Great America: Little Dipper

As regular readers of this bloggity might remember, my favorite ride at the late, much-lamented Kiddieland was the Little Dipper, the cutest little wooden roller coaster you ever did see. It was also the ride I was most worried about--as a 60-year-old wodden coaster, it wouldn't be the easiest thing to take apart and move.

Enter Great America.

When they announced that they'd bought the Little Dipper and that it would be up and running this season, I was shocked, but in the best possible way--they'd saved the one ride I feared would be destined for demolition.

How much they saved, though, is unclear. The sign certainly looks like the original, as do the cars and even some of the hardware, like the chains that convey the cars along the tracks. The ginormous levers that operated the ride are gone, however, and the wooden structure itself looks brand new. That makes sense--you really can't expect to pull apart a 60-year-old wooden roller coaster and slap it back together with all the original parts.

The ride itself feels exactly the same as before, though--short and sweet and oh so fun.