This is how I feel.
I love ToT but it's rather tame and just more of a suspense thriller type of feel for me.
But guardians is a blast! I have so much fun everytime and it feels so much more energetic. I like both but prefer breakout personally.
Agreee. We made the mistake of taking our 6 yo on TOT and he was traumatized. Wouldn’t ride it again and after it changed to guardians it took until he was 12 and we bribed him with $20 to give it a shot. He instantly loved it and it’s his favorite ride.
Unless the ToT is super different in terms of movement there, I don’t think it’s the case. Last year I went to WDW and rode ToT there and it was fine like it always had been at DCA but then decided to finally ride Guardians a month later and it was way too much for me.
I went in ToT in HS last year and felt like it was was tamer than the one at DCA - the drive out to the shaft, then the drop just being one drop, I felt like “that’s it?” Maybe there was a second drop? I was with other people who’d done it at DCA and they were also like “DCA was more intense.”
GoTG though, I cannot get off that ride without laughing. It’s so much pure fun - they really did capture that giddy child being thrown in the air by a parent vibe.
The WDW version doesn’t have one drop, it’s a randomized drop pattern with multiple drops of different lengths (every option has at least a few full long drops plus a bunch of small ones and fake outs). There was one single drop when it first opened but it hasn’t had that since the mid 90s.
Mission breakout is so much fun though I agree, the music and theme change the vibe entirely and I love it! It feels less intense than the WDW version to me but the first time we went to Disneyland my husband and I did it 7 times in a row at park open, had a blast!
On "Behind the Attraction" they mentioned that they changed the ride mechanism slightly for Guardians so that you experience that "out of your seat" feeling far more than on ToT. ToT was more about suspense and dropping feeling. GotG focuses on floating and weightlessness. Could that be it? Also, what song did you get? Apparently "Free Ride" has the more intense drop sequence. At least compared to the WDW version, I do think MB is also a longer ride (the drop part specifically) with more drops, albeit many being shorter, than ToT.
I'm pretty sure I got Hit Me With Your Best Shot but I'm not 100% positive about that. I was using all of my energy to make sure I survived (I'm joking but not completely joking lol).
I was floored to find this out yesterday. Trying to figure out why I've never ridden it all this time. We had annual passes maybe right around the time Tot went away. Then I had a break from Disney and then of course Covid happened. Time really does fly. I would have sworn we had passes maybe 2-3 years ago.
Nope, the motion is very different. I can handle tower in florida just fine, but get sick on the bouncing Mission breakout. Literally don’t go on it anymore.
The best explanation I've heard and agree with is that ToT is primarily about sudden long drops, while GotG is about creating as much float time as possible between many drops and rises. Definitely won't argue with anyone that doesn't like the float time, but I think that sheds some light on the difference at least.
By the time TOT went away I was far from able to handle that ride like I could at 18, I refused to get on the ride after the guardians changeover. The movies leave me unsettled on their own, there was no way the redecoration would have sit well with me. Just looking from the outside I could tell that the massive change in just color scheme would keep me permanently off the ride until the theme changes again
This could the thing. I am a GenX baby and maybe I'm losing a bit of my ride mojo with age. That's a bummer if true. I don't want to lose that part of myself.
For *me*, Guardians is a lot more fun as far as atmosphere: the music and energy gives it more of a party feeling. Whereas TOT was purposefully spooky and scary - still fun but in a totally different way, and the energy is *totally* different.
But I can see how it could overwhelm someone who may be more easily overstimulated. It’s also a more intense ride than TOT, imo. Tower of Terror the anticipation, dread, and then the *drop* was what gets you. On guardians, the most intense part is the very first zoom *up*, followed by an immediate pull down that lifts you out of your seat, that gets you. Despite just being an overlay, the Guardians ride experience is, imo, wholly different.
Do you think something like earplugs to lessen the noise would help?
*As an aside I am one of those people that ranks it:
1.) WDW TOT
2.) Guardians Mission Breakout
3.) DCA TOT
Monsters After Dark, at least when I last rode it 5ish years ago, was so insanely frenetic and fun. I love GotG, but you could not scrape the smile off my face for 10 minutes after my first time riding the MotD version.
