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Picture this- Hollywood.
Halloween, 1939.
It’s a normal day at the Hollywood Tower Hotel, but that all changes with a little
flash of lightning and suddenly the most brilliantly engineered attraction at a Disney theme park
was born.
Past the rows of palm trees, propped up at the end of Sunset Blvd at Disney’s Hollywood
Studios you’ll find the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Upon opening in 1994, it was an immediate success and today it’s commonly regarded
as one of the best rides Disney has created.
It has a great theme, an intriguing way to tell a story and thrill; but do you think
you know everything about the ride?
Well today we’re gonna take a tour through the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and discuss
its history, the hidden elements throughout the ride, and the system that makes it all
work.
So be sure to keep your hands arms feet and legs inside as we count down the Top 10 Secrets
of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Number 10- The First Construction on the Twilight Zone Tower of
Terror began in 1992 as part of the Sunset Blvd expansion at Hollywood Studios.
It took 3 million pounds of steel and 145,000 cubic feet of concrete to create this 199
foot masterpiece.
This was the first version of the tower of terror Disney created and when it was done,
it was the most technologically complex ride Disney had built at the time.
Tower of Terror officially opened with the entire Sunset Blvd strip on July 22nd, 1994
making it the tallest building at Walt Disney World.
Today, Expedition Everest beats that record by just half an inch.
Now many people are under the impression that Tower of Terror has been removed, but this
is not true…well at least not in Florida.
In May of 2004 the second version of the Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror opened at Disney California
Adventure.
This is the version of Tower of Terror has been replaced by Guardian of the Galaxy Mission
Breakout,
{Rocket Racoon} That was not part of the plan!
-but the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World is still alive and well.
Number 9- Winding Paths
{Bellhop} Right this way.
Have you ever walked through the outdoor queue and felt this uneasy feeling?
Sure, the landscape is overgrown and the infrastructure shows signs that the hotel’s been abandoned
for quite some time.
Those may be some reasons why you may feel uneasy, but next time pay attention to the
curved walkways that lead up to the hotel.
Imagineers designed these walkways to be slightly titled at around a 2-4 degree angle as opposed
to being completely flat.
This was done to evoke a sense of disorientation as you’re walking up to the attraction.
Even if you take a look at the ledges, they continuously dip and turn at different elevations.
So the winding paths in addition to elevation changes and the tilted angle of the ground
all work together to set up this bizarre Twilight Zone story that you’re about to take part
in.
It’s a minor detail that tricks your mind but now that you’re aware, pay attention
to what you see and how you feel as you walk through the queue on your next trip.
Number 8- Stop, Pull & Drop The Twilight zone Tower of Terror is classified
as a drop Tower ride, but here’s a little secret, you’re not actually dropping.
While reaching a top speed of up to 39 miles per hour, you’re actually traveling slightly
faster than free fall speeds as you plunge down 130 feet.
The mechanics of the ride actually pull you down using a series of cables below the elevator,
so you aren’t dropped at all, you’re actually pulled.
Initially when the ride opened in 1994, there was only one big drop, then the ride ended-
but over the years Disney has plussed the experience.
In May of 1996 a second full drop was added to the ride, then in March of 1999, 30% more
time was added to the drop shaft.
This included a third drop and enchanted effects.
You felt a lot more shaking in the elevator with greater acceleration as well different
lighting effects and show elements.
Then on December 31st, 2002 Disney introduced the randomized drop patterns which are still
in use today.
4 different ride profiles were created, each with different drops, acceleration sequences
and stops plus different show elements.
You never know which profile you’ll get, so the experience varies every time you ride.
One thing you can count on though is that you’ll get that birds eye view of the park
and to get your picture taken.
So try not to scream as you say cheese.
Number 7- Lucky 13 Although we’re on lucky number 7 the number
13 is pretty significant with Tower of Terror.
Many people fear the number 13 and its usually considered pretty unlucky, a lot of building
don’t even have a 13th floor, so it definitely fits the eire vibe of the Tower of Terror.
The first sight of 13 you might spot is right here.
When you’re walking up to the attraction and see that it has a 13 minute wait, it’s
actually a good thing and this means the ride has no wait at all.
The 13 minute wait is also used at the Haunted Mansion.
Then once you enter the lobby, you’ll find this concierge desk on the right hand side.
Behind the desk there’s a triple A plaque that was awarded to the Hollywood Tower Hotel
but they gave the hotel 13 diamonds.
The highest diamond rating AAA actually gives out is only 5.
Then once you board your elevator you’re taken up to the 13th floor then dropped 13
stories, so there’s no escaping the number 13 on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Number 6- Otis Did you know that one of the largest elevator
companies actually had a hand in designing Tower of Terror?
Well the attraction’s ride system is separated into two parts; the elevator shafts and the
actual ride vehicles themselves.
Disney developed the Autonomous Guided Vehicles, or AGV for short, and the Otis elevator company
who manufactures commercial elevators developed the mechanics for the elevator shafts.
They actually had to design a completely new elevator system since their fastest elevator
model was too smooth for Disney.
Imagineers were looking for a fast, gut wrenching, weightlessness experience, which was pretty
much the complete opposite of what Otis had spent years trying to avoid.
So instead, they came up with the system that use a much larger motor and a series of cables
to pull the elevator down to achieve the weightlessness effect.
