Colossus the Fire Dragon is the Schwarzkopf double looper at Lagoon. If you love forceful looping
coasters, you’ll enjoy Colossus anyway. But this ride is especially clutch if you visit the park on
a busy day. Let me explain why in this review. Schwarzkopf built two portable double loopers
named Colossus in the early 1980s. One started its life in Brazil in 1981.
But it was relocated to Dorney Park in 1986. It operated there for 2 decades as Laser. After the
2008 season, the coaster was purchased by German showmen Meyer and Rosenzweig.
They renamed the coaster Teststrecke and have since brought it to many fairs across Europe.
The second Colossus started on the German fair circuit.
Showmen Robrahn and Bruch brought the ride to several fairs in 1981 and 1982. It anchored any
midway where it appeared. The ride had a nearly identical layout to Laser, but there were two
key changes. One, it was 1 story shorter. Two, the final helix had an extra lap.
In late 1982, Lagoon Amusement Park in Utah acquired the second Colossus for $2.5 million.
Since it was a portable coaster, the ride was easy to relocate and assemble.
But the park had one complication. This would be Lagoon’s tallest ride at the time.
The height was posted at 85 feet or 26 meters. Back then, Lagoon had to get special permission
to build a coaster this large. Some locals thought the ride was actually taller than
Lagoon claimed. And they technically were right. Some locals broke into the park one night and
measured the ride. They found it was actually 87 feet or 26.5 meters tall. Why the discrepancy?
Remember how this coaster is portable? It doesn’t have traditional footers built into the ground.
Rather, the whole coaster sits on wooden blocks. This is where the extra two feet comes from.
Lagoon ultimately got permission, but they did have to update the building
permit and plant some trees to keep it out-of-sight for residents on State Street.
Colossus was ready for the start of the 1983 season. Shortly after it opened, the surname
The Fire Dragon was added to distinguish the ride from Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Colossus.
And I love this ride’s signage. You have the original Colossus sign from Schwarzkopf
atop the first loop. Then you have a big and bold sign above the main entrance.
Despite being a portable coaster, this coaster actually looks pretty good. The
track is a sleek blue and the outer spine of the loop is yellow. Then this coaster
looks nice at night since the lift hill and loops are adorned with hundreds of twinkling lights.
The one thing that doesn’t look all that great is the queue line.
It still has temporary feel to it despite being used for 4 decades.
It’s a long metal ramp running adjacent to the coaster. But you at least get some
cool shots of the ride. And it’s unlikely you’ll spend much time queuing anyway.
This is Lagoon’s most efficient coaster. The park owns three trains. They used to run 3 at
once until the late 1990s, but now they run two at once. The third is cycled out for maintenance.
Each train has 7 cars. Each car has 2 rows of 2. So each train can hold a max of 28 riders.
Lagoon is well-known for lightning fast operations and Colossus may be the poster child. Riders are
restrained by a simple lap bar. That’s it. No extra seatbelts or anything. So the operators can
check the entire train in a matter of seconds. And boarding guests don’t have to waste time
storing things on the load platform. Before you enter the queue line, there are complimentary
lockers for your loose articles. This shows the park genuinely wants to do everything they can
to maximize the throughput and it truly works. It is worth noting this line, like many at Lagoon,
will look worse than it actually is. The physical queue line is comically short.
I’ve only visited this park during Frightmares, which I’ve heard is one of their busier times.
Colossus has had a full queue, yet that takes just 10-15 minutes to get through.
When you reach the end of the queue line, you’re dumped into a super narrow station. Most people
fill it front to back, but you are allowed to wait for a specific row. Just know it may get a bit
cramped if you wait for the front. For many years, single riders
were restricted from the very front and very back row. But that policy has been relaxed.
Typically, I grab the back on this coaster. I think it has a bit more bite,
which is backed up by the max G force being 1 G higher than the front car. But no matter where
you sit, you’re going to get a forceful ride. Once dispatched, you slowly ascend the lift hill.
If you look to your left, you get a great aerial view of Wicked.
At the top, you have a little curve followed by a steep, twisting plunge. If you ride up front,
you sort of slide to the side and hang there while you wait for the rest of the train to crest the
drop. Meanwhile, those in back get a delightful combination of more abrupt laterals and whip.
You then careen through back-to-back vertical loops. In typical Schwarzkopf fashion, they are
quite circular so they pile on the positive Gs. One of their loops can usually get me to greyout,
so it’s a guarantee when you have two in a row. The sustained Gs are fantastic.
The transition out of the loop may be my favorite part of the ride.
You abruptly snap into a 540 degree helix. Sit on the left if you want a truly wild experience.
This maneuver will comically throw your body sideways and fold you over the restraint.
It’s one of the most intense and jarring lateral moments on any coaster.
The subsequent helix is arguably the tamest part of the ride. It’s a bit too tall for its own good,
but you still get some light positive Gs and a fun visual piercing through
the loop. And the exit is a bit wonky. As you come of the helix, you head uphill.
But you stay banked to the left for half the ascent. So you get another dose of laterals.
You then have a 900 degree downwards helix. This one is more forceful than the prior helix,
offering decent and sustained Gs the whole way through. Then the ride has one last
trick up its sleeve. As you unbank into the brakes, you get a good jolt of laterals.
You then roll back into the station because Lagoon always avoids stacking.
I’ve seen conflicting figures on this ride’s total length. Most sites claim 2850 feet or 870 meters.
But RCDB claims 2297 feet or 700 meters. For comparison, Teststrecke has 2200 feet or 670
meters of track. I find it hard to believe one extra pass on the helix would account for
a 30% increase in track length, so I think the actual track length is closer to RCDB’s figure.
In terms of smoothness, this coaster is excellent. Schwarkzopfs are almost always
glossy smooth, even the portable models that are dismantled and moved around several times.
The only thing that can cause discomfort is if you have some
form of the over-the-shoulder restraints, which are nowhere to be found on Colossus.
So what would I rate Colossus the Fire Dragon? I would give this coaster an 8 out of 10. This
is a good looping coaster. It has a simple layout consisting of a drop, two loops, and two helixes,
but it’s smooth and has great forces. While this coaster won’t give you any airtime,
the ride dishes out positive Gs in droves and some powerful laterals.
There are far larger Schwarzkopfs out there, but this one is a no nonsense ride free of filler.
While there are a few coasters I prefer at Lagoon, this tends to be my most ridden attraction at the
park because of how quickly you can get on it. So those are my thoughts on Colossus at Lagoon.
What are your thoughts on this Schwarzkopf? How do you think it stacks up to Lagoon’s
other coasters? Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!