Cannibal


Tower Height: 208 Feet
Track Length: 2,735 Feet
Ride Time: 2 ½ minutes
Maximum G Force: 4.2 G’s
Maximum Speed: 70 miles per hour
Maximum Inverted Loop: 140 Feet Tall
Riders Per Car: 12
Rider Capacity Per Hour: 1,200
Minimum Height to Ride: 46 to 48 inches, to be determined
Budget: $22 Million
Aggressive Thrill

Cannibal is a 208-foot roller coaster, or megacoaster that is currently under construction. It is expected to begin operation when Lagoon opens for the 2015 season^[1].

This article is about an upcoming ride at Lagoon. The information on this page may not be fully up to date, and details may change as the ride gets closer to opening. Up to the minute discussion can be found on the Forum.

Announcement

Lagoon unveiled plans to debut the biggest and fastest roller coaster in the park’s history in September of 2014. According to Julie Freed, spokesperson for Lagoon, “We have named it Cannibal, because in our collective mind it will eat other roller coasters in their tracks!” Cannibal has been under construction for over two years and is set to open for the upcoming 2015 season. This steel roller coaster is one of a kind, and is primarily manufactured and constructed locally."

Cannibal will be the tallest attraction at Lagoon with a height of 208 feet. This state of the art coaster will thrill riders with its unique elements unlike anything else at Lagoon. Riders will be lifted 208 feet on a vertical lift and then plunged into a free fall at a break-over angle of 116 degrees into an underground tunnel. The 12 occupant vehicles travel up to 70 miles per hour through three inversions. Cannibal will be the most exciting thrill ride in Lagoon's history and is the only roller coaster of its type in the world.

Ride Elements

When Cannibal was announced, Lagoon stated that the ride would feature the following elements:

Vertical Lift
Inverted Loop
Diving Loop
Underground Tunnel
Exclusive thrill element to be announced at a later date.

Based on design images and construction photos, it is believed that the ride will feature (in order):

Dual Elevator Lift
Beyond Vertical Drop
Underground Tunnel
Inverted Loop
Diving Loop
Double Down
Highly Overbanked Turn
270° Counter-Clockwise Barrel Roll immediately followed by 270° Clockwise Barrel Roll
Helix through a tunnel behind a waterfall.

Theme elements

Temples

There are a series of themed "Temples" built above the underground tunnel. One temple features the head of a rhinoceros, one features the head of an elephant, and one features a snake and a unique archway. There are doorways and open windows in the temples, but their purpose is unclear.

Waterfall

The ride features a waterfall that is approximately forty feet tall. This final helix of the ride's track travels through a tunnel in the waterfall, and behind the falling water. The barrel roll element of the ride has the riders travel upside down over the waterfall. There is at least one large statue "carved" into the rear of the waterfall. The waterfall is made of concrete sprayed over a steel structure. The waterfall was designed by Cloward H20 and built by Cemrock.

Lion statues

Cannibal's theming includes concrete lions that previously sat at the steps to the Utah State Capital Building. The lions are over 100 years old and due to their deteriorated state, they were auctioned on eBay and replaced by new marble lion statues. Lagoon won three of the statues at auction, spending nearly $16,000 but were outbid by a Salt Lake City resident on the fourth, which sold for $8,100. The lions have been fully restored by Lagoon and sit near Cannibal's entrance.

Local contractors

Cannibal is unusual in that it is not being designed and built by an existing roller coaster manufacturer. It was designed by Lagoon's head engineer Dal Freeman, and is being built by Lagoon and its contractors. Over 75% of contractors and vendors involved in the construction of this coaster are from Utah. Below is a list of these companies as identified by Lagoon.