Representative for mystery seller says Big Dipper will be demolished without a buyer

Wow
This just gets stranger every day.

The owner sounds like a tool. No one wanted to buy it. I assume he will be liable for the cost of demolishing it?

Offer it for nothing, or give the cars to someone who can use them or display them.

How is it everyone's fault (with the exception of this mysterious buyer) that the ride will be demolished?

So are they doing anything with that property there at Geauga Lake?

If not, why the rush and expense of demolition. I thought there were plenty of other buildings and such still on site. Is there plans for that land yet?

Though the land is owned by Cedar Fair, the ride itself is owned by Cloaked in Shadows Inc. Apparently CiS Inc is tired of all the attacks by enthusiasts when they were the ones who saved Big Dipper with "the best intentions". Of course, they haven't mentioned yet which road they are paving with those intentions.

Not that it would necessarily make a difference, but why is the minimum bid nearly twice what the seller paid? I must be missing something, because the starting bid and the "buy it now" price don't seem to line up with the seller's intentions.

Something tells me she will just be written off on a tax form as a "loss on investment".... Hopefully the trains and some memorabilia will be given away... He might as well slice her up and sell chunks of track as memento's now.

TAER IT DOWN! (Obligatory)

Thinking to myself... Why is there is an apparent rush to demo Big Dipper all of the sudden?

The cost of rent/storage on the coaster. That seems as a non-issue since the feeling I've been getting from previous discussions here has been that Cedar Fair is not charging any rent.

As far as we all know publicly, the land under Dipper has not been sold. So that's not it.

There may be a liability issue with leaving the coaster just standing there. Liability with fire or a rotten piece falling.

Perhaps the reason for the rush to demo Big Dipper is just as simple as "it's not worth saving". And the failure to sell it on eBay was the final straw. Maybe the owner now realizes the 'truth' that many others have expressed here so many times before. Not expressed out of anger, hatred or the desire to see someone fail. It's just the pros/cons or cost/benefits of the whole situation. It's not anyone's fault. And it's not really a 'rush' after all. This has been three years in the works. In a way, maybe the owner has looked at the auction as a test of public opinion and recognizes "it's simply not worth saving."

I'm guessing there might have been some time limit in the original sale by which purchasers of fixtures had to have them removed, and we may well be coming up on that time. Evidently, while there is plenty of nostalgia there (and I'm glad I finally got a spin on it late in its last season), there isn't much actual value. Else someone would have bid more for it originally.

That's how the business cookie crumbles, I guess.

Edited one more time: it's also possible that the owner of any fixture has to pay "rent" to the landowner while the fixture remains, and the former is tired of pouring money down that hole.

From what I've heard, insurance has caused the price to increase. The owner has incurred this cost for the last two years, and is passing it off in the higher minimum bid. It may also be the reason why the ride is going to be demolished. The owner can't afford to pay for the insurance much longer.

I think it's apparent Cedar Fair is in no rush to do anything with the Geauga Lake land, especially since there has been no sale.

That sounds like a reasonable answer to me.

Wondered since the land is not for sale yet.

There also could be tax consequences. I'm not an expert in taxation, but the owner of the Big Dipper may be taxed based on its assessed value, not what he paid for it. That would effectively make his tax bill quite high, and may be another reason why he wants to a. sell it or b. discard it. Tax issues have been noted as one of the problems faced by Geauga Lake.

I could be completely wrong, but I'm guessing this guy is older, probably at least 70. And maybe his reasoning isn't what it used to be. That would explain the odd behaviour and comments. I can imagine my Grandmother doing something like this (not that she has $5,000 to throw around). So if thats the case, I do feel sorry for him. Maybe he had good intensions, but failed on the execution.

I think he would have had a better time selling this if it had been listed somewhere other than Ebay. Maybe ITAL or something like that would have been a better idea. I personally get the impression he really didnt want to sell it but to use it as a write off.

He (or someone representing him) did have it listed on usedrides.com and IRG this past winter: see this thread. Of course, none of the links discussed there work anymore.

The state of Ohio has phased out personal property tax (along with other tax changes) and replaced it with the Commmercial Activity Tax (CAT).

birdhombre said:
He (or someone representing him) did have it listed on usedrides.com and IRG this past winter: see this thread. Of course, none of the links discussed there work anymore.

Yeah but, those listings were all suspicious looking posts made from cutout magazine letters, so sadly, no one took them seriously. :(

Too bad about the Dipper. Hopefully something will come together to save this classic. I always enjoyed riding it, and I had hoped that maybe Cedar Point would have adopted it. They just don't make them like they used to.

Maybe they can be like the Blue Streak and WIN THE PEPSI REFRESH GRANT....sorry couldn't resist