Giant Dipper

The Santa Cruz Giant Dipper is one of 7 Prior & Church designed "Bobs" twisters that opened along the amusement piers of California between 1923 and 1925. All of these coasters had heights of between 70 and 80 feet with first drops of around 70 feet. The trains all had newer two-seater cars with flanged wheels that were connected by ball and socket couplings that could negotiate the tight turns and sharp direction changes.

Unlike some of the other California Bobs coasters, the Santa Cruz ride starts with a surprise drop out of the station and into a long tunnel prior to the lift. The first drop of 65 feet rises into a beautiful fan curve that is a signature of many of the early Prior & Church twisters. Sadly all of the Church coasters are gone except for the Santa Cruz and San Diego Giant Dippers and the Dragon at Playland in New York. Both Giant Dippers are now U.S. National Historic Landmarks.