Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin is arguably the best value amusement park
in the country.
In a day and age when it feels like theme parks are trying to drain every dollar from
guests wallets with rising costs of admission, parking fees, and additional upcharges, Bay
Beach stands out as a ridiculously cheap destination for family fun.
And this park also happens to have a solid headlining coaster in Zippin Pippin as well.
However, not many coaster enthusiasts make the trek up to Bay Beach despite the positive
reviews of Zippin Pippin because of the park’s location in northern Wisconsin.
But is it actually worth the detour?
Find out in this review of Bay Beach Amusement Park.
One of the most unique things about Bay Beach is that it’s owned by the city of Green
Bay.
It’s exceedingly rare to find a municipally owned park nowadays, but it wasn’t always
this way.
Bay Beach originally opened in 1892 as Bay View Beach and was owned by a private businessman.
However, the park was sold to the City of Green Bay in 1920, which is when the park
was renamed to the name it goes by today in Bay Beach.
And this park feels distinctly different.
Many cities have a downtown park.
For example, New York has Central Park.
And Boston has the Boston Common.
These are giant green spaces that offer a relaxing contrast to the skyscrapers of downtown.
In a way, Bay Beach feels like Green Bay’s city park.
Unlike most parks that are gated, Bay Beach is open on all sides.
So you can roam into the park from any direction.
Further, Bay Beach has a really relaxing atmosphere.
The park just doesn’t have that corporate hustle and bustle feel of most parks.
The park is located adjacent to the scenic Dead Horse Bay, so you get a refreshing breeze
along with some fantastic views.
The original section of the park is extremely well shaded and the ride collection oozes
that classic amusement park feel, as the rides tend to be on the older side.
However, they are all very well maintained sporting fresh coats of paint.
The newer section with Zippin Pippin doesn’t have the same charm though.
The contrast in appearance reminds me of Knott’s Berry Farm when you go from the charming,
well-themed Ghost Town to the asphalt jungle known as the Boardwalk.
At Bay Beach, this back section has barely any trees or shade.
It’s a big, spread out plot with only 3-4 rides.
And it felt awkwardly dead on the day I visited as most of the foot traffic was in the original
section of the park.
This area doesn’t look bad by any means, it just contrasts mightily with the feel of
the rest of the park.
When you arrive at Bay Beach, there are a few different lots to park in- all of which
are free.
And then you’re free to walk into the park without paying any sort of admission.
If you want to ride anything, you have to buy individual ride tickets at the ticket
booth.
There are two ticket booths.
One adjacent to the main parking lot and one by Zippin Pippin.
On the day I visited, only the main ticket booth was open due to the extremely low crowds.
Unlike most parks with the pay-per-ride structure, Bay Beach almost never has pay-one-price wristbands
except on a few special days of the year.
Most parks with the pay-per-ride pricing structure become expensive very quickly.
It’s not uncommon for kiddie rides to cost $3-4 and larger rides to cost $5-10.
However, Bay Beach is different.
I long thought Knoebels was the best value in the community since their elite wood coasters
only cost $3-4.
But Bay Beach smashes Knoebels in the value department.
All rides at Bay Beach cost between 1-4 tickets.
And each ticket costs just 25 cents.
Most kiddie rides cost 1 ticket or 25 cents.
Most family rides cost 2 tickets or 50 cents.
The larger flats cost 3 tickets or 75 cents.
And Zippin Pippin costs 4 tickets or all of $1.
That is incredible value!
That’s on par with those coin operated rides you see outside your local supermarket.
All the staff members I interacted with at Bay Beach were incredibly friendly at the
ticket booth, gift shop, and rides.
And the crews working the rides checked the restraints quickly once they began the process.
However, the staff had a tendency to hold the ride whenever anyone new entered the queue.
This was a bit annoying when they’d complete the restraint check process for a flat only
to let someone new on the ride, causing them to restart the process.
But this was a product of visiting on a really quiet day.
Based on how quickly the staff seems willing to check restraints, I suspect these rides
are cycling non-stop on busy weekends when the operator already has enough guests in
line to fill the entire ride.
And on that note, let’s move onto the ride lineup.
Bay Beach consists mostly of flat rides, but they do have a single roller coaster that
some consider a standout in Zippin Pippin.
I have a separate review on this coaster, but I think it’s a great ride if you ride
in the back car.
