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photo © Jim Westland / The American Midway
Legendary coaster designer John Miller built Lagoon's Roller Coaster in 1921. Roller Coaster is one of the top five oldest operating coasters in the country.
It is commonly referred to as "The White Roller Coaster". The old postcard on the right called it "Giant Roller Coaster". According to a 1923 catalogue put out by John Miller, it was originally called "Pippin Dips". It's current official name is just plain "Roller Coaster".
Roller Coaster has a walkway through it to allow easy access from the Lagoon campground to the park entrance. While you are under there you may notice that sheep graze under it's structure.
In 1953 much of Lagoon, including Roller Coaster was damaged by fire. Luckily, Roller Coaster was quickly rebuilt.
Roller Coaster is still one of the best rides at Lagoon. It is also one of the very few that allows you to freely choose where you sit. I strongly suggest the very back seat.
Roller Coaster is 70 feet tall, 2500 feet long and has a top speed of 45 miles per hour. The coaster is known as a double out-and-back since it takes you out away from the station and back two times.
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The old post card below shows the Roller Coaster as it looked prior to the fire of 1953
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photo © linearinduction
Colossus The Fire Dragon (Most people just call it Colossus) was built in 1981 by Anton Schwarzkopf and began operating in German traveling fairs. The coaster was purchased by Lagoon and moved to Utah in 1984.
Most people who ride Colossus never realize that it was designed to be taken apart, moved to a new location, and rebuilt in just a day or two.
Although it is quite large, it is actually a mobile ride.
Colossus was intended to be "mass" produced, like the Jet Star 2 was. However, it never happened. There are a couple of very similar coasters, but those coasters are a little shorter and do not include the final curves in the track layout.
Unlike most new coasters with inversions, Colossus does not have large over the shoulder restraints. It uses simple individual lap bars, which makes the ride very exciting.
This is my favorite coaster at Lagoon. You cannot choose where you sit, but all the seats are great!
Colossus is a double inverting steel roller coaster that reaches 55 miles per hour and almost 5 Gs. The ride is 85 feet tall and 2850 feet long.
I believe that the "Fire Dragon" surname was added so there would be no legal troubles relating to the "Colossus" roller coaster at Magic Mountain.
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photo © Schwarzkopf.coaster.net Above: Colossus set up at a German travelling fair prior to being purchased by Lagoon. This brochure was intended to convince others to order copies of the coaster. Nobody ever did. Click for a larger image.
photo © linearinduction
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photo © linearinduction
Lagoon's Wild Mouse was designed and built by Maurer Söhne of Germany in 1998. It is in the same location as the original Wooden Wild Mouse which was removed in the early 90's.
Wild Mouse starts off with several sharp turns, followed by high speed dips and hops, and a trip through a tunnel.
The rides cars have tow rows with two seats per car. A single lapbar is used for both seats, so two people of noticeably different sizes cannot share the same row.
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The Wild Mouse at Lagoon was the first Maurer Söhne roller coaster built in the United States. Similar rides can now be found in Georgia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
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This web site has no affiliation with Lagoon Amusement Park, Lagoon Corp. or anybody else. All information contained within is posted for entertainment purposes only. |