Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk The Giant Dipper

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk The Giant Dipper is a historic wooden roller coaster located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. The Giant Dipper, which replaced the Thompson’s Scenic Railway, took 47 days to build and opened on May 17, 1924 at a cost of $50,000. With a height of 70 feet (21 m) and a speed of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h), it is one of the most popular wooden roller coasters in the world. As of 2012, over 60 million people have ridden the Giant Dipper since its opening. The ride has received several awards such as being named a National Historic Landmark, a Golden Age Coaster award, and a Coaster Landmark award. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California’s oldest surviving amusement park[1] and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States. The Looff Carousel is located near the Riverside Avenue entrance to the park. The carousel has 73 unique horses and two chariots or seats, and is a ‘pure’ carousel asall the horses were carved by one master carver.[4] The Looff Carousel is one of six remaining intact in the United States.[5] The carousel includes a brass ring dispenser. Riders on the outside jumping horses can reach out and try to grab rings which then get tossed at the target which is a large clown’s mouth. It was originally manually operated but was mechanized around 1950. It is one of only twenty ring dispensers still operating in the world. Sometimes, riders keep the rings to remember their visit. The carousel also has five organs: the original 342-pipe Ruth & Sohn organ from 1894, a Wurlitzer 165 organ from 2007, a Wurlitzer 146 organ from 2011, a Wurlitzer 125 organ from 2032, and a Wurlitzer Caliola from 2036. beach boardwalk rides,santa cruz beach boardwalk all rides,santa cruz boardwalk rides,beach boardwalk santa cruz,beach boardwalk,santa cruz beach boardwalk,santa cruz beach boardwalk kiddie rides,Santa cruz beach boardwalk scary rides,beach boardwalk song,santa cruz boardwalk,rolercoaster,rollercoast,merrygoround,log ride,santa cruz,roller coaster,beach boardwalk,santa cruz boardwalk,santa cruz boardwalk tsunami,santa cruz boardwalk commercial,Beach boardwalk rides The Plunge, now Neptune’s Kingdom, a pirate-themed recreation center which contains a video arcade and an indoor miniature golf course. Next to this is the Casino Fun Center The boardwalk extends along the coast of the Monterey Bay, from just east of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. At the western edge of the park lies a large building originally known as The Plunge, now Neptune’s Kingdom, a pirate-themed recreation center which contains a video arcade and an indoor miniature golf course. Next to this is the Casino Fun Center which includes a laser tag arena and next to that is the Cocoanut Grove banquet room and conference center. A Laffing Sal automated character, from San Francisco’s Playland, is viewable near the miniature golf course. The main beach and boardwalk East of the casino, the boardwalk portion of the park stretches along a wide, sandy Main Beach visitors can access easily from the park. The eastern end of the boardwalk is dominated by the Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster that is one of the most visible landmarks in Santa Cruz. The Dipper and the Looff Carousel, which still contains its original 342-pipe organ built in 1894, are both on the US National Register of Historic Places. They were, together, declared to be a National Historic Landmark in 1987[2] and the park is California Historical Landmark number 983.