Larson/ARM Super Shot Drop Towers

[Joe Schwartz]

After riding the Larson/ARM Super Shot drop towers at Waldameer (XScream) and Silverwood (Panic Plunge), I want to know which other parks have this outstanding ride. Despite being only 140' tall, the zero-G float on these Super Shots blows away every other drop tower I've ridden.

 

An easy way to recognize a Super Shot is the seating arrangement: it has 12 seats arranged in a circle, not in a square. A few photos are available on Larson's website: http://www.larsonintl.com/pages/super-shot/super-shot.html

 

A quick web search turned up other installations at Kemah Boardwalk (Drop Zone) and Beech Bend (Zero-G). Does anyone know of any others?

 

EDIT: Other installations: Gillian's Wonderland Pier (Sling Shot), Lake Winnie (OH-Zone), Scandia (Cliff Jumper), and Knoebels (StratosFear).

 

EDIT: Removed Lakeside (Zoom) from the list, as it isn't a Super Shot model. Nor are the drop towers at Morey's Pier (AtmosFEAR) or Delgrosso's (XScream). They might be just as good, but I haven't ridden them, so I can't compare.

Edited April 28, 2013 by Joe Schwartz

[larrygator]

I think there is still one at Gillian's Wonderland Pier.

 

EDIT: and Scandia

Edited October 23, 2012 by larrygator

[Geauga Dog]

I think Lake Winnie has one (OH-Zone!).

 

These drop towers are also among my favorites. I like how forceful the drop is and the unexpectedness (is that a word?) of that drop.

[Myself]

Delgrosso's has one, formerly from Cypress Gardens.

[Ed Farmer]

I kept hearing about these drop towers. I'm pretty picky when it comes to this type of ride. S&S Towers are so unappealing to me that I've taken to skipping over them whether there is a line or not, and the Intamin Gyro-Drops (Acrophobia excluded) are nowhere near as good as their 2nd Generation (or even First Gen for that matter) offerings. Earlier in the year, I decided that I'll be stopping at Beech Bend this coming spring- not for the GCI wooden coaster, but for the Tower. It's the closest one to me, and I'm much more excited about trying it than I am about any new coasters I'll probably add to my resume (Outlaw at SDC and Gatekeeper at CP).

[Joe Schwartz]

The great thing about the Super Shot towers is that you actually freefall for most of the tower's height. They're drop towers done right, and I have no idea why it took this long for a company to figure it out.

[donkeyman18]

I rode the one at Lake Winnie this summer on the new hotness tour and holy @&%$ was it amazing. you float the whole way down and It doesn't brake till the last seconds more parks need this.

[cfc]

^The Lake Winnie ride is downright terrifying. You really land with a thud!

[Erik Johnson]

These are easily the scariest drop towers.

[Shavethewhales]

Bell's amusement park had one, and I never got to ride it because it started out as an up-charge and I was waiting for that to go away. I believe it was repossessed when they had to shut down. Does anyone know where it ended up?

[chadster]

Officially it went back to Larson for 'storage' as they still owed money on it, but we all know how that ended up. I had thought the one at Lakeside was the old one from Bell's but I was assured it was brand new when installed.

 

edit: a quick look at my photos show the one at lakeside is not the model in question.

[Joe Schwartz]

a quick look at my photos show the one at lakeside is not the model in question.

Thanks, you're right. I've corrected my original post.

[Joe Schwartz]

Added Knoebels' StratosFear to my original post.

[leviathandude306]

Like many on here, have heard so many awesome things about these towers... Will hopefully get to ride 1 next week at a local fair.

 

PS: sorry for bumping such an old topic.

[cfc]

^No worries. I'm looking forward to riding the one at Knoebels this summer.

[mdwarn01]

Kentucky Kingdom's FearFall will be an ARM/Larson drop tower. I've never gotten the chance to experience one and from what I've heard I'm really looking forward to/dreading trying it.

[leviathandude306]

For someone who's done one of these, any idea what the airtime like?.. Obviously it's there, and it's amazing, but would you call it floater, ejector, a weird combo of the two (only experienced the later on a chance zipper once... It was weird yet awesome at the same time ).

 

The only other towers I've done are S&S towers & Intamin 2nd gens.

 

Also heard somewhere in another thread that the portable versions (what I hope to ride soon) aren't that good.. Any truth to this from other readers?

