A drop tower or big drop is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central structure or tower. Drop towers vary in height, passenger capacity, lift type, and brake type. Many are custom-made, although there are some mass-produced designs. The most widely sold drop towers have been manufactured by Intamin and S&S Sansei, however Larson International and Funtime have their own drop tower models available as well. Riders initially experience a sense of weightlessness via free fall, followed by rapid deceleration, after which a magnetic brake system brings the ride to a stop. The entire experience generally lasts less than one minute.
With most drop towers, a gondola carrying riders is lifted to the top of a large vertical structure, then released to free-fall down the tower. Magnetic brakes immediately slow the gondola as it approaches the bottom half of the tower. Some attractions have expanded on the design concept, with features such as rotating gondolas or several bounces before coming to rest.[ citation needed ] At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, for example, Falcon's Fury takes riders to the top of a 335’ (102 m)-tall tower before an automated system slowly rotates the seats forward to face the ground, greatly enhancing the sensation of ‘falling’; the seats automatically return to their normal, forward-facing position just before the end of the ride.
Most drop towers require child riders to meet a minimum height; limits vary widely depending upon the nature of the tower, with a 9-metre (30 ft) tower for smaller children at least 95 centimetres (37 in) tall, [1] and a 37-metre (120 ft) tower for children at least 130 centimetres (51 in) tall. [2]
These rides also have weight restrictions. Not following the restrictions is what caused Tyre Sampson's death on March 24, 2022, at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida. [3]
Mass-produced tower rides include:
bold | Denotes drop tower is or was once the tallest in the world |
italic | Denotes drop tower is either no longer operating or removed |
Rank | Name | Park | Location | Drop height | Structural height | Manufacturer | Record holder |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom | Six Flags Great Adventure | Jackson Township, New Jersey, United States | 126 metres (415 ft) | 139 metres (456 ft) | Intamin | July 2014 – Present |
— | Orlando FreeFall | ICON Park | Orlando, Florida, United States | 120 metres (400 ft) | 130 metres (430 ft) | Funtime | — |
2 | Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Valencia, California, United States | 120 metres (400 ft) | 126 metres (415 ft) | Intamin | July 2012 – July 2014 |
3 | The Giant Drop | Dreamworld | Coomera, Queensland, Australia | 115 metres (377 ft) | 120 metres (390 ft) | Intamin | December 1998 – July 2012 |
4 | Highlander | Hansa-Park | Sierksdorf, Germany | 103 metres (338 ft) | 120 metres (390 ft) | Funtime | — |
5 | La Venganza del Enigma | Parque Warner Madrid | Madrid, Spain | 100 metres (328 ft) | 115 metres (377 ft) | S&S Worldwide | — |
— | Blue Fall | Sea Paradise | Yokohama, Japan | 100 metres (328 ft) | 107 metres (351 ft) | Intamin | — |
6 | Donjon de l'Extrême | Nigloland | Dolancourt, France | 95 metres (312 ft) | 105 metres (344 ft) | Funtime | — |
7 | Falcon's Fury | Busch Gardens Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay, Florida, United States | 94 metres (310 ft) | 102 metres (335 ft) | Intamin | — |
8 | Voltrum | Bayern-Park | Reisbach, Germany | 93 metres (305 ft) | 109 metres (358 ft) | Funtime | — |
9 | AtmosFear | Liseberg | Gothenburg, Sweden | 90 metres (295 ft) | 116 metres (381 ft) | Intamin | — |
10 | Hurakan Condor | PortAventura Park | Salou, Spain | 87 metres (285 ft) | 115 metres (377 ft) | Intamin | — |
11 | UFO Gyro Drop | Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village | Yuchr Shiang, Nantou County, Taiwan | 85 metres (280 ft) | 110 metres (360 ft) | Intamin | |
12 | Global Burj | Global Village | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 85 metres (279 ft) | Unknown | Unknown | — |
13 | Drop Tower | Kings Dominion | Doswell, Virginia, United States | 83 metres (272 ft) | 93 metres (305 ft) | Intamin | — |
14 | Big Tower | Beto Carrero World | Penha, Santa Catarina, Brazil | 80 metres (264 ft) | 100 metres (328 ft) | Intamin | — |
15 | Drop Tower | Kings Island | Mason, Ohio, United States | 80 metres (264 ft) | 96 metres (315 ft) | Intamin | — |
The Plunge | Kongeparken | Ålgård, Rogaland, Norway | 80 metres (264 ft) | Unknown | Funtime | — |
Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other establishments. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for " international amusement installations". The company has corporate offices across the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States.
