Giant Dipper

The Giant Dipper is a well-known wooden roller coaster located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. It opened on May 17, 1924. It is the sixth-oldest roller coaster in the United States; over 50 million riders have ridden it since its opening. The United States National Park Service recognized the Giant Dipper as part of a National Historic Landmark also covering the nearby Looff carousel in 1987. It is ... more

The Giant Dipper is a well-known wooden roller coaster located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. It opened on May 17, 1924. It is the sixth-oldest roller coaster in the United States; over 50 million riders have ridden it since its opening. The United States National Park Service recognized the Giant Dipper as part of a National Historic Landmark also covering the nearby Looff carousel in 1987. It is also an ACE Coaster Landmark. The ride has appeared in many television commercials and movies, including The Lost Boys, Sudden Impact and Dangerous Minds. The Giant Dipper, which is located between walkways 3 and 4 at 400 Beach Street in Santa Cruz, California, was designed by Frank Prior and Fredrick Church with a double out and back layout similar to the Mission Beach Roller Coaster built in 1925 in San Diego, California. The Giant Dipper was built by Arthur Looff in 1924 in just 47 days at a cost of $50,000. Looff described his plans for... less