Tower of Terror has been getting into an even worse shape

[geekza]

I'm not sure if you're serious or not so I will answer the question.

I mean, to be fair, since they stopped using ticket books 36 years ago, I've quickly realized that there are a lot of folks who may not have an idea where the terminology came from.

Heck, I've been chastised on here for even using A-E-Ticket to describe attractions because either people don't know what they are or nitpick because there isn't a set-in-stone definition of what being an "E-Ticket" attraction means, so they feel it's an invalid way of rating attractions.

I'm getting used to being old and, apparently, wrong. lol

 

[disneygeek90]

Tower of Terror has been among their most neglected, poor show quality E-tickets for near a decade now. Every time I ride it it's even more pathetic. Everyone who says it's fine is simply used to it being bad because it has been bad for so long.

What exactly was there in the past that is no longer? I don't remember much past 10 years ago or so. I'm actually not sure when the earliest I went on it was but I don't recall anything too different, unless I've just forgotten over the years.

 

[marni1971]

What exactly was there in the past that is no longer? I don't remember much past 10 years ago or so. I'm actually not sure when the earliest I went on it was but I don't recall anything too different, unless I've just forgotten over the years.

Briefly;

Library preshows that you can hear
Library preshows that start with a static burst
Library preshows that utilise a ceiling speaker
Guest corridors that didn’t have a projection that’s too bright
VVCs that align correctly
Capture photos that work
Starfield doors that "collapse" properly
Starfield doors that draw themselves properly
Starfield doors that draw a hidden Mickey
Narration that’s complete and audiable
Drop shaft lightning that’s complete and working
Drop shaft strobe lights that work properly
Drop shaft air blasts that work
Minimal light leaks in drop shaft
VVC strobes that work
Horton doors that open
Complete random drop profiles

- off the top of my head

 

[Tom Morrow]

Briefly;

Library preshows that you can hear
Library preshows that start with a static burst
Library preshows that utilise a ceiling speaker
Guest corridors that didn’t have a projection that’s too bright
VVCs that align correctly
Capture photos that work
Starfield doors that "collapse" properly
Starfield doors that draw themselves properly
Starfield doors that draw a hidden Mickey
Narration that’s complete and audiable
Drop shaft lightning that’s complete and working
Drop shaft strobe lights that work properly
Drop shaft air blasts that work
Minimal light leaks in drop shaft
VVC strobes that work
Horton doors that open
Complete random drop profiles

- off the top of my head

Yeah that! And more.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

The sparking sign? Was that a real effect? lol

 

[Corgi]

I'm not sure if you're serious or not so I will answer the question.
Many moons ago you paid a park admission and each ride needed a separate ticket to ride (Beatles). There would be a coupon book lettered A through E. The simpler the attraction, the lower the letter. The best and most popular would be an E ticket.

Yes, I was serious. Thank you for the explanation. So does that mean you only got to ride a limited amount of E-ticket rides for one park admission?

 

[marni1971]

The sparking sign? Was that a real effect? lol

It was very real. The first three letters of Hollywood had spark generators.

 

[geekza]

Yes, I was serious. Thank you for the explanation. So does that mean you only got to ride a limited amount of E-ticket rides for one park admission?

Admission was a separate ticket. Much less-expensive than today. That got you into the parks as well as a couple of attractions that were minor or sponsored. If you wanted to go on any rides, you had to use a ticket from a ticket book. In each ticket book, there were tickets designated A-E. There were several A tickets and then fewer of each letter as you went up. So, if you wanted to ride more E attractions than you had tickets for, you had to buy another ticket book. I'll see if I can find an image for you.

EDIT: Here's a page with lots of images of the different tickets over the years.

 

[Kingtut]

Briefly;

Library preshows that you can hear
Library preshows that start with a static burst
Library preshows that utilise a ceiling speaker
Guest corridors that didn’t have a projection that’s too bright
VVCs that align correctly
Capture photos that work
Starfield doors that "collapse" properly
Starfield doors that draw themselves properly
Starfield doors that draw a hidden Mickey
Narration that’s complete and audiable
Drop shaft lightning that’s complete and working
Drop shaft strobe lights that work properly
Drop shaft air blasts that work
Minimal light leaks in drop shaft
VVC strobes that work
Horton doors that open
Complete random drop profiles

- off the top of my head

Boy you really want a lot of things to work. Our single maintenance person is busy making sure the point of sale terminals are working which is a MUCH more important task than keeping an old ride attraction in presentable condition. Besides they are tourists - What do they know?

