ajc47 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I'm afraid so Coasternut. The Dipper's fate was sealed with Geauga Lake's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemical_echo Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I wonder if I could convince my school to buy it and assemble it on campus for the engineering students to study physics and structures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDipper 80 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 (edited) I call dibs... But really, what would be the point in saving the ride at this point? There are memories, but everything goes away eventually. As much as I enjoy history and the preservation of history for future generations, life goes on. If anything, restore the carousel back to working order. Any hand-carved carousel is a work of art and should be saved. Edited September 8, 2010 by BigDipper 80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajc47 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 None of that will happen until CF cleans the place up, which they won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalize Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I could at least go to $18,000; unfortunately that would leave buying land, moving the ride, re-building the ride, and of course operating and maintaining it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Would hate to see it and the Double Loop both go the way of the scrap heap. Sorry, Double Loop is already scrapped - one of the first to be ripped out. Who says that if you bought it that you'd have to move it? Cedar Fair wants what's left of the park gone ASAP so that they could sell it but they are asking too much for the land. They will make sure there is no amusement park rebuilt on that property. The current site is basically a landfill now with a few structures still standing and Aurora and Bainbridge are doing nothing about it. There was a plan to build more shopping (as if that area needs anymore) that fell through. Recently there was an article stating that officials in Aurora and Bainbridge would like to rezone the land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingScooter Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 (edited) ^ the Jacobs Brothers were going to buy a good hunk of the acreage. They were going to put up another shopping plaza by the lake. When the economy tanked, they withdrew their bid. Edited September 2, 2010 by larrygator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbydinn Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Sad news for the Geauga Lake Big Dipper. After failing to sell itself during the Ebay auction, the owner has confirmed that if they don’t find a buyer for it by September 15th, the Big Dipper will be demolished. http://www.screamscape.com/html/us_news.htm#Ohio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Sigh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE ONE Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 I figured this would happen someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 It's Cedar Fair who still owns it, correct? If they do then they're stupid as hell for wanting to demolish it. Also any park that has the money to buy the coaster and doesn't is stupid too. Buy it even if there's no where to put it in case of expansion one day. That's what happened to the Comet from Crystal Beach I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted September 7, 2010 Author Share Posted September 7, 2010 Cedar Fair does not own the coaster anymore. It was sold at auction to someone who I don't think has ever been fully disclosed. The whole thing just had "creepy" written all over it. I didn't ever expect to see that coaster ever run again. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajc47 Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 This whole thing was a farce right from the start and this supposed owner wasn't serious. Shame that things must end this way for Dipper, but....we know whose fault it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndCamSS Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Was this listing legit? I just read through the comments and it sounds like some little kid trying to sell something. If this real, what kind of idiot bought this? You can't inspect it, just buy it, its ok I swear. What a bunch of BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajc47 Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 If you do business with snakes, you get bit. It's that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Was this listing legit? I just read through the comments and it sounds like some little kid trying to sell something. If this real, what kind of idiot bought this? You can't inspect it, just buy it, its ok I swear. What a bunch of BS. His feedback is pretty bad too. Several non-payment reviews and lack of communication... This sounds like it was an attempt at a scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devious Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Cedar Fair does not own the coaster anymore. It was sold at auction to someone who I don't think has ever been fully disclosed. The whole thing just had "creepy" written all over it. I didn't ever expect to see that coaster ever run again. --Robb Tom woosnam of Apex, to be exact He was at the meetings about the dipper, supposedly he's the owner As for the big dipper, this thing is historic, it's the last piece of history at the former Geauga lake Demolishing it wouldnt go over well, being that it's one of the oldest wooden coasters in the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnooSnoo Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Of course.. who would really miss it anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelTheFORCE Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Why keep it sitting there, dormant for 3 years, only to just demolish it anyway? I was never a fan of the Big Dipper for the painful rides it has given me (as you can see in my CF ratings, I gave it a 1/10), but a coaster is a coaster and I hope it gets saved. As with CLP's Blue Streak, I'll definitely do everything in my power to help support that cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted September 7, 2010 Author Share Posted September 7, 2010 (edited) Demolishing it wouldnt go over well, being that it's one of the oldest wooden coasters in the world Does this matter to anyone but a small group of roller coaster preservationists who don't actually have the money to preserve anything? Seriously, the only thing Big Dipper has going for it is that it was "old." The ride wasn't amazing...it was ranked medicore AT BEST in Mitch Hawker's Poll...but it was "memorable" to some people. And those memories or it's historic value wouldn't be worth anything to a park outside of the area. If that exact same ride was built today brand new coaster enthusiasts would complain about how lame it was. Little Dipper from Kiddieland to SFGam worked because it catered to the same Chicago area park patrons and sold the nostalgia factor of "if you live in the area, this was probably the first roller coaster you've ridden." That same coaster in any other area wouldn't have gone over so well. Zippin Pippin has the "Elvis' favorite coaster" heritage behind it. Really, the ONLY place Big Dipper would even had a shot of survival based on local area nostalgia would be Cedar Point or *maybe* Kennywood. And if those parks don't want it, please, pull the plug on it. It's dead already. Not even the Floridians cared about Starliner. If anything, I think the "Roller Coaster Preservationists" should be happy that quite a few coasters HAVE been "saved" over the years - Meteor, Little Dipper, Zippin Pippin, Black Diamond, and now recently Blue Streak, and someday, maybe, Flying Turns. --Robb "But it's impossible to please coaster enthusiasts..." Alvey Edited September 7, 2010 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelTheFORCE Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Does this matter to anyone but a small group of roller coaster preservationists who don't actually have they money to preserve anything? Ha, you hit the nail right on the head there, at least with me. Even "everything in my power," as I said above, is still barely anything for a money-strapped college student. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 As much as I absolutely have hated seeing the dilapidation and/or demolition of some of these old wooden coasters, the "circle of life" argument comes into play eventually. I wish we could keep rides like Starliner (one of my favorites growing up), Blue Streak, Big Dipper, et al around forever, but if it's not economically feasible, then it is what it is. I really hope Blue Streak's reopening turns out to be a rare victory for an old coaster being restored, but life goes on if it doesn't. Big Dipper is a classic, but like so many classics before it, its time has come. That's the truth, harsh as it is. At some point you really have to take into account the incredible apathy that was shown to these parks/rides prior to them shutting down and think, "wow, why do so many people only care now that it's being torn down board by board, and where were all these supporters years ago when they were TRULY needed?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted September 7, 2010 Author Share Posted September 7, 2010 (edited) "where were all these supporters years ago when they were TRULY needed?" QFT In many cases, the same people who have become the "preservationists" of a ride that is doomed were also the people who WERE NOT supporters that could have helped prevent a ride from meeting it's demise. Case in point, I was actually one of Psyclone's supporters...although I was supporting it's demise! --Robb "Can I pull down a few boards? PLEASE????" Alvey Edited September 7, 2010 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalCoasters Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 "where were all these supporters years ago when they were TRULY needed?" QFT In many cases, the same people who have become the "preservationists" of a ride that is doomed were also the people who WERE NOT supporters that could have helped prevent a ride from meeting it's demise. Case in point, I was actually one of Psyclone's supporters...although I was supporting it's demise! --Robb "Can I pull down a few boards? PLEASE????" Alvey Agreed. Psyclone had an interesting layout that was cool to look at, but excruciatingly painful to ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajc47 Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 I rode Dipper plenty of times on many occasions at GL. But the park's fate was sealed in 04. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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