Tower of Terror: How bad??

[BLTLDZ]

I always have ride anxiety for some unknown reason, but I go on anyway....I always get nervous leading up to Splash mountain, and BTMRR, then end up loving them , yet the next time, the anxiety comes back with the anticipation...SM, I have not tried, since it is all in the dark, I get nervous about it. I love test track, but TOT??? I look at and shudder, then I am always reading about people that love it...SO tell me 30 somethings and older....do you love, have you ridden, would you go again?? Thanks for yuor input!!

 

[mousejunkie98]

I'm 30-something and I also get ride anxiety, so I qualify I was terrified, absolutely terrified, the first time I rode ToT!! In fact it took 3 visits before I would get on it!! But I finally did it, and for me it was exhilarating the first few times. Now, I can't remember why I was scared, because by the 4th time in a row that they drop you I'm feeling like "Oh, are we going to drop AGAIN? Yawn."

It's really not that bad.

 

[BLTLDZ]

Thanks for the reply!
LAst may, on my b-day, the wait was 70 minutes....I walked up to the CM outside the ride, I asked him how bad it was etc, he saw it was my bday, and gave DH & two fastpasses for right then and there He saw my face, laughed, and explained about the chicken exit...We walked through, and of course, I chickened out!! In retrospect, that was my golde ticket...I should have gone on! Oh well, now you have me itching to try it...

 

[Kevin_W]

ToT is perhaps my favorite ride in the World. By comparison, I have ridden Power Tower at Cedar Point many times, and it is quite scary by comparison even though they are similar heights (240' for PT, ~190' for Tot). For me, the falling part is quite fun, it's the going up and hanging ther epart that is scary and on ToT you are inside during those parts. Plus, on ToT you are in a big "elevator car" on a bench instead of on a bike seat!

 

[walkdmc]

First, I'm a scaredy cat on the big rides. I go on them but get pretty nervous until the first big drop is out of the way. I've done every ride at WDW. I expected ToT to be bad but the part where you're yanked down is so short, you barely have time to feel butterflies in your stomach. It's really not as bad as it looks, at all. And, it's a fun ride, if you get a good setting not to mention the fantastic queue. I rode it about 4x but only once got the "big eye" scene which was the best, IMO.

 

[YodaGirl]

You'll get different responses from different people.

For me, ToT is one of the "have-to" rides. I did it once, and after I got off, I said never again (that was 1997). When I took DH the first time (2004), I rode with him. I then remembered why I said never again.

Of course, I am scared of heights...well, I'm scared of falling from a high place. Could be the reason I'm not a fan of ToT.

 

[Robo]

Well, they didn't name it, "Tower of TIMID."

 

[nytimez]

I'm rapidly running out of time on my 30-something license, but I love the ride -- I think it's the best in all of WDW (with no. 2 being the Rock-n-Roller Coaster right next door). Very well-themed, and the drop is exhilarating and exciting, but I don't find it frightening.

 

[sophie832]

I normally hate freefall rides, but once I got over my fear of ToT, I rode the one at DLR and loved it! Rode the one at WDW and found it was far superior to the one at DLR. Either way, ToT isn't really as scary as it tries to be. The drops are no big deal. In fact, I'd say the atmosphere and pre-show stuff are scarier than the ride.

 

[ambertides]

You can't know until you try! DH was truly terrified and says he will never ever ride it again. I loved it and thought it felt like being on a trampoline! The only part I didn't like was the very end because it was pitch black for a few seconds.

Give it a shot. If you're scared of the dark, try it during the day. It's not too bad on darkness levels for the drops during the day (to me, and I am very afraid of the dark). To push through the anxiety I just remind myself that a) whatever transportation I used to get there that day was many times less safe than the ride, and b) I can probably withstand just about anything for the length of time a ride takes (3:10 in the case of ToT, and there's plenty of that time used up before and after the drops).

 

[blessedby3]

I'm a 44 yr old mom and TOT always had me so worried that I wouldnt ride it. I ride all kinds of rides--rollercoasters, etc.--but I was scared to death of that straight up and down dropping. My dd finally convinced me to ride it about 5 years ago and I could have kicked myself. It was great and I had been missing out for so many years It is one of my absolute favorite rides now My dh, on the other hand, cant stand it--but he hates rides in the dark, extreme rollercoasters, anything that spins, etc.--so that is to be expected for him

 

[BLTLDZ]

LOL Robo.


