Little Dipper

Little Dipper was originally built in 1950 at Kiddieland Amusement Park in Melrose Park, Illinois, designed by veteran PTC engineer Herbert Schmeck and constructed by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters at a cost of $20,000. For nearly six decades it operated as the sole roller coaster at the beloved family-run Kiddieland, its compact figure-eight layout of small hills and turns becoming a rite of passage for generations of Chicago-area children.

When a land dispute with the property's owners forced Kiddieland to close permanently in September 2009, its rides went to auction that November. Six Flags Great America — an unusual buyer for a family-park kiddie coaster — placed the winning bid at $33,000, explicitly framing the purchase as an effort to preserve a piece of Chicago amusement history rather than simply acquire a cheap attraction. The coaster was carefully dismantled, trucked to Gurnee, partially rebuilt with fresh lumber, and repainted before reopening under its original name on May 27, 2010, becoming the park's 14th coaster.

Now installed in the Kiddie Kingdom area, Little Dipper stands as the oldest structure of any kind at Six Flags Great America by a wide margin, predating the park itself by 26 years. Its continued operation gives young riders today a chance to experience an essentially unaltered mid-century PTC design that would otherwise have been lost when Kiddieland closed.