Tower of Literal Terror

I hate the drop/pull sequence but love everything else about the ride so I ride it anyway
 
I did ToT for the first time last trip. My family refused to go on it with me, so I was by myself. The details put into this ride made me happy I rode it once. The sheer terror I felt at the first drop made me think I will never ride it again. I was so scared I grabbed onto the stranger beside me for about a half second before I came to my senses and felt terribly embarrassed. The embarrassment took over and outweighed the fear for the rest of the ride. Not necessarily a good thing. When I got off the ride I said I felt no urge to ever get back on it. Now I'm leaning towards maybe again, but I will make sure I'm gripping something other than a stranger very tightly as soon as I board the ride. In fact, I wish I could tie my hands to the arm rests so I could make sure not to have a repeat. If only my family would ride with me. @TowerOfTurkey , at least you will have your girlfriend with you so you can grab onto her if you end up terrified, too.
 
jjjones325 said:
All you first time riders make it sound simple. Just do it. Face your fear, etc. I like to think I could do that, but I need some bucking up. My biggest fear is stuff that keeps you off the ground. I can't comfortably ride a ski lift or a gondola where you are up in the air for several minutes. I hate the feeling of falling, but I made a bet with my DS11 that he'll ride RnRc for the first time (he's scared of going upside down) with my DW, and I would ride Splash Mountain (which I've never ridden on my previous 7 trips). I keep telling myself that the drop will be over in a couple of seconds, but I'm hoping for a short wait so I don't have to think about it too long.

So, assuming I don't die on SM, how would that drop compare to ToT? I have ZERO CLUE why I'm even entertaining ToT, but I guess reading all these responses has made me crazy.
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Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror are very different. SM's drop is one small part of a long ride that lasts a couple of seconds, and is like a very steep slide. 80% of Tower of Terror is going straight up & down in a powered vehicle. I think you should try them both!
 
MusicalAstronaut said:
Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror are very different. SM's drop is one small part of a long ride that lasts a couple of seconds, and is like a very steep slide. 80% of Tower of Terror is going straight up & down in a powered vehicle. I think you should try them both!
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You just advocated hoping you get the longest drop possible. Not sure I value your opinion.:earboy2:
 


I was probably 40 before I finally went on this ride because I was terrified. And I almost cried waiting in line. When it was over, my husband had to help me stand up because my legs were shaking so bad. Fast forward 8 years, I ride it repeatedly every trip with my arms in the air. It took several rides to get over it, but now I love it.
 
I won't do rides with free fall drops. TOT has small drops. It will pull you up and them pull you down in small increments. The outside is way more intimidating as the actual ride. You will like it!
 
For whatever it's worth - I have two friends scared of heights. One is a WDW vet and loves ToT, because you can't see the height (except for a moment.) She had to start in the back row and has since worked her way forward.

The other was a newbie this past trip - she HATES falling (7DMT freaked her out) but felt ToT was "quintessential Disney" and wanted to ride despite being terrified of it. We finished our first ride and I expected her to tell us, "I regret knowing all of you!" but instead it was "That was awesome!" Not sure why, but we rode it multiple times and she absolutely loved it.

Wall seats have a "better" handle - start there and see how it goes. Good luck (and please check back in!)
 


Wow...
when I submitted this thread, I was expecting maybe one or two responses. It speaks volumes of the Disney community that nearly 50 of you wrote something to destroy my anxiety of this ride. I have read each and every post, and I am committed to the ride. You all made my day. I am sure this will help others. It especially helps knowing the sequence of the ride, so that I know what will happen.

The mental block is what gets me, so I will just have to read a few of your posts before I get on the ride. Thank you all so much! You should all quit your day jobs (unless you work at Disney) become therapists. :)

Thank you!!
 
The Foolish Mortal said:
To be honest with the OP, you're going to hate it, until its over, and then I think you will love it. I say that because it sounds like it is the anticipation of the ride and big drop that makes you nervous. And there is a lot of build up on this ride. The pre-ride show, the winding line in the faux-boiler room, and then the story at the beginning of the ride as you slowly move toward the drop. There is a long build up and plenty of time to be nervous. But I say gut it out. Its one of my two favorite rides at WDW. The drop (there is always a big one) is very smooth and over quickly. And the ride up is not bad. Other free fall rides can leave me a bit starry-eyed if they jostle around too quickly. never experienced that on ToT. I think when its over, and your adrennaline is pumping, you will be happy you did it
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This is exactly how I am. I was terrified of the Hulk (at Uni), I did it, and was happy and relieved afterwards. Do not know if I will do that again, though!
 
