Adventureland Park in Iowa is already looking ahead to the 2021 season. The park quietly began removing its Dragon coaster while teasing its potential replacement/2021 addition on social media.
On Sunday, the park shared on Facebook the below graphic, which illustrates a knight preparing to slay a dragon.
Today, the park shared the same graphic but this time as a rotating GIF.
Could that suggest that an inverting ride (or coaster?) could replace Dragon? It’s too soon to tell, but the park is hinting at whatever is coming can take down a dragon.
Images of the coaster being dismantled began popping up on Twitter last week:
https://twitter.com/CP_Coaster_Fan/status/1262141481718087681
A local news chopper captured Dragon’s removal (seen below). From this perspective, I can’t tell how carefully crews are dismantling the coaster. But given its age and its lesser-known manufacturer, I’m guessing that selling it would not be worth the time and effort.
Watch video of the flyover below:
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE DRAGON? KCCI’s Sky 8 drone shows construction crews taking apart The Dragon at Adventureland Park. pic.twitter.com/VhGqKLUWQx
— KCCI News (@KCCINews) May 19, 2020
As you can see in the video, the coaster occupies a large plot of land, allowing for a sizable replacement to open in 2021.
Dragon’s History
Manufactured by Hopkins Rides, Dragon opened in 1990. The double-looping coaster stood 90 feet tall and featured a 2,250-foot-long layout.
Dragon’s iconic back-to-back vertical loops were commonly featured in the park’s marketing efforts.
While researching the coaster’s history, I found the below tweet featuring a newspaper clipping from the coaster’s grand opening:
From 1990: @DMRegister coverage of Adventureland's newest thrill ride, The Dragon. pic.twitter.com/CdEaK15npp
— Des Moines Register Vault (@DMRegisterVault) May 19, 2020
The park has opened two new roller coasters in the last 5 years. Monster, the Gerstlauer Infinity coaster debuted in 2016. Phoenix, a Maurer spinning coaster opened in 2019. Following Dragon’s removal, the park is now home to five coasters.
Did you ride Dragon at Adventureland? What do you think of the park removing it? Let us know in the comments section below.
And what do you think Adventureland is planning for 2021? Share your ideas in the comments section below.
I road the ride it was cool fun and exhilarating
I am sad that they took away “The Dragon” roller coaster. It was a great exhilarating adventurous ride. The only upside roller coaster in Iowa. I am disappointed that it is no longer a part of Adventureland!
“The only upside roller coaster in Iowa” What? Dragon Slayer and Monster both go upside down. And pretty soon there will be two at Lost Island in Waterloo that invert as well.