tower of terror
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Hey, SFGAm management, can I buy a couple cages of Sky Whirl?
It is more like a first generation intamin freefall, sort of like Freefall Sattelite Tower at SFMM.
It is twilight zone themed.
I haven't been on it so that is all I know.
Trbiggar: What makes Tower of Terror like Superman the Escape?
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Knotts Halloween Haunt!!
29 years and still screaming.
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"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away and you have their shoes."
It's nothing like S:TE and the freefall part is kind of (ok, not really) like the old Intamin Freefalls. It seemed to me to be an accelerated drop and you bounce back up and then fall again, then bounce again a few times.
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*** This post was edited by Lord Gonchar on 9/30/2001. ***
The ride begins with a walk through the outside of The Hollywood Tower Hotel. When you enter the lobby, there are cobwebs and dull lighting everywhere. The place is completely abandoned, and you walk past a closed elevator and are led into a library. In this library, you see the backstory on an old television, about how the elevators were struck by lightning and thrust its passengers straight into the Twilight Zone. As you have probably guessed, you're next. The doors open and you are led into the basement boiler room. Finally, you are ushered into a service elevator and your trip begins.
The elevator is basically four stadium-style rows with an aisle down the middle of all the rows except the back row. Each left row seats three, each right row seats four. All the ROWS are secured by a single large lap bar. The only exception is the back row aisle seat, which is restrained only by a seat belt. This truly is the best seat in the house (though not the best view) and it can be requested by asking the operator for "the last seat in row 5".
When the ride begins, you ascend and see a long hallway with some special effects, including an appearance by the elevator's last passengers from the preshow. The room goes dark, the doors close, and you rise more.
(IF YOU WANT TO MESS WITH PEOPLE, THIS IS THE TIME. BECAUSE THE RIDE OPERATES EIGHT CARS AT A TIME, SOMETIMES THE CAR DOORS CLOSE BUT DOES NOT IMMEDIATELY RISE. JUST YELL, "YOU GUYS READY TO DROP?" AND YOU'LL BE SURE TO PANIC THE WIMPS!)
The doors open a few more floors up and you see a strange warehouse-like hallway with strange Twilight Zone-like objects and effects. The elevator at this point moves FORWARD through the hallway, and all the effects eventually center around one point directly ahead of you in pitch blackness. A bright blue line shoots up and down from this point, then spreads open. This opens the door to the shaft. You'll slide in some more and the narrator will say some final words. When you finally come to a stop, the narration will end with the words, "Tower of Terror," the only time throughout the ride where it is mentioned by name.
When you hear that, hold on...it's go time.
The drop sequence is always changing, so I won't elaborate on it (plus it spoils all the fun!) but it does involve many ups and downs and fake drops. When you fall beneath the open doors at the top, there are some nifty lightning effects and state-of-the-art bouncing up and down the shaft. After a few big drops, you settle at the shaft's bottom, and see a huge spiral. After some Twilight Zone effects swirl away, you back up and away from the now closing doors. You then rotate 90 degrees, slide forward into a pair of HTH doors, and after some final words from your narrator, the doors open, your bellhops greet you (or sometimes scare you), the restraints release and you're free to see your on-ride photo, tour the gift shop, or just run right out and hop back on.
The ride is really sophisticated. As a mere freefall ride, it would leave a lot to be desired, but as a fully immersive thrill experience, it is nothing short of genius. Every part of the building and ride is paid a great deal of attention to detail...in short, what you've come to expect from Disney. The drops are exciting, but not terrifying, and the ride has a greatly broad appeal. This one is definitely worth the wait and is truly one of the few can't-miss rides in the world.
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The Luv Monkey has spoken...
NITRO kicks it into high gear...only at Six Flags Great Adventure!
Track Record: 29 and counting...
the one in Dreamworld is just like Superman: The Escape and has NO relation to the ride at Walt Disney World.
The ride at WDW is described above, as a heavily themed freefall experience inside a hotel.
2 very different rides, almost the same name
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Knotts Halloween Haunt!!
29 years and still screaming.
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"Thunder from Down Under"
The Croc Man Rules!!!
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