Every spring the rivers of the West roar with white-water excitement when the snow begins to melt. Starting April 19, the Wasatch Front will have a new white-water experience available for the entire family with Lagoon's new $7 million ride, Rattlesnake Rapids.
Now under construction on 4.5 acres east of Pioneer Village, the attraction will drench guests with an amusement-park thrill not available in Utah before."Rides of this type are among the most popular in the world," Lagoon marketing director Dick Andrew said. "Lagoon feels Rattlesnake Rapids will be one of the most exciting and well-received rides in the park's 111-year history."
The new attraction is Lagoon's most expensive ever, but it will also be its most crowd-friendly, offering the potential of transporting some 1,500 passengers per hour. Unlike Lagoon's two other most-recent additions - Top Eliminator and Sky Coaster - the rapids ride will also be included in the regular park admission cost.
The ride is similar to the Bigfoot Rapids at Knott's Berry Farm, the MGM rapids ride in Las Vegas and another at Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara, Calif. Indeed, the Great America ride is so similar it was used to videotape TV commercials for Lagoon's new offering.
Nevertheless, Lagoon's attraction has been custom-made and is longer - by at least 100 feet - than any of the West's other such rides.
"We think it's going to be spectacular," Andrew said during a media tour. "It's a huge project," he said, describing the busy construction zone as resembling a "Ten Commandments" film set. "It will make Pioneer Village a whole different experience."
Spectators will be served by several observation points along the ride. Picnic tables, a small stage, concessions and souvenir stands will also be developed in this new area of the park. Lagoon doesn't expect to have all the ride's landscaping - designed to simulate a wilderness experience - done by its opening date, but, weather permitting,the ride should be up and operating.
Lagoon's rapids will snake over some 1,700 feet, a third of a mile of rugged terrain along a six-minute journey that will be themed to be a mine-ride adventure. The ride will have no age restrictions, but children under 46 inches must be accompanied by an adult. Each rotating raft will handle up to nine pass-en-gers.
Riders will get wet either from river splashes, overhead water-falls or the bombardment of spectators paying to attack rafts with special geysers. One major tunnel in the ride will also have an overhead rattlesnake, whose fangs will also spray passengers.
One thing the circular rafts may not have is a waterproof compartment to store wallets and valuables in during the wet ride.
Lagoon hopes the new ride will increase overall attendance, but also make for shorter lines elsewhere in the park.
Like many businesses, one thing that especially concerns Lagoon this year is the reconstruction of I-15 in Salt Lake County and whether it will keep some guests away. Andrew said Lagoon hopes the appeal of the new rapids ride will compensate for the construction hassles.
Lagoon cleared the land for the ride last summer and broke ground in mid-September. Remember Lagoon's old "million gallon" swimming pool? The rapids ride will use 1.2 million gallons of recirculated water. Some wells have been drilled to help supply enough water.
Some 300,000 tons of steel will be used in the ride, plus some 5,500 cubic yards of cement have already be installed. Intamin, a Swiss ride manufacturer, is helping build the attraction.
This will be Lagoon's 38th ride and will operate until the end of September each season.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Park's largest attraction
Cost: $7 million Size: 1,700 feet long over 4.5 acres Length: A six-minute ride Capacity: 1,500 riders per hour on nine-man rafts Restrictions: Children under 46 inches tall must be accompanied by an adult Tentative opening date: Saturday, April 19 Gallons of water: 1.2 million Admission: Included in regular ride passport