ACE Landmark Roller Coaster Sea Dragon at the Columbus Zoo And Aquarium, Ohio

Sea Dragon is the oldest roller coaster remaining from famed designer John Allen, earning it the distinction as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark.

During the height of the postwar baby boom of the 1950s, amusement parks began adding junior-sized roller coasters, designed for younger riders. John Allen, president of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, began designing his own coasters after taking control of PTC in 1954. Among his first designs were three nearly identical junior wooden coasters that opened between 1956 and 1957, at three different parks.

The first was at a zoo amusement park, located adjacent to the Columbus Zoo in Powell, Ohio, with construction supervised by PTC’s Frank Hoover. Originally called Jet Flyer, the coaster has a height of 37 feet, reaching a top speed of 25 mph along 1,320 feet of track. The coaster was based on earlier junior coasters designed by Allen’s mentor, Herbert Schmeck. This classic design takes riders in a figure-eight pattern through dips and turns, and is intended for a more family-friendly audience.

The coaster was renamed Sea Dragon in 1984 after the park was leased to Funtime, Inc., and the park rebranded to Wyandot Lake. Six Flags took control of the park from 1996 un6l 2006, and a year later, management returned to the Columbus Zoo, which annexed the park and included a complete refurbishment of the coaster.

All have provided the care needed to keep this classic running for the last 66 years, making it the oldest operating wooden roller coaster in the state of Ohio. While its sister rides, “the Flyer” at Hunt’s Pier and “Valley Volcano” at Angela Park have been lost to the test of time, Sea Dragon still offers riders a chance to experience a piece of history at the Columbus Zoo.

Sea Dragon is also recognized as an ACE Coaster Classic, owing to its traditional operating methods including hand-pulled manual brakes and no seat dividers.