A-Z Coaster of the Week: Little Dipper at Six Flags Great America

For this week’s A-Z Coaster, we travel to Six Flags Great America for a little wooden roller coaster with an interesting past. Little Dipper debuted at Six Flags Great America in late May of 2010. But its story doesn’t begin there.

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The white figure-eight originally opened in 1950 at Kiddieland in Melrose Park, Illinois — just west of Chicago. When Kiddieland closed in 2009, Six Flags did the unexpected and saved the historic coaster from the wrecking ball.

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© Six Flags Great America

Little Dipper was designed by the legendary Herbert Schmeck, the designer of countless wooden coasters, including Phoenix at Knoebels’ Amusement Resort and Comet at The Great Escape.

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Little Dipper stands 28 feet tall and features a 700-foot-long layout. Its four car, 16-seat Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. zip around the layout at a kid-friendly pace.

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The park did a tremendous job of honoring Little Dipper’s past. Guests in line are treated to an overview of the coaster’s history.

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Six Flags as a chain is not known to save roller coasters from closing amusement parks. In fact, I’m not sure of any other Six Flags park that has done this (please correct me in the comments section below if I’m mistaken).

But that’s why Six Flags Great America is one of my favorite parks in the Six Flags family.

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Have you ridden Little Dipper in its current or previous home? Share your thoughts about the coaster in the comments section below.

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