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Demon (California's Great America)
Encyclopedia
Demon 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.
of Indiana
. Both were painted blue and were among some of the first roller coasters to feature a double corkscrew. 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. Both the variant at Six Flags Great America
and the variant at California's Great America were custom built.
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.
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. 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.
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
at California's Great America with an identical twin
The Demon (Six Flags Great America)
The Demon is a multi-looping roller coaster at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL, with an identical twin at California's Great America in Santa Clara, CA...
at Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America is a Six Flags theme park in the Chicago metropolitan area, located in Gurnee, Illinois. It first opened in 1976 as Marriott's Great America. Six Flags purchased the park from the Marriott Corporation in 1984, making it the seventh park in the chain...
. Both coasters opened in 1976 as Turn of the Century and were remodeled to Demon in 1980.
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 DynamicsArrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...
of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. Both were painted blue and were among some of the first roller coasters to feature a double corkscrew. 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. Both the variant at Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America is a Six Flags theme park in the Chicago metropolitan area, located in Gurnee, Illinois. It first opened in 1976 as Marriott's Great America. Six Flags purchased the park from the Marriott Corporation in 1984, making it the seventh park in the chain...
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-dimensional3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
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
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
the ride.
Demon soundtrack
When Demon first opened in 1980, the speakers placed throughout the ride's line played Demon's own soundtrack. The soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
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. The song also resurfaced at Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America is a Six Flags theme park in the Chicago metropolitan area, located in Gurnee, Illinois. It first opened in 1976 as Marriott's Great America. Six Flags purchased the park from the Marriott Corporation in 1984, making it the seventh park in the chain...
for the park's annual Fright Fest
Fright Fest
Fright Fest or FrightFest is a Halloween-oriented event that takes place at some theme parks, notably Six Flags parks, called "Six Flags Fright Fest", and PARC Management-owned parks, called "FrightFest".-General information:...
Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
event. Waukegan News Sun
News Sun
The Lake County News-Sun is a regional newspaper based in Gurnee, Illinois, that predominantly covers news for Lake County, Illinois, a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is currently owned by the Sun-Times Media Group as part of its Suburban Chicago Newspapers division, which publishes...
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.
