The Demon

JW65 · Post by **JW65** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 9:39 pm

Jonrev,

Now I see why you like Demon so much. Yes, Eagle, Southern Cross and Demon are located in about the same vicinity. I remember the very first season Demon became a coaster from TOC. It was an amazing transition.

JW

imdaman · Post by **imdaman** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:47 pm

JW65, you asked about the rocks for Demon, and if I remember correctly, I could swear that the rocks were still at PGA in 1994, and of course the blood waterfall was already long gone by then.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:02 pm

The blood waterfall is used once in a while (in SC), I mean being red. I went last season in June for the 8th grade trip and it was red (which surprised me). But when I went two other times later in the season it wasn't red...

imdaman · Post by **imdaman** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:56 pm

Very interesting, because in all the years I've been going to the santa clara park, I've never seen the waterfall as red. Usually it's not running at all, or it's just clear water

dpxtreme · Post by **dpxtreme** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:30 am

Last season, the waterfall was red in the beginning of the season. And throught the rest of the season it faded to pink, then became clear again. This season it's clear, unless they decide to make it red later in the season. The theming hasn't changed this season. There is still the first tunnel before the lift with lights, the tunnel after the two loops, the cave before the corkscrews, and the voice recording in the tunnel before the lift. If my hearing is good, I think it says, "Welcome to Demon, I will eat you in one piece."

Tech Services 1 · Post by **Tech Services 1** » Sun May 14, 2006 10:11 am

Two new Demon pics in my photo gallery- and these are two that some people will be shaking their heads about . . .

When the TOC was converted into the Demon, a new hill and railroad tunnel was created under the first lift. They did this by piling up dirt around the coaster's structure. Unfortunately, they didn't extend the concrete footings. As the dirt settled over the years, it bent the steel in various directions, causing obvious problems to the structural integrity of the coaster.

And then there's the rust & corrosion of the buried steel . . .

I don't remember what tipped them off to the problem, or if there was ever any real danger of failure, but the dirt was removed, and the structure was repaired.

Add this to the "What were they thinking?" collection.

PPG

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Sun May 14, 2006 11:06 am

Last week I rode the Gurnee Demon and they had the lights off in the tunnel. This week they are still off.

BrianPlencner · Post by **BrianPlencner** » Sun May 14, 2006 4:42 pm

Just wanted to add that when I rode it yesterday, the lights in the tunnel were indeed, off.

While it was cool to be totally in the dark, I do miss the lights. Hopefully, they will brnig them back.

I also noticed that the waterfall has not been going this year either.

While I'm happy that they are playing the full 25 min Demon score in the line, I would also like to see things that were working last year return.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Sun May 14, 2006 4:45 pm

The problemwith the darkess is the tunnel is straight, so it's not really dark since you can seen the sunlight through the other end...

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Sun May 14, 2006 6:13 pm

I think the lights are off because it costs too much to maintain them. They should switch to LED lights. They never burn out and last forever. I think they are cheaper too. A plexiglass cover would provide some protection from stupid people who want to throw rocks at them.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Sun May 14, 2006 9:22 pm

jonrev wrote:I think the lights are off because it costs too much to maintain them. They should switch to LED lights. They never burn out and last forever. I think they are cheaper too. A plexiglass cover would provide some protection from stupid people who want to throw rocks at them.

Great Idea!!! They are horribly cheaper, low maitenance, hence being used for traffic signals and even Christmas lights...

jonrev · Post by **jonrev** » Sun May 14, 2006 9:50 pm

Plus, if the park programs the LEDs right, they can set them up to give an even cooler effect in the tunner than the swriling effect from the Marriott days. Maybe like they have entered a swirling firestorm to freak out guests before exiting the tunnel.

speedracer · Post by **speedracer** » Tue May 16, 2006 1:11 pm

dave210 wrote:Does anyone know why the Demon had PGA reprofiled their drop? I remember visiting PGA in 1998 and noticing that the Demon had a significantly more gradual drop in comparison to the Demon at SFGAm. Any ideas?

Can only speculate, but PGA's Demon drop was reprofiled while under KECO ownership, the same owners that thought it was a good idea to modify the original Grizzly layout from PKD to a more family friendly version for PGA. My only guess is that they must have felt the ejector air drop was too thrilling for PGA

. The current modified drop is indeed much more gradual and forceless, very family friendly which is what I'm assuming they were going for

.

that_guy · Post by **that_guy** » Tue May 16, 2006 3:27 pm

speedracer wrote:
dave210 wrote:Does anyone know why the Demon had PGA reprofiled their drop? I remember visiting PGA in 1998 and noticing that the Demon had a significantly more gradual drop in comparison to the Demon at SFGAm. Any ideas?
Can only speculate, but PGA's Demon drop was reprofiled while under KECO ownership, the same owners that thought it was a good idea to modify the original Grizzly layout from PKD to a more family friendly version for PGA. My only guess is that they must have felt the ejector air drop was too thrilling for PGA . The current modified drop is indeed much more gradual and forceless, very family friendly which is what I'm assuming they were going for .

Do you really think they would try to make like their main thrill coaster family friendly? I thought family friendly was practically the opposite of thrill. Maybe they just wanted to make the ride smoother? This is way to debatable...

speedracer · Post by **speedracer** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:30 pm

Don't actually know why myself, why I was only speculating. Just know that the Gurnee Demon has ran perfectly with the original ejector air first drop for the last 26 years without any problems, has never been any need to make it smoother.

If the track itself was too rough or just needed to be replaced due to wear or something, can't understand why it just wasn't replaced with an identical drop. Instead it was completely reprofiled to eliminate the ejector air to the rampish forceless drop it now has. As well as eliminating the best ejector air we've ever had in NorCal since the original TOTC.