Logistics help for a "bad mommy"

[gumbo1009]

I have always wanted to try ToT. My 9 yr old does not like rides that drop (unless it's a smooth drop like a roller coaster). She does NOT want to do ToT and I do not plan on forcing her (I know she would not enjoy the ride). But I have always wanted to try it, and I suspect that this next visit to WDW may be our last).

If she and I wait in line together, is it logistically possible for her to wait alone while I ride? She said she's willing to do this for mommy (but I've never been in the building, so I don't know whether this would be feasible.)

If it's not realistic for her to wait, then I will be a grownup and just skip the ride. But I do have a followup question: is the line itself something worth experiencing? (We could always wait in line and then BOTH use the chicken exit.)

Thanks!

 

[siskaren]

I don't think she'd be able to wait at the loading area, but she can definitely go through the line with you then use the "chicken exit" and wait for you in the gift shop.

 

[kerriemiller]

the ride exits into a gift shop. As long as the line wasn't more then a 30 minute wait I would have my daughter wait in the shop right by the exit for the ride. I trust my daughter would be able to do this. And its a pretty common place for non riders to wait.

 

[gumbo1009]

Hmmm. Thanks. I am a "bad" mommy, but also a "chicken" one (not sure how I would feel sending her to the gift shop on her own... Silly? Probably, but not sure I would be comfortable with that, not just yet anyway).

So I guess we now shift to my 2nd question: is the line *itself* worth a visit? (Then we could both use the chicken exit...)

 

[china mom]

I don't consider myself a bad mommy but I am the chicken and I regularly send my nine year old daughter on the ride alone.

When she was younger, I would wait in line and then take the chicken out exit. You get a personal escort down some non scary elevators and you can wait in a hallway before the store and watch everyone as they exit the ride and look at their pictures.

Now, I just send her into the queue herself and I walk through the store and into the exit and wait in that waiting area (there are benches there).

 

[chrismb22]

Hmmm. Thanks. I am a "bad" mommy, but also a "chicken" one (not sure how I would feel sending her to the gift shop on her own... Silly? Probably, but not sure I would be comfortable with that, not just yet anyway).

So I guess we now shift to my 2nd question: is the line *itself* worth a visit? (Then we could both use the chicken exit...)

I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her alone in a gift shop at 9 and even if it isn't standard protocol for her to wait, I would ask anyway. Maybe there's something a cast member can do for you. (Also, not sure when you are going but I wouldn't do it if the line was really long or at a seasonably crowded time. That's just not fair to the cast member )

On another note -- to the person who said a "not so scary elevator" that cracked me up. you would think at the tower of terror they might have STAIRS for the chicken exit, I mean HELLO!!!!

 

[china mom]

There is no point in asking if she can wait at the loading are since you won't be going back there yourself. This is a one way ride... down only.

 

[tiggertabi]

They go through a door right next to the elevator and wait by the door where the elevator opens when you are finished, my 9 year old also doesn't like drops, but my 6 year old will ride it 1000 times!

 

[china mom]

Also, the area between the exit and the gift shop has benches and there is a cast member looming around. You know her best, if you would let her out of your sight at, let's say, Walmart, letting her take the chicken out exit and waiting for you on the bench shouldn't be a problem. Either she knows what to do if a stranger tires to lure her away or she doesn't.

 

[gumbo1009]

Thanks all! Lots of food for thought.

But again, what do folks think of the queue/line itself? Is it interesting enough to wait in line (but not go on the ride) or is it not worthwhile in and of itself?

Thanks!

 

[Kate and Family]

Thanks all! Lots of food for thought.

But again, what do folks think of the queue/line itself? Is it interesting enough to wait in line (but not go on the ride) or is it not worthwhile in and of itself?

Thanks!

It is a great queue - I would recommend it - unless.... you had to wait in long line with a long wait.

 

[patty57]

Thanks all! Lots of food for thought.

But again, what do folks think of the queue/line itself? Is it interesting enough to wait in line (but not go on the ride) or is it not worthwhile in and of itself?

Thanks!

I'm going to say I don't think it's worth it, but I'm sure lots of people will disagree with that. It is good, but I don't think any of the queues are worth that.

 

[Moonwolf]

Thanks all! Lots of food for thought.

But again, what do folks think of the queue/line itself? Is it interesting enough to wait in line (but not go on the ride) or is it not worthwhile in and of itself?

Thanks!