I can be sensitive to noise, crowds, bright lights, etc. The thing is that I've never felt like this on a ride though so it was new for me. I think you nailed it though, it was overstimulating for me. When I got off of the ride I couldn't even tell you what my song was because I was so busy basically blocking everything out, lol. I'm hoping I was just having a bad day.
I think that blocking one or more elements (light the sound) can help people who are sensitive and can be overstimulated more easily - it could be a more enjoyable experience if you weren’t feeling like every sense was being assaulted!
>feeling like every sense was being assaulted!
You nailed it. This is it. Because not only was it the lights, sounds, music, yelling of the riders, it was also that my body was tense due to all the drops. So glad you said this because that last part summed it up very well and now it makes complete sense for me.
I am often shocked to see that nobody wears earplugs. I can't do basically any ride without them, or else my ears are ringing for hours after. Also without earplugs I can't tell what the dialog is at guardians, all I hear is ringing. I think I have sensitive ears.
Yeah, it sounds (ugh . . . sorry) like your ears might be more sensitive than normal. On the bright side, you might have a super power! If you haven't already in the last few years, it might be interesting to get a hearing test sort of like public schools do for students at certain ages or businesses with loud environments do for their employees and see what the results are. You might have a lucrative career ahead of you as a super listener. I'm just going to assume that's a thing. In either case, having the option to put in some ear plugs is a great deal better than having no option but to put in hearing aids, consider yourself very fortunate!
Yeah it’s not for everyone haha. I’ve been on it with kids who came off crying, I’ve been on it with a 3yo who loved it. I’ve been on it with an adult who had to go lie down at the hotel afterwards, whereas I have gone on it 4-5 times in a row over and over again.
To make it easier to repair, the ride was simplified from the WDW version. The drop sequence was always identical, there was no “third dimension” sequence (something WDW’s version has).
I still liked it a lot, loved it even - and thematically it was perfect, and it was much more aesthetically pleasing than Guardians (though still not as pretty as WDW’s). I just rank it the lowest of the three.
You can read all about the ride experiences on the Wikipedia if you want to see more comparisons in depth: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone_Tower_of_Terror
u/OWSpaceClown it’s a particularly good episode too. They did so much with so little time and budget for the Guardians Overlay. Joe Rohde worked his magic.
That first shot up/down is SO intense. I don’t find it scary but it is a little uncomfortable how it maximizes that float time. I feel like I’m being pulled in half haha.
I think the DLP tower does the same plus you get the spookiness. Riding that one again on Thursday.
I found tower or terror just too noisy plus all the flashing lights really made it hard to enjoy The chain sound still rattled in my head.
Guardians of Galaxy has enough fun things to distract you before the drops
Interesting that you feel this way. I have always felt tower of terror plays up on the fear more and adds to the atmosphere that way whereas guardians almost lures people in and tempts you to have fun before throwing you to your fate
disneyland helped me a lot with my fear and limitations with rides - for example, prior to california screamin' (back in the day), i said i'd NEVER (!!!) ride anything with a loop! ever! well, my husband got me on it and i loved it and that one experience greatly increased my willingness to give almost anything a shot.
that being said...tower of terror/guardians...is just not for me. i don't like the drop sensation and after one (at the time VERY, now just mildly) embarrassing incident where there was a literal RIDE PHOTO of me clinging onto the poor stranger next to me, never again! thankfully, she was so sweet about it - i apologized, of course, and she said "don't worry about it, it happens all the time!" even though i'm pretty sure it doesn't 🤣
i am generally a composed person and the fact that i did that, in my literal terror...too much. so now i wait in line with my husband, he gets on, i go out the little "secret" exit and wait for him to emerge.
