The Tower of Terror is a beloved classic Disney attraction, and for good reason too.
Everything from the queue to the pre-show to the loading area to the ride itself is
wonderfully atmospheric.
It manages to blend tension and thrills in a way that leaves guests wanting more.
It is, without a doubt, a great ride.
However for as great of a ride as it is, it’s an awful Twilight Zone ride.
To borrow those earlier words, Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone series is also a beloved classic.
The sci-fi anthology from 1959 managed to tell stories that both brought us to bizarre
and alien settings while still imparting parables that were specifically about us as a society.
It tackled touchy subjects like the red scare and cultural prejudice
and at a time where the status quo for television was simple escapism.
That’s The Twilight Zone at its peaks, but even at its valleys it was still often an
interesting character piece that toyed with our expectations when it came to storytelling.
So when I look at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, for as great of a ride as it is,
I can’t help but feel bummed out because it has none of what makes The Twilight Zone so great.
I mean, think about it, what’s the story of the Tower of Terror?
Five people climb into an elevator on a dark and stormy night, it’s struck by lighting,
and it just kind of disappears into the 5th dimension.
Now years later we’re getting on a similar elevator on a similar night where the same
thing is about to happen.
It’s a cool setup for a ghost story, but it lacks virtually everything that makes The
Twilight Zone so unique and special.
In fact, if anything, the Tower of Terror is a better prequel to a Twilight Zone episode
than it is an episode itself.
I could see the elevator event being the inciting incident of an episode, where it happens in
the first five minutes, and then we would spend the rest of the episode learning more
about the people in the elevator and slowly discovering why they were all doomed to their fate.
I know people are going to point to the made-for-TV movie with Kirsten Dunst and Steve Guttenberg,
since it does just that.
It’s nice that it fleshes out the ghost story a little more, but that was mostly Michael
Eisner’s penchant for synergy, and an attraction story should stand on its own.
Not to mention that the film, like the ride, lacks the qualities of what we would expect from
The Twilight Zone.
It adds scope to the story, but not depth.
And in the film’s defense, it wasn’t really trying to be the Twilight Zone anyway, but perhaps
that’s part of why all of this doesn’t gel together.
Beyond that I can’t fully blame Disney because if I’m being honest, I think the ride and
the property are a bad match to begin with.
The Tower of Terror is a free fall ride.
It’s all about the tension and the rush that comes with the drop.
The Twilight Zone is a slow pace character driven experience that invites introspection.
It just doesn’t match.
All you have to do is look next door at Rock n Roller Coaster to see an example of when
it does match.
Rock and Roll is loud and fast and exciting, and roller coasters are loud and fast and exciting.
Now, if you’ve read into the history of The Tower of Terror, you probably already
know why this is all so disjointed.
The truth is, the Tower of Terror wasn’t originally supposed to be a Twilight Zone ride.
The initial concept, to put it shortly, was for a horror comedy dark ride hosted by Mel
Brooks, who had created Young Frankenstein.
From there it evolved from a castle to a hotel when plans for Sunset Blvd started to form.
From there it turned from a dark ride into a drop ride and then finally the Twilight
Zone rights were brought on and integrated.
So, it makes sense.
The Twilight Zone was just kind of squeezed in there.
In any case, what’s the point?
Why am I saying all this?
I genuinely believe we’ll see major changes to the Tower of Terror in the next five years
or so after Galaxies Edge opens.
I have a theory that it might become Marvel related in the event Disney can secure the
rights from Universal, but I have a whole other video about that if you want to hear more.
However even if that theory is flat-out wrong, one common rumor floating around lately is
that Disney is looking to eventually strip the Twilight Zone from the ride, just leaving
the haunted hotel story.
It makes sense.
In a park quickly shifting its focus to big popular contemporary IPs, the Twilight Zone
just seems a little out of place right now.
On top of that, CBS recently moved forward with yet another reboot of the franchise,
with Get Out director Jordan Peele executive producing.
So if the reboot ends up being even half as good as Get Out was, then I think it’s safe
to say CBS is going to want to hike up the cost of the rights whenever that contract
is up for renewal.
Disney fans tend to get, well, let’s just say emotional, whenever a classic attraction
is touched, and so I guess I wanted to make this video to point out that if Disney does
indeed strip the Twilight Zone from the Tower of Terror, it’ll actually be to the rides benefit.
It’ll free up the Imagineers to flesh out the story so that it can better fit the mold
of the ride without having to worry about checking off Twilight Zone elements from a
list, which personally I don’t think it currently does very well anyway.
I mean, just look at Disney SEA’s Tower of Terror over in Tokyo.
That already lacks the Twilight Zone IP, and it’s fantastic.
It’s got an original and fitting story that reminds me of the kind of storytelling we
used to get with classic Disney rides.
I think the Tower of Terror is fantastic, and I think it has the potential to be even better.
And while I grew up watching and loving The Twilight Zone, I think the first step in realizing
that potential for the ride is dropping The Twilight Zone property and letting it find
its own unique voice.
I want to thank you all for watching!
I love when people get creative, so I want to throw this question out there: What kind
of story and ride mechanics would you want to see in a completely original Twilight Zone
theme park ride?
Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll see ya next time!