Avalanche Run and Demon Drop at Cedar Point on Evening Magazine 1985

[@mynameiskrysta]

"cedar point is know fro it's scream machines, it has 6 of em"

[@dindog22]

that cracked me up. also Gemini being the king of the scream machines

[@gimpyjwilliams]

they have come a long way since then, now there is like 20

[@TheCharillz23]

@@gimpyjwilliams may not have the biggest anymore but the amount and the intensity still tops any other park in the us

[@mdood9299]

My how things have changed over the years. My first visit was in 94, Magnum was the bad boy and Raptor was brand new.

[@VictorianMetalGirl]

I remember that from when I was little.

[@kcamper25]

Raptor was so smooth when it opened

[@nathanielthomas2502]

Born in 83 live in metro Detroit. My 1st visit to Cedar Point was in 1990. Demon Drop was my 1st thrill ride.. an HR wait in line at the front of the park. I remember watching Magnum far off in the distance seemingly taking forever to reach the top of it's lift hill. Gave me terror & I didn't find the guts to ride it till 94 when I was 11 after I rode the new raptor at the time

[@jimmaloney1121]

Nice to see footage of Avalanche Run! The KDKA evening magazine used to air at 7:30, after the CBS Evening News. The anchor here is John Burnette, who also did some work as a weatherman for KDKA.

[@Mediacriti]

What a time to be alive. The "king of the coasters" was Gemini.

[@dindog22]

I'm so old I remember when Gemini and Corkscrew were a big deal

[@Mediacriti]

@@dindog22 I'm a little behind you. The Magnum was the biggest deal when I was young.

[@dindog22]

@@Mediacriti indeed it was

[@Mediacriti]

@A Fridge Too Far Same!

[@Yo-gp4ib]

Right. Makes me wonder how these kids will be riding millennium force and dragster at a young age like my son did. He’s 28 and doesn’t even care anymore. Or how their bodies will end up.

[@amusement420]

I loved the 80's

[@hnnhwlknsn]

Thank you so much for sharing! Incredible footage.

[@zunkman1]

Always loved the Demon Drop - it reminded me of a manufacturing production line.

[@davidhahner]

I'm a fan of it too. Luckily we can still ride it at Dorney Park. Still to this day the ride scares me, but in a good adrenaline rush way. I guess because it looks kind of sketchy. Still love it though!

[@TheEpic22]

David Hahner I think Intamin should make a modern update if it. It is more exciting than the typical drop tower format. Make one like 250 ft tall and less sketchy and it could be a great thrill ride (though knowing these parks they'd call it a coaster lol)

[@davidhahner]

That would be awesome!

[@coastaku1954]

Buddy, there is no "The" in the title, if you want Coaster Enthusiasts to take you seriously, drop the "the" before every ride name unless it's in the official name like The Bat at Canada's Wonderland or The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach

[@FrankDufek]

TheEpic22 i agree! The drop on a demon drop is way more intense and fast than nearly all drop towers. I really wish they’d make a monster version of the demon drop and unleash it. It’s the one ride cedar point got rid of that really hurts my heart

[@rafetizer]

It's crazy to think about how much stuff has been added (or removed) since I first started going here in the late 80's. I remember an older guy at work telling me about some of the rides that were there back in the 60's and 70's. Anyway, since the mid-eighties Iron Dragon, Magnum, Mean Streak (came and went entirely!), MF, Maverick, Mantis/Rougarou, Gatekeeper, Valravyn, and now Steel Vengeance. That's about one badass coaster every four years, since the 80's. Oh, and Wicked Twister, but eh, I don't waste my time on that. It looks like something Marcel Vos would plop down in RC Tycoon 2 to maximize value in a minimal space. I like the fact that CP doesn't dick around with expensive trademarked IP's, because frankly, IDGAF as long as the ride is awesome. And really, they do just fine with their own custom theming, when they do it. I'd prefer not to wade around in advertising land while I'm at a theme park. I'll make an exception for the Snoopy/Peanuts theming, as that's for the kids.