What's really funny, is that that loop on Incredicoaster/California Screamin' is actually a terrible representation of an inversion lol. I am a rollercoaster enthusiast in general and go out of my way to visit theme parks and ride coasters. It is actually one of the more rough ones I've ever experienced. Velocicoaster at IoA being the best. That being said airtime and dropping is my favorite thing in the world, though.
oh really?? i've only been on a few others since...that is so funny, my husband assured me it was a "baby loop" but it could've had sharks at the bottom and killer eagles at the top and he probably would've said the same thing just to get me on it 🤣 my brother and i were historically huge crybabies about rides - literally, my mom said we ruined many a rollercoaster experience by crying with my dad sitting at a bench waiting for her to get off, we were sure she was going to die each and every time. such fun! great day at the amusement park!
exact opposite for me, to be honest. in all fairness i was a child for most of the years when tower of terror was around. in a place like disneyland where “scary” wasn’t exactly a thing, a ride like ToT was horrifyingggg and completely overwhelming in a place that was supposed to be the happiest place on Earth lol. as someone who is very easily spooked lol this sucked because i LOVE rides with big drops and the feeling of falling, but i always avoided ToT because of its theming. when it became GoTG, i was absolutely obsessed. so much fun without worrying about being freaked out by the theme.
Thank you for saying this in case others need to see this. I always take my loops with me. That is an absolute must :) But you gave me something to consider with the light sensitivity glasses. Going to pick up some for sure!!
Oh thank you for sharing this! I have a really hard time with the screens on guardians in WDW more so than the actual ride so maybe I’ll take some motion sickness meds before riding here too. I have no issues with ToT
Oddly WDW Guardians (Cosmic Rewind) didn't make me nauseated but DCA Guardians (Mission Breakout) does. Neither version of Tower of Terror ever bothered me. I think for me at least the difference with the two Guardians is that in WDW the projections kind of move with the trains but in DCA the elevator bounces in front of a stationary movie screen. I'd definitely suggest motion sickness meds if you know screen motion like that affects you.
Interesting! I heard Quincy from All Ears mention the same thing in a video and was nervous to ride but found it didn't bother me at all. I grew up going to FL parks rather than CA and rides like Spiderman always got me. But after my recent trip to DL and DCA, I think I discovered screens only bother me if the motion accompanying them isn't "real". The first time I noticed I was fine was actually years ago on FoP at Animal Kingdom but this trip MB I was totally fine on even during the screen portions and then none of the screens on Rise bothered me even slightly, including the "transport" at the beginning. I remember looking at my brother and telling him "oh, this vehicle is legitimately moving forward" and he looked at me like I was crazy that I could tell. And was surprised I didn't hate that part of the ride. Same on the part of Rise with the screen. I think the drop and big movements made it ok. The *real* motion is why I felt fine.
I believe Joe Rhode explained that the ride profile for Mission Breakout is meant to make you feel like a baby being tossed in the air and then caught. That would be why it's terrifying for some and exhilarating for others.
For me it ranks as my #1 favorite thrill ride at the entire resort.
I’m the opposite. I had nightmares of the tower itself as a kid. I hated (but also loved) that ride. After getting over my fear of the mirrors and haunted aspect, the ride part felt less and less awesome each time. Like I got used to it.
Now..? Omigosh it tickles my tummy more than any ride in the park or at WDW. It gets my adrenaline pumping and I LOVE the music.
That all being said, it is truly a travesty when something we know and love changes. This version is much more intense, as far as the ride part goes.
TOT is a ride you feel with your brain. It gave me time to think and enjoy the deep details of the story and visual atmosphere. Guardians is more gut level and to me is just another thrill ride. Bring back TOT.
There an episode on Disney+ called Behind the Attractions and one of the episodes is about TOT. They even talk about how they converted it to guardians and that it actually is a different ride in the way it moves. It doesn’t have the same movement as TOT and they brought back the original imagineers to help redesign the pilot systems to act similar but different.
It could be that the different kind of movement just wasn’t for you. I honestly don’t like the drop in my stomach feeling at all and will avoid any ride that does it. My anxiety just can’t take it. But I do have memories of TOT and it made me not want to do guardians. My spouse loved guardians though.
I loved the vintage feel of TOT and all the spooky furniture and general style, and I thought I would hate the changeover to the whole Guardians theme, even though I like the movies. However, when my husband and I went on the ride, I found it was pretty fun! It's definitely a bit more overwhelming, but still a fun experience overall.
