The drop tower ride at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park reopened this year after being closed for almost two years.

The tower drop ride was closed after a fatal accident on Sept. 2021, which involved the death of a 6-year-old girl.

The ride has been re-themed, re-structured, re-designed and re-named. Although the same tower-drop-style ride, it has undergone extensive structural and procedural changes, officials from the Glenwood Cavern Adventure Park said in an email.

“All structural and procedural changes have been performed by engineers that specialize in advanced amusement ride design as well as independent ride safety experts with experience inspecting rides around the world,” officials said in the email.

Formally called the Haunted Mine Drop, the ride has been renamed to Crystal Tower. 

Queueing, restraints, instructions, signage, lighting and the operator control panel placement were all re-designed to give guests a clear view of the ride experience.

“Out of respect for everyone involved, we will not be giving interviews or distributing further (information),” officials wrote in the email.  

Modifications to the ride structure, ride restraints, queuing area and ride operator control station have been reviewed by the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety, the state regulatory agency responsible for amusement rides and devices. 

Drop tower ride modifications include:

• Ride Carriage Complete Enclosure: Ride carriage enclosure, moving up and down with the ride carriage, creating an elevator-type enclosure.
• New Three-Point Restraint: 
  • New Hi-Visibility Shoulder and Lap Seat Belt: Shoulder hi-visibility belt added to create three-point restraint; computer monitored to confirm belt engagement.
  • New Contrasting Loop Belt: The addition of a contrasting loop belt providing an additional means of confirming proper restraint position and engagement.
  • Retractable: The entire three-point restraint is retractable, providing better visibility and usability. 
• Seat Belt Latch Repositioning: Reposition of the seat belt latching mechanism, moving it to a higher position, closer to the rider.

• Additional Control Panel: Additional remote ride operator control panel. 
• Guest Queue & Loading Areas: Design changes to the drop tower ride entry, and a re-designed queue area and load station. These changes will open visibility of ride operations to guests before and during entry into the ride loading area.