Lagoon
Lagoon is an amusement park located in Farmington, Utah USA.
About the park
Lagoon is home to several roller coasters, a wide assortment of rides, a waterpark (Lagoon-A-Beach), a historic Pioneer Village, live entertainment, expansive picnic grounds, a small zoo, gardens, games and other attractions. The park hosts a haunted Halloween event (Frightmares) in the fall. There is a park operated campground and indoor tennis facilities adjacent to the park. A public walking trail that was built by the park runs along its perimeter.
Lagoon is the only true amusement park in the state of Utah.
History
When people first arrived in the Salt Lake valley they found that the salt content in the Great Salt Lake would cause swimmers to float like a cork. Bathing resorts popped up on the shores of the lake, and visitors were drawn to this strange phenomenon. In 1886 a resort called Lake Park opened on the eastern shore of the lake. The centerpiece of Lake Park was it's open air dancing pavilion. Lake Park was considered to be the best bathing resort on the lake.
Lake Park flourished until 1893, when the waters of the Great Salt Lake receded leaving Lake Park with no lake, only mud. The owners were forced to close the park. The park sat vacant for the next three years. In 1896 the entire resort, including it's dancing pavilion, was moved several miles to the east next to a man-made pond and a new park, "Lagoon" was born.
When Lagoon first opened it was faced with fierce competition from the new LDS church owned Saltair bathing resort. Lagoon built a Shoot the Chutes attraction and offered swimming in filtered water (instead of the foul smelling Salt Lake) to help draw the crowds away from Saltair. The competition forced Lagoon to grow rapidly, they added new gardens, swimming pools and colored lights. In 1921 Roller Coaster was added to compete with Saltair's new Giant Racer.
The park continued to grow for several years, a fun house, indoor dance hall and mechanical rides were added. Then, in 1953 fire broke out. The fun house and dance hall were destroyed and the roller coaster was damaged. Luckily, Lagoon took little time in rebuilding and improving the park.
In 1957, when Saltair's 110 foot Giant Racer roller coaster was blown down in a 75mph wind gust, the resort could not afford to rebuild it. The 1958 season was one of the worst financial years Saltair had faced. The resort was forced to close it's doors in 1959.
In 1987 Lagoon celebrated its 100th birthday with the addition of Centennial Screamer and Turn of the Century
The Lake park terrace was torn down in 2005 to make room for The Bat. However, the gazebo that sat on the top of the terrace still remains at Lagoon, and is known as the Rose Terrace.
For a more detailed look at Lagoon's history, see the The Lagoon History Project
Ride Manufacturing
Lagoon has been the primary manufacturer and designer of two of its roller coasters, Cannibal and Bombora. Lagoon hired contractors to perform some of the work, such as the fabrication of track and supports. Most ride manufacturers also hire contractors to perform this type of work. It is unusual for a park to design and manufacture its own rides, with the notable exception of Disney parks.
Additional Information
Rides at Lagoon
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