Thursday 3 July 2003

Dreamworld Drops Into the Record Books

It’s official!!! Dreamworld’s signature thrill ride, The Giant Drop, has been officially declared the ‘tallest, vertical free-fall ride in the world’ by the Guiness Book of World Records.

After years of anticipation, the official Guiness Book of World Records certificate recently arrived at Dreamworld, securing the Giant Drop’s infamous posting as one of the biggest and the best thrill rides in the world.

Standing 119metres high (39 storeys), The Giant Drop is now a legendary Australian landmark. It opened at Dreamworld in 1998 and has carried almost two million passengers to date.

During the ride, passengers experience the excitement and exhilaration of falling 39 storeys - accelerating at the speed of gravity (up to 135 km per hour), - their legs hanging freely.

Twin cables draw the two eight seat carriages to the tower top where passengers linger for a moment of anticipation before plummeting to earth. A sophisticated magnetic braking system (with a lifespan of approximately 1.2 million years) stops the carriages just metres from the ground.

The Giant Drop was manufactured by Ride Trade Corporation in Lichtenstein (sister company of the Tower of Terror’s designers, Intamin AG of Switzerland).

Other leading thrill rides at Dreamworld include:
• The Tower of Terror – one of the fastest rides in the world;
• Cyclone – the tallest high speed gravity rollercoaster in the southern hemisphere;
• The Thunderbolt – the fastest double loop coaster in Australia; and
• The new Runaway Reptar Rollercoaster – the first suspended family rollercoaster in Australia.

Dreamworld is centrally located just 40 minutes from Brisbane and 20 minutes north of Surfers Paradise and is open from 10am to 5pm every day except Christmas Day (25/12) and Anzac Day (25/4).