The Tower Of Terror

[thedisneybelle]

Hi all!

I'm a Florida native and teenager who has been to Disney a countless amount of times. I'm a bit of a ride chicken, or I at least have a fear of the unknown when it comes to rides. I have tried (and will do) every thrill ride at Universal with the exception of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It & Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. A couple of weeks ago I finally tried both the Dragons and the Hulk for the first time and had a blast! I have also done (and love) every thrill ride at Disney, other than Tower of Terror. I have told myself I would try it the next time I went every time I've been since meeting the height requirement, but walking onto Sunset Boulevard and seeing the looming tower makes my heart beat out of my chest. I've been through the pre-show area and taken the chicken exit more times than I'd like to admit. I LOVE the theming of the pre-show as I'm a fan of the The Twilight Zone. I just cannot bring myself to ride it! I hate the feeling of my stomach dropping with a passion. I would love to experience the ride, but I really want to know what kind of sensation the drops create.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

You definitely do get a sensation of falling though it doesn't last for very long. I would think that if you could handle the drop on Hulk, you could handle this one. The only other thing is that you do drop multiple times so the sensation is repeated. However, the drops aren't all the same distance. Sometimes you drop a little and sometimes you drop a lot. Part of the fun is not knowing what you are going to get! You also get a sensation of weightlessness when you come back up to drop again.

My friends is extremely afraid of falling and she was able to handle it fine though her feet were sweaty afterwards She said that the first drop was the worst for her and the rest were no problem. I think the anticipation of the drop also contributed to the nerves.

I encourage you to give it a go - it's a fun ride! I consider it WAY milder than the Hulk.

 

[YawningDodo]

Open-air drop rides tend to really frighten me -- there's too much anticipation, and seeing exactly how far you have to fall...*shudder*. Don't get me wrong, I'll still do them, but I always wonder why I'm putting myself through it once I'm on the lift.

ToT, though? Yes, I get jitters going into it, but I don't think it's anywhere near so frightening. Yes, you're going to drop and you know it, but you don't have to look at the distance of the drop because the ride is all indoors and enclosed apart from the moments when you hit the top and the doors ding open to the outside. In the dark it's harder to make sense of the drop sequence and get properly afraid, at least for me, so you get the drop sensation without the same primal fear.

That being said, be aware that it's not one drop, but multiple, randomized drops and lifts. Also, be aware that the lift shaft in which you first go up isn't the drop shaft -- I got really freaked out my first time when the ride car drove forward out of the initial lift shaft; it goes through a spooky Twilight Zone hallway before entering a carriage in the (pitch black) drop shaft. Also, it may drop immediately when you get into the second shaft, or it may go up first. It's random.

 

[DisneyHardin]

It's my favorite thrill ride at Disney. If you have done all the other thrill rides, then you can handle it.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Hi all!

I'm a Florida native and teenager who has been to Disney a countless amount of times. I'm a bit of a ride chicken, or I at least have a fear of the unknown when it comes to rides. I have tried (and will do) every thrill ride at Universal with the exception of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It & Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. A couple of weeks ago I finally tried both the Dragons and the Hulk for the first time and had a blast! I have also done (and love) every thrill ride at Disney, other than Tower of Terror. I have told myself I would try it the next time I went every time I've been since meeting the height requirement, but walking onto Sunset Boulevard and seeing the looming tower makes my heart beat out of my chest. I've been through the pre-show area and taken the chicken exit more times than I'd like to admit. I LOVE the theming of the pre-show as I'm a fan of the The Twilight Zone. I just cannot bring myself to ride it! I hate the feeling of my stomach dropping with a passion. I would love to experience the ride, but I really want to know what kind of sensation the drops create.

It takes my breath away on drops. I do feel it in my stomach. But since it is fast, that feeling doesn't last long before the elevator is going back up and I am pressed into my seat. The strangest sensation is when it goes up and then back down without a pause. That is the "worst" feeling though I don't find it bad at all. That is just when I truly notice that stomach feeling. But once the transition is completed or the descent then it is all good for me.

