Clementon Lake: New wooden coaster/Jack Rabbit gon

Chuck- You bring up a point that I have been contemplating since I first started thinking about the coaster's "sinking" issue. Since the park would probably have to rebuild the coaster from the footers up if they chose to keep the ride, then a park that purchased this ride would probably solve the coaster's major problems just by relocating it.

Also, this is much more than just a rumor. Its just the details (the ultimate fate of the Jack Rabbit, when the new ride will be built, the new ride's layout) that are unknown at this time. I e-mailed Matt about the idea of getting the coaster relocated and I urge others to do the same. A crowd speaks louder than a few individuals...

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Well in the case of the Coney thunderbolt there was way to much red tape to overcome. The owner stonewalled everything, The city just wanted it torn down ect. ect.

Stateing that nobody cares is totally wrong! In the case of Pheonix and those other coasters it took several months and in some cases the coasters sat for years before a buyer was found.

Stating that it is easy for a organization to give a bunch of money or purchase something that cost a lot is a ASSUMPTION. The fact is, the amount of money given for preservation isn't nearly what you think it is.

So a organization has 8,000 people, even if each gave $10 thats only $80,000 a year. The reality is however that thousands don't give to preservation and a couple hundred give a lot.

Chuck

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Charles Nungester.
It's official Lesourdsville Lake is closed for 2003

I understand that ACE doesn't have unlimited preservatiuon funds, but I don't think that a lot of money would be needed to purchase the ride. The park, assuming that they want the ride gone, would probably accept just about anything for it.
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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Giving it away for free would be cheaper then tearing it down. Of course whoever takes the ride would have to come up with funds to dismantle, move, and store it.

Still hoping it's a rumor.
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Vist Ripple Rock Amusement Park
Flying Scooter now open!

Hint at the rides name:

What is the japanese word for Tidal Wave?

Chuck, who will give two moosh points to the winner
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Charles Nungester.
It's official Lesourdsville Lake is closed for 2003

Tsunami. That was easy ;)

mOOSH [loves getting my own points]

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New holiday & all-occasion cards, PLUS our 2004 Wood Coaster Calendar...all at S&D Greetings.

Thanks Moosh, I was going to have to borrow a couple if you didn't win

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Charles Nungester.
It's official Lesourdsville Lake is closed for 2003

Did you know....there's actually a difference, meteorologically-speaking, between a tsunami and a "tidal" wave....

As best as I can recall, a tidal wave is specifically those that occur normally as a result of tidal changes, and are simply the largest waves of an incoming tide...it later became applied to other large waves by extension, as hurricane-force winds often do, as well as tsunamis...see below:

A tsunami is the result of seismic activity, and is normally caused by undersea earthquakes, but can be caused by any type of seismic disturbance...

See mom, you didn't really "waste" money on my General Education credits...;)
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I've stopped listening, why haven't you stopped talking?
All opinions presented on gator-talk are mine, but if you don't like 'em take it up with management...

And I'm having a hard time figuring out what either one is doing in NJ!

For what it is worth...

RCDB has an entry for Clementon and 2004 as Tsunami. Of course they also have Jack Rabbit running from 2003-3003. Hmmmm... a coaster lasting 1,000 years... not bad. (I assume that the date is of course a misprint)

Wow! Talk about foresight!

Sounds like the preservation effort worked...

Hmmm... I just went to update my "track record" that I keep in Excel to list both Clementon's Jack Rabbit and Dorney's Hercules as last running in 2003, and I see that Jack Rabbit was actually coaster #75 for me.

I do the same thing and just recently changed Herc's status to "defunct". Unfortunately, I never rode the Jack Rabbit so I can't change its status, although I'm hearing new things that indicate that there is a SLIGHT chance that the situation for the Jack Rabbit isn't so bad... yet.

Except for the historical aspect of Jack Rabbit... You weren't missing much.

Of the two... as rough as old Hercules was, I think that bother's me more (and that isn't exactly a great deal)... namely for the fact that A) I did like that coaster no matter how rough it was and B) it's being repalced by steel, not wood. Jack Rabbit I didn't find all that thrilling, and it is being replaced by a wooden coaster. It had age going for it, and that was about it.

