Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Disneyland Paris - Walt Disney Studios

General info

Park

Disneyland Paris - Walt Disney Studios
Category

Dark Ride
Type

Tower Ride
Opened

2007

Description

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is loosely based on the television series The Twilight Zone. The storyline of the ride is about the Hollywood Tower Hotel. In 1939 the hotel was struck by lightning, causing not only damage to the hotel building but also transporting a family in one of the elevators to the Twilight Zone. Guests are challenged to join a ride in the elevators of the deteriorated hotel and experience the Twilight Zone for themselves.

The ride is a freefall ride which includes dark ride scenes on multiple floors in the building. Riders are sometimes offered a glimpse of the outside world when the doors of the elevator open for a short time.

The (high speed) elevators of the original Tower of Terror attraction in Disney's Hollywood Studios (Walt Disney World, 1994) were supplied by Otis Elevator Company. While it has not been confirmed, it is assumed that Otis also supplied the elevators for this installation.

History

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is the fourth and so far final version of Disney's 'Tower of Terror'-attractions, and the third to be set in a Twilight Zone theme.

After the first verison in Disney's Hollywood Studios (Walt Disney World, 1994), Walt Disney Imagineering created an adapted design for an installation at Walt Disney Studios. The adapted design featured a similar theme, but mostly a simpler ride system, without the use of Automatic Guided Vehicles. However, construction plans in Paris were put on hold. The designs were then used for an installation in Disney California Adventure (Disneyland Resort, 2004), before eventually the installation at Walt Disney Studios was built in 2007. The installations in DCA and WDS were exact copies, until the version in DCA got rethemed into Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout! in 2017.

In 2019 this installation was enhanced with new drop sequences.