Hi RnK! Thanks for another great video! I used to go to this Sea World when I was a kid & also to Geoga Lake. I haven't been to this Sea World since I was maybe 13 or 14, which was around 1999 I think. My memory is very rusty. The areas with trees and concrete rubble could be where they had these cool animatronic dinosaurs. They opened this exhibit around the time Jurassic Park was really big. The random small buildings were probably gift shops because there were several in Sea World. I liked going in them to see the toys. The lady diving in the vintage video was a pearl diver. At the pavilion overlooking the lake is where they had laser shows and things like that (back when lasers were a big thing haha). There were also a lot of areas that were like a zoo. That's about all I can remember about what the abandoned stuff you filmed may have been. Oh one thing that was really insane about Geoga Lake was that at one time, they used to have this ski lift ride. It had NO safety precautions! I went on it with my mom when I was about 5 years old. Scariest shit ever! The ski lift went over this huge wooded area very high above the ground and there were NO safety belts to make sure you didn't fall out of the seat! So if you fell out, you'd probably get severely injured. This was during the summer so Idk who thought it would be a good idea. We would also go to Rolling Acres mall quite a bit, which I believe is mostly demolished now. It's very trippy seeing places you went to as a kid abandoned. In a way it feels like they still exist somehow, maybe on another plane of existence. I agree with you though that Sea World should be shut down for animal abuse. Much #respect to you! 💙
RnK All Day I remember attending Sea world, and the last couple of seasons, you could attend Sea world and geagua lake for a low combined price. There was a walkway connecting the two, and that couldn't save the park. No phone off the hook at sea world
My father took me here when I was 6 and he was 50! We were so poor he had to save for a couple years so we could make the trip. We arrived the summer of 1972 and I had the most magical time ever. You could feed Dolphins in a front pool upon entering. The water show and Shamu were amazing! Thank you for letting me relive my childhood!
I painted this park every spring as a kid, we even drained the whale tank sandblasted, and painted the tank: Geauga Lake we painted raging wolf bobs and double loop sad that it is gone now. I miss walking into the dolphin tank and trying to talk to all 20 of them against the glass or hearing the employed trying to mate the seals . Fun times back then
You bought back memories! That was my first job at 16 and I was in food service for 4 yrs then went into animal care, feeding the dolphins and sea loins.
I have such strong emotions tied to this Sea World in particular. I lost my son 5 years ago at the age of 28, but when my son was just 2 years old in the early 90's, the company I worked for at the time had our company picnic at this Sea World. I was jokingly voted worst mother of the year because my son got picked out of the audience to sit on Shamu and I didn't have a camera. I search every old Ohio Sea World footage I can find in hopes, on a long shot chance, one day someone might post a video of that day. Thank You for sharing this, especially since we moved out of Ohio shortly after, for my husband's work. I had grown up in Ohio and my dad's work had their company picnic across the lake at Geauga Lake Amusement Park my entire childhood. So many special memories tied to these parks.
My Dad was the glass blower in 1972 at Sea World. To be a 12 year old and get to go to Sea World for 108 days straight was a great experience. The employees were like a wonderful family. One lucky day was the amazing experience of getting kissed on the cheek by Shamu. I went behind the scenes many times and I never saw the animals getting harmed. The bird show owner was so caring for his birds. This video was so sad to see but yet brought back happy memories.
I remember pearl diving at the SWC park. You could go down and watch the underwater diving, then go up top and get your oysters from one of the divers. Then you went over where they shucked your oyster to get the pearls, much like modern pearl parties on FB. 😂
Zoozooshi Crazy you know that they aren’t the people that took Tillikum from the wild right? He was at a small park in fl that starved him. The other park is the one that abused him before he was rescued. Not saying they’re perfect but don’t blame them for something they didn’t do.
Zoozooshi Crazy makes sense. Yeah he’s fathered a few but he himself was born in the wild and took by a park called SeaLand that has sense closed down. SeaLand starved and abused their whales when they performed wrong also causing them to be abusive to each other. A trainer was attacked there and the park closed down at which point SeaWorld got Tilikum (not sure what happened to the other 2 orcas that park owned).
@@HankPanky They also mistreated the animals. If any animal didn't do well enough, they wouldn't get fed. Watch the documentary Black Fish. Although, even the other animals were mistreated. So were the workers.
This is so sad, grew up going there and to our deeply missed Geauga Lake, this area is in need of something fun for familys, heard they are puting a Maynards on that beautiful property but could be more rumors.
I actually cried watching this. We went there every single summer when I was little, and I took my own children there when they were small. So many happy memories. It's truly heartbreaking to see it in ruin. The Japanese village was so beautiful back in the day. And we always paid the pearl divers to get us pearls. My kids loved the starfish pond...you could pick up the starfish and hold them in your hand. Thanks for posting this...however bittersweet.
Brandon Mays Same here. Seeing it in ruins was sad for me. But at the same time, I hadn’t thought about this place in so long, and seeing this video really helped bring back some good memories.
I grew up in Cincinnati, and maybe once a year, once every other year, we'd make a road trip up to this Sea World and the surrounding area; this would've been in the late '80s, *maybe* as late as the early '90s. The building you enter around 16:30 used to be an aquarium; the large concrete "bowl" at the entrance was a petting tank. I remember that building very clearly. The building before, the one with Japanese influence, was the old pearl-diving pavilion, where you could watch the women dive for pearls and subsequently get jewelry made. Back in the day, from what I remember, there weren't any "pools" or the like, places patrons could get into water; that must've been a Six Flags addition or something. I remember hearing about the sale of both Sea World and Geauga Lake, and was pretty upset by it. Most everyone in the area saw it as a bad idea, and even then it was blatantly obvious the driving motivation was money. I don't remember a whole lot about the place, but I certainly remember enough to hate seeing it like this.
I totally remember that Pearl diving pool I just commented on this video and then scroll down to look at other comments and saw this and it made me so happy that somebody else had the same vivid memory of this particular location
I was thinking the same thing about the pools. The last time I was there was around 93, and I don’t remember any swimming pools being there. I can’t say that there weren’t any. But definitely not as many as could be seen here in the video. I think you must be right about Six Flags adding them in later.
i’m from aurora, ohio and have lived here my entire life. i’ve seen so many videos about this place after it closed, but none have touched me the way this has. i remember going here with my mom when i was 3 and just falling in love with everything - the water (we live in a lake community about 5 minutes from why used to be the park), the culture, the animals, all of it. since i was a kid, animals have been the epicenter of every passion i have and this is place where it came from! i was so crushed when it sold and sea world was no longer. when it was six flags, and before it closed, i had my 8th birthday party there and it was the last one they ever held. i got to feed a tiger, seals, pet iguanas and other awesome stuff. watching this just has me all sorts of emotional. thanks for your interest in this piece of history in our town, and for this video. i hope you make it back sometime and get to explore a lot more for a new video.
@@trashpanda-sg2xh my bad I was talking bout a different animal that was called rosie too...I've seen that vid of the Rosie we're talking about here, and yes saldly she's dead...
I remember going there, when I was 7, back in 1969. It's so cool to see the Japanese section, where a pearl diving exhibit was. I remember a lady diving for a clam, and they opened it up, and took a pearl out! It was so awesome! I remember the Shamu show, where the killer whale splashed us, and the dolphins were so cool! Flash forward to 1993, and I remember going on vacation in California. Me and a friend went to Sea World in Sandiego, and it was really depressing, to see those poor animals. I hope to never see another park like that ever opened again...
You have it all wrong. Seaworld opened in 1970 and ran until 2000. It was sold in the 2001 offseason to Six Flags where it became Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in 2001 and lasted until 2003. In 2004, Cedar Fair purchased Six Flags Worlds of adventure and closed the Seaworld side for 2004. In 2005, the SeaWorld side re-opened as Wildwater Kingdom where it became known as Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom from 2005-2007. The ride section of Geauga Lake closed in 2007 and it became only a water park from 2008-2016.
I remember being at geauga lake like two days before they closed back in 2007. Then 2 days later I heard they closed and I was like "what? I was literally just there" lol
I grew up here in NE Ohio and we spent quite a few summers between the two parks. Ghawk is right for his history. Local (and I) believe the only reason both parks closed is that Cedar Point (aka Cedar Faire, the owner-company) didn't want the competition they were having with Geauga Lake. I rode my first roller coaster at GL (Double Loop). :(
Yeah i agree with u Ghawk but still it was awsome of the dude to show us around and see wut it looks like now. And i remember going there as a kid and i just started to cry cuz of how much i missed going there.
