Saturday, May 21, 2011

Opening Day Report - 5/21/2011

Today was the public opening for the Bay Beach Zippin Pippin Roller Coaster in Green Bay Wisconsin. The first ride was reserved for 15 people who entered a contest and had their names drawn along with one guest each. I was at the event along with three of my children. The first official ride with the winners took place right around 9am. Prior to 9:00am a line formed with the first paying customers, we were about tenth in this line. The mayor of Green Bay, Jim Schmitt, the man largely responsible for bringing the Pippin to Green Bay, gave a short talk to the winners about the history of the coaster and it's designer John Miller.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

An official from Memphis, the home of the original Zippin Pippin also said a few words, thanked Green Bay for keeping the Zippin Pippin alive and told them to cherish the roller coaster and Bay Beach. The city of Memphis used to have a family friendly amusement park named Libertyland that was closed in 2005.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Then there was a ribbon cutting ceremony and the first riders were allowed into the ride.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Before these riders were allowed onto the coaster they did two empty train test runs.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

This got the crowd excited, everyone applauded and cheered as the trains completed their circuits.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2


From our vantage point in line I was able to capture some footage of the first ride, click on the embedded video below to see it.



The first ride was followed by a second train full of special guests, I'm assuming they were some of the donors to the project but I don't know for sure. I snapped this picture as the train was heading to the out and back just above the entrance and the rides sign.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

While waiting in line our local ABC affiliate briefly interviewed my son Ryan and he was on the local news, you can see his quote here. It was great to see all of the people young and old enjoying the coaster this morning. I spoke to some small children barely tall enough to ride who loved the ride and also saw a couple probably in their sixties riding with their arms up. This truly is a perfect coaster for Bay Beach and anyone who meets the requirements and wants to ride it can.

About 9:30am they opened the ride to the first paying customers. We were among the 30 people to be on the first train full of paying customers. Lines stayed reasonable through the first couple hours of the morning so we rode the coaster 5 times. Twice in the middle (early in the day they were filling the trains front to back), once in the front seat, and twice in the back car. I'm happy to report all areas of the train give a great ride and good airtime, although the back is the most fun in my opinion.

This coaster really is all about the air time, every hill on the out and back in any section of the train lifts you up out of your seat and against the seat belt and lap bar. If you look at the panorama below you can see after the drop off of turn 3 the hills are quite a bit shorter than that first drop after turn three which creates a lot of momentum and speed as you crest these camel back hills. For reference the drop after turn three is on the far right of the picture with the camel backs following it as you move from right to left.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

My seven year old daughter and I ended up in the front car for our third ride, we took the opportunity to get a POV video.



Some other random pictures of the morning's fun are below.

Waiting in line near the base of the loading platform.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

My son and daughter waiting at the gates for one of their five rides of the morning.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

My seven year old daughter and I at the loading gates waiting for one of our five rides of the morning.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

A train being loaded up for a ride.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

My son and daughter sitting in one of the original Zippin Pippin cars.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

The souvenir stand by the ticket booth.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

As we were entering the loading platform for our final ride of the morning I asked the person taking tickets and counting riders with a clicker what the counter was at, she said 720, this is after approximately two hours of riding. Obviously this is the first day and crowds may have been larger than average but 200,000 paying riders doesn't seem out of the question with approximately 100 operating days a season.

We finished off our visit with some turns on some of Bay Beach's classic rides include the swings, the Scrambler, the Tilt-A-Whirls and the giant slide. As we got back in our car and rolled down the windows the roar of the coaster along with the screams of excitement poured into the car. My daughter Karlie commented that it was unbelievable that this was happening in Green Bay and I have to say it does seem too good to be true. Thank you Mayor Schmitt for having the vision to bring this gem to the citizens of Green Bay and any people visiting from out of town. As the Mayor said this morning, this ride will outlive all of us!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Final Construction Update - 5/19/2011

Today was my final visit to the Zippin Pippin construction site prior to it's grand opening in less than 2 days. Many final details are being completed at this time. Overall it looks like the Pippin is ready for it's 5/21/11 debut. I plan to be there for the grand opening this Saturday. To see the finishing touches keep reading below. If you want to see the complete photo albums from all of the construction check out the links below, there are now over 1,000 pictures in the albums.

