Opened: 12 April 2003
Ride Model: Xtended Spinning Coaster 2000
Cost: $3 Million ($4 Million including landscaping & theming) Max Speed: 38 mph Max Height: 53 feet
Maximum Banking: 82°
Minimum Slope: 50°
Track Length: 1,414 feet Base Dimensions: 78 feet x 146 feet
Ride Time: 1 min, 10 sec
Ride Capacity: 4 per car (2 rows of 2 seated back to back)
Hourly Capacity: 600 persons per hour
Height Requirements: 46-50" must be accompanied by someone over 50" tall
RIDE EXPERIENCE
Before this ride opened, I was told it was a lot like the Wild Mouse, except the cars spin as they go around the track. But now that I've been on this ride, I know there are actually quite a few differences!. This is a great ride. Because the car spins & you're seated back to back, the ride experience is never exactly the same. Sitting in back will send you down the first drop backwards! No matter where you sit, there are several points in the ride when you have no idea where you're going to go or in what direction you will turn.
RIDE HISTORY & INFO
Once again Lagoon has managed to be the first to open a particular model of ride in North America. There were some small setbacks when it opened, though. Because of some problems with the original wheels on the cars, The Spider didn't open until the afternoon of April 12th and it was only open for 15 minutes or so. The next day it only ran for 3 hours. The ride's manufacturer sent Lagoon new wheels and it had a successful reopening on the 19th. On that day, the number of attendance on The Spider neared the attendance of the park.
Since the ride opened, another cast iron spider (like the one that greets guests at the gate) was placed in the middle of the coaster itself "reaching out as if snatching at a passing car". When I went back in July of 2003, I never noticed it when I was on the ride, but only while waiting in line to ride again. The iron spiders were made by Pioneer Manufacturing & Welding in West Valley City, Utah.
The name originally planned for this ride was "The Spider And The Fly". You can still see the original name displayed on the cars. They probably just shortened it because it sounded better. The name seems to suggest that the passengers are riding on a fly that is flying around trying to get out of the spiderweb.
Lagoon posted photos of the construction progress on its website, which was a first for Lagoon. The photos documented the progress from December 2002 until 11 April 2003, the day before it opened.
PHOTOS
Photos: RickLEFT: A huge black widow greets guests at the ride's entrance. RIGHT: The queue line winds through shade trees & up through a castle tower before reaching the loading platform.
Photo: Rick