TOT is a contender for best attraction on property. Have you ever seen episodes of The Twilight Zone? You should check a few out, they are classics and you'll appreciate TOT more if you're familiar with it. I don't know what else to say, it's really, really fun. :)
 
Micca said:
TOT is a contender for best attraction on property. Have you ever seen episodes of The Twilight Zone? You should check a few out, they are classics and you'll appreciate TOT more if you're familiar with it. I don't know what else to say, it's really, really fun. :)
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You are braver and more adventurous than I am, Micca, but, yes, being familiar with the Twilight Zone does allow one to fully appreciate the theme. I LOVED that aspect. Maybe I will give the ride another try in January. Want to have a DisMeet and join me on the ride so I can grab onto your arm? At least you're not a total stranger. :D
 
I do NOT ride free fall rides. I LOVE TOT. The theming is incredible--just like Disney's always is. I do hold onto the handles on each side of the seat, but honestly Soarin scares me more. I'm always afraid I'm going to fall out of Soarin. There is no way to fall out of TOT. Roller coasters and water rides don't bother me either, because I know I'm not going to fall out.
 
Tower of Terror is actually the first ride I ever did at WDW. And afterward, I had a bit of a panic attack, but I recovered from it fairly quickly. I guess it wasn't what I was expecting?

BUT it is my husband's favorite ride. And we really don't enjoy splitting up for rides; that's just not as fun. So over several years, I've learned to actually like it! It didn't happen immediately, but it took some work. So here are my tips:

1. Do it early. As soon as you get to the park, go do it. Don't give yourself time to get nervous, just go do it.
2. Sit by the wall. This made all the difference to me. I'm not a fan of the rising stomach sensation, but if you sit by the wall, you can sort of wedge yourself into it. The handle is at a higher level, and it's easier to press into. (To sit by the wall, you will want to line up at the front of the row.)
3. Know that you'll be ok.

I'm not going to lie to you. It took a few times for me to start to enjoy it. But each time that it was ok made things easier. Just give it a try. I know you can do it!
 
OK OK- I rode this in my teens and most recently this last February for the first time with my family. It's a thrill ride, as far as fear factor, that is all very subjective and really depends on your comfort level. I think if you can get past the fear, you will love it and be glad you did it. My 10 year old was in tears stepping on the elevator, (meanwhile my 8 year old was fine). We all screamed, held on tight and at the end, we loved it. She was glad she did and can't wait to ride it again.
 
Twilight Sparkle said:
You are braver and more adventurous than I am, Micca, but, yes, being familiar with the Twilight Zone does allow one to fully appreciate the theme. I LOVED that aspect. Maybe I will give the ride another try in January. Want to have a DisMeet and join me on the ride so I can grab onto your arm? At least you're not a total stranger. :D
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Sure, let's do it! The theming on this attraction is just incredible, heck even the queue is cool as you wind through the grounds of the hotel. There is so much going on in that lobby I never get tired of it, and the library with the video ties everything together so well. Really the elevator portion of TOT is only a fraction of what the entire experience is about.

Another idea is to check out the Disney "Tower Of Terror" movie. There are scenes in the movie that were filmed at the attraction. It might be on a streaming service, I just ordered a copy last week from Amazon. It's not much of a movie, but I love TOT so much I just like watching it for the attraction shots. BTW, it's not at all scary like a horror flick, it originally aired as a Wonderful World Of Disney made-for-tv movie.

I didn't get to read all the posts, but did anyone point out that the elevator is never in free fall: It actually is being pulled down mechanically, there are no hard or abrupt landings.
 
Micca said:
Sure, let's do it! The theming on this attraction is just incredible, heck even the queue is cool as you wind through the grounds of the hotel. There is so much going on in that lobby I never get tired of it, and the library with the video ties everything together so well. Really the elevator portion of TOT is only a fraction of what the entire experience is about.

Another idea is to check out the Disney "Tower Of Terror" movie. There are scenes in the movie that were filmed at the attraction. It might be on a streaming service, I just ordered a copy last week from Amazon. It's not much of a movie, but I love TOT so much I just like watching it for the attraction shots. BTW, it's not at all scary like a horror flick, it originally aired as a Wonderful World Of Disney made-for-tv movie.

I didn't get to read all the posts, but did anyone point out that the elevator is never in free fall: It actually is being pulled down mechanically, there are no hard or abrupt landings.
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Thanks for the movie suggestion. I had never heard of it. I'll have to look into it. The queue IS one of the best of all the rides. Yes, others have mentioned that the ride pulls down rather than free falls. I didn't know that until this thread.
 
Don't over think it. Try to pack it away and worry about it in the moment. My son went on ToT for the first time when he was 3 (he is very tall for his age). He had no idea what the ride was but LOVED it. When on 4 times that first trip. When we went back a couple of years later and he was more "aware" and thought about it he refused to go on - said it was too scary. He's 10 now and we were back last summer. I had planned to do something else with him while his dad and sisters rode but out of the blue he said "I'm riding it." He hadn't thought about it - just decided in the moment to go do it and he loved it. If you are going to do it - go with a fast pass so you aren't waiting and thinking. Don't dwell. It really is not too terrible. It's the build up that makes it horrible.
 
I'm not a fan of rides that drop like ToT, but when we did Ultimate Day of Thrills, a CM suggested I sit middle row and on one of the ends. There is a handle against the wall which I grab tightly. I tried it and as long as I am in one of those 2 seats I actually enjoy the ride.
 
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