originally posted on 2/3/2023
All photos courtesy of GCII. View full-sized image.
Tucked away in Iowa, Arnolds Park is the name of a traditional amusement park in a city of the same name. Its signature attraction is The Legend roller coaster that dates back to 1930. Both the coaster and the park are testaments to preservation.
The property was officially named Arnolds Park in 1882. Tourist novelties were sold, and the boating and leisure spot became popular. A 60-foot toboggan-style waterslide was perhaps the first “ride” in 1889. Pavilions catered to the dancing crowd in the years following. Other activities and rides kept the property growing.
In 1930, 200 men built Giant Dips. Over time, it became known as Speed Hound and Big Coaster. Today, it is called The Legend.
More rides and coasters, as well as excursion boats on Lake Okoboji, continued to make the property a family favorite.
But things changed in the 1980s. It was a downward period for the park, and by the late 1980s, its future was uncertain. Plans were to level it and build condominiums.
A group of investors stepped in and changed things. The amusement park reopened, as did the wooden coaster.
The first drop and curve along the entrance drive have been rebuilt.
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Flash forward to today and Arnolds Park operates as a nonprofit. The current management has done an exemplary job of maintaining the wooden coaster. In recent years, Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCII) has been at work rebuilding parts of the coaster during the off-season. This third year of refurbishment completes the project. According to GCII President Clair Hain Jr., the entire ride will be new with the exception of the station. (Of note, the top of the station serves as the delightful Tipsy House.) The park has refurbished the train, and GCII has upgraded the brake system.
The recent structural work included the first drop and the big turnaround facing the entrance drive. Instead of simple piers, new concrete pads, similar to sidewalks were poured for a sturdier foundation, and the entire structure was rebuilt.
The plan is to repaint it white, and the coaster is expected to reopen with the park this spring for the 2023 season.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
New “sidewalks” have replaced individual pilings.
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