ToT vs ToT

[PhilosophyMagic]

Tower of Terror

For those of you who've been on the DCA Tower of Terror, how do you feel it compares with the WDW version? Are some aspects better and some not as good?

Also, the last time I was at EPCOT in 2002, that great Test Track waiting area was used for fastpass, while the regular line was on the un-themed side of the building. Did that change yet?

 

[LadyDarling]

I've been on both and I like them both! They both have thier unique qualities. I don't miss the "5th dimension" forward movement in the WDW version of the ride. They've replaced it with a great special effect of the guests in the ride vehicle "disappearing". It's great! I have to say, I do enjoy the drop sequences at DCA better. They reverted back to V2.0. Last time I rode in WDW (Dec. 2003), we had to ride several times to get a great drop sequence.

That said, I do think the WDW version is in general "creepier". The landscaping is beautiful and haunting! It's built on a small plot in DCA, so it was either landscaping, or room for the line, and the line won out.

I do have to give total kudos to both ride's cast members! The ones at DCA are really living up to the Disney image and putting you in a different place and time! I've been impressed every time I've been on by my elevator host/ess! They have great attitudes and are truly "playing the part" (something you tend to find more in WDW than DLR).

Both rides are great and worth repeating over and over and over and over...

 

[mandib]

I like the one in WDW better. I like the way the car moves forward before you drop. I also felt like that one had more drops. I think loading on two floors is very odd! lol Oh well I still like WDW better.

 

[enough]

I was just at Disneyland/DCA last weekend and rode ToT. Overall I like the Studios version better than DCA - mainly because of the themeing... when you walk past the entrance gates to the ToT area in the Studios you really feel transported, but when you queue up in DCA you still know you're in a backlot section. To me the major appeal of Disney attractions over any other theme park is the way they theme the whole ride, from queue to exit. WDW's version of ToT beats the DCA version hands down in this department.

One thing I do like better about the DCA version is the drop sequence, though. the "ratcheting" up sequence (best way I know how to describe it) was a new one by my and a great sensation. Another thing I like about the DCA version is the mirror as was mentioned before - pretty cool effect on that one.

 

[RnRJoe6114]

The thing is that WDW ToT is random you never get the same drop sequence I don't know if it is the same in DCA but if it isn't then WDW ToT is better.

 

[imagineersrock]

The thing is that WDW ToT is random you never get the same drop sequence I don't know if it is the same in DCA but if it isn't then WDW ToT is better.

never say never.

last time I went, I got the exact same sequence 9 times.. in a desperate attempt to experience something drifferent, we rode over and over and over......... same damn sequence every single time.

:brick:

 

[PhilosophyMagic]

never say never.

last time I went, I got the exact same sequence 9 times.. in a desperate attempt to experience something drifferent, we rode over and over and over......... same damn sequence every single time.

:brick:

Probably some technical reason that particular day... I wonder how many diffferent sequences there are, then... Have you found any you really didn't like? Is there ANY drop sequence that DOES NOT start with an intitial drop in the dark from the "Twilight Zone" floor? I think they all start like that, which is good, because I love the effect of waiting in the dark to drop after having gone forward...

Hey, anyone know if standby line for Test Track is still outside of the building?

 

[ogryn]

This page has diagrams of the drop-sequence: http://www.wdwmagic.com/tower.htm

 

[Coasterbp]

There are four sequences that the Tower can choose from at WDW.

And yes, some of the standby line at TT has been moved inside.

 

[mrtoad]

I think they all start like that, which is good, because I love the effect of waiting in the dark to drop after having gone forward...

Just reading that makes me think about what happens and my heart started pounding. Not many attraction can say that.

 

[nicholas]

I had one drop sequence that started with shooting up instead of dropping. Let me tell you, it was a quite a scare to be sitting there waiting for that drop only to find that I was shot skyward instead. I kept thinking there was some computer glitch and things were going wrong and it definitely made it scarier. Loved it.

 

[Brooke]

I think that TOT is the best ride at DCA but I like the WDW version FAR better. The drop sequences, the themeing, the building itself...I just love WDW's a lot better. The mirror scene is pretty neat but I just found WDW's more exciting and a lot more fun. The one thing I like better about DCA's version? The view. You get a great view of Disneyland. At WDW you see the RNRC building and the tower and that's about it.

 

[ToTBellHop]

DCA's tower has a far more impressive boiler room (and creepier with all of the Twilight Zone references, like the boiler resembing a face, the stairway to nothingness, the chalk door into the Twilight Zone, and the fact that the show rooms are at different points depending on which elevator you enter (either the mirror room is above or below the ghost scene, and it's not the same in all three shafts) adds variation. Furthermore, the drop sequence seems scarier as they have done what I have wanted wdw to do for years--had one of the drops feature the elevator doors not opening, which is even scarier at night. DCA's Tower also has some nice new dialogue, more impressive special effects (as we would expect after 10 years--even creepier ghosts, an impressive mirror effect, even more use of the star fields) and a more seamless elevator system. For example, the elevator doors during show scenes now open as you are arriving at that floor, which makes the ride flow better (no pauses) and being that the entire ride takes place in the drop shaft, the elevator can (and does) use the shaking effect in one of the show scenes, not just the drops. Further, I find the time right before the drop far creepier, with the added echoing effect in Serling's voice during the "One stormy night long ago..." spiel. Finally, I find the elevator doors opening at the end of the hallway to reveal the ghosts, then dropping before you drop is just creepier. It kind of has the effect of making guests lean forward to focus on the elevator and kinda think "what the..." and then WHAM, you drop (as opposed to MGM, where you sit in the dark for 3 seconds, waiting--also scary, but in a different way). I would go so far as to say the Orlando version is much better from the end of Sunset Blvd through the library (that is to say, the entire outside and the lobby) and the DCA version is better from the library onward--better boiler room and a creepier, darker, smoother ride.


Never the Same Fear Twice has four drop sequences--two go up first, two drop first, all feature the same number of drops as DCA's ToT--something between 3½ and 4, along with several smaller drops.

 

[Merlin]

I was just at Disneyland/DCA last weekend and rode ToT. Overall I like the Studios version better than DCA - mainly because of the themeing... when you walk past the entrance gates to the ToT area in the Studios you really feel transported, but when you queue up in DCA you still know you're in a backlot section. To me the major appeal of Disney attractions over any other theme park is the way they theme the whole ride, from queue to exit. WDW's version of ToT beats the DCA version hands down in this department.

That's a problem with DCA in general...Lack of immersiveness in the theme. Just look at the queue for Soarin'...HORRIBLE!! I pray they do a better job on the Epcot version.

 

[ToTBellHop]

That's a problem with DCA in general...Lack of immersiveness in the theme. Just look at the queue for Soarin'...HORRIBLE!! I pray they do a better job on the Epcot version.

I don't mind the queue for Soarin' so much as the post-show...themed to concrete They could have at least put a couple history of flight exhibits up on the walls