Tower of Terror II

About

The Tower of Terror II was a steel shuttle roller coaster located at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. When the Tower of Terror opened on 23 January 1997, it was the first roller coaster in the world to reach 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), making it the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world of its time. The ride was situated on the Dreamworld Tower, which also houses The Giant Drop free fall ride. The ride was originally known as the Tower of Terror until it was modified and relaunched in September 2010 as Tower of Terror II. The steel and concrete structure cost A$16 million to construct. The original ride featured a shorter, 80-metre (260 ft) tunnel, a rigid lap bar using a hydraulic locking system, and would carry 15 passengers at a time. The relaunched ride would take 14 passengers who it propelled to just under 161 kilometres per hour (100 mph) with a maximum of 4.5 g and 6.5 seconds of weightlessness. As of 2010, the ride was 4th in the tallest roller coaster rankings, 3rd in the tallest roller coaster drop rankings and 4th in the fastest roller coaster rankings. On 24 October 2019, the park announced that the Tower of Terror II...

The construction of the Tower of Terror required a mammoth effort by those involved. The ride features more than 600 metric tons (590 long tons; 660 short tons) of steel, 3,500 metric tons (3,400 long tons; 3,900 short tons) of concrete (which was delivered by 175 concrete trucks), 3,500 litres (770 imp gal; 920 US gal) of paint and over 16,000 bolts which hold the structure together. Total construction costs were estimated to be A$ 16 million.

On 23 January 1997, the Tower of Terror was officially opened by Rob Borbidge, Premier of Queensland at the time. A plaque was dedicated in its honour detailing its opening status as the tallest and fastest ride in the world.

The original Tower of Terror ride was themed as an "escape pod" launch from a futuristic skyscraper to a distant building. Earthquakes had supposedly made the building unstable and unexplained nuclear hazards were contaminating the building. Riders took the role of people queuing for the escape pods through the corridors and stairwells of the building, at one point crossing a depth illusion giving the impression of being high above a ruined city. Whilst the optical illusion and decoration of the queuing area remains, the backstory of the ride was no longer given.

Upon reaching the front of the queue, 15 riders boarded the "escape pod". Riders would be launched forwards out of a shorter, 80-metre (260 ft) tunnel at a rate of 160.9 kilometres per hour (100.0 mph) before travelling up the 115-metre (377 ft) tower. The car then returned along the track backwards under the force of gravity and was slowed by electromagnets as it re-entered the tunnel. Riders would then complete the thematic "escape" by travelling down a lift to safety.

Just 0.25 seconds after the initial launch, an on-ride camera would take photographs of riders.

The first steel passenger vehicle, known as the Escape Pod, would carry 15 passengers in four rows and weighed around 6 metric tons (5.9 long tons; 6.6 short tons). The car was equipped with four large steel road wheels that run on the track, measuring 600 millimetres (24 in) in diameter at the front and 900 millimetres (35 in) at the rear. Smaller jockey wheels run on the other side of the track such that the track sits between the pairs of wheels. [ citation needed ]

The original Tower of Terror's restraint system consisted of a thick, rigid lap bar with hand grips mounted to the lap bar.

These restraints used a hydraulic locking system (rather than a ratchet) which allowed them to be pulled down to any position; when "locked", they could move down to any position but not up. In contrast, a ratchet-based restraint only locks at each "notch", and will often be too loose or uncomfortably tight for riders. [ citation needed ] The minimum height restriction was 120 centimetres (47 in), the same as most other major coasters. In addition, it was actually possible for a rider to be too tall to ride the Tower of Terror, if they are over 200 centimetres (79 in) tall.

