I did it once and definitely don't regret it all, but probably won't ride it again, unless I'm with someone who really wants to do it. The tower CAN drop the entire shaft at once. Some drop profiles don't do it, but some do. You're confusing the height of the building (199ft) with the shaft height (13 stories).

Contrary to the visceral sensation of free-falling, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror does not actually drop "all the way down" in a single, unencumbered fall from its 199-foot peak. Instead, the ride uses a sophisticated system of high-speed industrial motors and dual cables to "pull" the elevator car downward faster than the speed of gravity. This creates the feeling of weightlessness while maintaining absolute mechanical control. The actual vertical drop distance is approximately 90 to 130 feet, depending on the specific randomized sequence selected by the computer. By only dropping a portion of the building's total height, the system allows for the signature "multi-drop" experience where the car is rapidly propelled back up for another sequence of falls. This engineering ensures that the "elevator" never simply hits the bottom; it is caught by powerful magnetic brakes and pulley systems that allow it to transition smoothly between the dark ride scenes and the vertical drop shafts, providing a high-tech thrill that feels like a catastrophe but is actually a masterpiece of controlled physics and safety.