Tower of Terror effects status watch

[Rodj]

I'm still curious about this. In all the videos I've seen the reflection is dependent on the projection. Do you remember this video where it shows this discrepancy? Maybe a rolling shutter effect?

I'm having trouble trying to find the one video I referenced earlier, but here is another video which if you go frame by frame, the reflection "closes off" before the main projection disappears. It's only something you can see when the ghost projection freezes.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I see what you mean by playing it at 25% speed. That is odd, especially when they should not be projected on the floor at all.

Hopefully them freezing isn't also a common occurrence these days.

 

[VicariousCorpse]

I'm having trouble trying to find the one video I referenced earlier, but here is another video which if you go frame by frame, the reflection "closes off" before the main projection disappears. It's only something you can see when the ghost projection freezes.

Here's my speculation: No extra projector. It closes off because of the sliding screen door thingy they have to project the ghosts onto. The wipe from right to left is the door thing now out of the way. That's if the the timing is the same from this mock-up video at 2:30. The lightning strike happens 1 second after the door is completely out of the way. It times up with your video. If I'm right, then the reflection is tied completely to the sliding screen. Maybe a change of material after becoming dirty?

 

[Rodj]

Here's my speculation: No extra projector. It closes off because of the sliding screen door thingy they have to project the ghosts onto. The wipe from right to left is the door thing now out of the way. That's if the the timing is the same from this mock-up video at 2:30. The lightning strike happens 1 second after the door is completely out of the way. It times up with your video. If I'm right, then the reflection is tied completely to the sliding screen. Maybe a change of material after becoming dirty?

There was actually another video where the sliding screen was stuck open, yet it was still projecting onto the floor:

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

Hold on, there’s a sliding screen?

 

[Rodj]

The purpose of the screen sliding out of the way is that there are fiber optic stars behind it

 

[Tom Morrow]

That is part of the reason. The ghosts are projected as a rear projection onto the sliding screen, which runs parallel to the hallway off to the side. This allows the reflective glass which is at an angle (you can usually see the line where the glass is depending on the lighting) to reflect the ghosts. In the video Rodj linked above, the screen is stuck open, so you see the light from the projector hitting the glass but the ghosts are not reflecting onto the angled reflective glass. You can't just aim the projector at the glass and see an image, basically.

So then the ghosts on the floor must be a separate projection from the ceiling that somebody thought was a good idea?

 

[VicariousCorpse]

That is part of the reason. The ghosts are projected as a rear projection onto the sliding screen, which runs parallel to the hallway off to the side. This allows the reflective glass which is at an angle (you can usually see the line where the glass is depending on the lighting) to reflect the ghosts. In the video Rodj linked above, the screen is stuck open, so you see the light from the projector hitting the glass but the ghosts are not reflecting onto the angled reflective glass. You can't just aim the projector at the glass and see an image, basically.

So then the ghosts on the floor must be a separate projection from the ceiling that somebody thought was a good idea?

I just don't believe Disney would add a pointless projector when they don't fix the countless issues that would be half the cost. There are a lot of mirrored surfaces including the fake wood paneling on the walls to help with the star effect. Just look at the top and sides of the archway in the stuck ghost video. See how much light bleeds and reflection off of everything from the extra light from the projector. Also you can see the glass walls in the mock-up video. There has to be something we're overlooking...or looking through.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

That is part of the reason. The ghosts are projected as a rear projection onto the sliding screen, which runs parallel to the hallway off to the side. This allows the reflective glass which is at an angle (you can usually see the line where the glass is depending on the lighting) to reflect the ghosts. In the video Rodj linked above, the screen is stuck open, so you see the light from the projector hitting the glass but the ghosts are not reflecting onto the angled reflective glass. You can't just aim the projector at the glass and see an image, basically.

So then the ghosts on the floor must be a separate projection from the ceiling that somebody thought was a good idea?

@marni1971 figured you would know, is the floor reflection a separate projection or just caused by a maintenance issue?

 

[marni1971]

@marni1971 figured you would know, is the floor reflection a separate projection or just caused by a maintenance issue?

