Drop tower
Type of amusement ride
title: "Drop tower" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["drop-tower-rides", "towers"] description: "Type of amusement ride" topic_path: "general/drop-tower-rides" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_tower" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Type of amusement ride ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Giant_Drop_-_Dreamworld.jpg" caption="Dreamworld"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Freefall_moviepark.png" caption="The High Fall at [[Movie Park Germany"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Drop_tower_Santa_cruz_boardwalk.JPG" caption="A drop tower at the [[Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk]] entitled the "Double Shot""] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Drop_tower_ride.jpg" caption="[[Sky Ranch]] Philippines"] ::
A drop tower is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central tower structure with one or more gondolas attached. In a typical modern configuration, each gondola carrying riders is lifted to the top of the tower and then released to free fall back down to ground level. This produces a feeling of weightlessness followed by rapid deceleration. A magnetic braking system, or a variation that relies on pistons and air pressure, is used to safely bring the gondola to a complete stop. One of the earliest drop towers configured as an amusement ride was a parachute ride that debuted at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which was inspired by paratrooper training devices used by the Soviet Union in the 1920s.
Swiss manufacturer Intamin renewed interest decades later when it pioneered the modern drop tower with an early iteration released in the 1980s, which was later refined to use magnetic braking systems in the 1990s. This led to larger models, such as the Giant Drop and Gyro Drop. S&S Sansei modified the concept and released their own variation that employs pneumatics, which involves pistons, air pressure, and steel cables to control the speed of the gondola at all times. This variation can move the gondola at speeds faster than free fall and can alternatively be configured to accelerate gondolas in the opposite direction, moving at fast speeds up the tower as well as down.
Drop towers can vary in height and capacity, and some models are either mass-produced or custom. Newer features include gondolas that rotate along the vertical plane, tilting riders so they are facing the ground prior to the gondola's release. Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, for example, is a 335 ft tower that rotates riders to face the ground, and then returns riders to an upright position as the gondola nears the end of the drop.
Drop tower designs
Mass-produced tower rides include:
- Double shot (air-powered blast up twice)
- Space shot (air-powered blast up)
- Super shot (drop down ride slowed by magnetic or air-power)
- Turbo drop (drop down ride slowed by air-power)
Tallest drop towers
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| italic | Denotes drop tower is either no longer operating or removed |
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| Rank | Name | Park | Location | Drop height | Structural height | Manufacturer | Record holder |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom | Six Flags Great Adventure | Jackson Township, New Jersey, United States | 415 ft | 456 ft | Intamin | July 2014 – November 2024 |
| — | Orlando FreeFall | Icon Park | Orlando, Florida, United States | 120 metres (400 feet) | 130 metres (430 feet) | Funtime | |
| 1 | Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Valencia, California, United States | 400 ft | 415 ft | Intamin | July 2012 – July 2014. November 2024 – Current |
| 2 | The Giant Drop | Dreamworld | Coomera, Queensland, Australia | 119 m | 390 ft | Intamin | December 1998 – July 2012 |
| 3 | Highlander | Hansa-Park | Sierksdorf, Germany | 103 m | 120 m | Funtime | |
| 4 | La Venganza del Enigma | Parque Warner Madrid | Madrid, Spain | 328 ft | 377 ft | S&S Worldwide | |
| — | Blue Fall | Sea Paradise | Yokohama, Japan | 328 ft | 351 ft | Intamin | |
| 5 | Donjon de l'Extrême | Nigloland | Dolancourt, France | 95 m | 105 m | Funtime | |
| 6 | Falcon's Fury | Busch Gardens Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay, Florida, United States | 310 ft | 335 ft | Intamin | |
| 7 | Voltrum | Bayern-Park | Reisbach, Germany | 305 ft | 358 ft | Funtime | |
| — | Sky Screamer | Marineland of Canada | Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada | 300 ft | 450 ft | S&S – Sansei Technologies | |
| 8 | AtmosFear | Liseberg | Gothenburg, Sweden | 295 ft | 381 ft | Intamin | |
| 9 | Hurakan Condor | PortAventura Park | Salou, Spain | 87 m | 115 m | Intamin | |
| 10 | UFO Gyro Drop | Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village | Yuchr Shiang, Nantou County, Taiwan | 85 metres (280 ft) | 110 metres | Intamin | |
| 11 | Global Burj | Global Village | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 85 m | |||
| 12 | Drop Tower | Kings Dominion | Doswell, Virginia, United States | 272 ft | 305 ft | Intamin | |
| 13 | Big Tower | Beto Carrero World | Penha, Santa Catarina, Brazil | 264 ft | 328 ft | Intamin | |
| 14 | Drop Tower | Kings Island | Mason, Ohio, United States | 264 ft | 315 ft | Intamin | |
| The Plunge | Kongeparken | Ålgård, Rogaland, Norway | 264 ft | Funtime | |||
| :: |
Other notable examples
- Big Shot on the top of The Strat reaching 1081 ft was the highest situated drop tower ride in the world, with a drop of 160 ft to a base 921 ft above ground level
- Space Probe located at Wonderland Sydney in Australia
- Apocalypse at Drayton Manor in England
- Detonator at Thorpe Park in England
- Launch Pad at Pleasure Beach Blackpool in England
- AtmosFEAR at Morey's Piers, Wildwood, New Jersey
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at multiple Disney parks worldwide.
