The Evolution of The Tower of Terror

[@gargantuaism]

Thanks for the mention! I was truly obsessed with Disney and Twilight Zone growing up and getting to narrate a classic Disney ride based on my favorite TV show was a crazy fantasy come true.

[@masabbagh92]

Still one of Disney's greatest rides - I never would have guessed it was a voiceover. Very cool that you played such an important role in the ride!

[@gargantuaism]

@@masabbagh92 That was a terrific compliment and I really appreciate that. Thank you.

[@SpaceBronanas]

@@gargantuaism I watched this highly underrated video and posted a regular comment on it a while ago, but I just now decided to read the comments. The Disneyland park was a HUGE part of my life. I went every single Sunday from when I was born until I was about 13. When I was finally big enough to get on The Tower of Tower it swiftly became one of my top 3 favorite rides. Everything was absolutely perfect from the theming down to the drops themselves. I got on the ride every single time we went after I could get on it. I never knew that you voiced Rod I just thought that the speakers were a little funky or something. You not only did a fantastic job at voicing an iconic man, but you were a massive part of my life without me even knowing it. Thank you for your contribution to the Disney community as a whole and thanks for being a great host. My stays at the Hollywood Tower were always wonderful :)

[@gargantuaism]

@@SpaceBronanas Hey just saw this comment and Thank you!! That is really incredible. ....

[@Cstumps]

I listened to your voiceover growing up and loved the familiar intro every time I rode the ride. You are truly a part of Disney Park history and bringing joy to countless people. Thank you.

[@rodakscreens]

Tower of Terror is my absolute favorite of all the horror themed attractions. No need for jumpscares, copious amounts of gore, or hammed up overacting. Just pure spooky atmosphere.

[@jae-sang6077]

Me too my fav because I like abandoned places that is so cool

[@majura3743]

I can’t get over how incredible the concept art at 5:42 is. Idk why but I really like that piece a whole lot. With the sunset against the shadowed palm tress and the moon in the clouds, and the bent over telephone poles, and the 40s era cars. There seems to be just enough lights on that it seems like someone is there, but dark enough to seem eerily abandoned too. It’s a shame the real thing couldn’t look like that.

[@aortaplatinum]

Every time you bring up The Great Movie Ride, my heart breaks into even more pieces.

[@martinbatalla3650]

I love the backstory of the ride. I remember being a little kid and being frightened by thinking that the 5 people that rode the elevator in the pre show were lost to another dimension or died or something just by having a lighting strike them, and then while in the ride I honestly felt I was in another dimension and could see them and they were “trapped” there. Although I was old enough to know rides and shows were “fake,” for some reason this one always felt too real. One of my favorite rides for sure, if not the top one!

[@kaderp]

I was 6 when I first read the ToT in Dinseyland. It launched me into a new obsession with the Twilight Zone and gave me a new appreciation for old shows. It was my absolute favorite ride and I'm just glad the og version is still standing in Florida

[@JosephDavies]

Excellent video! I still deeply miss this ride, and think it was a huge mistake to remove it. It was the ride that saved DCA from being a complete laughing stock, was the first part that truly fit the eventual re-theme (until they wrecked it), and now doesn't fit in the land in which it resides at all. It was such a beautiful building, inside and out.

[@peachbat4878]

its in avengers campus! fits perfectly :)

[@JosephDavies]

@@peachbat4878 Avengers Campus is themed as a repurposed conversion of Howard Stark's Los Angeles property where he developed and built many of his inventions. It's quite likely this area was originally his short-lived Hollywood movie studio before converting it into a motor plant. It would make a lot more sense for the Hollywood Tower Hotel to exist on the outskirts of Avengers Campus, as a location as well as thematically and visually, than a monstrous junkpile eye-sore owned and operated by a shady criminal alien who keeps sapient creatures as prisoners. Why is The Collector allowed to have his base on Avengers property? It does not fit at all (because it was never meant to).

