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 Review of Wicked @ Lagoon
1 Rating Posted by: shag9004 on 7/20/2007 11:17:00 AM
Date Ridden : 7-7-2007 Times Ridden : 1 (Ridiculous Line)

I returned from my trek through Utah and New Mexico and am happy to be able to write the first review for Wicked, the new launched coaster at Lagoon. This is my fourth review of the major new rides this year and unfortunately this one does not measure up to the others. For its location (Utah....basically the middle of nowhere as far as coasters go) it is a great ride. Upon entering the park we walked on three other coasters in the first 15 minutes and worked our way around to Wicked. For some reason there is a very small queing section so the line was already backed well out on to the midway. We went ahead and got our ride after about a 45 minute wait as the line moves very quickly. I am seriously glad we did. More on that later.

The ride itself offers no preferential seating as the ride ops make sure very seat is filled. This really does not matter as far as this ride goes as the trains are only two rows with four seats per row. You either get a front or a back seat. I do prefer riding on the end seats on all coasters that have 4-across seating. I got the back row far left seat. The ride turns out of the station into an enclosed section and merely slows down before the "launch" instead of completely stopping. The launch itself was weak which is my main gripe with the ride. It was more of a push up the 105 foot hill instead of an actual launch. I think the top speed on this thing is around 40 MPH and that is on the drop following the launch. I enjoyed my ride as there are some wonderful elements including the heartline roll type inversion that is taken at a slow speed and gives some great hangtime. The overbanked turns are nice but seem weaker in the short stubby cars. The OTSRs are comfortable and lead to only one spot of headbanging which I intended to verify on my next ride. Unfortunately that did not take place.
After hitting 5 of the 7 coasters in the park including the Ace Classic woodie Roller Coaster twice we left the park for a bite of lunch. When we returned it was utter chaos!! I did not expect tiny crowds but the number of people there with their ice chests and, get this, BBQ grills was unfathomable. The water park which is included with park admission was filled to capacity and people were in line waiting to get in it. The river rapids ride wait was over 2 hours. We waited 1 hour each for the two kiddie type coasters so we could have the credits and before we left I wanted one more spin on Wicked. When we walked over i could see the line curling around the midway and out of sight. Based on the 45 minute wait from that morning, I would say it was easily 2 to 3 hours. I never really even saw the end of the line. There were so many people there it was difficult to breath. All of the lines for virtually every attraction had spilled out of the queing areas and people were lumped up all over the place. We decideed to head on out toward Roswell where the Alien Convention was in full swing (no I dont belive in ETs by the way). However, after my visit to Lagoon I was about ready to "phone home" and let you guys know to stay away from Lagoon on the weekend following the 4th. In conclusion, Wicked is a good solid ride, hence the 8 rating, but scores lower in my book than the other new rides of 2007. Its popularity is immense in this part of the country but I dont think Id make a special trip out for this ride only.
 

Review Comments

mrceagle on 7/21/2007 1:39:33 AM said:
Great review. Sounds like you enjoyed the coaster for the most part. Seem like the park really need to Invest is a collection of very high capacity rides.
ginzo on 11/9/2007 10:10:41 PM said:
You mention OTSRs and headbanging, but every picture I have of this ride shows that it has lapbars, not OTSRs.
shag9004 on 11/16/2007 12:28:35 PM said:
ginzo, i think you are right. I looked up a ton of pics since I seemed to remember the OTSRs but evidently they are non-existent. I think if you notice however, the seats run out a little at the tops which led to the slight baning i mentioned. Again, it was only slight as I remembered it. Wicked is by no means a vekoma boomerang style headbanger. Thanks you for pointing this out. You get a gold star.
ginzo on 11/16/2007 1:17:12 PM said:
Well, I came onto this site looking for reviews after reading about Wicked in ECCs First Drop magazine. One of the things they touted was the lack of OTSRs on this inverting coaster. It looks like an interesting concept. Its good to see that the less regarded coaster vendors are stepping up their game.
shag9004 on 11/16/2007 1:59:01 PM said:
Agreed and thanks for the comment. The ride is outstanding considering that it is all the way out in freaking Farmington, UT and as I said, the lines were atrocious. It is a unique ride but the weak launch was not what I was expecting. My spologies for the incorrect info. I could have sworn.....oh well, the heat must have gotten to me.
BobFunland on 11/17/2007 5:32:26 PM said:
Thanks for the insight, and the comments aboutthe lines and such. I almost rode this back in June. I was in Vegas for a weekend and considered making the trek up there, but between what I had heard about the lines, the desert heat, and the fact that it was only open for about 2 weeks at that point, I decided to put it off for another time. Well... that and I love Vegas, and it was my 21st bday
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