Negative-G - Lagoon Amusement Park 2017 Page Two

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The Cannibal Roller Coaster at Lagoon Amusement Park, Farmington, Utah

With a two hundred and eight foot height Cannibal would be a massive imposing ride that towers over a park but it really didn't to Bond and myself. Not talking down the ride but with 6000+ feet of the Wasatch Range hovering over Lagoon even a coaster twice as high as Cannibal would look pretty small in comparison.

Bond's reactions to the mountains was pretty amusing as before this trip he had never really seen mountains. Yeah he has seen the Appalachians and the Poconos but those are just foothills in comparison to the Rockies. While taking the train we woke up in Denver and then spent the rest of the day weaving our way up and through the Rockies. He spent most of the day just sitting in the observation Car staring out the windows at the enormity of rock, cliffs and earth towering over us. It certainly is a bit of an mind blowing experience when you are used to seeing a flat horizon far off in the distance like we have in Illinois. As we were driving to Lagoon; between texts to his girlfriend, Bond just stared up at the mountains towering over us in amazement.

Despite not looking as impressive as it should Cannibal is a really impressive ride and accomplishment for this park. What is probably the most impressive fact about Cannibal is that it is a homemade ride as Lagoon built and designed it themselves.

I know the words "homemade coaster" is not a massive confidence booster especially when you are hoisted to the top of a towering indoor elevator lift but you have to think about where Lagoon is located.

Lagoon is in Utah. Utah has been the center of American steel coaster construction since Arrow Dynamics; the manufacturer of mine trains, looping coasters, suspended coasters and other rides, moved their fabrication facilities to nearby Clearfield in 1978 and the rest of the company there in 1984. S&S Worldwide opened in Logan, Utah in the mid 1990's starting with tower rides and eventually moving into launched and other coasters.

With the majority of American designed steel coasters coming from surrounding communities Lagoon certainly has the resources nearby to go all D.I.Y. for a major addition to the park. Just take a minute while Cannibal slowly inches towards the first drop and run the words through your head "D.I.Y. coaster". It will certainly add a little additional fear as you get ready to take Cannibal's record setting initial plunge.