[@HWStrashcanlogo]

@@JosephDavies I 100% agree

[@kendrick5501]

@@JosephDavies you completely took the words right out of my mouth DCA 2012 will always be where DCA has truly shined What Disney is doing now with DCA is just absurd, their progress literally going backwards

[@kamilyakadyr7063]

It truly sucks but I think there is a chance of it returning back to its origin, this has happened to soaring over California which was returned to its original concept by popular request. If that’s not the case, it’s vital to point out that Disney is capitalizing on Marvel right now because it’s profitable, and we are currently experiencing the golden age of super-hero films - and as any golden age, it will eventually end and be replaced by something else. Imagine how the current young generation will react when the Guardians of the Galaxy theme will be replaced by some different idea hahaha.

[@Anynom]

Still remember this opening in 1994, unlike anything else WDW was doing then and so damn wild.

[@davidcross7824]

@22:19 "The end result is undenieably spectacular on every level"

[@brerkris]

I love the Tower of Terror and Hollywood Boulevard area music! You just brought me back to downloading the music in like 2001 and listening to it all the time! Thanks! ❤

[@realestateunplugged6129]

Same here. Man, this attraction had and has a lot of detail craftsmanship and engineering in it. God Bless you in my Lord Jesus Christ!

[@cdmaster007]

The rumor that Tower was designed to blend in with the Moroccan skyline at EPCOT was actually debunked. The tour guides for Tower are very lucky to have a direct connection to the WDI documentation for the attraction, which confirm that the Morocco pavilion was not on the Imagineers’ minds during Tower’s development/construction. According to WDI documents, Tower’s architecture is Spanish-Colonial, not Neo-Mediterranean. Tower’s official color is “Patio Pink”, while the Morocco pavilion uses more dirt/red/orange colors. This is definitely a common misconception. Some of Tower’s tour guides have even spoken to the Imagineers who worked on the attraction directly about this topic. I believe one Imagineer was quoted saying, “If sight-lines were still a priority for Disney, we wouldn’t have built the Swan and Dolphin next door!” The current tour guides are working to stop the spread of the misinformation.

[@C1NDR0N3]

by far the best park history channel

[@theshenpartei]

This ride holds a special place in my heart because it introduced my to the twilight zone series

[@ilovemyoppa]

Missing your videos bro, I've been rewatching them all the time

[@FaeDruid]

Just want to echo what others have said that we miss you and hope you come back with a new video soon. I’m always keeping a lookout for your new content. Definitely one of my favorites on KZbin.

[@startrekfreak59]

Glad to see you back making excellent videos!

[@emoranger37]

Happy to have you back, always enjoyed your narration and scripting!!!

[@mdamdtraveldoc7183]

So great to have you back. Made my month.

[@jeyDsixx18]

My favorite part of the ride besides the obv drop, is the pre ride show in the library where u see the backstory video, a nod to the haunted mansion…I know other rides do this but it’s not as well done as the haunted mansion and ToT, they actually ramp up the anticipation for the ride perfectly

[@nickywh1t3]

Damn I really want that scale model of the tower of terror! That little thing is awesome!

[@primo622]

Amazing as always

[@felicitousfeline9956]

Great set dressing, story and ride (I was on the one in FL recently), but I thought it was too short-as the big drop twice would have been great.

[@ZNC16]

Fantastic video. I love this ride so much and love watching deep dives into its history!!

[@rb8058]

Great research and insight into what imagineers were working up. I can’t help think of this ride and not remember the terrible Tower of Terror movie with Steve Guttenberg.

[@RankingTheMouse]

Hes back, better than ever!! Fantastic Halloween special 👏👏

[@Unownshipper]

This is perhaps the finest, most in-depth look on the history/narrative of the Tower of Terror I've ever seen and I'm so pleased to have come across it. I especially love all the images, video clips, and other media you found (several of which I've never seen before). I find it so interesting how at 19:33 the bellhop's uniform is light blue in the making-of clip while the cast members wear burgundy uniforms at the ride. This was no doubt done so they could control what shade it would look like in black and white. How on earth did you find this?

[@cbw56]

Agreed

[@kaylaphillips3713]

So glad to see you’re back!

[@FanThemePark]

Fantastic video on one of my all time favorite attractions. The theming and ride experience are simply seemless with each other.

[@trilliangemini6435]

I also have to mention that my dad worked at disney a number of years and it was just magical going into the park when it was mgm studios when it first opened. I remember the coming soon poster for tower of terror and just how amazing the boulevard looked when it was done. And yeah, real quick to this day the nostromo set on the great movie ride is still my favorite memory of anything at disney world... next to original journey into imagination

[@siobhanlawper1051]

This is probably my favourite ride of all time. The combination of amazing thrill ride and incredible theming is just the best.