Nicole, I understand. My kids got to go there to the GL side at least but the youngest was a year old so he won't remember. My oldest got to ride the Double Loop as his first coaster that day. I saw the video of the tearing down of the Big Dipper and I just started to cry. So many memories!
I came to this sea world in 1994 when i was 8 years old. This video looks vastly different than it did when I was there. The thing I remember the most was the killer whale show, because the whale wasn’t listening to the trainer and was behaving erratically. So much so that they cut the show short. I’m glad it’s closed. This shit is torture.
Same thing happened when I went when I was 7, the killer whale was behaving like it was stressed and the handler had no idea what they were doing I feel horrible for those poor animals
I grew up in Ohio. Delivered mail out at Parkman, Ohio. Used to watch the water skiers practice in March and April right off of US 422 and State Route 88. The lake is called Moss Beach Club Lake
I’m ashamed to admit that I visited this place at 17 years old with a group of friends. I even have photos of me at that age standing next to a whale statue. Looking back now as a passionate cetacean activist, this is incredibly haunting, heartbreaking and even creepy. I found an old article here online from the “Orlando Sentinel” dated to 1990 describing the day they separated one of the Shamu infants from her mother to ship her from Florida to Ohio. Their enslavement of highly intelligent, family oriented, sentient beings and literally stealing them from their pods in the wild prior to their captive breeding program…is absolutely soul crushing. Excellent vlog!
Rob, THIS vid is without a doubt..your magnum opus!! The blending of the past with the present, along with those haunting tracks..BRILLIANT!! Made me sad and kept me fascinated....excellent...you are major league,sir!!!
Killer whales were my favourite animal growing up so my parents took me on a trip to Canada to see them in the wild. A much more rewarding experience to see them in their natural habitat than in a tiny tank (they were so close to the boat and they were breaching like there was no tomorrow, but no one forced them!)
@@Kit001west i know, i was just saying about my personal experience because i was lucky enough to not have to go to seaworld. i didn't say anything bad about people that do go :)
Orcas*. People need to stop calling the largest member of the DOLPHIN family whales unless they're going to call all other dolphins whales as well. As even though all dolphins are technically in the toothed whale family, they are still called different things for a reason.
Wow, this video takes me way back. This isn't far from my hometown. I remember when that dock had a bridge that went all the way across the lake, connecting Geauga Lake park with Wildwater Kingdom(the wavepool was my favorite). My dad used to take me to Geauga Lake quite a bit as a kid, and he took me to Sea World once too. You used to be able to feed little fish to the seals and dolphins there. I fell in love with the dolphins, they would swim up and let me pet them! I still have pictures somewhere from there. As a lover of all creatures, I'm glad Sea World closed, just for the reason of their well being..but my memories at both Sea World and Geauga Lake will always be fond memories, especially now that both places are gone, and my dad too. It's insane what time changes. It's funny too how this video was posted the day after my dad's birthday. Thank you for visiting Ohio and sharing this! I really enjoyed seeing this video as it hits close to home. I haven't been there in years and have wondered what it looks like now. I especially love the aerial drone shots and the old videos ❤
I remember loving Geauga Lake as a kid! Their rides were so fun! My Grandma and Grandpa live in PA and would take us there! Good memories and wish they were still open!!
@@Suenami89 my grandpa and great uncle took me here all the time as a kid. Watching the video made me so sad. I no longer have my grandpa or my great uncle. Very nostalgic.
I have a lot of happy family memories from Geauga Lake and Seaworld Ohio. We used to go there every summer when I was little because it was so close to us. If it closed in 2000 that means I was about 10 years old - It pinches my heart to see everything in this condition. The happy memories I have are further shadowed by the dark truth about the treatment of the animals, particularly the whales. Despite the darkness, these theme parks really did instill in me a deep love of animals and wildlife. I wish they were still up and running as they were (minus the whales, and circus-like animals shows) and before 6 flags and all the business bullshit. It would have been cool if the place could have morphed into something more like a zoo for animals that can't return to the wild / rehabilitation center for animals that can return. It really was a special place to me.
that reminds me of this weird dream i had when i was like 5 where these kids were swimming in this huge pool when suddenly the water turned black, and then something in the pool must have exploded or something. the water just shot up into the air and all the kids got taken with it. at the end, the kids never came back up for air. im assuming they all drowned but the actual shot was from afar in the air, you could see the whole pool but not in it, and it stayed like that for the entire dream.. it really scared me and i still get the chills whenever i think about it... i have a really weird mind. but the weirdest thing was that at the very end, the thing you see when a youtube video end popped up where all the other related videos came up. so i wondered for a while if it was actually real or not.
Such an awesome and well-made documentary. I love how you did the transitions from old footage showing the park when it was once alive and then have the lively audio fade out into the park in its current state.
My heart aches watching this video, I’m from Michigan and my papa would always take my sister and I every summer to gl and sea world. I had so many memories there with them and it hurts bc my papa passed almost 3 years ago. I wish they would’ve kept wild water kingdom running(closed in 2016), would’ve been nice to see a piece of my childhood every summer
I worked at this Sea World for two years, believe it was 1993/1994, in the main gift shop. I remember it was during the time that Free Willy came out, and we were definitely given training or told how to respond to people who questioned us about having the animals in captivity.
Those piles of concrete with rebar in it are what's left of the whale and dolphin exhibits removed by Cedar Fair. That type of concrete is actually called gunite which is the same stuff used in swimming pools. Hard to believe they demo'd that history.
@@birthxmark Yikes, girl! Please do not renew. The animals endure so much cruelty. Your money, along with others that pay to visit, only contribute to the continued torture of the animals, as well as the capture of other wild animals for display that will endure the same hell.
I was thinking same, but, having snooped around a few places myself, old ladders, especially those that have been submerged in water (even partially) are dangerous. Same as old timber walkway structures. My younger brother nearly ended up in an old alligator swamp that was an attraction once. Nothing in it, but....
I went there quite a bit when I was a kid up until maybe 1989 or so when I started high school. My best memory of the place was in winter, actually. They closed down the park off-season and the marine biologists that worked behind the scenes there would bring school kids and and let them interact with the dolphins (kept in the giant heated tanks/pools through the winter) and teach them about the ocean and aquatic wildlife. I got to pet a dolphin there, and a few different rays. For a landlocked kid in Ohio, this was cool stuff. Later on I began to empathize with the animals more and don't regret its demise, but again, as a landlocked kid in Ohio this opened up a whole world to me that I'd rarely get to see otherwise. I actually developed a bit of a fascination with the sea because of my many trips there. We went because my neighbor, same age as me, had Downs Syndrome, and he didn't do well on the roller coasters at Geauga Lake across the way. I was his friend and his mom would take us to see Shamu. I really liked the oyster divers, as Asia fascinated me and I wasn't going to be on a plane to there for another 15 years. He really liked the giant splashes from Shamu that purposefully doused the crowds. He even got to to the thing where it would look like you could kiss the whale but it would splash you instead, as seen in the old footage. That would have been right around the time we went. I know I had been at Geauga Lake 3 weeks prior to that, my first 'date'. Thanks for the memories, as overgrown as they are at this point. It's nice to see nature taking back something that, ultimately, tried to contain nature...as much as my kid-self learned from it.
That was an emotional video, man... My parents used to take me and my brothers there when we were young. Then I took my own kids there in the 90s thru the 2000s. Man, seeing things abandoned puts life into perspective. Thanks for the video.
The music during the flashbacks is perfect, that bittersweet forlorn soundscape. I was here in the late 80s when I was a kid, and I remember being in that grandstand watching Shamu/Namu (or whatever they were named at that time). This is the first time I have seen those views since then, other than the faded memories in my mind from days gone by when I and my parents were young. How cool to relive that. Who knows, I may have been there the very day when some of these flashback vids were shot. Thanks for this video.
I was there in July 2002 when it was Six Flags World's of Adventure and this was the Wild Animal Park back then. At 3:28, I think this was a pool where dolphins and sea lions were at where people used to stand around at for shows. At 5:55, this used to be where Batman and Robin did their action show on the water with boats and jet skis. At 11:40, this was once the Do it Yourself Sea Lion Show back then during the Six Flags Era. I think at 20:35, tigers used to be there also. Then they had aquariums also. At 21:30, they had a killer whale show whose name was Shuku who was a new arrival performed there at that time. As for me, I still remembered much of that place. Sea World left Ohio since they could only run the park only during summer season compared to all year round in Florida and California and Six Flags bought out the park expanding it even more back then.
