Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Why are you afraid of drop towers?

D

dropthefloor93

Hyper Poster
Why are so many users afraid of Drop Towers, S&S Turbo Drops, Double Shots, and Freefall Towers? I honestly find them rather boring and headache inducing in many cases.

If you are afraid of this type of ride, please explain why you find them so terrifying. The only ride I find remotely terrifying is Tower of Terror in WDW because its so startling, however, it is still not totally scary. I feel as if I am the odd man out when it comes to fear of freefall rides.

Thanks
-Hal
 
Headaches? What drop towers have YOU been on?

Personally, they are by far my favorite flat ride and if I see one, I must ride it, unless it's an S&S of course.
 
I honestly don't really know.

I wouldn't say I was one of those people who freaks out hugely and doesn't ride them, but they certainly get the adrenaline pumping for me. I think it's the suspense more than anything. I'm fine with heights (and I love being high up and getting the view) and I love the falling sensation, but it's the waiting for the drop that gets me I think.

Again though, I think fear is the wrong word. I don't know what it is, but I'm certainly not afraid of them. However, I'll never turn down the chance to ride one, and after riding a few this summer I've gotten a lot 'happier' with them.

Plus, Superman Tower of Power was great!

EDIT: Snoo posted before me, but I agree with him on two counts. Firstly, I've never had headaches from them. Secondly, they are one of my favourite flats, in competition with the Frisbees.
 
Drop towers! They scare me, I always think they're gonna like not stop at the bottom which is silly, and I hate not knowing when they drop, but it's still all fun.

And Hix, Superman Tower of Power was SO cool, the way the drop cycle worked! It induced a decent scream from me :p .
 
SnooSnoo said:
Headaches? What drop towers have YOU been on?

Personally, they are by far my favorite flat ride and if I see one, I must ride it, unless it's an S&S of course.
Click to expand...

I always ride them

But Stuntman's Freefall gave me a nasty headache
so did Scream! for some reason more recently.
Double Shot at Santa Cruz gave me a headache. its the vertical rush of blood into my head combined with my constant sinus problem that gives me a headache.
 
there are a few things that scare me on some rides

1 - height - I still get butterflies when walking down blackpool front and looking at the big one

2 - Anticipation - the weight at the top of a tower just gets me!

3 - that feeling when you're in an uncomfy seat, or have nothing below you

most drop towes score on 1 and 2 - apocolyspse stand up floorless scoers on 3 too.
 
The first drop tower I ever went on was Detonator at Thorpe Park, and it was far more intense than I thought it was going to be, and that pretty much put me off drop towers for good! I went on Detonator a couple more times after my first ride, but won't go anywhere near it any more!! It's the only ride at Thorpe that scares me.

I think for me it's the tension and the wait that frightens me - being hoisted up to the top of the tower and just sitting there knowing that any minute you're going to plummet is almost heart attack inducing for me. When I went to Port Aventura on a family holiday a few years back my Mum (!) and my brother both went on Hurakan Condor but just looking at it made me tremble! I sort of regret not plucking up the courage to go on it, and reckon I probably would have done had I not been on Detonator. Does the drop on HC feel anything like the drop on Detonator (which I know is launched downwards)??? If so then there's no way I'd ever go on it; I'd certainly never go on a launched down trop tower that was higher than Detonator.

I don't mind the ones that launch you up so much - I found Ice Blast at Blackpool OK (was nervous but then once I'd ridden it I realised it wasn't too bad, and would definitely go on it again).

The one tower ride I genuinely love is Mystery Castle at Phantasialand. I still find the wait at the top and the drop pretty frightening, but it's such an amazing ride that I'll always be willing to go on it.

My fear of drop towers is a bit strange, given that I'll gladly go on Oblivion, and mildly embarrassing given I consider myself a theme park/coaster enthusiast.
 
Simply put I hate the feeling of a freefall. It's just too intimidating to me, and maybe when I decide to ride one i'll break this fear but until then I just wont do it. Chickend out of Dominator at dorney twice, I just cannot do it.
 
I do enjoy turboshots more than drop towers, as the intensity is far less fleeting. The only drop tower i like is the Tower of Terror at WDW. Every drop is pretty much the same speed, and it is incredibly intense. Possibly my favorite ride in general.
 
It's the freefall sensation that scares me. I'm not "scared" as such, but drop towers are the only rides that I've experienced when I feel out of control. I'm locked in and can only drop. They're great!
 
For me its the height, I am ok on shot towers its just the drop towers.

It is also not knowing when you will drop so I cannot get ready.
 
