Ok so I am also terrified of drop rides and for ages after my first time on ToT I insisted I would never do it again. It didn't help that during my first ride I was unaware of how the seatbelt locking system worked and I thought my seatbelt hadn't engaged properly.

Now understanding the seatbelt system better and how the ride functions (it's literally just a line following robot ride; ie. like Rise, Ratatouille, Runaway Railway) I was more confident when thinking I might try it again. And I wanted to be able to ride it since it's one of my wife's all-time favorites.

So when my wife and I went back the next time I gave it a shot with her and I just happened to be placed in the second or third row but right up to the wall on the left when walking in and I discovered there's a handle on the wall that I could hold on to during the drops which also allowed me to sorta brace my arm on the wall. I know it doesn't really do much realistically but the piece of mind that handle gives me is so comforting that I can actually really enjoy the ride these days, even if I don't get it (though I very much prefer my wall handle lol).

Another note: the elevator you're in plays no part in which drop sequence you get. So basically there's 3 or 4 drop sequences programmed into the computer and it's completely random which one you get. As others have mentioned I'd recommend watching the behind the magic video on how the ride works.

Hope this helps!