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Pandemonium (roller coaster)

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Pandemonium
Pandemonium at Fiesta Texas
General statistics
TypeSteel – Spinning
ManufacturerGerstlauer
DesignerWerner Stengel
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Drop27 ft (8.2 m)
Length1,351 ft (412 m)
Speed31 mph (50 km/h)
Height restriction42 in (107 cm)
CarsRiders are seated 2 across, in 2 rows, for a total of 4 riders per car.
Flash Pass available
Single rider line available

Pandemonium is a steel spinning roller coaster designed by Gerstlauer, located at several Six Flags amusement parks in the United States. Since 2005, Six Flags has installed Pandemonium in five of its parks.

Its design consists of several cars holding four riders each. While the cars traverse the track, they spin around according to the angle of the track and the shifts in the riders' weight.

History

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New England's Pandemonium when it was known as "Mr. Six's Pandemonium"

The first installation of Pandemonium opened at Six Flags New England on April 16, 2005 and dubbed as Mr. Six's Pandemonium. The New England park went to a roller coaster manufacturer, Gerstlauer, to help bring a coaster to the park that all ages would be attracted to. Gerstlauer then introduced Six Flags with the manufacturer's latest development of the spinning roller coaster, which was developed in the early 2000s.[1] In early 2005, Six Flags New England announced its plans for the upcoming season by adding two roller coasters to the park, including Mr. Six's Pandemonium, themed after the advertising character of the company.[2] Without any notice, Six Flags New England removed the theming of Mr. Six on the roller coaster and operated it as Pandemonium for the start of the 2007 season.

In late 2006 and early 2007, both Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags St. Louis announced the addition of a new spinning coaster to their respective parks.[3] Six Flags licensed with professional skateboarder, Tony Hawk, to help brand the company's newest two coasters after the success of the Boom Boom HuckJam, which toured many Six Flags parks in 2006.[4] The ride was originally billed as the "Tony Hawk experience" and was designed to have the look and feel of a large red-and-black skatepark. It offered a full "extreme sports" experience, with monitors in the queue lines displaying highlights of the history of action sports and a large spinning Tony Hawk figure crowning the ride.[5][6] In 2007, both parks equipped their two new coasters with CD ride technology that captures the guests' on-ride experience which is put on a DVD for a take home souvenir.[7]

With the success of Tony Hawk's Big Spin, Six Flags announced in late 2007 that they would be adding two more to their parks. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Over Texas both opened the next two installments in the spring of 2008.[8][9]

In November 2010, Six Flags began the process of cancelling licensed intellectual property deals they had with various brands, including the agreement with Tony Hawk himself, as the company was emerging itself from bankruptcy at that time.[10] Discovery Kingdom, Fiesta Texas, and Over Texas operated the coasters under Hawk's brand until January 2011, following the 2010 run of Holiday in the Park. Afterward, those three parks quickly dropped Hawk's name from the ride and any other memorabilia associated with him and operated their coaster as Big Spin for the remainder of the season. At the start of the new season in 2011, all four Tony Hawk's Big Spins were officially renamed to Pandemonium like their sister park at New England.

In late 2011, Six Flags announced that Superman: Ultimate Flight would be built at Discovery Kingdom, replacing their Pandemonium roller coaster.[11] The new ride would reuse the PLC room and extended queue area, which was formerly the station for Zonga.[12] Pandemonium at Discovery Kingdom officially closed at the park on January 1, 2012. As Pandemonium was a relatively new coaster, Six Flags moved it to the headquarters of Larson International and Roller Coaster Museum, both located in Plainview, Texas, for storage.[13][14] In mid 2012, Six Flags México announced The Joker for the 2013 season.[15] The track of the stored Pandemonium was moved from Texas to Mexico.