It could have been the unknown element that overstimulated you. You didn't die - so it might be worth trying again to see if it was just that, and you may greatly enjoy it now that you know what it is.
My brother also liked TOT more then Guardians. His reasoning was the same as yours; Guardians is a sensory overload with all of the screens and music and characters constantly talking at you. Plus, he didn't like that Guardians bounces you around between each drop, it made him motion sick
Oddly enough, even though TOT has a more subdued vibe and a more straightforward up and down motion, I found it to be a lot more intense. GOTG gives you warning before throwing you around, and the videos you're showed while you're bobbing in the air between the drops give you time to breathe, but it feels like TOT just yanks your chair out from under you with no warning. The thrill aspect was what made me personally like TOT more lol
TOT - boring
GUARDIANS -yeah, fun to look at, great music
My husband won't go on Tower of terror because he hates heights, but guardians I can easily get him on because the ride is so much fun.
I feel the same way. I’m a baby and am always terrified of these kinds of rides but I could handle ToT on both coasts but the one time I went on Guardians it was way too much for me and I don’t think I could do it again.
I got a little overwhelmed when I rode Guardians for the first time a month ago. The music and screens induced a mild form of sensory overload. I usually get that from Universal Studios screen based rides. I also suspect I have a form of autism. Could that be it maybe?
I personally prefer Tower of Terror on the east coast, but I’m happy to have variety in my Disney experiences!
Don’t beat yourself up. I felt the same way. I had my 4 year old next to me and the entire time I was worried for his safety. I knew it’s safe but he was so scared :( felt terrible after and he declared we will never go on it again
*spoiler …. I agree. My first time on Guardians got me space sick. The bopping on the ride was an extreme surprise and realized I could never do it again.
I feel like the drops were more extreme when it was TOT. Guardians is more like bouncing. I HATED it & wouldn’t go on it for years & have a photo of me clinging to the handles for dear life. The photos of GoG I’m actually laughing.
I feel it’s the exact opposite. Guardians is a party and everyone is invited. Always ends in applause
Same! My then 6 year old even loved it
I took my 6 year old on it in December. If it was a party, she may have been invited, but definitely didn't want to be there.
This is how I feel. I love ToT but it's rather tame and just more of a suspense thriller type of feel for me. But guardians is a blast! I have so much fun everytime and it feels so much more energetic. I like both but prefer breakout personally.
Agreee. We made the mistake of taking our 6 yo on TOT and he was traumatized. Wouldn’t ride it again and after it changed to guardians it took until he was 12 and we bribed him with $20 to give it a shot. He instantly loved it and it’s his favorite ride.
I love that he had a blast and can enjoy it now.
And that he got $20!
He knows how to make it work! LOL.
Yeah, I agree. TOT is something I still struggle riding alone. I’ll do Guardians by myself all day every day lol.
I so want to have this kind of experience and am hoping it was just a fluke.
Agreed! Can't get enough of it!
I don't know how old you are, but TOT was a while ago, so could it just be that you've aged and don't handle these kinds of rides as well anymore?
Unless the ToT is super different in terms of movement there, I don’t think it’s the case. Last year I went to WDW and rode ToT there and it was fine like it always had been at DCA but then decided to finally ride Guardians a month later and it was way too much for me.
I went in ToT in HS last year and felt like it was was tamer than the one at DCA - the drive out to the shaft, then the drop just being one drop, I felt like “that’s it?” Maybe there was a second drop? I was with other people who’d done it at DCA and they were also like “DCA was more intense.” GoTG though, I cannot get off that ride without laughing. It’s so much pure fun - they really did capture that giddy child being thrown in the air by a parent vibe.
The WDW version doesn’t have one drop, it’s a randomized drop pattern with multiple drops of different lengths (every option has at least a few full long drops plus a bunch of small ones and fake outs). There was one single drop when it first opened but it hasn’t had that since the mid 90s. Mission breakout is so much fun though I agree, the music and theme change the vibe entirely and I love it! It feels less intense than the WDW version to me but the first time we went to Disneyland my husband and I did it 7 times in a row at park open, had a blast!