Brilliant use of old footage interlaced with current. Your drone footage was seriously beautiful and your editing spot on. The music choice, as always perfectly matched your subject. I love the way Nature takes back what humans leave behind ...it is a very special kind of magic watching plants break up pavement. Your social messages are on point as well, so please keep safe and keep on having fun. Kristy would have gotten some killer shots here, sorry she missed it.🖤🇨🇦
I have fond memories going here as a kid around 8 years old in the 90s. I would get super pumped about the splash zone. The last flash back with the whales brought back so many memories. Thank you for putting this together for all of us 💕, I grew up in Akron which frequent trips to sea world was what I lived for as a kid.
I've been to that SeaWorld, KINDA. My mom went into labor with me there 😂 my father drove her all the way back to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
tile'n dyna guy loved going to seaworld as a kid but thought it was in Sandusky ohio not clevland but GL ok but Kenneywood in pittsburgh is better Jack Rabbit rules
Absolutely phenomenal exploration...The contrasting footage really brings back the reality that thriving locations can become abandoned wasteland. I love your thoughts that nature reclaims everything in its time. So poetic. Cheers. 👍🏻💙
Showing the old footage was awesome. I live about 45 minutes north of Aurora and have many memories of Geauga Lake and Sea World. And seeing the boats on the water brought back the awful memories of a boat in 1996 losing control and flying into the stands injuring something like 20 people. I remember being at the park that day but luckily not in the stands to see that happen.
I went here when I was 4. I remember going to Seaworld when I lived in Detroit, and when people asked me if I went to the Orlando one or the San Diego one, and I would say "neither" and no one would believe me.
I grew up in Pittsburgh. My parents took us there once in 1990. I remember that it was very expensive because I clearly remember being pissed at my Mother because she lied to get me in on a "Child" admission. She shoved me through the turnstile at the admission gate after telling the employee that I was 10 years old. I was 13 at the time, so this was a MAJOR insult. 🤣🤣🤣
i grew up in aurora just 5 mins from the park. so i totally lived there. esp when my dad pretty much spent his whole life there. so id have to go to the park to see him. he worked on the coasters and maitnence. thats how my parents met was working together. its so sad to see my childhood gone
I worked here the last summer it was SeaWorld, before Six Flags bought it. Rob (correctly) says he's in Aurora, but the part was also in Bainbridge Township. So your tax was slightly different depending on what part of the park you worked in! Locals didn't mourn Sea World's loss too much, but the closure of Geauga Lake still hurts. Still some resentment toward Cedar Fair.
Basically what happen was 6 flags bought both parks. Cedar Fair (who owns nearby Cedar Point) saw them as too much comp and bought them out jusy to shut them down. They 2 parks Sea World and Geuaga Lake amusement park ran fine when they were 2 small individually ran parks. We loved them. Amd Cedar didn't see them as a threat. But 6 flags had to go
Thank you so much for posting this! I went here countless times as a child and had memories here that I will never forget. The desolate Sea World & Geauga Lake are what started my interest in Abandoned. Loved this video & Welcome to Ohio!
As a kid we would go to Sea World for field trips. The theme park across from it was called Geauga Lake back in the 80’s, then later Six Flags. As a kid we would have preferred to be at Geauga Lake instead of Sea World and would feel jealous when we heard screams from the roller coasters lol. They were literally right across the lake from each other.
This choked me up because I grew up in Cleveland and I have so many memories of Sea World. My parents started taking me there as a baby. The story goes that my first Shamu/Namu show I fell asleep, but every time the audience clapped, I would clap in my sleep. My favorite was the Clyde and Seymour seal show. As a kid, it was just amazing. The park had many aquariums, so the large tanks of water were I believe part of that ecosystem. I also have great memories at Geauga Lake. The wooden coaster was The Big Dipper, and this was at a time when you were in a roller coaster with just a lap bar, and you'd go down a hill and it would pull you up off your seat!! I think it would be amazing if these parks were turned into something. They're such a huge part of our history.
Geauga Lake was awesome to visit. My grandparents took my sister and I to an amusement park each summer. Since I'm from Northeast Ohio, we visited Sea World and Geauga Lake frequently. I have a couple of pearl rings and necklaces from when we went to Sea World and saw the divers. That was my favorite part. One summer, Sea World had Discovery Cove where you could feed dolphins. I thought it would have been cool if you had an old map while exploring to see what you were likely looking at. On our trips, I was always the one that carried to map. In fact, one trip to Geauga Lake, we had our picture taken when we got there and bought one of those keychain viewers. You can see me holding the park map with my family. Loved the video. It brought back so many great memories!
Literally got teary watching footage (from 1988, no less!) of the Shamu and dolphin shows - brought back so many memories. Sea World as a kid was an amazing experience. I grew up north of there and went to Sea World several times and the amusement park Geauga Lake at least once every summer during the 80s and 90s. Sad to see what has become of both parks. Thanks for sharing, great job!
Rob & Kristy , well done!!! I mean all of your videos rock. However, this one is seriously one of your best. It has all the usual RnK flare as well as, the history, old advertisements and videos, interviews, your personal opinion on the "SEA WORLDS "/captive animal based"theme" parks of the world. Top Notch guys 💪👍👊😉
I grew up going to the amusement park and Sea World. My grandparents would go with us. We took our daughters there a couple times, but it's a very sad thing, we won't get to take our grandkids...😢
Just the fact that there was a Sea World in a colder climate like Ohio is kind of astounding. Glad I get to 'sea' it before they closed it and Geauga Lake. Such a beautiful place, before Cedar Faire took advantage of the financial climate to eliminate its competition. Had a season pass for a few years and visited constantly. Hated Six Flags for destroying my wonderful Wave pool, and replacing it with one 1/3 as big. I still have my keychain I got, anyway.
At 13 minutes 5 Seconds there's a small pool of water which is actually deep if I remember, it had oysters at the bottom and you could buy a pearl. A diver would dive down and grab an oyster and you can get the Pearl and they would make jewelry with it. I remember this vividly because it was the first gift I ever gave a girl that I liked. It's very sad to see how this place looks now compared to how it was when I was 14
I am a native to northern Ohio. I'm 43 years old now, and had been to both sea world and geauga lake in the early to mid 80s. I remember Seamore, the sea lion or walrus. He came out to the song DUKE OF EARL. I think one of the killer whales was Mamu. Geauga lake had a ride called The Rotor. It was a big cylinder that about 20 people stood in along the wall. And it would spin and the floor would start to lower, and you would stick to the wall as it spun. Good times.
Iam 55and went here almost every summer in the 70s and 80s yes it was seamore Mamu was the killer ehle I have pictures of me getting a kiss somewhere lots of great memories iam only about 25min from Aurora Ohio
I got really dizzy on that rotor and couldn't wait for it to stop spinning. I threw up afterwards and never went on that thing again. This was back in late 80s. Was about 12 yrs old.
The orcas in that opening promo must not have been there very long, their dorsal fins haven't collapsed into looking like slices of NY style pizza. A bit of trivia: after this Sea World was closed, when an animal at another Sea World park would die, park staff were told to tell any visitors who asked that the animal was 'sent to Ohio'. Thanks for sharing the truth about captive orcas with your audience, also.
Most of the orcas who performed at SWO were only there for the summers; after the season ended, they were sent back to one of the other three parks. I have NEVER heard of the "sent to Ohio" line and I've been to SW a LOT; I think this is just a rumor. Also, there are several orcas who performed at SWO who are still living today at other marine parks!
Thanks for the awesome but sad video. We took out daughter there when she was 10 years old, now she’s a mom of 2 boys and now 33 years old. Thanks again Rob for all that you do to bring us these videos. 👍😎
I loved this place! As much as people trash Sea World, it’s where I fell in love with dolphins and whales. Seeing them up close, being able to touch them and have Shamu splash me was one of my greatest memories. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
I worked there for over 10 yrs when it was sea world. What I wouldn't give to walk thru those gates....I could tell you exactly what everything was. Man I miss it.
By far the BEST abandoned location vlog I've seen. Also enjoyed seeing all the old footage. It made the experience even better and it also gave us a clear idea on how it looked like before. Thanks for sharing 😊 #NewSubscriberHere
I have been there many times. When it was sea world and when it was a water park. Also our school would take us to the amusement park on the other side of the lake. Miss it so much.
i worked there during the summer of 1978, 79 and 80. i started out japanese village cleaning and setting pearls. moved over to the 3 sails gift shop. lots of fun and memory's.