My husband loves coasters but hates the sensation of dropping as on TOT. He is not afraid of itZ he just doesn't like it. So he does not ride.

I am afraid that this may not be the ride for you.

It is the love of my Disney life and I would suggest trying it once. You just may hate it, though.

How do you do on the Splash Mountain drop--that is rhe closest sensation to TOt that I can think of at Disney. If you don't do Splash, then TOt will only be worse.

But I do love my TOT.

ETA: I find it milder than roller coasters. So I would say if you could handle them, then TOT would be a piece of cake. But my husband handles coasters fine as I said. The two just aren't comparable as they are different kinds of rides.

 

[thedisneybelle]

You definitely do get a sensation of falling though it doesn't last for very long. I would think that if you could handle the drop on Hulk, you could handle this one. The only other thing is that you do drop multiple times so the sensation is repeated. However, the drops aren't all the same distance. Sometimes you drop a little and sometimes you drop a lot. Part of the fun is not knowing what you are going to get! You also get a sensation of weightlessness when you come back up to drop again.

My friends is extremely afraid of falling and she was able to handle it fine though her feet were sweaty afterwards She said that the first drop was the worst for her and the rest were no problem. I think the anticipation of the drop also contributed to the nerves.

I encourage you to give it a go - it's a fun ride! I consider it WAY milder than the Hulk.

Thanks for the info Dex! This is my sister's favorite ride at Disney, but she has stopped trying to convince me to go on it, along with the rest of my family. However, after I get off of rides like the Hulk laughing, my family members inform me that the Tower of Terror really is nothing compared to those rides. I really just need to suck it up and try it once!

 

[thedisneybelle]

Open-air drop rides tend to really frighten me -- there's too much anticipation, and seeing exactly how far you have to fall...*shudder*. Don't get me wrong, I'll still do them, but I always wonder why I'm putting myself through it once I'm on the lift.

ToT, though? Yes, I get jitters going into it, but I don't think it's anywhere near so frightening. Yes, you're going to drop and you know it, but you don't have to look at the distance of the drop because the ride is all indoors and enclosed apart from the moments when you hit the top and the doors ding open to the outside. In the dark it's harder to make sense of the drop sequence and get properly afraid, at least for me, so you get the drop sensation without the same primal fear.

That being said, be aware that it's not one drop, but multiple, randomized drops and lifts. Also, be aware that the lift shaft in which you first go up isn't the drop shaft -- I got really freaked out my first time when the ride car drove forward out of the initial lift shaft; it goes through a spooky Twilight Zone hallway before entering a carriage in the (pitch black) drop shaft. Also, it may drop immediately when you get into the second shaft, or it may go up first. It's random.

Thanks for the help! I'm about as familiar with the ride as you can get without having been on thanks to specials on the Travel Channel. I do think it's the anticipation of the drops that gets to me. I just can't seem to bring myself to ride.

 

[thedisneybelle]

It's my favorite thrill ride at Disney. If you have done all the other thrill rides, then you can handle it.

So I've been told by many relatives!! I think the anticipation I get, mixed with the fact that the ride is meant to make you anticipate the drops makes me nervous!

 

[CAS239]

It's rather tame compared to coasters.

You feel it in your stomach (I love the feeling), but it's over in like 20 seconds. Everyone can give you info and everything, but you won't know until you ride it. So if you have been telling yourself you'll ride it for so long, just get on and ride it. You can handle coasters and there drops, you can handle ToT.

Next time just go into it thinking that there's no way to back out and get it over with. You'll get off after enjoying it, then be kicking yourself for missing out so long on a great attraction

 

[thedisneybelle]

It takes my breath away on drops. I do feel it in my stomach. But since it is fast, that feeling doesn't last long before the elevator is going back up and I am pressed into my seat. The strangest sensation is when it goes up and then back down without a pause. That is the "worst" feeling though I don't find it bad at all. That is just when I truly notice that stomach feeling. But once the transition is completed or the descent then it is all good for me.

