http://www.cabellstandard.com/main.asp?Sec...amp;TM=72043.43

I have a legitmate question about the Big Dipper's 50th anniversary. My grandmother is 86 years old and she rode Big Dipper when she was young. How is it that BD is only 50 years old?

Anyway, this will be exciting for the park. Gonna try and make it there on the 18th, as a late birthday present to myself.

The current Big Dipper was built in 1958 and designed by National Amusement Devices. Its predecessor was a mirror image of the current ride, and she could easily have ridden it many years before then. There was a predecessor wooden coaster to THAT Big Dipper, too....at one time I had a link to a picture of it on the web, but I can't locate it at the moment...

Well, that absolutely makes sense, then. I did check out rcdb.com and it lists the Big Dipper as being built in 1958. That site is usually correct. Was the predecessor also known as the Big Dipper? Or did it have a different name.

I have a legitmate question about the Big Dipper's 50th anniversary. My grandmother is 86 years old and she rode Big Dipper when she was young. How is it that BD is only 50 years old?

(XGatorHead does math; 86 years old - 50th anniversary = grandmother was 36 when it opened, comes up with comment and posts:)

Because 36 is young! At least in my mind, since I'm 35...

The current Big Dipper's immediate predecessor was called Big Dipper!

That explains the confusion!~ ~

According to this article:

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/life/x21029...ars-with-a-bang

which the author and its editor researched for Big Dipper's 50th anniversary, the previous ride was known as The New Sensation.