Twilight Zone Tower of Not-So-Much Terror

This shot was taken from the Lights Motors Action show.

I had been to Walt Disney World three times since the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opened and I finally took the plunge (literally) during our last trip. This time, I had company (my mom) and a willing babysitter who had no interest in taking the ride (Doug). I had taken one drop ride before in my life and all I can remember was screaming so hard that my eyes were shut and I totally missed it.

Here is a shot of the Hollywood Tower of Terror at night. The flickering neon lights really give it an eerie glow.  Can you tell I'm hedging?



My mom and I got Fastpass tickets for the Tower of Terror so that Doug and the kids wouldn't have to wait long for us. They didn't collect the ticket, so here it is if you've never seen one:



Since I have never taken the ride and had only a few anecdotal reports of what it was like, I held on to handle, conveniently located next to my seat. With both hands. Like a total idiot. OK, OK, here I am:



Notice the Asian family to the left with young children, all their arms up and no fear whatsoever. Scan over to the right to see a 72-year-old Chinese grandmother (my mom) having a blast. And then next to her, a fearful looking middle-aged woman with bat wings (that would be me). Argh!! The thing is, it wasn't even all that bad. They had changed to ride to be more random, stopping in the the middle of the free fall and then randomly going back up or down again. There were no 13 story straight drops. It was tame! So the next time I take this ride, I will have my arms up, like I do in other ride pictures (hopefully the bat wings won't be so bad). I love rollercoasters, remember?

Just to vindicate this horrible picture of myself, my mom and I checked on Doug and the kids and asked to go on the neighboring Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Adam was traumatized from taking the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad the day before so he had no interest in any more rollercoasters. This time, I was determined to have my hands up, or as far up as I could get them with the shoulder harness. And I succeeded: