A Topple Tower is an amusement ride designed in 2001 by van Orsouw Amusement Rides Design Service of Berghem, Netherlands, vanorsouwridesdesign. [1] [2] The first design was rejected due to its difficult and heavy construction. After a re-design in 2002, a license agreement was closed, and the ride was produced in 2005 by Huss Maschinenfabrik GmbH, now HUSS Park Attractions. The first Topple Tower, El Volador, was placed in 2005 at Bellewaerde Park in Belgium.
The Topple Tower consists of a single 40-person circular gondola, centred on an 18-meter tower. Passengers sit in the gondola, facing outward. When the ride cycle is started, the gondola is raised towards the top of the tower, and begins to rotate at between 9 and 11 rpm. When the rotating gondola reaches the top of the tower, the tower itself begins to rock back and forth.
After the bankruptcy of the Huss Maschinenfabrik GmbH in July 2006, a lawsuit against the new Huss company, (Huss Park Attractions) was held in November 2008 at Düsseldorf court, in which the Design Company, van Orsouw Amusement Ride Design Service (van Orsouw ARDS) claimed all the rights of the design of the Topple Tower. There were rumours that van Orsouw ARDS was, in fact, a blind-trust company of another, until today unknown, Amusement Ride manufacturer. Following the conclusion of the trial, no noteworthy design activities of van Orsouw ARDS have been observed, though legally the company still exists. Future buyers of the Topple Tower, therefore, run the risk of the blind trust company becoming active again and resuming litigation.[ original research? ]
| Ride | Park | Country | Opened | Closed | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Volador | Bellewaerde | Belgium | 2005 | Operating | First Topple Tower built. [3] |
| Tang'Or | Walygator Parc | France | 2005 | 2013 | Relocated to Dragon Park Ha Long |
| Ørnen | Djurs Sommerland | Denmark | 2006 | 2018 | |
| Timber Tower | Dollywood | United States | 2006 | 2012 | Situated in middle of 5,100 square-foot pond. [4] Replaced with Drop Line, a drop tower, for 2017 season. [5] |
| Topple Tower | Marineland of Canada | Canada | 2007 | 2011 | Standing but not operating for several years before removal. [6] [7] |
| Adventure Jungle | Mysterious Island | China | 2007 | Operating | |
| Crazy Crane | Dragon Park Ha Long | Vietnam | 2017 | Operating | Relocated from Walygator Parc. |
On June 16, 2007, the Topple Tower installation (known as Timber Tower) at Dollywood became stuck after a faulty safety sensor engaged. The tower was in an upright position with the gondola at the top. The safety system would not let operators override the sensor, leaving 40 passengers stranded on the ride, some for as many as 6 hours. As of the 2012 season, Dollywood has removed Timber Tower from the park, with a lawsuit between Huss and Dollywood resolved behind closed doors. [8] In 2017, Dollywood opened a new ride in place of Timber Tower called Drop Line. [9]
Dollywood is a theme park that is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her entertainment company, Dolly Parton Productions. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to The Great Smoky Mountains. Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season from mid-March to the Christmas holidays, Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee. It has won many international awards.
A pirate ship is a type of amusement ride based on pirate ships, consisting of an open, seated gondola which swings back and forth, subjecting the rider to various levels of angular momentum. A variant where the riders must pull on ropes to swing the ride is known as a swing boat.
A drop tower or big drop is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central structure or tower. Drop towers vary in height, passenger capacity, lift type, and brake type. Many are custom-made, although there are some mass-produced designs. The most widely sold drop towers have been manufactured by Intamin and S&S Sansei, however Larson International and Funtime have their own drop tower models available as well. Riders initially experience a sense of weightlessness via free fall, followed by rapid deceleration, after which a magnetic brake system brings the ride to a stop. The entire experience generally lasts less than one minute.
Marineland, is a themed zoo and amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The park has performing marine animal shows, exhibits of marine and land animals, and amusement rides. It keeps dolphins, sea lions, and beluga whales. Until 2023, the park also kept walruses and orcas. The park also keeps bears, deer, and other land animals. It was founded and operated by John Holer, a Slovenian immigrant, from 1961 until his death in 2018. It is privately owned and operated by his family.
Werner Stengel is a German roller coaster designer and engineer. Stengel is the founder of Stengel Engineering, also known as Ingenieurbüro Stengel GmbH.
Bellewaerde is a theme park in the West Flemish countryside at Zonnebeke near Ypres, Belgium. It was established in 1954, on the grounds of the World War I Battle of Bellewaarde. Named after an old castle in its territory that still stands near the main entrance, Bellewaerde is the oldest operating theme park in Belgium. Originally a zoo and safari, the park expanded in the early eighties to become more of a general theme- and thrillpark, catering towards teens and families. The 54-hectare (130-acre) park is known for its beautiful gardens, marvelous landscaping and its attention to theming. Its mascotte is a lion dressed as a king, King Lion. Bellewaerde draws about 850,000 - 900,000 visitors a year and is the main theme park in Flanders.
The Condor is the trade name of an amusement ride sold by HUSS of Bremen, Germany. It was debuted at the 1984 New Orleans World's Fair, under the name "Cyclo Tower".
The UFO is an amusement park ride designed by HUSS Maschinenfabrik in 1978, based on the company's Enterprise and Skylab amusement rides. Numerous carnivals feature this ride which is known as Alpha One Peeters and Vertical Limits.
Breakdance is an amusement ride designed by Huss Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG in 1985.
The Frisbee is a type of pendulum amusement ride featuring a circular gondola that rotates as it swings back and forth. Riders are seated on the gondola facing inward or outward, depending on the model. On some models, the entire pendulum makes a full 360 degree swing.
The Top Spin is a thrill ride developed by HUSS Park Attractions, and is the generic name for a series of rides from other manufacturers that follow the same principle. The ride consists of a passenger platform suspended between two counterweighted arms. The arms are turned by motors, while the platform typically only has brakes that are engaged and disengaged at various points of the ride cycle. A typical top spin program runs the main arm motors while engaging and disengaging the platform brakes so that it will rotate in exciting ways. The minimum rider height requirement is 54 inches; maximum is 80 inches due to the seat and restraint design. The ride was introduced to the public in 1990 and proved an instant success with European fairgoers.
The Enterprise is an amusement ride, manufactured primarily by HUSS Park Attractions and Anton Schwarzkopf beginning in 1972. The HUSS ride was an adaptation and improvement of a design produced earlier that year by Schwarzkopf, with an increased passenger capacity. Despite not owning the original incarnation of the ride, HUSS was issued the patent.
A Ranger is an inverting pendulum ride first manufactured by HUSS Machinenfabrik in 1981. Many of the design elements were later used in the HUSS Rainbow, and the term 'Ranger' has become synonymous with inverting pendulum rides. It was the first inverting swing ride designed since Lee Eyerly's Loop-O-Plane and set the standard for many other attractions using the inverting pendulum ride system, such as the Rainbow, the Kamikaze (ride), and the Inverter.
The Troika is an amusement park ride designed and manufactured by HUSS Park Attractions in the mid-1970s. The name Troika means "group of three" in Russian, a reference to its three armed design. There are several variations on the design.
Pendulum rides are amusement rides based on the motion of a fixed pendulum. The Ali Baba, Looping Starship, and Pirate Ship are some examples.
The HUSS Swing Around is an amusement park ride formerly manufactured by HUSS. It was HUSS Maschinenfabrik's first ride model, debuted in 1969. It is not manufactured by the company anymore, but there are a handful of known units left around the world. The ride rotates in a circle, and the arms swing out, and then come in. They keep on doing this during the ride, in bigger and bigger increments until the very end, where they all swing out, using pneumatic pressure. Most parks require riders to be 42 inches tall to ride; anyone under 48 inches tall must ride with an adult.
HUSS Park Attractions is a company that specializes in developing and manufacturing amusement rides at a factory in Budapest, Hungary.
Delirium is the name of three Frisbee rides located at three Cedar Fair parks – California's Great America, Kings Island, and Kings Dominion. The installation at California's Great America, the smallest of the three, was designed by Chance Rides and opened in 2002. The installation at Kings Island was designed by HUSS Park Attractions and opened on April 12, 2003, as the largest Frisbee ride of its kind in the world. The record-setting ride is able to swing 50 passengers up to 76 mph (122 km/h) reaching a height of 137 feet (42 m). Mondial manufactured the version of Delirium at Kings Dominion, which opened in 2016. It accommodates up to 40 passengers, reaches a top speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), and swings to a maximum height of 115 feet (35 m).
Rainbow is an Amusement park ride created by HUSS Maschinenfabrik of Bremen, Germany. The Rainbow was manufactured from 1982 to 2000 and is often confused with its cousins Ali Baba and 1001 Nachts plus other similar models. The HUSS Rainbow has developed a vast fan base due to its large stature, smooth ride, bright lights, and iconic motor noise.
John Holer, born Ivan Holerjem, was a Slovenian-Canadian businessman. An immigrant to Canada, Holer is most notable for founding Marineland of Canada in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. He founded the park in the early 1960s and managed it until his death in 2018.
| Current ride models |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notable rides | |||||||||||
