Jump to content

"Giant Drop" in the Guiness World Records


Alex_N_
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello! It's the first time I've written in that forum. My name is Alex and I'm from Tarragona (Spain). I am writing here because I like rides, especially Dreamworld. I thing a question: When will Giant Drop be given the Guiness Record Certificate? because in the web page of the Guinness World Records the most tallest freefall is "Drop Zone" in Paramoun't Kings Island. Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll take a guess but its not really an educated one :o Maybe it has to do with the drop height verses the tower height? Since the drop may not be quite as tall as that on Drop Zone. Like I say thats not educated, since I don't know the drop heights on either ride :( Just a point on this, in the past I've only seen Superman: The Escape as the fastest ride in the world (Despite the fact it never was). Did Tower of Terror ever make it into the Record books?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Reputable Australian Site™ said that Dreamworld has now been officially recognised by Guinness for Giant Drop's achievements. Dreamworld's Giant Drop is indeed the tallest in the world - regardless of where you measure from, or if you measure with a fictitious system where you randomly assign digits to each arbitrarily selected length and add all them all, and every forth is halved (suddenly it isn't sounding so fictitious). No idea as to when it will be made official. I'd imagine it didn't make the 2003 edition as they always seem to go on sale before the Christmas before (never figured out why :P). I'd expect it to be in print for the 2004 edition, but no idea when it'll be on their website. Needless to say, I've never been a great fan or admirer of the Guinness system. Welcome along Alex - good to see a non-Aussie (or expat?) around here. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

The Tower Of Terror (not actually recognised) had a set speed of 162km/ph through a police modulated speed gun for the records, but, when there has been stuff ups (yes, there has been) the speed of the Tower of Terror is nearly an unsound 180km/ph!!! I know this because i had a very close enthusiast been on when the computers stuffed up and told me...... HEH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The speed you mention, which I believe was with people (officials) on board during testing, was 107mph. That's about 172km/hr. I'd expect both this speed, and 180, would be screaming into the brakes at the top, which I'm told is an interesting experience, as the brakes actually hold you for a short amount of time, a la Impulses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

from my understanding of the ride and the way the magnets work to move the train, if the computers froze then the train would not get up enough speed to get that far up the tower. And if they did the magnets would not be able to change polarity for the train on the reverse run and it would try to send the train back up the track. I think that I have siad this wrong. The train would only make it just out of the tunnell if the computers froze. The reason is that the computers, using a sensor system and a plc computer setup, allow the first half of the magnet to be the same polarity of the train and the second half to be the reverse. This way the magnets pull-push the train over them. And then they reverse for the ride back. If the computers froze then this cannot happen and the train would just die and go no where. The only way for the ride to reach those speeds is if the computers allowed to much voltage to flow though the magnets, ( they are called electro-magnets for a reason), and thus getting a faster speed. Will check with an old friend who teaches this at tech collage for the new apprentices and get his view on this. I know that he was shown the ride before it opened and is also a fan of these types of rides so will let you all know soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah - certainly not a computer freeze that would cause the ride to hit 180mph. Maybe a sensor issue, or a glitch in the system etc., but I assume that's what you meant. 99.9% of the time, a glitch will result in the ride stalling, especially with the timing required with the LSMs, and a slow magnetic pull back into the station (or if they've really stuffed the system, a winch does this job), but there's always that incredibly minute chance that something could go wrong in the right way, causing an over-fire. Rare, but I'll accept that it could happen (as did Intamin, hence installing the various backup safety systems).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.