Tower Of Terror

Thats the big spooky looking structure that you can see from miles away if you have not been before. Based on a twilight zone theme of a haunted hotels in the thirties, the inside its really classily themed and very atmospheric. Not a long ride, but you get a fab view of the park and what a rush when that lift drops ( twice now!!).Stomach gets left at the top.Must be what it is like free fall parachuting ( only safer!) The debate still rages about whether the left ot the right side is best.The scariest place to sit is definately the middle seat in the back row where you just have a lap strap and there is no seat in front of you tohang on to, Daughter fair shot out of her seat in that. Again,Mum, again!!!!! Now fast passed and get one if you can to avoid the queue. Or go on whilst Fantasmic is on ( but only if you have already seen it as this is brilliant too)

Julie Carty

Edited by - esprit on 20/09/2002 23:12:00

My partner and I took my (then) 9 year old son on Terror Towers. This was the first "scary ride" that he had been on. I thought he was going to cry but was so brave that we bought him a Mickey Mouse "I survived..." and "I suggest you take the stairs" on the back t-shirt. He didn't want to go again but we are going back to Orlando next year and he is definitely wanting to go again. His favourite was Aerosmith.

Jo

My 6 year old and 4 year old both love this ride. 4 year old only just makes the height and if I don't hold onto her she leaves the seat (and I'm not sure when she would be reunited with it again!). I love this one too and also recommend the fastpass!

Ruth

This was our very first ride ever in in our very first park - our son had just had his 8th birthday - and thought that this ride really was the "business"

Caroline

Sorry to disagree here, but did somebody say this lift dropped twice? Uh-uh, this is a 3 or even 4 drop ride (I stopped counting after 3!), you start to sympathise with the feelings that yo-yo's must have! And the elevator doors open each time, just to confirm that you really are that high up! It's a great feeling though, especially when it's over.

Sandra

Sandra - remember your training course - However i can understand that it gets tricky to count the drops as I was so disoriented I started to feel like I wasn't sure if we were up or down - soon realised when they opened the doors <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Caroline

Sorry Caroline, I'll remain focused. I just got so excited because it was a ride I'd actually been on, until I saw that Ruth's two children had been on it and they're aged 4 and 6!!! I've got a lot to do here, haven't I !

Sandra

That's OK Sandra - we'll have you extolling the praises of all the "biggies" soon - and your family won't recognise you <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Caroline

They actually added drops...it used to drop only twice.

The plot thickens - do you think they make the ride shorter when the parks are busier and the wait time longer?

Caroline

I read somewhere they are going to replace the bars with lapbelts. That wll make in more frigthening. There is one seat which is like that already which is the middle of the back row. My daughter always goes in that seat if can as she loves the weightless feeling when your butt leaves the seat.

Julie Carty

We wouldn't put our 4 year old on it, we thought it was a bit too much for her. we are waiting until she is few years older maybe 6.

Jamie-&gt; and Lesley

Yes Julie, I posted about lap belts on another forum, it is for this reason they are supposed to be changing them to add a bit more terror! Can't comment as I won't go on it and I don't think I'd even manage to get my 5yr old in the queue! let alone on the ride. She thinks that they are real people in the model as you drive down to the park and that terrifies.

I would think that lap belts would be better for smaller kids, as the bar comes down and stops at the largest legs - which is why the kids always fly out of their seats :)

Caroline

Make sure everything is safely locked away on this ride-either with a cowardly friend or in a bag.A friend of ours lost expensive sunglasses because he wouldn't take them out of his pocket.!

I'll volunteer to be that cowardly friend-I'm just hoping my kids don't force me onto anything I don't want to go on!

Orlandobabe

I think the lap belts would be good. When our boys are sat between me and DH they actually leave their seats during the drop and rise up until they hit the lap bar. Not that either of them minds too much - both horribly fearless. Nervous people often chat to them in the queue - its the kind of 'if that little kid can do it so can I' feeling - but they don't really put them at ease at all with their exaggerated tales.

Angela

I took my son on the ride for the first time when he was 5, and it was too soon. He didn't mind the drops as much as the holographic ghosts. As soon as we got out he turned to me and said "Let's not do the Toilet Zone anymore!"

He did go back...but not until he was 9.

I felt quite pleased with myself for having done this ride as it's about the only 'big' one I have been on. I'm another one of the 'I'll hold your sunglasses whilst you go on' club. It used to be alright when by son was small as I could say 'No, you go on, I'll wait with Jack'. Now Jack's a teenager and his mum's a wimp!!
Now I know they might have changed the bars to lap belts I might be even more of a wimp next time and have to admit I'm simply scared!
Denise

I went on it for the first time 2 days ago and it's still got the bars rather than lapbelts.

Did the drop 5 times that I counted.

Great fun too...the themed bit before you get on the ride itself is very reminiscent of the Hanuted Mansion in the Magic Kingdom.