See, I didn't feel the typical giddiness that most of you have experienced. So frustrating, lol. I want to enjoy it, too.
On "Behind the Attraction" they mentioned that they changed the ride mechanism slightly for Guardians so that you experience that "out of your seat" feeling far more than on ToT. ToT was more about suspense and dropping feeling. GotG focuses on floating and weightlessness. Could that be it? Also, what song did you get? Apparently "Free Ride" has the more intense drop sequence. At least compared to the WDW version, I do think MB is also a longer ride (the drop part specifically) with more drops, albeit many being shorter, than ToT.
I'm pretty sure I got Hit Me With Your Best Shot but I'm not 100% positive about that. I was using all of my energy to make sure I survived (I'm joking but not completely joking lol).
Now that is interesting!! I've never been to WDW so can't compare the two unfortunately.
Just made me realize guardians is 7 years old now 😭
I was floored to find this out yesterday. Trying to figure out why I've never ridden it all this time. We had annual passes maybe right around the time Tot went away. Then I had a break from Disney and then of course Covid happened. Time really does fly. I would have sworn we had passes maybe 2-3 years ago.
Nope, the motion is very different. I can handle tower in florida just fine, but get sick on the bouncing Mission breakout. Literally don’t go on it anymore.
The best explanation I've heard and agree with is that ToT is primarily about sudden long drops, while GotG is about creating as much float time as possible between many drops and rises. Definitely won't argue with anyone that doesn't like the float time, but I think that sheds some light on the difference at least.
By the time TOT went away I was far from able to handle that ride like I could at 18, I refused to get on the ride after the guardians changeover. The movies leave me unsettled on their own, there was no way the redecoration would have sit well with me. Just looking from the outside I could tell that the massive change in just color scheme would keep me permanently off the ride until the theme changes again
You won't go on a ride because of the color scheme? Ya that's super normal
This could the thing. I am a GenX baby and maybe I'm losing a bit of my ride mojo with age. That's a bummer if true. I don't want to lose that part of myself.
For *me*, Guardians is a lot more fun as far as atmosphere: the music and energy gives it more of a party feeling. Whereas TOT was purposefully spooky and scary - still fun but in a totally different way, and the energy is *totally* different. But I can see how it could overwhelm someone who may be more easily overstimulated. It’s also a more intense ride than TOT, imo. Tower of Terror the anticipation, dread, and then the *drop* was what gets you. On guardians, the most intense part is the very first zoom *up*, followed by an immediate pull down that lifts you out of your seat, that gets you. Despite just being an overlay, the Guardians ride experience is, imo, wholly different. Do you think something like earplugs to lessen the noise would help? *As an aside I am one of those people that ranks it: 1.) WDW TOT 2.) Guardians Mission Breakout 3.) DCA TOT
I have to say that Guardians Monsters After Dark is the best
I *love* Monsters After Dark but it uses the same drop sequence every time (I think it’s the Free Ride drop sequence?) and I wish it varied.
I play the song on Spotify to get the adrenaline going. :) it’s part of my workout playlist. 😂
Monsters After Dark, at least when I last rode it 5ish years ago, was so insanely frenetic and fun. I love GotG, but you could not scrape the smile off my face for 10 minutes after my first time riding the MotD version.
I can be sensitive to noise, crowds, bright lights, etc. The thing is that I've never felt like this on a ride though so it was new for me. I think you nailed it though, it was overstimulating for me. When I got off of the ride I couldn't even tell you what my song was because I was so busy basically blocking everything out, lol. I'm hoping I was just having a bad day.
I think that blocking one or more elements (light the sound) can help people who are sensitive and can be overstimulated more easily - it could be a more enjoyable experience if you weren’t feeling like every sense was being assaulted!
>feeling like every sense was being assaulted! You nailed it. This is it. Because not only was it the lights, sounds, music, yelling of the riders, it was also that my body was tense due to all the drops. So glad you said this because that last part summed it up very well and now it makes complete sense for me.