[@kuds7219]

Park ride history uploading again?! A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one

[@OnlyOneKenobi]

U ALWAYS rated your channel. In fact, you were probably THE FIRST theme park essay channel I found. This video is no exception from the usual quality you produce.... in fact, it's best so far! Why you're not on 100k is beyond me! Great work! 🥰 O.O.K 👌🏼💙

[@wileyhumphrey6930]

Please come back with your amazing videos!

[@TERMINALFlamingOcean]

YAY AN ACTAUL UPLOAD!

[@SpaceBronanas]

I really like the evolution of series as a whole. The longer videos with more detail are excellent to watch or to have on as background noise. I can tune in at any point and learn something interesting

[@yotsubafanfan]

I love Tower of Terror. The last time I went I rode it during a Thunderstorm. I almost lost my poncho but it was well worth it!

[@Greenkai3000]

Excellent video. I’d love to see a part 2 showcasing the Tokyo Disney Sea, Disneyland Paris, and DCA versions.

[@ACfairgrounds]

So glad you came back, I love your videos

[@edvaira6891]

Hard to believe this is originally going to be a Mel Brooks themed ride! Just kind of wonder what that would’ve been, though…wouldn’t you?!

[@leakdeo]

Imagine, if you will, if we lived in a universe, where the Tower of Terror was a Mel Brooks ride-

[@elijahrock3914]

@@leakdeo i keep hearing people be like "i hope they dont retheme the orlando tower" which im reasonably sure they wont but the alternate universe where it gets built as tower of terror and then converted into hotel mel the same time as mission breakout sounds amazing

[@Tannanson]

Welcome back Jack!

[@MaryS2022]

I have now caught up on all of your videos. Looking forward to whatever you post next.

[@Zoe-hk6qz]

youtube never notified me !!! so excited for this video

[@_spndyl]

I’m not a rollercoaster or adrenaline/thrill ride girl. Naturally, I wanted no parts of this ride when I went to Disney World with my family as a little girl back in 2005, still, I thought it was SO cool to see the building in person, especially after watching the the Disney Channel Original Movie based off of it as a kid several times. Stupidest mistake they ever made was getting rid of this ride and turning it into something much simpler in concept, even if they thought it would be more “current” or “relevant.” Some Disney attractions should really be recognized as historical landmarks so that they can’t do away with ‘em!!!

[@Ihelpertricks]

To be fair im pretty sure the Florida tower is still there and ppl have stated the guardians ride is a fairly decent successor. But i have never met anyone else who saw the movie with kirsten dunst lmao

[@julianalicciardi]

i got the opportunity to do a backstage tour of the tower of terror earlier this year and it was one of the coolest things i’ve ever done! super cool to get to walk around the lobby and all the show scenes and learn how it all works ☺️

[@devilinisepic]

Love the vids man! Mooore!

[@trilliangemini6435]

My dad was an electrician durring the open. Him and the other guy didnt know the drop side was in Show mode and went down without a car in it. They were fine, just a little shocked

[@cbw56]

Excellent video!!! I experienced this in 1998.

[@FFDGFDOFD]

Another beautiful peace...

[@MrKillerRC]

I love this ride. I rode it a month ago.

[@l3wismoreman9227]

I been on the ride and had a blast on it

[@TJ-bu9zk]

hurray! your alive!

[@rodrigobarba930]

5:59 Chris Pratt really let himself go

[@FrappeInsider]

disney doesn't give attractions their all nowadays. they give them budget cuts.

[@michaeltaylor1603]

So glad they didn't use the Intamin system. I think one of those shots was from the former AstroWorld in Houston. I was a ride op. on that one. ToT is indeed Disney at their finest in theming, immersion & THRILL!

[@burneyboys02]

Good to be back

[@stephenkostiak3929]

Can you please cover on the rise and fall of The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as a whole in a future episode on your video channel?

[@TL_oS]

Yay, a new video😺👍💛🎈🎊🎉🍻

[@SaturnCanuck]

Excellent

[@bigthundermountain]

Excellent!

[@taragabrielle7986]

I need more updates

[@johnchristenson]

Interesting, the ghosts!