Maybe our lives have crossed paths. I was 8 in 1978 and remember the diving woman for pearls and you would then open the oyster and take the pearl over to the jewelry counter for it to be made into jewelry. My mom got a necklace. LMAO it probably was not even a real pearl. Back then the big attraction was watching people water ski off ramps. Even for 8 and 9, I thought the place was pretty lame. But it was the 70s and people were easily impressed.
I went to this park when I was very young. I remember the seal show vividly, but it was later in the season, and they did a haunted house theme the seals chased Dracula around and would knock him into the water over, and over again.
Thanks for the Fantastic Video!! You Out Did Yourself, showing Sea World as it is now, and inserting views as it was then!! You are So Good at weaving the story!! I was never to that Sea World, but was to the one in California and Florida!! I am 63, and when I went was before PETA was into it, and all of the animal activists! Back then it was a Wonderful place to go and see fish and Mammals you would never see!! I think that maybe the big water type tanks could have had some thing to do with the water salinazation. Almost all of there fish and Mammals were from the ocean and needed Salt Water to live in!! Keep Up with the Great Videos!!
Irony is in lives in San Diego. I never once say their protest during a holiday like 4th of July or memorial day. It felt that it was only important to them to protest when it was suitable for them. You think if it was that important they protest on the sea world biggest days.
You just filmed an end of n Era! We all loved Sea World millions of us! It is tragic that so many people lost their jobs and livelihood ! I am glad Sea World was closed down, I don't like seeing animals miss treated and used for profit it just not right! Congratulations on your 90K Robb great job!!! Say hi to Kristy for me!! See you in your next adventure! Peace and Love
Local here at 13:13 that was my favorite part. I always begged my mom to let me get a pearl that was "recoved" from the bottom. I think i finally got one when i was like 8. The Japanese pavilion was just a pearl diving experience and gift shop.
Thank you for throwing in your view on keeping intelligent beings in captivity. I have been an animal activist for about 20 years with my focus being on marine mammals. More people need to know what these beautiful intelligent mammals are forced to endure while in captivity. The movie Blackfish helped spread the word ....
Im 50 years old and my mom took me to Sea World . There were lumberjack shows and you could pet Dolphins. I was to little and scared. Lol ! Im all grown up and i have been swimming with Dolphins since then.
Bittersweet memories. I worked at this park in the early 1980s and 1990s. I knew it like it was my backyard. It made me sad to see what it has become, but happy that the animals are no longer captive. This was wonderful to watch. Thank you. I would have made a great tour guide for you. Good times.
Worked there as a teenager in 1977. have some fond memories try to get dates with myfemale coworkers even suceedding on occasion. Aurora Ohio was really a better place when SW was thriving there,
the rubble and the twisted steel look like they were from the old stadiums for shows. where you said were penguins, that building was an aquarium. I grew up going to that SeaWorld. No matter what people say about SeaWorld for the captive animals. One thing they did do was spark interest in so many children to strive and become marine biologists. And those people are helping to save animals in the oceans today. There are positives and negatives on both sides. The same with everything else in this world.
Lol, do some research before going to places. Or just film and do voice-over after. Probably would have been good to go over where water park stuff was as well better. Most of the sea work stuff is long gone at this point
That former employee could have at least faced you the whole time she was talking to you lol. She's like sitting there with her back turned the whole time I could barely hear what she was saying. Still Good Explore.
Thank you for posting this video. There is so much I remember. This place was magical. I remember crying, as an adult, going home to Dayton. I loved the animals. I remember the pearl divers. I still have my "I fed the Dolphins" t-shirt. And the 4 foot long stuffed Shamu, that we bought at one of the stores on our way out. My son was 2 yrs old. We went there its very last season. The world was so different back then. Politics, terrorists, hate, bills, work, bills.... It sucks growing up! I remember the Nighttime Shamu show, how the spotlights would glisten off the shimmering bodies of Shamu and the dolphins. I remember the Semore show. I may never get to see another orca or dolphin in my lifetime. This video brought back some great memories, and now I'm depressed and sad. Thanks! Lol!
Have a great day guys!!! ✌🏻❤️
I hope you guys have a great day as well😎✌💙💜
KEEP ROCKIN WITH UR ABANDONED VIDEOS!!! GUYS!! LATER! 🐍..SNAKE!!
RnK All Day Goodnight as it’s 23:10pm here in the uk & i should be asleep.
Hi RnK! Thanks for another great video! I used to go to this Sea World when I was a kid & also to Geoga Lake. I haven't been to this Sea World since I was maybe 13 or 14, which was around 1999 I think. My memory is very rusty. The areas with trees and concrete rubble could be where they had these cool animatronic dinosaurs. They opened this exhibit around the time Jurassic Park was really big. The random small buildings were probably gift shops because there were several in Sea World. I liked going in them to see the toys. The lady diving in the vintage video was a pearl diver. At the pavilion overlooking the lake is where they had laser shows and things like that (back when lasers were a big thing haha). There were also a lot of areas that were like a zoo. That's about all I can remember about what the abandoned stuff you filmed may have been.
Oh one thing that was really insane about Geoga Lake was that at one time, they used to have this ski lift ride. It had NO safety precautions! I went on it with my mom when I was about 5 years old. Scariest shit ever! The ski lift went over this huge wooded area very high above the ground and there were NO safety belts to make sure you didn't fall out of the seat! So if you fell out, you'd probably get severely injured. This was during the summer so Idk who thought it would be a good idea.
We would also go to Rolling Acres mall quite a bit, which I believe is mostly demolished now. It's very trippy seeing places you went to as a kid abandoned. In a way it feels like they still exist somehow, maybe on another plane of existence.
I agree with you though that Sea World should be shut down for animal abuse. Much #respect to you! 💙
RnK All Day I remember attending Sea world, and the last couple of seasons, you could attend Sea world and geagua lake for a low combined price. There was a walkway connecting the two, and that couldn't save the park. No phone off the hook at sea world
My father took me here when I was 6 and he was 50! We were so poor he had to save for a couple years so we could make the trip. We arrived the summer of 1972 and I had the most magical time ever. You could feed Dolphins in a front pool upon entering. The water show and Shamu were amazing! Thank you for letting me relive my childhood!
sure they weren’t amazing for the poor animals
@@Anna-md4dv can you just let someone enjoy reliving their memory? What a downer you are lol
Great times. I don't remember dolphins. Maybe by the 80s theye were gone. I miss shamu
We always got coupons from the grocery store!
@kevinmelicant9566 , dolphins & whales & seal shows in the 1970's
The kayaker said it Perfectly .
Corporate Greed killed Geauga Lake
I feel you bro but it's that way for nearly everything these days, it's sickening
That's exactly what happened. They tried to expand too much and it all went downhill from there.
And think about hauling the whales to Texas, back and forth x2 each year.
I painted this park every spring as a kid, we even drained the whale tank sandblasted, and painted the tank: Geauga Lake we painted raging wolf bobs and double loop sad that it is gone now. I miss walking into the dolphin tank and trying to talk to all 20 of them against the glass or hearing the employed trying to mate the seals . Fun times back then
You bought back memories! That was my first job at 16 and I was in food service for 4 yrs then went into animal care, feeding the dolphins and sea loins.
Please tell more I'm 16 and want to know more
@@trashpanda-sg2xh no you dont
@@bk2life don't block knowledge no matter the morality of it
@@TjSpenc thats was over 3 years ago.. pretty sure trashpanda blocked it by themselves
@@trashpanda-sg2xh Pls don't go there,SW is a criminal animal abusing company!!
I have such strong emotions tied to this Sea World in particular. I lost my son 5 years ago at the age of 28, but when my son was just 2 years old in the early 90's, the company I worked for at the time had our company picnic at this Sea World. I was jokingly voted worst mother of the year because my son got picked out of the audience to sit on Shamu and I didn't have a camera. I search every old Ohio Sea World footage I can find in hopes, on a long shot chance, one day someone might post a video of that day. Thank You for sharing this, especially since we moved out of Ohio shortly after, for my husband's work. I had grown up in Ohio and my dad's work had their company picnic across the lake at Geauga Lake Amusement Park my entire childhood. So many special memories tied to these parks.
Same used to Go to geauga lake for my dad's company picnic I think most of it is all torn down to be made homes I think 🤔
My Dad was the glass blower in 1972 at Sea World. To be a 12 year old and get to go to Sea World for 108 days straight was a great experience. The employees were like a wonderful family. One lucky day was the amazing experience of getting kissed on the cheek by Shamu. I went behind the scenes many times and I never saw the animals getting harmed. The bird show owner was so caring for his birds. This video was so sad to see but yet brought back happy memories.