Ian said:
It's the freefall sensation that scares me. I'm not "scared" as such, but drop towers are the only rides that I've experienced when I feel out of control. I'm locked in and can only drop. They're great!
Click to expand...

I think it's this for me, the feeling of being at the mercy of the ride. I obviously know nothing's going to happen, but there's still that part of your brain that doesn't agree or something.
 
Oh man, I went through a stage of loving drop towers because they were the only thing left that still made me nervous.

I'm so used to them now its a feeling that rarely comes back, but I still marvel at their mean simplicity.


Real terror is the first gen Intamin freefalls. Oh god what clunky, crude monstrosities they were. Lacked any sort of subtlety or polish, and were awesome for it.

Can't someone fit one with modern magnetic brakes and keep 'em going?
 
Good qn.
Drop towers are definitely the only frightening thing in a park for me (with the exception Spring Flyers - they can **** right off).

So what actually makes them more scary that a coaster?
It can't be the height, because that doesn't really bother me.
The freefall? But I enjoy them when I'm actually travelling down!
That just leaves the anticipation then. On a coaster you are constantly moving, even huge drops are made easier because you are enjoying whatever element comes before. I think this is the clincher.

Its not the drop, its the hours of waiting for the one moment of the drop that builds it up into something far worse than it actually is.

Stealth is the one coaster that comes to mind, that has a similar effect on people. It's that countdown and that slight rock back and forward...that's the moment you get the fear.
 
I hate, really hate, the falling sensation. I don't like a vertical dropping sensation at all.

It's complex actually (isn't it always) :lol:

I'm scared of heights, but okay if I'm well clamped in and feel safe. A floor is always good :) So I'm not scared of tall coasters, because the coaster has big seats, a harness, a floor (generally, but workings underneath at least) and a track to follow. It's all obviously safe under my arse.

I'm happy to ride Griffon for example, but couldn't stand on a tall stool to change a light bulb. It's all a feeling of safety when it comes to heights.

So the heights thing, I'm okay with sitting in the chair of a drop/shot tower. I just can't stand the dropping feeling. Shooting up I'm fine (I always need to shoot up to calm my nerves :p ), it's the pure, vertical airtime I hate. The change between positive g's to negative g's on the y axis of my body. I just cannot abide it. So my fear is generally because of the anticipation of this feeling coming.

However... Apocalypse is an odd one. The sit down side I dislike for the reasons above. The stand up floorless I dislike because of heights fear and not feeling "held in enough". The stand up floored? The drop doesn't bother me, because the "cage" is tilted forwards (so it's not a pure vertical drop). However, the lean is over the body's centre of balance, so then the "height/safety/fear" thing kicks in. So on that front, I'm fine until the tilt, then I panic, then it drops and I'm happy.

For me, the perfect shot/drop tower would be sitting down, but tilting slightly forward (right from the floor), or maybe backwards a bit would be nice. Just enough tilt to stop the pure vertical drop feeling.

See, told you it was complicated :lol:
 
Blimey Furie they're some complex theories there!

I can understand the leaning forward thing being less scary than a complete vertical drop (if it wasn't for the height in your case). I'm not entirely sure why though. Maybe it's because you can see more of the direction of travel, rather than falling into something you can't see at 90 degrees to your body.
 
I did issue a warning :) I don't like being scared of things, so I will face my fears as often as I can. So I've forced myself onto a lot of drop tower rides to face the fears, and work out why I am scared. I have now, and it doesn't help at all :lol: So I've faced the fear, done the research, got the tee-shirt and can now ignore all drop towers forever more - I have nothing left to prove, and nothing left to enjoy in them :)

To extend things a little though (because it clearly needs it :lol: )

Falling down but facing forward to me is the same as accelerating along on a horizontal plane (a la Stealth). I know there is a brake/curve to stop the acceleration before hitting the floor - so it's kind of okay :)

The falling thing I think is purely an extension of a fear of heights. I'm not scared of heights as much as I'm actually scared of falling. The motion is the same as if you'd just stepped off a cliff, or the floor had collapsed beneath you or whatever. I think it's a perfectly natural fear to have :)
 
Out of interest, furie, have you ever tried Mystery Castle at Phantasialand? I'd just be interested in your thoughts. I, too, dislike drop towers for much the same reasons as you described, but Mystery Castle I really quite like!

Also, I've never been on WDW's Tower of Terror but what exactly does it feel like? For some reason I've always viewed it as a family ride (probably because it's in a Disney park), yet lots of people say it's incredibly intense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top