While the gates are closed to the public at Adventureland, construction crews are hard at work dismantling a 30-year-old roller coaster.

The 'Dragon' is coming down, as you can see in the video below.

According to the Adventureland website, the 'Dragon' was "Iowa's only upside-down double looping roller coaster." Wikipedia says it made its debut at the popular theme park, which opened in 1974, in May of 1990. It's had quite a run. Take one final ride below.

So what's next? Good question. Adventureland has only released this teaser, saying the ride will open next year, in 2021.

Hmm... A knight with a sword and a fire-breathing dragon. I have to believe it will be another roller coaster. According to the Des Moines Register, Adventureland has opened a pair of them in the last several years, including The Monster in 2016 and The Phoenix last year. Adventureland Resort in Altoona is hoping to open for the 2020 season in June.

Adventureland has always done a great job of introducing new rides every few years but it's even more important that they do it now. Lost Island Theme Park, a $100 million park under construction in Waterloo, is scheduled to open in 2022.

The YouTube video from 'Park Pros' (below) makes some predictions about what to expect at the park. Gary Bertch, one of the owners of Lost Island Water Park who will also own the new theme park, told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier:

It’s all speculation on that guy’s part and we’re not going to confirm any of it. But some of them are pretty obvious. We weren’t trying to hide that.

Competition is a good thing, and Adventureland will definitely have some in a couple of years.

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