I came here when I was 8... in 1983. In that Japanese exhibit, there was a man who dove for pearls. I still have mine!
Sally D. I went in the 90s and still have my pearls too!!
I remember pearl diving at the SWC park. You could go down and watch the underwater diving, then go up top and get your oysters from one of the divers. Then you went over where they shucked your oyster to get the pearls, much like modern pearl parties on FB. 😂
I still have mine too still in the little sea world plastic bag.
That was one of my favorite parts. I got lucky once and got one that had two pink pearls so I had earring made.
I went in 1987 and I still have the pearl ring I had made up from the pearl diving pool.
All the drama aside, that vintage footage does look like they put on a good show.
They did put on very good shows. They just didn't put effort into the welfare of their animals.
@@HankPanky Orcas*. The name killer whales really needs to be dropped, since they're dolphins.
Zoozooshi Crazy you know that they aren’t the people that took Tillikum from the wild right? He was at a small park in fl that starved him. The other park is the one that abused him before he was rescued. Not saying they’re perfect but don’t blame them for something they didn’t do.
Zoozooshi Crazy makes sense. Yeah he’s fathered a few but he himself was born in the wild and took by a park called SeaLand that has sense closed down. SeaLand starved and abused their whales when they performed wrong also causing them to be abusive to each other. A trainer was attacked there and the park closed down at which point SeaWorld got Tilikum (not sure what happened to the other 2 orcas that park owned).
@@HankPanky They also mistreated the animals. If any animal didn't do well enough, they wouldn't get fed. Watch the documentary Black Fish. Although, even the other animals were mistreated. So were the workers.
The editing on this and flashbacks are absolutely PERFECT very aesthetically pleasing 💯 amazing work
I agree...like memories..
It was nice but it would get boring after about 4 hours.
This is so sad, grew up going there and to our deeply missed Geauga Lake, this area is in need of something fun for familys, heard they are puting a Maynards on that beautiful property but could be more rumors.
I actually cried watching this. We went there every single summer when I was little, and I took my own children there when they were small. So many happy memories. It's truly heartbreaking to see it in ruin. The Japanese village was so beautiful back in the day. And we always paid the pearl divers to get us pearls. My kids loved the starfish pond...you could pick up the starfish and hold them in your hand. Thanks for posting this...however bittersweet.
I live in Ohio, watching this brought back many memories from going there as a child
Brandon Mays Same here. Seeing it in ruins was sad for me. But at the same time, I hadn’t thought about this place in so long, and seeing this video really helped bring back some good memories.
@@ryans.3596 Did you work there as a kid? Almost every kid in Northeast Ohio did in the 90s.
I grew up in Cincinnati, and maybe once a year, once every other year, we'd make a road trip up to this Sea World and the surrounding area; this would've been in the late '80s, *maybe* as late as the early '90s. The building you enter around 16:30 used to be an aquarium; the large concrete "bowl" at the entrance was a petting tank. I remember that building very clearly. The building before, the one with Japanese influence, was the old pearl-diving pavilion, where you could watch the women dive for pearls and subsequently get jewelry made. Back in the day, from what I remember, there weren't any "pools" or the like, places patrons could get into water; that must've been a Six Flags addition or something. I remember hearing about the sale of both Sea World and Geauga Lake, and was pretty upset by it. Most everyone in the area saw it as a bad idea, and even then it was blatantly obvious the driving motivation was money.
I don't remember a whole lot about the place, but I certainly remember enough to hate seeing it like this.
LaRosa's Pizza
I totally remember that Pearl diving pool I just commented on this video and then scroll down to look at other comments and saw this and it made me so happy that somebody else had the same vivid memory of this particular location
I was thinking the same thing about the pools. The last time I was there was around 93, and I don’t remember any swimming pools being there. I can’t say that there weren’t any. But definitely not as many as could be seen here in the video. I think you must be right about Six Flags adding them in later.
garrison0532082
I too live in Cincinnati ohio
Agreed my family had season passes
i’m from aurora, ohio and have lived here my entire life. i’ve seen so many videos about this place after it closed, but none have touched me the way this has. i remember going here with my mom when i was 3 and just falling in love with everything - the water (we live in a lake community about 5 minutes from why used to be the park), the culture, the animals, all of it. since i was a kid, animals have been the epicenter of every passion i have and this is place where it came from! i was so crushed when it sold and sea world was no longer. when it was six flags, and before it closed, i had my 8th birthday party there and it was the last one they ever held. i got to feed a tiger, seals, pet iguanas and other awesome stuff. watching this just has me all sorts of emotional. thanks for your interest in this piece of history in our town, and for this video. i hope you make it back sometime and get to explore a lot more for a new video.
Reminds me of “The Great White Shark, Rosie.”
Rest In Peace Rosie ❣️
E Y i just watched a video about her before this 😭
@@rory9131 same
Wait she died??!😭
@@aurorax8583........No....were just saying this for shits and giggles, of course, she's been dead for years
@@trashpanda-sg2xh my bad I was talking bout a different animal that was called rosie too...I've seen that vid of the Rosie we're talking about here, and yes saldly she's dead...
This video made me smile and very sad at same time. Thanks for the memories.
I remember going there, when I was 7, back in 1969.
It's so cool to see the Japanese section, where a pearl diving exhibit was.
I remember a lady diving for a clam, and they opened it up, and took a pearl out! It was so awesome!
I remember the Shamu show, where the killer whale splashed us, and the dolphins were so cool!
Flash forward to 1993, and I remember going on vacation in California. Me and a friend went to Sea World in Sandiego, and it was really depressing, to see those poor animals.
I hope to never see another park like that ever opened again...
Idk why but this just reminds me of Jurassic Park 😂😂
As Ian Malcom would say, life finds a way
Bruh it’s from Jaws 3
Frank's Reel Life I thought the same thing!
I would not be surprised if they did try to do something like that, theres a lot of movie shootings at cleveland
You have it all wrong. Seaworld opened in 1970 and ran until 2000. It was sold in the 2001 offseason to Six Flags where it became Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in 2001 and lasted until 2003. In 2004, Cedar Fair purchased Six Flags Worlds of adventure and closed the Seaworld side for 2004. In 2005, the SeaWorld side re-opened as Wildwater Kingdom where it became known as Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom from 2005-2007. The ride section of Geauga Lake closed in 2007 and it became only a water park from 2008-2016.
I remember being at geauga lake like two days before they closed back in 2007. Then 2 days later I heard they closed and I was like "what? I was literally just there" lol
I grew up here in NE Ohio and we spent quite a few summers between the two parks. Ghawk is right for his history. Local (and I) believe the only reason both parks closed is that Cedar Point (aka Cedar Faire, the owner-company) didn't want the competition they were having with Geauga Lake. I rode my first roller coaster at GL (Double Loop). :(
Yes dude was way off on facts.
Yeah i agree with u Ghawk but still it was awsome of the dude to show us around and see wut it looks like now. And i remember going there as a kid and i just started to cry cuz of how much i missed going there.
Nicole, I understand. My kids got to go there to the GL side at least but the youngest was a year old so he won't remember. My oldest got to ride the Double Loop as his first coaster that day. I saw the video of the tearing down of the Big Dipper and I just started to cry. So many memories!
I came to this sea world in 1994 when i was 8 years old. This video looks vastly different than it did when I was there. The thing I remember the most was the killer whale show, because the whale wasn’t listening to the trainer and was behaving erratically. So much so that they cut the show short.
I’m glad it’s closed. This shit is torture.
lesleigh04 bullshit lol
Alex Avery actually not bullshit. Don’t be a twat.
lesleigh04 thank you for sharing :)
lesleigh04 has Michael hijacked your phone recently?
Same thing happened when I went when I was 7, the killer whale was behaving like it was stressed and the handler had no idea what they were doing
I feel horrible for those poor animals
I grew up in Ohio. Delivered mail out at Parkman, Ohio. Used to watch the water skiers practice in March and April right off of US 422 and State Route 88. The lake is called Moss Beach Club Lake
I’m ashamed to admit that I visited this place at 17 years old with a group of friends. I even have photos of me at that age standing next to a whale statue. Looking back now as a passionate cetacean activist, this is incredibly haunting, heartbreaking and even creepy.
I found an old article here online from the “Orlando Sentinel” dated to 1990 describing the day they separated one of the Shamu infants from her mother to ship her from Florida to Ohio.
Their enslavement of highly intelligent, family oriented, sentient beings and literally stealing them from their pods in the wild prior to their captive breeding program…is absolutely soul crushing.
