Drop Tower (previously known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower) is a gyro drop tower located in the Action Zone section of Kings Island. It is the tallest attraction in the park, being just a foot taller than the Eiffel Tower. It is also the tallest gyro drop tower in the world, at 315 feet. Several variations of this ride also exist at fellow Cedar Fair parks, including Kings Dominion, Carowinds, California's Great America, and Canada's Wonderland, all of which also opened under their former name.
History[]
Throughout the late 1990s, multiple Paramount Parks had been building drop towers that were based on either the gyro drop, or giant drop models. All of these were named Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, and were themed to the 1994 skydiving Paramount film, Drop Zone. Kings Island was the second-to-last park to open a variation of this ride in 1999, and it ended up being the tallest gyro drop in the world, a record it still holds to this day.
In 2006, Kings Island and the rest of the Paramount Parks were acquired by Cedar Fair Entertainment Group, and as a result, all Paramount and other intellectual property themes were removed in the following seasons. This started in 2008, when all rides based on Paramount movies had dropped their movie themes. This included Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, which was renamed Drop Tower at all locations of the ride. Unlike some rides formerly themed to Paramount films, this did not affect the overall ride experience. The rides continue to operate under the name to this day, with Kings Island's tower being more than twenty years old. During the 2021-2022 off season the ride got repainted for the parks 50th anniversary celebration. The checkers were removed.
Theme and Ride Experience[]
Theme[]
Originally, when the ride was themed to Drop Zone, it was based around the idea that the riders were stunt actors set to film the biggest stunt of the movie. This theme was dropped when it was changed to Drop Tower, but the ride experience has not been changed.
Ride Experience[]
Riders are buckled into the tower with green overhead restraints. After all riders are secured, the ride begins, with guests ascending the tower as the platform rotates, giving a view of the entire park and surrounding area. Once the platform reaches the top of the tower, it sits there for a while, before dropping the guests, giving them a sensation of air time before reaching the ground where a magnetic brake system slows the platform down, preventing it from crashing and injuring guests.
Trivia[]
- This ride is the tallest ride at Kings Island.
- The Kings Island version of this ride is the tallest gyro drop in the world. This should not be confused with the record of tallest drop attraction, as there are much taller rides.
- The queue line is used for the sled hill queue line during Winterfest, it also goes though the Congo Falls queue line. The queue takes out some bars to go from the Congo Falls queue and goes around the switch backs before entering the ride area with temporary queues zip tied to the gates and going out the Fast Lane queue and heading to the Sled Hill stairs.