Lagoon (amusement park)

Lagoon is a family owned amusement park in Farmington, Utah, located about 18 miles north of Salt Lake City. Lagoon is divided into five main areas: The Midway, containing the majority of the rides; Pioneer Village, which has several exhibits displaying pioneer buildings and artifacts; Lagoon-A-Beach, a water park; Kiddie Land, an area with several rides for small children; and X-Venture Zone, featuring more extreme upcharge rides. Lagoon also offers an RV park, a campground, and a walking trail outside the park that stays open all year. Every autumn, the park offers Halloween-themed shows and attractions, collectively known as Frightmares.
Lagoon has eleven roller coasters, six of which are unique: Colossus the Fire Dragon, one of two remaining Schwarzkopf Double Looping coaster still in operation in the United States; Roller Coaster, one of the oldest coasters in the world, operating since 1921; Wicked, designed by Lagoon's engineering department and Werner Stengel in cooperation with ride manufacturer Zierer; BomBora, a family coaster designed in-house; Cannibal, built in-house with one of the world's steepest drops; and Primordial, an interactive dark ride coaster/3-D shooter game attraction inside an artificial mountain.

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History

1886–1939

In 1886, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad built a resort called Lake Park on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. It was one of several resorts built along the lake throughout the late 1800s. In the following years, however, the lake level receded drastically until Lake Park was far from the lake, and the park closed by the end of the 1895 season.
Simon Bamberger, who was building his Salt Lake & Ogden Railroad line from Salt Lake City to Ogden, Utah, was vice president of Lake Park. To increase passenger traffic on his line, he bought most of the original Lake Park buildings from the D&RGW and moved them about 3 miles east near Farmington, Utah. The resort was named Lagoon for the small body of water located on the original forty acres of the park. The original lagoon was enlarged to by clearing some swampland.
Lagoon opened in Farmington on July 12, 1896, and featured live music and restaurants. In 1900, guests began swimming and rowing boats in Lagoon Lake. Over time, rides were added, such as the authentic Herschell–Spillman carousel and Cagney miniature railroad. In 1901, the park hosted a minor league baseball team in the Inter-Mountain League and in 1902, a team in the Utah State League.
Lagoon's wooden coaster, Roller Coaster, was designed by John Miller and constructed in 1921. Its highest height is 57 feet, and it has of track. The ride lasts just under two minutes, and reaches speeds up to 45 mph.
In 1927, a swimming pool was built north of Lagoon Lake. It was one of the first filtered swimming pools in western North America, and was a cleaner alternative than swimming in the briny Great Salt Lake.
Lagoon's popularity grew during the 1920s and 1930s. The park's first Fun House was built in 1929, along with many other midway shows, rides, and games. During the "Big Band" era, many notable musicians played on Lagoon's stage, including Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Glenn Miller.

1940–1970

The park was closed for three seasons during World War II. By 1946, the park was in bad condition and on the brink of permanent closure. The Bamberger family considered razing it. However, Ranch S. Kimball and Robert E. Freed convinced the Bamberger family to lease the park to their newly formed Utah Amusement Corporation. Kimball served as president while Freed served as secretary and assistant manager. The Freed family's Lagoon Corporation later bought the resort outright from the Bamberger family in 1983.
When the Utah Amusement Corporation took over the lease of Lagoon, a Farmington town ordinance prohibited African-Americans from using the swimming pool and the ballroom. By the end of the 1940s, Robert Freed had fully opened Lagoon to the black community, and further extended this policy to the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City.
The Freed family made several improvements, including an overhaul of the swimming pool in 1949, a rebuilt fun house, the introduction of the "Dodgem Cars" and the "Lakeshore Express" miniature railway in 1951, and a new Ferris wheel in 1953.
In November 1953, a fire damaged much of the park, including the fun house, dance pavilion, and the front portion of the Roller Coaster. The Roller Coaster was rebuilt and reopened for the 1954 season. Many rides were restored, rebuilt, or replaced, and a few new rides were added in 1955. In 1956, Mother Gooseland, Lagoon's first themed section, was opened between the Midway and the swimming pool. It featured rides only for children.
From the mid-1950s into the 1960s, Lagoon made many improvements. A showboat was added to the lake, and a new fun house was built, which featured such attractions as a multi-lane giant slide, mazes, mirrors, obstacle courses, and mystery rooms. There was also a mini-car ride added in 1960, followed by the "Space Scrambler", spook house, I.Q. Zoo, and shooting gallery in 1961. A Wild Mouse coaster opened in 1965.
On the Midway, musicians including the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, the Kingston Trio, and Johnny Cash performed on the bandstand throughout the 1960s. The Beach Boys made mention of the park in the song "Salt Lake City" on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).
The narrow-gauge Animaland Train began circling Lagoon Lake in 1967. In 1975, authentic steam locomotives built by Crown Metal Products were put into operation around the lake instead, and the railway's name was changed to the Wild Kingdom Train Zoo.

