Drop tower explained

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. 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 30feet tower for smaller children at least 95cm (37inches) tall,^[1] and a 120adj=onNaNadj=on tower for children at least 130cm (50inches) tall.^[2]

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

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		Six Flags Great Adventure	Jackson Township, New Jersey, United States	415feet	456feet	Intamin	July 2014 – Present
-	Orlando FreeFall	ICON Park	Orlando, Florida, United States	400feet	430feet	Funtime
2			Valencia, California, United States	400feet	415feet		July 2012 – July 2014
3	The Giant Drop		Coomera, Queensland, Australia	377feet	390abbr=NaNabbr=		December 1998 – July 2012
4	Highlander	Hansa-Park	Sierksdorf, Germany	103m (338feet)	120m (390feet)	Funtime
5	La Venganza del Enigma		Madrid, Spain	328feet	377feet
-	Blue Fall	Sea Paradise	Yokohama, Japan	328feet	351feet	Intamin
6	Donjon de l'Extrême	Nigloland	Dolancourt, France	95m (312feet)	105m (344feet)	Funtime
7		Busch Gardens Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay, Florida, United States	310feet	335feet	Intamin
8	Voltrum	Bayern-Park	Reisbach, Germany	305abbr=NaNabbr=	358abbr=NaNabbr=	Funtime
9	Sky Screamer	Marineland of Canada	Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada	300abbr=NaNabbr=	450abbr=NaNabbr=	S&S – Sansei Technologies
10	AtmosFear	Liseberg		295abbr=NaNabbr=	381abbr=NaNabbr=	Intamin
11	Hurakan Condor	PortAventura Park	Salou, Spain	87m (285feet)	115m (377feet)	Intamin
12	UFO Gyro Drop	Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village	Yuchr Shiang, Nantou County, Taiwan	85 metres (280 ft)	110 metres (360 ft)	Intamin
13	Global Burj	Global Village	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	85m (279feet)
14	Drop Tower	Kings Dominion	Doswell, Virginia, United States	272feet	305feet	Intamin
15	Big Tower	Beto Carrero World	Penha, Santa Catarina, Brazil	264feet	328feet
16	Drop Tower	Kings Island	Mason, Ohio, United States	264feet	315feet	Intamin
	The Plunge	Kongeparken	Ålgård, Rogaland, Norway	264feet

Other notable examples

• Big Shot on the top of The Strat reaching 1081feet was the highest situated drop tower ride in the world, with a drop of 160feet to a base 921feet above ground level
• Space Probe located at Wonderland Sydney in Australia
• Apocalypse at Drayton Manor
• at Thorpe Park
• Ice Blast at Pleasure Beach Blackpool
• 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 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.^{[3] [4]}
• 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.^[5] Following the incident, all Intamin towers were temporarily closed and the Carowinds model was found to have stretched cables.^[6]
• 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.^[7]
• 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.^{[8] [9]}
• 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 110feet 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.^{[10] [11]} 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. Following the incident the park temporarily closed.^{[12] [13] [14]} Colorado Senate Bill 03-253 allows parents to release their minor’s rights to sue for negligence.^{[15] [16]}
• 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.^[17] On April 18, 2022, it was discovered that the safety sensors of two seats were intentionally modified to generate a "go" signal for larger and therefore unsafe harness-to-seat gaps, presumably to accommodate larger riders, a condition that ultimately led to Tyre's death, since he slipped through that gap toward the end of the drop when the ride slowed down. This is only one major factor among others that may have caused the tragedy, including the fact that Tyre weighed 320 pounds (144 kg) and the ride manual stipulates a weight limit of 287 pounds (130 kg). On October 6, 2022, it was announced that the Orlando Free Fall tower would be dismantled.^[18] The owner plans to have the demolition finished by the anniversary of the victim’s death.^[19]
• On September 5, 2022, a drop tower in India failed to slow down then crashed to ground, injuring 16.^[20]

