Pittsburgh area man organizes rally for Geauga Lake's Big Dipper

^ That Pearl Harbor memorial is pretty amazing! Did you happen see the oil coming up from the Arizona?

Jeff said:
(/me just toured the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor last week)

Which makes him an expert now ;)

~Rob

coasterdad! said:
Rebuilding is an option but why, there are plenty of better coaster designs out there.

I beg to differ. I have ridden nearly every woodie in the US plus several in Canada and without a doubt, Big Dipper is in my top 5. The ride launched me out of the seat on nearly every hill. It was almost like Avalanche in slow motion. It was certainly not the smoothest woodie out there, but far from the roughest. Was the roughness why so many of you aren't ecstatic about the ride the way I am?

That said, I agree that moving the ride is kind of impractical, but as I've said before, I would be happy if someone rebuilt it from scratch. They could even re-profile the drop into and out of the turnaround section (the only two hills that didn't have airtime) and make it even better. :)

Honestly though, if it were relocated to say Knoebels, or somewhere else, would it really be the same? I can't picture riding it anywhere else than the exact place I always rode it. If it's relocated I'll be happy but it won't really affect me much. What affected me was the closing of my home park. I remember every year someone in my family had their company picnic at GL. I could never sleep the night before because I was so excited. It's gone and it sucks to visit the remains and see the BD standing there unoperating, but it really wasn't the best ride ever. I'd sooner have a park build a better ride than relocate it.

Acoustic Viscosity said:The ride launched me out of the seat on nearly every hill. It was almost like Avalanche in slow motion. It was certainly not the smoothest woodie out there, but far from the roughest. Was the roughness why so many of you aren't ecstatic about the ride the way I am?

You'll have to pardon my friend, he's still not convinced that the two of us are somehow different from most everyone else. But yes, without a doubt, the extreme airtime and crunching landings in the back seat of that coaster were indeed sublime moments of my coasting experience. But I've proven to be a big fan of John Miller in general, and Dipper ran more Screechin' Eagle, less Zippin Pippin (sorry Tina). As a general rule, most seem to think the back of Texas Giant or Gwazi might bee "too rough"...but it IS where the action is. :) (Reminder note about Moosh's request for a drool emoticon). ;)

BD seriously is a great airtime coaster, definitely more assertive than (CP's) Blue Streak, the one everyone seems to want to compare it to. As far as roughness, I've ridden it numerous rides in a row, in every seat, and only experienced a little bit, much less so than SOB or MS, say. The well padded seats really do make it a comfy ride.

Jeff, the only difference between a coaster and a ship is that the ship is designed to keep you safe on board, and blow everybody else out of the water. A coaster is designed to keep you safe while blowing you away. :)

What honestly got me about the ride is it never looked capable of the havock it invoked. Upon our first visit to SFO. I actually laughed and said thats "BIG DIPPER"? when we passed it.

Wow, What a ride I got. Launched over every hill and hills that dropped out from under you. Follow up visits had much rougher rides but my last ride in the last year wasn't bad. Just needed some booster bents in the bottoms of the drops. Miller didn't allow much room to do that as most drops are TO THE GROUND!

BTW, How does moving the ride change its classic status as long as its operated like it was?

Perfect park that has two Lincoln Park Comet NAD restored already trains would be Little Amerricka
.Chuck

d_port_12E said:

I always thought a relocation to Knoebels would be a home run. Its close enough to attract the Cleveland market, along with complimenting the vibe of the park. Plus, aren't they trying to replicate a classic Cleveland coaster already? Twos even better.

Not quite. Knoebels is a good six hours from Cleveland, and other than the enthusiast community virtually nobody here has ever heard about it. Heck, most people I know don't even know where Waldameer, Kennywood or Conneaut are either, and they're a lot closer!

Also, the Flying Turns at Knoebels is based on the blueprints from the Flying Turns that was at Riverview Park in Chicago, not the one that was at Euclid Beach. That would have been awesome though, since the one at EB was the tallest Turns ever built, but I'll be happy just to be able to ride one after thinking I never would.

I'm not trying to stir things up. I personally would love it to wind up at Knoebels since I get there a few times a year, but I doubt it's in their plans.

Tom

I just don't see where it could go at Knoebel's, as much as I'd love it here.

For some reason, I have a hunch that if they do build another woodie, it's going on the mountain.

Ld Scotsman...

I think you made my point for me. Knoebels (or Waldameer or Kennywood) makes this move to gain market share, not because they already have it. After every newspaper, radio and tv station in Ohio reports the Big Dipper is being relocated the market is now aware of Knoebels/Waldameer/Kennywood. Imagine the commercials "Ride Geauga Lake's classic Big Dipper."

