This is a great wooden coaster that I got to ride last year before it closed. If this goes through as planned, it will be the closest coaster to the Raleigh area.Zippin Pippin to roll east
Coaster will be moved to N.C. amusement park
By Michael Lollar
Contact
October 28, 2006
Dolly Parton expressed an interest, but Elvis Presley's favorite amusement park ride, the Zippin Pippin, is headed for North Carolina.
Nashville partners in the Honky Tonk Hall of Fame bought the roller coaster at auction in June and said Friday they sold it to the tourism bureau in Roanoke Rapids, N.C.
Stephen Shutts, president of the Honky Tonk Hall of Fame, said the North Carolina town is developing a project, called Carolina Crossroads, similar to Branson, Mo., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn., with music and high-end shopping themes.
"They were most intrigued with the Elvis Presley connection and have plans for a quick dismantling and relocation of this wonderful piece of American history," Shutts said, adding it could begin in early winter.
He said the wooden coaster, installed in 1923, will be dismantled and reassembled in its new location near the North Carolina-Virginia border. It will be part of an amusement area including a 1,500-seat music theater in a 1,000-acre park.
Shutts declined to say how much Roanoke Rapids paid for the coaster. He and his partner paid $2,500 for the Zippin Pippin in June, and he said flying in prospective buyers to survey the ride soon "turned it into a $25,000 roller coaster." While he said he did not lose money, he would not be specific.
Shutts said country music superstar Parton, who operates Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, was interested in the Pippin because of its connection to Elvis. But he said Dollywood would have had to rearrange its layout to accommodate the 3,000-foot Pippin and soon realized it would "cost millions."
Denise Parkinson, founder of a Save Libertyland coalition, said Friday that Memphis should "make a counter-offer" in hopes of saving the Pippin.
"Memphis is losing an opportunity to create our own vintage rock and roll park."
Meanwhile, she said vandals are cutting fences to gain entry to Libertyland, stealing copper wiring from the remains of the park. It closed in 2005 after several seasons of falling attendance and financial losses.
Here are a few pictures of it from 2005 at Libertyland:
