Apocalypse (Drayton Manor)
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Apocalypse was a freefall tower ride located at
Drayton Manor Resort Drayton Manor Resort is a family theme park, zoo and Lodging, accommodation in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK. It covers , of which about are in use, and hosts about 1.5 million people ...
, England.


History

Apocalypse opened in April 2000 and it had four towers. two of which were standing up and two sit down. In 2002 the ride was partially rebuilt to accommodate a 5th tower to use as the world's first stand-up floorless element, and was also dubbed as the fifth element. In 2016, tower five was down until 2018 when owners removed the outside queue line and the Entrance Arch to bring in a crane to fix it. In 2019, the station area was refurbished which includes new control panels, removal of the klaxons and beacons and replaced with a siren and new flooring was put in. It is the tallest ride at the park and is the only ride that can be seen outside the park and in parts the Wilnecote area of Tamworth. Apocalypse was the first stand-up tower drop in the world and it kept the title as the only one until 2005 when Hurakan Condor opened in
PortAventura Park PortAventura Park is a theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort, 85 km southwest of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca, on the Costa Daurada. The park opened on 1 May 1995 under the managemen ...
. Riders reached , falling in 4 seconds. In 2008 the ride received an Airtime Award from amusement park fansite CoasterForce.com, whose members voted it the "Best Thrill Ride in Europe". The ride was retired on the 30th October 2022 for future park developments. There was a photograph with a large group of fans. Ride removal began on 1st November 2022, and as of 11th November, most of the ride structure had been removed, with a small portion of it still standing.


Incidents

* Two days before its launch, an electrician who was working on the tower at night, fell 30 ft from the top onto a safety hatch. He sustained a broken back and leg and the entire incident was reconstructed for BBCs 999.


References

2000 establishments in England Drop tower rides Amusement rides manufactured by Intamin Amusement rides introduced in 2000 {{Amusement-ride-stub