Drop tower
A drop tower or big drop is a type of amusement 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. Riders experience free-fall initially, followed by rapid heavy deceleration.
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. Brakes activate to slow the gondola as it approaches the bottom of the ride. Some designs expand on this concept with features such as rotating gondolas, or several bounces before coming to rest.
Most drop towers require child riders to exceed a minimum height; limits vary widely depending upon the nature of the tower, with a tower for smaller children from tall, and a tower having a restriction.
Drop towers use a magnetic braking system to slow the carriage quickly and smoothly once it reaches the bottom of the tower. This system is fail-safe because magnets do not need to be powered by electricity or other sources; they work intrinsically by the laws of magnetism.
Drop tower designs
Mass-produced tower rides include:- Double shot
- Space shot
- Super shot
- Turbo drop
Tallest drop towers
| Rank | Name | Park | Location | Drop height | Structural height | Manufacturer | Record holder |
| 1. | ' | Six Flags Great Adventure | Jackson, New Jersey, USA | Intamin | July 2014 – Present | ||
| 2. | ' | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Valencia, California, USA | Intamin | July 2012 – July 2014 | ||
| 3. | The Giant Drop | Dreamworld | Coomera, Queensland, Australia | Intamin | December 1998 – July 2012 | ||
| 4. | Highlander | Hansapark | Sierksdorf, Germany | 338 feet | 394 feet | Funtime | - |
| 5. | Blue Fall | Sea Paradise | Yokohama, Japan | Intamin | |||
| 5. | La Venganza del Enigma | Parque Warner Madrid | Madrid, Spain | S&S Worldwide | |||
| 6. | Donjon de l'Extrême | Nigloland | Dolancourt, France | 312 feet | 345 feet | Funtime | |
| 7. | Falcon's Fury | Busch Gardens Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay, Florida, USA | Intamin | |||
| 8. | AtmosFear | Liseberg | Gothenburg, Sweden | Intamin | |||
| 9. | Hurakan Condor | PortAventura Park | Salou, Catalonia, Spain | Intamin | |||
| 10. | Drop Tower | Kings Dominion | Doswell, Virginia, USA | Intamin | |||
| 11. | Drop Tower | Kings Island | Mason, Ohio, USA | Intamin | |||
| 11. | Big Tower | Beto Carrero World | Penha, Santa Catarina, Brazil | Intamin |
Other notable examples
- Big Shot on the top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas reaching was the highest situated drop tower ride in the world, with a drop of to a base above ground level
- Space Probe located at Wonderland Sydney in Australia
- Drop Tower at five Cedar Fair parks
- Apocalypse at Drayton Manor
- Detonator at Thorpe Park
- 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
- at Disney California Adventure Park
- Mystery Castle at Phantasialand
- Cliffhanger this is the UK's tallest droptower and it's manufactured by S&S Worldwide.
Injuries and accidents
- Following the Kentucky Kingdom 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. Local police are investigating the accident. Initial investigations suggested the possibility of mechanical failure in the restraint latch.