Tower of Terror Drop-Sound Effects?

[Shanti]

I’m so scared of this ride and have refused to ride it since day 1. Id like to do it this year and make up the courage but nope probably not

I do all the other rides in Disney world. Go figure.

The way I handle it (I dislike drops), is to close my eyes and remember that the elevator isn't really dropping at all. It's being pulled down by hydraulics and is constantly being supported by a massive beam. Thinking about and visualizing that is what keeps me cool on TOT.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

The way I handle it (I dislike drops), is to close my eyes and remember that the elevator isn't really dropping at all. It's being pulled down by hydraulics and is constantly being supported by a massive beam. Thinking about and visualizing that is what keeps me cool on TOT.

What’s the difference between a freefsll ride and a ride where being pulled down? Different sensation? Serious question lol

 

[bryanb]

If it helps, the car isn't actually dropping in a freefall. You are being pulled downward by a cable.

Yes, and it's said that it is pulling you down faster than freefall. Meaning, for a brief moment, if you have a loose item on your lap, it will levitate slightly as you drop faster than the gravity and air resistance on the object. (People talk about testing this with a quarter, which is not a good idea. But holding up the end of a necklace or lanyard is one way to see.)

 

[Bostonbeans99]

I’m so scared of this ride and have refused to ride it since day 1. Id like to do it this year and make up the courage but nope probably not

I do all the other rides in Disney world. Go figure.

There are small handles you can hold on to by your seat...some people don't even notice them.
I'm still trying to figure out how a REAL elevator freaks my daughter out but not this ride

 

[Bostonbeans99]

Yes, and it's said that it is pulling you down faster than freefall. Meaning, for a brief moment, if you have a loose item on your lap, it will levitate slightly as you drop faster than the gravity and air resistance on the object. (People talk about testing this with a quarter, which is not a good idea. But holding up the end of a necklace or lanyard is one way to see.)

I rode it in 97....and loved it. Now I feel too old for it lol
I have seen videos where people wear sunglasses, hats etc and no one ever seems to lose anything.
My favorite part of the ride was shooting straight to the top where the opening to the park and the sunlight is

 

[bryanb]

What’s the difference between a freefsll ride and a ride where being pulled down? Different sensation? Serious question lol

Because of the faster acceleration possible with being pulled, they can create a moment of immediate weightlessness. But it's also a very controlled movement, so that weightlessness is very smoothly transitioned into deceleration. That also allows the system to do more creative and random things with how you stop and how you get pulled up again. An example of a true free-fall ride is where they'd literally let the vehicle just drop down the chute until it reaches a brake run which "catches" you and brings the you to a stop. Although that can be perfectly safe, some people like to know that Disney's version is always practicing a controlled, precise movement.

 

[bryanb]

I rode it in 97....and loved it. Now I feel too old for it lol
I have seen videos where people wear sunglasses, hats etc and no one ever seems to lose anything.
My favorite part of the ride was shooting straight to the top where the opening to the park and the sunlight is

I love it too! That reveal is so perfectly created.

Check out this video of a maintenance cast member riding it while completing a checklist. His hat goes flying off with the second small drop, and you can see his paperwork getting pulled up too, along with various debris in the vehicle.

But the funniest thing about this video (aside from the fact that some people claim to see a ghost) is the fact that this dude is just doing his job while the ride is running, as if nothing special was happening. Just another day's paperwork. If this guy can do it, that should make a lot of scared guests feel better right?

Edit: @jsmla This video should help answer what kind of music/sound effects are played during the drop portion of the ride. Mostly dramatic base noises and the occasionally metallic clang or squeal. Along with some occasional instrumental punctuation.

 

[FredQc]

Rode ToT during EMH this morning and the drop sequence was eerily quiet. Do they usually pipe in sounds during the drop? I’d never noticed it before.

You might be correct about the missing sound effects during the drop. I rode ToT twice on Friday, May 11, and four times on Tuesday, May 15. The first time, we took one of the elevators which travel to the "left side" drop (left when you face the hotel or the elevator doors in the "basement" room). It was quiet. For all subsequent rides, we decided to go on the right side drop, in order to have the full experience. The sound effects definitely worked on that side and they made a huge difference!

 

[ww52]

The video is interesting to say the least.

For those who never rode - understand you are NOT dropping all of the 2+ minutes (the length of the video). Most of it is the "tour" of the hotel that you go on - before the car moves from the initial elevator shaft to the drop one. Once you keep that in mind, it's obvious where he drop sequence starts. (He reacts strongly even though he's probably done it dozens of times).

Also - I wonder if the camera was being controlled remotely? A couple of "zoom-ins" seems to indicate that it was.

Finally - yes, there is definitely a ghost. Wearing a blue dress (or is it gold?) Her name is Laurel (or is it Yanny?)

 

[YawningDodo]

The video is interesting to say the least.

For those who never rode - understand you are NOT dropping all of the 2+ minutes (the length of the video). Most of it is the "tour" of the hotel that you go on - before the car moves from the initial elevator shaft to the drop one. Once you keep that in mind, it's obvious where he drop sequence starts. (He reacts strongly even though he's probably done it dozens of times).

Also - I wonder if the camera was being controlled remotely? A couple of "zoom-ins" seems to indicate that it was.

Finally - yes, there is definitely a ghost. Wearing a blue dress (or is it gold?) Her name is Laurel (or is it Yanny?)

It looks to me like a security feed that was re-recorded for the internet by pointing a handheld camera at a TV screen, which would also explain the reflected light that shows up over the feed a couple times.

I do love "vertical rides" such as Dr. Doom and ToT. My favorite though is Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa. You ride to the top in your "sitting in a secured chair position. Then they aim you facing down directly at the ground and "drop" you. As you approach the ground you quickly resume the seated position. It is meant to simulate a "birds eye view" as you swoop in on your prey.

Dr. Doom and ToT are the only "drop" rides I like, and neither one is a true drop ride--not in the sense of the drop towers you see at a lot of Six Flags parks. I always think I'll enjoy those drop towers, but then I get to the top and there's that pause and I just feel dread and wonder why I thought it would be a good idea to get on the ride, because I really don't enjoy it. Dr. Doom is mostly about the launch and the following drops/bounces feel pretty tame afterward. ToT gives you tons of weightlessness because it's faster than freefall, but it only scares me in a fun way, not a really visceral way like the open-air drop towers. I think it's the combination of not being able to see what's happening (you have no visual context for how high off the ground you are except when the doors open for a few seconds at the top) and the ride being a series of rises and falls instead of one big drop.

So that's a long-winded way of saying that as someone who's afraid of most drop towers, I'm not afraid of ToT.

 

[PamNC]

I have no idea - too terrified to listen. But I ride it anyway and love it. LOL

 

[DisneyFive]

You must have had a quiet car load. Typically there are so many screaming that it's hard to hear the mechanism anyway. lol

Dan

 

[Robo]

What’s the difference between a freefsll ride and a ride where being pulled down? Different sensation? Serious question lol

The physics of gravity mean that objects of any size or weight will fall at exactly the same speed (rate.)
So, if the elevator was simply "dropped" in free-fall, you would stay in your seat (dropping at the exact speed of the elevator.)

But, since the elevator is actually PULLED DOWN at a rate faster than free-fall, you (not being
directly connected to the elevator) tend to "float out" of your seat (being stopped from floating too far by your seatbelt.)

 

[xoSonya]

I've never thought I've heard any sound effects. Only the screams of others around and the noise of the elevator dropping and being pulled back up

Oh, you must've been on the ride with me. My apologies