Need help with Tower of Terror details

Naplesgolfer

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am going to send Josh D'Amaro a email asking him why TOT has been allowed to languish in such poor condition for so long. I want to see how he responds given his reputation. I was hopeful when they replaced the drive motors earlier this year all the other issues would be fixed and then MAINTAINED!! But this didn't happen. So I am looking for a exhaustive list of all the things wrong and for how long. I know many of them but I am sure not all. I will point out the first then please chime in.
1) Ride sign no longer Sparks - 10years
 

donnylambb

Well-Known Member
I run a business and its the upkeep and small things that can give a client experience the reaction that you have with TOT!
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
I am going to send Josh D'Amaro a email asking him why TOT has been allowed to languish in such poor condition for so long. I want to see how he responds given his reputation. I was hopeful when they replaced the drive motors earlier this year all the other issues would be fixed and then MAINTAINED!! But this didn't happen. So I am looking for a exhaustive list of all the things wrong and for how long. I know many of them but I am sure not all. I will point out the first then please chime in.
1) Ride sign no longer Sparks - 10years
Ride sign isn’t poor maintenance. It was a safety concern and hasn’t sparked for a lot longer than that.
 

Rodj

Well-Known Member
Ride sign isn’t poor maintenance. It was a safety concern and hasn’t sparked for a lot longer than that.
What's wrong with running it when the mist is on? The mist can extinguish the sparks. They could also use "cold sparks", which are safe.

Ill add a individual post of my list of issues.
 

Rodj

Well-Known Member
Here is a list of broken effects and other things:
1. In the hallway scene in all show shafts, the front facing strobes that were behind the wall light shades don't work anymore, Example of it working:
2. The starfield doors in the 5th dimension on both Foxtrot and Echo are messed up. When the fiber optics are closest to the center and turn off, they turn off very abruptly and not slowly like it did before a year ago. There are a few more things wrong with it, but its hard to explain it in words so here is a video of what it should look like:
3. The strobes on the floor of the VVC on Foxtrot and Echo no longer work.
4. Most the strobes that light up the lightning in the front wall in Foxtrot and Echo's shaft are no longer working.
5. The secondary strobes(not the camera strobes) and the static sounds that accompanies it on the sign outside on the 9th floor don't work anymore, good video of the strobes:
6. The eyeball in the 5th dimension is just showing a stock image from 1994 and is not showing the photo which is taken in the hallway scene.
7. On Echo, the speaker at unloading which plays the ding SFX and the exit spiel is very muffled and can barely be heard.
8. On Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta, the VVC wall and ceiling lights don't flicker anymore on the way up to the hallway scene.
9. Foxtrot and Echo's 7th floor Horton Doors are not opening.
10. The "machinery" sound entering the drop shaft is very quiet on Foxtrot and Echo and isn't playing out of the VVC speakers(unless it is the one that is still broken)
11. Some of the VVC speakers in Foxtrot and Echo are still broken, I would really like if volume levels could return to the ones in this playlist of videos I gathered: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMFhecyKwIXOmUyWsM8dUiCA7gia956zg
12. Foxtrot has a near 3 second delay behind the audio for the drop sequence before the actual motion starts, on Echo it is near 0.5 seconds. It seems to get longer each time the programming is modified.
13. Before 2009, the BGM for the hallway scene "skipped" ahead to the bell portion when the doors started to open at the hallway scene. I want for this to come back so the hallway scene can be synchronized again.
14. For the transition audio to the 5th dimension level, it would be nice if it could play as soon as the window breaks in the hallway scene like it did before 1999, or at least have it check to see if the 5th dimension level is ready as soon as the window breaks instead of it checking when the doors are about halfway closed. Here is a video from 1994:
15. The door close SFX is very quiet and only plays properly in Delta. Back before 2009, it was very loud and prominent, however since then it has been quiet and hard to hear(Delta is the only shaft where it plays at the right spot). This video is a good example of how it sounded like before:
 