Excellent vlog!
Rob, THIS vid is without a doubt..your magnum opus!! The blending of the past with the present, along with those haunting tracks..BRILLIANT!! Made me sad and kept me fascinated....excellent...you are major league,sir!!!
Killer whales were my favourite animal growing up so my parents took me on a trip to Canada to see them in the wild. A much more rewarding experience to see them in their natural habitat than in a tiny tank (they were so close to the boat and they were breaching like there was no tomorrow, but no one forced them!)
That's cool. But SeaWorld is also cool for the parents who cannot afford to take a trip to Canada to see killer whales in the wild. Ijs
@@Kit001west i know, i was just saying about my personal experience because i was lucky enough to not have to go to seaworld. i didn't say anything bad about people that do go :)
Orcas*. People need to stop calling the largest member of the DOLPHIN family whales unless they're going to call all other dolphins whales as well. As even though all dolphins are technically in the toothed whale family, they are still called different things for a reason.
@@englishatheart Don't give me a lecture. I know all about them, but i'm not American so i didn't know if people refer to them as Orcas in America...
I Would rather see them in the wild then in their tanks forced to perform!!
Wow, this video takes me way back. This isn't far from my hometown. I remember when that dock had a bridge that went all the way across the lake, connecting Geauga Lake park with Wildwater Kingdom(the wavepool was my favorite). My dad used to take me to Geauga Lake quite a bit as a kid, and he took me to Sea World once too. You used to be able to feed little fish to the seals and dolphins there. I fell in love with the dolphins, they would swim up and let me pet them! I still have pictures somewhere from there. As a lover of all creatures, I'm glad Sea World closed, just for the reason of their well being..but my memories at both Sea World and Geauga Lake will always be fond memories, especially now that both places are gone, and my dad too. It's insane what time changes. It's funny too how this video was posted the day after my dad's birthday. Thank you for visiting Ohio and sharing this! I really enjoyed seeing this video as it hits close to home. I haven't been there in years and have wondered what it looks like now. I especially love the aerial drone shots and the old videos ❤
Right I use to go every summer.. kind of sad to see it now.
I remember loving Geauga Lake as a kid! Their rides were so fun! My Grandma and Grandpa live in PA and would take us there! Good memories and wish they were still open!!
Suenami this made me tear up
@@fAshoo0 awwie don't cry! 💙
@@Suenami89 my grandpa and great uncle took me here all the time as a kid. Watching the video made me so sad. I no longer have my grandpa or my great uncle. Very nostalgic.
The flashbacks of the animals brought me to tears. Last time I was here was the mid 70s.
Good - I hope you cried for months you pussy
@@Del_Monico shut the fuck up bitch
@@Del_Monicoeat shit
I have a lot of happy family memories from Geauga Lake and Seaworld Ohio. We used to go there every summer when I was little because it was so close to us. If it closed in 2000 that means I was about 10 years old - It pinches my heart to see everything in this condition. The happy memories I have are further shadowed by the dark truth about the treatment of the animals, particularly the whales. Despite the darkness, these theme parks really did instill in me a deep love of animals and wildlife. I wish they were still up and running as they were (minus the whales, and circus-like animals shows) and before 6 flags and all the business bullshit. It would have been cool if the place could have morphed into something more like a zoo for animals that can't return to the wild / rehabilitation center for animals that can return. It really was a special place to me.
Empty and/or black pools creep me out. But AWESOME video!
Same here!
Ok glad I’m not the only one...
Me too
Facts! Creepy water, Black, green etc is sooooooooooo creepy
that reminds me of this weird dream i had when i was like 5 where these kids were swimming in this huge pool when suddenly the water turned black, and then something in the pool must have exploded or something. the water just shot up into the air and all the kids got taken with it. at the end, the kids never came back up for air. im assuming they all drowned but the actual shot was from afar in the air, you could see the whole pool but not in it, and it stayed like that for the entire dream.. it really scared me and i still get the chills whenever i think about it... i have a really weird mind.
but the weirdest thing was that at the very end, the thing you see when a youtube video end popped up where all the other related videos came up. so i wondered for a while if it was actually real or not.
Such an awesome and well-made documentary. I love how you did the transitions from old footage showing the park when it was once alive and then have the lively audio fade out into the park in its current state.
My heart aches watching this video, I’m from Michigan and my papa would always take my sister and I every summer to gl and sea world. I had so many memories there with them and it hurts bc my papa passed almost 3 years ago. I wish they would’ve kept wild water kingdom running(closed in 2016), would’ve been nice to see a piece of my childhood every summer
I worked at this Sea World for two years, believe it was 1993/1994, in the main gift shop. I remember it was during the time that Free Willy came out, and we were definitely given training or told how to respond to people who questioned us about having the animals in captivity.
What was the response 😮
I understand not having Sea World, but, I sure do miss Wild Water Kingdom.. sure do miss all the fun my family shared there
Those piles of concrete with rebar in it are what's left of the whale and dolphin exhibits removed by Cedar Fair. That type of concrete is actually called gunite which is the same stuff used in swimming pools. Hard to believe they demo'd that history.
The employees don't actually ride the Orcas anymore. But I totally get what you're saying.
Christie's Classy Beauty it’s bd
Bs
I don't believe an employee has ridden a whale since Tilikum. Which is absolutely understandable.
It's true, sadly I have seasons passes to sea world
@@birthxmark Yikes, girl! Please do not renew. The animals endure so much cruelty. Your money, along with others that pay to visit, only contribute to the continued torture of the animals, as well as the capture of other wild animals for display that will endure the same hell.
I need a Shane Dawson series about sea world
Sophia Equestrian we need some conspiracy theories about sea world from Shane
Sea World has already been shamed in a documentary
Blackfish and Jaws 3 😂
Shane Dawson is an idiot. Just watch Blackfish.
Charles Willard ewwww no! Just no. No
It's like you resurfaced old memories I forgot I had of this place.
I know he saw that ladder by the water tank..
Why'd he not just climb it and peak over , so many other areas left unexplored I feel like
I thought the same thing!!
Yup, I thought the same thing too
They actually may have been the off tank to the main stadium for the whales
That was either a water storage tank or treatment tank
I was thinking same, but, having snooped around a few places myself, old ladders, especially those that have been submerged in water (even partially) are dangerous. Same as old timber walkway structures. My younger brother nearly ended up in an old alligator swamp that was an attraction once. Nothing in it, but....
I went there quite a bit when I was a kid up until maybe 1989 or so when I started high school. My best memory of the place was in winter, actually. They closed down the park off-season and the marine biologists that worked behind the scenes there would bring school kids and and let them interact with the dolphins (kept in the giant heated tanks/pools through the winter) and teach them about the ocean and aquatic wildlife. I got to pet a dolphin there, and a few different rays. For a landlocked kid in Ohio, this was cool stuff. Later on I began to empathize with the animals more and don't regret its demise, but again, as a landlocked kid in Ohio this opened up a whole world to me that I'd rarely get to see otherwise. I actually developed a bit of a fascination with the sea because of my many trips there.
We went because my neighbor, same age as me, had Downs Syndrome, and he didn't do well on the roller coasters at Geauga Lake across the way. I was his friend and his mom would take us to see Shamu. I really liked the oyster divers, as Asia fascinated me and I wasn't going to be on a plane to there for another 15 years. He really liked the giant splashes from Shamu that purposefully doused the crowds. He even got to to the thing where it would look like you could kiss the whale but it would splash you instead, as seen in the old footage. That would have been right around the time we went. I know I had been at Geauga Lake 3 weeks prior to that, my first 'date'.
Thanks for the memories, as overgrown as they are at this point. It's nice to see nature taking back something that, ultimately, tried to contain nature...as much as my kid-self learned from it.
That was an emotional video, man... My parents used to take me and my brothers there when we were young. Then I took my own kids there in the 90s thru the 2000s. Man, seeing things abandoned puts life into perspective. Thanks for the video.
The music during the flashbacks is perfect, that bittersweet forlorn soundscape. I was here in the late 80s when I was a kid, and I remember being in that grandstand watching Shamu/Namu (or whatever they were named at that time). This is the first time I have seen those views since then, other than the faded memories in my mind from days gone by when I and my parents were young. How cool to relive that. Who knows, I may have been there the very day when some of these flashback vids were shot. Thanks for this video.
