Drop Zone
Drop Tower at Kings Island
California's Great America
Area	NorCal County Fair
Coordinates	37°23′36.72″N 121°58′18.05″W / 37.3935333°N 121.9716806°W / 37.3935333; -121.9716806
Status	Operating
Opening date	March 16, 1996 (1996-03-16)
Replaced	Ameri-Go-Round
Canada's Wonderland
Area	Medieval Faire
Coordinates	43°50′39.88″N 79°32′34.06″W / 43.8444111°N 79.5427944°W / 43.8444111; -79.5427944
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 4, 1997 (1997-05-04)
Carowinds
Area	Thrill Zone
Coordinates	35°06′17.72″N 80°56′38.86″W / 35.1049222°N 80.9441278°W / 35.1049222; -80.9441278
Status	Operating
Opening date	March 30, 1996 (1996-03-30)
Kings Dominion
Area	Candy Apple Grove
Coordinates	37°50′15.96″N 77°26′38.10″W / 37.8377667°N 77.4439167°W / 37.8377667; -77.4439167
Status	Operating
Opening date	March 22, 2003 (2003-03-22)
Kings Island
Area	Action Zone
Coordinates	39°20′45.80″N 84°15′59.07″W / 39.3460556°N 84.2664083°W / 39.3460556; -84.2664083
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 21, 1999 (1999-05-21)
Ride statistics
Attraction type	Drop tower
Manufacturer	Intamin
Model	Gyro Drop, or Giant Drop
Height restriction	48 or 54 in (122 or 137 cm)
Previous name	Drop Zone: Stunt Tower
Fast Lane available at all five parks

Drop Tower, formerly known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, is the name of five drop tower amusement rides located at Six Flags amusement parks in the United States and Canada. Each installation varies in size and capacity.

Prior to their acquisition by Cedar Fair, the five parks owned by Paramount Parks featured a drop tower ride named Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, in reference to the Paramount film of the same name. All were built by Swiss ride manufacturer Intamin, which consist of either Gyro Drop or Giant Drop models. Martin & Vleminckx constructed the Intamin-built Drop Tower at California's Great America^[1] on the former site of a very similar ride called "The Edge", which was removed to make room for Drop Zone. With the exception of both Kings Dominion's and Canada's Wonderland's towers, they are located in their park's various backlot themed areas. When Paramount owned and operated the parks, stunt performers performed an action scene periodically near the attraction depicting a performer falling from a platform.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Paramount Parks sold their amusement parks to Cedar Fair, which was followed by the removal of Paramount branding from each park. All five attractions were renamed Drop Tower: Scream Zone (commonly shortened to Drop Tower), and the swirl logos associated with each were removed from the rides' signage.

The three original drop towers, opening in 1996 and 1997 at Carowinds, California's Great America, and Canada's Wonderland are Giant Drop models. They feature either four, five or six cars fitting four people on each one. Wonderland and Great America's models fall at a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h) and are 227 feet (69 m) tall, while Carowinds' model falls at 56 mph (90 km/h) and is 160 ft (49 m) tall.

All three are painted in rainbow colors with race track decals. When Cedar fair owned the parks in 2006, the one in California was giving a only purple and red scheme.

In 2019, Drop Tower at California's Great America was given a brown and green tree-like paint scheme, paying homage to Northern California forests.[2]

The two latest drop towers, installed in 1999 at Kings Island and 2003 at Kings Dominion, are Gyro Drop models with one large circular car, reaching speeds of 67 and 72 mph (116 km/h), respectively. Both the Kings Island and Kings Dominion ride claim to be the tallest Gyro Drop towers in the world. Kings Island's tower is measured as the tallest in the world, while Kings Dominion's tower utilizes brakes positioned closer to the ground, producing a longer drop than the tower at Kings Island. The Kings Island variant also spins on the way up, giving riders a view of the whole park.^[3]

• *Drop height is only the space between the top of the tower and the braking, what is considered the "freefall" section.

• On May 17, 1996, one of the cars on Drop Tower in Carowinds failed to ascend to the top of the tower after the safety control system locked the brakes. Park maintenance was unable to manually release the braking system. Three riders were stranded 160 feet (49 m) in the air for nearly three hours before being rescued.^[8]
• On August 22, 1999, Joshua Smurphat, a 12-year-old boy was killed after falling from the Drop Tower installation at California's Great America. His family claimed the harness was not locked properly and he had a mental disability. An investigation was inconclusive and no charges were filed.^[9] Following the incident, the rest of the Drop Tower locations were shut down for inspections.^[10]

California Great America's installation was the tallest vertical drop amusement park ride when it opened in 1996.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Drop Tower: Scream Zone.

• Official page at Canada's Wonderland
• Official page at Carowinds
• Official page at Kings Dominion
• Official page at Kings Island