Photo TR - Lagoon / Mormons

Look at this! A park that doesn't get a whole lot of recognition due to its location! It's a shame, really, because Lagoon is FRIGGIN' AWESOME! The closest thing I can equate it to would be Knoebel's. Seriously, if you take the overall vibe from Knoebel's and add a bit of a modern touch you'll have Lagoon. It's not a huge park, it's not a park that caters to hardcore thrillseekers, but it is definitely one great place to spend a day. Operations are smooth, the people (employees and guests alike) are exceptionally nice, there is a fantastic mix of coasters and flats, there's a great combination of old school and new school, there's an included waterpark, there's a massive picnic area, you're allowed to bring in coolers and bags (though the ride bag policy is a bit odd), it's just a great and friendly place.

 

Before I get into to rides, let me mention the bag policy and why it's strange. When we entered the park I had my backpack with me. I don't pack heavy for a day at a park, I just find the bag to be convenient to throw my wallet, phone, keys, etc into while on a ride. It works great as I can throw all of my loose articles in it and either hold it while on the rides (like I do at Disney, SeaWorld, Universal, Knott's, etc) or drop it on the exit platform. I've never run into an issue with this aside from Six Flags (and their completely asinine paid fluffy bunny policy). At Lagoon, bags are not allowed on rides. For the flats you can just dump it somewhere, ride, and pick it up when the ride is done. On the coasters they won't let you drop the bag on the exit platform. You MUST get a fluffy bunny. We came across this policy at the first coaster, the Wild Mouse. Since my car was about 5 space from the front gate, I opted to just put the bag in the car for the day. I have one small zipper pocket so no worries!

 

Fast forward back to Wild Mouse. I have to remove my hat. OK, no problem. I'm allowed to hold it. I'm also allowed to hold my wallet, phone, and keys. Soooooo I'm not allowed to carry a single bag, but I AM allowed to hold four separate items in two hands. What? This was standard operating procedure on every coaster. I honestly don't understand it. However I'm not complaining because while it was definitely strange, they didn't require me to ever touch a fluffy bunny. Some of the coasters even had free one-time-use lockers if you had a bag, though I was unaware until well after I dropped the bag back at the car. Again, not a single problem came from the policy, I just found it odd.

 

Alright, now that that's out of the way, on with the ride reviews! Let's start with the super mega awesome surprise, WICKED!

 

Wicked - Holy Flippin. Crap. WHY AREN'T THERE MORE OF THESE EVERYWHERE?! Zierer, you sneaky sons o' pricks! Build more of these coasters! The vertical launch is one of the most butthole-clenching experiences I've ever had! It's just MEAN! Turn a corner, immediate straight launch, only to be turned straight up into the sky and launched again! Followed by a crazy airtime pop and a vertical drop! Crap on a stick this thing is awesome! It's short and sweet and perfect for the park. Did I mention it's lap bar only? Yeah, it is, and it's comfy as hell, too! The entire ride was very smooth aside from a bit of a shimmy in the last turnaround. To be completely honest, I found the first half of Wicked to be totally awesome. The second half was still fun but only average. After the MCBR it does a few turns at low speed with one quick tunnel before the brakes. It's nice but lacks the punch of the first half. Still a great, solid ride! Rode it a whole bunch with constant re-rides.

 

Wild Mouse - Fun but evil. We rode twice throughout the day and the second lap was quite painful. The first lap was pretty nuts and had some surprisingly strong airtime. The second lap much later in the day, well, ouch. There were absolutely NO trims until halfway through the ride. The switchbacks were taken at pretty ridiculous speeds and really threw you all around the car. It was still a fun ride but it does not warrant re-rides with the amount of slamming involved.

 

Colossus: The Fire Dragon - We rode Laser...I'm mean Colossus, three times, once in the back and twice in the front. Exact same model as Laser was at Dorney Park, it's a solid Schwarzkopf coaster that definitely still brings the Gs. So much so that I got tunnel vision in the second loop. Just like Wicked it's short and sweet and is just the right size for this park.

 

Spider - I'm fairly certain this is the same model from the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Crush's Coaster at Disneyland Paris, just a portable model. Great family spinner that REALLY spins. We rode four times throughout the day, twice with a full 4-person car, twice just the two of us on one side. No matter what we got a great amount of spinning, the only difference was where in the layout we spun. Very fun and very re-rideable.

 

Bat - Rode in the back. Ouch. That is all.