Layout

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Fiesta Texas's Pandemonium

According to the Gerstlauer website, the manufacturer has two different models of its spinning roller coaster collection, as well as one custom option for a park to fit its desires. The five Pandemoniums make up both of the two, the 400 and the 420. Each model has different statistics, so the Pandemoniums range in height from 52 feet (16 m) to 54 feet (16 m) with the same speed of 31 miles per hour (50 km/h). Discovery Kingdom was the only park to feature the 400 as the others were the 420 model. The 400 model, is shorter at 48 feet (15 m), more compact and had a lower capacity. The layout consists of several "segments" separated by brakes. The first segment comprises a swooping drop and climb into the second segment, which is a series of S-shaped turns. The third segment is a heavily banked figure-8; the fourth is a series of hills that form a semicircle; the fifth is a pair of small hills; and the sixth is a helix into the seventh segment; a long loop, which leads to a massive hill and finally into the brake run. For most of the ride, the cart is spinning around rapidly.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags St. Louis' versions of Pandemonium have a portion of its track above a half-pipe-themed structure, a remnant of the former skate park theming for when the rides were "Tony Hawk's Big Spin".

Installations

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All rides were installed by Ride Entertainment Group, which handle all of Gerstlauer's operations in North America.[16][17]

Park Area Model Opening date Status Refs
Six Flags New England North End Spinning Coaster Model 420 April 16, 2005 Operating [2]
Six Flags Fiesta Texas Fiesta Bay Boardwalk Spinning Coaster Model 420 March 10, 2007 Operating [5]
Six Flags St. Louis Britannia Spinning Coaster Model 420 April 21, 2007 Operating [6]
Six Flags Over Texas Boomtown Spinning Coaster Model 420 May 17, 2008 Operating [9]
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Sky Spinning Coaster Model 380 May 23, 2008 Relocated[a] [8]

Notes

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  1. ^ The roller coaster was relocated to Six Flags México.

References

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  1. ^ "Gerstlauer Opens Mr. Six's Pandemonium at Six Flags New England" (PDF) (Press release). Ride Entertainment. April 19, 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Six Flags Unveils Two Coasters For New England Park" (Press release). Ultimaterollercoaster.com. February 23, 2005. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  3. ^ "Tony Hawk Builds a Roller Coaster | Underwire". Wired.com. April 20, 2007. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Lamothe, Dan (June 28, 2006). "Six Flags to host skateboard icon". The Republican. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  5. ^ a b "'Tony Hawk's Big Spin' is coming to Six Flags Fiesta Texas! Park's new family coaster will have riders whirling in '07!" (Press release). Roller Coaster Database. December 6, 2006. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Tony Hawk's Big Spin Highlights Season of New Family Thrills and Fun at Six Flags St. Louis in 2007!" (Press release). Roller Coaster Database. February 12, 2007. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  7. ^ "Riders Take a Spin on Six Flags New Attractions That Offer an "Extreme Sports Experience"". Ultimaterollercoaster.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Continues the Adventure with Tony Hawk's Big Spin -- An All-New Spinning Coaster for 2008 Season" (Press release). Roller Coaster Database. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Tony Hawk's Big Spin Whirls Its Way to Six Flags Over Texas" (Press release). Roller Coaster Database. September 25, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  10. ^ MacDonald, Brady (November 25, 2010). "Six Flags amusement parks prepare for thematic makeovers". LA Times. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  11. ^ MacDonald, Brady (June 7, 2012). "Bird? Plane? It's Superman coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  12. ^ "Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Opens for 2012". NewsPlusNotes. March 19, 2012. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  13. ^ McDonough, Doug (March 27, 2012). "Six Flags roller coaster now in Plainview". My Plainview. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  14. ^ "Historic Greezed Lightnin' moving to Cliff's Amusement Park". Amusement Today. May 4, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  15. ^ "The Joker Takes Over Six Flags Mexico in 2013". News Plus Notes. September 6, 2012. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  16. ^ "Gerstlauer busy in 2011". Park World Magazine. December 29, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  17. ^ "Projects". Ride Entertainment Group. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
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