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Free fall towers


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sorry if this is not to do with coasters... maybe it could come under donkeys instead? (me being the donkey)

 

I've never been on a free fall tower (ok i know my names Freefall but i ment the freefall of a roller coaster). The very idea of a free fall tower scares the poop out of me! I intend to go on a 325 ft tower at my next visit to the Port Aventura park but can someone tell me what there like to ride, also if you know of any on ride videos that would be great, thanx

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It induces a very strange feeling, which I have yet to find on any coaster, but it differs between companies. S&S Towers feel like you are falling on a cushion of air and that there is a lot of air-resistance (not saying they're not thrilling). However, Intamin drop towers (like Port Adventura's) create an unrestrained feeling and more of like that you're being pulled down by the top of your restraint.

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Going on a drop tower isn't that bad. It just takes you up and drops you. Since you are going on a 325ft tower, it will only last for about 3-4 seconds. It lifts you out of the seat. You WILL scream when you are falling and while you scream you barely even notice you are fallig. The trip up to the top is the worst part because you dont know when it drops you but when it does, that's the fun part. So don't worry and just have fun!

P.S Whats the name of the tower your riding. 325ft is pretty tall for a drop tower!

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  • 7 years later...

It has been seven years since this thread received its last post, so I decided to bring it out from the dark corners of the many unread threads and show it to the light once again. And since it was my idea, I'll guess I begin.

 

I'm not really a big fan of freefall towers even though I will ride one every now and then to help improve my ride ability. During the years, I've have notice several generations of freefall towers.

 

The first generation would have to be the ones that stood about 150 feet tall, fit four riders per car, takes an elevator to lift this car up, and you slide down a track and end up on your back. This attractions were rough and very noisy. By the mid 2000's, many parks got ride of them (Dorney Park still has theirs, even though it's a hand-me-down from Cedar Point).

 

The second generation of free fall towers consists of a tall circular tower with sections of seats being pulled up by cables, released, and slowed down by magnets. Later models would have rows of seats circling around the tower (like the Drop Zone at Kings Island) and even reaching high and higher heights.

 

The third generation would be the compressed air model that would feature towers that would feature models that'll shoot you up, left up up and shoot you down, or even do both. As for me, I like to be shot up.

 

But regardless of which generation freefall tower it is, how high it goes, or its manafactorer, all free fall towers have one thing in common: they lift you up high into the air and you freefall down to the ground.

 

So to keep this post up and running, I must asked out loud: "What is your favorite free fall tower?"

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Drop towers are my favorite types of flat rides! I have been both on an S&S and Intamin, and there is a very distinguishable difference.

 

-S&S' are scarier, but more fun! You get pulled down faster than gravity, so you experience -1Gs.

-Intamin's, in the other hand, fall at the rate of gravity, so you feel 0Gs.

 

Since you're riding an Intamin drop tower, I wouldn't be worried at all. Just have fun! I can safely guarantee tha you will like it! I personally like S&S' better because of the ejector drop rather than floater on Intamin's version. Either way they are amazing rides! Intamin towers are better for starters, so I wouldn't be worried.

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Can't think of any drop tower I didn't like, but I'm very fond of the old Intamin first generation free falls. They have that dead weight dropping feel, probably because they are basically a very heavy dead weight dropping.

 

The only recent drop tower I can think that comes close to that feel is the one that was at Beech Bend in 2007 (not sure it's still there?)

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I have to go with the 1st gen tower as well, I liked Freefall at SFMM. There are many reasons I like it more than the larger towers at parks today. First of all, the whole ride experience is better. You scoot back, take an elevator lift, scoot forward, drop and maneuver back into the station. It has more of a beginning middle and end. Second reason is the dead weight drop feel he ^ mentioned. Feels more out of control and more wild and until they tore it down, it was one of the only rides that gave me butterflies every time.

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I prefer Intamin over S&S for sure. I've been on the Intamin Drop Towers at CGA, KI, KD, SFA, and CP (Demon Drop first gen free fall). S&S's I've been on the ones at DCA, KBF, SCBB, Stratosphere, and IOA.

 

S&S's feel too controlled to me. Intamins feel like a real free fall. I think the reason for that is because, well, S&S's are controlled the whole time and Intamins are true free falls when released from the top. I think it makes all the difference in the ride experience, though the Thrill Shots are pretty cool with the upward launch.

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