Trip Report: Wyandot Lake

Powell, Ohio - 5/28/1999 and 6/05/1999

"How am I inconvenienced if the ride is running?"

Well, the Wyandot Lake season has begun, and with the hot weather it isn't a day too soon. Yeah, the day I went up there to get my season pass it was cold and miserable, but ever since the weather has been waterpark-perfect.

Wyandot Lake was supposed to have a major expansion this season. That didn't happen. The one thing that did happen is that Wyandot's General Manager moved to Agawam and took over Riverside Park. Wyandot once again got no new attraction this year. No new coaster, no new flat ride, not even a new waterslide. In fact, one of the rides...the Eli kiddie wheel...was removed over the winter. But that doesn't mean Wyandot didn't get big changes.

Over in the waterpark, there is some new paint splattered around, but it seems to me that the wave pool has stronger wave action than it's had in about three years. The refreshment stand has been reconfigured; it looks like it's going to operate as a grab-and-go kind of operation, but the conversion isn't quite complete yet. The fences on either side of the bathhouse have been removed, so there is now easy access between the old waterpark and the dry park without going through the crowded store in the middle of the bathhouse.

Out on the midway, a new sign has appeared on the carousel explaining that the Mangels/Ilions carousel is about to undergo a badly needed multi-year restoration. Pity they mangled Mangels name ("Mangles") again. At least they are consistent about it. Oh, and I know they got it wrong because there is a Mangels name-plate on the carousel itself. Around all of the flat rides, additional boards have been added to the fences so that the ride fences now conform to the new-ride fence standard. Also, the entry and exit gates have been replaced. The tubs on the Spider have all been re-painted, and the old airbrush studio is being turned into a popcorn-and-cotton-candy stand.

Of course the most noticeable change at Wyandot Lake this season may also be the most exciting. The Sea Dragon , the oldest surviving John Allen coaster, is undergoing an extensive renovation. So far, the ENTIRE track has been completely replaced, and the operator's side of the loading platform has been covered with a new wooden deck. Many of the ride's support boards, particularly selected ribbon boards, have been replaced, and about half of the ride has been painted a gleaming white. A sign apologized for the "inconvenience" of the incomplete restoration and repainting. Inconvenience? Hey, the ride was running...that's all I really cared about at that point!

The bad news is that even though all of the lumber was replaced, I didn't notice any significant change in the way the ride ran. But I only call that 'bad news' because there was no significant...or even noticeable...improvement in the ride. The truth is, the ride ran quite well with the old track, so the lack of improvement is hardly a problem. In fact, the ride runs better than the Beastie at Kings Island. Well, hey, this thing still doesn't have a trim brake on it, and is still run entirely by hand. I didn't care that the painting wasn't finished, and judging from the crowd, neither did anybody else. The ride is going to be gorgeous when they get the painting finished, but for the moment the third-oldest wood coaster in Ohio is still one of the best-running junior coasters around. I'm glad to see that Wyandot is taking good care of it.

It's going to be a good season for Wyandot Lake. I just hope that the major expansion they have been promising us for years finally comes through for next season.

I don't have a list of kiddie rides, but it is interesting to note that the collection includes some rare pieces including an Eyerly Midge-O-Racer and an Allan Herschell Rodeo.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Next: Paramount's Kings Island - 05/29/1999
--OR--
Next: Kennywood - 06/06/1999

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