Now the ride has 6 elevator shafts in total.
The four shafts highlighted in grey are the lift shafts that bring guests from the load
area into the 5th dimension.
Once you’re on this floor, the AGV breaks free from the elevator in the lift shaft and
is guided by a wire into one of the two the drop shafts.
Now the AGV actually slides into a frame in each of the shafts and locks into place.
So the frame in the shaft is actually the component thats being raised and lowered and
not the physical ride vehicle itself.
Number 5- A Real Hotel Although the Hollywood Tower hotel isn’t
a real hotel guests can stay in at Walt Disney World, Imagineers drew inspiration from real
hotel landmarks in Southern California.
The Mission Inn located in Riverside California was built between 1902 to 1932.
This is where a lot of the Spanish and gothic style influence on the Tower of Terror comes
from.
Details such as the spires on top of the building, to the clay terracotta roof, right down to
the twisted columns of of the courtyard, can all be found in the attraction.
Even the pink flowers hanging off the railings at the Mission Inn are used in Florida to
compliment the tower’s design.This Spanish style architecture and the color of the building
were also chosen to help blend the Tower of Terror into the sightline of the Morocco Pavilion
from across the lagoon at Epcot.
Now the mission Inn was the inspiration for the outside but the inside of the hotel lobby
was based off the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
From the domed shaped frame right down to the roof panels, these design elements are
all evident in Tower of Terror.
Imagineers even went as far as to use the hexagon shape of the fountain centrepiece
in the attraction.
Although it’s not a fountain, this wooden centrepiece in the Tower of Terror lobby uses
the hexagon shape while mimicking the proportions and the levels of a water fountain.
Number 4- Authentic Props A lot of the time with props and set dressings
on Disney attractions, you never know what’s real or what was made with the help of a little
Disney magic.
Well beneath all the dust and cobwebs of the Lobby you’ll find many era specific items
that are actually real.
A lot of the furniture are authentic pieces purchased from auctions and antique shops
in the LA area.
Even some of the sculptures in the lobby are actually from 19th century sculptor Auguste
Moreau.
Each section of the lobby uses these authentic pieces to tell a story like the mahjong pieces
that were just abandoned during mid game or the luggage from a guest that was in the middle
of checking in.
Fun fact, these alligator skin luggages found on the ground are real, and were actually
used in the pre show video.
The bellhop was carrying these luggages into the elevator.
Oh and that little girl is also holding an authentic 1930s era Mickey Mouse doll.
Even the lightning fixtures in the lobby are authentic.
They all came from a building of similar size, age and style as the Hollywood Tower hotel.
Number 3- Hot Webs There’s no escaping the cluster of cobwebs
in the hotel lobby, they’re hung off everything.
Now have you ever used a hot glue gun and struggled with getting those annoying strings
of glue off of you?
Well thats exactly what these cobwebs are made of.
It’s a common practice used in Film and TV production which uses compressed air to
shoot webs of hot glue.
This footage here was taken the day after new cobwebs were added to the attraction and
when the light hits at just the right angle, it’s easy to see the plastic appearance
of the strands.
Over time they naturally collect dust making their appearance much more matte and therefore
more realistic.
Since the cobwebs are not permeant, they do wear and break apart over time so they’re
replaced and touched up every couple months.
You can see here in this picture that around the lamp on the concierge desk there aren’t
many cobwebs visible but in this picture, taken the day after they dirtied up the place,
the cluster of webs is much thicker and covers the entire desk.
Number 2- Illusions Disney is all about creating magic.
There’s many magical illusions and tricks that bring the theme parks alive.
The Corridor show scene appears to be a long hallway but really its forced perspective
at work.
To give off the illusion that this is a full length corridor, the opening is about 10 feet
high but then the back only reaches about 4 feet; To give you an idea of size, this
scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory demonstrates the effectiveness of the same
effect.
Another illusion used is the Pepper’s Ghost effect.
This allows the 5 missing elevator passengers to magically appear in the hallway.
This simple yet effective illusion has been around since 1862, and its all about using
a piece of glass on a 45 degree angle, right here.
On the other side of this wall, there’s an area where the hologram of the passengers
is reflected onto the glass.
The pepper’s ghost effect is also used to allow the window to float forward then shatter
in the same scene.
Number 1- Rod Serling Returns Tower of Terror takes you right into your
very own episode of the Twilight Zone.
Each episode of the TV show was hosted by Rod Serling.
Now since he passed away in 1975, Imagineers relied on a little TV magic to create an intro
that matched the attraction.
They took an intro from a Twilight Zone episode titled It’s a Good Life and made a composite
of just Rod Serling without the background.
{Rod Serling} Tonight’s story on the Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different
kind of introduction.
This as you may recognize is a map of the United States.
They hired voice actor Mark Silverman to impersonate Rod Serling.
He was approved to do the voice by Rod Serling’s wife.
He synced his voice to the original intro from the TV show and also recorded the rest
of the voice over.
{Rod Serling} Tonight’s story on the Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different
kind of introduction.
Silverman’s voice on top of the old footage mixed with new footage made for a seamless
intro, and to this day, it’s probably one of the most iconic pre shows in a Disney attraction.
So there you have it, those are some secrets and history of the Twilight Zone Tower of
Terror.
Now whats your favourite detail in the attraction and were you surprised with any of the facts
in this video?
I’d love to know!
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