The irony of being terrified by the Tower of Terror

[pangyal]

I tried to search for reviews on this ride, but only came up with 199 results, so something is wonky...at any rate, I am trying to embolden myself to finally try it next trip. I get pretty motion sick on anything spinny, but I'm not sure about drops. Everest made me convinced my life was ending right then and there when I tried it for the first time last trip because of the overall speed and intensity, so I'm wondering whether anyone can provide a comparison between the two in terms of the intensity?

I tried the kiddie Frog Hopper ride with DS at our local amusement park last summer to try to prepare, but I have a feeling it doesn't compare, lol.

I'm mostly wondering- do you know when the drops are going to happen or is it literally from out of the blue? Do the drops make you sick, for those that suffer from motion sickness? Are they super huge drops, like you feel your stomach is in your brain, or...?

Thanks in advance !

 

[bbak30]

Tower of Terror is the only ride I don't like in WDW. The drops are random and I feel like I'm going to die the entire time. My stomach is in my throat the entire time. I just don't find that fun.

However, I love RNRC, BTMRR and all of the other coasters in WDW.

SORRY, lol. I guess I'm not very encouraging.

 

[Mikie]

The drops do come out of nowhere - they are randomized so it's different every ride. That, combined with the darkness makes it disorienting.
I get motion sick on spinning things and in IMAX/360 movies/simulators. Drops on a roller coaster and the drops in ToT don't make me feel sick.
I LOVE Tower of Terror - but it is scary!

 

[disnut8]

With Tower of Terror, the drops happen at the end so it's not random throughout the entire ride. However, this is the attraction that I think is the best overall done at Disney World. The entire storyline is set up to build the "excitement" literally higher and higher. I couldn't ride thrill rides for about five years but with this one, I always did the preshow stuff because that in itself is classic. What I would suggest for you is to do that and see what you think. You will get a very good introduction to what will happen on the actual ride and once you get to the elevator boarding area, you just tell the seater person that you would like to exit. You will be led out (you will need to use a normal elevator) and then you can wait for the rest of your party or just exit if you are alone. Very easy to do and you'll be able to determine if it's something that suits you.

 

[sturner324]

Sorry, I have to disagree and say the drops do not come out of nowhere. You're not just trucking along and then, oops you drop off a cliff. You very obviously click into the elevator shaft (you can feel it) after moving forward through a bit of story. It's dark and there's a pause of suspense. You know it's coming... then drop! The random part comes after you're in this spot, and the randomness is only how far you drop and how many times.

I have to admit, tower of terror is my favorite ride. I don't do spinners, but drops are the best thrill for me. I know it's not for everyone. Good luck!

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

I agree that this is one of the best themed rides at WDW, and it scares me!!!

 

[DC to Disney]

I love Tower of Terror, but I think it's the only legitimately scary ride at WDW. It's scary, but fun! But I think it's significantly scarier than any of the roller coasters. The drops are different every time, so you don't really know what's coming. That's part of what I love about it.

 

[3smithboys]

I love TOT and coasters, but DH hates it... he doesn't like the sensation of the vertical drop and the way it makes his stomach feel. He will go on coasters and likes RnRR and Everest, if that helps...

 

[Annadesu]

Long story, but stick with me!

My husband went to Disney as a child, and refused point blank to ride Tower of Terror. Everyone else in the family did it, but he took one look at it and said "NOPE!"

Fast forward MANY years later, and he is now a grown, about-to-be-married, man. We go to Disney with my family on a reunion, and he says that he is going to ride it just so he can prove to his younger self that he is capable.

We ride the ride, I scream. He doesn't do much of anything.

We get off the ride, he turns to me, and says: "That's it? I was so scared of it, and it wasn't even that bad".

The great thing with Disney is that they are masters of "atmosphere". They make the ride look scary, and old, and make you believe that your life is in danger. But guess what? You're not. I don't know the whole "behind the scenes" story, but trust me, they have a LOT of safety measures that they take very seriously.

If you're worried about getting sick, then just know that the ride is only a few minutes long. It's not the mad tea cup ride, it's mostly just sitting as you go around on a track.

Try it out once, just so you can say you did. If you end up hating it, then ok, but atleast you tried once instead of talking yourself out of it.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Try it out once, just so you can say you did. If you end up hating it, then ok, but atleast you tried once instead of talking yourself out of it.

This is my plan for our next trip. I never tried it last time but once can't hurt. I do get motion sickness sometimes but I don't think drops will do it so once should be just fine. What if I end up loving it? I'd hate to spend my life thinking I'll hate it and end up missing out on something fun.

 

[johnsgrl]

Do the drops make you sick, for those that suffer from motion sickness?

I can't even LOOK at the Tea Cups without getting queasy, but I have no trouble at all with TOT. It is by far my favorite ride!

 

[gorkt]

I don't like drop rides, and ToT is the only ride I won't go on at WDW. However, I have done it a few times in the past, and I think it is worth it once just for the theming alone. It is over, so, so, so quick. The drops at the end aren't really that bad, it is the first half drop in the pitch black that is the worst for me. Once they open the doors, it isn't too terrible.

 

[sarahrdh]

I get motion sickness. I did better on ToT than I did on EE. I felt sick after EE, I didn't get nearly that bad after tot. Just try it!