Naplesgolfer

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Here is a list of broken effects and other things:
1. In the hallway scene in all show shafts, the front facing strobes that were behind the wall light shades don't work anymore, Example of it working:
2. The starfield doors in the 5th dimension on both Foxtrot and Echo are messed up. When the fiber optics are closest to the center and turn off, they turn off very abruptly and not slowly like it did before a year ago. There are a few more things wrong with it, but its hard to explain it in words so here is a video of what it should look like:
3. The strobes on the floor of the VVC on Foxtrot and Echo no longer work.
4. Most the strobes that light up the lightning in the front wall in Foxtrot and Echo's shaft are no longer working.
5. The secondary strobes(not the camera strobes) and the static sounds that accompanies it on the sign outside on the 9th floor don't work anymore, good video of the strobes:
6. The eyeball in the 5th dimension is just showing a stock image from 1994 and is not showing the photo which is taken in the hallway scene.
7. On Echo, the speaker at unloading which plays the ding SFX and the exit spiel is very muffled and can barely be heard.
8. On Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta, the VVC wall and ceiling lights don't flicker anymore on the way up to the hallway scene.
9. Foxtrot and Echo's 7th floor Horton Doors are not opening.
10. The "machinery" sound entering the drop shaft is very quiet on Foxtrot and Echo and isn't playing out of the VVC speakers(unless it is the one that is still broken)
11. Some of the VVC speakers in Foxtrot and Echo are still broken, I would really like if volume levels could return to the ones in this playlist of videos I gathered: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMFhecyKwIXOmUyWsM8dUiCA7gia956zg
12. Foxtrot has a near 3 second delay behind the audio for the drop sequence before the actual motion starts, on Echo it is near 0.5 seconds. It seems to get longer each time the programming is modified.
13. Before 2009, the BGM for the hallway scene "skipped" ahead to the bell portion when the doors started to open at the hallway scene. I want for this to come back so the hallway scene can be synchronized again.
14. For the transition audio to the 5th dimension level, it would be nice if it could play as soon as the window breaks in the hallway scene like it did before 1999, or at least have it check to see if the 5th dimension level is ready as soon as the window breaks instead of it checking when the doors are about halfway closed. Here is a video from 1994:
15. The door close SFX is very quiet and only plays properly in Delta. Back before 2009, it was very loud and prominent, however since then it has been quiet and hard to hear(Delta is the only shaft where it plays at the right spot). This video is a good example of how it sounded like before:


Thank you so much for writing this out. I knew about half of these points and wouldn't have been succinct as you. I am just going to copy your points down in the email to Disney.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
What's wrong with running it when the mist is on? The mist can extinguish the sparks.
The risk is too high. The equipment is still intact to operate it but I believe the pads are removed.

Same for the boiler room mist. Still works, intentionally switched off for safety.
 

bsiev1977

Well-Known Member
I am going to send Josh D'Amaro a email asking him why TOT has been allowed to languish in such poor condition for so long. I want to see how he responds given his reputation. I was hopeful when they replaced the drive motors earlier this year all the other issues would be fixed and then MAINTAINED!! But this didn't happen. So I am looking for a exhaustive list of all the things wrong and for how long. I know many of them but I am sure not all. I will point out the first then please chime in.
1) Ride sign no longer Sparks - 10years
I can save you the trouble. You’re going to get a form response.
 

Thelazer

Well-Known Member
Ride sign isn’t poor maintenance. It was a safety concern and hasn’t sparked for a lot longer than that.

I always thought, I saw something done with fiber optics, from viewing it on the street looking up.
Perhaps there was two devices, one fiber, and one "real"?
 
