Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout announced for Disney California Adventure

[sunsetblvd26]

DHS' Tower doesn't have that, it just starts.

I disagree, in fact I think it's build up is much stronger. After the first stop on the elevator where you see into the room when the lightning strikes, you then leave the elevator shaft and travel into the twilight zone (the second scene). DCA's remains in the elevator shaft the entire time, making it feel to me at least not so much like entering the TZ like you said but just in a haunted hotel.

The DCA version takes the concept and moves it away from being a literal copy of the show and into its own entity more.

I don't really follow, if you would like to elaborate?

 

[Professortango1]

I don't really follow, if you would like to elaborate?

Compare DCA's introduction to DHS'.

DHS: You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator about to ascend into your very own episode of The Twilight Zone.
DCA: You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator about to take the strangest journey of your lives. Your destination? Unknown. But this much is clear: a reservation has been made in your name for an extended stay.

Then the imagery we see in the ride.

DHS: The window at the end of the hallway transforms into black and white window from the 5th Season Intro. The doors close silently, we slowly rise up.
DCA: The Elevator at the end of the hall opens to reveal the 5 ghosts. They drop. The elevator drops. Then we drop.

In the Fifth Dimension Room we are surrounded by imagery from the show. E=MC2, the giant fake eye, the floating window, etc. No such depictions in DCA's.

At the bottom of the drop tower.
DHS: Treated to a silent clip of elements of the TV show being pulled into a vortex.
DCA: Pushed back into reality.

The original version is more closely tied to the source material and tells us openly we are in a TV show. The DCA version removes almost all of the TV show references and focuses on the ghost story aspect. I personally prefer the ghost story as it seems less cheesy to me.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

I am purely throwing this out there for the fun of it.

In an effort to be true to the spirit of The Twilight Zone, Disney Imagineers reportedly watched every episode of the original television show at least twice. The attraction buildings are littered with references to Twilight Zone episodes

DCA VERSION

• In the Hollywood Tower Hotel's lobby at California Adventure, there was a door with 22 in brass numbering. This was a reference to the episode "Twenty Two".
• Similar to the version at Walt Disney Studios (Paris), at California Adventure in the lobby of the hotel, on a couch, sat a Shirley Temple doll.
• At California Adventure there was a picture, behind the counter in the gift shop, that is said to be of Walt Disney at a Tip Top Club party holding a Mickey Mouse plush toy.
• Outside the library in the glass case adjacent to the doors, there is a gold thimble accompanied by a card that reads, "Looking for a gift for Mother? Find it in our Gift Shop!" This is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "The After Hours."
• Envelopes with the names Rod Serling and Victoria West could be found in both libraries at California Adventure, near the sliding wall, a reference to the episode "A World of His Own." In Library 1, it stuck out of the top of the green books. In Library 2, it sat in front of the books. The green books contained titles of selected Twilight Zone episodes. Other books in the libraries were in various languages from around the world, including German and Danish.
• Similar to the Disneyland Paris venue, the California Adventure queue line featured a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "Little Girl Lost". Chalk marks on the walls were in the same style as in the episode when trying to find the portal to the girl. This could be found in the upper level of the boiler room next to the attraction warning signage at each of the 2 venues. Periodically the girl's voice could be heard calling out for help from the wall and from the radios around the boiler room.
• There was a display case in the photo gallery of the Tower of Terror attraction at Disney California Adventure that contained two items relating to the "A Thing about Machines" episode. One was a typewriter (with the GET OUT OF HERE FINCHLEY message); the card next to it read "Almost Writes By Itself". There was also an electric razor; its card read "Has A Long Cord - Can Follow You Everywhere". There was also a toy telephone from the episode "Long Distance Call" with a card saying "Perfect for the children's room and those late night calls from Grandma."
• Whilst exiting the Disney California Adventure ride, there was a display window for "Willoughby Travel", a nod to the episode "A Stop at Willoughby."
• In the photo gallery of the Tower of Terror attraction at Disney California Adventure, there was a poster advertising "Anthony Fremont's Orchestra". Anthony Fremont was the young boy with god-like powers from the episode "It's a Good Life".

 

[Phroobar]

Compare DCA's introduction to DHS'.

DHS: You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator about to ascend into your very own episode of The Twilight Zone.
DCA: You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator about to take the strangest journey of your lives. Your destination? Unknown. But this much is clear: a reservation has been made in your name for an extended stay.

Then the imagery we see in the ride.

DHS: The window at the end of the hallway transforms into black and white window from the 5th Season Intro. The doors close silently, we slowly rise up.
DCA: The Elevator at the end of the hall opens to reveal the 5 ghosts. They drop. The elevator drops. Then we drop.

