INSIDE: Dollywood building first launched wooden coaster Page 5 TM & ©2015 Amusement Today, Inc. September 2015 | Vol. 19 • Issue 6 www.amusementtoday.com Unique Utah diving coaster debuts Cannibal emerges from Lagoon, hunts thrill-seekers AT: Dean Lamanna feet) and a diving loop — along 2,735 feet of Cannibal sprang to life during the July 4th [email protected] track. The ride, lasting two and a half min- holiday weekend. Immediately, thrill ride Golden Ticket Awards FARMINGTON, Utah — The beast utes, achieves a top speed of 70 mph and superlatives like “outrageous” and “super- may have missed half the summer, but af- pulls as much as 4.2 Gs. scary” were flying and dramatic front seat registrations due; ter seven years of development encompass- Cannibal is Lagoon’s latest in-house POV footage appeared online. hotel deadline passes ing three years of construction, Lagoon, the coaster design effort since the installation For Lagoon enthusiasts who’d grown historic amusement park in northern Utah, of BomBora, a surfing-themed steel family impatient for the promise that had been NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. finally uncaged its wildly anticipated div- ride, in 2011. It also represents the park’s sprouting — and then sprawling — in the — Amusement industry ing coaster, Cannibal, in early July. second collaboration with ART Engineer- park’s North Midway section for so long, professionals planning to The park’s 10th roller coaster, Cannibal ing GmbH of Oberried, Germany. the wait was truly over. attend the 2015 Golden boasts a vertical lift inside a 208-foot-tall Following an extended period of Lagoon president David Freed, still Ticket Awards in New York tower with a nearly inverted 116-degree tweaking and sandbag testing that carried catching his breath from the marathon that City, Sept. 11 and 12, are major first drop, an underground tun- well past the park’s 2015 season opening in was Cannibal’s conception and realization, reminded to get their reg- nel and three inversions — including an late March — a delay that fueled all manner told Amusement Today that he’s probably the istration and hotel reserva- Immelmann-style loop (capping out at 140 of parkgoer and local media speculation — 4See LAGOON, page 4 tions in immediately. The cutoff date to re- ceive the 2015 Golden Tick- et Awards discounted room rate at the Park Lane Hotel at Central Park is August 21, 2015. Event online registra- tion will continue through Sept. 2, 2015. For hotel booking in- formation or for event reg- istration please go to: www. GoldenTicketAwards.com. For more information on the schedule of events, see pages 26-27. This is the 18th year for the Golden Ticket Awards, which are presented to the “Best of the Best” in the amusement industry and After plunging down its way- are calculated from an inter- beyond-vertical, 116-degree national poll conducted by first drop (lower right, coun- Amusement Today. Com- terclockwise), Cannibal steals plete results of the 2015 riders' collective breath with survey will be posted at several soaring loops and www.amusementtoday.com eventually "exhales" with a following the conclusion heartline roll. The coaster of the Saturday, Sept. 12, opened July 2. awards ceremony. COURTESY LAGOON Dated material. material. Dated RUSH! SUBSCRIBE TODAY! NEWSPAPER POSTMASTER: 19, 2015 August Wednesday, Mailed PLEASE PERMIT # 2069 # PERMIT (817) 460-7220 FT. WORTH TX WORTH FT. PAID US POSTAGE US PRSRT STD PRSRT 2 AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2015 NEWSTALK EDITORIAL: Gary Slade, [email protected] FLINT’S VIEW: Bubba Flint Back of the house Ed Hart, the man behind the suc- cessful rebirth of Kentucky Kingdom for the second time, enjoyed something this year that was not possible when he reopened the park in 2014: returning employees. Slade Ed was quick to point out, during a recent visit by AT, the challenges any new park must face when recruiting and training an entirely new staff. During the job fairs, interviews, hiring and training, Hart was not happy with one park detail, and it wasn't the newly hired employees. It was the way the park present- ed its back of the house to employees and the lack of proper space and facilities to properly train/test them. Guests at Kentucky Kingdom this year enjoyed eight additional rides to choose from: four new and four existing non-operating rides that were refurbished and ready once again for the thrill-seekers. Park employees also got something new this year — a INDUSTRY OPINION: Scott Rutherford, [email protected] new 17,200 square foot two-story Operations and Ware- Remember house building, adjacent to the park's 3-D Theater build- During a recent discussion about With vivid clarity I recall that long- ing, now houses Ride Operations, Audit, Cash Control, park and roller coaster history, the con- ago afternoon in the Comet’s silent sta- Food Service, Games & Merchandise, Human Resources, versation turned toward the importance tion, which was perched on the edge of I.T., employee lockers and warehousing. Wide, open, col- of preserving not only amusement in- a forested ravine. The scent of old wood, orful offices and meeting rooms now greet employees as dustry artifacts (photos, blueprints, grease and age permeated the place. newspaper/magazine stories, physical But all that only accentuated what hap- they get their daily assignments and/or gather for meet- equipment etc.) but also oral histories. pened. When Vesco realized we were ings or testing. It's a modern office building-like setting In many cases, these personal accounts coaster enthusiasts he began to speak. for the young professionals being sent out into the park are all that remain of a certain subject. Rutherford We were rapt. We had the honor of lis- to represent the two-year-old Kentucky Kingdom brand. This perfectly illustrated the real need to tening to tales of what the park had been Ed didn't stop there. At the back of the park, behind not only preserve what came before us, but also like when he built the Comet and guests had what we have (and are) experiencing as that, flitted from ride to ride. His eyes and the rev- the parks river rapids ride along a service road, he built too, will become history. erential tone of his voice conveyed how much a new 11,500 square foot Technical Services Building to This brought to mind a memorable 1981 the park had meant to him. To see it in such an serve ride repair and maintenance, plumbing, electrical, visit to Cascade Park in New Castle, Pa. Though abandoned state left him bruised. carpentry and the aquatics teams. Department offices, once a thriving traditional park in the old style Vesco passed away a few years later, and meeting rooms and more are also located here. with all the classic trappings, Cascade had fallen with him all that knowledge and experience. If out of favor with the public. It was there that only I had a tape recorder that day to collect Many times we see older parks that do not invest in we met Paul Vesco, an older gentleman who his stories. Recollections such as his can offer us their employee work areas to give them the best work- had started as a vendor in the 1950s and then a personal glimpse into the past from an indi- ing environment that today's technology offers. A tip of the became the park’s guardian and caretaker as it vidual that actually lived during those wonderful local Derby cap to Ed Hart for doing the right thing by struggled to survive its final two decades. We times. With their passing, so much is forever lost taking care of his employees, just the way his employees wandered past too many tired rides and at- unless someone has the foresight to make a re- tractions until we found Vesco sitting alone on cord of it. At least my memories of that amazing take care of the park's guests each operating day. a bench on the vacant loading platform of the day remain, and I have every intention of pre- park’s resident wooden coaster, the Comet. serving them for future generations. Call (817) 460-7220 for advertising, circulation or editorial inquiries Amusement Today is an independent, privately- Founder, Publisher and Editor Editorial Print Issue & Extra Extra owned trade newspaper published 14 times Gary Slade • (817) 460-7220 x3 Tim Baldwin Desktop Edition Production per year by Amusement Today Inc., P.O. Box [email protected] [email protected] John Robinson • (513) 256-1441 5427, Arlington, Texas 76005. Print issues are [email protected] $50.00 per year and are mailed Presort Standard Postage (permit No. 2069) Pre-Paid Fort Worth, Accounting & Classified Dean Lamannna • (310) 795-2734 Texas. 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