1971–1997

The Opera House Square opened in 1968 and showcased melodramas, musicals, and silent movies. In 1976, Lagoon expanded east by purchasing Pioneer Village, an old west town complete with several historic structures. The buildings were moved to Lagoon and the narrow-gauge "Pioneer Village Railroad" circled the town. In addition, the "Lagoon Miniature Railroad" looped around the residential area of Pioneer Village using an original miniature gauge steam locomotive acquired in the early 1900s. A log flume ride was brought in from the defunct Pixieland Park in Oregon.
In 1976, the Jet Star 2 roller coaster was added. Before Lagoon purchased it, it was an attraction at Spokane, Washington's Expo '74.
Colossus the Fire Dragon came to Lagoon in 1983. It was selected by People magazine in 1984 as one of the top 10 coasters in the country. Colossus was Lagoon's first coaster to feature inversions, with a top speed of. With its double inverted loops, Colossus had the most inversions of any coaster at Lagoon for 32 years until the opening of Cannibal in 2015.
In the late 1980s, both the old fun house and the "Haunted Shack", a walk-through dark attraction, were closed due to escalating maintenance costs and safety concerns. The swimming pool closed after its fifth decade in 1987. This made way for the $5.5 million Lagoon-A-Beach water park, which was completed in 1989. Its construction required the closure of miniature railroad operations in Pioneer Village, as some of the supports stood in the way of the track.

1997–2009

In 1997, in a major expansion of Pioneer Village, Lagoon added Rattlesnake Rapids, a river rapids ride located in the new Rattlesnake Plaza. In 1998, Lagoon added the Maurer AG Wild Mouse coaster. This ride replaced the wooden Wild Mouse coaster that had been demolished 5 years prior. In 1999, Lagoon opened its first attraction above the height of : The Rocket, an S&S space shot tower with two different ride towers. In 2000, Samurai, a Mondial Top Scan, was built, as well as Double Thunder Raceway. In 2001, a Mondial Top Spin called Cliffhanger was opened. In 2002, Lagoon expanded its X-Venture Zone by adding Catapult, a reverse bungee ride. [The The Spider - Coaster|Spider - Coaster|Spider], a Maurer AG steel spinning coaster, opened in 2003. In 2004, Lagoon revamped Kiddieland, giving it a garden theme and adding two new rides, Kontiki and Dragon Fly. In 2005, The Bat, an inverted coaster manufactured by Vekoma, was constructed near Lagoon-A-Beach. It is a family-friendly coaster with a minimum height requirement of 42 inches. In 2006, Lagoon expanded Kiddieland further by adding two new rides, Dinosaur Drop and Lady Bug Bop, both of which are Zierer Family Drop Towers.On June 1, 2007, a $10 million roller coaster named Wicked opened. Wicked is a Zierer tower launch coaster, and is powered by linear synchronous motors that launch riders up a tower at in 2.5 seconds. It has several elements, including an Immelmann turn, a heartline roll, two half-pipe turns, and the signature "lake turn" into a final tunnel before returning to the station. Several improvements were made to the park in 2007 as well. On April 5, 2008, Lagoon opened OdySea, a Zierer "Flying Fish" ride with aquatic theming. OdySea is an interactive ride with a joystick to control the vehicle's height. Arrows blink to direct the rider to dodge jets of water from the sea creatures that attempt to soak the rider as accompanying audio tells a story. On April 4, 2009, Lagoon opened "Jumping Dragon", a Zierer "Dragon Roundabout" ride.