In the Fifth Dimension Room we are surrounded by imagery from the show. E=MC2, the giant fake eye, the floating window, etc. No such depictions in DCA's.

At the bottom of the drop tower.
DHS: Treated to a silent clip of elements of the TV show being pulled into a vortex.
DCA: Pushed back into reality.

The original version is more closely tied to the source material and tells us openly we are in a TV show. The DCA version removes almost all of the TV show references and focuses on the ghost story aspect. I personally prefer the ghost story as it seems less cheesy to me.

You forgot DCA opens to the mirror were everyone disappears then you see the hallway with the 5 ghosts.

The fifth dimension room in Florida really has nothing to do with five people stepping into an elevator and disappearing. It's just a weird pepper's ghost scene of items from the TV show's title sequence. It's cool but doesn't advance the plot at all. If you didn't know the tv show you would have no idea what that is. Everyone can understand disappearing in a mirror as being ghostly.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The queue in the front room with the Star Speeder being serviced, where the Mighty Microscope sat, is basically the same.

Yes, but I meant more like leftover bits of track they were to cheap to gut (like the Peoplemover track) or rooms used for the ride experience that aren't used now.

 

[sunsetblvd26]

You forgot DCA opens to the mirror were everyone disappears then you see the hallway with the 5 ghosts.

The fifth dimension room in Florida really has nothing to do with five people stepping into an elevator and disappearing. It's just a weird pepper's ghost scene of items from the TV show's title sequence. It's cool but doesn't advance the plot at all. If you didn't know the tv show you would have no idea what that is. Everyone can understand disappearing in a mirror as being ghostly.

The scene represents the guests traveling into the twilight zone, and actually is important to the plot.

One of the big aspects of the original tower that got lost in the 2nd version was the "murder mystery" type aspect to it. Imagineers were considering making a murder mystery dark ride for DHS when a new big ride was in the works. Long story short this attraction eventually ended up as the ToT of course. The murder mystery elements were still a part of the story though, the idea being it started in the queue, which was to set up the intrigue in guests heads of "what happened to this hotel", and continued on to the preshow which then filled in some of the holes but not everything (like now we get 'what happened' to the hotel, but it's still very crazy and don't completely understand it, in TZ fashion). The ride portion then has guests physically experience what the 5 passengers experienced to fill in the rest of the gaps. The first scene when we see the ghosts, hear the music, and then see the room turn into stars is recreating the moment that the elevator was struck by lightning. Time feels frozen in a sense as we now, just like the 5 passengers, are entering the TZ (the 5th dimension room). And then for the final part of the experience the elevator drops again (though of course it being a theme park drop tower attraction it goes up and down a couple times, you know how it is). And then the ride ends with us escaping the TZ.

As @Professortango1 pointed out the DCA version is different like how you described, and doesn't really have this full TZ story but rather the TZ as an IP is just an extra. I personally prefer the DHS one though.

 

[Professortango1]

I'd love to see them recreate the 5th Dimension Room in the DHS Tower. It would be awesome to have another hallway and the ghostly elevator on the other side. Suddenly, the spirits begin pulling out maintenance elevator car through the hall and into the ill-fated guest elevator shaft. I just hate the current execution, its so corny.

 

[sunsetblvd26]

I'd love to see them recreate the 5th Dimension Room in the DHS Tower. It would be awesome to have another hallway and the ghostly elevator on the other side. Suddenly, the spirits begin pulling out maintenance elevator car through the hall and into the ill-fated guest elevator shaft. I just hate the current execution, its so corny.

Don't know if you've been on it but it definitely doesn't feel corny while riding it. It's pretty cool (and the eyeball effect is neat) and builds up suspense for the drop very well. Honestly if that's corny I feel like most dark ride show scenes would be too then

 

[Professortango1]

Don't know if you've been on it but it definitely doesn't feel corny while riding it. It's pretty cool (and the eyeball effect is neat) and builds up suspense for the drop very well. Honestly if that's corny I feel like most dark ride show scenes would be too then

I have been on it, this year in fact. It feels very corny and usually I hear giggles when going through it. Signs on visible fishing wire, dated projections, the 1960's imagery. This room would make sense if the ride was in a haunted TV studio and we were literally being sucked into the TV show. But we're not, and it screams outdated 80's effects. For East Coast attractions, it holds up okay, but compared to the newer tech most attractions have out on the West Coast, it just doesn't hold up anymore. I loved it in 1996, but now it just seems very Cedar Fair.

 

[The Mur]

At DCA that there is an elevator door and you step through that into a hallway to another elevator door essentially ruins the entire premise for me. I don't ever feel like I am getting on an elevator. On DHS version you are clearly getting on an elevator and it was such a surprise when an elevator started crawling forward. One of the best Disney wow moment for me. DCA version does not have any wow moments; its just fun.

