I'm probably one of the only people in the world that feels the Tower of Terror (in any of its incarnations) has always been far over-rated. It's a ride that's practically ALL about the pre-show, the building facade and the theme. All of these things just disguise the fact that the meat-and-potatoes of the experience is an extremely brief, simple drop ride. There, I finally said it! I don't really like drop rides that much. If you removed the elaborate overlay and just presented the actual ride, it would be more fit for Six Flaggs than Disney. I didn't really get all the hype when it opened, and I still don't get it.
Haven't voted just yet, I'm slightly torn...ToT at Tokyo DisneySea sounds exciting!
But I really like Indy, always grab a FP for that.
Plus the ToT at DCA is super "AP heavy".....Folks repeat the opening monologue in unison & photos are always ridiculous (and I've been guilty of that :-(
But I still enjoy it.
I'll guess I'll go with...
It captures the feel of Indiana Jones movies and has THE best queue without resorting to gimmicky touch screens that Disney seems to love in WDW lately. Tower of Terror in Florida is the best of the lot, but the queue isn't as great at Indy. Indy doesn't seem to break down anymore either, and has a fantasticly fresh paintjob!
Indy is a solid ride, and featured one of Disney's first interactive queues. It immerses you into the story, and is a well executed extension of the franchise (much moreso than Florida's stuntshow).
But without the build up, without the elevator literally moving forwards though the Twilight Zone, without the gardens, without the randomized drop sequences, and with the over-the-shoulder restraints (yes, I do believe that DisneySea's version has OTSR, which I'm sure does not help to supply the amount of airtime that the Studio's version has), I think that Tower of Terror at the Studios seems to be a stronger attraction.
However, DisneySea's really has a beautiful facade and the disappearing idol has to be one of the most impressive things I have ever seen. I do like that it strays from the Twilight Zone tie-in and builds a story of its own. And in the end, it's unique, but its still Tower of Terror which I absolutely love, and therefore it gets my vote.
Bryce, I'm pretty sure that the Tokyo version still has seatbelts, but just has an additional shoulder belt (similar to a car seatbelt) instead of just a lap belt like the other versions of the attraction. Probably more restrictive, but not airtime killing.
I'm going to guess 90% of ToT votes were based on DHS and not the Tokyo version.
As with Splash many of its votes came from MK and not DL
I think with exception to FJ most attractions benefit from having clones also attracting votes, with exception to PoTC whose most visited location is also its shortest and most maligned version.
I hope no one is greatly offended, but... while I don't doubt that there are decision-makers at the major theme park companies reading this website and people's comments, it's almost laughable how seriously some people treat the results of these tournament votes.
I can imagine the conversation in the corporate offices of Disney. Executive: "Well, our proprietary research shows that a majority of our visitors prefer X kinds of rides and attractions." Lackey #1: "But in the poll from this theme park website, Splash Mountain beat out Radiator Springs Racers by a slim margin!" Executive: "That changes everything! Throw our research out the window! From now on, we go back to duplicating popular rides from the 1980s!"
C'mon, people, the tournament is just for fun. It's a diversion for people who like theme parks and theme park rides.