Zippin Pippin will change the face of Bay Beach

Only $1 to ride it? That's a steal.

But it will be $20 to park. ;)

Well, they are worried about teens ruining the area so they will most likely be riding bicycles or getting dropped off by mom and dad. :)

It's bound to draw in at least one tourists who'd never have contemplated visiting Bay Beach otherwise. And yes, I am referring to myself. I don't think it'll be this year though; right now this is looking like the first year in over twenty that I won't have been to the United States...

Drawing new crowds of teenagers! Well... maybe they haven't been to Great America :)

Either way, can't wait to ride this!

Wonder if they'll have Elvis impersonators at the grand opening...

^I would think they would be able to attract a good amount of old-timers and Elvis fans (new and old...) rather than teenagers.

I am really getting sick of the stereotype that when teenagers show up to something, trouble happens.

This coaster is meant to please alot of people: pre-teens, teens, young adults, mid-age adults, and even seniors.

Even though this coaster will bring more teens to the park, I am sick of hearing government officials lump everything that teens do to violence. If you don't give them something to do constructive and legal, they will lash out.

About unruly teenagers congregating...

I used to organize rock / punk concerts many years ago for my community when I was living in Altoona, PA. I rented the basement of the YWCA, obtained a security guard, who was mostly there for show, scheduled bands, and distributed fliers. Most of my business came from teens, and the concerts occurred once or twice a month. They knew that the concerts would not happen if they misbehaved. We still allowed moshing and cheering and having a good time, but they knew that if they destroyed property or whatever that there may not be another show.

During one of the most attended concerts I ever had, where about 500 kids showed up, their was some damage to neighbors property. The neighbors were furious, and so we had a community meeting inside the YWCA to discuss whether or not the concerts should go on.

I was nervous, because I though that it was the end of these shows. The reason I started doing the concerts was because there wasn't anything for me to do when I was a teenager a few years back, and I was in a band who had nowhere to perform. I was worried not only for my band who was playing these shows, but for the community. These kids weren't so bad. We had a lot of people at the last show who didn't know about the unspoken rule to not cause trouble and self-police themselves.

To my surprise, the meeting was packed with supporters. People spoke out about how great it was to have something for kids to do in our city. Many told about how the concerts got their kids into playing music themselves, which was great for their self-esteem.

The biggest surprise was that one of these supporters was the Chief of Police. He offered to personally patrol the area in a cruiser during our shows. He talked the rest of the community and the YWCA into allowing the shows to continue. All I had to do was drop a show flier off at the police station for every show I put on.

Some people in the community though that all teenagers were bad news; trouble. Others in the community stepped up and showed that they didn't think the same. The shows successfully continued to serve as entertainment for young people and music fans for years after that, until I decided to move and do other things.

(Thanks for reading)

Edited for grammar and spelling.

That's a nice anecdote, Travis. Reading it put a smile on my face.

Kids need something to do. An amusement park with something that interests them is probably a step in the right direction. As for me, a trip to Green Bay is definitely in order. Bay Beach and a tour of Lambeau Field? Sounds good to me.