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Photo by Chris Bales, 2016 |
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From a distance, the Hollywood Tower Hotel is an elegant, if oddly shaped, edifice. It’s in the Pueblo Deco architectural style, combining Art Deco ornamentation with Pueblo and Mission traditions. The style was popular in Southern California and the American Southwest in the 1920s. |
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As you get closer, you notice that something went terribly wrong at some point in the hotel’s history. It’s scarred. Parts of it are missing. What a creepy place! |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 Towering 183 feet over California Adventure |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Scars where the wings of the building were vaporized |
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It turns out that on the night of October 31, 1939, unusual lightning struck the tower, vaporizing hotel wings and plunging five elevator occupants into another dimension. After that tragic night, the hotel never reopened. Yet, you’re on your way to it now. You’ll soon see that this hotel must once have been magnificent. The grounds still show off the artistry and craftsmanship from when the hotel was the best place to stay in Hollywood. |
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Photo by Tony “WiseBearAZ” Moore, 2004 Grandeur of a bygone era |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 Wait time: 13 minutes |
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Of course, you’re aware that this isn’t (and wasn’t) a real hotel. It’s a thrill ride, one of the signature attractions of Yester California Adventure. It’s on most guests’ “must do” list. For guests who don’t like scary drops, it’s on their “must avoid” list. If the wait time is 13 minutes, it means there’s essentially no wait. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 When the wait time is longer |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2016 Not for everyone |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 Terrazzo inlay at the front door of the Hollywood Tower Hotel |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2016 Next stop, the Twilight Zone! |
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After winding your way through the exterior queue, you enter the dilapidated lobby. Don’t treat it as just part of the queue. Think of it as a show scene. Take in all the details. Time has stood still—although decades of neglect, spider webs, and dust have taken their toll. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 Deserted lobby |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2016 Gathering dust since 1939 |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2016 Abandoned registration desk |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2016 Wine glass still partially full |
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Photos by Allen Huffman, 2009 Doors to the library |
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The queue takes you to a set of closed doors. After a short wait, they open, beckoning you into the hotel library. Throughout your hotel adventure, bellhops in traditional uniforms direct you. |
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Photos by Allen Huffman, 2009 The library |
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Although the hotel was abandoned in 1939, there’s a television from the 1950s built into the library shelves. It only shows one thing—the introduction from a lost episode of The Twilight Zone, harkening back to the original series that ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964. |
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Photos by Chris Bales, 2016 “In tonight’s episode…” |
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As usual, the introduction is delivered by series creator Rod Serling. He speaks: “You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into—The Twilight Zone.” So far, it’s all familiar. Then Serling begins to describe this episode: “Hollywood, 1939. Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling, young movie town at the height of its Golden Age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right—a beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that.” Next, there’s footage of the bizarre lightning strike causing part of the building and five elevator passengers to vanish. Serling continues: “The time is now, on an evening very much like the one we have just witnessed. Tonight’s story on The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you, if you dare, to step aboard because in tonight’s episode, you are the star. And this elevator travels directly to… The Twilight Zone.” The screen goes to static and then to black, but the story continues. As Serling said, you are the star. You and many other guests, that is. The queue winds through the boiler room, until you finally reach a service elevator door. |
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Photo by Tony “WiseBearAZ” Moore, 2004 Maintenance service elevator |
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Photo by Tony “WiseBearAZ” Moore, 2004 Floors B through 12—a total of 13 floors |
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Photo by Tony “WiseBearAZ” Moore, 2004 Your last chance to change your mind |
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There’s a direct correlation between where a bellhop has you stand in front of the door and where you’ll sit on the elevator. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2016 Securely seated and restrained? |
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The elevator doors close. The lights flicker out. There’s a flash, and a star field replaces the elevator walls. Your elevator cab travels into the shaft. The voice of Rod Serling narrates: “You are the passengers of a most uncommon elevator, about to take the strangest journey of your lives. Your destination… unknown. But this much is clear; a reservation has been made in your name… for an extended stay.” The elevator ascends and its doors open. In a decrepit elevator lobby, an ornately framed mirror reflects you and your fellow elevator passengers. “Wave goodbye to the real world.” As you wave, lightning strikes again. Sparks fly through the reflection. Could you suffer a similar fate as the five passengers in 1939? The reflection still shows your elevator cab, but now it’s empty. “For you have just entered… The Twilight Zone.” The doors close. After a brief descent, the doors open to an empty hotel corridor with another elevator door at the far end. “What happened here to dim the lights of Hollywood’s brightest show place is about to unfold once again.” The ghosts of the five missing passengers appear within the corridor. It seems they expect you to join them. But they fade away in a cloud of electrical sparks. “One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare.” The corridor turns into a star field, with only the elevator door at the far end remaining. It opens. The five are now inside. They drop out of view, as if down a shaft. “That door is opening once again, but this time, it’s opening for you.” Now your elevator cab makes a series of quick ascents and drops. People around you are screaming. Perhaps you are too. On several occasions, doors open, providing brief but exhilarating views of California Adventure below—and making it clear how high you are and how quickly you’re rising and falling. You return to the base of the tower. “The next time you check into a deserted hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you’re filling or you may find yourself a permanent resident of… The Twilight Zone.“ The door opens. Your ride is over. But there are more stops. |
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Photos by Allen Huffman, 2009 Picture if you will… |
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Yep. Your next stops are the place to buy your ride photo and the gift shop to buy your souvenirs. |
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The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opened at Disney’s California Adventure on May 5, 2004. The second Anaheim park was just over three years old at the time. From the day the new park opened to disappointing reviews and low attendance, it was clear that it needed a big “E” ticket attraction to draw guests. It only took until the first anniversary of the park’s opening to announce the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, although site preparation had already begun. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World |
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The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror on Sunset Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) was an immediate success after it opened on July 22, 1994. It made sense to bring such a popular attraction to the struggling California park. The California version used the same Rod Serling introduction and narration—or, more accurately, the same excellent Rod Serling impression by voice actor Mark Silverman. Rod Serling had been dead since 1975. There was no “lost episode“ of The Twilight Zone about a hotel in Hollywood. The footage of Rod Serling in front of the service elevator door was edited from his introduction to a 1961 episode, “It’s a Good Life,” in which he stood in front of a map of the United States. But the California version wasn’t a clone. Although both shared the same name and storyline, there were significant differences the second time. The architecture is different, despite both being set in Hollywood. The track followed a different path. Most notably, the California version lacks the surprise element when the elevator cab leaves the shaft to travel forward into the 5th dimension. At Tokyo DisneySea, a Tower of Terror opened on Sep. 4, 2006. Although similar to the California version in terms of layout, it has a completely different story. The hotel is the Hotel Hightower, set in New York City. There’s no tie-in with The Twilight Zone television series. A fourth Tower of Terror opened on Dec. 22, 2007. This one is at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. It’s a clone of the California version, with modifications for French language guests. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2017 Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! |
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Despite the popularity of all four Tower of Terror attractions, there are now only three. The final day of operation for The Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure was January 2, 2017, so the closing date is January 3, 2017. The closing was controversial. Fans of the ride called it a classic attraction based on a timeless television series that’s still being rerun. How could such a classic be re-themed to just another Marvel movie, likely to be forgotten in a few years? Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! opened on May 27, 2017. It was a remarkably fast transformation. The good news is that it turned out very well. It’s packed with inventive touches, while providing the same thrills as its predecessor. If you miss the California original, consider a trip to Paris. It’s as close as you’ll get. |
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© 2023 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated June 23, 2023 |
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