ToT - how scary?

[lily2521]

This:

Is ToT really this high up/extreme?

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have not ridden it in a number of years. Every time I rode it in the past, even the very first time many years back, I felt light headed when getting off, walking through the shop afterwards. At 70, I think it best not to feel lightheaded. It was not a necessarily a scary ride for me though.

 

[lily2521]

The first time was definitely more fun, I think because we were a little scared. I thought that once we were in the elevator, that we'd just start dropping. I didn't really expect the bit before that, so it caught me off guard and freaked me out a bit. The second time was still fun, but knowing what happens before the drop wasn't at all scary. When my sister was a little girl, she said "It's fun to be scared when you know you're safe" which is so true, and really the premise for every thrill ride. So, just remind yourself that you're safe, and even if you hate it, it will be over quickly!

This is a really good reminder. I'll still be freaked out, but a good reminder

To this day I am kicking myself for not asking to be put in the front row. I truly wish we could have seen DD's face in the on ride picture but she was so short the people in the first row blocked her out. So to the OP, if you do go, ask to be in the front row so you can see your daughters reactions. I bet the picture would be priceless.

Good tip - thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

It's the drop that scares me,

It's not a drop. It's a pull.

I laugh during the whole drop sequence.. mainly because of the other people shrieking around me. One thing to keep in mind that might help allay some fears, you are not actually dropping.. that's a very important fact. The elevator car is being pulled down and pulled up. Unlike other 'drop rides' there is no real free fall during the ride. It only makes you feel as if you're in a free fall.

Yep. You are being pulled down; that's the action of the ride. If the action "breaks", you stop. I cannot stand dropping rides like Fearfall, but I can feel the difference, the control, in TOT and I like it.

Breathe in while going up, breathe out while being pulled down. Or laugh or scream (those things expel breath!) while on the way down. It really helps with that feeling in the belly if you don't like that feeling.

Is ToT really this high up/extreme?

No. It was an answer to the question "If that's small what do they consider big?"

 

[nilla]

I love that ride (Same as Power Tower at Cedar Point)

I actually prefer sitting on the other side, where you can't see the second tower. Just the rest of the park.

...and I don't really like heights. Hate being up top, but love the drop

Is ToT really this high up/extreme?

No. The drop on that one is 160 ft, where the biggest possible drop from ToT is about 139 ft, I believe. Plus, you very rarely, if ever, do a full top-to-bottom drop on ToT.

Also, you're always inside on ToT with a full floor beneath you. On Dominator, you're in a single seat with your legs dangling. Also, even when they open the doors on ToT at the top, you get a view out, but nothing panoramic like you'd get on something like Dominator.

IIRC, I think ToT also doesn't really free fall, but actually pulls downward, so there's another difference.

On the other hand, ToT happens largely in the dark and with a random drop sequence, so there's more uncertainty.

I'd say try it once. If you hate it, at least you know you gave it a shot.

 

[Chuckers]

We had a ride once where we were at the bottom the final film started showing, but instead of the ride ending, we got shot up one more time. Pretty wild.

That's part of the random-ness... I had that the last time I went and I've been on the ride too many times to count, but never got that ending before. That's the only time I screamed because I wasn't expecting another pull/drop.

 

[klo1335]

If that's small what do they consider big?

Please know that I am a ride junkie! I love all roller coasters and extreme rides. I did Pitfall once at Kennywood and it was so freaking scary. They have since taken the ride down and replaced it with something else. But this was the scariest ride I've ever been on.

This ride was 251 feet tall.

 

[lily2521]

It's not a drop. It's a pull.

Yep. You are being pulled down; that's the action of the ride. If the action "breaks", you stop. I cannot stand dropping rides like Fearfall, but I can feel the difference, the control, in TOT and I like it.

Breathe in while going up, breathe out while being pulled down. Or laugh or scream (those things expel breath!) while on the way down. It really helps with that feeling in the belly if you don't like that feeling.

No. It was an answer to the question "If that's small what do they consider big?"

This makes me feel better, thanks

The one I went on years ago that scared me so badly is one where your feet are dangling, you're sitting solo facing outward, etc. I looked it up, and it says you go 50 MPH, and it's 275 feet tall. It also says you fall faster than a free fall, so I believe it pulls you downward faster than a fall, which is mostly why I hated it so much. Such an uneasy feeling.

