Drop towers or shot towers?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. Currently, most thrilling tower rides in theme parks come in two varieties; the drop tower and the shot tower (or shot’n’drop tower, in some cases). The drop tower, which has been attempted by quite a few manufacturers but perhaps most famously by Intamin, is the simpler of the two, where riders are pulled to the top of the tower and then dropped straight back down under gravity (or by a downwards launch, in some cases such as the Fabbri towers). Shot towers, which have been most famously attempted by S&S, shoot the riders from the bottom of the tower to the top and then bounce around for a bit before coming back to the bottom. These two types of towers provide very different experiences, so I’d be keen to know; do you prefer drop towers or shot towers?

Personally, I’m more of a drop tower fan myself. I’ve done numerous drop towers from various manufacturers and two shot towers from S&S, and based on those experiences, I definitely tend more towards drop towers. Don’t get me wrong, the S&S shot towers I’ve done were good fun, but I feel like they definitely lacked a certain punch compared to the average drop tower; Ice Blast in particular was rather tame for a tower of that size, from memory. Drop towers, on the other hand, tend to pack an excellent punch; I do love a good drop tower!

But which type of tower ride do you prefer? Are you more of a fan of drop towers or shot towers?

 

[Tom]

Probably drop towers, but if you head to Flamingo Land you can experience both on the same ride.

 

[Skyscraper]

Probably drop towers, but if you head to Flamingo Land you can experience both on the same ride.

Yeah I rode Cliffhanger last year and got combo mode after only getting the shot part a few years before that. The airtime on the drop was absolutely insane!

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

I’ll take a combo tower over just a shot or drop tower. As said above, Cliffhanger at Flamingo Land when running as a combo is absolutely superb, very forceful both on the way up and going down.

 

[Danscott22]

Drop towers, quite easily. I find the shot towers too boring. Prefer the suspense of a drop tower. I know you could say a shot tower has suspense, but a drop tower builds it up more, and in a better way, in my opinion.

 

[Zeock]

Shot towers, because they are longer rides, although drop towers pull more of a punch.

 

[John_P]

Still greatly annoyed with Shot towers after the queue at Parque Warner took so long the cycle had changed from combo to the same as Ice Blast.
Did enjoy the Cedar Point one in drop mode though.
And I'm not sure what it counts as but Mystery Castle (Phantasialand) is great on the longer setting.

Drop towers can be weird as things like Hangover seem quite terrifying to me. But Zumanjaro seemed nowhere as bad, the drops that long you need to take a breath mid scream!

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

I only been on 2 shot towers (Ice Blast and Dr Doom’s fear fall) and thought they were rubbish.
I really think a sling shot gives a better feeling.

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

I only been on 2 shot towers (Ice Blast and Dr Doom’s fear fall) and thought they were rubbish.
I really think a sling shot gives a better feeling.

To be fair though Ice Blast doesn’t appear to be running as well as it could be, it seems to give a much weaker launch than Cliff Hanger does.

But interestingly though S&S have started offering a gondola with 4D style rotating seats that have a programmable ride profile that “allows a full spectrum of mild to really wild, featuring face-up, face-down and even upside down experiences during the ride. The spinning is mechanically controller and endlessly customizable”.

http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2020/10/s-sansei-reveal-spin-shot-tower.html?m=1

I’d absolutely love to see Ice Blast get refurbed and retrofitted with these.

 

[Rob]

However cool that would be I believe it is very unlikely to happen. I think S&S have refused to have anything to do with Ice Blast for rather a long time now.

 

[Ian]

Of the three shot towers I’ve done Mystery Castle is the only one that wasn’t completely pants (the other two being Ice Blast and Doctor Doom).

I think it’s helped massively by the theatrics, darkness and bungee launch system. It’s a shame there aren’t more of those around, though I do wonder if the illusion would pack anywhere near the same punch if it was outdoors/in the light.

Can’t stand traditional drop towers though. They’re a big nope from me. Even shots are a little iffy. Took me years to get comfortable riding Mystery Castle, and I’m still only just really starting to warm to Tower of Terror (managed to do Florida’s a few times last year, but I would Paris’ traumatising the two times I’ve previously done it).

 

[jon81uk]

I LOVE Tower of Terror, considering I used to be a wimp as a teenager I was very surprised when it turned out to be my favourite ride age 21 visiting WDW.
As others have said shot towers, especially Doctor Doom are a bit pants. Ice Blast isn't too bad, but Mystery Castle is better.
Apocolypse (RIP) beats them all though.