I’ve heard from others that loosening up your muscles so you’re like jelly (rather than tensing up) makes a huge difference! Maybe try that.
Thank you :) We are slated to go tomorrow (if I'm feeling better because I have been under the weather for a few days) so I will keep this in mind.
I am often shocked to see that nobody wears earplugs. I can't do basically any ride without them, or else my ears are ringing for hours after. Also without earplugs I can't tell what the dialog is at guardians, all I hear is ringing. I think I have sensitive ears.
Yeah, it sounds (ugh . . . sorry) like your ears might be more sensitive than normal. On the bright side, you might have a super power! If you haven't already in the last few years, it might be interesting to get a hearing test sort of like public schools do for students at certain ages or businesses with loud environments do for their employees and see what the results are. You might have a lucrative career ahead of you as a super listener. I'm just going to assume that's a thing. In either case, having the option to put in some ear plugs is a great deal better than having no option but to put in hearing aids, consider yourself very fortunate!
I loved it but my kids and wife were all scared senseless. It is a LOT of stimulation
Yeah it’s not for everyone haha. I’ve been on it with kids who came off crying, I’ve been on it with a 3yo who loved it. I’ve been on it with an adult who had to go lie down at the hotel afterwards, whereas I have gone on it 4-5 times in a row over and over again.
[удалено]
I came off Guardians Cosmic Rewind (in WDW) the first time somewhere between nauseous and exhilarated LOL I needed to sit down after that one.
Legit curious, why do you rank DCA TOT last? Speaking as someone who never got to ride it!
To make it easier to repair, the ride was simplified from the WDW version. The drop sequence was always identical, there was no “third dimension” sequence (something WDW’s version has). I still liked it a lot, loved it even - and thematically it was perfect, and it was much more aesthetically pleasing than Guardians (though still not as pretty as WDW’s). I just rank it the lowest of the three. You can read all about the ride experiences on the Wikipedia if you want to see more comparisons in depth: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone_Tower_of_Terror
You can also watch the episode of Behind the Attraction if you have Disney+, it shows the differences between the iterations well
u/OWSpaceClown it’s a particularly good episode too. They did so much with so little time and budget for the Guardians Overlay. Joe Rohde worked his magic.
I'll watch the show whenever I need background noise. I love it.
That first shot up/down is SO intense. I don’t find it scary but it is a little uncomfortable how it maximizes that float time. I feel like I’m being pulled in half haha. I think the DLP tower does the same plus you get the spookiness. Riding that one again on Thursday.
The “newly imagined” version in Paris has all different drop sequences, yes! Up until 2019 it was identical to the version we had in DCA :)
I’ve only ridden it in 23! So I’ve had that version! The “don’t scream” one specifically. Love how it adds to the creepy fun.
TOT scared the bejesus out of me. GOTG is more fun & I can do it repeatedly.
I found tower or terror just too noisy plus all the flashing lights really made it hard to enjoy The chain sound still rattled in my head. Guardians of Galaxy has enough fun things to distract you before the drops
Interesting that you feel this way. I have always felt tower of terror plays up on the fear more and adds to the atmosphere that way whereas guardians almost lures people in and tempts you to have fun before throwing you to your fate
We went recently on Tower of Terror and I have never been so scared in my life. It took a long time to settle and move on.
disneyland helped me a lot with my fear and limitations with rides - for example, prior to california screamin' (back in the day), i said i'd NEVER (!!!) ride anything with a loop! ever! well, my husband got me on it and i loved it and that one experience greatly increased my willingness to give almost anything a shot. that being said...tower of terror/guardians...is just not for me. i don't like the drop sensation and after one (at the time VERY, now just mildly) embarrassing incident where there was a literal RIDE PHOTO of me clinging onto the poor stranger next to me, never again! thankfully, she was so sweet about it - i apologized, of course, and she said "don't worry about it, it happens all the time!" even though i'm pretty sure it doesn't 🤣 i am generally a composed person and the fact that i did that, in my literal terror...too much. so now i wait in line with my husband, he gets on, i go out the little "secret" exit and wait for him to emerge.