I was there in July 2002 when it was Six Flags World's of Adventure and this was the Wild Animal Park back then. At 3:28, I think this was a pool where dolphins and sea lions were at where people used to stand around at for shows. At 5:55, this used to be where Batman and Robin did their action show on the water with boats and jet skis. At 11:40, this was once the Do it Yourself Sea Lion Show back then during the Six Flags Era. I think at 20:35, tigers used to be there also. Then they had aquariums also. At 21:30, they had a killer whale show whose name was Shuku who was a new arrival performed there at that time. As for me, I still remembered much of that place. Sea World left Ohio since they could only run the park only during summer season compared to all year round in Florida and California and Six Flags bought out the park expanding it even more back then.
Brilliant use of old footage interlaced with current. Your drone footage was seriously beautiful and your editing spot on. The music choice, as always perfectly matched your subject. I love the way Nature takes back what humans leave behind ...it is a very special kind of magic watching plants break up pavement. Your social messages are on point as well, so please keep safe and keep on having fun. Kristy would have gotten some killer shots here, sorry she missed it.🖤🇨🇦
Where to now? Live in Pgh. Anything on your radar for haunted things to explore here?
I have fond memories going here as a kid around 8 years old in the 90s. I would get super pumped about the splash zone. The last flash back with the whales brought back so many memories. Thank you for putting this together for all of us 💕, I grew up in Akron which frequent trips to sea world was what I lived for as a kid.
I've been to that SeaWorld, KINDA.
My mom went into labor with me there 😂 my father drove her all the way back to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Tile'n dyna guy that’s where I was born too
@@kohl403 Sweet!!! Yep I was born 3:00 the following day,
Fri the 💀13th 1984👻. 😁
tile'n dyna guy loved going to seaworld as a kid but thought it was in Sandusky ohio not clevland but GL ok but Kenneywood in pittsburgh is better Jack Rabbit rules
@@jenkinsbrian0126 Heck yeah!!!
I've been to Kennywood many many times, rode my first wooden rollercoaster there
Thunderbolt I am guessing its still there on the smitholians historic wolden coasters
I was there for a weekend in about '86. Sea World and the amusement park. Have some pics!
The flashbacks make this so eerie. I used to go here all the time as a child.
The “nature always takes back” phrase is actually pretty good
Absolutely phenomenal exploration...The contrasting footage really brings back the reality that thriving locations can become abandoned wasteland. I love your thoughts that nature reclaims everything in its time. So poetic. Cheers. 👍🏻💙
Showing the old footage was awesome. I live about 45 minutes north of Aurora and have many memories of Geauga Lake and Sea World. And seeing the boats on the water brought back the awful memories of a boat in 1996 losing control and flying into the stands injuring something like 20 people. I remember being at the park that day but luckily not in the stands to see that happen.
I went here when I was 4. I remember going to Seaworld when I lived in Detroit, and when people asked me if I went to the Orlando one or the San Diego one, and I would say "neither" and no one would believe me.
I grew up in Pittsburgh. My parents took us there once in 1990. I remember that it was very expensive because I clearly remember being pissed at my Mother because she lied to get me in on a "Child" admission. She shoved me through the turnstile at the admission gate after telling the employee that I was 10 years old. I was 13 at the time, so this was a MAJOR insult. 🤣🤣🤣
i grew up in aurora just 5 mins from the park. so i totally lived there. esp when my dad pretty much spent his whole life there. so id have to go to the park to see him. he worked on the coasters and maitnence. thats how my parents met was working together. its so sad to see my childhood gone
I have a cute picture with shamu from 96
Kyle Mikesell There’s one in San Antonio too on top of this one.
Made some great friendships while working there. Great memories!
I worked here the last summer it was SeaWorld, before Six Flags bought it. Rob (correctly) says he's in Aurora, but the part was also in Bainbridge Township. So your tax was slightly different depending on what part of the park you worked in!
Locals didn't mourn Sea World's loss too much, but the closure of Geauga Lake still hurts. Still some resentment toward Cedar Fair.
Truth. Sea World closing just meant Geauga Lake got bigger to my childhood brain, but its closing still hurts.
we really needed captions when you were talking to that former worker
Basically what happen was 6 flags bought both parks. Cedar Fair (who owns nearby Cedar Point) saw them as too much comp and bought them out jusy to shut them down. They 2 parks Sea World and Geuaga Lake amusement park ran fine when they were 2 small individually ran parks. We loved them. Amd Cedar didn't see them as a threat. But 6 flags had to go
Yeah, I had the volume all the way up and still couldn't hear her.
Thank you so much for posting this! I went here countless times as a child and had memories here that I will never forget. The desolate Sea World & Geauga Lake are what started my interest in Abandoned. Loved this video & Welcome to Ohio!
ASMRteagan me! If it wasn’t for Geauga Lake I don’t think I would ever be so interested in this content
As a kid we would go to Sea World for field trips. The theme park across from it was called Geauga Lake back in the 80’s, then later Six Flags. As a kid we would have preferred to be at Geauga Lake instead of Sea World and would feel jealous when we heard screams from the roller coasters lol. They were literally right across the lake from each other.
This choked me up because I grew up in Cleveland and I have so many memories of Sea World. My parents started taking me there as a baby. The story goes that my first Shamu/Namu show I fell asleep, but every time the audience clapped, I would clap in my sleep. My favorite was the Clyde and Seymour seal show. As a kid, it was just amazing. The park had many aquariums, so the large tanks of water were I believe part of that ecosystem. I also have great memories at Geauga Lake. The wooden coaster was The Big Dipper, and this was at a time when you were in a roller coaster with just a lap bar, and you'd go down a hill and it would pull you up off your seat!! I think it would be amazing if these parks were turned into something. They're such a huge part of our history.
Geauga Lake was awesome to visit. My grandparents took my sister and I to an amusement park each summer. Since I'm from Northeast Ohio, we visited Sea World and Geauga Lake frequently. I have a couple of pearl rings and necklaces from when we went to Sea World and saw the divers. That was my favorite part. One summer, Sea World had Discovery Cove where you could feed dolphins. I thought it would have been cool if you had an old map while exploring to see what you were likely looking at. On our trips, I was always the one that carried to map. In fact, one trip to Geauga Lake, we had our picture taken when we got there and bought one of those keychain viewers. You can see me holding the park map with my family. Loved the video. It brought back so many great memories!
Literally got teary watching footage (from 1988, no less!) of the Shamu and dolphin shows - brought back so many memories. Sea World as a kid was an amazing experience. I grew up north of there and went to Sea World several times and the amusement park Geauga Lake at least once every summer during the 80s and 90s. Sad to see what has become of both parks. Thanks for sharing, great job!
Rob & Kristy , well done!!! I mean all of your videos rock. However, this one is seriously one of your best. It has all the usual RnK flare as well as, the history, old advertisements and videos, interviews, your personal opinion on the "SEA WORLDS "/captive animal based"theme" parks of the world. Top Notch guys 💪👍👊😉
I grew up going to the amusement park and Sea World. My grandparents would go with us. We took our daughters there a couple times, but it's a very sad thing, we won't get to take our grandkids...😢
I love sea world. I went to this park every summer for 20 years. When it shut down i moved to Florida now i experience its awesomeness every week.
Just the fact that there was a Sea World in a colder climate like Ohio is kind of astounding. Glad I get to 'sea' it before they closed it and Geauga Lake. Such a beautiful place, before Cedar Faire took advantage of the financial climate to eliminate its competition. Had a season pass for a few years and visited constantly. Hated Six Flags for destroying my wonderful Wave pool, and replacing it with one 1/3 as big. I still have my keychain I got, anyway.
I was there as a kid in the 1980's and it was fun. I am ok with nature taking it back.
Little know fact. The combination of Sea World and Geauga lake made up the largest amusment park in the U.S. at that time.
At 13 minutes 5 Seconds there's a small pool of water which is actually deep if I remember, it had oysters at the bottom and you could buy a pearl. A diver would dive down and grab an oyster and you can get the Pearl and they would make jewelry with it. I remember this vividly because it was the first gift I ever gave a girl that I liked. It's very sad to see how this place looks now compared to how it was when I was 14
Great video! Love you guys!!
I am a native to northern Ohio. I'm 43 years old now, and had been to both sea world and geauga lake in the early to mid 80s. I remember Seamore, the sea lion or walrus. He came out to the song DUKE OF EARL. I think one of the killer whales was Mamu. Geauga lake had a ride called The Rotor. It was a big cylinder that about 20 people stood in along the wall. And it would spin and the floor would start to lower, and you would stick to the wall as it spun. Good times.
Everything-PS4 w/DIABLO I loved Seymour!
