The Life & Times
The Mini Apple was a classic children's coaster themed as a giant caterpillar. It would take children on an exciting journey through a giant fibre-glass apple, passing around the track twice per ride. The coaster was perfect for budding thrill seekers as the drops and turns where exciting but very small.
The ride opened as the Junior Apple Coaster in Adventureland 4-11 in 1982, a name it kept until 1988 when it became known as the Mini Apple Coaster. The ride proved so popular in its first year that the park added the near-identical Dragon Coaster the following year.
The coaster survived the closure of Adventure Land 4-11 in 1991 and was relocated to become a headline attraction in the Land of Make Believe in 1993. It operated happily for 15 years until its removal in 1997.
But the story didn't end there... the ride was bought by Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, where it opened in 1998 and still operates to this day.