Drop the Dip, later known as Trip to the Moon,
was a
wooden
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...
roller coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
that operated at several locations in
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, in the early 20th century. The coaster is considered by some to be the first truly high-speed roller coaster.
Design
While innovative in its design, Drop the Dip was also noteworthy for how this design came about. A carpenter by the name of Christopher Feucht supposedly saw a toy model of a roller coaster in the office of his dentist, Welcome Mosley. Feucht was intrigued by the exaggerated hills and turns of Mosley's model coaster and asked Mosley to partner with him in designing and building a similar roller coaster in full scale.
Several authors have argued that the "extreme" elements in Drop the Dip represented an important shift away from a more sedate approach to earlier roller coaster design.
The coaster was also the first to feature
lap bars.
''Mental Floss'' listed the coaster as one of the "10 Roller Coasters that Changed America".
History
The coaster opened on June 6, 1907 in the Bowery area of Coney Island to significant success.
It operated for only a little more than a month, however, before it was destroyed by the 1907
Steeplechase Park
Steeplechase Park was a amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Steeplechase Park was created by entrepreneur George C. Tilyou in 1897 and operated until 1964. It was the first of the three large amusement parks built on Cone ...
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
.
Soon after it was destroyed, Feucht rebuilt the coaster in even more extreme form.
The coaster was also moved several times after the fire. It was moved across the street during the 1910s (in 24 hours) to acquire better rent values
and then was moved once more to
Luna Park
Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...
in 1924
(then changing its name to Trip to the Moon)
Throughout the years and moves, Feucht continued to make adjustments and improvements to the coaster. He also worked sometimes as a ride operator.
The ride was popular at Coney Island
and earned around $20,000 a year on a ticket price of 25 cents.
Layout
In addition to its extreme drops and high speeds, Drop the Dip had a relatively compact footprint and short ride. Standing in a space of , the ride was 90 seconds in length.
References
{{Coney Island
Coney Island
Demolished buildings and structures in Brooklyn
Former roller coasters in New York (state)