The Villain was a wooden roller coaster at Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom in Aurora, Ohio, opening on May 5, 2000 as part of a four-coaster expansion Six Flags rolled out at the park between 1999 and 2000. Designed by Custom Coasters International and built by Rocky Mountain Construction, it stood out as a wooden hybrid with steel supports beneath its traditional wood track, a construction style that let it pack tighter turns and steeper drops than older wooden coasters of its era.
Laid out as a classic out-and-back racer against the terrain, The Villain reached 108 feet, dropped 108 feet, and hit a top speed of 59 mph across nearly 3,980 feet of track. It was notable as only the second CCI coaster to feature a ‘trick track’ element, where the rails bank from side to side while the path stays essentially straight, adding a disorienting twist to an otherwise conventional layout.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom
- Manufacturer: Custom Coasters International (built by Rocky Mountain Construction)
- Opened: May 5, 2000
- Closed: September 16, 2007
- Height: 108 feet
- Top speed: 59 mph
- Length: 3,980 ft
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
Riders climbed a chain lift to 108 feet before the first drop launched the train into an out-and-back layout that ran hard against the shoreline landscape of Geauga Lake. With no inversions, the ride leaned on speed, airtime, and its trick-track twist to deliver its thrills, a two-and-a-half-minute run that packed six-car trains carrying 24 riders at a time.
The Villain wasn’t always smooth. After opening rough in its early seasons, the wooden structure was re-tracked in the 2001 off-season by Martin & Vleminckx, a common maintenance step for wood coasters of its generation as track wears in under repeated use.
Closure and Legacy
The Villain’s run ended when Six Flags sold Geauga Lake and the new owner, Cedar Fair, shut the park down after the 2007 season. The coaster sat idle until June 2008, when it went to a local scrap dealer at auction for about $30,000 and was subsequently demolished, closing the book on one of the last coasters added during Geauga Lake’s Six Flags era.
Its trains outlived the ride itself, later turning up in storage at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, a quiet remnant of a coaster that once anchored one of the largest amusement parks in the country.
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The Villain FAQs
Is The Villain roller coaster still operating?
No. The Villain closed along with Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom in September 2007 and was sold for scrap and demolished in June 2008.
Who designed and built The Villain?
The Villain was designed by Custom Coasters International and built by Rocky Mountain Construction, opening on May 5, 2000.
How fast and how tall was The Villain?
The Villain stood 108 feet tall, dropped 108 feet, and reached a top speed of 59 mph over roughly 3,980 feet of wooden track.
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Photo: IronGargoyle / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.