Tower of Terror II

Roller coaster at Dreamworld Australia

The Tower of Terror II was a steel shuttle roller coaster located at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. When the Tower of Terror opened on 23 January 1997, it was the first roller coaster in the world to reach , making it the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world of its time. The ride was situated on the Dreamworld Tower, which also houses The Giant Drop free fall ride. The ride was originally known as the Tower of Terror until it was modified and relaunched in September 2010 as Tower of Terror II.

The original Tower of Terror ride was themed as an "escape pod" launch from a futuristic skyscraper to a distant building. Earthquakes had supposedly made the building unstable and unexplained nuclear hazards were contaminating the building. Riders took the role of people queuing for the escape pods through the corridors and stairwells of the building, at one point crossing a depth illusion giving the impression of being high above a ruined city. Whilst the optical illusion and decoration of the queuing area remains, the backstory of the ride was no longer given. Upon reaching the front of the queue, 15 riders boarded the "escape pod". Riders would be launched forwards out of a shorter, tunnel at a rate of before travelling up the tower. Smaller jockey wheels run on the other side of the track such that the track sits between the pairs of wheels. The original Tower of Terror's restraint system consisted of a thick, rigid lap bar with hand grips mounted to the lap bar. These restraints used a hydraulic locking system (rather than a ratchet) which allowed them to be pulled down to any position; when "locked", they could move down to any position but not up. In contrast, a ratchet based restraint only locks at each "notch", and will often be too loose or uncomfortably tight for riders. The minimum height restriction was , the same as most other major coasters. In addition, it was actually possible for a rider to be too tall to ride the Tower of Terror, if they are over tall. Although the Tower of Terror was not mentioned in the article, amusement park fanatics agreed that the Tower of Terror would be the most likely to receive the makeover. In February 2010, further fuel was added to the fire when a theme park reporter commented on the possibility of the Tower of Terror featuring a new, backwards launching vehicle. Towards the end of April 2010, steel framework arrived beside the Tower of Terror's launch track. The curved parts confirmed rumours that the tunnel would be extended. In August 2010, Dreamworld officially announced through their website that the Tower of Terror will cease operations on 18 August 2010 and will reopen as the Tower of Terror II in time for the September school holidays. Dreamworld confirmed the rumour that the launch will be in reverse out of the newly extended tunnel. The ride was relaunched on 17 September 2010. as the reason for closing the attraction, along with initial details regarding a multi million dollar expansion to the park. The expansion is set to include a new Multi launch coaster, as well as a major refurbishment to ABC Kids World. The park also confirmed that The Giant Drop will continue to operate as normal. The demolition of Tower of Terror II began in March 2020 with the removal of some track pieces.

The queue begins with a footpath that extends from the underpass linking Tiger Island and Wiggles World, to the inside of an 11 metre tall (36 ft) skull.

The new passenger vehicle, called the 'Escape Pod', seats 14 riders in a configuration consisting of three rows of 4 and one of two. The vehicle features a lower profile than its predecessor. are electro magnetically accelerated to in seven seconds along the extended, launch tunnel. The track then pitches up 90 degrees to the vertical, with the passengers pulling 4.5 g. Riders are almost weightless during the entire vertical section of the ride for about 6.5 seconds, 3.25 seconds going up and 3.25 seconds falling back down. The vehicle continues to hurtle back into the station where it comes to a fairly rapid stop.

The Tower of Terror was featured on the opening sequences of Big Brother Australia from 2001–2004.