Demon Drop To Knott's?

Jeff hit the nail on the head... it about cost. Yes coasters like Kinda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster run in the area of $25 million, but conisdering the amount of tech, materials and labor involved I would hate to see if they were B&M built.

Parks go with the most cost efficient rides, and its not just Cedar Fair. Why do you think Knoebels builds wood coasters? Prices are much better when you have your own lumberyard...

As for Demon Drop, its replacing the Screamin Swing, so where is that ride headed off to? Does WoF have one yet? Or maybe we will see this added to a former Paramount... say, the replacement for Invertigo? lol

Dave- I'm pretty sure Intamin was involved with at least the sale of Space Spiral. I seem to remember reading that way back circa 1994 in a press info packet I got from the park for a school report I was writing.

Some Arrow rides were simple, like the turnpike cars, that any park could have. They had a catalog for the masses. Cedar Point took full advantage of a good business relationship, having many examples of their rides.

Premier is slowly getting there, and Intamin has the ride catalog to do whatever you want. Arrow was like that, and 3 factors changed their course.

Most parks had their staple items, such as flumes, corkscrews, gas-powered cars. They took on a boatload of debt doing R/D on 2 rides that didn't pan out, the 4-D (X), and the Stratosphere Fish-hook, and Morgan snagged their hyper coaster business for Cedar Fair, building Wild Thing and Mambo. Even Intamin sold hypers, aka the Superman, that spelled doom for Arrow. Had Arrow still sold 1 per year, they would have covered their payroll. and increased theor parts business, which was lucrative.

With no R/D, Arrow sold all they could. Premier and Vekoma has lucked out, building for Universal and Disney, giving them some serious revenue and experience. Hopefully, they can build high tech rides for the mid-sized parks. The new coaster at Kennywood will give Premier the chance to shine.

Walt posted some Demon Drop goodies over on PointBuzz.

I think they're just changing the first letter of the ride name, and picking up a new sponsor - Absolut Citron.

The new name for the Intamin first-gen ride...."Lemon Drop". :)

^

Maybe it'll eveuntually get sold to Disney and get remamed "Dumbo Drop!"

Or, an orthidontist could be the sponsor and call it "Jaw Drop"

Even better, the Weather Channel can sponsor it and call it the 'Rain Drop!"

And last but not least, a soda company sponsors it and calls it "Sun Drop!"

Snack me before I get any worse. :)

As I recall all the foreign built rides bought during the Roose-LeGross era came via Morgan Hughes. I don't even think that Intamin was doing business in the US in that time frame.

Well, when Cedar Fair bought Wild Thing from Morgan, that was basically a no-brainer. Do you buy a new hyper coaster from an established company that, while it is an established company that built your last 200' coaster, it is also in the middle of a major reorganization which, most important, involved the departure from the company of the principals you have been working with? Or do you buy from the established company that is just now offering to get into the hypercoaster business, which, more important, just hired the principal designer from your last project?

It was a shame for Arrow, and a truly inglorious end, but unfortunately it was almost a foregone conclusion.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

A new ride and 11.95 admission not a bad deal.

I would take the current admission price with the current ride line up over the 1983 admission price and ride line up. There were what, 4 or 5 coasters at the time? Wait times were typically an hour plus for them. Now its rare to wait more than 10-15 minutes for those coasters (and there are additional ones with little wait time and others with the hour plus wait that are better). The non-coaster rides are better overall today as well. And I seem to recall waiting for 90 minutes plus for the Demon Drop that first season.

I waited for about 40 minutes earlier this year. It was a busy day. I specifically went to the park to ride and shoot DD.

Atleast DD's commercial was much better than Marriotts Edge commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If-J2XuWfF0&NR=1

Did we really look that bad in the 80's?

That was pretty funny actually.

I think the 70s looks worse but that probably isn't saying much. But that will always be true when you are looking back. No one back in the 70s and 80s was saying that what they were wearing/the styles looked bad but lets wear them anyway. People thought they looked good. In 10-20 years, people will look back at styles of today and ask "did we really look that bad?"

To say the 80's was a fashion train wreck would be giving it credit.

On the other hand, SOME of the jmusic and movies still hold up. Breakfast Club and Spaceballs anyone? ;)

Breakfast Club, yes. Spaceballs, no. Worst Mel Brooks film, ever. Now History of the World....

"So, do you care if it falls?"
"What?"
"The Roman Empire."
"F--- it!"

Classic.

Come on! I love Spaceballs!

I can can see "Spaceballs: The Coaster!" The tagline could be "Prepare for LUDACRIS SPEED!"

On the music side, tell me you haven't jammed out to Van Halen (or Van Hagar), early U2 (loved "Where the Streets Have No Name"), a-ha's "Take on Me" now and then?

Breakfast Club brought us years of Ringwald, Hall, et al. Total disaster.

Spaceballs is still the funniest movie of all time. Every time I watch it, I catch another joke or see something funny that I didn't see before. I love the 80s, except for the fashion. I have to agree that the clothes and hairstyles were atrocious.

On the other hand, what coasters from the 80's (that are still operating) have stood the test of time?

I know one of the first ones that cames to mind is Magnum. Iron Dragon is tame, but it's still a good "starter" coaster for kids.