 

[marni1971]

Not to mention deactivated boiler room and 5th dimension fog. But they’re deactivated, not faulty.

 

[crxbrett]

Briefly;

Library preshows that you can hear
Library preshows that start with a static burst
Library preshows that utilise a ceiling speaker
Guest corridors that didn’t have a projection that’s too bright
VVCs that align correctly
Capture photos that work
Starfield doors that "collapse" properly
Starfield doors that draw themselves properly
Starfield doors that draw a hidden Mickey
Narration that’s complete and audiable
Drop shaft lightning that’s complete and working
Drop shaft strobe lights that work properly
Drop shaft air blasts that work
Minimal light leaks in drop shaft
VVC strobes that work
Horton doors that open
Complete random drop profiles

- off the top of my head

So what you're saying is that there might be a couple of things that need fixing?

In all seriousness though, that's pretty nuts there is that much that needs to be fixed/corrected.

 

[crxbrett]

It was very real. The first three letters of Hollywood had spark generators.

I still wish Disney could come up with a solution to bring this back. Maybe place a metal screen that's somehow invisible to guests below and above any trees to keep the sparks from igniting the foliage/greens? That was the reason the effect stopped, correct?

 

[marni1971]

I still wish Disney could come up with a solution to bring this back. Maybe place a metal screen that's somehow invisible to guests below and above any trees to keep the sparks from igniting the foliage/greens? That was the reason the effect stopped, correct?

I’m sure LED tech could replicate it today.

 

[crxbrett]

I’m sure LED tech could replicate it today.

Yeah, that would work! I mean, it's Disney. They can surely come up with something that looks great and can fool most guests with an optical illusion or effect that looks real. Obviously it's not something they felt was important enough to update. But it's those little things that always made Disney so much better than the rest.

A nice 2-4 month refurb would be so beneficial for it. What's the longest the ToT attraction has ever been closed for since it opened? A week or so?

 

[The Pho]

Briefly;

Library preshows that you can hear
Library preshows that start with a static burst
Library preshows that utilise a ceiling speaker
Guest corridors that didn’t have a projection that’s too bright
VVCs that align correctly
Capture photos that work
Starfield doors that "collapse" properly
Starfield doors that draw themselves properly
Starfield doors that draw a hidden Mickey
Narration that’s complete and audiable
Drop shaft lightning that’s complete and working
Drop shaft strobe lights that work properly
Drop shaft air blasts that work
Minimal light leaks in drop shaft
VVC strobes that work
Horton doors that open
Complete random drop profiles

- off the top of my head

Can't say I've ever had an issue actually hearing the preshow or narration, unless there is a loud group nearby. Is it just in my head from riding it so much? Or do you mean its just softer than it should be.

 

[Rodj]

Update- I have some good news, Foxtrot is no longer profile locked!

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Update- I have some good news, Foxtrot is no longer profile locked!

A step in the right direction

 

[kpilcher]

Briefly;

Library preshows that you can hear
Library preshows that start with a static burst
Library preshows that utilise a ceiling speaker
Guest corridors that didn’t have a projection that’s too bright
VVCs that align correctly
Capture photos that work
Starfield doors that "collapse" properly
Starfield doors that draw themselves properly
Starfield doors that draw a hidden Mickey
Narration that’s complete and audiable
Drop shaft lightning that’s complete and working
Drop shaft strobe lights that work properly
Drop shaft air blasts that work
Minimal light leaks in drop shaft
VVC strobes that work
Horton doors that open
Complete random drop profiles

- off the top of my head

But other than THAT... it's fine

 

[marni1971]

Can't say I've ever had an issue actually hearing the preshow or narration, unless there is a loud group nearby. Is it just in my head from riding it so much? Or do you mean its just softer than it should be.

It’s softer than it should be. Although one is better than the other (I want to say echo is better)

 

[Kram Sacul]

I was thinking the same thing. I live in CA and when I first found out they were replacing our ToT with Guardians, I was devastated. Always thought it had the best theming of any Disney attraction and although I love the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, I thought it would ruin an otherwise fantastic attraction. If it's any comfort to anyone worried the same might happen to the FL version (which I realize it still might not be), the new Guardians versions is the BEST!!! I absolutely love it and it's my new favorite Disney attraction.