See also

• Freefall

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ride with 95cm height requirement . July 8, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120702151642/https://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/thomas-land.php?sub=height-restriction-guide . July 2, 2012. dead .
2. Web site: Ride with 130cm height requirement . July 8, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160403161832/https://www.thorpepark.com/rides/detonator.aspx . April 3, 2016. dead .
3. News: Courier-Journal . June 23, 2007 . Thrill ride lawsuits . July 5, 2021.
4. Web site: Drop Zone death: no charges, no explanation. November 5, 1999. RideAccidents.com. July 5, 2021. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20170420021130/http://www.rideaccidents.com/1999.html#nov5. April 20, 2017. mdy-all.
5. Web site: 2013-01-27 . Girl who had feet severed by amusement park ride, in stable condition… . https://archive.today/20130127021710/http://www.kare11.com/news/national/national_article.aspx?storyid=258624 . dead . 2013-01-27 . 2022-05-04 . archive.ph.
6. Web site: Carowinds Thrill Ride Closed for Inspection. (Wire Report). The Herald Online. 8 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160208215504/http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article12182144.html. 2016-02-08. June 22, 2007.
7. Web site: Adolescente More Após Acidente em Parque de Diversões no Interior de SP . 24 February 2012 . pt . Teenager Dies after an Amusement Park Accident in the Interior of SP . 2021-08-30 .
8. Web site: 8 youths hurt in carnival ride glitch. Emmanuel. Tupas. The Philippine Star. Jan 5, 2018 .
9. Web site: Teens injured in QC Circle of Fun ride. TV5 Network. January 3, 2018.
10. News: Candelaria . Esteban . September 24, 2021 . Colorado Springs girl killed on mine drop ride was not strapped in, report says . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20211001030327/https://gazette.com/news/local/colorado-springs-girl-killed-on-mine-drop-ride-was-not-strapped-in-report-says/article_32a4e594-1d62-11ec-97ce-ffbb033c1f3d.html . October 1, 2021 . October 10, 2021.
11. Web site: Amusement Rides and Devices Program . ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPOR . live . Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety . https://web.archive.org/web/20210924182533/https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/gazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/2b/d2b1c0bc-1d61-11ec-b690-0b6e62a850f5/614e13a0eb92a.pdf.pdf . September 24, 2021 . October 10, 2021.
12. Web site: Smith . Logan . Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Closes After Child Dies On Thrill Ride - CBSN Denver . denver.cbslocal.com . en-US . 2021-09-06 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210908115354/https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/09/06/glenwood-caverns-adventure-park-closed-haunted-mine-drop-ride-death/ . 2021-09-08.
13. Web site: Morfitt . Karen . 'She Reminds Me Tomorrow Isn't Promised': Family Friend Remembers Wongel Estifanos, 6-Year-Old Who Died On Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Ride . September 10, 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210922212511/https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/09/10/wongel-estifanos-glenwood-caverns-adventure-park-ride-colorado-springs/ . September 22, 2021.
14. Web site: Glenwood Caverns' Haunted Mine Drop passed regulations inspection less than three months before death of 6-year-old . Rich . Allen . September 7, 2021 . www.postindependent.com . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210912024340/https://www.postindependent.com/news/glenwood-caverns-haunted-mine-drop-passed-regulations-inspection-less-than-three-months-before-death-of-6-year-old/ . September 12, 2021.
15. Web site: In Colorado, waiver law limits legal options for amusement park riders . September 11, 2021 . Ray K. Erku . www.postindependent.com . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210912024336/https://www.postindependent.com/news/in-colorado-waiver-law-limits-legal-options-for-amusement-park-riders/ . September 12, 2021.
16. Web site: Chlouber . Arnold . Entz . Johnson S. . Kester . McElhany . Taylor . White . Brophy . Crane . Garcia . Hefley . Miller . Rippy . Spence . Stengel . Weddig . SENATE BILL 03-253 . live . Colorado General Assembly . https://web.archive.org/web/20041215163305/http://www.leg.state.co.us/2003a/inetcbill.nsf/fsbillcont/88CF96042B7D5F3587256CC200794549?Open&file=253_enr.pdf . December 15, 2004 . October 10, 2021.
17. Web site: 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 . 2022-03-25 . CTVNews . en.
18. Web site: Orlando Free Fall to be torn down following teen's death . 7 October 2022 .
19. Web site: Demolition of Orlando FreeFall ride begins this week . 2023-04-04 . www.fox35orlando.com.
20. Web site: Carnival ride plummets 50 feet, terrifying moment caught on video . 5 September 2022 .