I consider DHS's Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to be one of the greatest rides ever made. Growing up and making frequent visits to WDW, I was of course fascinated by all of it, but no ride captured my fascination nearly as much as Tower of Terror. I think we can all agree that when it comes to attention to detail, creative backstory, and impressive ride design, Tower of Terror is top notch. To this day its still one of the most impressive ride systems in existence.
Having said that... in addition to needing some TLC, there is room for improvement, especially with the special effects technology available today. Here are some of my ideas:
The weakest aspect of DHS's Tower is generally considered to be the 5th Dimension scene. Yes, for first time riders, the elevator leaving the shaft and moving forward is an impressive surprise, but the scene itself is mediocre. In fact, very few people ever actually "get" what the scene is supposed to be! When the doors to the scene open, you are supposed to be "on your back", ascending an elevator shaft vertically. For confirmation, look for the sideways elevator doors, lights, and signs on the sides. As you "ascend" the shaft, the walls disappear and reveal the Twilight Zone-y stuff behind them, ending with a portal that transports your service elevator into the original elevator shaft that the "incident" happened in so it can happen to you, too.
In addition to not really making much sense to most people, the effects in the scene are honestly pretty tacky, especially compared to the much more visually impressive first scene. Another issue I've always had is that you are only seeing the stuff from the Twilight Zone opening sequence. The Twilight Zone is not really an actual "other worldly" realm in the show, anyway, and more of a metaphor for the ironic, the bizarre, the supernatural situations the characters in the show experience.
I propose an entirely new scene for that segment that would be creepy, visually impressive, and also expand on the Hollywood Tower Hotel story and allow you to see more of the hotel:
Gut the whole current scene (except maybe the starfield portal doors), and make it... the Tip Top Club. Hear me out! Picture if you will: The elevator doors open. You see a long abandoned, dark, lifeless, creepy nightclub. Visual cues and signs would indicate that it is, in fact, the Tip Top Club, and you are seeing it as it was left in 1939 - perhaps a banner could read "Halloween 1939 or something. On one side of the room are large windows and it is clearly storming outside. On the other side, a stage.
An old timey record player in the center of the beginning of the scene (between where the two elevator shaft routes combine) illuminates and activates by itself as your elevator begins to move forward. Music similar to the queue BGM (I'm picturing specifically We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn) begins playing, and with it, the scene "comes alive" and illuminates. Borrowing from the made-for-TV movie, the woman in the elevator appears on stage and is performing the song you hear. The other four elevator passengers appear around the scene. With today's projection technology (think of The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow as a demo) this could be done in a very visually impressive way. All of a sudden a loud, close crash of lightning with a blinding flash from the windows hits, and everything goes lifeless and dark again, just before you reach the starfield portal. There could be more detail than this, this is just a general idea.
Why would the elevator be moving through the club? Well first, in the first scene you are already "transported" to another dimension in the starfield anyway (your elevator is floating in space), so it doesn't really matter where your elevator goes next as it is no longer in the physical service elevator shaft (from a story standpoint). Second, it makes at least as much sense as the current scene, while expanding on the story.
So that's my biggest idea. I'd also like to see some technical upgrades like:
- full surround sound in the vehicle lifts
- new lighting effects and upgrades all around
- more effects in during the drop sequence - for instance, at DCA, the lights in the elevator pulse and flicker during the drop sequence as if the elevator is surging with electricity - it works well and actually adds to the excitement and sensation of movement.
- more than 4 drop sequences (yes, there are only 4.)
So those are my ideas/armchair imagineering/wishful thinking. Let me know what you guys think!
Having said that... in addition to needing some TLC, there is room for improvement, especially with the special effects technology available today. Here are some of my ideas:
The weakest aspect of DHS's Tower is generally considered to be the 5th Dimension scene. Yes, for first time riders, the elevator leaving the shaft and moving forward is an impressive surprise, but the scene itself is mediocre. In fact, very few people ever actually "get" what the scene is supposed to be! When the doors to the scene open, you are supposed to be "on your back", ascending an elevator shaft vertically. For confirmation, look for the sideways elevator doors, lights, and signs on the sides. As you "ascend" the shaft, the walls disappear and reveal the Twilight Zone-y stuff behind them, ending with a portal that transports your service elevator into the original elevator shaft that the "incident" happened in so it can happen to you, too.
In addition to not really making much sense to most people, the effects in the scene are honestly pretty tacky, especially compared to the much more visually impressive first scene. Another issue I've always had is that you are only seeing the stuff from the Twilight Zone opening sequence. The Twilight Zone is not really an actual "other worldly" realm in the show, anyway, and more of a metaphor for the ironic, the bizarre, the supernatural situations the characters in the show experience.
I propose an entirely new scene for that segment that would be creepy, visually impressive, and also expand on the Hollywood Tower Hotel story and allow you to see more of the hotel:
Gut the whole current scene (except maybe the starfield portal doors), and make it... the Tip Top Club. Hear me out! Picture if you will: The elevator doors open. You see a long abandoned, dark, lifeless, creepy nightclub. Visual cues and signs would indicate that it is, in fact, the Tip Top Club, and you are seeing it as it was left in 1939 - perhaps a banner could read "Halloween 1939 or something. On one side of the room are large windows and it is clearly storming outside. On the other side, a stage.
An old timey record player in the center of the beginning of the scene (between where the two elevator shaft routes combine) illuminates and activates by itself as your elevator begins to move forward. Music similar to the queue BGM (I'm picturing specifically We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn) begins playing, and with it, the scene "comes alive" and illuminates. Borrowing from the made-for-TV movie, the woman in the elevator appears on stage and is performing the song you hear. The other four elevator passengers appear around the scene. With today's projection technology (think of The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow as a demo) this could be done in a very visually impressive way. All of a sudden a loud, close crash of lightning with a blinding flash from the windows hits, and everything goes lifeless and dark again, just before you reach the starfield portal. There could be more detail than this, this is just a general idea.
Why would the elevator be moving through the club? Well first, in the first scene you are already "transported" to another dimension in the starfield anyway (your elevator is floating in space), so it doesn't really matter where your elevator goes next as it is no longer in the physical service elevator shaft (from a story standpoint). Second, it makes at least as much sense as the current scene, while expanding on the story.
So that's my biggest idea. I'd also like to see some technical upgrades like:
- full surround sound in the vehicle lifts
- new lighting effects and upgrades all around
- more effects in during the drop sequence - for instance, at DCA, the lights in the elevator pulse and flicker during the drop sequence as if the elevator is surging with electricity - it works well and actually adds to the excitement and sensation of movement.
- more than 4 drop sequences (yes, there are only 4.)
So those are my ideas/armchair imagineering/wishful thinking. Let me know what you guys think!
