Flying Saucer

Opened: 13 Apr 1968
Closed: Mid-1970s
Location: North Midway, South Midway
Manufactured By: Chance Manufacturing – Wichita, Kansas
Ride Model: Trabant
Cost: $50,000
Ride Capacity: 40 adults or 60 small children

Flying Saucer in April 1968. Photo courtesy of Deseret News

Lagoon’s Flying Saucer was a Chance Trabant with multi-colored metal panels. At night, it used over 800 lights for a radiating green glow. The “saucer” would start out flat and then seemingly hover as it tilted up while spinning on a center arm that was off-center.

When it first opened, it was located on the North Midway about where Space Scrambler is now. Later, it was moved to the South Midway. It’s possible that it was moved around to a couple different spots on that end, but as shown in the photos below, the Flying Saucer was found at the very end of the South Midway in 1972 and ’73. The only other reference to the ride past 1973 I’ve found is on a list of rides for a Smith’s Day discount in 1975. If it was still around then, it would have been relocated somewhere when the Sky Ride was built in 1974.

Aerial view of the South Midway in June 1972. The Flying Saucer is at the very south end between the Paratrooper and the Tumbler. Photo courtesy of Deseret News