Tower Of Terror

I’m borderline obsessed with Disneyland. I never got to go as a kid and I was kinda bitter when my family finally decided to go when I was in college, during my finals week. My brother and sister were still in high school and it was during their spring break so they left me. Who am I kidding? I’m still bitter. I bring it up all the time.

But I’m definitely making up for it. I’ve been eight times! When I graduated from college Jacob and I went to on vacation to LA and he happily drove us down to Disneyland so I could finally see what all the fuss was about. I absolutely love theme parks and especially roller coasters. The bigger, faster, scarier…the better! I wasn’t sure how much I’d like Disneyland because it was so kid-oriented. I really did love it though. I’m not a sap at all, but it truly is a magical place! Jacob went a few times as a kid and was excited to show me the ropes. We explored the park from opening to close. I was sunburned and dehydrated with blistered feet, but I loved everything about it.

The following year, we vacationed in San Diego. (Before kids, we vacationed all the time. Now, not so much!) On a whim, we decided to drive up to Anaheim and go to California Adventure this time. It’s not nearly as good as Disneyland, but it’s still a lot of fun, it’s always less crowded and has some of the best rides including my favorite ride of all time…The Tower of Terror.

California                                                                  Florida  

Our visit to the park was only a few weeks after the ride opened. On the drive up, we noticed billboards everywhere and even McDonalds promoted it. If you bought a Big Mac meal, you got a pass to get into the park an hour early to experience the brand new ride. I hate Big Macs. We bought the meals, threw out the burgers and used the vouchers. We rode The Tower of Terror five times that day. Free falling is my favorite feeling. Combine that with the awesome view of the park, hilarious photo ops, theatrics, old Hollywood glamour and Disney magic, and you’ve got a fan for life! The most awesome thing about this ride is that it’s never the same. There are random drop sequences so you never know when, how far, and how many times the elevator will drop.

Another great thing about it is the line. I know. That sounds weird. But it starts outside the hotel and winds through the gardens, so you are in the shade! Then you enter the lobby and there’s AC! Plus there’s so much to look at. The vintage furniture, artwork and even luggage is covered in dust and cobwebs, and the music is jazzy and eerie at the same time.

SPOILER ALERT. I’m about to break down the ride for you. If you’ve never been on it and want to be surprised, don’t read.

The line takes you past the front desk into the hotel’s library. You watch a creepy little Twilight Zone video about the history of the hotel and how people have been vanishing into another dimension. We know the dialog by heart, but I won’t bore you.

Then you make your way into the boiler room. You have to use the service elevators because the hotel was struck by lightning and the normal elevators don’t have power.

You finally board the elevator and put your seatbelt on (very, very loosely for the best ride ever) then the elevator moves, the doors open and you watch a little scene that shows how some of the hotel’s guests vanished. The narrator says, "One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again, but this time, it’s for you.”

Then the fun begins. You start to drop and go up and drop again. Then you are shot to the very top of the tower; the doors open to reveal the blinding sunshine and a view of the park. You relax, take it all in, point out where your favorite rides are, see the flashbulbs for your photo op and WHAM! You fall to your death.

Or not. But you get it. You rise and drop a few more times, getting one more chance to look outside. It’s the best ride. So fun and creepy and hilarious. You laugh, you scream and you are sure to spend a few seconds off your seat, which is why I recommend a loose seatbelt.

FUN FACTS

Disney Imagineers screened all 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone to capture the mood of the television series.

The Tower of Terror was built to be 199 feet but 157 feet is the height you fall from, which allows the elevator to fall 13 stories.

The Tower of Terror was struck by lightning during construction.

The Lobby features an extensive array of period props and furniture that creates an era of Hollywood splendor.

Right before you enter the library for the preshow, there is a directory of the hotel rooms that have a few letters missing. If you look at the bottom of the directory, the fallen letters spell an anagram, “Evil tower u r doomed.”

The capacity of a service elevator is 21 passengers and it moves faster than the speed of gravity.

The drop profile you're going to get really is unknown until the ride vehicle clicks into place in the drop shaft. However, the computer is programmed to give an equal number of each profile, each hour.

*Photos courtesy of http://disneyland.disney.go.com/