Demon Drop
1983-2009

In the Late 1970's Cedar Point began rapidly expanding into ''The Amazement Park''. In 1975, Cedar Point opened the Cedar Point Cinema. The Cedar Point Cinema was was the only Imax Theater in Ohio when it opened. Corkscrew became the first roller coaster in the world to flip riders upside down 3 times in 1976. In 1977 the Corkscrew midway was expanded with new rides including Witches' Wheel. Gemini became the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster in 1978. In 1979, Intamin built its first roller coaster in the form of Jr. Gemini. Oceanea became Cedar Point's wildlife exhibit when it opened in 1980. Ocean Motion arrived in 1981 to the Beach midway. In 1982, When White Landing became Cedar Point's most themed ride.

Each new addition became more and more popular as they opened. The new attractions each brought something new to Cedar Point. 1983 would bring another new attraction to the park that would terrify guest.

In the fall of 1982, Cedar Point announced it was building Demon Drop. Demon Drop is located at the front of the park. To make room for the ride, the park had to demolish part of a picnic shelter.

Built by Intamin AG of Switzerland, Demon Drop is a first Generation free fall. The first two opened in 1982 at Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Demon Drop was the third ride to open.

Demon Drop opened on May 15, 1983. When the ride opened it was the first of its kind on this side of the Mississippi River.

Demon Drop was the second tallest ride at Cedar Point when it opened in 1983. It slipped down the list in 1989 when the opening of Magnum XL-200. It would continue to go down the list with the opening of: Mean Streak (1991), Raptor (1994), Mantis (1996), RipCord (1996), Power Tower (1998), Millennium Force (2000), Wicked Twister (2002), Top Thrill Dragster (2003), maXair (2005), and Sky Scrapper (2008).

Demon Drop was a very popular ride when it first opened. It had very long lines!

As with any new ride, Demon Drop suffered from its fair share of downtime. In the first few years the ride was at the park it was known for being down a lot. The ride would go down for weeks at a time. Cedar Point and the manufacturer worked together to get the ride to a point where it would have an acceptable up time.

Ride Experience

Riders would enter Demon Drop by entering the line. The line started by the rides break run. The line crossed under the ride and headed to the station where riders would board the ride. As you waited in line you got an amazing view of the 131-foot tall ride.

Riders would load into cars that featured over the shoulder restrains. Each car held up to 4 riders at a time.

The cars moved backward out of the station where they waited to be loaded into the shaft. The cars moved out of the station in groups of 3.

Demon Drop lifted its riders up 131 feet in just 7.2 seconds! It was a quick ride to the top! It was like riding a very fast elevator to the top! On the way up, riders got amazing views of the front of the park and the Sandusky Bay.

 Once the car got to the top it would leave the elevator shaft by sliding toward the drop shaft. Once in the drop shaft, the ride would pause for a few seconds.

With no warning, Demon Drop drops its riders 99 feet down the elevator! It drops the first 60 feet in just two seconds! The drop is a true free fall. The ride would reach speeds of 55 MPH!

As Demon Drop goes thru the break run riders land on their back and get an amazing view of the sky!

The ride then moves into the lower shaft where they are flipped upright. The car then moves into the station.

Becoming Outdated

As Demon Drop aged the ride began to become really rough. Over the years the ride would lose ridership. 

In 2005 Cedar Point listed Demon Drop for sale. They confirmed that it was for sale and that it would remain in operation until a buyer was found or the park would need the land to do something else.

After Demon Drop opened Cedar Point would continue to expand with additions like: Avalanche Run (1985-1989). Thunder Canyon (1986) Iron Dragon (1987), Soak City (1988-2016), Magnum XL-200 (1989), Disaster Transport (1990-2012), Mean Streak (1991-2016), Snake River Falls (1993), Raptor (1994), Mantis (1996), Chaos (1997-2010), Power Tower (1998), Camp Snoopy (1999), Millennium Force (2000), Wicked Twister (2002), Top Thrill Dragster (2003), maXair (2005), Sky Hawk (2006), Maverick (2007) and Planet Snoopy (2008).

Over the years the newer rides became bigger and more impressive as each one was added.

In 1998 Cedar Point opened Power Tower. Power Tower  was the world's tallest and fastest drop tower when it opened. Power Tower is an S&S combo tower that includes different experiences. With the introduction of the new tower, Power Tower made Demon Drop outdated.

Over the years Intamin came up with a new and modern drop tower that would take less space. As a result, parks were replacing their first generation rides with the new ones.

On October 21, 2009, Cedar Point announced it would close Demon Drop on November 1, 2009. At that time it was announced that Demon Drop would be moved to Knott's Berry Farm in California.

It would later be announced that the new location of Demon Drop had been changed to Dorney Park in Allentown, PA.

Demon Drop closed at Cedar Point on November 1, 2009.

When Demon Drop closed at Cedar Point, it was the 13th tallest ride in the park. In 26 years Cedar Point would build 12 rides that were taller then Demon Drop.

Demon Drop was quickly removed from Cedar Point so it could begin its long travel.

When Cedar Point opened in 2010 the Demon Drop site was empty and nothing was there.

In November 2010 it was announced that Ocean Motion would be moved to the former Demon Drop site to make room for WindSeeker. Ocean Motion opened in its new location in 2011.

Demon Drop opened at Dorney Park on July 8, 2010.

When the ride was moved it kept the same general look and feel. The ride was repainted and given a new logo. The station and entrance kept the same look as it had at Cedar Point.

Demon Drop was a great ride for Cedar Point. Even tho it is now in another park, its legacy still lives on. Demon Drop helped lay the footsteps for bigger and better things to come at Cedar Point.

Photos by: Andrew Borgen, Cedar Point, COASTER-net and Jake Hamons

Last Updated: 6/02/2020