Tower of Terror reviews

Douglas Dubh

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 13, 1999
Messages
4,650
So, it's been open for a while, and I've yet to see reviews on what's it like. Did I miss them? Since I've been on WDW's a few times, I really interested in a comparison between the two. Can anyone help me out?
 
I rode it a couple of times last week, but not sure what you are looking for as a review. Basically you walk into a hotel lobby(waiting area) then are ushered back into another room where you watch a short video while standing(much like the Haunted Mansion). From there you walk through the what looks like a boiler room. You enter your elevator, 3 rows of 6 chairs. Watch some video while on the elevator and then, well should I go on?
 
*SPOILERS*




Overall, I liked them equally. I thought the outdoor queue was better at MGM, but the indoor queue was better at DCA.

There isn't a garden path like at MGM. There is a small queue next to the hotel under a vine-covered canopy.

The lobbies were about the same, with some small differences. The ceiling is different and the color scheme is a little lighter at DCA. There is also more queue inside of the lobby at DCA than MGM. The libraries were pretty much the same.

The boiler room was an improvement over the one in Florida. It has two floors and the lighting and sound effects are great.

Now the rides are very different. Once the ride starts, the elevator moves back into the shaft while starfield and lightning effects go off. You go up to the first stop, which is the Mirror scene. This replaced the 5th Demension room. You see yourself in the mirror and then it looks like you start to disappear. The mirror cracks and your elevator shakes violently. I thought this was a great replacement. Mostly because I thought the 5D room was a little on the tacky side.

Then you go up (or down depending on the shaft you are in) to the hallway scene. It starts out pretty much the same as in Florida. You see the ghosts and then the room turns into the a starfield, etc. But instead of a window at the end of the hallway, there is an elevator. You see the ghosts step into the elevator and the elevator disappears. Then you start your drop sequence. After the ride ends, you roll foward into the loading area.
 
Thanks, firefly, that's the sort of thing I'm looking for. Did you notice any difference in duration? I know one of the worries of a lot of people was the the DLR version would be shorter than the WDW version.
 

On the Disneyland websites I frequent the reviews seem mostly to be good. People who have never been on the one at Disney MGM mostly are quite impressed. A few are not. People who have been on both mostly seem to think they are equal though they are different. Loosing the 5th dimension room is compensated for with the extra scene in the shaft. Some people who have been on both are disappointed in the DCA version. The new version seems to be about 30 senconds shorter than the old version.
I have yet to ride. Will be there in July!
 
Originally posted by Douglas Dubh
Thanks, firefly, that's the sort of thing I'm looking for. Did you notice any difference in duration? I know one of the worries of a lot of people was the the DLR version would be shorter than the WDW version.
Yep, like daannzzz said, it is shorter. Mostly because the Mirror scene is shorter than moving through the 5D room.
 
I disagree with the shorter comment on the length of the ride. I rode twice today and rode the one at WDW last month. I like the one at MGM better as far as que and as far as the beginning elevator parts (before the drop). The first time we rode at DCA today, we went upstairs (which made the line even longer) and the drop portion felt erratic and not as good as my experiences at MGM. That being said, I knew that each drop could be different, so I was really curious to find out how the second trip would go. On the second go around, we qued downstairs (which was must faster even with the middle elevator not working). This time, the drop experience was tremendous, and it felt as though the drop time was much longer than those experienced at MGM. All in all, I feel the MGM experience is scarrier because you travel forward through the room and then it feels as you are getting pushed over and then dropped. At DCA, I liked the experience of falling, thinking I either hit bottom or was still falling, when in reality we were going back up. Very cool feeling!!! Any other questions just ask. And BTW, DCA was packed, no doubt because of ToT. I was really looking forward to this ride opening, now I wish it were at DL instead. I liked going to an empty DCA when I got tired of the crowds at DL...not anymore:( :( :(
 
I've riiden ToT at WDW too many times to count! I can't wait to ride DCA's this weekend!
 
A few questions:

First) does the DCA version have lap bars or seat belts?

Second) Is there a gift shop after the ride and if so how does it compare to MGM? I am decorating my bathroom and have towels, highball glasses, shot glasses, ashtrays and a bathrobe from WDW. Need to know if there are more cool things.
 
Seat belts, and yes, there is a gift shop with some pretty interesting stuff.
 
So is it a better ride from the lower level? And do you see outside at times - like the MGM version?
 
At TOT in DL do you see the same family we see at WDW - the family withthe daughter holding her Mickey doll? Just curious ...
 
Originally posted by Firefly777
Yep, you get to see outside.

...which includes a nice view of Disneyland, with the Main Street Train station most prominent. At least that's what stands out most in my mind. The Matterhorn is also visible, and ... whoosh ... down you go ... before you can take it all in.
 
I think CA's version is better than MGM. There are two elevators stuck together (a top & bottom) in CA's, making the que go faster as twice as many people can ride at a time. This is the reason for the upstairs inside at CA that you don't have at MGM.
 












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