Drop Tower (Cedar Fair)

Drop Tower: Scream Zone, formerly known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, is the name of five drop tower thrill rides of varying sizes featured at five different Cedar Fair amusement parks in the United States and Canada.

Drop zone: Scream Zone
Drop Tower: Scream Zone at Kings Island
California's Great America
AreaAction Zone
Coordinates37°23′36.72″N 121°58′18.05″W
StatusOperating
Opening dateMarch 1996
ReplacedAmeri-Go-Round
Canada's Wonderland
AreaMedieval Faire
Coordinates43°50′39.88″N 79°32′34.06″W
StatusOperating
Opening date1997
Carowinds
AreaThrill Zone
Coordinates35°06′17.72″N 80°56′38.86″W
StatusOperating
Opening dateMarch, 1996
Kings Dominion
AreaCandy Apple Grove
Coordinates37°50′15.96″N 77°26′38.10″W
StatusOperating
Opening dateMarch 22, 2003
Kings Island
AreaAction Zone
Coordinates39°20′45.80″N 84°15′59.07″W
StatusOperating
Opening date1999
General statistics
Attraction typeDrop tower
ManufacturerIntamin
ModelGyro Drop, or Giant Drop
Height restriction48 or 54 in (122 or 137 cm)
Previous nameDrop Zone: Stunt Tower
Fast Lane available at all five parks

History

Prior to their acquisition by Cedar Fair, the five parks owned by Paramount Parks featured a drop tower ride named Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, in reference to the Paramount film of the same name. All the rides were built by Swiss ride manufacturer Intamin and are either the Gyro Drop or Giant Drop model. With the exception of both Kings Dominion's and Canada's Wonderland's towers, they are located in their park's various backlot themed areas, with each originally featuring an action scene depicting a group of stunt performers filming a falling scene in an action movie. Although all the rides were manufactured by Intamin, the installation at California's Great America was constructed by Martin & Vleminckx.[1]

In 2006, the Paramount Parks were sold to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and the ride names previously licensed by Paramount were removed. All five attractions were renamed Drop Tower: Scream Zone, and the swirl logos associated with each were removed from the rides' signage for 2008 season. Following a serious incident that occurred on a giant drop ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in which a rider's feet were severed by cable, all five Intamin-designed drop tower rides at Cedar Fair parks were temporarily closed for several weeks and inspected as a precaution in June 2007.[2]

Ride experience

Giant Drop

Drop Tower: Scream Zone at Kings Dominion, as viewed from the Eiffel Tower replica

The three original drop towers, opening in 1996 and 1997 at Carowinds, California's Great America, and Canada's Wonderland are Giant Drop models. They feature either four, five or six cars fitting four people on each one. Wonderland and Great America's models fall at a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h) and are 227 feet (69 m) tall, while Carowinds' model falls at 56 mph (90 km/h) and is 160 ft (49 m) tall. All three are painted in rainbow colors with the race track decals and were themed that the riders were "stunt actors" about to film the final stunt scene of a movie.

Gyro Drop

The two latest drop towers, installed in 1999 at Kings Island and 2003 at Kings Dominion, are Gyro Drop models with one large circular car, reaching speeds of 67 and 72 mph (116 km/h), respectively. Both the Kings Island and Kings Dominion ride claim to be the tallest Gyro Drop towers in the world. Kings Island's tower is measured as the tallest in the world, while Kings Dominion's tower utilizes brakes positioned closer to the ground, producing a longer drop than the tower at Kings Island.

Locations

The Drop Tower at California's Great America
Park Tower height Drop height* Speed Model Opened Height requirement
Canada's Wonderland 230 feet (70 m) 200 feet (61 m) 62 mph (100 km/h) Giant Drop 1997 54 in (137 cm)
Carowinds 174 feet (53 m) 160 feet (49 m) 56 mph (90 km/h) Giant Drop March 1996 54 in (137 cm)
California's Great America 224 feet (68 m) 207 feet (63 m) 62 mph (100 km/h) Giant Drop March 1996 54 in (137 cm)
Kings Dominion 305 feet (93 m) 272 feet (83 m) 72 mph (116 km/h) Gyro Drop March 22, 2003 48 in (122 cm)
Kings Island 315 feet (96 m) 264 feet (80 m) 67 mph (108 km/h) Gyro Drop 1999 48 in (122 cm)
  • *Drop height is only the space between the top of the tower and the braking, what is considered the "freefall" section.

Records

California Great America's installation was the tallest vertical drop amusement park ride when it opened in 1996.

Preceded by
Space Probe
World's Tallest Vertical Drop Ride
1996
Succeeded by
Pitt Fall
gollark: > "stop being a teenager"Precisely.
gollark: Destroy it.
gollark: Am I to read "we've been trying to keep things more PG than in the past" as a request to CEASE this conversement?
gollark: I mean, we really only just decided to enforce R4.
gollark: idea: speak x86 machine code.

References

  1. "Intamin". Martin & Vleminckx. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  2. "Kings Island closes ride after Kentucky accident". The Columbus Dispatch. 2007-06-23. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
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