[@JMReid1220]

Was my home park for many years . This brings back fond memories.

[@josephk6679]

This ride became disaster transport.

[@lucascady4992]

Me too! I thought I was the only one!!

[@brynkasson8100]

And eventually became the line for GateKeeper

[@TommonSensePro]

@MikeJames6 and it still was exposed to the elements. Maybe that was actually the elements in their theming...

[@stevekov6740]

Yeah which was kinda cool. Especially on hot days or if it would start raining.

[@johnfoltz8183]

Wow! What a totally tubular roller coaster! Can't wait to ride it!

[@rustymertz]

I remember going to CP as a kid in the 80’s. One of the things I vividly remember is how many places you were able to buy beer and how drunk people were in the lines. Seemed like spring break in Ft. Lauderdale. Now, they only sell beer at one or two places in the park.

[@robertleecurtis22]

Great video; thanks for sharing.

[@GIUSAF]

Great memories of these with our Dad years ago!!

[@EclecticElectric101]

Did they not realize the problem with sand getting into the bobsled tracks? Bad idea.

[@KyleJPie10]

They did eventually lol

[@JCBro-yg8vd]

That's why they decided to enclose it in a building. Too bad the building had a leaky roof.

[@joehemmerling1602]

Rode the bobsled when I was 8,was too afraid of going on the Demon Drop.The Iron Dragon was new that summer.Loved the Gemini and the Corkscrew.

[@stevekov6740]

The Gemini is and will always be a classic for me. I always ride that one several times when I go.

[@scratchinjack608]

Ah-h, the summer of 1985. The summer I worked there. It took Avalanche Run nearly all summer to open and it shut down often there after as it took a long time to dry out after summer rain. The Demon Drop was a quick ride but lots of fun. I rode that thing dozens of times that summer and never lost the quarter off my knee.

[@mrs25159ify]

The demon drop was my favorite ride I loved it ❤️

[@KeithFox]

Only rode "Avalanche Run" as the indoor "Disaster Transport" since I was born in 84. It would have been better open-air. It was nice to be air-conditioned, but the lack of visibility didn't make it any more thrilling, and definitely made it loud.

[@dindog22]

trust me, it was way better as Disaster Transport

[@famouscriminals18]

I had the same thought. The open bobsled element seems like a fun and thrilling concept. They turned it into the Disaster Transport to compete with Space Mountain at Disney.

[@Michael-sb8jf]

from my understanding at the time it was either enclose at the time avalanche run and turn it into disaster transport or remove it because the sand from the beach caused to much friction

[@randywest5149]

Randy West Born 1983 Love Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio USA 🇺🇲.

[@dindog22]

oooo. 6 whole coasters

[@clevelandcbi]

"If you enjoyed the Olympic competition at Sarajevo...."

[@ecat3673]

this is when my mom was a teenager she said this was her favorite ride!

[@boofisgod]

I still think it’s the Bearnstien Bears! Damn you Mandela Effect!

[@DopeAsThePope1]

Nice to see someone else aware of the effect 😁

[@TommonSensePro]

3:35 Well, he pronounced it correctly. The Mandela Effect didn't take effect yet.

[@GhoSto419]

That instantly popped into my head when he said that aswell.

[@AirtimeThrills]

Hey David, do you mind if I use some of these Avalanche Run clips from this for a video I'm making? I'll link back to the video in the description. Please let me know, thanks!

[@davidhahner]

Yes you may. Credit David Hahner” and “Evening Magazine KDKA” since that is where it came from. Thanks for asking.

