Top 10 Drop Towers

Welcome to an Incrediblecoasters Top 10 List. When we list stuff, we actually explain why. Drop Towers. While they may technically fall into the Flat Ride category, they are a very special kind of flat ride. They come in quite a wide variety and they are nearly everywhere nowadays. Now while they aren't quite as commonplace as other flat rides, they are pretty damn common. I'd say that around 80% of all Amusement Parks have some variation of a drop tower. And for good reasons. THEY'RE FREAKING AWESOME!!!! =) If I had to pick my favorite flat rides, Drop Towers would have to be right up in the top. In fact, if you read my Top 10 Flat Rides List, you'll see this little gem of a quote. "(This list excludes Drop Towers, because if it didn't, they'd take up half of the list.)" That didn't seem fair considering how good drop towers are, they deserve some recognition. But rather than clutter up my Top 10 Flat Rides list with all these great drop towers, I decided to let the rest of the flat rides shine and compete there while I give the Drop Towers their own list to show off all of their glory. But what makes these rides so good? And how can one judge a type of ride where every single one of these rides has the exact same objective of dropping riders? Because freefall is one of the biggest thrill sensations. I can tell you this right now. The rush of pure freefall is one of the greatest feelings ever. That's why I love Drop Towers so much. It's also why I love activities such as Bungee Jumping, Skydiving, and Cliff Jumping so much. But Drop Towers are for everyone. For those who don't have the balls or money to bungee jump or skydive, and those who don't want to take the high risks of cliff jumping, there are Drop Towers to still give them that great freefall rush. And these are the elite drop towers. The ones that are above all the others. These are the craziest and scariest Drop Towers out there.

Oh, and if you're looking for the best freefall sensation ever, this beats the sh*t out of everything on this list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#10.

Intamin Gyro Drops & Ring Drops @
Various Different Parks

Located at many different parks, Intamin Gyro Drops & Ring Drops are NOT like your typical 2nd Generation Drop Towers. These are the evolution of those drop towers, and they have a lot more going for them. They've got the circular seating, rotate up to the top, and then once you're at the top. Freefall. And yeah. Something to note about these rides. These are BIG drop towers. So you really feel all the freefall. You just fall down. You're falling and you're falling FAST!!!! And you just hit the brakes. Its pretty freaking insane. I mean, the 2nd Generation Freefalls are fun and all, but this thing is just great and falls so beautifully. And after it drops, you're definetly gonna feel the speed. A huge wave of wind just BLASTS you after it drops. This doesn't necesarrily make the actual ride itself better, but it is a ton of fun to get blown in line. Funny enough, it seems to be a reocurring theme for European parks to take an observation tower, and turn it into a drop tower. And I love that. If you're wondering what the hell the difference between a Gyro Drop and a Ring Drop is, it's the seating. You honestly don't really notice on the ride. You can only really tell if you're a big nerd, which is why I lumped them together. Oh, and one of these is a Ring Drop. The other two are Gyro drops. Try and find the Ring Drop. Come see if you're a theme park nerd. =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#9.

Doctor Doom @
Universal Orlando Resort
Orlando, Florida, U.S.A

Located at Islands of Adventures, which is part of the Universal Orlando Resort, Doctor Doom is one of those rides where you first look at it, and don't think twice. I mean, it looks fun, but it doesn't really look like anything special. But thanks to a ton of theming and effort on behalf of Universal, they turned an ordinary Space Shot into a great ride. I mean, it'd still be a fun ride without its theming, but yeah. It'd just be an ordinary S&S Space Shot without it. The theme is basically that you have to ride Dr. Doom's Fear Fall because he needs your fear to power his empire, which is really cool and a lot of fun. The view you get from the tower is really good. You get a beautiful look at the Incredible Hulk, and the view of Orlando isn't bad. And even the ride itself is fairly good. This is definetly one of the better Space Shots. It doesn't run a weak and lame program like Maliboomer did. But yeah. Good Program, Great View, Great Theme, Dr. Doom is a great ride. Definetly go give it a ride and donate some of your sweet sweet fear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#8.

Tower of Terror @
Disneyland Paris Resort
Marne-la-Vallée, Île-de-France, France

Located at Disneyland Paris, Tower of Terror is one of the modern day staples of the Disneyland Paris Resort and serves as one of the big thrill rides that Disney likes to offer. Now, this isn't a proper drop tower per say, but it's not a secret, so I'll just tell you everything. The ride is basically themed to a cursed elevator that is trapped in the Twilight Zone. Hey, I love the Twilight Zone, I love Dinsey Parks, and I love Drop Towers, so as you can tell, this already has the right qualifications for pleasing me. But unlike most of the other drop towers on this list, the Tower of Terror isn't all about a single drop. Yeah. This ride is more than just one single drop. Its a BUNCH of drops. And that creates for LOTS and LOTS of AIRTIME!!!!! This ride practically masters the art of floater air. You are just out of your seat for at least half of the ride. You drop, you get airtime. You drop again and get more airtime. You rise up to the top like a Space Shot, see all of Disneyland Paris, and then you drop again, get some airtime, still up high, and drop back down before getting more fun drops. And plus, the whole story with the Twilight Zone is great. Now this used to also be at the Disneyland Resort, but it got replaced by Guardians of the Galaxy. But if you are ever at Disneyland Paris, this is a must. =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#7.

