Knott’s Berry Farm to add 1980s-era thrill ride in 2010
Knott’s Berry Farm’s new attraction for 2010 is an aging hand-me-down thrill ride that’s older than many of the Buena Park theme park’s patrons.
The Demon Drop attraction will be relocated from sister park Cedar Point in Ohio, where the ride debuted in 1983 — when Ronald Reagan was president, Michael Jackson introduced the moonwalk and leg warmers were in fashion.
Knott’s officials confirmed that the installation of the drop tower ride will begin in January with a grand opening scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend 2010. Knott’s will keep the Demon Drop name, color scheme and theme.
The 131-foot-tall tower features a four-passenger ride vehicle that rises up an elevator shaft, slides forward and falls down a curved track at 55 mph. Riders experience 2.5 seconds of weightlessness during the 99-foot drop.
Cedar Point has been trying to sell the $2.5-million Demon Drop for years as a used ride on the secondary market, with no success.
The recycled ride replaces the Screamin’ Swing, a pneumatically powered pendulum ride with a separate up-charge fee which rarely drew a crowd at Knott’s.
The Intamin Freefall thrill ride, which was popular through the 1990s, was replaced in many parks by the newer compressed-air tower rides — such as Knott’s own Supreme Scream, which debuted in 1998. Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia dismantled its aging Freefall ride in 2008.
Knott’s has had its share of problems with Intamin rides. In 2001, a 40-year-old woman fell out of the Perilous Plunge shoot-the-chute water ride and died. In September 2009, the launch cable on the Xcelerator roller coaster snapped and injured two riders.
Screamscape broke the news of the ride relocation after spotting the premature announcement in a city of Buena Park newsletter.
Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland. Follow Funland on Twitter and Facebook.
— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times staff writer
Photo: Cedar Point
21 Comments on “Knott’s Berry Farm to add 1980s-era thrill ride in 2010”
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October 20th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Lame! So much for a new dark ride.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I excited that this ride is making a comeback. The newer reincarnations of this classic do not have the same rickety broken elevator sensation that the Desmond drop has. I’m definitely making a trip to knotts next year!
October 20th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I’ve read articles about Charles Manson that are less negative than this one is.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Intimidator 305, New for Kings Dominion for 2010
Intimidator, New for Carowinds in 2010
Chute The Rapids, New For Cedar Point in 2010
And the best Cedar Fair could do for their most attended park is give it a used hand me down ride that was at SFMM for over 20 years.
And their not even going to try to re theme it to fit in with Ghost Town.
FAIL!!!!!!!!!!
October 20th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Wow.. don’t dog the Demon Drop so bad. Very classic ride. It will be missed at Cedar Point.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
oh demon drop i will miss you!!!
October 20th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Don’t dog the demon drop until you ride it. It is much better than the lame pneumatic drop rides. The best part is the wait to be dropped after moving out from the elevator. It was the only ride at CP that scared me. I will miss it and the sounds of it welcoming you into the park from now on!! P.S. Put a penny on your leg before you drop,then watch it float. Great Ride!
October 20th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
They are not going to retheme it? It will stick out like a sore thumb in a pretty spot of the park. How is this ride going to fit in the small space available. They better not rip out any of the Boot Hill cemetary to make this fit.
October 20th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
You’ve gotta be kidding! Boy, the recession has really hit every sector. Can’t wait to see how they ‘promote’ this ‘new’ ride. I got it…instead of ‘Back to the Future’ it can be tagged ‘Ahead to the past’. That ride is probably worth more as scrap metal.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
(Ryan said something about Cedar Fair’s most attended park)
Funny, I didn’t think they had officially announced anything for Canada’s Wonderland yet…
October 20th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
RideMan
In 2008 Knotts Berry Farm out performed Canada’s Wonderland in attendance by about 2-3 hundred thousand guests.
Knotts is the 13th most attended park in north America.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
I actually liked freefall in Magic Mountain; was sad to hear of it’s demise. At least Knotts will have it’s own version.
October 21st, 2009 at 4:22 am
Pretty part of the park? AHAHAHA! There’s no “pretty part” of Knotts anymore, that was destroyed years ago shortly after CF acquired the park. Be happy one of the last 1st Gen Int Freefalls are in Southern California…I sure am!
October 21st, 2009 at 7:07 am
I agree with some of the posters, it actually is a fun ride. Much better than the Power Tower type rides since it genuinely feels like you are falling. I love the feeling once you reached the top but, haven’t dropped. Love it! The only problem CP has had is it seems to break down quite a bit. My favorite memory is when I was stuck at the top for about 15 minutes. Only complaint was that it was just overlooking the parking lot instead of the Sandusky Bay or Lake Erie. I’ll miss you Demon Drop!
October 21st, 2009 at 8:37 am
Back in the day, when Knott’s announced Supreme Scream, I was thrilled that Knott’s was getting a modern, quality drop ride that wasn’t a first-generation free fall. I appreciate a classic ride coming to Knott’s, but since when does Knott’s get hand-me-down attractions? And no attempt to theme it to its new surroundings? It’s a head-scratcher for sure. It’s no secret that I try to stay positive when it comes to what’s happening at Knott’s as there is generally much to be positive about. But I have pretty strong reservations about this. I don’t understand a noisy, old, unthemed thrill ride going into a part of the park that is surrounded on three sides by Knott’s crown jewel, Ghost Town.
-Bob
http://www.bear-ytales.net
October 21st, 2009 at 8:47 am
Well if all of you like this 26 year old POS put it in your backyard and not at Knotts! They’re not even going to try and retheme rename utter fail on Cedar fairs part imo. Cedar Fair has giving out an Intamin Giga coaster 25 mill, a B&M hyper coaster 20+ mill, yet we get a 26 year old hand me down that going to stick out like a sore thumb and make the park looks worse then ever with this old piece of junk bulging out of the seams of the park. God this sucks I now have Knotts and Magic Mountain to boycott, I will keep my hard earned money in my pocket and spend it on tips to the east coast to parks like Holiday World and Knobels and swing by Kings Dominion to ride Intimidator 305
October 21st, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I don’t understand why some would boycott Knott’s because of the addition. If you don’t care for the ride, just go on something else. It is a net gain for the customer in terms of rides included in the admission price.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I think its great that a classic type ride, Demon Drop, will still thrill riders; but maybe Cedar Fair should but some love into this ride and give it a refresh look.
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:39 pm
After years of making excuses for Cedar Fair and their mismanagment of Knott’s, this is the last straw for me. This is an insult to Knott’s loyalists like myself. The last major ride, Silver Bullet, debuted in December 2004. Since then, Cedar Fair has added only two junior coasters (one hit and one miss)to the lineup, meanwhile, Magic Mountain has added Tatsu and Terminator and will add another coaster next summer. So in a stroke of brilliance, Cedar Fair decides to add a 25-year old Cedar Point reject that most parks are demolishing to one of their premier parks? I honestly don’t think Cedar Fair knows what to do with Knott’s and that their destruction of it is on purpose so that they can sell off the land like they did with their Geuaga Lake park in Ohio.
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:10 pm
The should just return the Haunted Shack to this spot.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I am a purest. Going to Knott’s since it was free in the 1950’s & 60’s. Changed a lot over the years but it is still Knott’s don’t knock the ride until you have tried it. You may be surprised some of this vintage attractions will knock your socks off. That is why they are “vintage” rides. Besides the whole theme of Knott’s is Ghost Town — Well the Demon Drop is an Old Ghost Demon who will fit in perfectly with the Theme Park!