I'm a ride chicken myself (hate drops like your daughter). The line was short enough my last trip that my friend and I decided to go through the line and take the chicken elevator back down just to experience the line. I thought it was pretty interesting and I wouldn't mind doing the line again (as long as the line was a reasonable length) to get a second chance to look around.

 

[gumbo1009]

Thanks! Think I will add ToT as an option (*if* we're there when the wait isn't long).

Another question - does the FP+ line get to see the same interactive queue, or is it less interesting? (Perhaps we could FP+ it, since it's in tier 2 of the FP+...)

 

[Love Tink]

Thanks! Think I will add ToT as an option (*if* we're there when the wait isn't long).

Another question - does the FP+ line get to see the same interactive queue, or is it less interesting? (Perhaps we could FP+ it, since it's in tier 2 of the FP+...)

The queue isn't interactive - just very well dressed and decorated (and, in my opinion, well worth seeing).

If you have FP you really just miss the outside portion of the wait, and join the line right when you walk inside the "hotel." So FP would be a good option for you.

As for your daughter waiting in line, I have one question. Is she nervous about the ride because of the drops, or because of the "spooky" elements (the scary story, the cobwebs, the lights going out, etc.)? Because the queue includes a lot of those elements. If she is spooked by that stuff she wouldn't like the queue.

 

[gumbo1009]

As for your daughter waiting in line, I have one question. Is she nervous about the ride because of the drops, or because of the "spooky" elements (the scary story, the cobwebs, the lights going out, etc.)? Because the queue includes a lot of those elements. If she is spooked by that stuff she wouldn't like the queue.

It's the drop that bugs her (the issue for her is nausea, not fear). Sounds like a FP+ to see the queue may be the way to go for us. Thanks everyone!!

 

[leebee]

Here's what I would do:

Before getting in line, go into the gift shop and towards the back. Follow that through what looks like a hotel lobby and you'll end up at the place where you can buy pictures of your ride. This is in a stone hallway with built-in benches, and it's where riders exit after riding. Show your daughter where you want her to meet you- just make sure she knows to sit on one of the benches and wait, right there by where everyone gets to see the pictures of themselves being dropped during the ride.

THEN both of you get in line for ToT and walk through the queue. When you get to the point where you are sent to a line for your elevator, tell the cast member that your DD isn't riding but will meet you at the end. They will take her down in a different elevator and get her to the waiting area (that you have already scoped out, so she'll know she's in the right place). Have her wait right there, on one of the benches, until you get off the ride. It'll probably be 10 minutes or less from the time you leave her until the time you meet her at the end of the ride. As long as she stays on her bench and doesn't wander out into the gift shop, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about!

 

[neutie88]

We took our son on ToT for the first time when he was four. It traumatized him, to the point where he would not ride it again.

We go to WDW at least 2 times a year, and until just last year, when he was 11, he would not ride it willingly at all (we were "bad parents" and made him ride it at least once every 3-4 trips). From 4-7, we took turns (child swap), but after that, from 7 on, we would deposit him in the gift shop on a bench before getting in line. He was not allowed to step foot on the carpeted part of the gift shop, which kept him close to the back. He had pins to trade with any cast members back there as well. He was just glad he did not have to ride it, so he was very obedient.

In October of this past year, we took his friend with us, and he did not want to be a "chicken", so he rode it. And loved it. Now it is his favorite ride.

 

[siskaren]

There is no point in asking if she can wait at the loading are since you won't be going back there yourself. This is a one way ride... down only.

I haven't been in a long time and I was thinking that you get off at the same place where you get on.

 

[denneg]

Here's what I would do:

Before getting in line, go into the gift shop and towards the back. Follow that through what looks like a hotel lobby and you'll end up at the place where you can buy pictures of your ride. This is in a stone hallway with built-in benches, and it's where riders exit after riding. Show your daughter where you want her to meet you- just make sure she knows to sit on one of the benches and wait, right there by where everyone gets to see the pictures of themselves being dropped during the ride.

THEN both of you get in line for ToT and walk through the queue. When you get to the point where you are sent to a line for your elevator, tell the cast member that your DD isn't riding but will meet you at the end. They will take her down in a different elevator and get her to the waiting area (that you have already scoped out, so she'll know she's in the right place). Have her wait right there, on one of the benches, until you get off the ride. It'll probably be 10 minutes or less from the time you leave her until the time you meet her at the end of the ride. As long as she stays on her bench and doesn't wander out into the gift shop, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about!

I agree with this suggestion. That area is staffed with photo pass CMs, so easy to point her in the direction of help if she felt uncomfortable.