Pandemonium (roller coaster)

Pandemonium
Pandemonium at Fiesta Texas
Previously known as Tony Hawk's Big Spin at some locations.
Six Flags New England
Park section	North End
Coordinates	42°02′26″N 72°36′52″W / 42.040456°N 72.614562°W / 42.040456; -72.614562Coordinates: 42°02′26″N 72°36′52″W / 42.040456°N 72.614562°W / 42.040456; -72.614562
Status	Operating
Opened	April 14, 2005 (2005-04-14)[3]
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Park section	Fiesta Bay Boardwalk
Status	Operating
Opened	March 2007 (2007-03)[1]
Six Flags St. Louis
Park section	Britannia
Status	Operating
Opened	April 21, 2007 (2007-04-21)
Six Flags Over Texas
Park section	Boomtown
Status	Operating
Opened	May 17, 2008 (2008-05-17)[2]
Cost	$6,500,000
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Park section	Sky
Status	Operating
Opened	May 23, 2008 (2008-05-23)
Cost	$6,500,000
General statistics
Type	Steel - Spinning
Manufacturer	Gerstlauer
Designer	Werner Stengel
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Drop	27 ft (8.2 m)
Length	1,351 ft (412 m)
Max speed	31 mph (50 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	1:51
Capacity	1400 riders per hour
Cars	Riders are seated 2 across, in 2 rows, for a total of 4 riders per car.
Amusement Parks Portal

Pandemonium is a Gerstlauer steel spinning roller coasters located at several Six Flags theme parks including Six Flags New England, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags St. Louis, Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Its design consists of several cars holding four riders each. While the cars traverse the track, they spin around according to the angle of the track and the shifts in the riders' weight.

History

Tony Hawk's Big Spin logo from 2007-2010.

The original Pandemonium opened at Six Flags New England on April 14, 2005 as Mr. Six's Pandemonium (Six Flags dropped the "Mr. Six's" prefix one year later).^[4] It was the only spinning roller coaster at a Six Flags park until 2007 and 2008 when Six Flags opened another 4 spinning roller coasters — all named Tony Hawk's Big Spin.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} The rides were originally billed as the "total Tony Hawk experience" and were designed to have the look and feel of giant red-and-black skateparks.^[10] They offered a full "extreme sports" experience, with monitors in the queue lines displaying highlights of the history of action sports and a large spinning Tony Hawk figure crowning the rides. Tony Hawk's Big Spin merchandise was also available at the rides' exits. They were named after the skateboarding trick of the same name, which is a body varial with the skateboard rotating fully once, or 360 degrees. Prior to the opening of the rides, Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam toured through several Six Flags parks in 2006 and 2007.^[11] In late 2010, Six Flags began the process of cancelling licensed intellectual property deals they had with various brands including Tony Hawk. The 4 Tony Hawk's Big Spins were originally renamed to Big Spin before being renamed and rethemed to Pandemonium.^{[6][7][8][9][12]}

After January 1, 2012 (the end of the 2011 season at Discovery Kingdom), Pandemonium at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom will be removed to make room for the park's newest coaster Superman: Ultimate Flight for the 2012 season.^[13][14][15]

Layout

The layout consists of several "segments" separated by brakes. The first segment comprises a swooping drop and climb into the second segment, which is a series of S-shaped turns. The third segment is a heavily banked figure-8; the fourth is a series of hills that form a semicircle; the fifth is a pair of small hills; and the sixth is a helix into the seventh segment; a long loop, which leads to a massive hill, and finally into the brake run.

Gallery

• 

  Six Flags New England's Pandemonium

• 

  A model of Six Flags New England's Pandemonium on display at the IAAPA Euro Attractions Show 2009.

• 

  Pandemonium at Six Flags New England

• 

  Six Flags Fiesta Texas's Pandemonium

• 

  Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's Pandemonium

References

1. ^ Zjawinski, Sonia (April 20, 2007). "Tony Hawk Builds a Roller Coaster". Wired. http://www.wired.com/underwire/2007/04/tony_hawk_build/. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
2. ^ Chimbel, Aaron (May 16, 2008). "Six Flags opens first new roller coaster in 7 years". Texas Cable News. http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/wfaa080516_ac_sixflags.108a5befc.html. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
3. ^ Lamothe, Dan (April 15, 2005). "Six Flags unveils roller coaster". The Republican: p. C08. 
4. ^ Marden, Duane. "Pandemonium  (Six Flags New England)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/3031.htm. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
5. ^ Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results". Database Search. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/m/r.htm?ot=2&ml=8110&page=1&order=-10. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Marden, Duane. "Pandemonium  (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/3751.htm. Retrieved May 25, 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Marden, Duane. "Pandemonium  (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/4044.htm. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Marden, Duane. "Pandemonium  (Six Flags Over Texas)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/4042.htm. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Marden, Duane. "Pandemonium  (Six Flags St. Louis)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/3810.htm. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
10. ^ Harpaz, Beth J. (May 20, 2008). "New theme parks, rides provide plenty of thrills this summer". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-05-20-theme-parks-update_N.htm. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
11. ^ Lamothe, Dan (June 28, 2006). "Six Flags to host skateboard icon". The Republican. http://www.masslive.com/hampfrank/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1151480598311090.xml&coll=1. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
12. ^ MacDonald, Brady (November 25, 2010). "Six Flags amusement parks prepare for thematic makeovers". LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-six-flags-retheme-20101122,0,3267615.story. Retrieved November 26, 2010. 
13. ^ Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (November 18, 2011). "When is Pandemonium closing?". Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/discoverykingdom/posts/10150467589062743. Retrieved November 20, 2011. 
14. ^ Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (November 19, 2011). "why is the Pandemonium going". Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/discoverykingdom/posts/10150469648282743. Retrieved November 20, 2011. 
15. ^ Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (September 1, 2011). "Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Announces New Thrill Coaster in 2012 — SUPERMAN Ultimate Flight". Press Release. Six Flags. http://news.sixflags.com/2012news/2011/08/26/supermanultimateflight/. Retrieved September 1, 2011. 

External links

• Pandemonium at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• Pandemonium at Six Flags Fiesta Texas
• Pandemonium at Six Flags New England
• Pandemonium at Six Flags Over Texas
• Pandemonium at Six Flags St. Louis