Everything-PS4 w/DIABLO, I'm 46 and from the south-central part of Ohio...I loved going to both as a kid...Have a great day...
Iam 55and went here almost every summer in the 70s and 80s yes it was seamore Mamu was the killer ehle I have pictures of me getting a kiss somewhere lots of great memories iam only about 25min from Aurora Ohio
I got really dizzy on that rotor and couldn't wait for it to stop spinning. I threw up afterwards and never went on that thing again. This was back in late 80s. Was about 12 yrs old.
I'm 42 and these were our places to go back in the day. I just couldn't bring myself to go when they changed.
The orcas in that opening promo must not have been there very long, their dorsal fins haven't collapsed into looking like slices of NY style pizza. A bit of trivia: after this Sea World was closed, when an animal at another Sea World park would die, park staff were told to tell any visitors who asked that the animal was 'sent to Ohio'.
Thanks for sharing the truth about captive orcas with your audience, also.
Most of the orcas who performed at SWO were only there for the summers; after the season ended, they were sent back to one of the other three parks. I have NEVER heard of the "sent to Ohio" line and I've been to SW a LOT; I think this is just a rumor. Also, there are several orcas who performed at SWO who are still living today at other marine parks!
spectreluna only bulls have this issue
@@JoMarieM The orcas shouldn't have been there in the first place, tho?
Thanks for the awesome but sad video. We took out daughter there when she was 10 years old, now she’s a mom of 2 boys and now 33 years old. Thanks again Rob for all that you do to bring us these videos. 👍😎
I loved this place! As much as people trash Sea World, it’s where I fell in love with dolphins and whales. Seeing them up close, being able to touch them and have Shamu splash me was one of my greatest memories. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
I have no words. This is just crazy. It’s a ghost town
I worked there for over 10 yrs when it was sea world. What I wouldn't give to walk thru those gates....I could tell you exactly what everything was. Man I miss it.
By far the BEST abandoned location vlog I've seen. Also enjoyed seeing all the old footage. It made the experience even better and it also gave us a clear idea on how it looked like before. Thanks for sharing 😊 #NewSubscriberHere
The advert at the beginning, they just don’t make them liked that anymore, so cool to see. Loved this explore 🙌
This place felt magical when I was a kid. It's so gutted I can't recognize it. Great to see the old footage.
I have been there many times. When it was sea world and when it was a water park. Also our school would take us to the amusement park on the other side of the lake. Miss it so much.
Brought back so many memories. I remember taking my daughters there just a few years before they closed, at least I have the pictures
i worked there during the summer of 1978, 79 and 80. i started out japanese village cleaning and setting pearls. moved over to the 3 sails gift shop. lots of fun and memory's.
STEVE S I have found memories of this place. My grandmother would take me there every summer.
Maybe our lives have crossed paths. I was 8 in 1978 and remember the diving woman for pearls and you would then open the oyster and take the pearl over to the jewelry counter for it to be made into jewelry. My mom got a necklace. LMAO it probably was not even a real pearl. Back then the big attraction was watching people water ski off ramps. Even for 8 and 9, I thought the place was pretty lame. But it was the 70s and people were easily impressed.
I went to this park when I was very young. I remember the seal show vividly, but it was later in the season, and they did a haunted house theme the seals chased Dracula around and would knock him into the water over, and over again.
Ahh, yes, I'm old. I use to go to Sea World and Geauga Lake theme park back in the late 70s/early 80s, as a child. Great memories.
I remember going in the 90's when Geauga lake theme park was called Six Flags
People watch a documentary one time and think they're marine biologists LMAO
Don't have to be a marine biologist to know what's cruel and what isn't
kelsiline When it is just based on a one sided piece of propaganda that isn’t factually correct then you don’t know what you’re talking about
Thanks for the Fantastic Video!! You Out Did Yourself, showing Sea World as it is now, and inserting views as it was then!! You are So Good at weaving the story!! I was never to that Sea World, but was to the one in California and Florida!! I am 63, and when I went was before PETA was into it, and all of the animal activists! Back then it was a Wonderful place to go and see fish and Mammals you would never see!!
I think that maybe the big water type tanks could have had some thing to do with the water salinazation. Almost all of there fish and Mammals were from the ocean and needed Salt Water to live in!! Keep Up with the Great Videos!!
Irony is in lives in San Diego. I never once say their protest during a holiday like 4th of July or memorial day. It felt that it was only important to them to protest when it was suitable for them. You think if it was that important they protest on the sea world biggest days.
I watched the entire thing from beginning to end and I don’t even live in Ohio. This was very interesting😊
You just filmed an end of n Era! We all loved Sea World millions of us! It is tragic that so many people lost their jobs and livelihood ! I am glad Sea World was closed down, I don't like seeing animals miss treated and used for profit it just not right! Congratulations on your 90K Robb great job!!! Say hi to Kristy for me!! See you in your next adventure! Peace and Love
So cool you found a lady who knew the history.
7:50 -- That lady in the kayak was cool and informative. And she brought her own stalker.
Made it a point to not show her face lol
Wasn’t she in another video
Local here at 13:13 that was my favorite part. I always begged my mom to let me get a pearl that was "recoved" from the bottom. I think i finally got one when i was like 8. The Japanese pavilion was just a pearl diving experience and gift shop.
Thank you for throwing in your view on keeping intelligent beings in captivity. I have been an animal activist for about 20 years with my focus being on marine mammals.
More people need to know what these beautiful intelligent mammals are forced to endure while in captivity. The movie Blackfish helped spread the word ....
Im 50 years old and my mom took me to Sea World . There were lumberjack shows and you could pet Dolphins. I was to little and scared. Lol ! Im all grown up and i have been swimming with Dolphins since then.
I went here several times as a kid. I have pix of me hugging a Shamu statue and pix of the animatronic dinosaur exhibit they had.
Bittersweet memories. I worked at this park in the early 1980s and 1990s. I knew it like it was my backyard. It made me sad to see what it has become, but happy that the animals are no longer captive. This was wonderful to watch. Thank you. I would have made a great tour guide for you. Good times.
Nature is not so much taking it back but healing. We create so many wounds and over time wounds heal.
Went on a school field trip there when I was in elementary school. I still remember it.
That place looks so cool.. I never clicked on a video so fast✌🏻... I always enjoy watching your videos.. stay awesome rob😎❤️👍🏻
Worked there as a teenager in 1977. have some fond memories try to get dates with myfemale coworkers even suceedding on occasion. Aurora Ohio was really a better place when SW was thriving there,
the rubble and the twisted steel look like they were from the old stadiums for shows. where you said were penguins, that building was an aquarium. I grew up going to that SeaWorld. No matter what people say about SeaWorld for the captive animals. One thing they did do was spark interest in so many children to strive and become marine biologists. And those people are helping to save animals in the oceans today. There are positives and negatives on both sides. The same with everything else in this world.
Man I wanted to see what the tanks looked like that The whales used to Swimm in
Whalentanks are long gone. Probably water treatment for water park. Most of what's there was for the water park, not seasworld
Lol, do some research before going to places. Or just film and do voice-over after. Probably would have been good to go over where water park stuff was as well better. Most of the sea work stuff is long gone at this point
@@veryloweffortmemes I was thinking the same thing. I dont remember that being sea world since like 2000
That former employee could have at least faced you the whole time she was talking to you lol. She's like sitting there with her back turned the whole time I could barely hear what she was saying. Still Good Explore.
Jason Grisafi yeah that was really odd 😂
Maybe she didn't want to be on camera
Kinda tells you the kind of people that worked there??
Well also trying to stay afloat on kayak the one in red is holding onto the bridge lol
Maybe she's funny lookin.
I worked there in Mama Rosa's Restaurante' underneath the ski stadium the summer of '88. Lots of great memories.
I remember this sea world. I went there in 98 there was a Six flags just across the lake. I always wondered what happened to the property.
Thank you for posting this video. There is so much I remember. This place was magical. I remember crying, as an adult, going home to Dayton. I loved the animals. I remember the pearl divers. I still have my "I fed the Dolphins" t-shirt. And the 4 foot long stuffed Shamu, that we bought at one of the stores on our way out. My son was 2 yrs old. We went there its very last season.
The world was so different back then. Politics, terrorists, hate, bills, work, bills.... It sucks growing up!
I remember the Nighttime Shamu show, how the spotlights would glisten off the shimmering bodies of Shamu and the dolphins. I remember the Semore show. I may never get to see another orca or dolphin in my lifetime. This video brought back some great memories, and now I'm depressed and sad. Thanks! Lol!