The first speculations about a relaunch of the Tower of Terror began in December 2009. A Gold Coast Bulletin report detailed a variety of new attractions for the Gold Coast theme parks including the major relaunch of one of Dreamworld's Big 7 Thrill Rides. Although the Tower of Terror was not mentioned in the article, amusement park fanatics agreed that the Tower of Terror would be the most likely to receive the makeover. In February 2010, further fuel was added to the fire when a theme park reporter commented on the possibility of the Tower of Terror featuring a new, backwards launching vehicle. Towards the end of April 2010, steel framework arrived beside the Tower of Terror's launch track. The curved parts confirmed rumours that the tunnel would be extended. In August 2010, Dreamworld officially announced through their website that the Tower of Terror would cease operations on 18 August 2010 and would reopen as the Tower of Terror II in time for the September school holidays. Dreamworld confirmed the rumour that the launch will be in reverse out of the newly extended 206-metre (676 ft) tunnel. The ride was relaunched on 17 September 2010.

Just months after the closure of Wipeout, the park announced on 25 October 2019 that the Tower of Terror ll would cease operation on 3 November of the same year. The park cited "focusing our investment on the future and delivering new, world-class attractions for you to enjoy" as the reason for closing the attraction, along with initial details regarding a multi-million dollar expansion to the park. The expansion is set to include a new Multi-launch coaster, as well as a major refurbishment to ABC Kids World. The park also confirmed that The Giant Drop will continue to operate as normal. The demolition of Tower of Terror II began in March 2020 with the removal of some track pieces.

The construction of the Tower of Terror required a mammoth effort by those involved. The ride features more than 600 metric tons (590 long tons; 660 short tons) of steel, 3,500 metric tons (3,400 long tons; 3,900 short tons) of concrete (which was delivered by 175 concrete trucks), 3,500 litres (770 imp gal; 920 US gal) of paint and over 16,000 bolts which hold the structure together. Total construction costs were estimated to be A$ 16 million.

On 23 January 1997, the Tower of Terror was officially opened by Rob Borbidge, Premier of Queensland at the time. A plaque was dedicated in its honour detailing its opening status as the tallest and fastest ride in the world.

The original Tower of Terror ride was themed as an "escape pod" launch from a futuristic skyscraper to a distant building. Earthquakes had supposedly made the building unstable and unexplained nuclear hazards were contaminating the building. Riders took the role of people queuing for the escape pods through the corridors and stairwells of the building, at one point crossing a depth illusion giving the impression of being high above a ruined city. Whilst the optical illusion and decoration of the queuing area remains, the backstory of the ride was no longer given.

Upon reaching the front of the queue, 15 riders boarded the "escape pod". Riders would be launched forwards out of a shorter, 80-metre (260 ft) tunnel at a rate of 160.9 kilometres per hour (100.0 mph) before travelling up the 115-metre (377 ft) tower. The car then returned along the track backwards under the force of gravity and was slowed by electromagnets as it re-entered the tunnel. Riders would then complete the thematic "escape" by travelling down a lift to safety.

Just 0.25 seconds after the initial launch, an on-ride camera would take photographs of riders.

The first steel passenger vehicle, known as the Escape Pod, would carry 15 passengers in four rows and weighed around 6 metric tons (5.9 long tons; 6.6 short tons). The car was equipped with four large steel road wheels that run on the track, measuring 600 millimetres (24 in) in diameter at the front and 900 millimetres (35 in) at the rear. Smaller jockey wheels run on the other side of the track such that the track sits between the pairs of wheels. [ citation needed ]

The original Tower of Terror's restraint system consisted of a thick, rigid lap bar with hand grips mounted to the lap bar.

These restraints used a hydraulic locking system (rather than a ratchet) which allowed them to be pulled down to any position; when "locked", they could move down to any position but not up. In contrast, a ratchet-based restraint only locks at each "notch", and will often be too loose or uncomfortably tight for riders. [ citation needed ] The minimum height restriction was 120 centimetres (47 in), the same as most other major coasters. In addition, it was actually possible for a rider to be too tall to ride the Tower of Terror, if they are over 200 centimetres (79 in) tall.

The first steel passenger vehicle, known as the Escape Pod, would carry 15 passengers in four rows and weighed around 6 metric tons (5.9 long tons; 6.6 short tons). The car was equipped with four large steel road wheels that run on the track, measuring 600 millimetres (24 in) in diameter at the front and 900 millimetres (35 in) at the rear. Smaller jockey wheels run on the other side of the track such that the track sits between the pairs of wheels. [ citation needed ]