Pandemonium (roller coaster) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pandemonium
Pandemonium at Fiesta Texas
Six Flags Over Texas
Park section	Boomtown
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 17, 2008
Six Flags St. Louis
Park section	Britania
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 21, 2007
Six Flags New England
Park section	North End
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 16, 2005
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Park section	Fiesta Bay Boardwalk
Status	Operating
Opening date	March 10, 2007
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Status	Relocated to the headquarters of Larson International and Roller Coaster Museum
Opening date	May 23, 2008
Closing date	2012
Replaced by	Superman: Ultimate Flight
General statistics
Type	Steel – Spinning
Manufacturer	Gerstlauer
Designer	Werner Stengel
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Drop	27 ft (8.2 m)
Length	1,351 ft (412 m)
Speed	31 mph (50 km/h)
Height restriction	42 in (107 cm)
Cars	Riders are seated 2 across, in 2 rows, for a total of 4 riders per car.
Flash Pass available
Single rider line available

Pandemonium is the name for several exciting spinning roller coasters. You can find them at different Six Flags amusement parks across the United States. Currently, four of these rides are open.

A fifth Pandemonium coaster used to be at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. It operated from 2008 to 2012. Later, it was replaced by a ride called Superman: Ultimate Flight. All these steel coasters were designed by a German company called Gerstlauer, along with Werner Stengel. Since 2005, Six Flags has opened five Pandemonium rides in total.

Each Pandemonium ride has several cars. Four riders sit in each car. As the cars move along the track, they spin around. How much they spin depends on the track's turns and how the riders' weight shifts.

History of Pandemonium Coasters

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

The very first Pandemonium ride opened at Six Flags New England on April 16, 2005. It was first called "Mr. Six's Pandemonium." Six Flags New England wanted a coaster that people of all ages would enjoy. So, they worked with Gerstlauer, a company known for making roller coasters. Gerstlauer showed them their new spinning coaster design.

In early 2005, Six Flags New England announced they would add two new roller coasters. One of them was Mr. Six's Pandemonium. It was named after the Mr. Six character, who was a mascot for Six Flags. But without much warning, Six Flags New England removed the "Mr. Six" theme. From the start of the 2007 season, the ride was simply called Pandemonium.

Tony Hawk's Big Spin Era

In late 2006 and early 2007, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags St. Louis announced they would also add new spinning coasters. Six Flags partnered with famous skateboarder Tony Hawk. They wanted to brand these new rides with his name. This was after his "Boom Boom HuckJam" show was very popular at many Six Flags parks.

The rides were called "Tony Hawk's Big Spin." They were designed to look like a big red and black skatepark. The rides offered an "extreme sports" feeling. In the waiting lines, screens showed cool moments from action sports history. A large spinning Tony Hawk figure was at the top of the ride. In 2007, these two parks also added a system to record guests' rides. This way, riders could buy a DVD of their experience.

Because Tony Hawk's Big Spin was so popular, Six Flags decided to add two more. In late 2007, they announced new rides for Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Over Texas. Both of these opened in the spring of 2008.

Renaming and Relocation

In November 2010, Six Flags started to end its deals with various brands. This included the agreement with Tony Hawk. This happened as the company was getting out of some financial troubles. The coasters at Discovery Kingdom, Fiesta Texas, and Over Texas kept the Tony Hawk name until January 2011. After that, these three parks quickly removed Tony Hawk's name and any related items. For the rest of that season, the rides were called "Big Spin."

At the start of the 2011 season, all four "Tony Hawk's Big Spin" rides were officially renamed Pandemonium. This made them match the ride at Six Flags New England.

In late 2011, Six Flags announced that Superman: Ultimate Flight would be built at Discovery Kingdom. This new ride would replace their Pandemonium coaster. Pandemonium at Discovery Kingdom officially closed on January 1, 2012. Since it was a fairly new coaster, Six Flags moved it to a storage facility. This facility was the headquarters of Larson International and the Roller Coaster Museum in Plainview, Texas. In mid-2012, Six Flags México announced a new ride called The Joker for 2013. The stored Pandemonium track was then moved from Texas to its new home in Mexico.

Ride Layout and Experience

Fiesta Texas's Pandemonium

Gerstlauer, the company that builds these rides, has different designs for its spinning roller coasters. The Pandemonium rides use two main models. These models have slightly different sizes. The height of the Pandemonium rides ranges from about 16 meters (52 feet) to 16.5 meters (54 feet). They all reach a top speed of about 50 kilometers per hour (31 mph).

The ride starts with a quick drop and then climbs up. Next, you go through a series of S-shaped turns. After that, there's a figure-8 section with steep banks. Then, you go over several small hills that form a semicircle. More small hills follow, leading into a helix (a spiral turn). Finally, there's a long loop and a big hill before the ride slows down at the end. For most of the ride, your car is spinning around very quickly, making every ride a bit different!

The Pandemonium rides at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags St. Louis have a part of their track built over a structure that looks like a half-pipe. This is a leftover from when the rides were themed as "Tony Hawk's Big Spin" and looked like a skate park.

Locations of Pandemonium Coasters

All the Pandemonium rides were set up by Ride Entertainment Group. This company handles all of Gerstlauer's work in North America.