FARMINGTON — Something wicked is coming to Lagoon next spring.
The amusement park's most expensive ride ever ($10 million); its fastest (55 mph); its tallest coaster (110 feet); its most intense ride; and its most unique attraction is now under construction.
Titled simply "Wicked," this new "launch tower" type of roller coaster is located just west of the Fire Dragon in what was previously a section of parking lot. It will begin operations when the park opens in early April 2007 and will be included in the regular park ride admission. Height restriction for the ride will be 48 inches or taller.
"This ride is a one of the kind on the planet," Dick Andrew, Lagoon spokesman, said. "It's just going to be a terrific ride."
He said Lagoon has worked with a German ride manufacturer, Zierer, to build a special ride that no one else has. Wicked will have some unique elements not found in any other coasters, though Andrew suspects the ride will be copied by other parks in the future.
One unusual feature is that the ride lacks the traditional shoulder yoke. Andrew said riders will instead be locked in at their thighs, lower legs and the waist.
"You have the feeling of being out there," he said, because of the ample upper-body freedom this allows.
Wicked will also feature a unique "half-pipe" section. This is two compact vertical turns that will simulate in roller-coaster fashion the half-pipe move that snowboarders or skateboarders do. The ride also has a heart line roll inversion and banked turns.
The ride will also include two black tunnels. Riders are launched out of the first tunnel at 41 mph and shot straight up a camelback-shaped hill at a 90-degree angle. Cars descend the first hill at 55 mph.
The second tunnel, below ground, will be filled with mist. The approximate 2 1/2-minute ride will use magnetic braking.
Andrew also stressed that the ride's special features are separated, so that riders have a few seconds in between to recover from or appreciate one before experiencing another. Riders will experience up to 4.85 G-forces.
He said the ride's unique aspects can mostly be credited to Dal Freeman, Lagoon's park engineer. He's a former roller-coaster builder and knew what could or could not be created.
Wicked is not a traditional chain-driven coaster that goes click, click, click. It will be powered magnetically by a "linear synchronous motor" that alone will make it unlike any other ride in the park. It will also be very quiet.
Construction on the ride began in August and its 270 pylons are already in the ground. At 110 feet tall, Wicked will tower over the 85-foot-high Fire Dragon to its east. Wicked includes about 2,000 feet of track. The footprint of the new ride is 112 feet wide and 404 feet in length.
"It will be the largest, fastest thing in the park," Andrew said.
Wicked will feature five separate cars, each holding eight passengers in two rows of four riders. The back row will be elevated to allow rear passengers to also clearly see what lies ahead. Special booster seats will cater to shorter passengers.
Andrew said Lagoon will rely on its overflow parking on its north field to replace the parking spaces lost to the new ride.Lagoon is also selling 2007 season passports at the same early bird discount purchase price it has maintained for the past three years, at $72.95 a person, plus tax. That price will increase after Jan. 2. Season parking passes are $38. Go to www.lagoonpark.com for more information.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com