Woo Hoo! A Legend of an Amusement Park

Wooooo! Yeeeeeeah! Let's do it again! One more time!

There is just something to love about those old wooden roller coasters, and the "Legend" at Arnold's Park makes you love it. At first glance you notice its small imposing curved posture as you walk to the park's entrance from the parking lot. You may think this is just another small, old coaster. The coaster's train rumbles overhead, almost in slow motion, and you think there could be no thrill left in that roller coaster. It's a classic white wooden coaster, with distinctive red rails and railing.

As you walk through the entrance of Arnold's Park, you walk under the station house of the Legend, and notice the old Tipsy House built into the coaster's infrastructure. Although it seems old and outdated, you enter out of curiosity. Walking around, you feel as though you drank too much at a college kegger, and somehow your mind has been completely flipped and you can't decipher up from down. Finally, you get to the "balcony" of the Tipsy House, hoping to find some relief from the topsy turvy feelings beginning to rumble in your tummy. Grabbing hold of the railing, you look out at a spectacular view of Lake Okoboji and feel the cool breeze through your hair. Yet, the sloping floor beckons you to finish the tour of the Tipsy House.

Finally, you exit the architectural antics of the Tipsy House and find yourself in front of the Mirror Maze. You enter, thinking two things: this is a kiddie attraction, and so was the Tipsy House, so you never know. Walking in you think that to make it difficult you will not look down. BAM! Okay, so it's not so easy. You make it to the back of the Mirror Maze, and the wacky, wavy mirrors in the back make you wonder why we have diets when we ought to replace conventional flat mirrors with these.

Managing to make it out of the Mirror Maze mostly unscathed, you view the elevated station for the Legend roller coaster and notice the short line for the ride. You begin to walk over to the plank for the coaster when the horn from the park's train honks in your direction. You are again sidetracked glancing over at the park's train, with its nostalgic engine, coaster cars moving past you, and the ding of the railroad crossing sign warning pedestrians to get out of the way.

You then become determined to ride the Legend as it calls you to ascend the ramp to the station. Balancing yourself against the strip of wood on the plank to the station, you wait in anticipation as the train comes into the station with shouts of satisfied coaster riders. You wonder how such a coaster could make people scream like that.

You sit in the car, the fourth row from the front, and notice both a lap bar and safety belt. You think, there's probably a reason for the safety belt, and you tighten the strap across your lap. The train leaves the station and dips below the exit of the Tipsy House before hooking up with the chain drive that leads the coaster up to the first summit. Clinkety, clankety sounds echo like an amusement park bell choir and the air seems oddly still for a moment. Then, the breeze comes up again, catching the leaves of the surrounding large, old oak trees that thrive in this area. The branches bend down as if they were trying to high five the thrill-seekers in the coaster cars. Looking up around the rustling branches, you see at the peak an ominous sign: The Point of No Return.

The car begins to go past the sign as the coaster sends you downward and you gulp to catch your breath for a moment. You let out a whoop of excitement as you pass under a section of the roller coaster you have yet to experience. The train leads you up to the curve and you feel as if you are flying. Nothing extreme. Pleasant. As if you are a hawk flying among the grand oak trees that frame the coaster.

Once you feel that this is a nice, tame coaster, you plunge downward, then feel airborne as if you are about to be ejected from your seat. Not so tame after all. You scream and now know why people love the Legend at Arnold's Park.



(Thanks to the Youtuber Greiman23 who made this video.)

Airtime, my friend, wonderful airtime. That is what makes them scream, wanting to come back for more. Something too amazing to capture on video. It's not just any old airtime, this coaster makes you fly, float, and you feel your heart soar as the last two hills take your breath away. As the train pulls toward the station, you see the lake, with its waves that twinkle at you. It charms your soul into exhilarating screams of gratitude--Woooo! Yeeeeeah! Let's do it again! One more time!!


The Legend roller coaster at Arnold's Park, Iowa, USA is the 7th oldest coaster in the USA and the 13th oldest in the world. It was built in 1927 as a freeform figure 8 design by John A. Miller, John F. Pierce and Harry Baker, manufactured by the Philadelphia Toboggan Co. The ride time is one minute 12 seconds, a height of 63 feet, and speeds on its tracks at 50 mph. Originally called the Giant Coaster, when I went to the park as I was growing up (1970s and 1980s), it was called the Big Coaster, and around 1995 it was renamed The Legend.

As I grew up, Arnold's Park also featured an indoor skating rink and the Roof Garden that held a dance hall, retail shops, and the Fun House, that had a spinning horizontal barrel, moving planks (back and forth, and up and down), a spinning wooden king of the hill type of ride, and, my favorite, the large wooden slides.

In 1968, the Roof Garden was hit by a tornado and rebuilt, however its days were numbered. The Roof Garden was a popular concert venue (featuring area bands and nationally-internationally recorded groups, including one of the last bands to play: The Romantics) up until its ultimate demise in 1987 when the park closed and many of the buildings were razed, including the Roof Garden, that met its fate with the local firefighters who burned it down as a training exercise. Arnold's Park was reopened in 1989, with a refurbished roller coaster and fewer attractions.

In 1999, Arnold's Park was purchased and threatened to close as the new owners had ambitious plans for a condominium complex. They gave the community an ultimatum that they had to raise around 4 million dollars to save the park. In 30 days, the community rallied to save the park and raised well over 7 million dollars.

They have since added several rides, including a log flume, a kid's play park, and a very nice mini-putt-putt course, along with some nice landscaping around the park. Arnold's Park is alive and well, and in my opinion, doing even better than I can remember.

If you want to experience The Legend and the rest of Arnold's Park Amusement Park, it's located on Lake Okoboji in northwest Iowa, USA, just off Highway 71 on Lake Street in Arnolds Park, Iowa (yes, the town has the same name).