Lakemont Park decided to keep their rides closed for the 2025 season, which includes the historic Leap-The-Dips and Skyliner roller coasters. Lakemont Park has gone through a transformation from a traditional amusement park to a community park with batting cages, basketball courts, and other recreational activities, with amusement rides less prioritized. However, two of the few rides that remain at the park are historically significant to not only Lakemont Park, but to the world and the amusement industry as a whole.

Leap-The-Dips is the oldest standing roller coaster in the world as well as the last remaining figure-eight side friction coaster. It gives a unique ride experience you cannot find on any other roller coaster in today's modern theme parks, and who can imagine Lakemont Park without Leap-The-Dips? It's likely the first thing that comes to mind when heard the words, "Lakemont Park". Not to mention it's hard to find a roller coaster nowadays where you can just sit on a couch and go for a joy ride with no long lines. 

Skyliner is a classic wooden roller coaster that was relocated to the park from Roseland Park in New York. It is loved by many classic coaster enthusiasts, especially because it is part of a dying breed of wooden coasters that have unrestrictive lap bars nicknamed "buzz bars", allowing riders to experience the drops' airtime to its full potential. Skyliner also serves as an artificial "cheerleader" to the Altoona Curves at the adjacent baseball stadium. Try to imagine going to a Curves game without Skyliner's train cheering "GO CURVES" in the background with people on the train having a fun time. What's not to love about the classic wooden roller coaster and America's pastime right next to each other?

This century has brought the end to multiple historic roller coasters, such as Jack Rabbit at Clementon Lake Park, Big Dipper at the defunct Geauga Lake, and more recently the Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake Park, all of which were beloved attractions. With Lakemont Park's coasters standing but not operating, the condition of the two coasters could deteriorate and lead to a likely removal. Despite Leap The Dips being a National Historic Landmark and ACE Coaster Landmark, that doesn't completely take away the risk of demolition, plus the coaster has been almost demolished in the 1980s, but was eventually saved thanks to generous donations from the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) and ride enthusiasts. With Leap-The-Dips back into a similar situation, we must ensure that it is saved once again. It cannot suffer the fate of coasters like Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake Park which was destroyed along with the memories of generations of guests who rode it over the years.

Many people, especially coaster enthusiasts, believe that these coasters, especially Leap-The-Dips, should be relocated to another park, such as Knoebels. While that may seem ideal as Knoebels is well-known for rescuing and maintaining historic attractions (they even resurrected an extinct coaster model in the wooden bobsled coaster Flying Turns), there would be problems with that. Leap-The-Dips was built in 1902, a time where safety regulations were very minimal, as the cars have no restraints other than a grab bar as well as no "upstop wheels" to keep the cars firmly on the track. Being at the same park for over 100 years, Leap-The-Dips was grandfathered in to run exactly the same over the years, preserving the unique historic feel and charm to the coaster. A relocation would likely require significant upgrades to the coaster to bring it up to modern safety standards, such as lap bars, automatic brakes, and possibly a new track system that is not "side-friction". These changes would take away the historic feel and charm of Leap-The-Dips, especially since most of the thrills in the very tame layout come from the feeling of freedom on both the riders and the cars as they "leap the dips". This is why Leap-The-Dips should remain in operating condition at Lakemont Park, and the park should feel proud of having such a unique historic treasure that provides thrills that cannot be found at any other amusement park. 

These coasters, especially Leap-The-Dips, are attractions that put Lakemont Park on the radar for tourists around the world due to their historical significance and unique ride experiences. Without these coasters, Lakemont Park is a lesser-known destination that won't attract people outside of the Altoona area. There are many community parks across the nation with plenty of sports courts and batting cages. But how many have actual rideable museum pieces? Lakemont Park must keep these attractions around for generations to come to keep Lakemont Park as a bucket list destination for people around the world and not just another local community park.