If you have ever been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there is a likely chance you have ridden The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Tower of Terror looms at the end of Sunset Boulevard and instantly gives Guests an eerie feeling.
Credit: Bioreconstruct
The closer you get to the attraction, the more you know that something terrible has happened. The landscaping is abandoned, the Cast Members are in character, warning you that you are in danger, the music gives your the chills, and inside, things have not been looked after for years.
Next Stop: The 5th Dimension Step uneasily inside the infamous Hollywood Tower Hotel and find a dusty lobby frozen in time. Even the subdued hotel staff seems strangely out of another era.
Suddenly a television set springs to life and Rod Serling welcomes you on a journey into the Twilight Zone. He reveals that on a gloomy Halloween night in 1939, some hotel patrons were riding the elevator when a violent storm struck the building… and they were never seen again. The hotel closed down and has stood empty ever since.
Credit: Disney
Going Up?
Enter the rickety, elevator-style lift, strap yourself in and prepare to discover what lies beyond the darkest corner of your imagination.
Shriek in terror as you’re suddenly propelled up and down the abandoned shaft—unexpectedly dropping and rising—as you hear the sound of cables snapping and metal clanging overhead.
Will you make it back to the real world… or will you become a permanent resident of the Twilight Zone?
Credit: Disney
Based on the Television Series This attraction is based on the popular television series which originally aired from 1959 to 1964. Created, hosted and written by Rod Serling, the award-winning show—with its imaginative storylines and unexpected twist endings—was wildly successful.
The Twilight Zone® is a registered trademark of CBS, Inc. and used with permission pursuant to a license with CBS, Inc.
In the ride, we see that the family, who was electrocuted on the service elevator, are now ghosts in another dimension, which made me wonder — is the Tower of Terror haunted?
There has been an old folk-tale about the attraction that revealed a Cast Member bellhop passed away right in front of the Guests after loading them on platform D. Rumors have swirled that the death was heart attack induced. Still, there are no reports or confirmation of this death actually happening.
It is now a tale that when the lights flicker around platform D or the ride malfunctions, it is the passed-on bellhop who is making himself known. Again, this is just a folk tale, but many have noted eerie instances in the past.
Credit: Disney
In California, before the attraction at Disney California Adventures became Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!, it was Tower of Terror as well. There was a video of possible ghost spottings on the ride during a maintenance check, but all it was removed off of many platforms after being uploaded. Luckily, during a personal search, I saved the video and was able to see the shot.
If you take a look at the below video (made by yours truly), you will notice that at one point, aspirations are appearing during the test ride. When looking into this deeper, I thought that it likely was just the camera roll rubbing an image from a Guest from the previous day onto the footage from the testing, but that is just speculation.
If you want a closer look at one of the apparitions, take a look below.
Credit: That Disney Girl via Daily Mail
That being said, that video may very well be real! Of course, we will never be able to prove the sighting further, but knowing that multiple Tower of Terror attractions have spooky stories will likely add to the chilling experience the next time you ride!
Do you think the Tower of Terror is haunted? Let me know in the comments below!Â
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Credit: Disney (left) That Disney Girl (right)