[@3dpprofessor]

14:24 Look at all that duct tape. Wow.

[@Anynom]

Always fun when they began pitching it to Tokyo Disney guys...only to discover the Twilight Zone isn't that known in Japan so crafted a different story.

[@FilmThePoliceFTP]

Still anxiously awaiting spaceship earth part 3

[@bobcheapek4334]

My wallet is a Tower of Terror of its own credit cards and bills love to drop in

[@codyt821]

You are sucking the magic out of Disney BOB. I hate you

[@deadaccount2048]

The next time you pay for someones groceries, make sure you know who you are serving. Or you may find yourself a permanent resident: of the scary wallet DUN DUN DUNNNNN

[@martinbatalla3650]

Only criticism, you might want to pick up the pace a bit in your videos… I played it at x1.5 speed just because you spoke quite slowly. Otherwise great video!!

[@stephenkostiak3929]

How about you cover on Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin at Disneyland in California and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan as a whole in a future episode on your video channel?

[@jacksonfilippone1813]

Hey do you have any videos planned for the future

[@devhar4655]

I like how you used the song “I’m getting sentimental over you “ which is was in a episode of twilight zone it was a song that haunted a guy

[@Sillyzombie666]

i really miss this channel, hope you are ok man

[@markedward8519]

Your videos are awesome & informative. I'm retiring from my job in a few years & am moving to Orlando to work part-time at Disney. Could you tell me some really close places to Disney where we could move where I would not have to cross I-4 to get to work (we are having trouble narrowing down where to search for a new house)? Is there any other advice that you could give me about moving to the Orlando area? Thanks again for everything that you do with your channel.

[@mgrsdgfsdafsdgrsdgfsdg6980]

I can give you some real advice when you go to get hired. When you go for an interview, they WILL be watching you (from security cameras) from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave. To get the job, SMILE EVERY SECOND you are there, and you will get the job. Ive known several people who didnt get the job and they reason was "they didnt smile enough". Trust me, just keep a huge smile all the time and laugh and joke with the other applicants.

[@markedward8519]

@@mgrsdgfsdafsdgrsdgfsdg6980 Sorry it took so long to get back to you. My notifications on here have been disappearing very quickly. Thanks for all of your help. You are making this much easier for me. I hope I can get my dream job of a VIP tour guide as quick as possible.

[@Dannyx33444]

miss u king

[@shellsnbees]

Happy Halloween!

[@brainysmurf74]

It is based on the hollywood tower hotel. Go to LA and see it, it looks just like the ride

[@codyt821]

No it fucking doesn't lmao

[@JonathanGaeta]

@@codyt821 have you see the inside?

[@jenniferschillig3768]

Wasn't there another stage of development between the Hotel Mel and Twilight Zone incarnations--one that was a spooky thrill ride, but not connected with The Twilight Zone? As I recall, there was supposed to be a crazed, murderous film director running amuck, who would be seen cutting the cord on the elevator before the final plunge. Weren't there also plans at one point to actually make this a working hotel as well as an attraction?

[@fahsky]

By far my favorite ride at Hollywood Studios. Old Hollywood Gothic is such a vibe, & I'm so glad Disney ran with it even though it's so offbeat to mainstream. I hate that it was rethemed to a dumb flash in the plan movie franchise. I think the Twilight Zone is iconic & the spookiness is timeless. Also the footage of the 'crowds' back in the day makes my heart ache, the parks are so crammed full now, it's borderline unenjoyable.

[@kendrick5501]

As much as I love the MCU, being an MCU fan myself Mission Breakout really is a cash grab and never fits with California Adventure, not even in Avengers Campus Disney has been going backwards lately Being a person whose favorite is the Tower of Terror, it hurts so bad when I found out they're replacing it with Guardians of the Galaxy

[@DrMonkey1224]

At least the original in Florida is still there.

[@SuperReckless96]

I miss seeing new deep dives and Keep Epcot Weird

[@christiaanh]

Can you make a video about star wars rise of the resistance?

[@marihoverson]

Do the Carousel of Progress!

[@pavelow235]

You should do a update video. Christmas 2022.