That said I love a good drop ride and this is one of the best. I imagine it still will be (really excited for the GotG music elements being a kid of the 70s)

 

[Professortango1]

At DCA that there is an elevator door and you step through that into a hallway to another elevator door essentially ruins the entire premise for me. I don't ever feel like I am getting on an elevator. On DHS version you are clearly getting on an elevator and it was such a surprise when an elevator started crawling forward. One of the best Disney wow moment for me. DCA version does not have any wow moments; its just fun.

That said I love a good drop ride and this is one of the best. I imagine it still will be (really excited for the GotG music elements being a kid of the 70s)

That's funny, I never noticed the hallway until like my 5th or 6th time and most others I talk to don't either. Most guests are so excited to board the elevator car and get strapped in that most are oblivious until they get comfortable enough to start looking for such details after repeated visits. DCA's pull away and push forward is a great bookending wow, as is the transition in the mirror effect room. With the one lighting, it looks pristine, then in the next after the lightning, it looks dilapidated. Very nicely done. I also love the drop scare with the hallway scene. The DHS is cooky and fun, but not really scary. The DCA version is definitely the scary version.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

At DCA that there is an elevator door and you step through that into a hallway to another elevator door essentially ruins the entire premise for me. I don't ever feel like I am getting on an elevator.

I second this. The hallway thing always breaks the illusion for me too. I don't visit often and I usually only get one TOT ride per trip so I always forget about the hallway until I'm crossing it.

That's funny, I never noticed the hallway until like my 5th or 6th time and most others I talk to don't either. Most guests are so excited to board the elevator car and get strapped in that most are oblivious until they get comfortable enough to start looking for such details after repeated visits.

I noticed the very first time I rode it, but I realize that I'm not like the average guest due to my tendency to geek out over details at Disney parks, especially the first couple of trips through when a new ride or land opens. I can completely see how most riders would miss it.

 

[Professortango1]

I second this. The hallway thing always breaks the illusion for me too. I don't visit often and I usually only get one TOT ride per trip so I always forget about the hallway until I'm crossing it.



I noticed the very first time I rode it, but I realize that I'm not like the average guest due to my tendency to geek out over details at Disney parks, especially the first couple of trips through when a new ride or land opens. I can completely see how most riders would miss it.

Plus, I have been in a hotel that the maintenance floor has an elevator door, a tiny hall/room, then the doors of the actual elevator. Weird, but just like DCA's Tower in real life.

 

[Kram Sacul]

The fifth dimension room in Florida really has nothing to do with five people stepping into an elevator and disappearing. It's just a weird pepper's ghost scene of items from the TV show's title sequence. It's cool but doesn't advance the plot at all. If you didn't know the tv show you would have no idea what that is. Everyone can understand disappearing in a mirror as being ghostly.

Incorrect. The 5th Dimension scene references what happened to the 5 passengers. There's 5 ghostly figures standing off to the side, lightning effects and you can hear the little girl's voice going in and out. Not exactly subtle.

 

[Disney Irish]

Anyone else feeling as though this is going to be better than first thought? While I know some people will always dislike the change, objectively this is looking better than some first reported.

 

[Kiwiduck]

Anyone else feeling as though this is going to be better than first thought? While I know some people will always dislike the change, objectively this is looking better than some first reported.

Well, I definitely like the backside better than what came before and after looking through the scaffolding I have some cautious optimism about the front. Hoping that they have toned the colours down a bit after hearing all the horrified reactions last time they exposed it.

 

[Practical Pig]

Anyone else feeling as though this is going to be better than first thought? While I know some people will always dislike the change, objectively this is looking better than some first reported.

I don't think the word "objectively" really applies to any Disney fan discussion of a major change in the parks.

 

[Kram Sacul]

Anyone else feeling as though this is going to be better than first thought? While I know some people will always dislike the change, objectively this is looking better than some first reported.

When something is described as an oil refinery or a warehouse with a bunch of random junk attached to it to make it look more than what is expectations tend to be pretty low.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Anyone else feeling as though this is going to be better than first thought? While I know some people will always dislike the change, objectively this is looking better than some first reported.

It really doesn't matter what the building comes out looking like in the end; the ride as a whole will still be completely out of place and won't make sense in the land it is in. There's no getting around that.

 

[sedati]

It really doesn't matter what the building comes out looking like in the end; the ride as a whole will still be completely out of place and won't make sense in the land it is in. There's no getting around that.

The Tower was barely in a land to begin with. At best it seemed annexed from the Hollywood area.

If a Marvel area is being planned, then the land issue will hopefully be rectified.