Tower of Terror effects status watch

[StarWarsGirl]

Tower has unfortunately had a lot of show problems for years now. Particularly with the audio.

Once the audio went out in the ride. It was late, my elevator wasn't full, so I started doing the lines.

The people who were in the elevator told me it was slightly creepy to hear my voice instead of the normal voice.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I'm told the issues are logged by Bellhops who know and care. Third shift have done what they can too. Anything else is deemed "good enough" by uppers who decree WDI need to be involved. Things went particularly bad when solid state was introduced.

The nice thing about the CMs at TofT is that they seem really into the experience, as if something were missing they would care.

The DL ones at the same ride were not as into the story...it bothered me a bit.

 

[Kitchandro]

FFS. If this forum is anything to go by all of the parks have fallen apart since I last went.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Still an awesome ride!!!!

It is, but you shouldn't just accept a ride full of broken, worn out effects as "good enough."

I know a lot of rides need work, but with Tower of Terror being my all time favorite, and still, to this day, being one of the most impressive rides ever built, I would love to see it get not just a proper refurbishment, but GOOD upgrades. Like an entirely new 5th Dimension scene. The ride could still very easily rank up there with the likes of Forbidden Journey and Spider-Man if they just gave it the love it really deserves. I know that ToT isn't one of the rides people on here think of as having poor upkeep, but when you know the ride well, it really is up there with, say, Splash pre-refurb.

 

[tare]

It is, but you shouldn't just accept a ride full of broken, worn out effects as "good enough."

I know a lot of rides need work, but with Tower of Terror being my all time favorite, and still, to this day, being one of the most impressive rides ever built, I would love to see it get not just a proper refurbishment, but GOOD upgrades. Like an entirely new 5th Dimension scene. The ride could still very easily rank up there with the likes of Forbidden Journey and Spider-Man if they just gave it the love it really deserves. I know that ToT isn't one of the rides people on here think of as having poor upkeep, but when you know the ride well, it really is up there with, say, Splash pre-refurb.

We go every year if not twice a year and I am there to enjoy myself not knit pick over every little thing. I know alot if rides and such need some tlc but just relax and enjoy. The biggest thing I complain about are the rats at PORS right by the guest rooms. Yuck!! Hopefully that's gets taken care if it hasn't been already.

 

[DisneyDavO]

I too love this ride, and have been fortunate enough to ride it many times with almost everything working. It definitely is not the same experience when there are issues with the audio. I have overheard people leaving the ride saying "it was good, but I don't see what the big deal is". That should NEVER happen with this ride!

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Still an awesome ride!!!!

Oh ToT's a complete blast already, we just want it to be even...what's the word...blastier.


Imagine going to WDW. All week, EPCOT is closed. As a cost cutting measure. You still have a blast, an awesome time, but you are also frustrated that with a little less mean and sorry management the trip would've been perfect, and then you could've enjoyed all of WDW the way it is supposed to, with everything functioning.

 

[Tom Morrow]

This thread inspired me to post some ideas I've had for a while for improvements to Tower of Terror: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/tower-of-terror-re-imagineering.869155/
Let me know what you think!

 

[tare]

Yes

^ Well said.

Also:I understand you want to enjoy yourself, but at the same time, you are paying a premium price for what is supposed to be a premium theme park experience. If they can't keep the attractions up to par, then they shouldn't charge a premium price. They do it any way because people are still pouring in... but time will tell. How many of these people won't return because they weren't impressed or blown away as they should have been?

Universal gets it. Disneyland Resort gets it. WDW used to get it...

yes you have a great and valid point. I totally agree and these are my thoughts originally too. Wdw works slow they always have and sometimes things don't work. It prob will never change. So I figure if I don't look for the bad or scathed then I won't find it hence I will still enjoy.

 

[ToTBellHop]

This saddens me. Tower has been my favorite ride for 19 years and it is sad that they used to frequently update the ride (through 4 iterations) and have done basically nothing but let it rot more recently...it used to be so exciting looking forward to updates every couple years.

 

[DfromATX]

I'm glad to hear (well, not glad) that these are known issues. I've noticed them for a while, but didn't think too much into them until when I realized that it has been quite a long time and it still sounds bad. And you're right, this isn't a 25 foot jet powered yeti animatronic... this is just audio tracks on solid state hardware. Should be comparatively one of the easiest things to adjust!
Yep! Did my avatar tip you off?

Yes, I know the Dharma rabbit when I see it. My favorite show EVER!

 

[OrderMuppet]

The biggest thing I complain about are the rats at PORS right by the guest rooms. Yuck!!

I'll bite... how many are we talking? Just a few? More? Enough to not stay there? (starting from the assumption that every resort will have a certain level of...scurrying things...due to food and human presence)

 

[rodserling27]

Hearing that they replaced the CRT tvs with LCD tvs is upsetting enough alone! Why do that? The Twilight Zone was shown on old timey black & white televisions, and in the 1930s (when the ride took place) TVs were BRAND NEW and thus very old looking. Why replace it with some digital modern marvel? I bet the pre-show video is rife with pixelation...ugh. The audio cues being out-of-sync and the garbled Serling narration were bad enough...but it looks like my all-time favorite attraction just got a little worse...

 

[jensenrick]

Oh, this is very sad to hear. One of my fave rides, would hate to see it fall apart.

 

[Wall-e]

I'm glad to hear (well, not glad) that these are known issues. I've noticed them for a while, but didn't think too much into them until when I realized that it has been quite a long time and it still sounds bad. And you're right, this isn't a 25 foot jet powered yeti animatronic... this is just audio tracks on solid state hardware. Should be comparatively one of the easiest things to adjust!
Yep! Did my avatar tip you off?

Your name could be another tip, not to divert the topic but I just finished watching the series a month ago and I'm a lost junky. I didn't know what to do with myself for a week after I finished watching.

 

[Bluenoser]

Just wanted to say thank you for posting the diagram. I love ToT (flaws and all) and had no idea about the "ins and outs" of the ride.

 

[Sped2424]

maybe there should be an entire area on this site where the only threads started are status watch threads?

 

[Bairstow]

Seems like everything is working, it's just not correctly adjusted.
I wonder how things like lighting and volume levels can get so out of tune.
Aren't there manuals covering things like bulb and speaker models with settings that must be rigidly followed?

 

[Bairstow]

I wonder if ride ops turned all the lighting up on their own, to make their job of regulating guest behavior easier.
People are less likely to drop stuff/bump into one another/get confused when they can see what they're doing.

 

[jensenrick]

That's true, and I guess that almost makes it more frustrating to me, since these are all comparatively simple fixes compared to a task like fixing up Splash Mountain. But ToT looks and sounds this bad all the time now.

I share your frustration, it's sad really.