When did Tower of Terror open? The Hollywood Studios Tower opened in 1994. The California Adventure Tower opened 10 years later.
The Hollywood Studios Tower opened in 1994. The California Adventure Tower opened 10 years later.
Which Tower of Terror is the best?
I’ve only been on the California Adventure version, but I’ve heard the one in Hollywood Studios is the best.
Is the ride scary?
I certainly don’t think it is.
How many Towers are there?
Four.
How long is the ride?
The Hollywood Studios version is five minutes.
Should I go on it?
Yes.
How expensive was it to build?
The least expensive was 70-90 million dollars for the California Adventure tower. Most expensive was at Tokyo DisneySea, costing 230 million dollars, because of the decoration.
Is the California Adventure version any good?
I think so. If you really want to go on Tower of Terror, definitely go on the Hollywood Studios version.
To visit a Tower of Terror blog not owned my myself see Tower Secrets
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror has been a popular attraction at California Adventure. There were many other solutions than removing this fun and famous attraction. Is it necessary to get rid of Tower of Terror at California Adventure?
Why should Disney remove The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror?
The banner at the Disneyland tram station now reads:
The banners on the side state that Tower of Terror ends early 2017. To be more accurate, it ends on January third.
Disney could have bought The Twilight Zone instead of paying them royalty fees. If they had, I expect Disney would have changed the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios also. They cannot because Universal Studios owns Marvel east of the Mississippi River.
Disney is trying to add Marvel to Disneyland Resort. Their contract about where they can use Marvel allows them to implement it into Disneyland. Ultimately, that is what they intend to do. There has been negative and positive fan reaction. Unfortunately, Disney has already started to take apart Tower of Terror. Also, this fun sign that changes from The Hollywood Tower Hotel to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror will be removed.
The Hollywood Tower Hotel
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
It is a little feature. Removing it would be sad because a lot of people like to take pictures in front of it like us.
In front of The Hollywood Tower Hotel Sign
Apparently, they are doing this to save money because:
Instead of building a whole new ride, they are remodeling it.
Since they are paying a lot of money, Disney is using their own theme.
While I don’t like them remodeling Tower of Terror, I do realize:
The remodeled ride will have a randomized drop sequence. I think it is a major drawback because the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios has it.
The Twilight Zone is not as popular as Guardians of The Galaxy.
I figured out that the new parking lot they are building might be a solution. They are building that parking lot for Star Wars Land once it opens. Tower of Terror could wait. It could be Guardians of the Galaxy- Mission Breakout! for a few months or until they get their money’s worth. They can replace a parking lot with Marvel Land once the Star Wars Land cools down. After all, Disney destroyed the parking lot in front of Disneyland for California Adventure.
Clearly, many people don’t like the change owing to the fact that 35,633 people, including me, signed a petition to not change Tower of Terror. They delivered this letter as followed:
The fans have spoken. Please do not remove the beloved attraction, “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” from Disneyland’s California Adventure theme park.
We all support a Marvel presence in the parks, but we are strongly against doing so by replacing classic attractions.
Please listen to your paying customers and loyal fans.
This letter was delivered to Bob Chapek, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Many people think Tower of Terror should not go from this:
This is Haunted Mansion, and this is Haunted Mansion Holiday .Before we get into details of the differences, this is a brief history of The Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion, which opened in 1969, was originally going to have a church and a graveyard on the outside. It was also going to be falling apart and would be walk-through. Walt Disney did not want it to be dilapidated. He based it on Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA.
The Hatbox Ghost is a ghost whose face disappears from time to time and reappears in his hatbox. It was taken out in 1969 because you could see the head in both areas. He was put back in early 2015.
The Hatbox Ghost in 1969, 2016 and during The Haunted Mansion Holiday:
The Hatbox Ghost was removed in 1969 because you could see both heads.
The hatbox here looks like a Christmas present that I would not like to receive.
Normal Hatbox Ghost
Disney started Haunted Mansion Holiday in 2001.
The Pumpkin King who turns into Jack Skellington at The Haunted Mansion Holiday.
The Haunted Mansion has the largest Pepper’s Ghost in the world. It is the dancing ghosts’ room. Pepper’s Ghost works by shining a light on something. In front of what the light is shining on, you put a sheet of plexiglass or other clear material. The result is a ghostly image somewhere in front of the plexiglass.
Some of the differences on the inside of The Haunted Mansion Holiday are:
The raven that follows you is now a toy.
The white-faced toy is a raven on the normal Haunted Mansion.
The suit of armor waving his sword now has a pumpkin head.
The floating candles in the endless are now replaced with Jack’s dog, Zero.
The opening casket is replaced with a toy building the casket as a gift.
The clock has a tag that says: To Leota.
Leota now tells you the thirteen Days of Christmas even though there are only twelve.
Instead of items floating around her, there are cards floating.
This is Leota. Can you see the toy again?
The dancing ghost scene is Christmas themed.
The attic scene now stores Christmas presents.
Constance is replaced with a snake swallowing presents.
The owl on the trees is now the toy building the casket.
The caretaker is replaced with Jack Skellington.
Some of the zombies popping out of the tombstones have Santa Claus hats.
The singing busts are now singing pumpkins.
The hitchhiking ghosts are now the trick-or-treaters: Lock, Shock and Barrel.
Hitchhiking ghosts
The ghost that will follow you home is now a Christmas present.
Whichever one you ride, whether it be at Disneyland , or Disney World, normal, or holiday, the ride is great! Tell me which one you like more in the comments.
If you would like to read about more visits to Disneyland, then see these posts:
One of the special times to visit Disneyland is at Halloween…
I wonder who carved these pumpkins?
The great pumpkin Mickey
Yummy… I’ll try not to steal it
As usual, we went with friends. Since Haunted Mansion Holiday is only for a limited time, we started off on it. The ride takes place under the hill behind the outside of the mansion. Disney decorated the passages with busts that can look at you.
I’m watching you…
There are singing flowers that we paused by after Haunted Mansion stopped. They do get annoying after a few minutes.
The singing flowers. Do you notice the toy with a hammer? He follows you around on the ride.
One of the main characters in the Haunted Mansion movie is Madame Leota. This is her head in the crystal ball.
If you look closely, you can see that toy that follows you.
When we finally got off Haunted Mansion, some of our friends were waiting at It’s a Small World. There was someone they met there so we went to go get ice cream at Clarabelle’s Ice Cream Parlor in California Adventure. We had a two scoop cone that we could barely finish eating!
I could barely finish mine! This is my litle sister.
We met up with our friends at Boudin Sourdough and ate some free sourdough bread . Then we went on California Screamin’ twice. To read about a fun experience on Screamin’, click here. I did not vomit even though I had a giant ice cream.
The second time around!
Next, we went on Toy Story Mania.
The line is normally about forty-five minutes to an hour. We got on it in just thirty minutes. The results of one of the carts in our group was:
Mom Sarah
After that, we went on Golden Zephyr which swings you around in a circular motion. And then- oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, we got Fastpasses for Ghost Galaxy. They were valid between 7:30 and 8:30. By the time we arrived at Ghost Galaxy, it was about 8:15. We were able to get on our space tour in time.
In line for Ghost Galaxy
The problem: there was a space skeleton waiting to attack us. We did make it safely back into the space station and to our house. Overall, it was another fun day at Disneyland.
We had fun at Disneyland with friends… again! This time during the Halloween celebration. We arrived and rode on Space Mountain- Ghost Galaxy. It is a Halloween-themed Space Mountain. The plot is you are in a spaceship and encounter a space demon. It attacks you, and you fly around to try and avoid the demon. The ship avoids the monster and makes it into the space station.
Better get away from it soon!
After that, we toured the galaxy in Star Tours. There are two planets you visit. The best experience I had was on the second planet. It was Coruscant. In that one you go straight down during the Battle of Coruscant. It isn’t a roller coaster but a simulator. The mechanism works by tilting you straight down to make it like you are free-falling because that’s what is shows on the video. You are in the wrong lane when you stop falling. All the spaceships are coming towards you. There are a lot of ships, too. The battered tour ship lands in a secret hangar and the ride is over.
After that, we went to find our friends at Steamboat Willie. We thought they meant the Main Street Theater because it shows Steamboat Willie which was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon. They meant the Mark Twain Steamboat, but we didn’t know it. When we couldn’t find them, we took a picture with the pumpkin Mickey head.
The great Mickey pumpkin.
We found them outside the Golden Horseshoe. It is a restaurant in Frontierland. We didn’t eat there, but we met them there. All of us departed to The Haunted Mansion Holiday featuring The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is much more comical the normal one.
Outside the Haunted Mansion Holiday
The stretching room shows paintings of people. They elongate to reveal they are in danger. For example, before it stretches there was a lady walking. After it stretches, that particular lady is in danger owing to the fact she is tightoping above an alligator. When it shows the skeleton on the top of that room in the normal Haunted Mansion, Jack Skellington appears on the ceiling. After the secret passage in the stretching room opens, you find a hallway with some busts. Their eyes seem to follow you. The busts are in alcoves in the wall, but you can’t tell that unless you look closely. A few of the details include a clock with 13 hours, a ghost whose head appears in his hatbox,
The hatbox ghost with his head.. for now!
and a floating head encased in a ball. You exit the ride through a tomb.
Say hello to him
Our family and friends then cruised over to California Adventure. While there, we enjoyed a milkshake at Ghirardelli Chocolate. After that, we went to Boudin Sourdough. Finally, we toured Monstropolis on Monster Inc. Before we left, the group went to an AP Days event and met Meeko the raccoon in Pocahontas. That was one of the best days at Disneyland
Disneyland is always fun, but it is better with friends. We used the “secret” entrance to California Adventure through The Grand Californian Resort. The lines are much shorter. Our friends were waiting for us at the entrance to California Screamin.’ We rode it twice, but the second time it broke down!
Also, the second time the ride was a little jerkier which led me to conclude that Screamin’ was having technical difficulties. After that, we buckled in on Radiator Springs Racers. Since we used the single rider line, the wait was very short and the ride was as good as ever. Then came, The Twilight Zone, Tower, of Terror. Ever since Disney confirmed Tower of Terror is closing, the lines have been longer. The wait was 40 minutes, but we dropped in.
After that, we went to an AP (Annual Passholders) Days event. We got free pins! After that, we went on Monster Inc. Roz, who is a monster at the end of the ride, talks to you! Literally, we suspect there is a person behind her that speaks into a microphone, and Roz can talk to you. Next, we ate at Boudin Sourdough and Ghiradelli Chocolate.
No, I am not eating the plastic.
Finally, we went on Toy Story. It is a very fun ride that is like a video game. You fire little guns on the cart. They use an equation to find where it would have been if it was a real gun. The targets are worth different amounts depending on how hard they are to get. It was a very fun day!
Thank you for visiting my blog. I will be writing about my personal experiences that include weekly field trips, sailing, homeschooling, vacations, video games, and reviews!
and this is Haunted Mansion Holiday .
Before we get into details of the differences, this is a brief history of The Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion, which opened in 1969, was originally going to have a church and a graveyard on the outside. It was also going to be falling apart and would be walk-through. Walt Disney did not want it to be dilapidated. He based it on 
Jots by John 