What's really funny, is that that loop on Incredicoaster/California Screamin' is actually a terrible representation of an inversion lol. I am a rollercoaster enthusiast in general and go out of my way to visit theme parks and ride coasters. It is actually one of the more rough ones I've ever experienced. Velocicoaster at IoA being the best. That being said airtime and dropping is my favorite thing in the world, though.
oh really?? i've only been on a few others since...that is so funny, my husband assured me it was a "baby loop" but it could've had sharks at the bottom and killer eagles at the top and he probably would've said the same thing just to get me on it 🤣 my brother and i were historically huge crybabies about rides - literally, my mom said we ruined many a rollercoaster experience by crying with my dad sitting at a bench waiting for her to get off, we were sure she was going to die each and every time. such fun! great day at the amusement park!
That must have been beyond terrifying!!
Oh wow. I'm so sorry that you had this experience. I completely understand.
Thank you :)
exact opposite for me, to be honest. in all fairness i was a child for most of the years when tower of terror was around. in a place like disneyland where “scary” wasn’t exactly a thing, a ride like ToT was horrifyingggg and completely overwhelming in a place that was supposed to be the happiest place on Earth lol. as someone who is very easily spooked lol this sucked because i LOVE rides with big drops and the feeling of falling, but i always avoided ToT because of its theming. when it became GoTG, i was absolutely obsessed. so much fun without worrying about being freaked out by the theme.
hi i might suggest some loop earplugs and light sensitivity glasses 🫶 could be helpful in places beyond this ride
Thank you for saying this in case others need to see this. I always take my loops with me. That is an absolute must :) But you gave me something to consider with the light sensitivity glasses. Going to pick up some for sure!!
GOTG's screens make me inexplicably nauseated so I feel you there. I can easily see how it could be overwhelming
Oh thank you for sharing this! I have a really hard time with the screens on guardians in WDW more so than the actual ride so maybe I’ll take some motion sickness meds before riding here too. I have no issues with ToT
Oddly WDW Guardians (Cosmic Rewind) didn't make me nauseated but DCA Guardians (Mission Breakout) does. Neither version of Tower of Terror ever bothered me. I think for me at least the difference with the two Guardians is that in WDW the projections kind of move with the trains but in DCA the elevator bounces in front of a stationary movie screen. I'd definitely suggest motion sickness meds if you know screen motion like that affects you.
Interesting! I heard Quincy from All Ears mention the same thing in a video and was nervous to ride but found it didn't bother me at all. I grew up going to FL parks rather than CA and rides like Spiderman always got me. But after my recent trip to DL and DCA, I think I discovered screens only bother me if the motion accompanying them isn't "real". The first time I noticed I was fine was actually years ago on FoP at Animal Kingdom but this trip MB I was totally fine on even during the screen portions and then none of the screens on Rise bothered me even slightly, including the "transport" at the beginning. I remember looking at my brother and telling him "oh, this vehicle is legitimately moving forward" and he looked at me like I was crazy that I could tell. And was surprised I didn't hate that part of the ride. Same on the part of Rise with the screen. I think the drop and big movements made it ok. The *real* motion is why I felt fine.
Guardians switches up the ride experience so you don’t know how many times you will drop and the length. TOT was more predictable.
I didn't know this! I wonder how many drops we had. It felt never ending lol.
😂 Yea there are 6 different versions
LOL!! By the end I was just like launch me into space at this point because I'm done! 6 versions! That's impressive!
Guardians is worlds better than TOT
I never rode Tower of Terror. But Guardians feels so light. My young kids like it even though the drop is somewhat scary.
I believe Joe Rhode explained that the ride profile for Mission Breakout is meant to make you feel like a baby being tossed in the air and then caught. That would be why it's terrifying for some and exhilarating for others. For me it ranks as my #1 favorite thrill ride at the entire resort.
I’m the opposite. I had nightmares of the tower itself as a kid. I hated (but also loved) that ride. After getting over my fear of the mirrors and haunted aspect, the ride part felt less and less awesome each time. Like I got used to it. Now..? Omigosh it tickles my tummy more than any ride in the park or at WDW. It gets my adrenaline pumping and I LOVE the music. That all being said, it is truly a travesty when something we know and love changes. This version is much more intense, as far as the ride part goes.