Knowing TOT is more controlled, and much smaller than the one I just described that scared the living daylights out of me makes me feel better.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I laugh during the whole drop sequence.. mainly because of the other people shrieking around me. One thing to keep in mind that might help allay some fears, you are not actually dropping.. that's a very important fact. The elevator car is being pulled down and pulled up. Unlike other 'drop rides' there is no real free fall during the ride. It only makes you feel as if you're in a free fall.

DH laughs at me, bc sometimes on ToT I laugh and clap without realizing I'm doing it.

 

[lily2521]

DH laughs at me, bc sometimes on ToT I laugh and clap without realizing I'm doing it.

Weee!!!

I'm getting a visual, and I have to admit, it's kind of funny, thanks for the laugh. I have to wonder what my natural instinct reaction on ToT will be!

 

[angierae]

The drop on Power Tower at Cedar Point is 263 feet, which is 26 stories.
I hate the wait at the top before you drop, but the drop is amazing

 

[lily2521]

The drop on Power Tower at Cedar Point is 263 feet, which is 26 stories.
I hate the wait at the top before you drop, but the drop is amazing

Sounds very similar to the one I went on that scared me so bad, it's causing my fear of TOT. I hated it. And I love rides. I've never been so scared on a ride.

 

[Ambear]

I agree with the others who said the other drop type rides are different. I HATE those types, but I love ToT! Tower of Terror has such great atmosphere and I loooove that movie so it's a favorite. I also love the drop feeling, I can strangely get it when my video game character jumps off something tall... weird. But I feel very safe and contained in ToT whereas like Maliboomer I feel completely completely unsafe.

The scariest drop type ride I've ever been on was demon drop. I had to psych myself up big time. It's not even that tall, but it looks like a death trap.

 

[nilla]

The scariest drop type ride I've ever been on was demon drop. I had to psych myself up big time. It's not even that tall, but it looks like a death trap.

They either moved Demon Drop to Dorney Park (owned by Cedar Fair) or built a new one there, and I refuse to ride it anymore because it's one of the most painful rides I've ever been on. Horrible!

One of the craziest rides I was ever on was Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. You want to talk about drops...how about looking straight down while falling almost 450 feet?

 

[mikehn]

To me, summit plummet is worse than tower. You are basically in free fall until the fiberglass slide cradles you a few seconds later.

 

[angierae]

They either moved Demon Drop to Dorney Park (owned by Cedar Fair) or built a new one there, and I refuse to ride it anymore because it's one of the most painful rides I've ever been on. Horrible!

One of the craziest rides I was ever on was Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. You want to talk about drops...how about looking straight down while falling almost 450 feet?

They moved it. I miss it so much. Demon Drop was so much fun. We went to Cedar Point on closing day that season so we could ride it one last time.

 

[nilla]

They moved it. I miss it so much. Demon Drop was so much fun. We went to Cedar Point on closing day that season so we could ride it one last time.

Well, you can come to Allentown, PA to ride it with my son, since I won't

 

[Turn the Page]

They either moved Demon Drop to Dorney Park (owned by Cedar Fair) or built a new one there, and I refuse to ride it anymore because it's one of the most painful rides I've ever been on. Horrible!

One of the craziest rides I was ever on was Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. You want to talk about drops...how about looking straight down while falling almost 450 feet?

Let's cleanse the palate a bit and look at a video for a ride universally loved by all.....

Ahhh.....that's better.

 

[2girlsmom]

DH laughs at me, bc sometimes on ToT I laugh and clap without realizing I'm doing it.

Are you and I siblings? I do the same thing! I love this ride, still haven't talked my 17 year old ride chicken into trying it, but my 15 year old and I do it every time. By the way, I also HATE Doom Tower, rode it once, won't do it again. The initial pop up/down sequence scared me half to death, then the rest of the ride was kinda boring. ToT, I think in part because of the random movement, doesn't ever get boring, and because of the floor under my feet doesn't freak me out.

 

[Chuckers]

To me, summit plummet is worse than tower. You are basically in free fall until the fiberglass slide cradles you a few seconds later.

I will not do those slides. I will ride almost anything, twice to make sure I don't like it, but those slides are way too scary for me. Plus, if you don't cross your legs just right.. it's high pressured water in places where you don't WANT high pressured water...