[JonnyRCT3]

I've never been on one. But seeing how it is a drop ride, it should provide zero gravity.

[coasterbill]

For someone who's done one of these, any idea what the airtime like?.. Obviously it's there, and it's amazing, but would you call it floater, ejector, a weird combo of the two (only experienced the later on a chance zipper once... It was weird yet awesome at the same time ).

 

Ejector. It's absolutely ejector which kind of defies the laws of physics but... it's ejector.

 

But the thing that makes them awesome is that the ride doesn't slow down and you don't return to your seat until you're almost on the ground. No matter how many times you ride it you don't feel like you're going to be able to stop in time. Despite the fact that it's a drop tower with ejector airtime that stops on a dime it's actually a very comfortable stop.

Edited May 20, 2014 by coasterbill

[rcjp]

I've never been on one. But seeing how it is a drop ride, it should provide zero gravity.

Yeah that's right. It should be physically impossible to provide more than that (unless there is something pulling it down)

Ejector. It's absolutely ejector which kind of defies the laws of physics but... it's ejector.

Yeah that's an interesting phenomenon as it really does seem to defy them. I really need to try one!

[deguy123]

These are great and my first was at Waldemeer! It was absolutely insane and you have no idea the drop is coming, since it doesn't wait once at the top!

[leviathandude306]

For someone who's done one of these, any idea what the airtime like?.. Obviously it's there, and it's amazing, but would you call it floater, ejector, a weird combo of the two (only experienced the later on a chance zipper once... It was weird yet awesome at the same time ).

 

Ejector. It's absolutely ejector which kind of defies the laws of physics but... it's ejector.

 

But the thing that makes them awesome is that the ride doesn't slow down and you don't return to your seat until you're almost on the ground. No matter how many times you ride it you don't feel like you're going to be able to stop in time. Despite the fact that it's a drop tower with ejector airtime that stops on a dime it's actually a very comfortable stop though.

That's awesome to hear. Wonder how that's even possible. I know the Fabri towers, like Thorpe's Detonator, work kind of like S&S turbo drops, and launch you down, giving a similar effect, but as far as I know, the ARM towers just drop.

 

Also seems kind of nerve racking having those onings over you that prevent you from seeing the top.

[neil009]

I'm no physicist but I don't believe what you experience on an ARM tower is "ejector" airtime. There's no force pushing you up into the restraints. I believe it's the suddenness of the drop, how quickly you go from seated normally to completely weightless, that gives the ride its intensity and separates it from other drop towers. The seat drops out from under you and you experience true freefall for the entire length of the drop, and ever since we were sleeping in trees, swinging from branch to branch looking for food, we've known what that feels like. We're hardwired to react to it, and that's why rides that drop you faster or slower (due to drag from the car) than true freefall don't have the same effect.

 

You are out of your seat the entire drop, that's true, and it's not like you're gently lifted out of your seat like on B&M hypers, so I guess you could consider that "ejector airtime", but it's not due to negative force.

[GayCoasterGuy]

I'm having a daydream of all the "big" parks replacing their Intamin/S&S towers with the same height ARM towers. But put 2 of em up for the capacity Seriously, those are serious thrill machines. They rival the old Intamin 1st gen freefalls, then up ante with the "no stop" at the top. The Intamin drops are great, but it's like eating an apple compared to an apple pie.

[leviathandude306]

I'm no physicist but I don't believe what you experience on an ARM tower is "ejector" airtime. There's no force pushing you up into the restraints. I believe it's the suddenness of the drop, how quickly you go from seated normally to completely weightless, that gives the ride its intensity and separates it from other drop towers. The seat drops out from under you and you experience true freefall for the entire length of the drop, and ever since we were sleeping in trees, swinging from branch to branch looking for food, we've known what that feels like. We're hardwired to react to it, and that's why rides that drop you faster or slower (due to drag from the car) than true freefall don't have the same effect.

 

You are out of your seat the entire drop, that's true, and it's not like you're gently lifted out of your seat like on B&M hypers, so I guess you could consider that "ejector airtime", but it's not due to negative force.

That seems to make sense.. Also explains why, although the actual airtime isn't as forcefull on the Intamin towers compaired to the S&S rides, the Intamins are so much more intense.