Rumor Tower of Terror to gain new theme?

[Haymarket2008]

Fun fact... both the boiler room smoke system and the sparking exterior sign are still functional. Not stocked with chemicals or flint but still operational.

Wow.....I had forgotten about the exterior sign sparks. Incredibly dynamic and thrilling to see.

 

[ToTBellHop]

The three main long missing fx were the sparks falling off the exterior neon sign, a fog blanket under the walkways in the boiler room (that’s why the catwalks are elevated and the props are in "pits") and mist behind the glass in the 5th dimension.

Not hard fixes in the least and they add so much atmosphere.

How long ago did the boiler room fog effect stop getting stocked?

 

[WDWTrojan]

The three main long missing fx were the sparks falling off the exterior neon sign, a fog blanket under the walkways in the boiler room (that’s why the catwalks are elevated and the props are in "pits") and mist behind the glass in the 5th dimension.

From what I understood from the maintenance guys the sparking sign inadvertently lit a few queue trees on fire one day, which caused them to suspend the effect. The equipment is still there and in tact though.

 

[ToTBellHop]

From what I understood from the maintenance guys the sparking sign inadvertently lit a few queue trees on fire one day, which caused them to suspend the effect. The equipment is still there and in tact though.

It’s the type of effect that could just be shut off when it’s dry in Florida.

 

[marni1971]

Yes, the sparking sign was too effective. For the record, the first three letters had generators behind them.

The boiler room smoke made the catwalks too slippery primarily. An alternative was investigated recently but nothing has come of it yet.

The mist behind the 5th D glass caused too much condensation to build up inside the cabinets. Like Everest, an alternative wouldn’t have been hard to swap for.

 

[The_Jobu]

Yes, the sparking sign was too effective. For the record, the first three letters had generators behind them.

The boiler room smoke made the catwalks too slippery primarily. An alternative was investigated recently but nothing has come of it yet.

The mist behind the 5th D glass caused too much condensation to build up inside the cabinets. Like Everest, an alternative wouldn’t have been hard to swap for.

This is so neat. It's my favourite ride and I had no idea about these atmosphere pluses. Thanks for sharing.

 

[smile]

the bells and whistles talk is nice (bless the creators),
but, when you're 1 of 4, the only thing you must do is operate.

 

[larryz]

Yes, the sparking sign was too effective. For the record, the first three letters had generators behind them.

The boiler room smoke made the catwalks too slippery primarily. An alternative was investigated recently but nothing has come of it yet.

The mist behind the 5th D glass caused too much condensation to build up inside the cabinets. Like Everest, an alternative wouldn’t have been hard to swap for.

Strobe lights?

 

[ToTBellHop]

the bells and whistles talk is nice (bless the creators),
but, when you're 1 of 4, the only thing you must do is operate.

Sounds like they’re going out of business.

 

[smile]

Sounds like they’re going out of business.

quite the opposite, in fact -
who else can run a park with four rides full price with a straight face?

 

[ToTBellHop]

quite the opposite, in fact -
who else can run a park with four rides full price with a straight face?

On the other hand, the overall management of Parks & Resorts is that of a company in danger of going out of business. And we know there is no such danger.

 

[HauntedPirate]

On the other hand, the overall management of Parks & Resorts is that of a company in danger of going out of business.

In all seriousness, I, for one, would love to hear more about this. I have my opinions based on what I have seen and heard and read, but am always curious to hear from those with more knowledge.

When did the sparking sign effect get turned off? I want to say I remember it, but I may be remembering something I saw in a video or a show. I never knew about the other effects, wonder if there's any video of them out on the interwebs... Guess I need to go do some research over lunch today (aka. The @marni1971 Vimeo page)

 

[c-one]

Wow.....I had forgotten about the exterior sign sparks. Incredibly dynamic and thrilling to see.

I had as well. Did that even make it past 1996?

 

[msg7]

By any chance, does anyone have the T4 drop shaft audio? Can't seem to find it anywhere.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Cause clearly Twilight Zone needs to be removed for this to happen.

I didn't say it needs to happen, I meant that it gives them an excuse to shut the ride down for refurbishment and true enhancements.

It’s supposed to make sense. It’s just also supposed to be a mind-screw.

It still kind of screws with your head, but not as well as intended.

Yep, if they didn't want it to be understood as a sideways elevator shaft, they wouldn't have included sideways light fixtures, signs, and an elevator door.

More accurately, it's a sideways elevator shaft that dissipates into the 5th dimension as you travel through it, ending with a tear in time and space ripping open that you travel through.

 

[macefamily]

So, what is Disney going to do ? I suspect they will partner with Hilton and institute a name change for the ride, "The Haunted Hilton Horror Tower." Then, they'll charge Hilton $28 million for the naming rights for 10 years.

 

[crxbrett]

Too bad they couldn't come up with some sort of metal netting below the sign that would snuff the sparks before hitting any foilage below.

I went on ToT from '94-'97 but don't even remember the sparks or the mist. It's been too long now lol I need to dig out all my old WDW Hi8 tapes and take a look.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Too bad they couldn't come up with some sort of metal netting below the sign that would snuff the sparks before hitting any foilage below.

Maybe they could have used foilage to protect the foliage!

 

[Fantasmicguy]

Removing the Twilight Zone gives them a reason to refurbish the 5th Dimension scene into a scene that looks good for 2018 standards and expands on the story of the hotel. As it is, it's a serious of literal smoke and mirror (minus smoke) effects, a scene that no one understands (it is supposed to be an elevator shaft you are traveling upwards on your back), and objects from the show's opening sequence. I believe I already discussed this in this thread though.

I’ll vouch for it.

Unless they changed the lighting, the practical wall lights that are on when the ascent doors open used to be rotated 90 degrees as if you’re looking up the shaft.

Either way it doesn't matter if you interpret as going flat on your back or simply moving forward. The point is you're doing something an elevator clearly isn't supposed to do. Im not arguing against a 5th dimension referb but there's zero reason for the Twilight Zone theme to be dropped.

 

[ChrisFL]

I thought by now there'd be a way to replicate sparks with fiber optics (Something like we see in a small version in the last scene of American Adventure where they're repairing the ship) or something like that.