Construction Album #1

Construction Album #2

The most obvious addition since my last visit is a large Zippin Pippin sign added above the main entrance.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

As you get close you can see arrows have been added to the concrete showing the entrance side and exit side.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

I believe this small seat is so potential riders can check the fit of the seats prior to waiting in line. The seats are relatively tight.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

As you move into the queue area you can see posts and chains have been added to create the dreaded out and back lines so more people can be packed into the space. While waiting for the Pippin you are inside the main oval and have a good view of trains moving up the lift hill, coming down the first drop, and exiting to the out and back. It should help build anticipation for riders.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Along the queue area are some signs that I assume will be mounted prior to Saturday. The first sign spells out the rules of the ride, the second is a sign from the original Zippin Pippin in Memphis proclaiming the ride as Elvis's favorite ride.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

The trains have really been spruced up, check out the painting on the sides and the logo on the front!

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Lines have been added from the automatic safety gates up to where riders load into the trains, safety yellow has also been added to the edges.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Here is a close up of the train seats, it is a relatively tight seat, each seat has it's own individual seat belt and lap bar. As you can see there are two locations you can hold on; however, I recommend getting those hands in the air to really enjoy the ride.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

A portable stage is in place on the site, presumably for the grand opening on Saturday.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

The new ticket booth near the coaster is also in place.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

One of the original cars from the Memphis Zippin Pippin train is on a trailer at the site. It's possible Elvis sat in one of these very seats!

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Looking at this close up of the wheels you can see why the original parts of the ride were not used for the Bay Beach Zippin Pippin.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

The new path from the roller coaster to the rest of the amusement park has been paved.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Finally I'll finish with several panoramas taken from a variety of vantage points around the coaster.

Green Bay, are you ready to ride!

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Construction Update 5/13/2011

This update is written on 5/13/2011 but the pictures were actually taken 5/6/2011 the day of my test ride. About one week from today the Bay Beach Zippin Pippin Roller Coaster opens to the public, I hope to make one final visit to the construction site next Friday to get some final shots of the coaster on the eve of it's public opening. Continue reading below to see the final touches that are being completed to make the coaster ready for the general public.

Just before my final of six test rides it started raining so these pictures were all taken under a moderate rainfall. The first thing I noticed was the roof of the motor house has been completed.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Back on the loading platform all of the safety gates are in place.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

One train was loaded on the track and the other train was loaded onto the extra track.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Fences were going up everywhere the public will have access to while waiting in line. Around the inside of turn 1 and 3.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Along the exit ramp.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

And along the lift hill.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Under the loading platform the linkages that synchronize the movement of the safety gates is installed.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

All of the concrete in the queue area has been poured and is ready for the large crowds I expect to see May 21st. From this view you can see the entrance and the exit of the ride. The entrance is to the right and the exit is the ramp on the left. The brake run at the end of the ride can be seen in the background.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

The pictures below shows the view as you are exiting the exit ramp. The first picture is looking back up the exit ramp and the second one is as you are leaving the ramp.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

The curb in the picture below shows the dividing line between the future parking lot and the grassy area around the coaster. The parking lot would be to the right, the grassy area around the coaster to the left.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

The two construction sawhorses in the pictures below show the location of a future additional ticket booth near the coaster so patrons won't have to walk all the way back to the main entrance to get tickets to ride the Pippin again.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2
From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Work is also under way on a new path that will carry visitors from the main part of the amusement park to the roller coaster.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2

Before leaving I took a panorama of the coaster facing north west.

From Zippin Pippin Construction Album #2