The air up here
Driving up to the Celebration Centre is scary.
People anticipating a fun time at an amusement park are left craning their necks at a towering rusty-looking tube with one thought: “This looks like it was built from scrap metal. Will I make it out alive?”
According to owner and creator Stan Checketts, that’s exactly what he wanted.
It’s strange to see large, expensive amusement park rides jutting up from the ground just south of Logan. However, Checketts, CEO of amusement park ride company S & S Worldwide, said more than 400 million people from around the world have enjoyed rides he has designed, and it’s “very gratifying to get to see people in Utah experience this.”
The Celebration Centre has been partially open for a year, but celebrated its grand opening Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting and media open house. The new facility features a wide array of activities for all ages.
Go-karts on adult or child tracks provide a chance to race against friends and strangers. A miniature golf course stands near the entrance and a carousel sits inside the main building for those who want a tamer experience.
Checketts said his real passion is designing rides for big thrill-seekers.
Adrenalin junkies can get their fix on the Sky Coaster, which is identical to the one at Lagoon. Other rides include the Screamin’ Swing – a smooth, propelled giant swing that is a personal favorite of Checketts’; and the Sky Sling, a bungee ride with four stationary seats and two that swivel toward the cement launch pad as the riders plunge back to Earth. Checketts describes the Sky Sling as “absolutely insane.”
Lindsay Mounteer, a sophomore in nursing and exercise science, was part of a group of Aggiettes that joined Big Blue in testing out the rides.
“It wasn’t what I was expecting it to be,” Mounteer said about the Sky Sling.
“I was shocked when it turned at the top, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
The crowning glory of Checketts’ park is the Sonic Boom, a 367-foot tower that Checketts said is the tallest drop-ride in the world – and it doesn’t have brakes.
A mannequin stood at the top of the Sonic Boom to represent Checketts, who said he stands at the top of his new rides, including the debut of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.
The ride has been in construction for two years, although Checketts said he had the idea for it more than 10 years ago.
The Sonic Boom is an enormous metal tower climbed by a two-person car that overlooks spectacular view of Cache Valley. When the riders are ready, the press of a red button plunges the car into a freefall, where the passengers experience four seconds of negative G forces.
The car then hits the tube at the bottom of the tower and the air compressing under the rapidly descending car creates brakes. When looking at the Sonic Boom, one doubts if it will hold the weight of a child, much less an adult. The metal is rusty-looking, but Checketts said the ride was purposely distressed to add to the thrill.
“What makes me happy is thrilling people,” Checketts said. “I didn’t realize that for 50 years of my life.”
A white cowboy hat tops light brown hair speckled with gray and a grin crosses Checketts’ face as he talks about starting his business with bungee rides in 1989. The seemingly easy-going man joked with Logan Mayor Randy Watts, calling him a “punk kid” and carried a heavy tripod for one reporter.
Checketts said he was born and raised in Providence, but has lived in many states and held many jobs, including being a cabinetmaker, until he realized thrilling people and bringing smiles to faces is what he really wanted to do.
His company, S & S Worldwide, which stands for Stan and Sandy after he and his wife, has created about 10 high-thrill rides since it began.
“I’m not a high-thrill-ride person and even though I don’t ride the rides, I support him in all his crazy endeavors,” Sandy Checketts said. “Whatever he does is fun and makes people smile. He can hardly wait to get to work in the morning.”
Checketts said he has given up trying to get his wife on the rides.
“She used to ride with me,” he said, “but quit when we went to Japan on a ride that was 220 feet tall. She hasn’t ridden since.”
The kitchen manager, Jimi Wright, said she enjoys working at the Celebration Centre because Checketts is “just like a big kid; he loves to have fun.”
Additional activities at the Celebration Centre include a rock climbing wall, a large playplace for kids and an entire floor of more than 70 arcade games and a pool table.
From the ceiling of the building hang all the state flags and flags from countries around the world. A kitchen also provides food for customers or for groups that have reserved the area for parties.
“Our plans are to keep a nice atmosphere for people locally to come and enjoy. We’re excited to debut rides from around the world,” Checketts said. “We have 40 acres and they’ll build more rides even after I’m dead and gone.”
The Celebration Centre is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., although the go-karts and high thrill rides are only open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Party and group discounts are available. For more information, call 752-4215 or visit www.logancelebrationcentre.com.
-dilewis@cc.usu.edu