Lex Luthor @
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Valencia, California, U.S.A

Rising up at a whopping 415 ft tall, its not very surprising to see that Lex Luthor made it on this list. And yeah. Its a freaking great drop tower. And for several reasons. Obviously, its height plays a very big role in making it so good. I mean, this thing is over 400 ft tall!!! It's more than twice the size of most Drop Towers!!! And you get like 2-3 seconds of freefall. Now that may not sound like much, but by free-falling standards, that's a very long time. Now Lex Luthor normally, would've barely made the cut for this list, behind Tower of Terror and around the Gyro Drops. But when you know the secret to making it even better, it rises up to #7. What makes it so good? Simple. The restraints. These things give you lots of freedom and allow you to look down and close your eyes, which makes the ride much better for several reasons. #1. Looking down, the wind is hitting you straight in the face, rather than just past you, which increases the sensation of speed. And #2. When you close your eyes, and just freefall, because the freefall is so long, it presses the "OH SH*T!!!!" button in your brain. I know to many of you, 2-3 seconds is not a long time, but yeah. It is in freefall mode. For instance, in cliff jumping, everything is by the millisecond. And jumping the 70 ftr takes about 1.75 seconds, which really gives you time to freak out. So when you have your eyes closed and are just falling for 3 seconds, my brain starts freaking out shouting "We should've landed by now!!!! We..." *brakes*. And I just love that freakout. It's one of the few rides thats able to push the "OH SH*T!!!!" button for me, though really, that button is reserved for cliff jumping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#6.

Tower of Terror @
Tokyo Disney Resort
Urayasy, Chiba, Japan

*Sigh* Yeah, pretty much ALL of the Tower of Terrors are going to be on this list. I know that I generlly like to clump together clones or super similar rides so that I am able to clear up room for other really good rides (There were a couple drop towers I was really sad to have to bump off the list). But....all the Tower of Terrors are really different and have to be talked about in their very own way. All right. So we're out discussing Japanese Tower of Terror now. Why is this so special? Isn't this just yet another clone of the French Tower and the old California Tower? Well, I did think the drop sequence was the same. However, that's not the case. Now....the actual drop tower itself is not as good as the French Tower. Yeah. French Tower has a better drop sequence. Not only does it have more drops, but I actually think the airtime was weaker here than it was on the French Tower. OK. Then why the f*ck is Japanese Tower ahead of French Tower if the French version has a better drop program? Simple. One thing. The story. This unquestionably has the best story out of all the Tower of Terrors. I know I mentioned that I was a really big fan of the Twilight Zone, and....yeah. I am. But....the story here is just amazing. Basically, it's of a wealthy businessman who opens a hotel. He goes on safari and brings back a little African idol called Shikiri. He takes it back to the hotel, but then he goes missing, and....it's all because of Shikiri. It's a great story. I absolutely love it. If Japan had the same drop program as Florida Tower or Guardians of the Galaxy, combined with this story, it would be the #1 Drop Tower. It's a shame about the drop program, because I love the story that much (please make a movie based on this).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#5.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! @
Disneyland Resort
Anaheim, California, U.S.A

This may come as a surprise to some of you since I was originally not a fan of the makeover from Tower of Terror. And there are certain aspects where, I'm just going to come out and say it. The original was better. I've said this many times, and I'm going to repeat it again, because this needs to be repeated. The Twilight Zone > Guardians of the Galaxy. Sure, Guardians of the Galaxy is fun, and I liked the movies. But the Twilight Zone is creepy. It's clever. It's creative. And the Twilight Zone story makes much more sense and doesn't feel like a cash in on something that's popular. So why did I put it on this list? What made it better than the original? Simple. The Drop Program. HOLY CRAP!!! It's completely randomized, so you have no idea what you're going to get with each ride. It has six different programs, each with its own song, and you can just be dropping, shooting up, flash by the Guardians of the Galaxy, wave hello to the Disneyland Resort, it all flashes before your eyes. And I love the ride program. I absolutely love it. I will admit that the actual story on the ride, it's kind of weird. We see them fighting with this octopus, and there's stuff with anti-gravity, and screw it! It's a ton of fun, and it's definetly worth checking if you're at the Disneyland Resort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#4.

High Fall
& Acrophobia @
Movie Park Germany
& Six Flags Over Georgia
Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany & Austell, Georgia, U.S.A

This may come as a surprise to you as some of you since we were recently at Lex Luthor, which is the 2nd tallest drop tower in the world at 415 ft tall, and we've now moved to two drop towers about 1/2 of the size. What the hell it may seem. Why are two drop towers only 200 ft tall beating out one of the tallest drop towers in the world? Its simple. POSITION. The way that this drop tower is set up is just absolutely insane. Yeah. Its a stand up floorless drop tower that tilts. So it really feels like you're falling. If the Gyro-Drops are considered to be Intamin 3rd Generation Drop Towers, then these would be Intamin 4th Generation Drop Towers. And you know how I said Lex Luthor pushes the "OH SH*T!!!" button when looking down and closing your eyes, these two push it just from the position it drops you in. And you don't get a choice. You just drop like that. And the fact that it gets this from such a lower height really means their methods are more intense. And no, it does not hurt your crotch. Though the landing is harsh, but that just adds more to the "OH SH*T!!!" factor. If they combinded the seating of High Fall with the height of Lex Luthor, it would totally be the greatest drop tower on the face of the earth. =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#3.