[@Not-ElBarto]

I'm gonna miss this over Mission Breakout

[@gregmize01]

You know who sent me!😏

[@normalviewer740]

Yesssss

[@texaswunderkind]

Went in December of 2020. While the building and grounds are gorgeous, including the creepy interior rooms, I found the Twilight Zone theming to be dumb, and the free-fall was actually pretty low-thrill. Waited for nearly three hours to ride it, and all I could tell my wife was that the building was pretty.

[@clevm002]

Where are your videos now ? 😭

[@rmannayr2129]

WELCOME TO THE TWILIGHT ZONE!

[@rmannayr2129]

TOWER OF TERROR!!!!!!!!!!

[@eliassmeke3991]

It would 👍 if you do a history video about the history of Splash Mountain at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland since the United States 🇺🇸 versions of Splash Mountain are now closed to begin transformation into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure please 🙏

[@STSGuitar16]

It's so sad to think that we will probably never see another Disney attraction at the level of perfection as the Tower has. Just compare and contrast DIsney today vs Disney in the 90s era and you'll see what I mean. There is no way in hell that the current Disney leadership (if you can even call it that to begin with) would ever greenlight an attraction based on non-Disney IP, go to great lengths to make a truly unique, special and deeply themed ride like the Tower, or give the imagineers a budget allowing them to even go as far as sourcing actual antique items to be placed in what is literally just the queue. The ambience of the whole Tower from beginning to end is honestly better than any other Disney attraction I can think of, and that is because Disney actually gave a crap about the guest experience. These days it is about NOTHING else but money. There is no other attraction that has better theming in the entire world as ToT. I've ridden the ride more times than I could ever count, and that lobby, library, and boiler room still always amaze me at the level of detail that went into those parts. The theming of that queue alone is honestly more entertaining than so many of the new rides that they've been putting out. Sadly, I don't see that corporate mindset going away anytime soon. Disney (Bob Chapek) knows that they can get away with making some half-ass, garbage, even lower-than-Universal-level new attractions. Just look at the new Avengers' Campus' Spider-man ride if you need an example of what I mean. That ride is 100% awful, and I actually really love the Marvel movies. It's just so incredibly lazy and excites literally no one. Disney is just cruising on that more or less guaranteed money by making rides that don't even belong in a Six Flags park. Sad but true.

[@BAM5636]

With my issues with Disney current leadership aside, I completely disagree with your opinion on this. You bring up spiderman but ROTR is an amazingly immersive ride certainly equal to the great immersive rides of the past. You can have your opinion of course as I can have mine but your comment just doesn't ring true at all to me. It reads more like a rant that will have to contain continuous moving goal posts and purposeful omissions as you get proved wrong. After all, acting like this is the first time Disney has had unpopular and cost cutting people at the helm is far from accurate. Including during this so called golden age of the 90s that you speak of that you speak so fondly of here.

[@FilmThePoliceFTP]

Spaceship earth please???

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Basically when it comes to the Towers... Manga: DHS Anime: Tokyo DisneySea Netflix Adaptation: DCA

[@Zahnclassof95]

I actually miss MGM .the rodes on graphics like back to the future

[@jeffaltier5582]

I love that this ride was built to fit into the theme of the park. Disney has really gotten away with melding theme and park, which is a pity.

[@baymobbrcclub7426]

I went on this back when it was the twilight zone &i recently went on it as gaurdians of the galaxy ,i honestly liked the original ride better than the current version.why does disney do this??

[@jlopez7346]

All of that work just to turn it into guardians of the galaxy. I love gotg but tower of terror was so much fun to experience.

[@SirBlackReeds]

Mark Silverman has a bit of a career as voice doubling for celebrities, most notable of which is Sylvester Stallone.

[@peachbat4878]

idk if I would say its firing on all 5 cylinders, its missing manyyy original show effects sadly :(

[@rct3isepic]

Ya know, doing a deep dive on this ride and ALL of its versions around the globe, I really think they need to axe the Twilight Zone tie in and just let it be a spooky ghost ride. The story isn't really that fitting of the show at all and seems to misunderstand the Twilight Zone as a concept. Honestly the Tower of Terror without the Twilight Zone is a more fitting story for the Twilight Zone

[@dancingghostgirl2291]

The person who doesn't like this video doesnt like the feeling of being yanked down

[@harveyharrington6932]

Only used for 22 years 1917 to 1939