The irony of being terrified by the Tower of Terror

[Marbel]

NEVER AGAIN. I've posted my experience before. I get motion sick but I wasn't motion sick on this ride. I watched the youtube videos, I read the reports, I knew what to expect, but none of it prepared me enough for it. It's not just the drops, it's the shooting up that's terrifying as well. Not enough to hold onto, a flimsy little belt and air time. So awful. So you will be screaming bloodcurdling screams like you're being murdered, and the other folks in your elevator will be smiling and taking selfies at the top (like in my ride photo). Never again.

Hope that helps! lol.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I did not read the replies but I will NEVER ... REPEAT ... NEVER ride this again. Now I am glad I did it once to prove that I am not a chicken baby, but you could not pay me to go again. I actually cried on this ride.

DH goes every time and happily takes my MB to ride it again

 

[mickeymom22]

All the seats have handles you can use, it's just the aisle seats that only have one handle.

But don't use any. All hands need to be in the air!

I must have been on the aisle seat. There was only one handle for my left hand...so during the first drop my right hand went to grab a handle...instead I found the stranger's leg beside me. I apologized after the ride, and he was kind and said no problem. It was a little embarassing, but I was so thrilled that I actually rode it, I did't get too embarassed!

Maybe the next time I ride it, I will be up for the "up in the air with your hands" challenge!

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

Tower of Terror...best ride ever. Enough said.

 

[agame2323]

I don't know if anyone has already mentioned this but you're actually being "pulled down" and not dropping / free falling. Not that it makes that big a difference during the actual moment it happens. But I have to admit, to me, it's a fun ride from beginning to end. The "drops" actually make me laugh as if someone is tickling me. I have no idea why either. But I think you should try it at least once. It does seem weird to only be held down by seat belts but I typically put both hands up and enjoy the ride.

 

[Accident]

Being heavier, I find moving up really fast and suddenly dropping again to be really uncomfortable. I like the ride but I need to be body aware of when it's the wrong time to ride..

 

[agame2323]

If it makes you feel better, here's a YouTube video of a cast member doing paperwork on the ride. No silly drops are going to make him mess up his checklist.

Wow! This guy is the real deal!!

 

[pangyal]

Well...this ride is polarizing, to say the least !

I really appreciate everyone's great input. I've never ridden RNR and likely never will. i am going to keep waffling until the moment happens where I have a chance to try ToT without wasting a FP (clearly setting myself up for failure here, right?) and then who knows...but everyone's feedback has been super helpful!

Does anyone know how many feet the drops actually are?

 

[sturner324]

If it makes you feel better, here's a YouTube video of a cast member doing paperwork on the ride. No silly drops are going to make him mess up his checklist.

Hahaha! I found this hilarious for some reason. Crack a smile dude. I wish that was my job.

 

[Sevey13]

Here's my honest advice...do the queue. Whether you like the ride or not, I think most people universally agree that Tower of Terror is one of the pinnacles of Imagineering at WDW. Intricate theming, immersive backstory, cast costuming and attitude, everything in this attraction just works perfectly together to really make you feel like you have been transported to another dimension, not only of sight and sound but of mind. There's an elevator 'chicken exit' you can take instead of getting in the main car (don't worry, it won't drop you ). Do yourself a favor and experience at least the queue. If you get to the front of the line and you're not feeling the 'drop' which I and a few others explained already really isn't a drop, then take the chicken exit and no one will think negatively of you. Even the theming of the shop at the end carries through beautifully, even beyond that and out into the gardens and paths that lead back to the main road.

 

[lroger01]

I avoided it for many trips due to a bad experience on a drop ride at a 6 flags park. I was determined to ride it on my last trip though. I watched the same YouTube video of the ride over and over before I left. When I got to the park I asked for the exact seat the video was shot from. It was amazing how familiar it felt seeing the same things from the same angle as in the video. It was just like I'd been there before.

I rode the drops that first time with my eyes screwed shut. I just wanted to get through it. I ended up kinda enjoying the ride. And I enjoyed it more and more each time I rode it. The motion is like being on a bungee cord, you drop fast then slow then reverse slow then fast then slow at the top then drop again. The best sensation was when you went up then right back down. I love that weightless feeling.

Give it a try. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long!

