Colossus the Fire Dragon, also known as Colossus, or simply Fire Dragon, is a Schwarzkopf double-looping

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

that opened at

Lagoon Amusement Park Lagoon is a privately owned amusement park in Farmington, Utah, United States, located about 18 miles north of Salt Lake City. It has ten roller coasters, five of which are unique; '' Colossus the Fire Dragon'', the last Schwarzkopf Double Lo ...

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1983.

Description

The coaster sends riders high up the lift hill alongside

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * ''Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' ser ...

, then into a smooth 1/3 right turn. Riders get a glimpse of the

Wild Mouse A wild mouse is a type of roller coaster consisting of single or spinning cars traversing a tight-winding track with an emphasis on sharp, unbanked turns. The upper portion of the track usually features multiple 180-degree turns, known as flat ...

and the

Spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

roller coasters before heading into a fast, twisting plummet to the ground, then through two high-G

vertical loop The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted. History The vertical ...

s and two helix turns. The first helix turn is very large, arcing over the "bridge" or elevated part of the queue, then up and through the second loop. After that the train passes just over the station's roof, then down and around, turning diagonally between the two loops into the G-inducing helix back to the station. This helix is what some people call the 'slanted spiral' or the 'upward-downward helix,' because it turns downward, upward, then downward again at equal angles into a large turn that leads back to the station, giving the entire element a 'slanted' look.

Unique aspects

Colossus is one of two double looping

Anton Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf (8 July 1924 – 30 July 2001) was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs ...

roller coasters. There were three double looping

s in the United States until

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located between Allentown and Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The park features 64 rides, including six roller coasters, other adul ...

closed at the end of 2008. Shockwave at Six Flags Over Texas being the first. Colossus the Fire Dragon is also unique because it has an extra curve in the helix. The coaster is located in front of Lagoon's 2007 ride, Wicked.

Safety

The trains have no over-the-shoulder restraints, offering more freedom for riders. To date, there have been no incidents involving riders. On June 10, 1983, a teenage employee lost her arm while working near the roller coaster.

Appearance

Colossus's track is blue with white supports and a yellow color scheme on the inversions. Its inversions are 2 vertical loops which are lit up with orange and yellow lights at night. The lift is also lit up with orange and yellow lights. Colossus the Fire Dragon's trains are glittering silver & white with

headlights A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for ...

and a decal of a green dragon on the front car; on the sides of the train there are two stripes of either green, blue, or red, depending on what train it is. While going up the lift hill, riders can also see flags from different countries, ending with the U.S. as the train reaches the top.

Naming history

The roller coaster's name was actually just "Colossus" at first, but the "Fire Dragon" surname was added, so there would be no confusion between

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...

Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...

and Colossus at Lagoon. It is still regularly referred to as simply "Colossus", as well as "Colossus, the Fire Dragon", and simply "The Fire Dragon".

Relocation

Colossus the Fire Dragon is a portable roller coaster, so it was fairly inexpensive (2.5 million US dollars when built) and it can be dismantled & rebuilt within a day or two, even though it is quite large. It is almost identical to the former

, except (as explained above) the Laser did not have the extra curve in the helix and its colors were purple with green supports and black top rails. Laser was also slightly taller. It traveled on a European fair circuit for approximately two years, before Lagoon Corporation purchased the attraction. The ride was later installed at Lagoon Park in Farmington, Utah, in 1983 where the roller coaster has been located ever since.

Other notes

Colossus the Fire Dragon is long and has a max speed of 55 m.p.h. Its max G-force is 4.8 g. It is currently one of the most popular roller coasters at Lagoon. It has 12,000+ lights. Colossus can accommodate three trains running simultaneously, but has not done so since 1999. Currently Colossus runs a maximum of two trains when the park is busy. However, all 3 trains are used in a rotation according to maintenance schedules. The train that has accumulated the most runtime is removed to be rebuilt while the other two are running.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colossus The Fire Dragon Roller coasters in Utah Roller coasters introduced in 1983 Lagoon (amusement park)