Tower of Terror - Backseat better

[Hank Hill]

First thread!........be gentle.

So we rode Tower of Terror yesterday...back to back to back.

Ok first time we were in the 3rd row middle position. Good times, just like always. 2nd time we were placed in the back row near the upper left. I said to my girl afterwards "Is it just me or does the back row seem different?" More wind or SOMETHING! is different making it seem like it is going faster"

So we were able to ride it a third time in a different elevator in the same spot. SAME THING happened! It just "seemed" faster going up and down.

Anyone know what I'm even babbling about? Do you feel more wind in the back or something?

[sediment]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

The back does actually go up and down faster. It's a Law of Physics, which includes a footnote about being sarcastic, of course.

Could be an optical illusion, as you get to see more of the outside when you pass the windows. You're going faster at the moment your view of the outside is obscured than those when the view is obscured from those in the lower front row.

It could easily be a slight change in the speed or acceleration from one turn on the ride to the next.

[Shoppingbear]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

I CANNOT believe you beat me to starting this thread! :lol:

Yeah, first trip was in the 2nd row of the middle elevator, second trip was in the back row of the far-left (as you are in the long main queue facing the elevators) elevator, and third trip was in the back row of the 2nd elevator again. The difference was AMAZING! The **WHOOOOOSH** upwards after the first brief drop was FREAKY, it blew my hair every which way!

Kudos to Tool for cheerfully riding this three times in a row... we might have made it four, but we actually stopped to watch the ghost stories at 8:45. :lol: Very fun ride.

[Shoppingbear]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Could be an optical illusion, as you get to see more of the outside when you pass the windows.

Maybe, except it didn't look faster, it felt faster... the wind was pretty overwhelming, especially when we weren't expecting it the first time we sat in the back row.

We never sit in the back, normally, because I avoid any steps (bum foot and bad knee), but this time we just didn't want to wait for the next elevator, and it was the last two spaces, so we took the last row. If we hadn't just ridden in the 2nd row, I still think we might not have noticed, but the difference felt dramatic, especially that wind.

[Hank Hill]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Yes, its the WHOOOSHING wind that makes it feel freaky and faster!

[aaronpaulcustoms]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

hmm...im usually in the middle or the front. I need to try the back

[sediment]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Maybe the back row gets more wind? Maybe there's a vent or return high up that provides that feeling.

Seems very strange. Obviously it is an illusion of some sort, since the motion is one-dimensional (unlike, say, Star Tours or BTMRR). Doesn't make it bad or wrong, just very interesting.
And, Tooliebear, sight illusions can make one feel things differently.

That said, I don't think I'd be sensitive enough to notice a difference. (You know how insensitive I can be, remember?)

And I don't think I could go on three times in a row. My heart skips a few beats every time I go on it. (I like the TZ stuff, and might as well go on the ride if you get that far. Yes, I'm a masochist.)

[sediment]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Is this thread going to cause a run on back-seat riders?

Could this thread actually cause an increase in DCA attendance??

[SplashMoun10]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

i love sitting in the back because you feel higher then everyone else. I'll sit in the front if i have to but i like the back more because you see more of the elevator and get more a feeling of not being on a ride but in the actual situation! (of being in a falling elevator)

[Oblivion]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

My first time (Florida version) I sat in the back. I was already a bit freaked to go on the ride but after that........

I love it! ^__^

[Loomis]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

You never know...

The body reacts in different ways to different things. We aren't MEANT to hurtle downwards so rapidly, and that is why it is a "thrill". Position yourself differently, and the body feels something slightly different.

More wind up the back? Perhaps the person in front of you was just more nervous than you were.

[barfownz]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

I personally get more air time in the 3rd row.

[musiken]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Interesting... I've never noticed a difference in the feeling depending on where I sit. I love the front row, however. The effects scenes before the drops are so much easier to see, which sets up the ride experience better for me. I actually feel like I am standing at the end of one of those long hallways.

[Princess Buttercup]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Do you feel more wind in the back or something?

Only when I sit next to Hakuna Makarla. :lol:




Just kidding.....I've never noticed that much difference between the rows other than what you're able to see when the doors open.




But it's kinda cool to look up the whole time! Try that some time!!!

[Treat]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

ok im gonna let everyone in on my little secret lol.

Maybe you've done this, maybe not but if you are more of the thrill seeker and want to get more thrill out of the drops look throug the grates in the floor and just stare down in the shaft as your dropping...its soooooo much scarier. No joke

[wolfy]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Do the Dusty trick....kinda like the goat thing, but even better! Talk about G force!

[Hank Hill]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

I dare anyone to go on the ride back to back now and tell me they don't notice a difference!

[hollywood1939]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Row 5 seat closest to the aisle. It get's a little more air for some reason.

[Shoppingbear]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

I personally get more air time in the 3rd row.

:lol: Ah yes, noticed that too. It's WEIRD to be belted in on a fairly tame ride and STILL have my butt leave the seat when we are headed up fast and then start falling again! :lol:

[sir clinksalot]

Re: Tower of Terror - Backseat better

Your not alone. We have noticed this as well, but not sure why.

It's common knowledge that on 'most' coasters you will get more airtime in the back since the back of the train is getting pulled over the hill instead of just letting Gravity do the work. Not sure if/how this would be different on ToT.

Of course, there are exceptions such as Phoenix which get's insane amounts of airtime towards the front of the train.