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Drop Tower not the tallest Gyro Drop?


thoe124
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According to Wikipedia, Scream at Heide Park in Germany, is taller than Drop Tower at Kings Island. But Kings Island employees refer to Drop Tower as the 'Worlds Tallest Gyro Drop'. The employee i asked said that Drop Tower is actually taller than Scream, but Scream. (According to Wikipedia) Is taller. Does anyone know which is taller?

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Not sure. "Gyro drop" doesn't really mean anything in concrete terms, since it's just the ride model. It's like Gatekeeper being the world's tallest WingRider. Cool I guess, but unless there are a ton in the area, what are you trying to prove? Haha. Drop Tower is no where near the tallest drop ride in the world.

Considering that Gyro drop is a ride model, perhaps you can technically take Scream out of the running since its apparently affixed to an observation tower, making it a "custom" ride or something.

Like that page shows, both Kings Island and Kings Dominion's towers correctly claimed to the record as tallest. Both were correct for different reasons.

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Well, according to what I looked up, Scream @ Heide Park is 338 feet tall...to the top of the HUGE antenna on the top. This picture should explain it:

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However, according to that same source, the ride never takes riders higher than 233 feet, and the drop itself is only 217 feet. The Drop Tower at Kings Island stands 315 feet to its highest point, but has a MUCH smaller antenna on top and while the actual maximum height of the riders is unknown, the drop (not counting the brake section) is 264 feet. So while Scream is taller physically thanks to the antenna, it has a smaller actual drop.

But the X-Factor in all this is Kings Dominion's Drop Tower- it's only 305 feet tall, but has a 272 foot drop. So KI's Drop Tower is kinda screwed for this record either way- Scream is taller physically thanks to a huge antenna and Kings Dominion's has a bigger drop.

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Welcome to the world of how high things are. Ever since the first skyscrapers appeared, builders have resorted to all sorts of things to boast height. The Empire State Building once used its spire as a mooring line for blimps! antennae, lightning rods, etc. all are (or aren't) counted in official measurements. It all depends on what you're trying to boast of.

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Big Droppy Thing...

^

Yeah, Big Droppy Thing @ SFGadv and Lex Luthor @ SFMM- while not Gyro Drops- do kind of put this argument to rest as they are so much bigger (400+ feet) than ANY Gyro Drop...J

Just for terpy sake......does big droppy thing really have to be capatilized since it isnt a trademarked name?

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You ask while not capitalizing Terpy?

Am I not proper enough for you?

Racer isn't a registered trademark. Comet. Big Dipper. Registration ONLY formalizes a claim.

Terpy, who one user here has always called Terpie, and that's okay--we know each other and have for years. I suppose formally (not formerly, but that's another story), The Interpreter.

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  • 3 years later...

As an employee at Drop Tower, I would like to clarify that the the title is awarded to the height of drop. Not the height of the tower. For example, Drop Tower drops you 267 feet at 65 miles per hour but the entire towers height is 315 feet. When the ride came out in 1999 it was in fact the worlds tallest Gyro Drop, which in simple terms means that the structure is round with a full ring around it. So things like Power Tower at Cedar Point would not be considered a Gyro Drop. Also, as time passes by, in the 18 years the ride has been alive, technology has been improved and there are other gyro drops with higher falls. The one thing that will be true for quite some time is that Drop Tower is the safest ride at Kings Island due to the use of Neodymium magnets and ferromagnetic metals. Its a flawless braking system and the restraint system makes it even more safe with the transfer mechanism and the good old Intamin Seat Belts. Summary: Drop Tower was the worlds tallest Gyro Drop, but no longer is. 

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It looks like Scream is the tallest structure but Drop Zone is the tallest actual drop. As other mentioned Scream has a huge antenna on top that Heide Park counts in the height calculation. However, their website says it has a drop of 71 meters which would be about 233 feet, as compared to Kings Island's 264 feet, so KI's drop segment is substantially longer.

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What height does KD’s DT take riders to? I know our structure is taller but theirs falls farther.  Is it because of a shorter brake section or due to traveling higher?

upon looking, Ki’s website claims the Worlds Tallest Gyro Drop while KD’s claims Worlds Longest Gyro Drop.

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