Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom, Aurora, Ohio, USA -

The sale of Big Dipper to Harold Garmonsway and Kat Jones is not a done deal. The ride, a 1925 John Miller out and back wooden coaster, had its fate put in jeopardy when the park chain Cedar Fair shut down Geauga Lake, the park at which the ride operated. But now, according to savethebigdipper.org, the previous owners are not entirely committed to selling and plan to cancel the deal. The pair’s goal is to save Big Dipper from destruction by the party that bought the ride, Apex Western Machinery Movers, who stated that they would move the coaster to an undisclosed client.

This issue is only further complicated by the fact that according to Harold’s and Kat’s website the original buyer would demolish the coaster. However, the website never says that Apex is the current owner anywhere. Comments on the Save the Big Dipper website have also expressed confusion about why the website's “About the Project” page says that the pair actually bought the ride on September 30th.

A large problem is that they need 300,000 dollars to dismantle and store the coaster. The site has so far raised 384 dollars, far short of their goal. Further issues were raised in comments on various posts. One stated that after donating the anonymous donor never received any notification about where the money was going to. A lack of updates on the website has led him or her to doubt whether or not the sale is actually going through at all. So far the only public response from was that no money was being used for legal matters and that the lack of updates is due to a need for privacy.

A few more minor problems have come up as well. These include parody website set up by the owner of a major theme park website, as well as a parody Facebook and Twitter account of the Save the Big Dipper website. But not everything is bad news, as the ride is reportedly in great condition due to diligent maintenance from the park and being constructed out of pressure treated lumber. So, even with numerous problems, the quest to save the ride is still on.