 

Bombora - Cute little family coaster with an onboard soundtrack. We rode twice throughout the day. It's nothing outstanding but definitely a crowd pleaser. It's right next to the waterpark and provides an outstanding view of the mountains, too!

 

Jet Star 2 - Another Schwarzkopf staple and still a very fun ride. Be prepared to get intimate with your riding partner.

 

Roller Coaster - Built in 1921, this thing is still running extremely well. They're actually in the process of replacing the structure with new wood (most of the lift hill was done and the far turnaround was about halfway done) so the ride is two-tone right now. The new wood is unpainted and the old wood is peeling white paint. We rode in the back row for our first ride and I got tossed around like a rag doll. Tons of airtime throughout the course! For our second ride we chose the PTC Ejector seat (AKA third row front car) and had a slightly smoother ride with just as much airtime! Just be aware of how violent this ride can be. I love a rough and tumble woodie, but there's a growing epidemic of pansy coaster enthusiasts who cry when they get the slightest jostle. Don't be a wuss. Yes, you. Stop it.

 

Onto the flats!

 

Air Race - First time I've ever had a chance to ride one! It's a ride that will mess with your brain because it works against physics, but in a good way, haha. Lots of spinning and flipping and TONS of hangtime. I'm pretty sure we ended up upside-down for at least 10 seconds straight when it began slowing down. The only bad thing I can say about this ride is that it takes FOREVER to stop moving.

 

Boomerang Bumper Cars - Nice bumper cars, no one-way restriction (worst thing to ever happen to bumper cars), and they provide a decent hitting force. They're still nowhere near the murderous force that Knoebel's has, but c'mon, they're bumper cars, they're always fun! I wish the time limit were a bit longer, though.

 

Cliffhanger - We watched it a few times throughout the day but decided against riding after seeing how drenched people were coming off. They use the fountains to full effect on this thing and you will get blasted directly in the face multiple times. You've been warned.

 

Dracula's Castle - Old school dark ride with some extremely odd cars. They're like mini-sports cars with spoilers on them. They actually lift the hood for you to climb (yes, actually climb) in, then close the hood so there's no way to get out of the car. Only your upper torso and head are out in the open. As for the actual ride, it was mediocre. There's something to be said for old school dark ride haunts, but this one was pretty lackluster. The occasional decent effect but overall just meh. It was a real shame that the spinning rock tunnel didn't spin. Oh, well.

 

TerroRide - Another old school dark ride, but this one is much better than Dracula's Castle. For one, it has much more accomodating cars with a lap bar. It also has better effects that all seemed to work properly. It's much shorter than Dracula's Castle, though, which was unfortunate. This one seemed to be closer in length to one you'd find at a traveling carnival.

 

Flying Aces - FLYERS! Really, really good flyers! Flyers so good I managed to get multiple cable snaps, turn my vehicle completely around mid-ride, and get past a 90-degree arc. Yes, I overbanked on a friggin' flyers. Take that, OSHA! Speaking of, that was moment 2 of butthole-clenching terror of the day. The first time was my first ever vertical launch on Wicked.

 

Jumping Dragon - It's just a kiddie himalaya with painful T-bars that murder your right thigh. Nice themeing, though!

 

Log Flume - A slow moving, single-drop flume that gives a pretty decent splash. It won't soak you but it's certainly refreshing!

 

Musik Express - If you've been on one, you've been on them all. This one plays Rihanna, though, so if that's your thing you're in luck!

 

Paratrooper - Unfortunately this was a fixed model where it's permanently in the upright position. It makes for a much less exciting ride as half the fun is the rise and fall of the wheel. Still a fun ride though!

 

Rattlesnake Rapids - Didn't ride because I didn't want to waddle around in wet underwear all day. Looked like fun, though!

 

Rocket / Re-Entry - Standard S&S towers. Since it's not extremely tall there's some good airtime on Rocket when it hits the peak! Gorgeous views, too!

 

Rock-O-Plane - I love these things so damn much. I got a good rhythm going and was a flipping machine!

 

Samurai - My first ever Top Scan! I've seen pictures and videos of these for years but have never come across one. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! It's complete madness from start to finish and is a ride that will really throw off your sense of direction. I didn't feel dizzy at all when the ride was over, though I still had some trouble walked straight, haha. Tons of fun!

 

Sky Ride - A leisurely way to get from one side of the park to the other, nothing particularly interesting.

 

Sky Scraper - It's a big ferris wheel with rotating cabins. Unfortunately it was closed for 90% of the day. We were heading back to the main entrance to leave around 9pm when I glanced over and finally saw it moving! Great views of the mountains, lake, and the new coaster that's being built directly next to it.

