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The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Board your elevator for a thrilling journey into the Twilight Zone. This free-fall thrill ride is one of the scariest in all of Walt Disney World!
Location:Hollywood Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Type of Attraction:Free fall thrill ride
Height Restrictions:40″ or higher
Typical Wait Time:20-120 minutes
Is It Scary?Very scary!!

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Magical Moments
Hidden Mickeys & Other Secrets
Did You Know…?
Touring Tips
Photo Gallery

In addition to being one of the tallest attraction in all of Walt Disney World (at 199 feet!), the Tower of Terror is arguably the scariest. Inspired by the Twilight Zone television series, your adventure takes you to the famed Hollywood Hotel, though nowadays it’s in a bit of disrepair.

As you wind your way through the hotel lobby, you’ll hear the story of a group of unfortunate guests (including two glamorous stars, a bellhop, a rising child star and her governess), who boarded the elevator one night during a storm and were never heard from again. Making your way down to the boiler room, you eventually board your freight elevator for a perilous journey to the 13th floor.

Dark corridors and ghostly apparitions haunt the deserted hotel, but just as the tension is starting to mount, you’re suddenly launched straight up the elevator shaft. A shower of sparks and a broken cable lead to a stomach churning plunge straight down, but just when you think it’s over your rocketed upwards again for another perilous drop. At one point the doors at the top of the shaft fly open, revealing a fleeting view of the park (from 13 stories up!) before you plummet straight down at faster-than-free-fall speed. Recent updates to the attraction create a random series of drops every time, so you’ll never know what to expect. Thrill seekers beware–the Tower of Terror is not for the faint of heart!

(Many thank to Garry Rollins for the photos in our Tower of Terror gallery!)

Magical Moments

  • The opening sequences where you see former guests of the hotel and an infinite sea of stars welcoming you to the Twilight Zone are some of the most dazzling effects that you’ll see at Walt Disney World.
  • On one of your many launches up the elevator shaft (you’ll never know which one!), the elevator doors will open giving you one brief glimpse of the entire park 13 stories below you (scream extra loud so everyone down below can hear you!).
  • Though you might be too busy worrying about the ride that awaits you, don’t forget to look around the hotel lobby when you first enter. You’ll see some amazingly spooky props and lots of cobwebs!
  • Keep an eye on the wait time for the Tower of Terror. Like the Haunted Mansion in the Magic Kingdom, you might find an ominous wait of 13 minutes ahead of you – even when no one seems to be in line. A chilling coincidence…?
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Hidden Mickeys & Other Secrets

  • During the preshow film you’ll see a little girl (the child star who is boarding the elevator with her governess). Look carefully and you’ll notice that she’s holding a Mickey mouse plush doll.
  • In the lobby, look on the desk to the right as you enter. There you’ll see a pair of wire-rimmed glasses folded carefully to form a Hidden Mickey.
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Did You Know...?

  • At 199 feet, the Tower of Terror is the second tallest attraction at Walt Disney World (only Expedition Everest is taller, though just by half a foot). The attraction was topped off at 199 feet because FAA regulations would have required a fixed red light beacon to be added to the top of the building. Imagineers felt that the beacon would take away from the hotel’s 1939 theme, so 199 feet it was.
  • After looking at existing elevator technologies and dismissing them as being too tame, the Disney Imagineers decided that a totally new ride system needed to be developed. The innovative system consists of two massive motors (each 12 feet tall, 7 feet wide, 35 feet long and weighing a staggering 66 tons), that sit atop the tower. The motors propel the elevator cars downward at speeds well in excess of those achieved during free fall.
  • In an eerie coincidence, the Tower of Terror struck by lightning as it was being built!
  • During the development of the attraction, several story lines were developed before the final version was selected.
  • One of the stories involved a big studio wrap party. During the festivities the hotel owner went mad and murdered all of the guests before escaping into the elevator. The attraction was to be developed in a murder mystery film-noir style.
  • Another concept for the back story centered around a group of movie stars who were staying at the hotel during the filming of a horror movie. During a stormy night the guests were to board an elevator and disappear under mysterious circumstances. The narration was to be provided by Vincent Price, who would slowly reveal clues to guests about the fate of the doomed movie stars. By the time the mystery was to be revealed it would be too late; guests would already be aboard the ill-fated elevator, ready for their journey into the twilight zone!
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Touring Tips

  • You must be 40” to ride. The Tower of Terror features a random series of lightening fast drops and catapulting lifts, and is definitely not for the faint of heart (or stomach). If you have back problems or other medical conditions, be extra cautious about riding.
  • This is a FastPass+ attraction. Since this is one the more popular attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (along with the nearby Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and the attractions in Galaxy’s Edge), lines will be long throughout the day, so FastPass is highly suggested!
  • This is probably the most stomach-churning ride in all of Walt Disney World (surpassed only by the Orange Team at Mission: SPACE in Epcot). Most people actually find the lifts more problematic than the drops.
  • Despite what you may have seen in some early promotional films for this attraction, you don’t stand. You’re seated throughout the ride with a lap harness firmly in place (hey, this attraction is scary enough!).
  • The ride is different every time since the Imagineers have the ability to change the number and length of the drops.
  • As you plummet down the shaft, smile! Your picture is being taken by a camera hidden in the Hollywood Tower Hotel sign (you can purchase a souvenir copy of the photo on your way out).
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Photo Gallery

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