Tr0y Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 The 91 year old, ACE Coaster Classic, will be demolished within a few weeks according to a Bainbridge county trustee. http://fox8.com/2016/10/07/big-dipper-roller-coaster-to-be-demolished/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyano Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 it's about time, that thing has been sitting for years as an eyesour 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondyRidesOn Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Always sad to see an old, historic woodie go. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Meyer Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I know fans of ACE have been trying hard to get Big Dipper moved since Geauga Lake closed it's doors in 2007, but after 5 years of sitting there rotting, I think it was a good move on Cedar Fair's part to have it demolished. I hate to say it, but I saw it coming. I hope that one day, Cedar Fair can announce that they'll rebuild a replica of the Big Dipper in one of their parks across the country. If I had to choose a park for that replica, I would say put it in Dorney Park. In my opinion, that would be ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcwizard13 Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I know fans of ACE have been trying hard to get Big Dipper moved since Geauga Lake closed it's doors in 2007, but after 5 years of sitting there rotting 5 years? I didn't know it was still 2012. Maybe the world really did end and we're all just stuck in the past. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Meyer Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Ooops! Meant to say at nine years. What was I thinking? Good grief! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 I know there are many, including myself would have liked to see a new life for the Big Dipper. I think Coney Island would have made a great home for the classic coaster. They could rename the Big Dipper, "Sky Rocket". which was the original name of the Big Dipper and the name of a coaster that was once graced the Coney Island skyline. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Meyer Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 ^ Well they could always obtain a copy of the blueprints from Cedar Fair and rebuild a duplicate of the ride. That's a good idea though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 You assume: a. The blueprints exist. b. Cedar Fair would sell them. c. The ride could be rebuilt without extensive changes in today's regulatory and legal environment. d. There is room for that coaster at Coney Island of Ohio. At least one of those is highly unlikely. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 You assume: a. The blueprints exist. b. Cedar Fair would sell them. c. The ride could be rebuilt without extensive changes in today's regulatory and legal environment. d. There is room for that coaster at Coney Island of Ohio. At least one of those is highly unlikely. I would say two, Carowinds went looking for Thunder Road's blueprints before they tore her down; they couldn't find them right away. A friend of mine was going to the build a large model of Thunder Road for the park using the blueprints. I suspect PTC may keep blueprints of all their coasters either for display or if questions come up later. There again I could be wrong. However I just realized that Big Dipper might not be a PTC.... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calakapepe Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yeah Coney island isnt as open as it once was what with part of their old land housing many major concerts every year. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbeast Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 It's always sad to see a classic coaster fade away and demolished. It was a true gem in it's operating years. I absolutely loved the ride and thought it was probably the best coaster they had at the time. Between this one and The Screechin Eagle, we've lost two really great classic wooden coasters. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 PTC? Big Dipper was a John Miller with in-house rebuilt, heavily modified NAD trains. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted October 12, 2016 Author Share Posted October 12, 2016 PTC? Big Dipper was a John Miller with in-house rebuilt, heavily modified NAD trains. Also one of the few John A. Miller coasters left. Sadly. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 PTC? Big Dipper was a John Miller with in-house rebuilt, heavily modified NAD trains. I got John A Miller confused with John C Miller(are they related?) then remembered that Big Dipper has NAD trains. I also didn't know about the in-house rebuild. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 Sad to see it go as I rode it under CF management and it was a great ride. My fave was the Villain. This needed to be done. Long overdue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 No. What needed to be done by a company like Cedar Fair was to preserve the ride and move it elsewhere...like Valleyfair! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 No. What needed to be done by a company like Cedar Fair was to preserve the ride and move it elsewhere...like Valleyfair! The only things you could reuse would be motors and the chain for the lift. The best thing to do is hire someone to draw up blueprints and rebuild it some where else. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Now, yes. When Cedar Fair closed the park, no. And for reasons previously alluded to, rebuilding it exactly somewhere else is almost certainly not an option. John Miller woodies aren't design compliant with modern day standards for newly built rides. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 I follow a few pages on Facebook dedicated to Geauga Lake. Some claim the ride could be dismantled and stored until someone bought it to rebuild. Would it even be worth the cost to dismantle and store? Would the ride be in well enough shape to do so? Side note, some reports coming in that the ride has started to be demolished. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Now, yes. When Cedar Fair closed the park, no. And for reasons previously alluded to, rebuilding it exactly somewhere else is almost certainly not an option. John Miller woodies aren't design compliant with modern day standards for newly built rides. Terp how much of the original ride (roughly) has to be moved to not need to follow current standards? Also when they move a wooden coaster how do they do it? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoor Man Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Not terp, but I believe that if you modify 'anything' you can no longer grandfather code to it. Moving to a new location strikes me as a scenario that fits that. That said, I doubt that any of the original structure is salvageable to rebuild after sitting/rotting for 9 years. Let my fact-checking begin. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 And some places won't even allow any grandfathering regardless. In any event, some laws and regulations, like the ADA, have no grandfathering provisions anywhere in the USA. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Meyer Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I can't believe Cedar Fair doesn't have the Blueprints to the Big dipper. I know a couple people called my last idea crazy a few posts back, but I think it can be rebuilt someday on another CF property possibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEW_Sparky Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 And, as has been said numerous times here by individual(s) quite knowledgeable in the facts of ride relocation/recreation, it CAN not and WILL not be the same ride, no matter where it would be installed in the US. If that ride were built in any US park today, in compliance with current safety regulations, it would be as much the Big Dipper as Banshee is. The things that made that ride good, buzz bars being one of them, would not exist on any recreation. Had DK not been a jerk (My opinion, no one will ever change it so dont try), that ride could/would have been relocated in its existing form someplace like Valleyfair as Terp mentioned, or WoF where I wanted it. As much as I Love the history of the ride, and wish the non-Dick move would have been made back when it could have, the unfortunate reality is that its better off being dismantled at this point. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Meyer Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Well I'm not suggesting build it exactly as it was, but re-build it with new control panels, and new trains. It would be like an upgrade kind of thing in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 The parabolic negative airtime hills would not be recreated in the USA in today's climate. A rebuilt Big Dipper would resemble the original as much as Kings Dominion's Grizzly does Coney Island of Ohio's Wildcat or Canada's Wonderland's Mighty Canadian Minebuster does Coney Island of Ohio's Shooting Star--which is to say almost not at all. Geauga Lake itself had the prime exemplar. The Raging Wolf Bobs was made of wood and had coaster trains that ran on steel wheels on wood track. Otherwise....the Riverview Bobs recreated? No. Just no. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 It though B&M built parabolic airtime hills? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 B&M's have gentler hills than John Millers, not to mention far more effective restraint systems. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 The only way I could see the Big Dipper get rebuilt with the current layout would be to use Iron Horse Track. That would make it a steal coaster with steal coaster trains. I am just taking a guess I don't know all the rules on building coasters. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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