The Bat is a Vekoma

Vekoma

Vekoma Rides Manufacturing B.V. is a roller coaster and thrill ride designer with its facilities based in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld under the name "Veld Koning Machinefabriek" and had first manufactured agricultural machinery and mining equipment...

 Suspended Family Coaster located at Lagoon Amusement Park

Lagoon Amusement Park

Lagoon is an amusement park in Farmington, Utah, United States located about seventeen miles north of Salt Lake City. It is privately owned...

 in Farmington

Farmington, Utah

Farmington is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 18,255 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Davis County...

, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

The Bat debuted at Lagoon Amusement Park

Lagoon Amusement Park

Lagoon is an amusement park in Farmington, Utah, United States located about seventeen miles north of Salt Lake City. It is privately owned...

 on April 16, 2005. Lagoon had hoped to open the Bat on the opening day of the 2005 season on April 9, but the opening was delayed a week. It was built on the site of the Lake Park Terrace, a pavilion moved to Lagoon from the park's original location on the shore of the Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...

. The Terrace was removed on October 12, 2004, to make room for the new roller coaster, as the structure's deterioration had passed the point of feasible maintenance. It was one of four roller coasters added to the park in a 10-year span, and the first to use a magnetic braking system. The Bat was the third 'family-friendly' ride, allowing both adults and children, to be installed in the park, following the Kontiki and Dragon Fly flat rides installed in 2004. The ride was also the first inverted roller coaster for the park.

Ride Description

The Bat begins with a turn out of the station and up a pinch wheel lift, into a series of helix's and small hills around the bat cave and other themed features and trees. The Bat comes to an end with as the train is slowed by magnetic brakes and returns to the station. The minimum height for riders of the Bat is 42 inches (106.7 cm) with an adult companion, or 50 inches (127 cm) to ride alone; a smaller minimum height restriction than most of the other roller coasters located in the park.

Theme

The ride theming is based on bats. The ride façade and queue area resembling a cave with roosting bats, and the light coverings in the station area are decorated with images of bats. The ride track is painted green and purple, and the train is black and purple with orange restraints. As of 2008, The Bat is the only roller coaster at Lagoon with over-the-shoulder restraints.

Reception

The Bat opened in 2005, but to much disappointment. The ride was advertised as a more thrilling attraction, rather than a family attraction. The Bat has come to be accepted to the public as a family attraction. It is very popular for young children who cannot ride Lagoon's larger rides, but want to ride a coaster more thrilling than Puff the Little Fire Dragon.