 

Space Scambler - Typical scrambler, though I was a bit worried at the amount of creaking I heard from the ride vehicle every time we hit the outside of the circle.

 

Tidal Wave - Swinging ship over Lagoon's lagoon. Expecting something special? Well, take a look at the pirate on the left side of the ship. He's got a wooden pole impaling his butt. I'm not kidding.

 

Tilt-A-Whirl - We got one of the best Tilt-A-Whirl ride ever on this one! We didn't get stuck rocking back and forth at all. We got into a spin rhythm and just kept going and going and going! Good ride length, too!

 

Wild Kingdom Train - Actual steam-powered train around the lagoon and past some cute animals. We jumped on here when it started to rain a bit.

 

We didn't get to the water park at all, though the slides do look like fun! Pioneer Village was nice to see . Unfortunately the model trains in the museum weren't operational.

 

I really, really enjoyed the day at Lagoon. I wasn't sure what to expect before visiting but it turned out to be one of the best kept secrets in the industry! It's very old school and fun. It isn't there to push the boundaries of rides, it's there to provide people with a great day full of fun! I can't wait to see just what they have up their sleeves with the 2015 coaster. The construction site is pretty much a building with some supports right now but the land area they have to play with is pretty large. After being so surprised by Wicked I can't wait to see how this turns out!

Yes, that's a peacock at a truck stop. I was confused, too.

Air Race

Clock tower in Pioneer Village

Mormons invented Bluetooth!

Mormon furniture. They have magical floating chairs.

Mitt Romney's Mormon crib!

No escaping the waterfall on Rattlesnake Rapids!

Colossus, I mean Laser, I mean Colossus.

The place was packed. Waste of a ticket.

Take a wild guess on the ride.

Peekin' through the trees!

Such a great ride.

Beautiful park!

Wave swinger hiding over there!

Can't believe these crowds. Seriously, isn't there a capacity limit?!

I see a woodie!

Coasters being coaster-y.

Gorgeous location.

Old school cool.

Very strange building. We couldn't figure out why it had the strange extension.

I kinda want it to be the "Bad Employee" office. They just stick whoever's misbehaving up there with no windows.

Entry plaza

Have I mentioned how pretty they park is?

Dominator Lite

Samurai!

Jet Star 2 and Rocket / Re-Entry

Air Race being sideways

Ouch.

Bombora!

Twisty!

Duh

Classic awesomeness

ZOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Wicked being awesome

Colossus

New for 2015! Still no clue what the heck they're doing.

Thanks for the dining tip, Derek! Best damn waffles you'll ever eat!

Heh, McConkie. Awesome name.

Mormon thing!

Looks like we made it to Australia!

That's a big capitol building.

The clouds were being really funky today.

I went to SLC and all I got was this Hidden Mickey and a HULA DANCING OLAF!!!!!!

We stopped by Cowabunga Bay on the way home for no reason at all!

The "Mormon thing" that you pointed at is the Salt Lake City Temple. It really is beautiful.

 

McConkie is the last name of a guy name Bruce R McConkie, who served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who for you non-LDS people out there, is the group that leads our church.

 

Oh, and our underwear isnt "magic," just fyi. If you have any questions about Mormonism, feel free to ask!

 

Glad you had fun there. It's defiantly one of those overlooked parks, but it has a cool and unique collection. Whatever they have planned for 2015, i'm sure "cannibal" will be a lot of fun!

Edited July 30, 2014 by CPSFMMCW

I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can come up with for next year. It's not every day that a park builds a 200 ft tall coaster in-house.

This park looks awesome...really hope I can make it out there someday.

 

On a side note, do they serve beer?

This park looks awesome...really hope I can make it out there someday.

 

On a side note, do they serve beer?

They do not. They are trying to keep the place a family park, so no alcohol.

This makes me want to visit Lagoon again. Haven't been since they added Wicked and with the new 2015 coaster coming next year, it sounds like 2015 would be a great time to go there!

Nice Photo TR. It's a shame that more people don't talk about Lagoon cause it's really good. Easily one of my favorite parks in the United States. Looking foreword to visiting a 3rd time next year when they add Cannibal.

^It's because no one has been there. The nearest real rollercoaster to Lagoon is Glenwood Caverns, 300 miles away, and then Denver which is 400 miles away. You basically have to make a special trip just to Salt Lake City to visit the park. There's a reason people are more excited about Holiday World's Wing Coaster than Lagoon's Potential 200 foot themed wonderbeast, and it's because of the reach ability of HW.

