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Talk about anything that has to do with Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor here.
Postby UnclePennybags on July 5th, 2019, 10:14 pm
I rode both the flumes back in the 70's when you could go down either chute. I guess in theory you could increase capacity by having dual chutes, but in practice, I don't see it making that much difference.

It's been many years, but I remember long, long waits for every ride at the park, but the number of ride dispatches at any given time were higher than what we see now. Maybe if you have more boats/logs hitting the chutes at the same time there'd be a technical/safety advantage to having dual chutes.
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Postby CoasterRiderSC on July 8th, 2019, 8:34 am
Does anyone know if the lighting and the laugh in Demon's skull (prior to corkscrews) was originally part of theming package with Demon or are those brand new in the last couple of years? I don't remember it doing that when I rode it as a teen in the 80s.
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---- "Here we go, kids!! Here we go!!"
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Postby cliffhanger on July 8th, 2019, 9:42 am
CoasterRiderSC wrote:Does anyone know if the lighting and the laugh in Demon's skull was originally part of theming package...

According to this 2007 forum post at GreatAmericaParks.com by "Tech Services 1",
"I can only remember the "moan" or scream sound effect at the Demon head.
The effects equipment was located in a room at the maintenance shed; the switch on the track triggered an endless-loop tape deck which played the moan through the speaker in the "nose". Keeping those tapes functioning properly was a real challenge! They were prone to breaking and jamming. I could see why they gave up, but with the digital playback devices available today, the effects could be easily restored."


It seems like this was a long-forgotten effect that was lost to time. The man behind GreatAmericaParks.com found the original sound effects.
"GREATAMERICAparks.com: I digitized the Demon sound effects from an open-reel audio tape years ago. Not too long ago I found out that SFGAm was looking to restore the original audio effects. I sent them the audio files and now the sound effects are back!"

Now almost all the effects are back in Gurnee. The only ones missing are the waterfall and fog in the lift tunnel. The laugh, along with the audio when you enter the lift tunnel were restored last year and it seems like the soundtrack was cleaned up this year. It sounds so crisp and clear now! The lights in the eyes have always been there, I remember them as far back as 2002.
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Postby SiliconMessiah on July 8th, 2019, 11:39 am
JT2002 wrote:
SiliconMessiah wrote:Is anyone at the park today and can they tell me if it's a crowded day? Considering taking the kids this late afternoon / early evening. Anyone who can give me a heads up, I'd much appreciate it!

It's busier than yesterday, so it's pretty darn crowded, but nothing too bad


I lost my password and had a hell of a time resetting it but wanted to thank those of you that responded to my question. We did go on Friday and while there looked to be a huge crowd based on the parking lot, everyone seemed to be riding Maxx and Superman so we had plenty of empty lines for other rides. My five year old daughter has been begging to go on the Demon so we took her and she was a little nervous but she loved it. We also got to go four times on American Eagle (both sides) as it was essentially a walk-on. After Maxx stopped running, however, the crowd was too much and we left. Considering we were only there for a couple of hours, I'd say it was a success since we didn't wait in any line for longer than ten minutes.

Speaking of the Demon, yes, sound effects were all working and it really enhanced the experience. It was really nice riding it at night, with the effects, and with my daughter. She was so proud of herself!
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Postby CoasterRiderSC on July 8th, 2019, 12:13 pm
cliffhanger wrote:
CoasterRiderSC wrote:Does anyone know if the lighting and the laugh in Demon's skull was originally part of theming package...

According to this 2007 forum post at GreatAmericaParks.com by "Tech Services 1",
"I can only remember the "moan" or scream sound effect at the Demon head.
The effects equipment was located in a room at the maintenance shed; the switch on the track triggered an endless-loop tape deck which played the moan through the speaker in the "nose". Keeping those tapes functioning properly was a real challenge! They were prone to breaking and jamming. I could see why they gave up, but with the digital playback devices available today, the effects could be easily restored."


It seems like this was a long-forgotten effect that was lost to time. The man behind GreatAmericaParks.com found the original sound effects.
"GREATAMERICAparks.com: I digitized the Demon sound effects from an open-reel audio tape years ago. Not too long ago I found out that SFGAm was looking to restore the original audio effects. I sent them the audio files and now the sound effects are back!"

Now almost all the effects are back in Gurnee. The only ones missing are the waterfall and fog in the lift tunnel. The laugh, along with the audio when you enter the lift tunnel were restored last year and it seems like the soundtrack was cleaned up this year. It sounds so crisp and clear now! The lights in the eyes have always been there, I remember them as far back as 2002.


Great research, cliffhanger! Thanks for posting this. I LOVE all the effects. I do remember going on in the 80s with the waterfall. My 4 yo (almost 5) was a bit scared about the laugh by the skull, but not too scared to ride a 2nd time! And we're going back this Friday for some more rides on Demon.
Single Day Ride Count Record

50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)

---- "Here we go, kids!! Here we go!!"
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