 

[maryj11]

I have rode the TOT a couple of times , and it scares me to almost death . The last time I rode it I got off saying I hate that ride, I hate that ride! I hate the feeling of falling! We haven't been on it since I said that back in 2010. But here we are again with FP for it this coming June. I really like everything about the ride except that first fall and feeling like I'm going to die . Seeing the queue is worth all the fear !

 

[ALA3Princesses]

All the seats have handles you can use, it's just the aisle seats that only have one handle.

But don't use any. All hands need to be in the air!

Interesting! I always ride the TOT and enjoyed it in the past, except last year I felt like I had nothing to hold on to and it wasn't very enjoyable. I convinced myself that maybe as I get a little older, I am becoming less tolerant to rides (I don't enjoy SM anymore). But maybe it's just because I was on the aisle, and on the other side my 7-year-old was holding on to me for dear life. LOL

 

[maryj11]

It took me about 5 years and 10 trips of trying TofT before I finally decided that I liked it (granted, I was about 8 or 9 when I changed my mind, but still). You gotta try, though, because you'll never be sure when you'll like it. As much as I hated it as a kid and as many times as it put me in tears, now I absolutely love it. We usually head to DHS first, and part of the reason is that I'm not settled until I've been on TofT and Star Tours, so I enjoy my trip more if I get those out of the way.

In TofT, after you get into the elevator, you go up, then up again, then you go forward. Then you'll hang there in the dark for a second, and you truly won't know whether you're going to go up or down first. After that, although the drop sequence is random, you'll get a sense of when you're going to drop.

I get motion sick, and TofT does not make me motion sick. Astro Orbiter is a huge no-no for me because of my motion sickness. If you start to feel disoriented, look up. You'll be able to see the ceiling as you move up and down.

I'm a bit of a daredevil, so I've been on rides that are much worse than TofT, so I'm a really bad judge of how intense the drops feel because for me, they're fun without being too intense, but my opinion isn't necessarily that of everyone's. It's one of those things that you must just try once. Especially since many, myself included, consider it to be one of the best rides in WDW. If you hate it, then don't do it again, but if you don't try it, you're really missing out.

I'm glad you said it took 10 trips before you decided you liked it. I'm trying it again this trip to try to get over the fear and also to see the queue lol. I don't mind the going up it is just the going down that scares me.

 

[Star Wars Girl]

I'm glad you said it took 10 trips before you decided you liked it. I'm trying it again this trip to try to get over the fear and also to see the queue lol. I don't mind the going up it is just the going down that scares me.

It's actually a little better since I first experienced it. Back then, they had lap bars instead of seat belts. For a small girl, that was pretty terrifying. I didn't like it when they still had the lap bar. I'm still pretty small.

You don't have to do the ride to see the queue. If you go through and then change your mind, there's an "Express Elevator" that will take you to the exit. Just ask a CM.

My parents had a once-per-trip rule. You had to ride everything once. If you didn't like it, you didn't have to ride it again. I think it's a good policy.

 

[MHDTS]

Love that video in #57. How cool!!!

 

[Accident]

I"ve been on the ride when it's being reset (which the video appears to be). you do top to bottom drops 10 times in a row while it calibrates itself. it's not as intense as the normal ride but it's still pretty quick with a delay when it reaches the end so they can inspect and calculate it's in the right spot.

 

[ldymcbth]

I am very prone to motion sickness and ToT does not bother me even a little. It might if I rode it back to back to back or something but chances of that are slim!

 

[Lee Matthews]

I don't know becuase it's a drop ride in the dark or not but i'm far more scared on ToT than say The hulk or Rip Ride Rocket

 

[KaSe]

Everest made me convinced my life was ending right then and there when I tried it for the first time last trip because of the overall speed and intensity, so I'm wondering whether anyone can provide a comparison between the two in terms of the intensity?

Yes!!! This is 100% me as well. I was convinced I actually died while on Everest. The speeds, the intensity and I HATE big drops. So, ToT? No way. Not a chance. Not even if I had to save a litter of puppies at the end. Huh-uh!! So, of course, it's my DD1's favorite ride. I did decide to go through the line the last time we were there because I really wanted to see the theming, but then I took the chicken exit when my daughters boarded. Of course the chicken exit -- yeah, the CM leads me to another elevator & tells me to take it down to the gift shop. I was like, "Is this a joke? Am I supposed to believe this one is a real elevator?"