All eyes on Lagoon’s Cannibal roller coaster
Cannibal, Lagoon's newest roller coaster, at Lagoon in Farmington on Wednesday, February 4, 2015.
Lagoon employees work on the first drop of Cannibal, the park's new roller coaster, on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. The ride will be begin with a "beyond vertical" drop out of a 208-foot tower.
Lagoon employees work on Cannibal, the park's new roller coaster, on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. The ride is the largest and most expensive attraction to be built at Lagoon.
New sections of roller coaster track are stored at Lagoon on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. The track is being used for the park's new roller coaster.
Lagoon employees work on the park's new roller coaster on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. The ride, called Cannibal, is slated to open this summer.
FARMINGTON — The test cars on Lagoon’s $22 million Cannibal roller coaster ride are now running with people in them. But an exact date for the ride opening has not yet been determined, park officials confirmed.
“We’re running cars with people,” Lagoon spokesman Adam Leishman told the Standard-Examiner in a voicemail Thursday. “We are optimistic that we will be open soon. We do not have a scheduled opening date yet.”
There has been some who have rumored the ride will be opening this weekend, but Leishman said nobody has shared that information with him.
In the meantime, the 208-foot tall Cannibal roller coaster in Farmington draws both the attention of locals as well as a national audience.
“We have anxiously been awaiting Cannibal,” said Jeffery Seifert, association manager for American Coaster Enthusiast, with offices based out of Grand Prairie, Tex.
“Every coaster gets our attention,” Seifert said. But ACE does recognize the Lagoon coaster based on it being over 200 feet tall, he said.
Cannibal is the second-tallest roller coaster to be opening this season, second only to the Fury 325, a 325-foot-tall roller coaster that opened in April at the Carowinds amusement park, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, near the South Carolina/North Carolina border.
“That whole lift tower (on Cannibal) looks awesome,” ACE Communications Director Tim Baldwin said of the vertical lift the Cannibal ride will be using in putting cars into motion.
Baldwin, editor of Roller Coaster Magazine, said he believes Cannibal will be an outrageously popular draw.
“Lagoon is on the map. But this really puts them on the map. It has elevated to a big destination park,” Baldwin said, who lives in Dallas, Texas, but has been to Lagoon twice before, and fully anticipates visiting again next summer.
Once Cannibal opens, Baldwin said, he anticipates the ride will receive good coverage from their 5,200-member group, particularly since the delays in the ride opening have provided it with a wide open slate when it comes to avoiding having to compete with other ride openings nationally that are often scheduled around the Memorial Day holiday.
And what makes roller coasters so popular?
“They allow you to scream and do outrageous things, and that’s OK. For some, it is a test of your courage, and for others, it is a way to relax. It just depends on what your mindset is,” Baldwin said with a laugh.
“A lot of (amusement) parks ask ACE to come out for media day,” Seifert said, whose members will generally help in serving to fill the cars.
Out of his enthusiasm for coasters, Seifert said, he has been to every major amusement park in the United States, including Lagoon.
But the wait for Cannibal, which officials had initially hoped to have open in April, shouldn’t be much longer.
“We are optimistic we will be ready soon,” Leishman said.
But because Cannibal is a high-thrill ride that reaches maximum speeds of 70 mph, there will be height restrictions for passengers.
Contact reporter Bryon Saxton at 801-625-4244 or bsaxton@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @BryonSaxton.
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