Lagoon: The Fun Starts Here 6/27

My wife’s little sister just got married and because of that we are back out in Idaho/Utah for the wedding and to see our families. On June 27th Lagoon was having its annual Delta day and since my dad flies for Delta my parents decided to get passes for all the kids in the family that were going to be in town. Nothing like having your park pass paid for by your parents. It is a great deal…20$ and that gets you in for the whole day plus they feed you a nice dinner with hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, chicken, soft drinks, chips, and ice cream!

I was excited to get back to Lagoon. It was my home park growing up and the last time I was there was two years ago on opening day just for an hour or so to ride the Spider and Wild Mouse. The Bat was still being finished at that time.

It was definitely nostalgic to go back this time especially with my wife and two little ones. I was also excited because I just might hit my 200th coaster if the few coasters that I hadn’t ridden were open.

We showed up at the park about 30 minutes after it had opened for the morning. Upon entering the park we saw the sign that said Wicked and Samurai would be closed along with a couple other rides. Samurai is always closed when I go but I was bummed about Wicked and my chance at getting 200 coasters.

Upon entering the park you see a nice new interactive water fountain and some huge marble fountain pieces of art work. The entrance looks extremely nice and very modern. What a great first impression! The park just seemed so well maintained and had a lot more charm to it than I remembered.

Now for the play by play. First up was the classic tilt-a-whirl. This day was so much fun because my kids and their two little cousins were there to ride with them. They had a blast on this classic ride and would have stayed there all day if we hadn’t pulled them to another ride.

Next up was the Flying Aces or the Flyers. The kids love this and I always have a blast on these. I am no good at snapping plus I had my two year old with me so I didn’t want to get too crazy, but this ride always brings a smile to everyone that rides. I rode the Rocket with my parents next. This is a standard S&S tower. One side shoots up and the other side shoots you down. We did the blast off. I love their rides. (More to come in the next report about S&S…all I can say is BOOM!)

Then we took a couple of spins on the Hydro Luge. This is a waterslide that you sit in a raft to go down. The kids loved it and all the parents liked it because it cooled us off but didn’t soak us.

We then went and got on one of the most unique rides I think Lagoon has. I have been racking my brain, but I cannot remember ever seeing this ride at another park. If someone else knows where one of these is at please let me know. Anyway it is called Paratrooper. It was installed clear back in 1966 and was manufactured by Hrubetz. It is like a cross between a Ferris Wheel and the swings. My son got on this thing 4 times in a row. We kept pretending that we were in a little fighter jet and we were on bombing runs. We had a blast!

While we rode all these rides we got a great look Jet Star 2! Lagoon you rock because this ride looks awesome and the park would not be the same without it. We didn’t ride this because the kids were too small, but I have ridden it before and it is so much fun and now it looks incredible.

We made our way to the south end of the park and all the kids wanted to ride the Musik Express. I took the outside seat then my dad and then 2 of the kids. Needless to say but I got smashed! I got to ride this a couple more times with the kids, but I made sure my dad was in a different car. Fun ride, great music and the kids loved it!

We headed over to the classic Schwarzkopf, Colossus to see if my five year old could ride it. He was 1 inch short! He was so disappointed. You have to be 46 inches to ride, which meant he couldn’t ride the Spider or the Wild Mouse either. He was pretty bummed since 2 months ago he rode Poweder Keg at Silver Dollar City. Since he couldn’t ride those we headed over to the Puff the Little Fire Dragon. After all the years I went to Lagoon I never got on this coaster. I think it was because I was always to cool to ride it but I am not too cool anymore, plus I had my kids with me. This would be my 198th coaster! As I was waiting in line I noticed two adults riding together and that is when I found out you don’t have to have a kid with you to ride this kiddie coaster! So all you coaster whores out there, don’t skip this one while you are at Lagoon because you can ride kidless! The kids loved it and I was one more coaster closer to the big milestone.

