Six Flags Great America
Gurnee, Illinois
August 4 & 5, 2011
Page Three






The last time Bond and I saw the Little Dipper it was in our rear view mirror as we drove away from Chicago's Kiddieland Amusement Park a few weeks before the park closed for ever. 



Bond was in tears because he just couldn't stomach seeing such a fun and wonderful place close and to think that he just had his final ride ever on a coaster. 



The death of someone or something you love when you're nine is hard to take so I explained to him that Kiddieland wasn't totally dead.  Instead it'd live along in our memories and that hopefully the rides would bring smiles to people's faces elsewhere after they were sold at auction.  It was hard to cheer him up that day but a few months later when Six Flags Great America purchased the Little Dipper with the intention of saving the classic coaster he had as big a grin as he had when riding the Little Dipper.  His final ride wasn't so final.



What really brought a smile to my face was that Six Flags Great America really went out of their way not just to save the Little Dipper but to keep the memory of Kiddieland alive with all sorts of information and photos about the park and the ride
+ that you can read about while waiting in line.



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Paul B. Drabek