Wicked is a

Zierer Zierer Karussell- und Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG (Short name: Zierer ) is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying car ...

steel

launched roller coaster The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster. A launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains ...

located 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, Utah Farmington is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 24,531 at the 2020 census. The Lagoon Amusement Park and Station Park transit-oriented retail center (which includes a FrontRunner train station) are located in Farmi ...

, United States. Designed by

Werner Stengel Werner Stengel (born 22 August 1936, in Bochum) is a German roller coaster designer and engineer. Stengel is the founder of Stengel Engineering, also known as Ingenieurbüro Stengel GmbH (or Ingenieurbuero Stengel GmbH). Stengel first worked on a ...

, the ride was manufactured by

at a cost of $10 million and opened to the public in 2007. It features a

zero-g roll Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements". Comm ...

inversion and two

linear synchronous motor A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. Characteristicall ...

(LSM) launches, reaching a maximum speed of .

History

Construction of the attraction began in August 2006. Wicked was designed by

and manufactured by

, with fabrication subcontracted to Stakotra Manufacturing. The total cost to construct the ride was $10 million, and it opened to the public on June 1, 2007. The ride has been described as "very smooth and lacks any jerking or shaking" by ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'', which also noted that riders were secured unusually by their ankles and thighs instead of the traditional shoulder and lap restraints. Wicked is located in the south midway of the park in an area previously used for parking. It has a green track with mostly silver supports, the only exception being the bright yellow supports of the launch tower.

Ride experience

The train leaves the station and turns into a dark tunnel. A siren and loud booming sound effect can be heard immediately before the linear synchronous motor (LSM) launches the train straight up the vertical launch hill at . The launch is in two parts, with a short boost launch inside the tunnel and a longer, vertical launch straight up the

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

element. After cresting, it descends vertically down the other side of the top hat element, accelerating to a maximum speed of . This is followed by a small airtime hill with a trim brake and a whip around an Immelmann turn. The track levels out before sending riders up into a

, followed by a short descent into a shallow turn. The train descends into a double half-pipe, twists right then left, and proceeds into a downward helix that twists back to the left. The train dips into a tunnel-covered trench before lifting and leveling out into the final brake run. Every so often, the LSM will launch a car up the tower but the car will fail to make it over the apex of the tower. At this time the emergency brakes will deploy and the car will enter a slowed descent back into the launch tunnel. The ride was engineered for this to happen so the employees will reset the system and launch the car again at a greater speed ensuring that the car will make it over the crest of the hill.

References

External links

{{Authority control Roller coasters introduced in 2007 Lagoon (amusement park) Roller coasters in Utah 2007 establishments in Utah