Am in DLP currently let me have a think soon

 

[scxtt_31]

According to several posts on socials the scorch marks next to the elevators in the lobby have been restored…

https://x.com//status/1814695991460687955?s=46

Maybe this could be the start of them FINALLY fixing all of the broken show effects for the ride’s 30th anniversary, will pop over to DHS after work and see if anything else notable has changed

 

[Twirlnhurl]

When I rode yesterday, the main glaring issue was the black and white hallway window projection and the uncalibrated audio levels.

I'm sure some of the usual suspect minor effects were down too, but honestly, I have only been going on the ride regularly for the last 20 years and I can't remember what they are supposed to do.

I boarded from the elevator shaft to the far right.

 

[gerarar]

 

[andre85]

With it being the 30th anniversary, perhaps this is a good time to ask if anyone else remembers this missing (replaced?) sound effect from ages ago. I recall that after reaching the maximum height just before the big drop, there used to be a ticking clock sound effect for a few seconds, followed by a *DING!* (like an elevator door ding) just as the drop began. I'm 90% sure sure it was during ToT 1.0 as I'm pretty sure it was just the one drop then, but it's possible it was also 2.0. Does anyone remember this? I've tried looking at ride videos from the era for both 1.0 and 2.0 byt none of them seem to have it, which leads me to think 3 things

1) The sound effect was replaced at some point separate from the main upgrades
2) The sound effect wasn't able to be picked up by the camera's microphones
3) I'm misremembering (but I'm pretty sure I'm not lol)

Anyone else remember this?

 

[Rodj]

With it being the 30th anniversary, perhaps this is a good time to ask if anyone else remembers this missing (replaced?) sound effect from ages ago. I recall that after reaching the maximum height just before the big drop, there used to be a ticking clock sound effect for a few seconds, followed by a *DING!* (like an elevator door ding) just as the drop began. I'm 90% sure sure it was during ToT 1.0 as I'm pretty sure it was just the one drop then, but it's possible it was also 2.0. Does anyone remember this? I've tried looking at ride videos from the era for both 1.0 and 2.0 byt none of them seem to have it, which leads me to think 3 things

1) The sound effect was replaced at some point separate from the main upgrades
2) The sound effect wasn't able to be picked up by the camera's microphones
3) I'm misremembering (but I'm pretty sure I'm not lol)

Anyone else remember this?

The only drop sequence that has a clock ticking in it is drop sequence #3 from the current Tower4 drop sequences added in 2002. "Tower1.5" as some would call it(Introduced in 1995, basically Twice The Fright but without the extra drop at the end) was when they first used the "ratcheting" sound and loud clicks/rope snapping SFX.


I recommend checking out TowerOfTerrorDatabase's channel and listen through the various videos of Tower1.5 to Tower3. I know Tower3 used a few different audio variants throughout its tenure.

TowerOfTerrorDatabase

Wanna see every Tower of Terror drop profile? Don't worry, we got all here! Welcome to Tower of Terror Database!

www.youtube.com

 

[Rodj]

Made a Twitter account dedicated to Tower's current state and made a thread of nearly every single show effect issue:

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

@Rodj thanks for keeping track of the broken effects at ToT. I really appreciate your Twitter updates!

 

[Disstevefan1]

Made a Twitter account dedicated to Tower's current state and made a thread of nearly every single show effect issue:

This is a bad sign.
I will have my stone carvers start on the headstone now....

 

[Tom Morrow]

This is a bad sign.
I will have my stone carvers start on the headstone now....

It's not really a bad sign, Disney has been letting Tower of Terror run in awful show quality for well over a decade now.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

This is a bad sign.
I will have my stone carvers start on the headstone now....

They're not getting rid of ToT.

The only thing that may actually happen within the next decade is it loses the Twilight Zone theme but I'm not really sure how much that would change the ride experience beyond the voiceover, pre-show, and the few odd visual references we get to the Twilight Zone within the ride itself. If it loses Twilight Zone, it's still going to remain a haunted hotel, little doubt about it.

They're especially not gonna get rid of this thing when they're actively producing a film based on it.