Waterloo theme park plans to add a third roller coaster

WATERLOO — Lost Island Themepark says it will have another roller coaster ready to ride next summer.

A new single-rail roller coaster, called Fire Runner, was announced earlier this month at an amusement ride conference. As the name implies, a single-rail coaster only has one rail — most roller coasters have two. There are only five such rides in the United States, in California, Idaho, New Jersey and Texas.

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Eric Bertch, general manager for the Waterloo park, said he’s been in constant contact with the company that designs the rides since before the park opened. With the established rapport, Rocky Mountain Construction came to Bertch.

“(Single-rail) is a newer design and so in demand, they’re only able to build a couple a year,” Bertch said. “They have a long line of people on a waitlist, but because of the relationship we cultivated with them, they came to us and gave us first dibs.”

The coaster has eight to 12 cars in a line, similar to a train, where riders will sit by themselves. The track is 1,950 feet long, has three inversions and has a top speed of 52 mph. Instead of a 360-degree loop, the inversions will be similar to barrel rolls.

Bertch said although it is an extreme ride, it will appeal to more parkgoers with a height requirement of 48 inches to ride. The other two roller coasters in the park have height requirements of 52 and 56 inches. There is a children’s coaster in the park that Bertch said appeals to elementary school-aged children.

Bertch did not disclose the cost of the new ride.

The new, sought-after attraction is expected to bring in more visitors.

“We are now three years into existence, and out-of-state visitors who visit have increased pretty dramatically,” he said. “I expect with the new ride it is going to spur some significant growth.”

Bertch expects this season’s attendance to reach about 50,000, an average of 600 people per day. Last year, The Courier reported, about 46,000 people had visited by the week before the end of the season. The first year, total attendance was just over 26,000.

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Bertch not reveal if this year was profitable. He said publicizing numbers “seem to do more harm than good.”

“People like to talk about dollar amounts instead of the experience they have,” he said. “We are looking forward to an increase of attendance with the addition of this ride.”

In response to patrons' comments, more trees will be planted to provide relief from the heat, but Bertch noted it takes a while for trees to grow enough to shade people.

The debut of the carousel, which has been delayed since the park opened in 2022, is set for 2025. Bertch said delays were caused by companies they contracted with going out of business. Lost Island employees will construct the ride themselves.

The theme park’s last day this summer is Sept. 2. The next-door water park closes today.