Drop tower (ride)

For Cedar Fair's specific implementation of this concept, see Drop Tower: Scream Zone.

A drop tower at Movie Park Germany

A drop tower at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk entitled the "Double Shot"

A drop tower or big drop is a type of amusement ride, based around a central structure or tower. With most drop towers, the gondola is lifted to the top of a large vertical structure, before being released and falling towards the ground. Brakes activate to slow the ride prior to reaching the ground. Some designs expand on this concept, with some designs promoting rotating gondalas or that riders be 'bounced' several times before coming to a rest.

Most parks and carnivals require riders to be 48 inches (122 cm) or taller. The fastest free-fall/drop tower in the world is an Intamin designed and manufactured ride named Giant Drop. The ride is 390 feet (119 m) high and reaches a speed of 84.375 mph (135.6 km/h), the ride is located at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Australia. The highest drop tower is The Big Shot which is located on the top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas casino hotel tower. The base of the ride is 921 feet (281 m) above ground with the top of the ride at 1,081 feet (329 m).

Drop towers vary in height, passenger capacity, lift type, and brake type. Many are custom made, although there are some mass-produced designs, which are listed below.

The drop tower ride type should not be confused with the observation tower ride type.

Tallest Vertical Drop Towers

Rank	Name	Park	Location	Drop Height	Structural Height	Manufacturer	Record Holder
	Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom	Six Flags Magic Mountain	Valencia, California, USA	400 feet (120 m)	415 feet (126 m)	Intamin	Under Construction
1.	Giant Drop	Dreamworld	Coomera, Queensland, Australia	377 feet (115 m)	390 feet (120 m)	Intamin	December 1998 – present
2.	Big Tower	Beto Carrero World	Penha, Brazil	328 feet (100 m)	N/A	Intamin	N/A
	Blue Fall	Sea Paradise	Yokohama, Japan	328 feet (100 m)	351 feet (107 m)	Intamin	N/A
	La Venganza del Enigma	Parque Warner Madrid	Madrid, Spain	328 feet (100 m)	N/A	S&S Worldwide	N/A
3.	AtmosFear	Liseberg	Gothenberg, Sweden	300 feet (91 m)	381 feet (116 m)	Intamin	N/A
4.	Hurakan Condor	PortAventura	Salou, Catalonia, Spain	282 feet (86 m)	N/A	Intamin	N/A
5.	Drop Tower: Scream Zone	Kings Dominion	Doswell, Virginia, USA	272 feet (83 m)	305 feet (93 m)	Intamin	N/A
6.	Drop Tower: Scream Zone	Kings Island	Mason, Ohio, USA	264 feet (80 m)	315 feet (96 m)	Intamin	N/A
7.	Fritt Fall	Grona Lund	Stockholm, Sweden	262 feet (80 m)	328 feet (100 m)	Intamin	N/A
8.	Supreme Scream	Knott's Berry Farm	Buena Park, California, USA	252 feet (77 m)	312 feet (95 m)	S&S Worldwide	July 1998 - December 1998
	Dalton Terror	Walibi Belgium	Wavre, Belgium	252 feet (77 m)	N/A	Intamin	N/A
9.	Power Tower	Valleyfair	Shakopee, Minnesota, USA	250 feet (76 m)	275 feet (84 m)	S&S Worldwide	N/A
10.	Superman: Tower of Power	Six Flags Over Texas	Arlington, Texas, USA	245 feet (75 m)	313 feet (95 m)	S&S Worldwide	N/A

Examples

• The Giant Drop (119 m) located at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Australia, is the tallest and fastest drop tower ride in the world.
• AtmosFear in Gothenburg, Sweden (116 m), is the second tallest drop tower in the world.
• Big Shot located on the top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas reaching 1,081 feet (329 m) is the highest situated drop tower ride in the world, being located on top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas
• The La Venganza del Enigma is the tallest and fastest combo drop tower in the world and the third tallest ride in the world (115 m), situated in Parque Warner on Madrid.
• Space Probe located at Wonderland Sydney in Australia, was the world's tallest and fastest drop tower ride upon opening.
• The Pitt Fall at Kennywood
• The Cliff Hanger located at Cliffs Amusement park
• The Mega Drop at the Illinois State Fair (removed in 2008)
• The Drop Tower at five Cedar Fair parks
• Super Shot often found at Midway (fair)
• Cliffhanger located at Flamingo Land Resort in Britain is the 2nd highest in Britain
• Apocalypse at Drayton Manor
• Detonator at Thorpe Park
• Tango Ice Blast at Pleasure Beach Blackpool
• Scream Machine at Coney Island
• Big Tower in Beto Carrero World
• The Megadrop owned by RCS Fair Rides
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at multiple Disney parks worldwide.
• Scream! at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England
• Power Tower at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio features two Turbo Drop towers, and two Space Shot towers.

Ride designs

Mass-produced tower rides include:

• Double Shot (air-powered blast up and down)
• The Piledriver
• Space Shot (air-powered blast up)
• Spring Ride / Family Tower
• Super Shot
• Turbo Drop (air-powered blast down)
• Intamin Drop Tower
• Z-Force (Zamperla shot'n'drop tower)
• Flash Tower (Zamperla shot'n'drop tower)
• Hurakan Condor (Multi-ride with variants)
• EKstreme Enchanted Kingdom (Laguna, Philippines)

Injuries and accidents

See also: Intamin#Safety Incidents

• In August 1999, 12-year-old Joshua Smurphat, who had a mental disability, fell from the tower and died. Smurphat's family claimed the harness was not locked properly.
• Following the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom incident, all the towers were closed and the Carowinds model was found to have "stretched" cables.

See also

• Freefall
• Space Shot
• Turbo Drop