Cannibal is the ride Lagoon spent nearly a decade dreaming up — and then decided to build itself. Rising over the classic Farmington, Utah park since 2015, its brown elevator tower is visible from Interstate 15, and the moment that made it famous happens right at the top: a 116° beyond-vertical dive that was the steepest drop in the United States when it opened. Ten years on, it is still the signature thrill ride of Utah and one of the most unusual major coasters in the world.
Key Stats
| Height | 208 ft (63 m) elevator lift; ~197 ft (60 m) structure |
| Drop angle | 116° beyond vertical |
| Speed | 70 mph (110 km/h) |
| Length | 2,735 ft (834 m) |
| Inversions | 4 (Immelmann, dive loop, double “Lagoon Roll”) |
| Max g-force | 4.2 g |
| Duration | About 2:30 |
| Builder | Lagoon Corporation (in-house, designer Dal Freeman) |
| Opened | July 2, 2015 |
| Cost | Approx. $22 million |
A coaster Lagoon built itself
Major parks almost always order their coasters from specialist manufacturers, but Lagoon took a different path with Cannibal. Under lead designer Dal Freeman, the park engineered and constructed roughly three quarters of the ride in-house — an almost unheard-of move for a $22 million project of this scale. The result is a layout that exists nowhere else: instead of a chain lift, riders board a 12-passenger open car that rolls into an enclosed 208-foot elevator tower and is hauled straight up in the dark.
At the top, the car creeps out of an opening high above the midway, pauses on the brink, and then tips into the signature drop: 116 degrees, a full 26 degrees past straight down. At opening it was celebrated as the tallest beyond-vertical drop in the world, and its angle stood as the steepest in the United States until TMNT Shellraiser arrived in New Jersey in 2019.
The ride experience
The plunge builds speed to 70 mph and slams into a 140-foot-tall Immelmann loop, followed by a dive loop that threads the ride’s terrain. Cannibal then crosses a lagoon and rips through its namesake “Lagoon Roll” — a double heartline roll that twists riders one way, then back the other — before a splashless water-adjacent finale brings the car home. The whole trip covers 2,735 feet of track in about two and a half minutes and peaks at 4.2 g, enough to place it in the conversation with the highest g-force coasters anywhere.
Riders are held in by individual lap bars only — no over-the-shoulder harnesses — which makes the beyond-vertical moment feel especially exposed. With just 12 riders per car, lines move slowly on busy days, so locals treat an early-morning Cannibal ride as essential strategy.
FAQ
How steep is Cannibal at Lagoon?
Cannibal’s first drop is angled at 116 degrees — 26 degrees beyond straight down. It debuted as the steepest coaster drop in the United States and still ranks among the steepest roller coaster drops in the world.
How tall and fast is Cannibal?
The enclosed elevator lift carries riders about 208 feet up before the drop, and the ride hits a top speed of 70 mph across 2,735 feet of track.
Who built Cannibal?
Lagoon built Cannibal largely in-house — about 75% of the ride — under designer Dal Freeman, at a reported cost of around $22 million. It opened on July 2, 2015.
Photo: Jeremy Thompson via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)