Big Dipper Sold

I was chatting with a friend of mine yesterday when she told me that she and a partner purchased the Big Dipper. My first reaction was sure, then it changed to ARE YOU CRAZY.

She has now put up a website about the project. http://www.savethebigdipper.org/

So if you just purchased a roller coaster what would you do with it? Where would you move it to? I know that she said she wants to keep it in Ohio if at all possible.

I was thinking that an FEC (Family Entertainment Center) would be the way to go. Something like Timberfalls in the Dells or Boomers in Ft Lauderdale.

As I said she is a friend so I would appreciate if we could give her a chance and not bash her for trying to keep the dream of the Big Dipper alive.

DaveStroem said:
As I said she is a friend so I would appreciate if we could give her a chance and not bash her for trying to keep the dream of the Big Dipper alive.

I wish you, and her the best of luck, just on this request alone. Your gonna need it around here.

I know :)

Poor roller coaster just wants to go to coaster heaven and keeps getting put on life support!

Has she applied for the Pepsi Refresh Project? Everybody that owns a SBNO wooden coaster's doing it...

could give her a chance and not bash her for trying to keep the dream of the Big Dipper alive.

And without trying to sound bashing, I still have to wonder, does this person have the qualifications to do this, and does she and her partner have a plan? Are they able to deal with the reprecussions if no one wants the ride?

Serious questions, and since this person isn't so anonymous, maybe she's up for discussion? :)

Seriously, I didn't have a 'problem' with the last person who did it, but i hope your friend doesn't turn it into a spectacle like the last person did. Still, I just don't see the Dipper getting saved.

Well... I wish them the best in their restorative venture. It sounds like they aren't into it for the cash this time, so I have to change my Proverbial (TAER it down) to best of luck.

They definitely are not in it for the cash.

They have been in contact with one of the wood coaster designers and have gotten estimates for dismantling and relocating the coaster. It was considerably less then I expected the estimate to be. Still a huge undertaking.

I am encouraging her to consider this as a pure business venture and to develop a business plan and secure financing rather then trying to raise funds from donations. Of course there is so much more then just the cost of the relocation to consider. I figure that it will take 3-5 million to make this a reality.

I can see the coaster being the star of an FEC with some Go Karts, Putt-putt and a hand full of extreme rides like Sky Coaster.

I wish her and everyone involved the best of luck!

Well at least it won't be "killing" the interim owner anymore.

At least the new owners see the need to store it off site, and it sounds like they're at least willing to risk having it sit for a while. I still don't know if it will sell, because no one else seems to want it, but maybe the new owner(s) can find someone and work something out.

So the difference is that now it's going to rot in a shed instead of out in the open?

(I kid. :) )

Gonch, no you're not, and I tend to agree with you.

I want to applaud the CoasterBuzzers for their restraint. By not Bashing her, I meant personally. The attacks against the previous owner were getting quite extreme. I hope that Kat can make this work.

Basically, though, yeah. I'm just not convinced that anyone wants the ride, unless they find someone willing to take it that either isn't in the amusement industry and has some other type of attraction or facility it could benefit, or maybe now a smaller FEC or tiny park will at least accept it.

But I'm still sceptical.

Wasn't this coaster to be taer'd down about two weeks ago?
Scarcasm off.

Best of luck

Kat has a good head on her shoulders. I cannot imagine that she would blindly go into this without having faith in its success or at least seeing viable plans.

Edited to add: Parties involved are not hiding behind some ridiculous mystery anonymous curtain. That is at least a step in the right direction.

I'm certainly skeptical, but with an actual human's name attached to it, it smells a lot less like crap than it did with the guy who was being "killed."

Does it smell like a plate of Dog Poop Cookies? ;-) (I'm sure the Glorious Gleeks know where that came from)

I always find myself asking the same question whenever I hear about an old wooden coaster being rebuilt. Is it really worth the money? A price of $3-5 million is commonly quoted, whereas a brand new GCI woodie with all of the bells and whistles can be built for $6.5-7 million. From a business perspective, why not just build a new one? I know there is a lot of nostalgia and history involved, but the numbers just don't make sense to me. It's kind of like when you have an old car with a lot of miles on it that you keep pouring money into. Eventually, it is no longer worth it, and it make more sense to buy a new one.