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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — Ten years ago this month the culmination of what some called a crazy idea first took it’s riders up the lift hill at Bay Beach Amusement Park on the shores of the Bay of Green Bay.
The Zippin Pippin, an over 100 year old wooden roller coaster, purchased by the city from a defunct Tennessee amusement park, opened its doors in May of 2011.
Now, ten years later, the screams can still be heard.
It hasn’t lost it’s charm if you ask these folks.
“It was awesome…it was nice, with the wind in your hair…it was fun,” said Amanda, from Pulaski.
“It was a fun ride, had a bunch of drops,” said Anthony, visiting from Milwaukee.
“It was a blast,” added Desean, also visiting from Milwaukee.
Jason Arnoldi, the manager at Bay Beach Amusement Park, agrees. He credits the ride for the park’s success over the past decade.
“It’s pretty much been the catalyst for everything we’ve seen since,” said Arnoldi. “We’ve put in five new rides, and this coming year we will be installing a pier and a boardwalk and pretty soon a swimming beach. All this expansion has been due to the success of the Zippin Pippin.”
The ride was celebrated during an event on Friday, where riders could ride the coaster however much they wanted for five dollars. Usually, a single ride costs a single dollar. First up the hill on Friday was current Mayor Eric Genrich.
“The 10 year anniversary is pretty special,” Genrich said as he stepped off the ride. “Kind of hard to believe it’s been that long, but yeah, we’re just so lucky to have this in Green Bay to be able to share with the community.”
It wasn’t always the beloved community landmark it is today. The construction of the coaster was controversial, at least at first. Former Mayor Jim Schmitt championed the ride, but the purchase came at an odd time. We were only a few years removed from the financial calamity that was the Great Recession of 2008, and many people saw the ride as a waste of money.
It’s more than just some random wooden roller coaster they decided to buy. It’s a ride with a lot of history attached.
“The original ride came from Memphis, the original design, and it was actually designed by the same designer, John Miller, that designed the first roller coaster in the 1920s here at Bay Beach. Of course it was Elvis’s favorite ride. That’s what it was most known for.”
Yes, Elvis Presley. An appearance at Libertyland–the park that the Zippin Pippin used to be in–was actually the very last appearance Elvis made in public before he died. That makes the ride a particularly special addition to the park, especially for Green Bayers like Terry.
“I belong to the Elvis Presley Fan Club,” Terry told WTAQ after stepping off the ride. “I went nine years to Graceland for the candlelight vigil of Elvis Presley. I went through his home in Mississippi.”
Terry was very, very, very excited to see the ride come to town, and even ten years later, he’s enjoying the same drops and turns once enjoyed by the King himself.
“When they were building this coaster, I was here every day after work watching them build it,” he said. “It’s just as great as ever.”
Rain put a bit of a damper on Friday’s events, those who rode before the weather hit proved the coaster–which was first designed in the early 1910s–still has a lot more thrills left in it.