Nemesis Reborn, previously Nemesis, is an inverted roller coaster located at the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, England. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the ride was designed by Werner Stengel, while overall development was overseen by attraction developer John Wardley. It opened in the Forbidden Valley area of the park on 19 March 1994.
The Giant Drop is a drop tower ride located at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride was added in December 1998 to the existing Dreamworld Tower which housed the Tower of Terror. For fourteen years, The Giant Drop held the record for the tallest drop tower in the world.
Demon Drop is a drop tower amusement ride located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Designed by Intamin, it is a Freefall model that was originally located at Cedar Point that opened in 1983. It was relocated to Dorney Park following the 2009 season, where it reopened in 2010. It is one of the oldest rides of its kind still in operation.
A Kamikaze is a pendulum amusement ride, usually found as a traveling ride, with some examples found at amusement parks. The ride is manufactured by FarFabbri & Sartori, and first made its debut in 1984. Since then, over 150 Kamikazes have been sold.
The Enterprise is an amusement ride, manufactured primarily by HUSS Park Attractions and Anton Schwarzkopf beginning in 1972. The HUSS ride was an adaptation and improvement of a design produced earlier that year by Schwarzkopf, with an increased passenger capacity. Despite not owning the original incarnation of the ride, HUSS was issued the patent.
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is an adventure park located above Glenwood Springs, Colorado, about 160 mi (260 km) west of Denver. Prior to 2003, only cave tours were available until a major expansion took place. The park is unique because it sits at an altitude of 7,100 ft (2,200 m) on a mountain above Glenwood Springs. Today, the park features numerous attractions in addition to the cave tours. In December 2023, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland designated Glenwood Caverns and Iron Mountain Hot Springs a National Natural Landmark.
The Freefall is an amusement ride developed by Giovanola and marketed throughout the world by Swiss company, Intamin.
This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various European amusement parks, water parks, or theme parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park owners, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.
Acrophobia is a free-fall tower ride located at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia. The attraction was designed by Intamin of Switzerland, and is marketed by Intamin's Liechtenstein-based subsidiary Ride Trade. When Acrophobia opened to the public on May 12, 2001, it became the first free-fall attraction of its kind in the world.
Drop Tower, formerly known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, is the name of five drop tower amusement rides located at Cedar Fair amusement parks in the United States and Canada. Each installation varies in size and capacity.
Superman: Tower of Power is a drop tower ride currently located at two Six Flags parks, and two former installments at Kentucky Kingdom and Six Flags St. Louis. Two of the four drop towers were manufactured by Intamin, while the Six Flags Over Georgia version was made by Zamperla, and the Six Flags Over Texas version was made by S&S. The installment at Kentucky Kingdom was demolished after an accident that severed a 13-year-old girl's feet. At Six Flags St. Louis, the ride was removed from the park's website in early 2021. Three additional drop towers of the same model by S&S are installed at other Six Flags parks Six Flags New England and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, each known as Scream and one more built at Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor known as Sasquatch.
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Falcon's Fury is a free-standing Sky Jump drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Intamin subsidiary Intaride, the ride reaches a maximum height of 335 feet (102 m), making it North America's tallest free-standing drop tower. Riders experience about five seconds of free fall, reaching a speed of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). The ride's name was chosen to invoke a falcon's ability to dive steeply at high speed to capture prey.
Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom is an amusement ride located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The 415 ft (126 m) attraction is attached to the Kingda Ka roller coaster and opened as the tallest drop tower ride in the world in 2014.
Sky Screamer was a first-generation Intamin Freefall ride at Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas. Opening in 1983, the ride was closed and dismantled in the late 1990s.
The Highlander is a gyro drop tower at Hansa-Park, located in Sierksdorf, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, with a total height of 120 metres (390 ft) to the top and a fall height of 103 metres (338 ft). This made it the world's tallest gyro drop tower and the world's tallest and fastest gyro drop tower with tilting seats at the time of opening. After the 2021 opening of the taller Orlando FreeFall drop tower with a height of 131 m (430 ft), Highlander remains the tallest gyro drop tower in Europe.
Icon Park, originally named I-Drive 360 until 2018, is an entertainment complex in Orlando, Florida, that has been operating since 2015. The complex is on 20 acres (8 ha) and has about 9 feature attractions, including a 400-foot (120 m) observation wheel, a slingshot ride, a Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and a Sea Life aquarium. The park also has various restaurants, shops, bars, and kiosk vendors.
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