2010–present

In 2010, Lagoon revamped its Ferris wheel, Sky Scraper. It was dismantled after the 2009 season, and reopened with a new coat of paint in April 2010. As a result of the economic crisis, Lagoon did not install a new ride that season. Instead, the park improved its entertainment division with several new shows. In 2011, Lagoon installed another family roller coaster, named BomBora. The coaster was created by a group of manufacturers and Lagoon itself, and has a height of, as well as a theme based on 1960s surfing. In 2012, Lagoon installed a ride called Air Race. In 2013, Lagoon began work on a new coaster at the site of the former Top Eliminator. Two new family rides opened for the 2013 season, Tipsey Tea Cups and Red Rock Rally, both of which were manufactured by Zamperla. In 2014, Lagoon continued work on a new coaster, building vertically throughout the entire operating season. With much of its focus on the new coaster, no new rides were added this year. Due to maintenance problems, Lagoon-A-Beach's old Rip-Curl slide was replaced with a new slide of the same name. At a press conference on September 4, 2014, Lagoon officially announced Cannibal, a new roller coaster for the 2015 season. On July 2, 2015, Cannibal opened, featuring a elevator lift hill, a 116° beyond vertical drop, three inversions, and a top speed of 70 mph.
Shortly after Cannibal's opening, the park began the early planning stages of Primordial. In 2016, Lagoon did not add any attractions. However, extensive work was done on Spider. In 2017, a mural by Sril Art was created at the park. Two new rides were added to Kiddieland: Flying Tigers and Ruka Safari. In 2018, the Roller Coaster was re-tracked. A new ride opened in Kiddieland called Engine 86 in 2020. On December 18, 2021, a fire broke out at the Carousel Candy shop. The fire rekindled that evening and subsequently destroyed the candy shop and the adjacent Scamper, a miniature bumper cars ride. In 2023, Lagoon opened Primordial, a 4D interactive dark ride roller coaster, after eight years of development and construction. The attraction is located inside an artificial mountain and includes multiple ride endings. In late 2024, construction fences were put in place on the site of the former Log Flume attraction, featuring a banner for a new themed area entitled The District. In November 2024, Lagoon announced that The District would include three new rides when it opened. One of these rides was announced on November 21st in a social media post as SteamWorx, an ART Wild Swing. This was followed by a second announcement on November 26th of a Zamperla NebulaZ titled Time Tinker. On January 3, 2025, Lagoon announced that the third ride would be a "reimagining" of an existing ride, with the former Helicopters attraction being rethemed as Rivets and Rotors. Cliffhanger was also removed.
In March 2025 the park announced it would be phasing out its zoo by the end of the year. The stated reason was to free up space for future expansion. The zoo's big cats were moved to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado On May 24th, 2025, the new themed area, The District, opened to the public. On October 10th, 2025, Lagoon announced the addition of Nutcracker, an S&S Screamin' Swing thrill ride, which will open in 2026. On October 22nd, 2025, Lagoon announced that Jet Star 2 had reached the end of its service life and would be retired. The attraction closed on November 9th, 2025, coinciding with the end of the 2025 season.

Attractions

Roller coasters

Lagoon features ten different roller coasters. The oldest, Roller Coaster, was built in 1921 and is an American Coaster Enthusiasts Roller Coaster Landmark.