Kennywood makes a strong push for the Cleveland market, but relocating a roller coaster to the side of a mountain isn't practical (nor is relocating a wooden coaster, but humor me). And Waldameer is even closer than Kennywood, you can't tell me they don't want a slice of this dying, post-industrial pie. Maybe Waldameer makes more sense, but Knoebels has shown they're willing to move something.

As for the Flying Turns, I didn't know the ride was based on the Riverview Park version, but didn't the inspiration come from the owner riding the Euclid Beach Flying Turns as a kid? That was my point.

I admire his passion for the coaster. :)

Big Dipper was one of my favorite coasters at the park, next to Batmaninator. ;) Big Dipper had an aggressive "kick" to it, which I like in old woodies. :) You rarely find that anymore.

I was there the day before it closed as well and although I was never a "huge" GL fan I was kind of blindsided by the decision. I guess I just didn't pay attention to the rumors, as usual. ;) All I know is I had a great day with friends and then the park was done.

If I won a (very huge) lottery I would buy up Dipper, Screechin Eagle, and Pippin and put them at Camden Park. Those woodies rank WAY above anything that is the "tallest" or "fastest" or beats the crap out of me. ;) But that's just me. ;)

-Tina

<---thinking out loud again. :)

Cool idea, but where would you put any of those at Camden Park without a shoehorn?

john peck said:
^ That Pearl Harbor memorial is pretty amazing! Did you happen see the oil coming up from the Arizona?

I did not get over to the Arizona memorial, as they stop ferrying people over at 3, and we were still on Ford Island at the Mo and the Pacific Aviation Museum. Two hours after that, we had to be at HNL to go back home. :(

Rode it and loved it. I agree with others that it is high on my all time wood list. Small but packed a significant punch and they just don't make 'em like that anymore.

Worked it. I operated it for several seasons and there wasn't a better place to work in the park, at least from my perspective. When we were there, under the lights, braking the trains, crowds cheering (yes, there were crowds), smelling the graphite and the grease from the lift chain you could close your eyes for a moment and think you were in the coaster heydays of the 30s and 40s.

I learned a strong work ethic at that park. I made lasting freinds and fleeting loves in that park. I grew up there and no doubt that experience led to Disney and Cedar Point.

I don't think losing the coaster is any more or less painful than losing the park. If you are a fan of amusement parks and appreciate their history then you have to be at least a little saddened by the passing of this park. It held a great deal of historical significance. I still say it was on of the child friendliest parks around. Turtle Beach and Rainbow Island were incredibly nice for the kids.

If I were in Ohio this weekend I would take the time and stop by this rally if for no other reason than to share memories with others.

Looks like I'll be there. Think I'll wear my SFWoA tee just to be ironic.

I knew there was some reason why I like those Steelers people...

;)

Call me crazy, but there's MUCH better SBNO historical wood in Ohio.. :)

wahoo skipper said:
If you are a fan of amusement parks and appreciate their history then you have to be at least a little saddened by the passing of this park.

I still think that's just too broad of a brush to be painting with. Again, life-long Clevelander here (and believe me, I'm not bragging), and probably had my first visit there in the mid-70's. I vaguely remember Double Loop opening. But by and large, for the next 30 years, I rarely went there.

It only holds a nostalgic angle if it was a part of what you did, and I think that while it holds a dear place in many a heart, it's a pretty small crowd.

I don't really buy that argument. You have to have personally visited an amusement park to be sorry it's gone? Does that mean that if the Louvre burned down, only art-lovers who managed to get there are entitled to grieve its loss?

I never got to William's Grove -- came within a whisker of getting to it in 2004 -- but I'm sorry I never made it and wish it were still around. Same with Idora. That park fell before I realized my childhood obsession with amusement parks was going to be a lifelong affection.

Wahoo's suggestion holds weight. If you care about the history of amusement parks and the rapid decline of older parks, there's a good chance you're not going to be very happy about losing GL. And there's nothing wrong with that. Conversely, if you never went to GL and couldn't give a rat's a$$ about it, that's your perogative as well.

What is it with you and comparisons, Mike? Is the Big Dipper, or GL in general, at the level of cultural importance as priceless art? The fact that the priceless art is preserved and celebrated by far more people tells me no.

Idora, Chippewa, Puritas... these were all in my back yard. I'm not the least bit more than indifferent about the demise of any of them. It's awesome that there are places like Knoebels and Kennywood that continue to preserve and maintain samples of an era, but particularly in Ohio, the amusement park and coaster phenomenon was completely oversaturated and market forces did what they did. I refuse to be labeled a "bad enthusiast" because I don't shed a tear in my beer over it. I choose to keep a relative grasp of perspective of their place in the history of the world.