Tower of Terror | Off to Neverland Travel

“One stormy night long ago…”

Today, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios® turns 18! This thrill ride for big kids, teens, and adults sends riders plunging down a dark freight elevator shaft of the once glamorous Hollywood Tower Hotel.

Here’s a few things about the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ attraction that you may not have known:

Guests aboard the attraction actually fall faster than gravity! The ride’s mechanical system actually push and pull the elevator car up and down.
The warning is in the details! Inside the glass-encased hotel “directory” in the lobby, some of the letters have fallen to the bottom. The fallen letters create a warning that reads “evil tower u r doomed.”
There are several “Hidden Mickeys” in the attraction. During the opening scene in the library, the little girl getting on the is holding a vintage Mickey Mouse doll. Also, a Mickey Mouse head is formed by the swirling stars as the elevator car reaches the “fifth dimension.”
All 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone were screened at least twice by Disney Imagineers to capture the mood and feel of the series.
If you look at the upper floors of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, you will see there are some guest room lights and lamps illuminated. These lights resemble hotel guests who have been lucky enough to avoid the “fifth dimension!”
Every experience is different and randomly selected by the Tower itself. Guests have no way of knowing which direction they’ll go on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™.
The Hollywood Tower Hotel stands 199ft tall and is the 2^nd tallest attraction at the Walt Disney World® Resort.

Main Street Electrical Parade Lights the Night Again

The “Main Street Electrical Parade” lights up the streets of the Magic Kingdom® Park and headlines a season of after-dark excitement coming to Walt Disney World® Resort.

“After the sun goes down, our Walt Disney World® parks will light up the night with ‘Summer Nightastic!’, ” announced Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World® Resort.

Magic will shine and shimmer in a whole new light. Here’s a look around:

With floats and characters appearing for the first time at Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney’s “Main Street Electrical Parade” returns with its joyous sights and sounds. Direct from the Disneyland® Resort and marking its first engagement in Florida since 2001, the cherished parade will be led by Tinker Bell waving from the basket of a magical balloon aboard a new float. Pinocchio and Snow White join the parade this summer, aboard bright new floats. Disney’s “Main Street Electrical Parade” is set for its summer-long nighttime premiere in early June at Magic Kingdom.
The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror welcomes drop-ins this summer with even more pulse-racing surprises. New lighting effects and the addition of a new drop sequence, created especially for “Summer Nightastic!”, will bring unexpected frights to guests who step into that infamous service elevator. If they dare.
What could be more summery than fireworks on a star-studded night? Magic Kingdom will treat guests to a special summer fireworks spectacular. The night sky will explode in vivid colors and brilliant visual effects as whimsical music fills the air.
Other fun! The return of the Sounds Like Summer concert series to Epcot® and extended evening hours at Disney’s Animal Kingdom™ Park several times a week add up to summer fun as only Disney can do – at all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

Don’t want to miss these great attractions!
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