Drop the Dip

{{Short description|Defunct roller coaster in Coney Island}} {{About|the roller coaster at Luna Park named Trip to the Moon|the dark ride at Luna Park|A Trip to the Moon (attraction)}} {{Infobox roller coaster | name = Drop the Dip | logo =  | logodimensions =  | image = Drop the Dip 1915 Coney Island.jpg | imagedimensions =  | caption = Entrance to Drop the Dip on Coney Island Bowery | previousnames = | location = Coney Island | locationarticle = Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903) | section =  | subsection =  | coordinates = {{Coord|40.5744|-73.9786|display=title,inline}} | status = Removed | opened = {{Start date|1907|06|06}} | soft_opened =  | year =  | closed = In the 1930s | cost = | previousattraction = | replacement = | type =  | type2 =  | type3 =  | manufacturer = Arthur Jarvis | manufacturerarticle = Arthur Jarvis (Luna Park) | designer = Christopher Feucht, Welcome Mosley | model = | track = | lift = | height_ft = 60 | height_m =  | drop_ft =  | drop_m =  | length_ft =  | length_m =  | speed_mph =  | speed_km/h =  | inversions = | duration = 1 minute 30 seconds | angle =  | capacity = | acceleration =  | acceleration_from =  | acceleration_mph =  | acceleration_km/h =  | acceleration_in =  | gforce = | restriction_ft =  | restriction_in =  | restriction_cm =  | trains =  | carspertrain = 1 | rowspercar = 2 | ridersperrow = 2 | virtual_queue_name = | virtual_queue_image =  | virtual_queue_status =  | virtual_queue_name2 = | virtual_queue_image2=  | virtual_queue_status2= | single_rider =  | accessible =  | transfer_accessible =  | assistive_listening =  | cc =  | theme = | website =  | rcdb_number = 3834 | custom_label_1 = | custom_value_1 = | custom_label_2 = | custom_value_2 = | custom_label_3 = | custom_value_3 = | custom_label_4 = | custom_value_4 = | custom_label_5 = | custom_value_5 = | custom_label_6 = | custom_value_6 = | custom_label_7 = | custom_value_7 = | custom_label_8 = | custom_value_8 = | video =  | videosize =  | videocaption = }}

'''Drop the Dip''', later known as '''Trip to the Moon''',<ref name="Coney Island History Project">{{cite web |url=http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/collection/drop-dip |title=Drop the Dip |author= |date=July 6, 2016 |website=Coney Island History Project |access-date=June 26, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308210202/http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/collection/drop-dip |archive-date=March 8, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Trip to the Moon RCDB">{{cite RCDB |coaster_name=Trip to the Moon |location=Luna Park |rcdb_number=3834 |accessdate=June 26, 2017 |url=https://rcdb.com/3834.htm }}</ref> was a wooden roller coaster that operated at several locations in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, in the early 20th century. The coaster is considered by some to have been the first truly high-speed roller coaster.<ref name="Incredible Scream Machine">{{cite book |last=Cartmell |first=Robert |date=1987 |title=The Incredible Scream Machine: A History of the Roller Coaster |location=Fairview Park, OH and Bowling Green, OH |publisher=Amusement Park Books, Inc. and Bowling Green State University Popular Press |isbn=0879723416 }}</ref>

==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.<ref name="Incredible Scream Machine"/><ref name="New York Chronology">{{cite book |last=Trager |first=James |date=2003 |title=The New York Chronology: The Ultimate Compendium of Events, People, and Anecdotes from the Dutch to the Present |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorkchronolog00trag_0 |location=New York, NY |publisher=HarperResource |isbn=0060523417 |url-access=registration }}</ref>

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.<ref name="Coney Island Playground">{{cite book |last=Immerso |first=Michael |date=2002 |title=Coney Island: The People's Playground |location=New Brunswick, NJ |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=0813531381 }}</ref><ref name="Mental Floss">{{cite magazine |last=Finn |first=Alan |date=July 30, 2014 |title=10 Roller Coasters That Changed America |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/58035/10-roller-coasters-changed-america |magazine=Mental Floss |access-date=June 26, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407053115/http://mentalfloss.com/article/58035/10-roller-coasters-changed-america |archive-date=April 7, 2016 }}</ref> The coaster was also the first to feature lap bars.<ref name="Incredible Scream Machine"/><ref name="Mental Floss"/> ''Mental Floss'' listed the coaster as one of the "10 Roller Coasters that Changed America".<ref name="Mental Floss"/>

==History== The coaster opened on June 6, 1907, in the Bowery area of Coney Island to significant success.<ref name="New York Chronology"/><ref name="Incredible Scream Machine"/> It operated for only a little more than a month, however, before it was destroyed by the 1907 Steeplechase Park fire.<ref name="Coney Island Playground"/> Soon after it was destroyed, Feucht rebuilt the coaster in even more extreme form.<ref name="Trip to the Moon RCDB"/> 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<ref name="Incredible Scream Machine"/><ref name="Coney Island 150 Years">{{cite book |last=Phalen |first=William J. |date=2016 |title=Coney Island: 150 Years of Rides, Fires, Floods, the Rich, the Poor and Finally Robert Moses |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1476623733 }}</ref> and then was moved once more to Luna Park in 1924<ref name="Trip to the Moon RCDB"/> (then changing its name to Trip to the Moon)<ref name="Coney Island 150 Years"/> Throughout the years and moves, Feucht continued to make adjustments and improvements to the coaster. He also worked sometimes as a ride operator.<ref name="Incredible Scream Machine"/> The ride was popular at Coney Island<ref name="Incredible Scream Machine"/> and earned around $20,000 a year on a ticket price of 25 cents.<ref name="Coney Island History Project"/><ref name="Coney Island 150 Years"/>

==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 {{convert|450|by|65|ft|m}}, the ride was 90 seconds in length.<ref name="Coney Island History Project"/><ref name="Coney Island 150 Years"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Coney Island Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Brooklyn Category:Former roller coasters in New York (state)

Drop the Dip

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