how bad is it really??

[cyndibelle]

ok so hubby insists that i ride tower of terror....i am a bit nervous to ride it...i have steered clear of it the past two times we have gone...i have some balance issues that come and go...and what i mean by that is i get off balance from time to time...and some rides can aggrevate it...but i can take xanax to ward off the effects..soooo with that being said...can someone please lay it down for me...give me the details...

 

[luvsTink]

OK, you asked. I don't think the ride will mess with your equilibrium...just your mind! I will NOT give details to a ToT virgin, but this is what I will tell you:
1.. it didn't make me the least bit dizzy
2. It is possible the anticipation is worse than the event (or maybe not )
3. I will do it again, but the first time I was hoarse for 2 days (very little voice left) because of all the screaming I did.
4. It is, in my opinion, one of the best rides ever.

Do it. It probably won't kill you.

Anne

 

[bavaria]

Well, I ride Space Mountain, Splash, Big Thunder regularly no problem at all. Don't like really big roller coasters so I have never done Rockin Roller Coaster. Severly claustrophobic so haven't done Mission Space.

A few years ago I was looking for something I had never done and decided to finally do Tower of Terror. A friend of mine in his early twenties had been a few weeks before and said that it was just an unpleasant experience.

So off I went, and got myself pretty worked up on the trip up. I sometimes have falling elevator dreams, so it was probably not a good choice.

When the drop started, I had my head in the lap of the female stranger next to me. My knapsack was on the floor and it bounced upwards. This was in the two drop days, and the sequence has changed since then.

Got off and I was trembling - the feeling didn't stop for about 30 minutes.

Never done it again.

So it was probably a combination of the anticipation, maybe some of the claustrophobia, and the previous dreams of falling elevators. (In my father's hometown in Germany the city hall has an elevator which goes up at an angle, and I hated it as a child - maybe bad memories)

Would I discourage anyone else? No. Everyone reacts differently, and you really need to know your triggers. Plus, it's only a few minutes to endure, with the drop portion being only a very small part of it.

So be honest with yourself and if you really can't, then don't. If you think that you may be able to take it, try it out - you may be pleasantly surprised!

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

You sound like you should avoid riding Mission:Space.

ToT is an extremely well themed drop ride - your stomach will do some flip-flops as you plummet and your stomach ends up in your throat, and you are shot back up to do it again and again - in the dark!

My wife has done it, and she hates all extreme thrill rides.

Do it!

 

[dbanzai]

Have you ever done any freefall rides at any other park? If so, then you'll be okay at ToT.

 

[cyndibelle]

ha ha ha ..yea mission space is one i have told hubby that i WILL NOT under any circumstance ride and he knows that...cause i am claustophobic too..woooaaa...just thinking of that ride freaks me out.... i am sure i would be messed up for days after that one...

 

[marypops!]

i haven't really rid it im a scardy cat haven't even been in the haunted mansion

but i've seen a video of it it was quite scary but not alot so i MIGHT ride it next time i go
link to the video is:
http://disneyforever.com/iboard/lofiversion/index.php/t397.html
not sure if it will work though if it doesn't just copy and paste into the address bar

 

[Maude4Disney]

DH and I both did TOT for the first time on our last trip. I am a big chicken when it comes to heights.... love roller coasters though. DH is not big on thrill rides at all, has a problem w/ motion sickness. Anyway, the anticipation doesn't help, but the drops did us in. It didn't make us sick or anything like that so I don't think it will throw off your balance. We've both decided it's not a must do again for us, but since the kids were not with us on that trip and DS11 is thinking he wants to try it on our trip in Dec. I will probably be the one to take him on it (unless he's brave enough to go solo) one can only hope. I think everyone should try it at least once in their life!

 

[golfgal]

I do ok on roller coasters as long as you are not turning upside down and spinning in circles. I have inner ear issues, too. Is ToT ok in that respect? Is it just a big roller coaster or are there twists and turns that take you upsided down? I would LOVE Mission Space for the theme, but I wouldn't be able to walk a straight line for days if I did the ride, unfortunatly. That and the barf bag would get some good use!

 

[Mom2RinJen]

