Giant Dipper for kids
The Roller Coaster Built in 47 Days. The true story of Giant Dipper, near Santa Cruz, CA, told for kids.
Read along
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack! Look way up! Can you spot a big wooden roller coaster? That's the Giant Dipper, and it is very, very old. It opened in 1924, when your great-grandparents might have been kids.
And here's the whoa part. People built the whole thing in just forty-seven days! That's faster than some people build a treehouse. It's made of wood, so it creaks and rattles like a giant wooden dinosaur waking up. The cars zoom as fast as a car on the highway, fifty-five miles an hour.
Since it opened, more than sixty-eight million riders have screamed on it, and it is still running today! Now it's your turn. Take a big breath and make your loudest roller coaster scream, whee! Then look for the tall, bumpy tracks poking above the rooftops.
Quiz the back seat
How long did it take to build the Giant Dipper?
Show the answer
Forty-seven days. Forty-seven days! And it is still running today, carrying riders more than ninety years later!
3 fun facts
- The Giant Dipper opened on May 17, 1924.
- It was built in 47 days.
- It reaches 55 mph and has carried over 68 million riders.
For grown-ups
Every Tumbly story is checked claim by claim against the sources below before it's published; stories that don't pass stay off the app and this site. Narration is pre-recorded, and nothing you do on this page is tied to your kids.
Sources
- beachboardwalk.com/rides/giant-dipper
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Dipper_(Santa_Cruz_Beach_Boardwalk)
- news.beachboardwalk.com/the-boardwalks-most-popular-ride-the-giant-dipper
- facebook.com/groups/SantaCruzHistoryShare/posts/8153362521390776
- facebook.com/themeparkreview/videos/giant-dipper-roller-coaster-santa-cruz-beach-boardwalk/571554278828479
- facebook.com/californialandmarkfoundation/videos/the-giant-dipper-is-a-historic-wooden-roller-coaster-located-at-the-santa-cruz-b/2148018262816428
- facebook.com/SantaCruzBeachBoardwalk/posts/were-just-a-few-thrills-away-from-hitting-our-70-millionth-giant-dipper-rider-to/1541727394664956
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