Detonator: Bombs Away

Detonator: Bombs Away is a tower ride at Thorpe Park in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. It was manufactured by Fabbri and is a 'Mega Drop Tower'. It opened in 2001 along with two other 'flat' rides, Vortex and Zodiac. It is around 115ft and is not released via a computer. The ride operator at the bottom has a button which he/she can press to make the car go at any time once the car has reached the top. Once released, the car is fired downwards by pneumatics rather than simply falling under gravity, the ride reaches a speed of 46 mph at the base of the drop, giving the impression of weightlessness for riders. For the 2011 season on ride photos were added. These were later removed in the 2013 season.HistoryIn July 2000 Thorpe Park's Wicked Witches Haunt and part of Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels were destroyed in a fire. Although Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels was recovered and reopened later in the year Wicked Witches Haunt was destroyed beyond repair. This left a vast open space in the park to which they decided until a later development applied for temporary planning permission for a Fabbri Mega-Drop.In 2001 Detonator opened as the parks tallest ride at 115 feet in replacement of Wicked Witches Haunt. The ride's success meant the park applied for extended planning permission meaning that to this day the ride remains. In 2007 the ride opened with a new theme tune after the park decided it was no longer plausible to pay royalties for the original sound track.In 2014, Detonator was given a small make over and an add to the ride's name "Detonator: Bombs Away" for the new Angry Birds Land that opened in May. The theme tune uses the same track as used in 2001.