So, how dark is it, and are you in the dark often?? This is a large part of my anxiety

 

[TiggeRx]

Well, let's be honest here. If you suffer from ride anxiety, rest assured, this attraction will probably give you the heebie jeebies!
From the dark theme, to the eerie mood of the cast members, to the down right scary boiler room, to the awesome 3-D effects that mesmorize your senses... ALL BEFORE THE INEVITABLE DROP!

But I'll let you in on a little secret:
It's not that bad. It's actually quite smooth. You'll be screaming from the surprise of the drop(s), and you'll be laughing at conquering your fear, all at the same time.
It is, in my opinion, THE best ride at all of Disney.

As the Nike ads used to state, "Just Do It!"
I promise, you won't regret it.

 

[CanadianPaco]

DD has always wanted to try it and on our August trip, she was tall enough and ready. So we all went on it. She was so terrified she wrenched her neck. That pulled muscle ruined the rest of the morning for her. She was trooper but was truly injured from fear !!

Me, I hate drops. I really hate drop rides. And after ToT, I really hated that ride. As a PP said, everyone is different.
GL.

 

[latoyamo49]

I am part of the thirty-something club and I love it. I will admit the wait is the scariest part to me. But once they open the door before the first drop I am fine. My seven year old thinks this is the best ride ever. She has been riding it since she was five years old.

 

[Abbie]

I always have ride anxiety for some unknown reason, but I go on anyway....I always get nervous leading up to Splash mountain, and BTMRR, then end up loving them , yet the next time, the anxiety comes back with the anticipation...SM, I have not tried, since it is all in the dark, I get nervous about it. I love test track, but TOT??? I look at and shudder, then I am always reading about people that love it...SO tell me 30 somethings and older....do you love, have you ridden, would you go again?? Thanks for yuor input!!

I'm 51. Three trips in a row, spread out over 10 years I guess, I have tried to force the courage to ride this. Despite all the encouragement I got, I would stand outside and watch and just could NOT do it! I love BTMR, enjoy Splash (but it took me awhile to do that too!), never have tried Space. As much as I like Splash, I just hate that final drop. It is so hard on my insides but at least it's over quickly! I thought TOT was just like that, only over and over again.

Last trip was in November...and somehow I finally agreed to my kids' pleading and did TOT! I'm here to tell you it is nothing like the Splash drop! It felt to me more like when I was a kid and loved to swing on my swingset up real high. I loved the ride but I was even more proud of myself for conquering it once and for all! I hate when I'm being a weenie.

Next time I go, I'm looking forward to doing it again, only this time I will not be too nervous to notice all the detail leading up to the actual ride!

 

[SuperRob]

I won't go on pure "drop" rides other places, because I'm not convinced they're safe. I have no problem going on the one at Disney. First, Tower of Terror is (IMHO) one of the best themed rides at Disney. If you've watched The Twilight Zone, you'll recognize all sorts of little touches.

The absolutely worst part of the ride is the anticipation. The drop(s) aren't all that bad at all, and once you've been on it, you're over the fear of the unknown.

I was TERRIFIED of it my first trip, and now it's my second favorite ride at Disney, right behind the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.

 

[Robo]

LOL Robo.


1- So, how dark is it, and

2- are you in the dark often??

3- This is a large part of my anxiety

1- At times, pitch black.

2- Several times. It can vary each time that you ride.

However, the darkness does not last long at all.
Each time, it may be only 5 seconds or less.

3- Just know that it won't stay dark very long.

 

[mousejunkie98]

Just wanted to add - the reason I finally rode it was being showed up by my 3-year-old neighbor, who says it's her favorite ride and told me "It's not that scary, Miss Heather!!" Of course, my own son who was 3 at the time wouldn't go near it

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I can relate. When on TOT first time in 2009. The ride was really intense! Talked with some of the other riders who said our elevator had the most intense drops of 3 or more times they went on TOT earlier in the day. Well...just my luck.

In 2010, went on TOT again. This did not feel as intense, maybe because it wasn't my first time. Seemed to be over faster. I still held on for my life and closed my eyes most of the time... but.. it was still fun!

I'd do it again. Will I have anxiety? You bet! But I'll still go. A t-shirt from the gift shop (not cheap!) was a nice reward for myself after surviving TOT each time.

Now Soarin' -- that one gets me. I do have some fear of heights (bridges mostly) and Soarin' makes me nervous every time it dips forward. It wouldn't bother me so much but makes me nervous for DS who sits next to me (he is fine!). DS rode Soarin at age 3 and 4.

Test Track is just fun to me. Like riding in a convertible car on the highway. BTMM no big deal.

Here's a photo of my 2009 t-shirt. I got a new one this last trip that has Mickey on Tower of Terror, and on the back it says... "I suggest you take the stairs!" Funny........