We then spent the next hour or so watching the kids ride every ride in KiddieLand. They had a great time especially on the Dinosaur Drop. Next up was the Bat and my 199th coaster. The Bat is the same Vekoma family coaster that you can find at King’s Island. It is an ok coaster but still too jerky. My son absolutely loved this ride and he got on it countless times with any of his aunt’s that he could coax onto the ride with him.

We went to the pavilion to rest for awhile and met back up with my parents. Wicked had opened up and they got on in about 20 minutes. So I asked my wife if she would watch the kids for a little bit while I went and took this new baby for a spin. She knew how much I was looking forward to riding this so she sent me on my way. We got to the line and it was just about full. It took us just under 20 minutes to get our ride. They kept about 5 separate trains moving on this thing. I was totally impressed with how they handle this ride and its capacity. We took the front row and you start out with a sharp turn to the left and you see this track going straight up out of the tunnel and before you know it you are zipping straight up it! With a quick whip over the top you start heading straight back down! A quick bunny hop follows and into a nicely overbanked left turn and now it is time to do a zero-g roll. This is an new inversion to Lagoon and many of its patrons. It is flawless. Up into a mid-course break and then it feels like you are riding a skateboard ramp as you turn your way through the last part of the ride with some trick track and a final dive into a tunnel and the brakes. Wicked is exactly what Lagoon needed! It is totally new, totally different, and everyone loves it! This ride has taken Lagoon from just a park with a few unique rides to a park with a real signature attraction. It also gave me my 200th coaster! Guess what folks…if you have never been to Lagoon before you can add 8 coasters to your track list! Now I am still waiting for them to add that GCI, Gravity Group, or S&S wood to the line-up. I know that would get all of you fence sitters out here!

Since we were out by Colossus we couldn’t leave without taking a spin. In my opinion this is the best Schwarzkopf I have ever ridden. It has the two circular loops, a nice swooping turn back through the second loop and to finish off this coaster has the best ground hugging spiral in the business. When you get a chance to ride this I recommend the front right seat. This ride still rides superbly and all it needs now is some new paint! Did I mention it only has lap bars and no seat belts! You rarely see that anymore!

We didn’t get to do too much after that because the kids were whipped but just for your information this park has 2 dark rides, a nice Pioneer Village that includes a log ride and a nice river rapids ride. The Spider is an excellent spinning mouse ride and the Rollercoaster (used to be called the “White Coaster” by the locals, but they aren’t painting it anymore) is a fun classic wood ride to hit. They have an awesome swing ride and a pretty good water park. I would also recommend a round of miniature golf on their very uniquely themed course.

Lagoon has grown and changed along the years. This park is fun and great for the whole family. Now with the addition of Wicked it is also great for a coaster enthusiast looking to ride one of the most unique coaster line-ups out there. This is easily the Knoebels of the west but Lagoon does it with steel coasters while Knoebels does it with wood. Thanks for reading and be looking for my next little report on of my favorite ride manufacturers… *** Edited 7/2/2007 6:35:44 AM UTC by S&SFAN***

Nice trip report! ")

Living here in Vegas, I'm routinely tempted to make the 6-hour drive there. Your TR makes the temptation all the more hard to resist.

Don't resist! It really is a quick trip on those freeways of nothing. My sister lives in Vegas and she and I have made the drive many times. It would be well worth it!

I'm ashamed to report that I live up at the U, but have a hard time making the trip up there. My wife and I have an 11-month old, so it's tough for us. But, we're finding a babysitter and making the trip up in a couple of weeks. Can't wait!

And I agree with your assessment of the park. It's a great family park, with an amazing view of the Wasatch mountains. Great park.

I Visited Lagoon when I was in Salt Lake City seven years ago. I was quite impressed with this Park, as it have managed to evolve into a Modern Park while retaining its Tradition Park "Charm" that many a Theme Parks Lack these days. IMO their Wooden Coaster was the best ride there. :)

Answer my Prayers, Overbook my next Flight! *** Edited 7/2/2007 1:48:26 PM UTC by Borntocoast***

Paratroopers are everywhere. I have ridden a park model at Sandy Lake in Carolton.