[@AirtimeThrills]

@@davidhahner Thanks so much, will do

[@SatansYardsale]

Born in 1985 right there in little ole' Sandusky, Ohio. Seems like something out a movie now. Cedar Point used be quaint. A place for other midwesterners to go on a cheap vacation. Then one year I came back to Ohio (my family moved out of state when I was still pretty young), went to CP, and a giant group of Chinese tourists (their matching t-shirts said "Chinese Coaster Club" or some such) were taking photos in front of the Gemini. Chinese tourists. In little bitty Sandusky. That's when I knew things had changed forever. Nothing against the tourists mind you (I was actually kind of proud since I was born there, my little bitty hometown made it to the world stage!), it was just one of those moments where you realize the world has changed more than you realize. You have to understand back then, to a kid born in Sandusky, LA might as well have been the goddamned moon and here I was, just a few short years later (this was actually back in the mid-to-late 2000s), staring at Chinese tourists. It was surreal. Course back then I never dreamed in a million years I'd have lived the life I have or seen the things I have but that's a story for another day. Thanks for the memories.

[@HyperKandie]

Wow! Before Iron Dragon!

[@chickypooh73]

I remember the demon drop and avalanche run

[@TheBbogert]

Did it double as a waterslide when it was raining?

[@peatier7626]

when you fall in love with a roller coaster instead of a girl 2:14

[@classicamusementparks]

3:17 I still have two of those yellow mugs!

[@cmdoggo2321]

Watching this in 2021 they thought demon drop was scary well now there are 400 ft roller coasters

[@stephanielane3165]

Avalanche run became disaster transport its cool to see what it looks like outside of a building i wish ceader point would have kept daemon drop i miss these classic rides

[@davidhahner]

I do too. But did you know that the original Demon Drop is still in operation at Dorney Park in PA? You can also ride a very similar ride to Avalanche Run with Alpine Bobsleds at Great Escape in NY and La Vibora at Six Flags over Texas.

[@messyfilms6325]

I remember riding avalanche run right after it rained one time and as a kid I was scared to death that it would fly off the track because it was so wet. 😂

[@RIVALContentJammerz]

One berm of it you could look straight down to ground. Scary ride.

[@93sundance]

Avalanche Run was a flop. It got I enclosed and renamed Disaster Transport.

[@tea_with_talia9775]

Wasn't this turned into Disaster Transport? Ugh I miss that ride!!+

[@stephanieallen7898]

Disaster Transport may be proof that ignorance is bliss. The open air Avalanche Run looks much scarier than the enclosed Dispatch Master Transport although the ride is exactly the same.

[@curtmurray6085]

I rode it when it was Avalance Run and it was slow and boring, basically the ride was a flop for Cedar Point and that's why it was converted to disaster transport which was a much better ride experience IMHO.

[@dindog22]

in the dark was much better

[@_lucas_1k_]

When they made Avalanche Run Disaster Transport did they change the track at all or did they just enclose it and add effects?

[@temasongu]

They just enclosed it and added special effects.

[@rafetizer]

It's crazy to think about, but in all the times I went on Disaster Transport I never realized it was a trackless bobsled. My dad did tell me it used to be a bobsled ride, but it never clicked. It was already enclosed by the time I first went. (probably around '88 or '89, I'd guess.) It was still a reasonably fun ride even in it's waning years, and boy was it nice stepping out of the sun for a while. It would be cool if they were to build a new enclosed coaster.

[@Weimerica8841]

@@rafetizer Same for me lol I always thought the theming of DT was really cool, even though it was cheesy. The air conditioned line alone was worth it, but I understand why they got rid of it. Removing Demon Drop though...that was a mistake

[@johnfoltz8183]

Parking lot coaster

[@hoosiercoasterfan2655]

1:55 at one point? It is still does

[@rafetizer]

I think he meant at one point in the ride.

[@TommonSensePro]

It's never went straight down though.

[@DopeAsThePope1]

I think Power Tower signaled the end for Demon Drop. Avalanche Run just SUCKED

[@JCBro-yg8vd]

There is no Demon Drop only lasted three seconds from start to finish. The drop probably took that long, but I doubt the whole ride did.