Overview
Demon is a multi-looping roller coaster at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois and California's Great America in Santa Clara, California. Both coasters opened in 1976 as Turn of the Century, when each Great America park was owned by Marriott Corporation. Following the 1979 season, they were slightly modified and renamed Demon, which introduced a new theme.
History
The Turn of the Century coasters opened with both Marriott's Great America parks in 1976 and were designed by Arrow Dynamics. Both were painted light seafoam green 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. The ride was custom-built for both parks.
After the 1979 season, Turn of the Century was heavily modified. The airtime hills after the first drop were removed and replaced with two 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 corkscrews. 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. After the loops were added, it became the second four-inversion roller coaster, after the Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds which opened two months earlier.
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.
Six Flags Great America theming
For a period in the 80s, the Demon at both Great America parks was branded with the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil character.
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