Also, I wear motion sickness bands, and take the non drowsy low dose Dramamine every morning before going into the parks, FWIW.

 

[MHDTS]

Do it! The drop is over before you know it, and the anticipation is really fun (and scary)! And it's different every time.

Where else can you experience something like this?

 

[Robo]

Do it! The drop is over before you know it...

Just to keep things clear...
I wouldn't call what happens at ToT "the drop."

There are many drops in every trip to the Tower, and each drop is of a different number of "floors."
And, yes, the type of drops are different each time a guest rides.

 

[theone74733]

Long story, but stick with me!

My husband went to Disney as a child, and refused point blank to ride Tower of Terror. Everyone else in the family did it, but he took one look at it and said "NOPE!"

Fast forward MANY years later, and he is now a grown, about-to-be-married, man. We go to Disney with my family on a reunion, and he says that he is going to ride it just so he can prove to his younger self that he is capable.

We ride the ride, I scream. He doesn't do much of anything.

We get off the ride, he turns to me, and says: "That's it? I was so scared of it, and it wasn't even that bad".

The great thing with Disney is that they are masters of "atmosphere". They make the ride look scary, and old, and make you believe that your life is in danger. But guess what? You're not. I don't know the whole "behind the scenes" story, but trust me, they have a LOT of safety measures that they take very seriously.

If you're worried about getting sick, then just know that the ride is only a few minutes long. It's not the mad tea cup ride, it's mostly just sitting as you go around on a track.

Try it out once, just so you can say you did. If you end up hating it, then ok, but atleast you tried once instead of talking yourself out of it.

That was my same experience with Expedition Everest. I was so scared of it, but once I rode it, it is now one of my favorite rides.

I was wondering about TOT though. Is the drop sensation similar to Splash or a lot worse. The big drop on Splash Mountain is quick and fast and not even noticeable to me. I could probably do quick drops but not a full 100 ft drop all at once. I tried watching Youtube videos of TOT and people were screaming for a long time.

 

[ShinyRedGloss]

This ride scares me every time. The drops are unpredictable not huge drops. You bounce up and down a bit. I can ride roller coasters, spin, or flip upside down but that free fall feeling...nnooooooo It isn't so much a being up high thing as it is the wonky feeling you get in your stomach when you free fall. After the first drop I am okay.

That being said I still ride this ride. It's quick and I feel a bit braver afterwards. I say ride it because I love it, but I wouldn't recommended if you think you will panic. The more freaked out you are prior to the ride the worse it will be. However, it is always nice to conquer your fears.

 

[leebee]

I have vertigo, easily get motion sick, and HATE drops. I take Bonine every morning before going to the theme parks. I've never ridden Space Mountain, EE, ToT, RnRC, Star Tours, TeaCups- I know better than to tackle drops, spiny things, simulators. However, I LOVE BTMRR, although it'll make me a little queasy sometimes, but nothing that doesn't wear off in a minute or two. I've ridden Splash maybe a half-dozen times, but I absolutely hate the drop, so I just don't ride it anymore. As DD22 describes it, the ToT drops are similar to the Splash drop, except it's like the floor falling out from under you and you don't know how far you are going to fall, or how many times. NO, thank you!

I can do one ride on Test Trak and am OK on Dumbo and Aladdin, but Barnstormer and the very end of SDMT ate me alive! Seriously motion sick- didn't vomit, but had to sit down for over an hour before feeling shakily OK for the rest of the afternoon!

 

[moulinette]

I just went on the ride for the first time a couple of hours ago. I was terrified by the thought of it and had been too scared to do it on my first trip to WDW last year. I went on Rock n Rollercoaster for the first time yesterday and the thought of it was way more scary than the reality of the ride, and I ended up loving it, so I was hoping Tower of Terror would be a similar situation. I have always been scared of rides as I had never really gone on any as a child, but I kept telling myself I can't just skip 1 ride when I was brave enough to do all the rest and had loved them all so far. Also, I kept seeing children who looked to be about 5 years old queuing to do it, so I thought if they can do it, well so can I

Anyway, the theming was really awesome in the queue and for the actual ride you go inside a big elevator and then it rides out towards the elevator shaft and it all goes pitch black. You can definitely tell when the first drop (or rise, it's random) is about to come because you hear the elevator click into place. I was so scared but it was fine. The drops weren't too extreme though you do feel yourself rising out of your seat, but they open the doors so you can see out across the park between some of them so there seems to be a small waiting period between the drops, which gives you a second to recover between them, and I didn't get that horrible dropping stomach feel you get on some rides. I had probably misread somewhere that it doesn't do more than 10 drops (I was counting them in my head and both times it did 5, so just count the drops if you are scared to get an idea of when it will be over). It was actually really fun and I immediately went on it again after. I think anyone can do it just once as it is all over really quickly, but you will probably end up loving it. I'm going to do it again tonight if the line isn't too long!

Also, I think Everest is more intense because it lasts longer.

 

[scrhsa]

The first couple of times I didn't think I could handle it. But once you relax and commit to the fall.....nothing is better!!! Throw your hands in the air and roll with it....or rather "fall" with it For me it's more stressful tensing up and trying to hold on. Though I have to say it is terrifying to commit to totally relaxing. Goes against our natural sense of self-preservation.

edit:
My pc is acting wonky today and it didn't get the quote I had quoted posted. (not fighting it anymore )