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Design	Year opened	Description	Location	Thrill rating	Rider Height Minimum
Roller Coaster	Miller & Baker; Trains by Great Coasters International	Wooden	Sit-down	1921	One of the oldest roller coasters in the United States. Features an initial lift-hill and several subsequential smaller hills. Partially damaged by fire in 1953.	South Midway	'	46" F
Colossus the Fire Dragon	Schwarzkopf	Steel	Sit-down	1983	87-foot lift hill with back-to-back double loop and two large helices.	South Midway	'	46" F
Puff the Little Fire Dragon	Zierer	Steel	Sit-down	1985	A mild coaster intended for small children with only a small drop and hill.	Kiddieland	'	I
Wild Mouse	Maurer AG	Steel	Sit-down	1998	The second Wild Mouse coaster to be located at Lagoon. Features tight turns and sharp stops.	South Midway	'	46" F
Spider	Maurer AG	Steel	Sit-down	2003	Originally called "The Spider and the Fly", the ride includes a large drop and tight turns. The car constantly spins while traveling on the track.	South Midway	'	46" F
The Bat	Vekoma	Steel	Inverted	2005	A suspended family coaster. It is the sole inverted coaster at Lagoon.	Kiddieland	'	42"
Wicked	Zierer	Steel	Sit-down	2007	LSM-launched coaster with a vertical drop and a zero-G barrel roll.	South Midway	'	46" G
BomBora	ART Engineering, Lagoon	Steel	Sit-down	2011	A short family coaster with smooth turns and small drops.	Kiddieland	'	36" C
Cannibal	ART Engineering, Lagoon	Steel	Sit-down	2015	The second steepest roller coaster in the United States, with a first drop at 116 degrees down a 208 foot tower. It features several inverting elements.	North Midway	'	48"
Primordial	ART Engineering, Lagoon	Steel	Sit-down	2023	Development began in 2015, and construction began in 2018, but the latter was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction resumed in early 2021. Primordial opened towards the end of the 2023 season. It is an interactive 4D roller coaster.	North Midway	'	36" C

Thrill rides

Name	Manufacturer	Year opened	Model	Description	Location	Thrill rating	Rider Height Minimum
Air Race	Zamperla	2012	Air Race	An airplane ride with vehicles looping sideways while circling a central point.	North Midway	'	48"
Centennial Screamer	HUSS	1987	Enterprise	Consists of 20 cars around a disc. As the ride begins to spin, the disc stays in a horizontal position. When speed and centrifugal forces increase, the ride is lifted to a near-vertical position as the disc continues to spin.	South Midway	'	46"
Rock-O-Plane	Eyerly Aircraft Company	1954	Rock-O-Plane	Similar to a Ferris wheel, but with flipping cars.	South Midway	'	36" B
Rocket	S&S Worldwide	1999	Drop tower	A drop tower with two different ride types: "Blast Off", a rapid vertical ascent, and "Re-Entry", a slow ascent followed by a powered drop.	North Midway	'	50"
Samurai	Mondial	2000	Top Scan	Six radial arms that spin as the entire ride rotates through an oval arc in either direction.	North Midway		50" H

Water rides

Name	Manufacturer	Year opened	Model	Description	Location	Thrill rating	Rider Height Minimum
Rattlesnake Rapids	Intamin	1997	River Rapids	A river rapids ride. Features a tunnel and waterfalls.	Pioneer Village		36" B*

Children's rides

All of these attractions are located in the park's Kiddieland section.

Name	Manufacturer	Year opened	Model	Description	Thrill rating	Rider Height Minimum	Rider Height Maximum
Baby Boats	Allan Herschell	N/A	Boat ride	Small boats travel in an oval formation while surfaced on water.	'		46"
Bulgy	Eyerly Aircraft	1956	Bulgy the Whale	Riders sit in small whale carts that jump up and down.	'		54"
Dinosaur Drop	Zierer	2006	Jumpin' Star	A 40 foot drop tower.	'	36" A
The Dragonfly	Eli Bridge Company	2004	Dragonfly	A spinning ride.	'	36"
Engine 86	Zamperla	2020	Carousel	A fire engine themed ride.	'	I
Flying Tigers	Zamperla	2017	Flying Tigers	An airplane ride on an oval track with tight turns. The airplanes slightly tilt on the turns.	'	I
Jumping Dragon	Zierer	2009	Jumping Dragon	A family spinning ride with a Chinese dragon theme; rotates clockwise, then reverses direction.	'	J
Kontiki	Zierer	2004	Kontiki	A swinging and spinning ride.	'	J
Ladybug Bop	Zamperla	2006	Jumpin' Star	A 40 foot drop tower.	'	36" A
Moonraker	Zamperla	1983	Space Age	Spaceship carts that move in a circular formation.	'		54"
OdySea	Zierer	2008	Flying Gondolas	Robotic sea creatures serve as cars that travel in a circular formation. Sea creatures squirt water at riders while riders use joystick controls to avoid the water.	'	J
Red Baron	Bradley & Kaye	1984	Red Baron	A ride similar to Helicopters.	'		54"
Red Rock Rally	Zamperla	2013	Speedway	A spinning ride with Jeep carts.	'	I
Rivets and Rotors	Allan Herschell	1963	Helicoptors	A ride meant for small children with themed helicopter carts that can go up and down using a joystick you control.	'		54"
Ruka Safari	Zamperla	2017	Jump Around	A ride with safari jeeps that bounce while rotating in a small circle.	'	I
Scalawags	Mulligan	1986	Scalawags	A small spinning ride with animals as cars.	'		54"
Sky Fighter	Allan Herschell	1954	Airplane	A small airplane ride with two-person cars.	'		54"
Speedway Jr.	Mulligan	1978	Speedway Jr.	Miniature cars going around a track.	'		54"
Tipsy Tea Cups	Zamperla	2013	Teacups	A teacup spinning ride.		I

