- Demon (California's Great America)
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This article is about the roller coaster at California's Great America. For the roller coaster at Six Flags Great America, see Demon (Six Flags Great America).
Demon 
Red train navigating the first of two corkscrew loops on the Six Flags Great America version of Demon, which is identical to the California version. Location California's Great America Coordinates 37°23′40″N 121°58′27″W / 37.39444°N 121.97417°WCoordinates: 37°23′40″N 121°58′27″W / 37.39444°N 121.97417°W Status Operating Opened May 29, 1976 Type Steel Manufacturer Arrow Dynamics Model Custom Looping Coaster Track layout Out and Back Lift/launch system Chain Lift Hill Height 100 ft (30 m) Drop 90 ft (27 m) Length 2,130 ft (650 m) Max speed 50 mph (80 km/h) Inversions 4 Duration 1 min 21 s Max vertical angle 54° Capacity 1300 riders per hour Height restriction 4 ft 0 in (122 cm) Demon at RCDB Pictures of Demon at RCDB 
Amusement Parks PortalDemon is a multi-looping roller coaster at California's Great America with an identical twin at Six Flags Great America. Both coasters opened in 1976 as Turn of the Century and were remodeled to Demon in 1980.
Contents
Turn of the Century
The Turn of the Century coasters opened with both Marriott's Great America parks in 1976 and were designed by Arrow Dynamics of Indiana. Both were painted blue and were among some of the first roller coasters to feature a double corkscrew.[1] They also featured two airtime hills after the first drop. The hills were well known for ejecting loose articles from the trains, such as hats, sunglasses and stuffed animals.[1] Both the variant at Six Flags Great America and the variant at California's Great America were custom built.
Demon
After the 1979 season, both Turn of the Century coasters were heavily modified. The two airtime hills were removed and replaced with back-to-back vertical loops and a lighted tunnel. Fake rock formations were built around the second loop and around the first half of the lift hill, with a third formation just before the first corkscrew. The entire ride was painted black and was renamed Demon. In addition to the re-design, the theme was changed as well. Fog machines were placed in the tunnels, blood red colored water fell out of the rock formation by the corkscrews and a unique logo was unveiled. The original trains were also modified. A three-dimensional logo was attached to the front car of each train and flames were painted on the sides of the cars.
The storyline of the ride's transformation heard in the Demon soundtrack is that the park "accidentally" missed three payments on the roller coaster, and that a demon has repossessed the ride.
Demon soundtrack
When Demon first opened in 1980, the speakers placed throughout the ride's line played Demon's own soundtrack. The soundtrack included the infamous "Demon Song", which was specially written for the Great America parks and was also very memorable. Along with the song there were fake radio broadcasts, some about people who reported to have seen the demon, one report about a US Army captain named "Bucky McMacho" bombing the ride, and a few with people trying to lure the demon out of the ride in very strange ways.
Sometime in the 1980s or 1990s the song disappeared and was thought to have been lost forever. Bits and pieces of the sound effects in the soundtrack, however, were still used in the first tunnel before the lift hill. In mid-2005 the original song resurfaced when it was posted on a Marriott's Great America fan site's discussion boards.[2] The song also resurfaced at Six Flags Great America for the park's annual Fright Fest Halloween event. Waukegan News Sun reporter Dan Moran mentioned remembering the song back in the 1980s in an article about Fright Fest 2005. He also recalled how annoying the song would get when waiting more than an hour to ride. The soundtrack has become popular in the roller coaster enthusiast community.
Current rides
Today both Demons continue to operate, although they're not quite as popular as they once were, making it easy to get a quick ride. Demon runs with two trains, although it was designed for a three-train operation during its debut years and for extremely heavy crowds. Unlike the Illinois version of the ride, the tunnel after the vertical loops on the California Demon does not have the lighting effects, nor does the coaster have the rock formations around the loops. However, both still have their first corkscrew cross over their parks' railroad.
External links
- Turn of the Century Info
- Photo of the original Demon sign
- Demon info on SFGAm World
- Demon History on GREAT AMERICA parks
- Visit the Demon on Myspace
References
Categories:- Steel roller coasters
- Arrow Dynamics roller coasters
- Roller coasters introduced in 1976
- California's Great America rides
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