FARMINGTON — A $2 million "human dishwasher" will be Lagoon Amusement Park's newest ride for the 2001 season, opening about mid-May.
Officially titled "Cliffhanger," the almost 50-foot-tall ride is a somersault kind of attraction that will take riders through streams of water during warm weather. The ride will be a part of the regular daily or season passport admission.
The Cliffhanger is under construction, and its location at the southwest end of the park signals the end of an era for Lagoon. The ride replaces the 40-year-old Speedway attraction that opened in 1960 to rave review from young teenagers who got their first taste at driving a motorized vehicle.
Dick Andrew, Lagoon's marketing director, said it was increasingly difficult to keep the near-antique Speedway Ride going. Also, the addition of Lagoon's new go-kart ride, the Double Thunder Raceway last year, more or less replaced the Speedway with a 21st-century version of motorized rides for young teens — and without the guide rail track.
Lagoon plans on keeping most of the trees already in the Speedway area during construction of the Cliffhanger, which will have an alpine mountain theme. It will feature two waterfalls and a center viewing area for spectators. Andre W. Meacham, a Lagoon ride manager, said the Cliffhanger will feature two rows of seating for a total capacity of 20 persons. Lagoon is having 10 special seats of the 20 installed to accommodate persons as short as 50 inches, the minimum requirement for the new ride. For the other 10 seats, a rider height of at least 54 inches will be required.
The ride is labeled the "Splashover" by its Holland manufacturer.
"It's hard to describe this one," Meacham said, preferring the dishwasher definition.
Andrew said the new ride has a double rotation action.
"It won't be for the faint of heart," he said.
The Cliffhanger might perhaps best be described as a Samurai kind of ride that may leave riders wet. (The Samurai is a new rotating thrill ride Lagoon added in the middle of the 2000 season.)
While the new ride isn't in the caliber of Rattlesnake Rapids or the Rocket, it continues Lagoon's recent tradition of trying to have one new ride or attraction a year.
Some new food concessions and picnic areas could open. Lagoon's opening date will likely be about mid-April.
E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com