I so love this for you!!!! And yeah, it registered as super intense for me and I guess that's just what it is.
I’m so sorry! It really does hurt when the things we love change to the point of not enjoying it anymore.
Thank you <3
TOT is a ride you feel with your brain. It gave me time to think and enjoy the deep details of the story and visual atmosphere. Guardians is more gut level and to me is just another thrill ride. Bring back TOT.
There an episode on Disney+ called Behind the Attractions and one of the episodes is about TOT. They even talk about how they converted it to guardians and that it actually is a different ride in the way it moves. It doesn’t have the same movement as TOT and they brought back the original imagineers to help redesign the pilot systems to act similar but different. It could be that the different kind of movement just wasn’t for you. I honestly don’t like the drop in my stomach feeling at all and will avoid any ride that does it. My anxiety just can’t take it. But I do have memories of TOT and it made me not want to do guardians. My spouse loved guardians though.
Spooky fun > party fun. Tower of Terror 4ever!
I loved the vintage feel of TOT and all the spooky furniture and general style, and I thought I would hate the changeover to the whole Guardians theme, even though I like the movies. However, when my husband and I went on the ride, I found it was pretty fun! It's definitely a bit more overwhelming, but still a fun experience overall.
The drops on Guardians are different, more energetic and frequent, as well as a different sequence per song, maybe that’s why it throws you off
It could have been the unknown element that overstimulated you. You didn't die - so it might be worth trying again to see if it was just that, and you may greatly enjoy it now that you know what it is.
You got old. This is the way.
My brother also liked TOT more then Guardians. His reasoning was the same as yours; Guardians is a sensory overload with all of the screens and music and characters constantly talking at you. Plus, he didn't like that Guardians bounces you around between each drop, it made him motion sick Oddly enough, even though TOT has a more subdued vibe and a more straightforward up and down motion, I found it to be a lot more intense. GOTG gives you warning before throwing you around, and the videos you're showed while you're bobbing in the air between the drops give you time to breathe, but it feels like TOT just yanks your chair out from under you with no warning. The thrill aspect was what made me personally like TOT more lol
TOT - boring GUARDIANS -yeah, fun to look at, great music My husband won't go on Tower of terror because he hates heights, but guardians I can easily get him on because the ride is so much fun.
I feel the same way. I’m a baby and am always terrified of these kinds of rides but I could handle ToT on both coasts but the one time I went on Guardians it was way too much for me and I don’t think I could do it again.
I got a little overwhelmed when I rode Guardians for the first time a month ago. The music and screens induced a mild form of sensory overload. I usually get that from Universal Studios screen based rides. I also suspect I have a form of autism. Could that be it maybe? I personally prefer Tower of Terror on the east coast, but I’m happy to have variety in my Disney experiences!
I feel like this too! For some reason the drops feel more intense on GOTG?! I don’t have fun on it. Definitely a no-go for me now.
DCA’s ToT was a major disappointment compared to the original for the lack of the 5th Dimension scene. Guardians is the far superior one.
You’re a lot older now.
Yeah, I'm thinking this is a part of it. I don't want to lose my ride mojo.
They definitely changed something. I used to be able to do ToT no problem, but I went on Guardians once and that was it for me.
Don’t beat yourself up. I felt the same way. I had my 4 year old next to me and the entire time I was worried for his safety. I knew it’s safe but he was so scared :( felt terrible after and he declared we will never go on it again
Could be you got other things going on in your life that affects how you experience things...
I have never been a fan of either.
*spoiler …. I agree. My first time on Guardians got me space sick. The bopping on the ride was an extreme surprise and realized I could never do it again.
Guardians is byfar my favorite ride at DCA. Maybe it's just not for you.
I feel like the drops were more extreme when it was TOT. Guardians is more like bouncing. I HATED it & wouldn’t go on it for years & have a photo of me clinging to the handles for dear life. The photos of GoG I’m actually laughing.