Power Tower also exists at
Valleyfair! amusement park but in a slightly different form than the one at
Cedar Point. The
Minnesota version of this
thrill ride has three
legs and a triangular
pyramidal crown and claims to be the
tallest combination tower (has at least one of rapid drop and one of rapid ascent) ride in the nation.
This
record is controversial because the
Cedar Point towers have a taller crown at 300 ft while the
Valleyfair! tower crown is at 275 ft, but the actual ride at
Cedar Point will only allow a 240 foot drop or
ejection whereas the experience at
Valleyfair! will reach 250 ft. Due to
popularity and ride timing for the
Turbo Drop towers, they outnumber the
Space Shot Tower 2-to-1 in
Minnesota. Both Power Towers were built by S&S Power of Logan,
Utah.
The Valleyfair! tower is isolated on an island in the middle of the park and also gives a nice view of the corkscrew roller coaster below. And a suspension bridge entry/exit also provides theming to the ride.
While many people believe that the Valleyfair! executives simply stole the ride name from Cedar Point for convenience and marketing costs, there are some interesting points which may debunk this theory. In September 1999, Valleyfair! employees were offered a contest that would award a free t-shirt to the employee who could conjure the best name for the new unnamed ride (whose specifics had already been revealed to park employees at that point). Idiotically, an employee entered the ride name Power Tower after the similar ride that already existed at Cedar Point. This employee managed to win the contest, and a seasonal rides supervisor added the tagline "250 feet of extreme scream" which allowed a more edgy image for the ride. Furthermore, Valleyfair! improved the ride logo with a new fantastic font and moved the explosion lines to the perimeter of the logo.