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Wednesday, July 15, 2015
The Screamin' Delta Demon: From Opryland To Shanghai Disneyland
When you wish upon a star, apparently your dreams come true in Shanghai Disneyland.
As a kid growing up in Alabama, I was fascinated by the marketing for the Opryland theme park in Nashville, Tennessee. Specifically, I was obsessed with the advertising artwork created for the park's Grizzly River Rampage raft ride and The Screamin' Delta Demon toboggan ride.
The logo artwork for The Screamin' Delta Demon seemed to promise an encounter with a scary crocodile/alligator type creature in a swamp.
The reality of The Screamin' Delta Demon did not match the artwork. It was a fun ride for sure, but there was no monster lurking in a swamp trying to get you.
The ride vehicles, at least, were shaped like the Delta Demon creature. The attraction zoomed through the woods, mingling with Opryland's (very fun) log flume ride.
By 1997, Opryland closed down and the Screamin' Delta Demon became just a memory.
Flash forward to July, 2015, with new information revealed about the upcoming Shanghai Disneyland park in China.
Shanghai Disneyland's Roaring Rapids raft attraction features a beast that looks very familiar to me.
WOW! Could it be? Finally, the terrifying Screamin' Delta Demon lives! He is only missing his wings. Maybe King Stefan from Maleficent cut them off.
Seriously, this Shanghai Disneyland creature is fantastic, and a dream come true for me.
Now if only Disney could revive Opryland's Grizzly River Rampage.
Oh, wait, they sort of already did that (see Disney's Country Bears at Grizzly River Run in California Adventure).
For more fun, check out Dreamin' of the Screamin' Delta Demon at Opryland.
In the middle of Opryland, you could also find the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster in Do Wah Diddy City.
These days, you can find the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida, and at the Walt Disney Studios Park at the Disneyland Paris Resort in France.
On the flip side, Opryland also had a show called "I Hear America Singing."
At Disneyland in California, a very similar type show called "America Sings" played in Tomorrowland from 1974 to 1988 (though the Disney show featured Audio Animatronics animals characters---many of whom went on to appear in Splash Mountain).
Did any of the Opryland rides get moved to other amusement parks? Wow, so Disney ripped off the "Rock 'n Roller Coaster" name?
ReplyDeleteHey TokyoMagic! Yes, Opryland had a Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, though the name is the only thing it had in common with the Disney attraction. I believe parts of Opryland's Grizzly River Rampage became Penguin's Blizzard River at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.
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