Last edited:

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Rodj covered it pretty well. It's been two months since I last rode, but I have a few things to add that I doubt have been addressed since then:

1. The TVs in the libraries were replaced a while ago with LCD HDTVs (behind the antique frame that was always there). Since LCD displays can not display true black without shutting off their backlight, the TVs are illuminated as you enter the room. The original CRT TVs were always on, but you couldn't tell because CRTs can display pure black. This is a big deal because first time riders aren't supposed to know that the TV is going to come on, it's supposed to be a surprise.
2. The pre-show video itself has graphical glitches in it, I'm guessing due to a poor digital transfer.
3. The lightning in the library windows is super dim, if it even works at all anymore.
4. The library audio all around is horrifically quiet, if the room is full you can not hear the show.
5. The light level in the library doesn't go out completely or get very dark anymore, though this is probably a safety adjustment (by an overzealous middle manager).
6. All four corridor scenes (the first scene on the elevator) are out of calibration. The reflective glass is visible, the ghosts are often reflected onto the floor, the rear wall, which is a projection to create the floating window effect, is too bright due to upgrading to LED projectors, ruining the illusion. All of these things must be calibrated correctly for the illusion to work.
7. Most of the drop shaft effects are out, such as various lighting effects, air and scent blasts, and the static figures of the ghosts that are supposed to flicker in some sequences.
8. The audio for the fake motors at the loading platforms is very quiet.

If they do just ONE thing though I want them to make the audio LOUD and CONSISTENT again.

I can save you the trouble. You’re going to get a form response.
That's why it's better to project these issues here for everyone to see and make it more known. Everyone knows and jokes about the infamous Everest yeti and a big part of that is threads like the long-running stickied one on here. Tower of Terror is in far worse shape than Everest. It's absolutely embarrassing in its current state.
 

bryanfze55

Well-Known Member
Josh D'Amaro did do a nice job as the Head of Disneyland. His reputation was well-earned, but he can only do so much when restrained from above. Unfortunately, Disney seems content with providing inferior maintenance to their American parks as compared to the foreign parks (Disney World, in particular, has suffered from this).
 

Victor Kelly

Well-Known Member
Here is why Disney does not care. People like me get get to go every 5 years, others is a one time trip. We simply don't know what the fully functioning rides are like.

People that can afford more frequesnt trips or people who live nearby know what is wrong. Disney could care less about these people. If Disney can save money any way possible they will.
 

Mickey5150

Well-Known Member
Here is why Disney does not care. People like me get get to go every 5 years, others is a one time trip. We simply don't know what the fully functioning rides are like.

People that can afford more frequesnt trips or people who live nearby know what is wrong. Disney could care less about these people. If Disney can save money any way possible they will.
The real problem is that the parks are just 1 part of a much bigger operation. It's not about their bottom line, it's the Disney corporation bottom line. Reminds me of the time I managed a Pizza Hut many years ago. I was trying to get a new outside sign built since ours was old and not very visible. My district manager said it would cost 10 grand so we couldn't get it. My store busted our butts to earn more money and save more money and found our $10k. When I went to my DM at the end of the year with the extra 10k, she said I still couldn't get the sign because that extra money helped make up for underperforming stores in the district. Welcome to corporate America.
 

bryanfze55

Well-Known Member
The real problem is that the parks are just 1 part of a much bigger operation. It's not about their bottom line, it's the Disney corporation bottom line. Reminds me of the time I managed a Pizza Hut many years ago. I was trying to get a new outside sign built since ours was old and not very visible. My district manager said it would cost 10 grand so we couldn't get it. My store busted our butts to earn more money and save more money and found our $10k. When I went to my DM at the end of the year with the extra 10k, she said I still couldn't get the sign because that extra money helped make up for underperforming stores in the district. Welcome to corporate America.

Yes. WDW and DL, but particularly WDW, is Disney’s cash cow. We’re all paying for budget overruns in Shanghai (for a park nobody wanted or asked for), and we’re all paying for 20th Century Fox (so Disney can do remakes of movies nobody wants or is asking for).
 

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