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 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 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 Sirocco Tower Six Flags Qiddiya City Qiddiya City,Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia S&S – Sansei Technologies December 2025–Present — Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom Six Flags Great Adventure Jackson Township, New Jersey, United States Intamin July 2014 – November 2024 — Orlando FreeFall Icon Park Orlando, Florida, United States 120 metres (400 feet) 130 metres (430 feet)Funtime 2 Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia, California, United States Intamin July 2012 – July 2014. November 2024 – December 2025 3 The Giant Drop Dreamworld Coomera, Queensland, Australia Intamin December 1998 – July 2012 4 Highlander Hansa-Park Sierksdorf, Germany Funtime 5 La Venganza del Enigma Parque Warner Madrid Madrid, Spain S&S Worldwide — Blue Fall Sea Paradise Yokohama, Japan Intamin 6 Donjon de l'Extrême Nigloland Dolancourt, France Funtime 7 Falcon's Fury Busch Gardens Tampa BayTampa Bay, Florida, United States Intamin 8 Voltrum Bayern-ParkReisbach, Germany Funtime — Sky Screamer Marineland of CanadaNiagara Falls, Ontario, Canada S&S – Sansei Technologies 9 AtmosFearLisebergGothenburg, Sweden Intamin 10 Hurakan CondorPortAventura ParkSalou, Spain Intamin 11UFO Gyro DropFormosan Aboriginal Culture VillageYuchr Shiang, Nantou County, Taiwan85 metres (280 ft)110 metres (360 ft)Intamin 12 Global BurjGlobal VillageDubai, United Arab Emirates 13 Drop TowerKings DominionDoswell, Virginia, United States Intamin 14 Big Tower Beto Carrero WorldPenha, Santa Catarina, Brazil Intamin 15 Drop Tower Kings IslandMason, Ohio, United States Intamin The Plunge KongeparkenÅlgård, Rogaland, Norway Funtime
Other notable examples
Big Shot on the top of The Strat 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 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 Extreme Scream at Washington State Fair
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. 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 people (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 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. Following the incident the park temporarily closed. 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.
See also
Freefall List of amusement rides
References