Blue Fall @
Sea Paradise
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

All right. Now at first glance, it's pretty easy to see why Blue Fall is so high on a Top 10 Drop Towers List. I mean.....this thing is HUGE!!! GARGATUEN!!! MONSTEROUS!!! Yeah. You get the point. It's big. VERY big. But wait a minute. So is Lex Luthor! And not only that, but that one is bigger! So why is Blue Fall ahead of that if this one is smaller? Well, a couple reasons. First off, Blue Fall drops faster than Lex Luthor. Why? I don't know. Maybe it's because the cars on Blue Fall are heavier than those on Lex Luthor. Maybe it's an illusion and it only feels like its dropping faster. But nevertheless, this ride falls FAST!!! This is not only a big drop tower, but a fast one as well. But on top of that, we have to talk about Blue Fall's "secret" (This is so public that at this point, I don't consider it to be a secret). The fake drop. Almost everyone knows about the fake drop where it drops 10 ft and hits a set of brakes before dropping down the rest of the height. Now I was expecting this to be secret. I know other people swore it scared them and freaked them out, but I thought I'd be immune to it. But....the way it stops. GOD DAMN!!! It just ABRUPTLY stops, decellerating way quicker than you would ever expect any drop tower to stop at. It just hits that brake with a THUD!!! It's almost like a cliff jumping landing. And I really liked that. Plus, the view you get from it is amazing. Blue Fall. Watch out for that cocktease fake drop. >=)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#2.

Fritt Fall @
Gröna Lund
Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden

Yeah. This drop tower may look fun. But nothing special. Isn't this just yet another Intamin 2nd Generation Drop Tower? What makes this drop tower so special? Well, Fritt Fall is actually 2 drop towers. On the one hand, it is just a typical Intamin 2nd Generation Drop Tower. It's a particuarly big drop tower. But the regular side isn't why this drop tower is so high on this list. No. For that, we're going to take a look at the other side of the drop tower. The Stand Up Floorless Tilting side of the drop tower. Yes. This ride has the exact same seating as High Fall & Acrophobia. Well, almost. Fritt Fall doesn't rotate, but the view you get of Stockholm and the Baltic Sea is good enough. You don't need a panoramic view. And guess how high Fritt Fall is, yep. 100 meters, or 328 ft. HOLY SH*T!!! OK, this isn't quite as high as Lex Luthor! But still! This thing is 100 ft taller than High Fall & Acrophobia, and it just stands you up, tilts you, and plunges you down to the ground. So that "OH SH*T!!!!" button is pushed. And when you're falling in that position for an extra hundred feet, you notice the speed, and the time, and F*CK!!! This ride is so damn good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#1.

Tower of Terror @
Walt Disney World Resort
Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S.A

All right. You saw that Tower of Terror from Disneyland Paris at the #8 spot on this list, Tower of Terror from Tokyo Disney Sea at #6, and Guardians of the Galaxy, which replaced Tower of Terror at the Disneyland Resort, got the #5 spot. So you may just want to declare Guardians of the Galaxy as better than Tower of Terror. But that's just the Paris Tower, and the one that used to be in California. In Florida, it's a different story. It's really not that surprising that Tower of Terror from the Walt Disney World Resort take the #1 spot. And for good reasons. ITS PURE AWESOME!!! This is one of those examples of Disney rides at other parks where one version is much better than the other, and this is the ideal example. This is the best Tower of Terror for several reasons. Aside from all the stuff that made the other Tower of Terror so good, this one has lots of fun features such as random ride programs, so when you ride the ride, you never know what you're going to get. They have 4 official program. The normal CA one, the one that launches you like a Space Shot, and I forget the other two programs. And they just added so much more to this one. This one has all the cool stuff like the 5th Dimension, going foreword, and that trippy ending with everything in that eye. Its just great. It has both the better story of Tower of Terror, and the amazing drop cycles of Guardians of Galaxy. I mean, I like both French Tower of Terror and Guardians of the Galaxy and think they're great rides, but this is just FANTASTIC!!!! You get the best of both worlds here. Definetly check it out when at the Walt Disney World Resort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now I'm sure you know what you're thinking. "Wow. That was the list. That is so wrong." Well no. This is just the current list. I haven't been on every drop tower in the world, so until I do, this list is innacurate for a world wide description. There are still many great drop towers out there for me to ride. And even when I do ride all of them, new ones will be built, so no list will ever last forever. But still, this list does pay tribute to 10 fantastic drop towers that everyone should try if they ever have the chance. And really, if you're super into freefalling, then cliff jumping is a sport for you. But if you don't wanna get into cliff jumping or other fun freefall sports, then these drop towers are for you. They really are awesome. =)