Big Dipper Demo

With the Demo of the Chutes in 1950, the removal of the Big Dipper in 1955 came as a big surprise.

Why was the star attraction removed? There are two different thoughts on this: 

1. George Whitney was slippin' in his later years. He was rumored to say, he was removing the Big Dipper because it was 'ugly.' That said, it had just been painted not long before it's demise.

2. George thought it took up to much space and attendance had dropped. (maybe because it was ugly and needed a coat of paint?) With the future in carnival rides on the rise and the success of Playland's plethora of existing carnival type rides, George figured the removal of the Big Dipper would make way for more Carnival type rides and increased enjoyment.

We'll never really know the reason, but around March of 1955... the Dipper came down and with that, we lost a true icon of the Golden age of Roller Coasters.

Thanks to Robert Smit for ALL these photos!