Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
Out of curiosity, does the WDSP version of ToT have a similar list of effects issue, or did it always just have less to begin with?
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Tower of Terror effects status watch
- Thread starter thelookingglass
- Start date
WDSP is (or was) just a clone of DCA, so it has far fewer effects given it was a much simpler/shorter ride (one shaft, no 5th dimension hallway, etc).
I haven't ridden the Paris one since the update from a few years ago, so not sure how much it may have added effects wise
Rodj
Well-Known Member
WDSP does keep up with their effects more from a friend of mine who frequents that park.
Rodj
Well-Known Member
Both the sparks and the strobes were on the sign since it opened, when it was enabled both operated in tandem. In this video, right when the doors open you can see a spark come off of the H:
I heard this sound in both libraries during my trip back in March 2024.
This wasn't something visible in the videos from 1994, but you can hear them turn on/off in multiple spots here:
During my previous trips, this was only an issue with Delta.
This has been working in all shafts, for a while it was an issue with Bravo.
Has been working in Echo for quite a bit, recently they got (some?) of the strobes replaced in Foxtrot.
Rodj
Well-Known Member
This has actually been a technicality recently(since July 2024) as they got the speaker located on the sign on Foxtrot side working again, only issue is that due to the incorrect audio channel issues, it is playing the drop shaft audio track meant for the speaker inside the drop shaft at the top. It's supposed to be playing the spark SFX(which is playing from that drop shaft speaker).
Due to the delay in the drop sequence movement and the modified drop sequences, they fire when the VVC isn't at the right spot yet. The best way currently to judge if they are working is with profile 4.
VicariousCorpse
Well-Known Member
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. Good to see that some stuff has been addressed in recent years. There was a while where it seemed like almost nothing worked.
Still, considering the popularity and now historical significance of this ride, and the money Disney has a a mega entertainment corporation, things that work in some shafts but not others should never be an issue.
I would like to point out that, at Universal, even Fast & Furious - a ride most people dislike, has great audio and video quality. Fallon is even better.
But not every ride at Disney is bad. Some Disney E-tickets still look and sound great. It's just odd how neglected Tower was for years.
Still, considering the popularity and now historical significance of this ride, and the money Disney has a a mega entertainment corporation, things that work in some shafts but not others should never be an issue.
I would like to point out that, at Universal, even Fast & Furious - a ride most people dislike, has great audio and video quality. Fallon is even better.
But not every ride at Disney is bad. Some Disney E-tickets still look and sound great. It's just odd how neglected Tower was for years.
JakeDLP
Member
Not really, Most of the time they keep on top of all effects there and most of the issues have been fixed in the recent past, most notably the windows that light up at various points of the tower were reactivated in the last week after almost 10 years of being off (for projection shows most likely)
Eyeontheglobe
New Member
Are there more videos online showing the spark effect? I've only ever heard talk of it until now. I've even seen this video before and didn't notice the sparks.
For reference, the letters H O and L had the spark fx. They could also be fired manually from inside the building.
Also the boiler room floor misting was disabled due to the floor becoming slippy (although the pump still works). Smoke fx in the 5th D was disabled since it caused condensation on the windows. Much like SSE and Everest, instead of an alternate being pursued the effect was just turned off.
I had forgotten about the lights on the back of the letters when the doors open... When did they last work?
Rodj
Well-Known Member
Here is the only other video I could find where it was visible(0:46):
Do you know if the audible sound(sounds like a loud rubbing sound, not the spark SFX coming from the speaker) is coming from the same spark generator? In some of the videos where it is audible, I don't see any sparks at all:
Was the misting the same as what's heard in the video? What I thought was in the video was random steam or air bursts/leaks from some of the pipes.
Rodj
Well-Known Member
If you are talking about the strobes, they were last active up until May 2021.
That first video has keyed in sparks (not real)!
The second video sounds like the spark generator working with no sparks (usually due to worn pads)
The misting was a layer of mist in the boiler room. In theory it was designed to stay below the walkway (part of the reason it is elevated)
Do you happen to recall when the boiler room floor misting effect was turned off? Just curious as to whether or not my memory of it working during my first visit to the tower in late 1997 is correct or if I'm conflating that with video.
This isn’t necessarily effects related but still worth noting - a POV of the ride from recently (definitely within the last two months as it shows the corrected hallway projections in Alpha) had a strange glitch happen towards the end of the ride (at around 9:22):
Right before the end of the drop sequence it seems like the e-brakes applied for some reason and the timing of several AGVs was out of wack as not only did the return video and audio not play, but the pre-drop audio did instead (likely for the cab in the 5th Dimension waiting to move into the VVC) and you can faintly hear the end of the return audio playing from what I assume is the cab ahead. Very strange, guessing there was a backlog.
Right before the end of the drop sequence it seems like the e-brakes applied for some reason and the timing of several AGVs was out of wack as not only did the return video and audio not play, but the pre-drop audio did instead (likely for the cab in the 5th Dimension waiting to move into the VVC) and you can faintly hear the end of the return audio playing from what I assume is the cab ahead. Very strange, guessing there was a backlog.
Rodj
Well-Known Member
I believe they cut out the part between it stopping and when it returned to the unload level, what is interesting to me is that it seemed like it automatically reset, usually those e-stops require them turning on the work lights and manually resetting, usually taking quite a while before it is able to return back down to unload. Here it seems like it stopped for ~30 seconds as the return audio was finishing up, it's not from a different AGV as you can hear it start normally at the end of the drop sequence right when the brakes applied.
Yeah I clocked that watching back through the video hahah, very strange bc I’ve never seen anything like it happen (at least not during the drop sequence)
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
If I had to guess, in that video, a lift stop was triggered right before the final "landing", then was quickly reset. A lift stop on Tower of Terror parks the vehicle at the nearest floor. If it's the load lifts, once it is reset, the elevator resumes upward. If it's the drop lifts, it does not finish the remainder of the drop sequence and lowers that vehicle to the ground floor slowly. The next vehicle will receive the full drop sequence, but will be held at the starfield doors since the lift stop throws off the timing and the drop lift will not make it to the 5th dimension in time to receive it.
An emergency stop on Tower of Terror causes an abrupt, immediate stop and automatically turns the lights on. It also requires the ride to be reset, so that is not what happened in that video.
An emergency stop on Tower of Terror causes an abrupt, immediate stop and automatically turns the lights on. It also requires the ride to be reset, so that is not what happened in that video.