Bay Beach Amusement Park
The history of Bay Beach Amusement Park dates back to 1892, when Mitchell Nejedlo purchased a piece of land along the shores of Green Bay, developed the beach and opened a small private amusement park. Just a few years later, visitors were brought to the park by excursion steamers, before a streetcar connection made getting there even easier.
Bay Beach continued to grow over the following years. In 1909, the large Pavilion was built, complete with a dance hall, restaurant and roller-skating rink, and the building remains to this day. In 1911, the increasingly popular park changed ownership. Another major change followed in 1920, when Fred Rahr and Frank Murphy turned the grounds and its attractions over to the City of Green Bay. Bay Beach has been municipally owned ever since.
Today, Bay Beach is one of the few municipally operated amusement parks in the United States and also ranks among the oldest amusement parks in the country.
Rides
After this little excursion into the park’s history, let’s take a closer look at what Bay Beach has to offer. The front section is home to numerous children’s rides alongside several classic American attractions. A Tilt-a-Whirl and Scrambler spin their riders around, while the Yo-Yo offers a somewhat more leisurely ride through the air.
Things get considerably wilder on Scat, a ride that you do not come across all that often anymore. Its standing cages initially resemble those of a classic Round-Up, but here you rotate around several axes at once. The unusual design of the cantilever arm adds yet another level of movement, sending you wildly around in circles while the whole thing follows a constant wave-like motion. It is a pretty crazy ride.
Around the historic Pavilion, there are several more attractions, including a surprisingly steep slide, a large Ferris wheel and, with Zamperla’s NebulaZ, one of the park’s more modern rides.
The park train also departs from this area. Its leisurely circuit takes you all the way around Zippin Pippin, providing some interesting views of the wooden coaster along the way.
Further into the park, there is also a beautifully landscaped swinging ship before we finally arrive at Bay Beach’s main attraction.
Zippin Pippin
Despite its historic roots, Zippin Pippin is actually a relatively young wooden roller coaster. The current ride was designed by The Gravity Group and opened at Bay Beach Amusement Park in 2011.
Its predecessor, however, was considerably older. The original Pippin opened in Memphis in 1923 and later became part of Libertyland, where it eventually became known as Zippin Pippin. The coaster also gained a certain degree of fame as Elvis Presley’s favorite roller coaster. When Libertyland closed in 2005, the ride ceased operation as well.
The City of Green Bay later acquired the name and design rights and had Zippin Pippin rebuilt for Bay Beach. The coaster in Green Bay is therefore not the relocated original from Memphis, but a new ride based on its historic predecessor.
And it certainly has a lot to offer. After the lift hill, the ride starts with a turnaround that provides a great view across the lake. There is not much time to enjoy it, though, as the large first drop quickly follows, leading into another turnaround above the station.
From there, Zippin Pippin races over a series of camelbacks, repeatedly lifting you nicely out of your seat. Another turnaround leads into the finale, where a few more hills bring the ride towards its conclusion.
I really enjoyed Zippin Pippin. It may not be particularly large, but its compact layout gets a lot out of its numerous hills and dips. The camelbacks in particular provide some great airtime. A really nice wooden coaster.
Pictures Bay Beach Amusement Park
Conclusion Bay Beach Amusement Park
Bay Beach is a nice little park for an hour or two. Alongside the many classic rides, Scat provides something a little more unusual, while Zippin Pippin is naturally the highlight of the visit.
The remarkably low ride prices are another nice feature. A ride on Zippin Pippin requires just six tickets at 25 cents each, meaning a ride on the wooden coaster costs only $1.50.