X-Venture Zone

Each ride in the X-Venture Zone is an upcharge attraction.

Controversy

In 2012, Lagoon became the focus of animal welfare groups' protests which called for a boycott of the park, citing USDA inspection reports that suggested poor care of animals in the Wild Kingdom Train Zoo. The Utah Animal Rights Coalition and PETA pointed to a range of USDA citations over a 15-year span that included insufficient living space for and unexplained deaths of animals. While admitting to some problems, a Lagoon spokesman denied any abuse taking place and said veterinarians and staff regularly monitored the animals. It was announced in March 2025 that the zoo was being phased out to free up space for expansion.

Notable incidents

On August 20, 1934, 20-year-old Ernest Henry Howe of Ogden died after attempting to stand up while riding Roller Coaster, and subsequently falling out of the train.
On August 31, 1946, 23-year-old James Young Hess of Farmington, an employee at the park, was thrown to the ground while repairing scaffolding on Roller Coaster. It was reported that he may have been attempting to grab onto the car and ride it back down to the station, but he instead lost his grip and fell 18 feet to the ground. Hess died from his injuries the next day in a Salt Lake City hospital.
On June 10, 1983, 16-year-old Shauna Bingham was working at the Colossus the Fire Dragon roller coaster. While attempting to run electrical wire inside the ride enclosure as the ride was operating, she was struck by an oncoming train, losing her left arm at the shoulder.
On April 30, 1989, six-year-old Ryan Beckstead of Bountiful was struck and killed on Puff the Little Fire Dragon after he fell off the ride and stood up in between the track, before being hit in the head by the oncoming train. At the time, park representatives stated that this was the first accidental death in Lagoon's history, having lost the records of the previous incidents that occurred decades earlier under different ownership.
On June 9, 1989, 13-year-old Kilee King of Bountiful slipped out from the restraints of Roller Coaster and fell 35 feet to her death. Lagoon made safety adjustments to the trains before reopening the ride, and new restraints were added the following year.
On August 14, 2021, a 32-year-old man fell 50 feet after dangling from the park's Sky Ride, a chairlift-like ride which transports people from one end of the amusement park to the other. The man succumbed to his injuries in the hospital the next day.

In popular culture

The Beach Boys reference Lagoon by name in the song Salt Lake City on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).
The opening scenes of the 1969 film Mirror, Mirror: You and Your Self Image were filmed at Lagoon.
Lagoon was one of many parks featured in the first roller coaster documentary, America Screams in 1978.
An episode of the Werewolf TV series was filmed at Lagoon in fall of 1987, featuring scenes in and around the Dracula's Castle attraction.
Some scenes in the 1996 TV movie, Terror in the Family, were filmed on Roller Coaster and Centennial Screamer.In My Sister's Shadow, a 1997 TV movie, featured a scene on the North Midway.The Luck of the Irish, a 2001 Disney Channel original movie. A few scenes were filmed on the North Midway of Lagoon. The dance festival scene was shot in front of the entrance to the Sky Scraper.Wieners, a movie released in 2008, had a montage featuring scenes filmed at Lagoon in 2007. The name of the park was changed in the film.
An episode of The Aquabats! Super Show! featured brief and edited shots of Lagoon.
In 2015, Christmas Land was filmed in the Pioneer Village section of the park.
Season 3, episode 12 of Andi Mack featured brief and edited shots of Lagoon, including Paratrooper, Cannibal, and Sky Scraper.