Aw, CRAP! How did I forget to include this?!

 

[youtu_be]http://youtu.be/-oTg_GwtTXI[/youtu_be]

 

I find it interesting how you took the most photogenic ride there (Turn of the Century) and made it look like it was hidden in trees and hard to photograph. Kudos to you!

I'd love to get to this park one day but it's so far out-of-the-way. Great pictures!

I find it interesting how you took the most photogenic ride there (Turn of the Century) and made it look like it was hidden in trees and hard to photograph. Kudos to you!

 

I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not, haha.

Glad you liked Lagoon. I was there Sunday and Monday. They've done a great job the past decade or so. It's a fun place. Nice pictures!

 

Cannibal is going to be pretty cool, I think. I'm excited for that one.

I went to Lagoon last week as well. I hated the bag policy. And since we took the train we had to purchase a locker (TBF, there are a lot of "free 30 min" ones near the entrance of the roller coasters.

 

Pro Tip, use the single rider line on Wicked. I think me and my wife rode the ride 4 or 5 times in a half hour with a one train wait.

Oh, and in case you're still curious, I'm pretty sure that weird extension thing was the top of the slide in the old fun house.

Oh, and in case you're still curious, I'm pretty sure that weird extension thing was the top of the slide in the old fun house.

 

It was. Other things I miss at Lagoon other than the Fun House, the Fascination parlor.

For a park I have sometimes heard be referred to as "ghetto"... Lagoon looks really, really nice.

 

What ride would you compare that ejector moment on top of Wicked to? Are we talking Skyrush or El Toro.

 

Thanks for the awesome TR.

 

What ride would you compare that ejector moment on top of Wicked to? Are we talking Skyrush or El Toro.

 

 

Let's just put it this way, if those restraints fail or they don't staple you in, you will go flying. It is definitely comparable to Skyrush or El Toro. Really the best moment of any ride in that park. I wish Lagoon would add a coaster with more airtime moments because that is really missing from the park, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

I enjoyed your report!

I find it interesting how you took the most photogenic ride there (Turn of the Century) and made it look like it was hidden in trees and hard to photograph. Kudos to you!

 

I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not, haha.

A compliment. It was more of a joke, but no real harm intended. To actually hear such a raving report of Lagoon is amazing to me. Not only does this place not get much recognition, but many locals hate the place and wish Six Flags would buy it to put in some "real" coasters and get rid of all the "old and unreliable" rides.

^ That's a shame. They probably haven't been exposed to the Six Flags ideal of building big rides but not caring about anything else at all.

many locals hate the place and wish Six Flags would buy it to put in some "real" coasters and get rid of all the "old and unreliable" rides.

 

I remember as a teenager I felt this way. But as I've grown a little older I realize how great Lagoon is. Six Flags would completely ruin it.

 

I wouldn't mind having a closer option for bigger rides, though.

This park looks awesome...really hope I can make it out there someday.

 

On a side note, do they serve beer?

They do not. They are trying to keep the place a family park, so no alcohol.

Lagoon has a Beer License and serves beer on Catholic Day and any company that wants it served for their picnic.

 

Kyle and everyone else, the "No Bags on the Coasters" Policy came about a couple years ago when a bag fell from a rider on Wicked and took out a couple LSM Motors on the Launch Tower causing several thousand dollars in damage and the ride to be down for over a week. Additionally, the Hat thing came about after a couple hats got caught in the Wheel Housings on Roller Coaster, Wild Mouse, Spider, and Fire Dragon, if I remember correctly, not to mention the suspending of operation for several minutes an hour to go out in the Ride Enclosures and get People's Crap. Also, Samurai is currently operating in a way that makes it a Kiddie Ride now compared to when it first opened, thanks to the constant overheating of the AC Motor and broken Air Hoses from operating it as intense as they were. I haven't heard anyone else complain about Jumping Dragon's Lap Bars, and I'm nearly 6ft tall, not to mention the Lap Bars allow the ride to restrain even the smallest rides and requireing there be no Minimum Height Requirement.

Thanks for the TR! I would love to get to this part of the US and Lagoon some day, looks like a great park with some unusual rides. I have yet to get on a Top Scan too. They do look fun.

I agree, it is a very underrated park. I really enjoyed myself quite a bit when I've been there. Nicely landscaped, and a good selection of rides. Air Race was more fun than I thought it'd be, although it certainly takes a long time to load.

 

I also liked the vaguely racist signs around Samuri, and some of the shirts the city of Salt Lake sells.