Dreamworld announces retirement of adrenalin favourite

Dreamworld has today announced the retirement of its Tower of Terror thrill ride after 23 years of operation.

One of the Gold Coast theme park's adrenalin favourites, the Tower of Terror II ride will be retiring on Sunday 3rd November 2019.

However, the landmark Dreamworld Tower, which the train of the Tower of Terror II rides vertically up the side of, along its tracks, will remain in place and it will be business as usual for the Giant Drop - a ride which plummets guests 119 metres to the ground, making it the tallest free-falling ride in Australia.

When Tower of Terror was originally opened in 1997 it was the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the world reaching speeds of 161km/h. It underwent a revamp in 2010 when the launch of the car was reversed and the tunnel was extended.

To this day, it still remains in the top five tallest coasters in the world and has welcomed more than 8 million passengers aboard since its transformation in 2010.

It is the second last ride of its kind in the world.

Dreamworld made the decision to retire the ride as part of its ongoing review of existing attractions and to focus on the development of new experiences for guests as part of its current masterplan which includes the recent announcement of a $50 million investment into new attractions that showcase the best of the world’s theme park technology and experiences.

These new and improved experiences include the Southern Hemisphere’s first flying theatre, Sky Voyager, which has been a popular attraction for guests to the park since it opened recently, particularly over the September holiday period, which was one of the busiest the park has seen in years.

The Fully 6 waterslides are due to open this summer and the $30 million world-class rollercoaster, featuring the Southern Hemisphere’s first triple launch system has commenced construction.

Advising that the theme park will also continue to introduce new and unique temporary attractions during peak periods, Dreamworld Chief Operating Officer, Greg Yong stated “new technology in the theme park industry continues to develop and become more advanced each and every year.

“We believe the success of our future is about investing in new, state-of-the art experiences for our guests wherever we can.

“This means some of our old favourites have been retired to make way for these new experiences including Sky Voyager, the Southern Hemisphere’s first flying theatre, and other attractions recently announced which will start to be introduced to the park in the coming months.”

Dreamworld is calling on everyone to share their photos and experiences of Tower of Terror II on Facebook and Instagram in appreciation and celebration of one of the Gold Coast’s most-loved thrill rides.

Images: Dreamworld's Tower of Terror (top) and its planned new $30 million rollercoaster (below).