| |||||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||||
| Product | Time Fall | ||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Sega AM5, Mirai R&D (2000) | ||||||||||
| Type | |||||||||||
| Capacity | 6 per cycle | ||||||||||
| Height | 13 metres | ||||||||||
| HELP | |||||||||||
Viva! Skydiving (formerly Time Fall) is a Drop Tower designed by Sega AM5 formerly located at Tokyo Joypolis in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
History
Time Fall opened with Tokyo Joypolis on 12 July 1996,[1] being specifically designed for the park and was the first indoor freefall attraction in the world. Its inclusion in the park was after the company experienced the success of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.
In the late 2000s, Tokyo Joypolis closed for remodeling with its attractions being refurbished and rethemed. When the park reopened on December 2, 2000, Time Fall was rebranded as Viva! Skydiving with a change in theme.
Incident and Removal
On April 18, 2005, a 30-year-old disabled man fell six-metres from the ride to his death, although the other three riders on the ride at the time were not harmed. The death led to investigations from Sega about the incident in regards to safety and staff negligence, and the company closed Tokyo Joypolis temporarily on April 20. Police investigated Sega's offices about the ride on the 28[2] revealing that the ride's manual had stated that people who need assistance walking aren't allowed to ride. Two employees were charged with negligence in July.[3] Following Joypolis' reopening, the attraction was permanently removed and the area covered over with theming.
Design
Viva! Skydiving is a 13-meter drop tower attraction with additions to fit in the Joypolis theme.
As Time Fall, was made to simulate a time machine adventure, but going wrong in the process. Due to the location of the attraction and limitations surrounding it, the freefall function would only go up to a maximum of 13 metres, so to increase the intensity guests wore headphones that played sound effects, while monitors and lighting would emulate the attraction's plotline into reality.
With it's final name, the attraction's theming and plotline now simulated that of a virtual Skydiving simulator with the addition of projection screens and the seats being modified to give the slight jitter of movement.