Ohio

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:08 pm

I thought there was something on there about it.

EDIT: Last sentence in first paragraph in the Bally's Six Flags era.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:16 pm

jonrev wrote:I thought there was something on there about it.

EDIT: Last sentence in first paragraph in the Bally's Six Flags era.

Oh, ok, Thanks for pointing it out.
Makes me think about how long Magic Mountian, the big thrill park, is going to keep freefall...
Why are these drop rides being taken out so rapidly, are the maintenance problems, too small of a capacity, or just unpopular now that there are 200+ foot drop towers?

Glorfindel7 · Post by **Glorfindel7** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:33 pm

myself I would guess too old and too costly to maintain (the Edge is over 23 years old now so probably past its prime...)

I used to like riding the Edge... BTW even though supposedly they were never going to reopen the Edge... I distinctly remember one time in 1985 where the ride was open and I got to ride it

(it was probably in pre-rerelease mode..love that term..) while they were checking it to see if it was ready for the public again....)

I do remember that it was only open for about an hour that day then it was closed again never to reopen at SFGA

(Am I imaging things, or did this really happen?)

SFGAmfreak4life · Post by **SFGAmfreak4life** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:46 pm

I like first generation free falls but they aren't popular anymore. Still I think these parks should keep the old free falls and add a bigger one. This way younger kids can work their way up. Cedar Point's Demon Drop was put up for sale last year http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=565. So was Geauga Lake's Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall(Edge) http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=564. Screamscape reported a rumor that no one bought Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall and it was in the process of being removed. Also it said the reusable parts might go to Cedar Point but that didn't make sense. But Demon Drop was open tis season so I guess the spare parts were sent to CP. When I looked at the condition of Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall in August I didn't think it was going to be bought. I guess Geauga Lake and Six Flags didn't take care of it.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:05 pm

SFGAmfreak4life wrote:I like first generation free falls but they aren't popular anymore. Still I think these parks should keep the old free falls and add a bigger one. This way younger kids can work their way up. Cedar Point's Demon Drop was put up for sale last year http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=565. So was Geauga Lake's Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall(Edge) http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=564. Screamscape reported a rumor that no one bought Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall and it was in the process of being removed. Also it said the reusable parts might go to Cedar Point but that didn't make sense. But Demon Drop was open tis season so I guess the spare parts were sent to CP. When I looked at the condition of Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall in August I didn't think it was going to be bought. I guess Geauga Lake and Six Flags didn't take care of it.

Oh yeah, I remember seeing those. At the time I didn't know Geauga Lake had Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall, so when I searched for it I couldn't find anything... And then I didn't know Demon Drop was blue!! You'd think it would be red or black or something, oh well... I thought it was weird that they both opened in 1983, I was like one could be the Edge, little did I know one of them was indeed originally incorporated that GREAT phrase: "The longest 2 and a half seconds in the world"...

RandyV · Post by **RandyV** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 11:16 pm

Wow -- I was really bummed to see this thread. I always had planned on some day taking a trip to Geauga Lake to get a ride on the original Gurnne Edge. Guess that won't happen.

It is sad to see that parks are retiring the first generaetion Freefalls. From a maintenance and marketing standpoint, I can understand why. 23 years is a long time to keep a machine (and the electronics that go with it) running flawlessly. Hopefully someone will keep a few of these rides going for future generations to enjoy.

If I only had an extra $250,000 sitting around -- and a lot of storage (and land, and electricity) -- I'd have rescued it in a second.

redfishpaw · Post by **redfishpaw** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 12:11 pm

Here is a nice aerial view of the Edge at Geauga Lake.

http://local.live.com/?v=2&sp=aN.41.350 ... 78658_edge_

YOU MAY HAVE TO CLICK ON THE YELLOW BOX AT THE LEFT FOR THE IMAGE TO LOAD

This is from http://www.birdseyetourist.com/
A really cool site, check it out !
(other theme parks are on the site as well)

p.s. you can use the NSEW directions to see the ride from a different angle.

DjRobbioRobbio · Post by **DjRobbioRobbio** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:36 am

I was the Team Lead of the ride, named Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall at Geauga Lake last season (2005) it's last operating season, and I have to say...it was a real treat to work it.... I have to give my credit to the maint. at GL, b/c they did everything in their power to get her working properly again (a la Demon Drop at Cedar Point), and a couple people even took to her personally during the season....

It's sad to see any ride go, especially one as storied as Hydes....but it was old, had its 'days', and really just was sad to watch operate. The ride originally ran with 8 cars, by the time Six Flags bought the ride in 97 and put it in Geauga Lake, she was down to 5 cars, which quickly got reduced to 4, and then to 3, and even at times 2 or 1......

For the rest of my crew that's working at other rides in the park this year, I'm trying to put together a retro t-shirt in Hydes/ The Edge's honor. If anybody has an old promo t-shirt from when the ride opened in 83/84, logos, etc. that'd really help me out a lot

-Robb

RandyV · Post by **RandyV** » Wed May 03, 2006 3:39 pm

My Edge curiosity kicks in again ...

Robb -- I realize the ride was over 20 years old, but what kinds of problems did GL have keeping the ride up? I mean -- it seems like all you hear about the first gen freefalls is how they were/are maintenance nightmares and that they were/are always down for some reason or another (even when new back in the day). Even in your post you mention the guys at CP trying to keep Demon Drop going.

Can you share any insights on what kinds of problems there were? Why are the freefalls so darned unreliable?

DjRobbioRobbio · Post by **DjRobbioRobbio** » Fri May 05, 2006 4:09 pm

RandyV wrote:My Edge curiosity kicks in again ...

Robb -- I realize the ride was over 20 years old, but what kinds of problems did GL have keeping the ride up? I mean -- it seems like all you hear about the first gen freefalls is how they were/are maintenance nightmares and that they were/are always down for some reason or another (even when new back in the day). Even in your post you mention the guys at CP trying to keep Demon Drop going.

Can you share any insights on what kinds of problems there were? Why are the freefalls so darned unreliable?

It wasn't really GL's fault...It was Six Flags that did it. The ride just wasn't kept up. I mean if you look at Demon Drop...That thing works just as well as it did when they installed in back in the mid 80's.

A couple of the main issues I know CF was having with the ride was it's braking system. The pneumatics on that ride were old, not replaced, constantly let water into the system (the brakes have a seperate water line running to them to keep them cool...but the water isn't supposed to leak into the air line that actually operates the brakes). The rides control system was EXTREMELY picky, and it would E-Stop the ride for pretty much anything. Add that to the fact that Hydes had been moved from 2 other parks, when Premier received the ride in 1997 at GL, the track was warped (that got fixed by CF).

I have to hand it to the CF maint. at Geauga Lake, they poured their heart and soul into making her work, and I think them for that...But I think that ride has kind of had a mind of it's own ever since that notorious incident in 1985.

The ride eventually did get all new brakes, brake fins (on the cars), wheels, air supply lines, and the pressure of the compressor tank was increased...She was running pretty well towards the end of the year, but her age and past mistreatment by former owners was quite apparent.

SF even painted Hydes in this disgusting lime green and purple color.... I would have much rathered the "tangelo-orange" that the ride had when it was first moved over the purple and green.