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Located in Hollywood Studios' Sunset Boulevard

      

Tower Trivia
1.  The Tower of Terror is 199 feet tall, which makes it the third tallest structure in Disney World.  Can you guess which attractions are taller? 
2.  Why did they stop at 199 feet instead of rounding it off to 200? 
3.  Do you think the Tower has ever really been struck by lightening?

Tower Trivia Answers:
1. The geosphere in Epcot – with Mickey’s wand – is the tallest structure. The geosphere is 180 feet high but the wand brings it to 221 feet. The mountain for Expedition Everest (in the Animal Kingdom) is second because it’s a mere 6 inches taller than The Tower!

2. There’s a simple answer. The FAA requires any building 200 feet or taller to have a red beacon attached to its crest for airplane safety. The Imagineers felt a beacon would detract from the Terror’s image so they kept it under 200 feet.

3. The fictitious Hollywood Towers Hotel was struck by lightening once, with disastrous results. The actual Tower of Terror is frequently struck by lightening because it’s the tallest structure in the area.

The Hotel Lobby

Fun Fact
Since you plummet toward earth faster than the force of gravity, loose objects in the car can be suspended in the air for a moment while you fall.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

  

Riding the Tower is a “Badge of Courage” for many teens and other thrill seekers! It really is a unique attraction, but not for everyone.

The theming is fabulous and the experience is multi-dimensional (in more than one way.) The thrilling part of the ride is the drop. Many people think it’s a freefall, but that’s not so. You actually race toward the ground much faster than you would fall – thanks to Disney engineering.

Storyline
The queue winds through the once elegant but now decrepit lobby of the Hollywood Towers Hotel. Then guests move into the library where Rod Sterling (from Twilight Zone TV series) tells them about the tragedy that occurred here on October 31,st (Halloween night) 1939.

On that night, a bellhop escorted a young family on vacation into the elevator and they began their ascent. Suddenly - the elevator was struck by lightening and the family vanished into … The Twilight Zone!

The Experience
Your journey begins in the boiler room of the hotel where you’re loaded onto an old freight elevator. The doors close and the cage groans as you lurch upward. Suddenly, the doors open again and you can see the ghostly images of the guests who vanished. Your car inexplicably leaves the shaft and moves forward down the hallway … into The Twilight Zone!

Be prepared when your elevator begins to rise again because you know what’s coming! You’ll rise and plummet several times. Each ride is different. Sometimes 13 floors. Sometimes only 4. Open your eyes (if you dare) each time you hit bottom. There are screens with different video images at each spot. And one time, when you get to the top, the windows will open to show what I’m certain must be a spectacular view of the park!

Cool Details
1. Before you ride, check out the books in the library. None are in English. During the 1930’s (the grand era of the Hollywood Towers Hotel) the Nazis initiated book burnings to stifle education and alternate thinking. Many fearful Europeans shipped their books to North American hotels to avoid this destruction. Hotels preserved them by storing them on the shelves of their libraries.
2. At the end of your ride, notice the “B” on the elevator door that signifies the basement. It splits in two to become “13”.
3. Many of the props used to create the spooky atmosphere in the lobby and library are from the original Twilight Zone series.
 

Also located on Sunset Boulevard: