Was thinking about this last night...
What makes Tower of Terror such a special attraction? Why do people love it despite the fact that it's not explicitly "Disney" and that the TV show it's based on is no longer the cultural touchstone it used to be? As good as the ride is, I think, like all great Disney works, it touches on something in the broader cultural sphere beyond the realm of theme parks.
The Haunted Mansion was a byproduct of the time it was built; the mid-century revival of gothic horror that was kickstarted by Shock Theater and Hammer's first Frankenstein movie. As good as it is, the ride is just the ultimate example of the archetype it's based on, and Victorian haunted hoses are dime a dozen in American pop culture.
There was no craze about haunted hotels in the 80s or 90s. Disney invented one themselves and in doing so created something that (intentionally or not) tied so many popular obsessions together. Faded glamour, tragic disasters, abandoned liminal spaces, paranormal investigations and more. All things that are even more popular today than in 1994 thanks to the widespread adoption of the internet and how much content has been made about those topics since. If The Hollywood Tower Hotel was a real building with no ride or formal backstory, people would still be fascinated with it, and probably invent their own mythology. The "golden age of Hollywood" is not the selling point because most people don't have a nostalgia for that time period or were raised on the retrospectives of the 70s and 80s that built the image of Hollywood's past that informed all of MGM Studios. What it does do is further sell the idea of a deep history, of great success that was suddenly and horrifically removed in an instant. That's a powerful idea that reaches across generations and gives the ride it's spellbinding aura.
The building itself is also a spectacular work of design. Comparing it with Haunted Mansion, even in the incarnations where you walk into the facade, it's obvious not everything that happens in the ride does so in that house. It's merely a set. Tower of Terror is one of the few Disney rides you can view from all angles and is so huge that even accounting for the forced perspective and allegedly missing corridors, it still creates the suspension of disbelief that lets audiences believe there's so much more inside than there really is. How many people have believed the urban myth about other things being in there besides the ride? Or have wished to explore more than where the elevator takes you and spend a night in one of its rooms or lounge at the Tip Top Club? Few theme park rides reach this level of curiosity beyond the thrills they give to riders.
As a Twilight Zone episode though, it's not very good. There's no real twist to the premise, no allegory or parable about a broader theme or subject, the scare of the drop is given away before we go inside etc. There's an episode called "Five Characters In Search of an Exit", but that's not the focus of the five elevator passengers in the ride, and we never learn anything more about them or their circumstance. It's just another example of Eisner-era Disney's fascination and love of backstories.
But that's why Tower of Terror would still be a great experience and idea, with or without the Twilight Zone branding. Everything else about the attraction was invented for this ride. Its the only IP ride that's also an original work. But the very specific IP branding in this case compliments it because "Twilight Zone" is a phrase in our collective conscience that describes something that's unusual, mysterious and foreboding. All of which accurately describes the ride and mood of Tower of Terror.
Unfortunately for DCA, Guardians of the Galaxy erases all of this. Now the building is a literal alien setting with no cultural significance or point of reference, that only exists to serve a very specific storyline. It's no longer an abandoned or haunted building, it's an active museum, on a subject few are fascinated to start with. Unlike The Twilight Zone, which simply sets the tone for anyone unfamiliar with the show, you need to be familiar with the characters of GotG to really appreciate the ride. I don't think that will make it as timeless or appealing 30 years from now.
And that's the last bit of unintended genius. Tower of Terror will never age. That it's supposed to be a long ago abandoned building only becomes truer with time. It's setting is simultaneously period and contemporary. So what if the furnishings and equipment inside is old? It's supposed to be! Rod Serling himself might as well be another one of the hotel's ghosts. One trapped forever to give expository dialog to anyone willing to listen.
And years from now people will still be lining up to hear his tale and scream when he goes silent.
What makes Tower of Terror such a special attraction? Why do people love it despite the fact that it's not explicitly "Disney" and that the TV show it's based on is no longer the cultural touchstone it used to be? As good as the ride is, I think, like all great Disney works, it touches on something in the broader cultural sphere beyond the realm of theme parks.
The Haunted Mansion was a byproduct of the time it was built; the mid-century revival of gothic horror that was kickstarted by Shock Theater and Hammer's first Frankenstein movie. As good as it is, the ride is just the ultimate example of the archetype it's based on, and Victorian haunted hoses are dime a dozen in American pop culture.
There was no craze about haunted hotels in the 80s or 90s. Disney invented one themselves and in doing so created something that (intentionally or not) tied so many popular obsessions together. Faded glamour, tragic disasters, abandoned liminal spaces, paranormal investigations and more. All things that are even more popular today than in 1994 thanks to the widespread adoption of the internet and how much content has been made about those topics since. If The Hollywood Tower Hotel was a real building with no ride or formal backstory, people would still be fascinated with it, and probably invent their own mythology. The "golden age of Hollywood" is not the selling point because most people don't have a nostalgia for that time period or were raised on the retrospectives of the 70s and 80s that built the image of Hollywood's past that informed all of MGM Studios. What it does do is further sell the idea of a deep history, of great success that was suddenly and horrifically removed in an instant. That's a powerful idea that reaches across generations and gives the ride it's spellbinding aura.
The building itself is also a spectacular work of design. Comparing it with Haunted Mansion, even in the incarnations where you walk into the facade, it's obvious not everything that happens in the ride does so in that house. It's merely a set. Tower of Terror is one of the few Disney rides you can view from all angles and is so huge that even accounting for the forced perspective and allegedly missing corridors, it still creates the suspension of disbelief that lets audiences believe there's so much more inside than there really is. How many people have believed the urban myth about other things being in there besides the ride? Or have wished to explore more than where the elevator takes you and spend a night in one of its rooms or lounge at the Tip Top Club? Few theme park rides reach this level of curiosity beyond the thrills they give to riders.
As a Twilight Zone episode though, it's not very good. There's no real twist to the premise, no allegory or parable about a broader theme or subject, the scare of the drop is given away before we go inside etc. There's an episode called "Five Characters In Search of an Exit", but that's not the focus of the five elevator passengers in the ride, and we never learn anything more about them or their circumstance. It's just another example of Eisner-era Disney's fascination and love of backstories.
But that's why Tower of Terror would still be a great experience and idea, with or without the Twilight Zone branding. Everything else about the attraction was invented for this ride. Its the only IP ride that's also an original work. But the very specific IP branding in this case compliments it because "Twilight Zone" is a phrase in our collective conscience that describes something that's unusual, mysterious and foreboding. All of which accurately describes the ride and mood of Tower of Terror.
Unfortunately for DCA, Guardians of the Galaxy erases all of this. Now the building is a literal alien setting with no cultural significance or point of reference, that only exists to serve a very specific storyline. It's no longer an abandoned or haunted building, it's an active museum, on a subject few are fascinated to start with. Unlike The Twilight Zone, which simply sets the tone for anyone unfamiliar with the show, you need to be familiar with the characters of GotG to really appreciate the ride. I don't think that will make it as timeless or appealing 30 years from now.
And that's the last bit of unintended genius. Tower of Terror will never age. That it's supposed to be a long ago abandoned building only becomes truer with time. It's setting is simultaneously period and contemporary. So what if the furnishings and equipment inside is old? It's supposed to be! Rod Serling himself might as well be another one of the hotel's ghosts. One trapped forever to give expository dialog to anyone willing to listen.
And years from now people will still be lining up to hear his tale and scream when he goes silent.
