Leap-the-Dips at risk due to Lakemont Park's financial issues

Is Knoebels up for another relocation?

It’s an interesting coaster. It feels like you’re riding a giant skateboard down a wooden ramp.

I applaud Lakemont for opening it and keeping it open for as long as they did. The park has been struggling for as long as I can remember. The park use only has one operating ride vehicle.

I have some amazing memories of Lakemont. My band played the outdoor stage there a few times. My high school prom after party was there. Many of my friends worked there when we were young. It sucks they never could make the same place as successful as nearby DelGrosso’s.

I didn’t expect L-t-D to operate this long.

The ramp analogy... that perfectly describes the way it felt riding Rutschebanen at Tivoli Gardens. It was a little unnerving, especially with the brake operator. Dips has a few years even on that old coaster.

Leap the Dips is a very neat ride, and I have to say, surprisingly for thrilling than it might look. I think the biggest challenge is like anything else old, it is expensive to maintain and operate. As an amusement attraction, it may not necessarily be viable, especially in it's current location.

There are certainly logistics to it, but I almost wonder if moving it to the right museum might be more of an answer. There are historic places, like Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI, Genesee Country Village and Museum in New York, or Sauder Village in western Ohio that routinely operate similarly vintaged machinery for the general public. Could something like this fit in the Smithsonian? One could maybe argue for that, though space is limited for big items like this. Heinz History Center is in Pittsburgh, not too far away, and there is precedent for carousels to be moved to museums (Euclid Beach Carousel, many, many others). Unfortunately, all of these brainstorms are budget crunched.

I would be shocked if the Sauder family would be interested in operating a roller coaster.

LostKause:

The park has been struggling for as long as I can remember.

Travis I'm old enough to say that it's been struggling longer than I think you've been alive.

It's not getting moved anywhere, including to Knoebels. Rick Knoebel said as much. As soon as it moves it'll no longer be grandfathered and will be required to adhere to all modern amusement ride and building codes and standards. I don't think it's possible for the ride to operate in any semblance of its current form with those requirements.

PhantomTails, I voted your post up only because I'm unable to vote it down. Well, that and the whole "don't shoot the messenger" thing.

Certainly unfortunate. It's a unique experience that all coaster fans should get to experience, but unfortunately, I'm not sure that the rest of the world cares enough to save it.

Greenfield Village would be amazing for me, since I spend so much time near there for work, but I cannot see that happening.

Oy, grandfathering and the rule of law and standards. I’m not so sure that I have have much concern for the rule of law anymore. Just move it, and then gaslight everyone about it later on.

Or tear it down and Drachen Fire it.

As in: "Oh you never got to ride it? Lemmetellyou it was the greatest coaster to ever exist. You really missed out."

But Drachen Fire was painful, at least that’s the claim. LtD is like riding over hilltops on your living room sofa.

I've realized that I might be a bit of a sociopath when it comes to these older rides, or anything labeled as "old" in the U.S., because honestly, there isn't much that's truly old here. I wouldn't be bothered if Leap-the-Dips were torn down. I have a feeling that when an "-est" is attached to something, it becomes more important in some people's minds than it truly is. There will always be a new "est" thing. In its current state, this coaster seems to me like nothing more than nicely arranged firewood and recyclable steel, ready to be repurposed for the next "-estist" thing.

I generally agree with you about US stuff not really being "old," but this is definitely the oldest in the world at this point, by a decade. I'm not particularly nostalgic about many things though, and if it doesn't survive, it's not the end of the world. I never understood the tears over Geauga Lake's Dipper either.