Clarification on the height record for PKD's gyro

From Mark Riddell:

Hello all,

Sometimes the information I send along tends to cause more confusion than
provide clarification! Please see the attached for details regarding our
exciting 2003 product. Hopefully this will provide answers for all the
questions I've been receiving. How many more people just decided to sign up
for next year's Coaster Con???

In case you were wondering - PKI's drop tower has a ten foot antenna section
which accounts for the taller measurement - you will note that our drop
height is actually taller at 272 feet.

With sincere apologies to my friends David Mandt and Jeff Siebert in the
King's Island PR department, I'll just go ahead and erase PKI and mark down
PKD in the record book! Thanks guys!

Mark Riddell
Public Relations Manager
Paramount's Kings Dominion

Debut: Spring 2003.

Location: The Grove

Number of Passengers: 56 per cycle

Height of Tower: 305 feet

Height from which riders drop: 272 feet

Speed: 72 mph

Duration: 93 seconds

Ride Manufacturer: Intamin A G

Model: Gyro Drop

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|| Jonathan Hawkins ||
http://www.starcoasters.com
Top Gun: TJC flights - Approx. 287 (101 in 2002)

In other words, PKI has the 'tallest' tower, the tower's are the same size without the antenna, and PKD has the longest drop, correct? So, each will still hold a record. If this is true, it would be a decent marketing stunt for PKI to say that Drop Zone now drops you even faster and higher... well, it would only be a few feet wouldn't it? ;)

*** This post was edited by Koaster King on 6/21/2002. ***

I think this new one at PKD will only have a drop of 4ft taller if I'm correct. Isn't PKI's 268ft?

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It's his turn to feast, when you ride the Son of Beast.

How tall is that Intamin drop ride in Australia? It is that one that has a S:TE type coaster on the side of it. I thought that was the tallest and dropped you the furthest.

"I thought that was the tallest and dropped you the furthest."

You must be mistaken. It is called Drop Zone but it isn't in Australia. It is in the U.S.A. in the the state of Ohio and in the cty of King Mills.

Who really cares what the official stats of the ride are,we all know it's gonna be big!

Anyhow this is gonna be one heck of a great ride for PKD and did anyone catch that line about 56 passengers per cycle? I wonder what the capacity on SFOG's acrophobia is?,one thing's for sure you know I'll be sure to "drop in " on PKD and give this ride a spin about the only info missing however is what the speed is gonna be.

*** This post was edited by BATWING FAN SFA on 6/21/2002. ***

I know Drop Zone is at PKI. I have ridden it. I am talking about this. At that site, it says it drops you 39 stories, equaling 390 feet. It is called Giant Drop. 390 feet sounds a little tall, because the coaster that rides up that tower is 377', according to RCDB. Perhaps this new Drop Zone at PKD is the tallest Gyro Drop and not the tallest drop ride of any kind. I bet Giant Drop at Dreamworld in Australia drops you about 370'or so, since the coaster is 377'.

SFGA2001,

A story does not always equal 10 feet. Depending on who you talk to a story can equal anythign from 8 feet to 12 feet. So, for anyone to say anything about a "story" makes that particular statement completely relative.

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CoasterBuzzCon - not just an event, more like an adventure...

Boy did I goof on my last post,the speed is 72 MPH.

I was so busy reading the other stats that I must've overlooked the speed entirely.

Okay, James, assuming that Dreamworld claims a story is only 8 feet, Giant Drop would still drop you 312' (39 stories x 8 feet), 40' more than Drop Zone at PKD will. Doesn't it seem logical that if a coaster rides up a tower 377' feet, then the tower probably drops you down about the same height?

It says the Giant Drop is 120 meters high, since a meter equals 3.281 feet, the tower is a total of 393.72 feet tall, probably with a 360 foot drop...

*** This post was edited by Rctycoon2k on 6/21/2002. ***

Giant Drop takes you up 390ft, and drops you 390ft. It is the tallest "Giant Drop", the tallest "freefall" and the tallest "ride", second to none.

Tower of Terror's track doesn't go the full height of the tower. It is short by about 5 metres, which fits in with the 377ft figure. It tends to only run up to about 320ft sometimes though. Just about the only time I've seen it in recent years running actually up to the emergency brakes at the top, was for a few weeks after anual maintenance this year.

So yes, our Giant Drop drops you a full 390ft, around 35ft or 40ft up the brakes start, but only becuase it does take a while to stop a vehicle at 85mph.

http://www.totalthrills.com/dreamworld/images/photos/giantdrop2.jpg - there you can see the top of the track, where the train never reaches - the 377ft mark is measured from the bottom of the brake run, and shouldn't be reached at the Intamin specified 161km/hr. Ours runs at 157km/hr most of the time. (And hit 172km/hr with Intamin guys on it in 1997).

Anyway, in that picture, you can see that the Giant Drop goes higher than TOT's track.

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So what if the best coaster in Australia is a second hand Arrow?

Nice, Thanks For The Pic....

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Cedar Point Online - http://www.cponline.tk

SFGA2001 the PKD freefall will have the talles drop in America not in the world.

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. I didn't know which record PKD was claiming.

Ya, PKI has the tallest tower, but PKD has the tallest drop. They also have better capacity on it. They can have the record we had it for 4 years.

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Can we change the name of Top Gun to your mom so no one wants to ride your mom?

"With sincere apologies to my friends David Mandt and Jeff Siebert in the King's Island PR department, I'll just go ahead and erase PKI and mark down PKD in the record book!"

Nice arrogant comment, there. I'd rather not come to PKD when even the PRM has an attitude like that.

*** This post was edited by RAD on 6/22/2002. ***

RAD, you are being a little harsh on Mark there aren't you? It was obviously a joking comment, a part of the fun 'competition' between the two leading parks in the Paramount family.

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|| Jonathan Hawkins ||
http://www.starcoasters.com
Top Gun: TJC flights - Approx. 287 (101 in 2002)