Maintenance crews on Wednesday planned to inspect a popular Lagoon ride that malfunctioned and left 28 riders trapped in the cold for nearly two hours Monday night.
The Samurai, a ride installed about two years ago at the Farmington amusement park, malfunctioned about 10:45 p.m. Monday, Lagoon director of marketing Sheldon Killpack said, leaving the riders stranded for an hour and 45 minutes while crews tried to bring one of the ride's six arms down to the unloading position.
Killpack said the park provided blankets to the stranded riders while they were stuck and had hot chocolate waiting once people were removed from the ride. Killpack defended the park's decision not to remove the riders immediately as a safety decision.
"It was cold, it was a long time and we recognize that, but we just simply won't jeopardize safety for anything," he said. Two parents who arrived and couldn't find their stranded children complained to the park, Killpack said.
"Quite frankly, we could have done a better job of contacting parents to alleviate some concerns," Killpack said.
The ride remained closed Tuesday, and the park was not open Wednesday, when maintenance crews were to inspect the machinery.
"The ride won't open until we feel comfortable," Killpack said. "Incidently, the next morning, the maintenance department came in . . . turned on the ride and it functioned perfectly."