Lagoon Amusement Park was one of the first amusement parks in the country to desegregate. (Photo courtesy of KSL)
Lagoon Amusement Park will reopen for the season on Saturday with one big change from last season: Reservations will no longer be required.
Despite the change, Lagoon spokesperson Adam Leishman said other pandemic safety measures will still be in place. Employees are required to wear masks and guests will still have to wear them when they’re standing in line and in areas where social distancing is not possible.
Leishman said they typically don’t have many visitors this early in the season, but they don’t plan to limit the number who can come in.
The news comes as Lagoon is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its iconic wooden roller coaster. The feel of a wooden coaster — the shakiness, the ‘rattley-ness’ — is part of the design and similar to other roller coasters around the country, according to Leishman. But the wooden structure of the ride is regularly inspected and replaced.
“While it’s 100 years old none of the wood is original,” Leishman said. “There’s a section replaced every single year, and so it takes about seven years, give or take, to make it all the way around.”
Park patrons who bought season passports last year and didn’t use them, Leishman said, will also get a break. They’ll be able to roll over those passports for this year.
Lagoon has about 200 year-round staff members and a peak seasonal work force of about 3,000. Leishman said they’re hiring for both part-time and full-time positions right now.