My husband loves coasters but hates the sensation of dropping as on TOT. He is not afraid of itZ he just doesn't like it. So he does not ride.

I am afraid that this may not be the ride for you.

It is the love of my Disney life and I would suggest trying it once. You just may hate it, though.

How do you do on the Splash Mountain drop--that is rhe closest sensation to TOt that I can think of at Disney. If you don't do Splash, then TOt will only be worse.

But I do love my TOT.

ETA: I find it milder than roller coasters. So I would say if you could handle them, then TOT would be a piece of cake. But my husband handles coasters fine as I said. The two just aren't comparable as they are different kinds of rides.

Thanks for your help! I do absolutely fine on the Splash Mountain drop, it's complete cake. I don't even think about it anymore! Drops are typically my least favorite part of rides, but I can handle them in order to be able to experience one, and don't absolutely despise them (sometimes even enjoy them) as long as I don't feel them too much in my stomach. ToT however is completely about drops!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thanks for your help! I do absolutely fine on the Splash Mountain drop, it's complete cake. I don't even think about it anymore! Drops are typically my least favorite part of rides, but I can handle them in order to be able to experience one, and don't absolutely despise them (sometimes even enjoy them) as long as I don't feel them too much in my stomach. ToT however is completely about drops!

Drops feel like Splash for the most part except at the transitions of up to down without stopping and that happens so quickly and the sensation does not last long.

I say give it a try and the reward is you never ever have to go on it again if you don't want to.

 

[thedisneybelle]

It's rather tame compared to coasters.

You feel it in your stomach (I love the feeling), but it's over in like 20 seconds. Everyone can give you info and everything, but you won't know until you ride it. So if you have been telling yourself you'll ride it for so long, just get on and ride it. You can handle coasters and there drops, you can handle ToT.

Next time just go into it thinking that there's no way to back out and get it over with. You'll get off after enjoying it, then be kicking yourself for missing out so long on a great attraction

I do best on thrill rides if I don't overthink things before riding them, but Tower of Terror makes it kind of impossible. I need to bite the bullet on my trip next month and just get on! The anxiety is real though...

 

[mekay1012]

I am scared to death of rides with big drops, but I love tower of terror! It is so much fun. I think since its in the dark and I can't see how big the drop is, makes me be able to ride it.

 

[thedisneybelle]

I am scared to death of rides with big drops, but I love tower of terror! It is so much fun. I think since its in the dark and I can't see how big the drop is, makes me be able to ride it.

That's comforting to hear! Y'all are convincing me to try it. I'll probably still freak out though.

 

[Disnsyncey]

My friend hates drops and she agreed to go on it with me last September if I would eat escargot at F&W......we both did, and we would probably not do either again.....she can keep her escargot and I will keep riding ToT! You can always say you have done it once! You will be completely safe and you have a seatbelt, so keep thinking of that if you get yourself on it....

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That's comforting to hear! Y'all are convincing me to try it. I'll probably still freak out though.

Would it help to know that your elevator rolls into a cage attached to a track? Basically, consider it a vertical roller coaster that goes in 2 directions.

 

[gschon]

Hopefully, they got the regular elevators fixed, so we don't have to use those droppy ones.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Mega spoiler alert, but some behind the scenes information:
http://towersecrets.com/tower-of-terror-construction-video-translation/

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

And in words...it is cables, but I pretend it is a track. It helps me cope.

http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=104663

 

[thedisneybelle]

My friend hates drops and she agreed to go on it with me last September if I would eat escargot at F&W......we both did, and we would probably not do either again.....she can keep her escargot and I will keep riding ToT! You can always say you have done it once! You will be completely safe and you have a seatbelt, so keep thinking of that if you get yourself on it....

I do want to at least try it! I'll just have to tell myself it'll be over before I know it, and if I don't like it I never have to go again, and my family will probably be content to let me skip it.