What the hell is going on with Tower of Terror...

It was an 85 minute wait at 9:30am on our trip earlier this month. It was a very busy day at DHS though. First trip to WDW I’ve taken since 1993 when I didn’t get to ride TOT.
 
This started early around 10/17 I think (the week we were there). They had one side down. There were 4 CM's standing before you could get to the ToT area directing people that only FP was open and even that had a long wait. This is not a cost cutting measure cause the visibly frustrated CM said this had started that morning and this was done for a safety issue. I doubt they liked standing in that full sun repeating the same message over and over again. I can't believe this is still not fixed.
As much as I hate the bean counter mentality Disney seems to have lately, even they are not stupid to have 45 min+ FP lines and frustrated people calling in to complain. ToT is one of the 3 main rides and Oct is no longer a slow month.
 

Are there 6 elevators as mentioned in the OP?
I've read it on the German version of Wikipedia that there are 2 shafts each with 3 elevators, however the English version stated 8 elevators in whole...

They have to fix it soon, they could not operate it in this way for several months. So in my opinion better shut down it completely, if they could not fix it while operating the other side. A FP-wait from 45mins and no standby-line is more frustrating than a completely close-down..
 
That is some crazy wait times for ToT! We were there just last month and didn't even need a FP to ride. My kids kept dragging me on it over and over. Funny how much crowds change in just a month. That's us front row on right of pic. Notice the elevator car is half empty. My wife said once was enough for her so I had to take them back on many times. Not that I was complaining. STUDIO_TOWEROFTERRORBRIDE_20170909_8095975237 (2)1.jpg

Looking back the line was non existent behind us.

IMG_1525small.jpg
 
I really hope this isn't the case on my upcoming trip, it and Splash Mountain are my favorites, and Splash is obviously not an option.

They are my two favorite rides as well. Thankfully, I'll be there during the brief window that Splash Mountain is open again. I already have a FP+ for ToT, and I'd be willing to wait the 40 minutes if it came to that since it's one of my favorites, but I really hope this isn't still an issue in a month and a half.
 
on 10/22 only 2 elevators were running and it was only open to FP holders. However, it showed as a 120 min wait the whole day on the MDE app, rather than showing the star that you see when a ride is closed. It was misleading.
 
on 10/22 only 2 elevators were running and it was only open to FP holders. However, it showed as a 120 min wait the whole day on the MDE app, rather than showing the star that you see when a ride is closed. It was misleading.
I can see them not wanting to show it closed either since FP people might not show up thinking they couldn't get on.
 
We'll be at DHS on Saturday morning at rope drop planning on riding ToT after RnRoller Coaster, so hope there's no issues.
 
Already up to 105 minutes at 10:15 this morning. May have to alter our RD strategy and ride ToT first.
 
Already up to 105 minutes at 10:15 this morning. May have to alter our RD strategy and ride ToT first.
If it's having the same issue then I would definitely ride ToT first. My DH and DS were at DHS for an 8am ADR last Monday. They rode ToT twice in a row at RD with no wait. The rest of us walked into the park around 9:10 and went straight to RnR. When we came out around 9:30-9:40, ToT was almost an hour wait already. Thankfully we had FP for later in the day.
 
I couldn't believe the wait time when I rode this. The wait was so long, in fact, that the beautiful "lobby" part of the queue was covered in dust and cobwebs by the time I went through. Shameful.

Seriously though - when the scariest part of the ride is the line, that's not a good sign. Maybe DHS should make lemonade out of lemons by hyping how wait times build anticipation (I expect many first time riders try for a FP to get it over with rather than suffer a long wait) or the irony that a ride based on a broken, plunging elevator might have safety issues. (and - to add to the chorus here - yes, it was shut down during part of my September trip and I had a nonmoving standby line for about 80 minutes).
 
It's almost noon, and ToT is posting 125min wait, while Toy Story posts 45, Star Tours posts 30, and RnRC posts 40. Not good.
 
Worse yet, it appears that RnRC might be posting low to pull crowds from ToT. It's posting 40 with an expected 76.
 
Worse yet, it appears that RnRC might be posting low to pull crowds from ToT. It's posting 40 with an expected 76.
And part of the morning it was again completely down... And drawing the crowds to RnRC instead of ToT with to low posted waiting times is of course no solution. It is getting worser every day. They have to close it completely to fix it. It's no solution to operate only with one side, that have even enough problems for itself, so that FP-line is as long as normally the standby-line, which they have to close temporary.
Any chance, that Disney will learn it theirselves during the next weeks?
 
Wow, ToT is one of my favorite rides but I rarely ride it without a FP. Went on Sunday 10/15 for EE, wait time was 10 min at 8:30 AM, rode it then and with a FP a little later. Also went Thursday 10/19 in the evening, posted wait time was 40-45 min, I had gotten a FP that day after I used the first of my 2 Epcot FP, so rode with a FP. they had 4 elevators running both those times.
 


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