However, I suppose it is all in your point of view. Example, Hersheypark's Comet. I know lots of people that say how boring that coaster is... but it's a sentimental favorite of mine. Should that ever be on the block, I suppose I would be just as upset as someone who grew up riding Jack Rabbit.

Practically everyone who rode the Jack Rabbit claims that it was a boring ride. In fact, a good friend of mine, who I spoke to last night to let him know that the JR was probably going to be torn down, responded with an enthusiastic "Good!" If a diehard wooden coaster fan like him is glad to see the ride go, then it couldn't have been that great.

Still, it did have its history. And I think that there is a need for a coaster like that at Clementon Lake. From what everyone says, the park is a family place... therefore, it needs a family coaster. A great big wooden coaster is a great idea- it would give Clementon a ride that reaches out to older, more daring riders that go to Six Flags and Dorney, looking for big coasters. But, by making that their only coaster offering, they are eliminating a ride that seems to appeal to their target audience. The Jack Rabbit is clearly a coaster that is gentle enough for younger riders while not being too boring for adults.

Plus, the removal of the Jack Rabbit seems to indicate that an old wooden coaster is a expendable part of a traditional park. I can understand a wooden coaster that was SBNO for years being torn down, something like the Whalom or Lincoln Park Comets, but the JR is located in an operating amusement park, where it was giving rides just a little over a year ago. I think that history deserves to be preserved.

Sentimental reasons, yes. But also logical ones, I think.

Hey, I'm not a fan of seeing a coaster bite the dust either. But at the very least a wooden coaster is being replaced by a wooden coaster... not a steel.

Truthfully, I am just glad that the park is surviving. A park with a new wooden coaster that has replaced an old wooden coaster is better than a park that has been paved over and replaced by a strip mall.

If this is what it takes for a small traditioinal park to survive, so be it.

I've noticed that Clementon's website has never made mention of the Jack Rabbit during the last few years I've looked at it. I always thought that odd with the coaster being one of the oldest coasters around and all. Is it a plan to downplay the ride or just a coincindence? Come to think of it, the website doesn't say much about anything.

Replacing Jack Rabbit with a wood coaster does soften the blow a bit but I still find the thought upsetting. As Rob said, it sets a bad precedent. A historic wooden coaster that is seen as expendable in a traditional park. Clementon is a traditional park that has very few of it's traditional elements left.

I'd be pretty upset if Wyandot were to lose the Sea Dragon or Idlewild were to lose Rollo Coaster. They're not high on the thrill scale but they are important elements of the park.

But, let them do whatever necessary to prevent another "Jersey strip mall."

SLFAKE: Trust me, I'm glad to see the park surviving too, and I am happy that they have decided to take the route that they are supposedly taking in order to do so. It was only a few years ago that I heard that the park was exploring the option of replacing the Jack Rabbit with a steel coaster. Considering that alternative, a new wooden coaster is a godsend.

I know that you're just as big a fan of old wooden coasters as I am, and I know that you're not enthusiastic about the loss of the Jack Rabbit. My complaining is basically me just "thinking aloud"... wondering how much more it would take for the park to have it both ways. I'd also like to know if there are alternatives out there, such as parties interested in the coaster. I would love to know if other options to keep the Jack Rabbit alive, in some shape or form, were explored by those parties out there that seem to make coaster preservation their focus.

Millrace seems to understand what I'm getting at, which is the precedent which is being set by Dorney (for good reasons, though). It seems to me that this is the year when the idea of coaster preservation has taken a step backwards after almost two decades of forward steps. While the loss would be greater if it was, say, the Coney Island Cyclone, the fact is that this is a loss. Hercules is a loss. What will be lost next if this trend continues?

And I completely agree, Jersey does NOT need another strip mall. *** Edited 11/13/2003 8:24:28 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

I also live around the corner from Clementon Park. I grew up on the jack rabbit. I hope they can preseve the ride or relocate it to another park. I was completely torn apart about this news, 4 generations of my family have ridden the jack rabbit.

Amen to that briansmyth.. I think that is why this is tearing me up so bad inside.

I was really looking forward to sharing this treasure with my own son but will probably never be able to do so.

Keep hoping. Nothing is positive. So far we are all speculating which is not going to make it any better. A new woodie is a good thing for this park and that is GREAT news!