John & Sarah Rooke
www.floridadreamvilla.co.uk
www.orlandovillas.com
www.vacation-rental-villas.com
www.park-tickets.com
www.orlando-guide.info

Aet's hope he did not literally mean the "toilet zone", MMFAN!! nyone interested in getting into a which side ( ie. left or right) is best debate?? They are different.

Julie Carty

Now it's interesting you say that Julie. I went on Tower many years ago when it first opened, and unless my memory bank is fading, I remembered a much longer journey around the hotel before facing 'the big one' which only dropped twice then. This last visit I was brave enough to do it again and we seemed to literally go up, look around and then get plunged into darkness before dropping. So was it a different ride round I wonder?

Sandra

Edited by - jewell on 21/09/2002 10:36:05

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quote:
Now it's interesting you say that Julie. I went on Tower many years ago when it first opened, and unless my memory bank is fading, I remembered a much longer journey around the hotel before facing 'the big one' which only dropped twice then. This last visit I was brace enough to do it again and we seemed to literally go up look around and then get plunged into darkness before dropping. So was it a different ride round I wonder?

Sandra

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We thought exactly the same Sandra, but I wondered if they "shortened" the ride when the queue's get too long<img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>
I can't remember if we went left or right<img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle>

Caroline

Perhaps they change the ride from time to time so that, just in case you've been on it before, it's still a surprise? If the ride was always the same, perhaps not many people want to do it again? At least this way, when you go on it, you don't know just what's going to happen! :)

Blott

Thats exactly what stops me going on it again blott!
I hate standing in line wondering what I'm letting myself in for! Thought after the first time it'd be fine but it's the one ride I no longer go on in Florida!!![:I]

I've been at different times of the year when its been empty and full and I've never noticed any difference in the ride preamble times. You always seem to get the same trip to the top, although my experience is only from 1999 onwards.

They did increase the number of drops a couple of years ago, which was covered in a blaze of publicity and increased advertising....who said Disney never give you something for nothing !

Last November I went on that ride 18 times. AS i do every time I visit but 18 was the most I got in on one day. My friend and I have a running joke about it.... SHe saw a mickey mouse figure in front of us before they dropped us and she thought it was a guy downt here and kept screaming, "their is a dude down there" and everyone was laughing. NOw we try to see the mickey mouse every time we go on it and laugh hysterically.

Also it drops several times. LIke 5 maybe

My daughter went on it and she was 5. SHe loved it

As of Feb 2003 , the lap bars were still there with the strap safety belt on the middle back seat. However, the new slogan is "never the same ride twice", as the number of drops and even visual effects you occasionally see projected on the wall ahead of you as you are mid drop changes constantly. On one occasion, we all sat waiting for the car to drop on it's first plummet, and instead it shot upwards before dropping ! Caught everyone by surprise, and really added to the thrill. A truly brilliant ride.

Chris [8D]

No lap bars now! All individual lap belts - so much less to hang onto;):D;)

Have to agree this is still one of our all time favourite rides.

We bow down and give a moment of silence before we enter this ride. One of my FAVORITE rides.

I always tried to avoid the seat with the lapbelt instead of the bar.....somehow it just felt less safe to me.

I suppose I'll have to put on a brave face and give it a try now they've got rid of the bars from all of the seats.

:(:(

Mike

We went on the "Tower of Terror" in 1995 and 1998 and to be frank, found it rather tame on both occasions. We were probably expecting too much after all the hype. Has a lot changed in the ride since then?

Absolutely loved this ride. Been on it 3 times now and its different everytime. Bought a tower of terror 'I Survived' poster last visit. It hangs graciously on my wall :D

Has anyone been on this ride since they made it even worse in 2004? what have they actually done.

It was very very tame in 2002, but did find it a bit faster in 2004 with perhaps a couple of more drops. Enjoyed it much more this time, more like it was when it first opened.

The husband of the owner of the MC looking after the villa we stayed at in 2002 worked part time in the IT dept at Disney and he told us it had been deliberatly tamed down in 2002 to attract more people to ride it. He said they were able to speed it up or slow it down at will using computers, depending upon public feedback.

Took my 10 year old niece on TOT three years ago. It was the build up that terrified her!! She was in tears by the time we went on; she did it! But has refused to go on it every year since!!

[quote]Originally posted by domster
Has anyone been on this ride since they made it even worse in 2004? what have they actually done.
They have made it a random drop, so each ride is different, now you just dont know when you are going to drop.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by amy

Quote:

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Originally posted by domster
Has anyone been on this ride since they made it even worse in 2004? what have they actually done.
They have made it a random drop, so each ride is different, now you just dont know when you are going to drop.

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We rode it 3 times this spring. It is now much better, with the 'randomised' falls better orchestrated and scarier. There are usually 3 or 4 'drops', all good. I recall it being very tame before and so it is a vast improvement now.