Amusement ride at Dreamworld Australia
The Giant Drop
is a
drop tower
ride
located at the
Dreamworld
theme park
on the
Gold Coast
, Australia. Manufactured by
Intamin
, the ride was added in December 1998 to the existing
Dreamworld Tower
which housed the
Tower of Terror
. For fourteen years, The Giant Drop held the record for the tallest drop tower in the world.
The Giant Drop is one of Dreamworld's seven thrill rides. It has a height of 119 metres (390 ft) and a maximum speed of 135 kilometres per hour (84 mph), making it both the fastest and tallest amusement park ride in the
Southern Hemisphere
.
The ride is themed to an
oil rig
by "The Giant Oil Company". There are many pieces of oil machinery located around the ride.
History
[
edit
]
Construction of the
Dreamworld Tower
began in 1996. On 23 January 1997, the
Tower of Terror
officially opened to the public.
[3]
[4]
[5]
Close to two years later, on 26 December 1998, The Giant Drop officially opened to the public as part of the Dreamworld Tower.
[1]
[6]
[7]
Additional theming was added around the base of the ride and the Vintage Car track was re-routed around the base of the tower.
[8]
The cost to build The Giant Drop, had the Dreamworld Tower not been already standing, was published at
A$
12 million.
[9]
Over 5 million people have been dropped to date.
[7]
In mid-2007, concerns were raised over the safety of Intamin drop towers after
an incident
at
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
's
Superman: Tower of Power
ride where a teenage girl had her feet severed after a cable had snapped.
[10]
[11]
Despite the incident, Dreamworld continued to keep The Giant Drop operating, stating their ride's cables had daily and monthly checks. An independent safety audit concluded that "Dreamworld's safety standards are world class and second to none".
[12]
On 25 April 2022, The Giant Drop closed for a refurbishment which includes the installation of lighting, a repaint and continued removal of the track from the former
Tower of Terror II
ride, which closed in November 2019. The ride reopened on 24 June 2023.
[13]
[14]
Characteristics
[
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]
The Giant Drop is one of Dreamworld's seven thrill rides alongside
The Claw
,
The Gold Coaster
,
Mick Doohan's Motocoaster
,
Pandamonium
,
Steel Taipan
and
Tail Spin
. The ride reaches a maximum speed of 135 kilometres per hour (84 mph) and has a height of 119 metres (390 ft).
The Giant Drop consists of a pair of vertical tracks which attach to the flank of the Dreamworld Tower. Each track features one, eight-seat
floorless
gondola in which riders are harnessed in by over-the-shoulder restraints.
[6]
Ride
[
edit
]
Queue
[
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]
Guests are to either access the entrance to the ride via a wooden staircase or a ramp. Guests then queue in an undercover oil themed outdoor queue before entering the indoor queue. Upon entry to the outdoor queue, a safety notice and a
Guinness World Record
plaque are located at the main entrance. Guests then enter the indoor queue. The indoor queue is themed to an oil rig's control centre. The queue previously featured interactive features.
[15]
Ride
[
edit
]
The Giant Drop is themed to an oil rig at The Giant Oil Company.
Catch cars lift the gondolas for a duration of approximately 90 seconds to a dynamic height of 119 metres (390 ft). Upon reaching the top of the tower, the gondolas are released into a free-fall, attaining a terminal velocity of 135 kilometres per hour (84 mph) before stopped by permanently mounted rare-earth magnets.
[7]
At this moment, the
on-ride photo
is taken.
Upon opening, the eastern side of The Giant Drop featured a momentary pause shortly after the release from the top. This feature (which has been discontinued) demonstrated the fail-safe magnetic brakes.
[6]
Television
[
edit
]
The Giant Drop has been featured on Australian
Guinness World Records
television show.
[9]
It was also featured on the 2009, American,
Travel Channel
documentary "
Extreme Terror Rides
".
[16]
In
2010 season
of
The Amazing Race Asia
, teams were required to ride The Giant Drop and photograph Kenny
Koala
, the park's mascot, waving the race flag once they've reached the top.
[17]
From 2003 and 2004, the ride was depicted at the start of the title sequence for the reality show
Big Brother Australia
, as the production was filmed at Dreamworld from 2001 to 2008 and 2012 to 2014.
Records
[
edit
]
At the time of opening, in December 1998,
The Giant Drop
gained the Guinness World Record title of the
"World's Tallest Vertical Drop Ride"
.
[9]
The Giant Drop
conceded the title on 7 July 2012, when
Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom
opened at
Six Flags Magic Mountain
located in California.
[18]
[19]
[20]
Preceded by
|
World's Tallest Vertical Drop Fun Ride
20 December 1998–6 July 2012
[9]
|
Succeeded by
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Kornyei, Oscar (21 December 1998). "All set for the world's fastest free-fall ride".
Courier Mail
.
- ^
"Dreamworld History"
(PDF)
. Dreamworld. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 30 December 2010
. Retrieved
16 February
2012
.
- ^
Wilson, Richard.
"Official opening details"
.
Photo
. Parkz
. Retrieved
10 August
2010
.
- ^
Marden, Duane.
"Tower of Terror II (Dreamworld)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
.
- ^
"Tower of Terror (Dreamworld)"
. Parkz
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Giant Drop (Dreamworld)"
. Parkz
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
"The Giant Drop"
. Dreamworld
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
"Vintage Cars (Dreamworld)"
. Parkz
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Tallest vertical drop ride"
. Guinness World Records
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
"Girl's feet severed on ride at Six Flags in Kentucky"
. CNN. 22 June 2007
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
Vries, Lloyd de (22 June 2007).
"Six Flags Closes More Rides After Accident"
.
CBS News
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
Wray, Michael (25 June 2007).
"Real scare for thrill seekers"
.
Courier Mail
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
Remembering the Golden Years (30 April 2022).
"Mick's out, Wiggles drop in... Dreamworld Update 30-4-2022"
. Dreamworld's Golden Years - Past, Present, Future
. Retrieved
28 May
2022
.
- ^
Parkz Members.
"The Giant Drop Refurbishment 2022"
. Parkz
. Retrieved
24 June
2023
.
- ^
Becky Dawn (15 February 2021).
"Giant Drop ride at Dreamworld!"
. YouTube
. Retrieved
25 July
2021
.
- ^
Knoop, Doug (3 September 2009).
"
'Extreme Terror Rides: Mega Speed' is a Thursday TV pick"
.
The Seattle Times
. Retrieved
20 March
2011
.
- ^
"Filming locations for "The Amazing Race Asia" Episode #4.8 (2010)"
. IMDb
. Retrieved
7 November
2011
.
- ^
MacDonald, Brady (1 September 2011).
"Six Flags unveils new attractions for every park in 2012"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
1 September
2011
.
- ^
MacDonald, Brady (6 July 2012).
"Review: Lex Luthor and Superman rides do battle at Magic Mountain"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
7 July
2012
.
- ^
MacDonald, Brady (28 June 2012).
"Opening of new Six Flags ride on hold for a week"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
7 July
2012
.
External links
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]
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Current roller coaster models
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Discontinued roller coaster models
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Other current rides
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Other discontinued rides
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Notable rides
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