- Acrophobia at Six Flags Over Georgia
- Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout! at Disney California Adventure Park
- Giant Drop at Six Flags Great America
Injuries and accidents
- On August 22, 1999, 12-year-old Joshua Smurphat fell to his death on Drop Zone: Stunt Tower (Drop Tower) at Paramount's Great America (California's Great America) after slipping from the ride's restraints, which were still locked at the end of the ride.{{cite news |publisher = Courier-Journal |date = June 23, 2007 |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20071129&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=111290002&SectionCat=&Template=printart |title = Thrill ride lawsuits |access-date =July 5, 2021}}
- On June 21, 2007 (park operating as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom), a 13-year-old girl from Louisville, Kentucky had both feet cut off above the ankle when one of the ride's cables snapped during operation. Following the incident, all Intamin towers were temporarily closed and the Carowinds model was found to have stretched cables.
- On February 24, 2012, 14-year-old Gabriella Yukari Nichimura died in an accident at Hopi Hari, Vinhedo, São Paulo State, Brazil. She fell from the drop tower ride "La Tour Eiffel" suffering cranial trauma and died on the way to the hospital. Initial investigations suggested the possibility of mechanical failure in the restraint latch.
- On the evening of January 3, 2018, 8 persons (five females and three males aged 12 to 18, including Danica Villas) were injured suffering "cervical spasms" after Fun Drop Tower Ride at the amusement park Circle of Fun in Quezon Memorial Circle suddenly dropped.
- On the evening of September 5, 2021, 6-year-old Wongel Estifanos died on the Haunted Mine Drop ride after being separated from her seat and falling 110 feet to her death. It has been determined that the girl was actually sitting on top of her seatbelt rather than the seatbelt being tight on her lap. A forensic pathologist identified the cause of death as blunt-force trauma. The official report by the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety blamed a lack of procedures and inadequate training of two ride operators to ensure that Estifanos was properly buckled in. Before the accident, the ride had had four annual safety inspections per Colorado Amusement Rides and Devices Regulations (7 CCR 1101-12) and was certified to have corrected any issues. Colorado Senate Bill 03-253 allows parents to release their minor’s rights to sue for negligence.
- On the evening of March 24, 2022, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson from Missouri fell to his death from the world's tallest drop tower ride, the Orlando FreeFall drop tower at ICON Park in Florida. The brand new attraction had been open for only three months at the time of the accident. On April 18, 2022, it was discovered that the safety sensors of two seats had been intentionally modified to allow for larger gaps between harness and seat, almost double the normal range, presumably to accommodate larger riders, a condition that ultimately led to Tyre's death, since he slipped through that gap and fell toward the end of the drop when the ride slowed down. On October 6, 2022, it was announced that the Orlando Free Fall tower would be dismantled. The owner planned to have the demolition finished by the anniversary of the victim’s death.
- On September 5, 2022, a drop tower in India failed to slow down, causing it to fall 50 feet to the ground, injuring 16 people.
References
References
- (June 25, 2020). "YouTuber explains why riders don't splatter into human puddles on "drop tower" rides".
- (June 21, 2020). "How Drop Tower Rides Work". Art of Engineering.
- (November 5, 1999). "Drop Zone death: no charges, no explanation". RideAccidents.com.
- (2013-01-27). "Girl who had feet severed by amusement park ride, in stable condition…".
- (June 22, 2007). "Carowinds Thrill Ride Closed for Inspection". The Herald Online.
- (24 February 2012). "Adolescente More Após Acidente em Parque de Diversões no Interior de SP".
- Tupas, Emmanuel. (Jan 5, 2018). "8 youths hurt in carnival ride glitch".
- (January 3, 2018). "Teens injured in QC Circle of Fun ride".
- Candelaria, Esteban. (September 24, 2021). "Colorado Springs girl killed on mine drop ride was not strapped in, report says". [[The Gazette (Colorado Springs)]].
- Amusement Rides and Devices Program. "ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPOR". Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety.
- Smith, Logan. (6 September 2021). "Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Closes After Child Dies On Thrill Ride - CBSN Denver".
- Morfitt, Karen. (September 10, 2021). "'She Reminds Me Tomorrow Isn't Promised': Family Friend Remembers Wongel Estifanos, 6-Year-Old Who Died On Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Ride".
- Allen, Rich. (September 7, 2021). "Glenwood Caverns' Haunted Mine Drop passed regulations inspection less than three months before death of 6-year-old".
- Ray K. Erku. (September 11, 2021). "In Colorado, waiver law limits legal options for amusement park riders".
- "SENATE BILL 03-253". Colorado General Assembly.
- Hanna, Melissa Alonso and Jason. (2022-03-25). "A 14-year-old fell to his death from the new drop tower ride at Florida's ICON Park, authorities say".
- Rice, Katie. (22 April 2022). "Report: Ride operators altered safety features before teen’s death". Orlando Sentinel.
- (April 18, 2022). "Read the report: Engineer report on teen death at ICON Park".
- (7 October 2022). "Orlando Free Fall to be torn down following teen's death".
- "Demolition of Orlando FreeFall ride begins this week".
- (5 September 2022). "Carnival ride plummets 50 feet, terrifying moment caught on video".
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