Keep in mind that as I have gotten older, a fear of heights has taken root and GROWN in me. Both of my girls (aged 6 and 3 at the time) wanted to ride. How can I tell my girls no, dh can't ride alot of things because he gets sick too easy. Whats a mom to do? Don't ask me about the preshow, don't remember, maybe I was too nervous and trying to make sure the kids didnt get scared, whatever, but I dont remember anything except walking to the elevator. I get in and I'm in the first seat (aisle seat) of the first row. Ok, not so bad I think, I'll close my eyes when the doors open showing how high I am and how many stories are between my head and the pavement.....Still not too bad. I'm dealing. Littlest one was getting a bit scared at this point because it was dark, I remember that. Then all of a sudden, WOOOOOOSH!! Im falling, not just like a roller coaster falling, FREE FALLING, Butt out of the seat (and Im a "Pooh" size person) and there is NOTHING to hold onto except a cut out dent on the side of the seat! no bar in front, nothing! Now Im starting to freak out a bit. Afraid that the belt will break and I'll die. STOP! Up we go again......only seems like we went further up than before. WOOSH! Down again farther and faster. Hair flying up! Im definitely not thinking this is cool! Up again, down again, up again, down again! I lost track! Don't even remember the doors opening at the top. Got off the ride and both girls were LAUGHING! They were LAUGHING! They loved it! They wanted to go again. me, I just wanted my legs to quit shaking. Had to sit down for a few minutes. Would I ride it again....nope never.....okay maybe....probably....ok, yes in a couple weeks! I know now what to expect and know not to take that aisle seat first row! I want last row, last seat closest to the wall so I can hold onto the bar on the side of the elevator. It was a HUGE rush and the biggest thrill! More thrilling to me than RNR, though it will take some coaxing next time, I will ride it again for my girls. Not sure who liked it more, I think the 3 year old. LOL

 

[bavaria]

See - they let 3 year olds ride but it's us old folks who get scared! I always say that little kids don't have an imagination yet and that's why they aren't scared.

It's our minds which get us, not our bodies.....

 

[civileng68]

Just FYI, I am a ride chicken.

TOT is all about anticipation. the worst part is anticipating it. It is NOTHING.

Let me give you an example: I will not ride any normal free fall ride at amusement parks, like the ones at IOA. However this ride is CAKE. The drops are VERY VERY smooth and believe it or not, you are not that high up for a freefall ride and you drop only for a moment. Just for instance, by teh time you realize you are dropping you are stopping to shoot back up. It wont even take your stomach but a moment, if that.

Please ride this as your husband is correct. I feel the same way about Mission Space.

 

[shatzjsl]

Do it. It probably won't kill you.

Anne

Yeah, that's reassuring!

I didn't ride it last June but may have the courage next time.

 

[MarkLem]

I ride everything, am not a ride chicken. I rode ToT twice back to back withiin 5 minutes on a kid swap (kids didn't want to ride again so I went on with my wife. I did feel just slightly equilibrium challenged for about 3-5 seconds when I walked off. It also could have been too much coffee and no breakfast!

The ride was really enjoyable though: just the right mix of adrenalin &fear in a good way.

 

[cobbler]

It is def all about the anticipation. I rode it with my stepson (8) this past year and I just kept thinking (as it is going up) that every bit I go up, I must come back down

Really it is all anticipation. I won't do Demon Drop at Cedar Point but I will this one (weird I know). I kept telling myself that if the little kids can ride it so can I. And also if the older folks can ride it, so can I.

Won't ride Mission Space. I did it once so I can say I did it but not again. I just wasn't right for a little while afterwards

 

[Selket]

I don't get ill or shaky on rides and I think ToT is worse than RnRC or Mission Space (MS is a baby ride compared to ToT for me anyway). If you have fears of falling I wouldn't do it. Why bother? There isn't anything to hold on to - not a blessed thing - and somehow that makes it worse. That being said I have no problems riding it but for someone who has concerns I think it isn't worth it. My DH gets ill on most motion rides and the ToT also made him feel ill - which ruins a park day for both of us!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I have ridden it only once, and never will again. Granted, I'm a paraplegic so keep that in mind. I probably wouldn't have freaked out over the ride if the lap bar had come down tighter, or there was more of a restraint. But there wasn't, and when I felt my butt come off the seat I panicked. I had the horrible feeling like I was going to fall out of the thing. If the lap bar had come down lower on me and kept me more to the seat, chances are I would have loved the ride.

It was the first time as an adult I was on a ride screaming "Get me off! Get me off!"

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Selket, my sentiments exactly!!!!

 

[luvsTink]

My memory (which isn't so good) tells me there were "hand straps" in the seats to hold onto...no? hmmm. Without giving out too much info, I do remember being freaked out by the bit between getting on the elevator and the actual falling. I had expected to get on the elevator, to go up and then to free fall. that doesn't quite happen.

to answer an earlier question. There are no inversions (going upside down) or any really quick actions...except of course the free fall which I hear is actually faster than a free fall since the hydraulics pull you down. It is very very smooth. I can't wait!!!

Anne

 

[dizplanner]

They used to have lap bars, but have changed to individual seat belts. My family liked it better with the seat belts. The problem with the lap bars is that if you had a larger person (such as my or my husband) next to a smaller person (such as my daughter), the smaller person had a number of inches between them and the bar. In the free fall, they would fly up more and hit the bar - can be painful. With the seat belt, each person is restrained individually. Plus the seat belts are not as hard as a metal bar.