The first two drops offer some glorious sustained fl-jector airtime and you also have a few
other strong airtime pops scattered about the coaster’s out-and-back layout.
This coaster is incredibly smooth and it has a rich history.
Zippin Pippin opened at Bay Beach in 2011, but the ride’s layout was designed almost
a century earlier.
This coaster originally operated in Memphis, Tennessee from the mid-1910s to 2005.
And the coaster gained notoriety as Elvis Presley’s favorite roller coaster.
But after Libertyland closed in 2005, the original Zippin Pippin’s future was in doubt
and the coaster’s structure became unsalvageable.
Then early in 2010, Bay Beach Amusement Park looked into rescuing Zippin Pippin.
Understanding the poor condition of the ride’s structure, they purchased the ride’s blueprints
and designs.
They then contracted the Gravity Group to rebuild Zippin Pippin for them at their Green
Bay park.
The total cost of the project was $3.8 million, which is a major bargain for a signature roller
coaster.
There was a lot of opposition by the town council to spend that much money on an amusement
ride, but it completely changed the fortunes of Bay Beach.
The city estimated the ride needed 200,000 riders per year to make the project financially
feasible.
Zippin Pippin annually sees roughly 300,000 guests, or 50% more than the original target.
This has caused the park’s revenue to increase from $1.6 million in 2010, the year before
Zippin Pippin opened, to $3.6 million in 2019.
The success of Zippin Pippin has been the catalyst for Bay Beach’s growth over the
past decade.
And the park is clearly proud of Zippin Pippin since the ride has a beautiful entrance sign
and several other signs around the attraction detailing its history.
And that’s actually a cool touch Bay Beach does for several of their other rides.
Several attractions have information cards out front discussing where a specific ride
may have been relocated from or discussing its significance in the amusement industry.
The flat ride lineup focuses more on kiddie and family rides over thrill rides.
The two most thrilling flats are two pendulum rides located adjacent to Zippin Pippin.
You have the Sea Dragon swinging ship that offers some nice floater airtime and then
you have the Falling Star, which was unfortunately closed for my visit, but based on the versions
at other parks, it likely delivers some strong laterals.
Most of the other flat rides are of the spinning variety.
The rides tend to be on the older side, but they’re well-kept.
And you have a really rare Venture Rides Scat.
Like Falling Star, this was another ride closed for maintenance, but I also have ridden rides
like this elsewhere and they offer a dizzying and forceful ride experience.
I knew both these rides would be closed going into my visit since the park has a ride status
page on their website.
I strongly recommend checking this before your visit if there’s a specific group of
rides you are interested in riding.
One of the oddest things about Bay Beach is that they have not one, but two sizable ferris
wheels.
The Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel came first, but they recently added an even taller Chance
one called the Big Wheel.
I suspect the Eli Bridge ones days are numbered, but both offer awesome views of both the park
and bay.
In another instance of having double, Bay Beach is home to not one but two different
train rides.
The Santa Fe Railway travels outside the amusement area.
The other train circles around the newer area including the Zippin Pippin.
And if you have younger guests, there’s a sizable cluster of old kiddie rides near
the main entrance.
On the day I visited, these were the most popular rides in the park since a majority
of the park’s guests were families.
Due to my limited time at the park, I didn’t purchase any food, but from what I saw, it
was really cheap compared to most amusement parks.
I did purchase a Zippin Pippin shirt at the small gift shop by the main ticket booth and
most of the merchandise items seemed cheaper than what they’d cost at a major chain park.
So do I recommend Bay Beach?
If you’re a local, absolutely!
This is a scenic and relaxing park.
The ride lineup may not rival a Six Flags or Cedar Fair park, but it has something for
all ages and thrill levels.
And you’d be hard-pressed to find a cheaper amusement park.
Those heading to the Midwest on coaster trips often omit Bay Beach because of its location.
But is it really that far out of the way?
I see many enthusiasts visit Six Flags Great America and Mount Olympus.
And Bay Beach is just 3 hours from these parks.
Bay Beach doesn’t require too much time, especially since most enthusiasts will only
care about Zippin Pippin, so you can easily do a half day at one park and then spend a
few hours at Bay Beach.
And trust me, Zippin Pippin is worth the detour if you like classic wooden roller coasters.
So those are my thoughts on Bay Beach Amusement Park, the best value park in the United States.
Have you been to this park?
What do you think of Bay Beach?
I would love to hear your thoughts about this city owned park down in the comments.
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