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View Full Version : Is Tower of Terror OK for someone who has a height phobia?



Alf
06-21-2004, 02:03 PM
:fez: So I know this guy..ok its me.. with a slight (read used to be real bad) high phobia, I dont mind drops or being scared, but will that view of the park make me ... how do I put this in a civil manner ... wet my pants?

I was just at DL/CA and besides the fact that the lines were around the block I couldnt bring myself to ride the tower of terror.

I am am looking for some people who've been on it to a) tell me what I am missing and how cool it is and b) give me there opinion on the hight.

New poster here btw, long time DL fan.

Bill Catherall
06-21-2004, 03:07 PM
You're pretty much looking "out" over the park and not down at the ground below. If seeing a view out over the parks without being able to actually see how high you are will make you wet your pants then you might want to pack some Depends. ;) You wouldn't want to actually miss out on this ride would you?

Edit to add: but it's only for a few seconds. Most of the time you're in an enclosed space looking at the inside of an elevator shaft. Just the walls around you though. You can't see down.

Alf
06-21-2004, 03:08 PM
Thats a very good point..I find when I dont know the hight its much better, thanks :fez:

nursemelis374
06-21-2004, 03:13 PM
I am usually pretty freaked out by heights and I did fine! You can't really tell how high you are! I was so disoriented I didn't toally know what was happening.

Alf
06-21-2004, 03:17 PM
Hmmm even more encouraging

Bill Catherall
06-21-2004, 03:23 PM
Which brings up a question: What is it that most people who have height phobias are afraid of? Falling? Cuz, in ToT, you're falling. ;)

I don't have a terrible height phobia, I can go to high places with no problems. But get me to the top of Yosemite point and I won't go anywhere near the edge. And if I do venture to a look-out point, I'll slide myself to the edge with belly firmly attached to ground. I'm afraid of falling, obviously.

Forbin
06-21-2004, 03:55 PM
Since you are in a cramp cabin and it's a good 5 feet before you see the outside edge I don't think you will have a problem.

You do see outside 3 times for about 1 sec each time.

But if you are afraid of falling you will have a BIG problem, I lifted a good inch out of my seat at least 3 times during the ride, it was a fast right down.

Alf
06-21-2004, 05:02 PM
Falling isnt so much of a problem as the knowlege of how high I am..its hard to explain. But your comments have helped!

Alf
06-21-2004, 05:03 PM
the Yosemity example is a good one! thats how I get with big hights.

aztectodd
06-21-2004, 05:23 PM
I dont think you would have a problem. Every time you can see outside of the ride it's for about a second. The majority of the time you're looking at the shaft of the elevator. Also, once the drop sequence starts you could just close your eyes, you wont miss out on that much.

lilblckrncloud
06-21-2004, 09:55 PM
Falling isnt so much of a problem as the knowlege of how high I am..its hard to explain.
I won't say I understand, but my husband feels the exact same way and also has trouble articulating it. He basically says that if he can't see the height, it doesn't feel the same.

At any rate, he has gone on ToT and LOVED it. He says that when he was at the top, it felt no different than being in a high rise building - totally secure.

There was also a woman behind me in line one time who was shaking the whole way, and was basically dragged onto the ride by her friends, but by the end she was running back to go on again! Give it a chance!

Pilot Mickey
06-22-2004, 01:05 AM
and because you are inside, or at least i was, for a few minutes, then in the shaft, when the doors open and then you drop i didn't even see the ground from a distance. Also i was waving at the camara so i didn't look out at the park.

myron61090
06-22-2004, 02:36 AM
here's my share on it (though i haven't riddent he DCA version yet).

SOMETIMES it help to close your eyes during a high speed-drop ride. but what i do find to be quite helpful is to sit on your hands ( i know it sounds weird). anyway, when i do that, and when i lift that 1 - 3inches off my seats, my fands still stay in contact with the underside of my thighs so there is a sense of security... but that's just me...

oh and in case you are afraid of seeing out into that park, go at nighttime and you'll be to busy staring at the lights........

ΓΌ

iwannabeanimagineer
06-22-2004, 09:11 AM
I am am looking for some people who've been on it to a) tell me what I am missing and how cool it is and b) give me there opinion on the hight.
I have an irrational fear of heights and I've been on ToT at WDW several times and I love it! I compare it to a fusion of the Maliboomer with the Haunted Mansion. But it is much less scary than the Maliboomer. The scariest part for me is the weightlessness you experience at the top of each rise, just before each drop. The sensation of height is dampered for me by the fact that the elevator doors, the shaft openings, the tower sign and the elevator cage are within your field of view, making the objects below less dominant and less noticeable.

What is it that most people who have height phobias are afraid of? Falling? Cuz, in ToT, you're falling.
For me, the fear of height is at its worst when I lose confidence in my support. So a shaky ladder 8' off the ground is scarier for me than a falling elevator 200' off the ground because I have no confidence in the ladder, but I do have confidence in the elevator's ability to land safely. The same with commercial airliners, even in heavy turbulence. I'm not so comfortable with small planes. Oddly enough, when I stand on the top of a skyscraper, I can look down without fear because the support in which I have confidence is always within my field of view. Once I begin to look up and my support leaves my field of view, I have to hang on to something attached to the building to prevent vertigo.

sediment
06-22-2004, 10:19 AM
Only one way to find out.
I'm with IWBAI (sorry, I'm not writing your whole name). I have a hard time being on my roof, and the worst part of that experience is getting down. On ToT, I have no fear. It's a pretty tame ride, if you think hard enough about it.

Alf
06-22-2004, 11:58 AM
I really want to thank all of you for being so understanding and helpful! This is just the kind of info I was looking for.